"Aren't you leaving yet? Are you waiting to die?" Gu Zhixing said coldly as he passed by Shen Jintang, his tone full of impatience.
Shen Jintang snapped out of her daze, her heart tightening. She suppressed the complex emotions welling up in her eyes, lowered her gaze, and quickly followed behind Gu Zhixing.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, the stinging sensation like a wake-up call, making her even more alert.
She knew she had no way out.
Although Gu Zhixing's path was a last resort, it was also her only choice.
Now that she had embarked on this path, the wealth and leisure of the previous sixteen years were no longer relevant to her. From now on, she had only one thought—to survive!
She gritted her teeth, her heart filled with bitterness and humiliation, but she told herself that as long as she could survive, she didn't care about anything else. Even if the road ahead was full of thorns, she would keep walking.
As soon as we got on, the carriage started to move shakily.
Gu Zhixing lay on his side to rest, after all, the thirty strokes of the cane had landed squarely on him.
He squinted slightly, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Shen Jintang beside him. She sat blankly in the corner, her eyes vacant, her face showing no trace of relief at surviving the ordeal, but rather a hint of numbness.
These little bean sprouts are quite interesting.
Gu Zhixing moved closer, narrowed his eyes slightly, and scrutinized her with a hint of scrutiny.
Shen Jintang keenly sensed his gaze, and her body reflexively shrank back slightly, instinctively dodging backward like a startled fawn, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.
"Your Highness," she called softly, her voice low and tinged with timidity.
Gu Zhixing raised an eyebrow lightly, a half-smile curving his lips as he stared at Shen Jintang with interest, his tone tinged with mockery: "I've bought you, so you're mine now."
After a moment of silence, he asked again, "Do you know who I am?"
Shen Jintang lowered her eyelids, her fingers clenching the hem of her clothes at her side, her mind racing.
Who is Gu Zhixing?
The son of ***, a little tyrant in Kyoto, with a noble status that rivals even that of a prince.
He acts eccentrically, speaks and does things without any rhyme or reason, and is unpredictable.
His question now is certainly not simply to find out if she knows his identity.
A thoughtful look flashed across Shen Jintang's eyes, then she slowly raised her head, her expression becoming very sincere, as if it came from the bottom of her heart: "Your Highness is the best person in the world."
A truly excellent person?
Gu Zhixing savored the five words on his tongue. He had never imagined that anyone would use such words to describe him.
In his past memories, when others mentioned him, they mostly spoke with awe, fear, or even avoidance. But at this moment, Shen Jintang's words felt particularly fresh to him, like a sour plum melting on his tongue, with a unique flavor.
This is the first time someone has said that he is a really good person.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping across Shen Jintang's face, as if searching for a flaw in her words.
However, Shen Jintang's eyes were clear and firm, without the slightest hesitation, as if she were serious.
Seeing her sincerity, Gu Zhixing felt a pleasant surprise and smiled, his tone softening slightly: "You certainly have a sweet tongue."
Shen Jintang lowered her eyes and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Looks like I made the right bet; he actually fell for sweet talk.
The carriage sped along the road, its wheels rolling. Yet inside, all was quiet and peaceful, as if completely isolated from the turbulence and noise of the outside world.
"My lord, how do you plan to resolve the matter concerning the son of King You?" Chongyang's voice came from outside the carriage.
The reason the Censorate impeached Gu Zhixing this time was because he hid the corpse of the son of King You, who was colluding with foreign enemies. If it weren't for this, how could the emperor, who had always doted on Gu Zhixing, have been willing to impose such a severe punishment on him?
The master is really inconsiderate.
"How else can it be solved? Haven't I already solved it all?"
He hid the body well and accepted the punishment. Unless someone can find the body he hid, his affair with King You will end here.
What remains is the feud between him and that group of heartless censors.
King You had guarded Youzhou for over twenty years. If he wanted to collude with the enemy, how could the Northern Di have failed to conquer Youzhou in over twenty years? Moreover, his youngest son was still a hostage in the capital. How could he possibly commit treason at this time?
If Gu Zhixing, a spoiled young master, understands such a simple principle, how could those shrewd censors who spend their days in officialdom not understand it?
It's nothing more than everyone kicking someone when they're down!
"What dirty stuff did you eat?"
Gu Zhixing's gaze suddenly fell on Shen Jintang, who was looking down and stuffing something into her mouth. It was dark and looked unclean.
"Would Your Highness like to try some sugar?"
Shen Jintang presented the purse containing candy to Gu Zhixing, her hands trembling slightly, and her voice carrying a hint of caution.
Those were the few candies she had left, and her only solace.
Those memories of the son of King You seemed to be very distant from her now.
Her first half of life, along with those faded fragments, has gradually become blurred with time, leaving only the piercing pain that comes with occasional recollections.
She remembered someone once telling her, "When you're feeling down, eating a piece of candy will make you feel a lot better."
"It's filthy, you can't eat it anymore."
Gu Zhixing suddenly became irritated, snatched the purse from Shen Jintang's hand, along with the candy inside, and threw it out of the carriage without hesitation.
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