Chapter 46. A hairpin pierced his chest.
Shen Mi glanced at Gu Zhan once, and instantly felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her back turning cold.
How did Gu Zhan track him down here? How did he know he would escape during the crowded temple fair, and how did he know that the back gate of his courtyard led directly to this street? And how did he know he would act tonight?
Cuiwei had already been restrained by Yang Qing, who covered her mouth to prevent her from speaking.
Shen Mi was completely baffled. She didn't dare to look at Gu Zhan's expression and could only retreat step by step, her breath trembling.
But for every step she took back, Gu Zhan took a step forward, leaving her no room to breathe. The dark shadow above her head seemed to open its bloody maw, ready to devour her.
Su Xingjian took three steps at a time and stepped forward. Out of courtesy to his subject, he first bowed and said, "Your subject greets Your Highness."
Gu Zhan glanced at Su Xingjian and said, "Su Xingjian, I thought you had forgotten your own identity and the principle of respect between ruler and subject. It seems you haven't completely lost your mind."
Su Xingjian glanced at Shen Mi with considerable worry, regretting that he couldn't hold her in his arms.
Shen Mi noticed Su Xingjian's gaze, gently bit her lip, and shook her head at Su Xingjian, signaling him not to act impulsively.
Gu Zhan has believed for the past four years that he and Su Xingjian have a clandestine relationship. If Su Xingjian were to anger Gu Zhan again now in an attempt to protect her, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Su Xingjian has helped her many times in the past four years, and she absolutely cannot drag him down again now.
Su Xingjian noticed the tears in her eyes and understood her meaning. He could only look away for the moment and reply to Gu Zhan's words, "Your Highness, please forgive me, I dare not."
"Dare not? You dare to lay a finger on my woman, what else would you be afraid of?" Gu Zhan didn't look at anyone, only turning the jade thumb ring on his thumb. "You two are exchanging glances and flirting right under my nose, do you really think I'm blind?"
Shen Mi recalled that four years ago, when she was at Fanlou, she had tried to drug Gu Zhan to escape, but somehow he noticed and then forced her to drink that cup of wine and take her back to the East Palace.
Gu Zhan initially didn't know whether the wine contained a sleeping potion or poison, so he grabbed her chin and forced her to drink it. Now, thinking back on it, he realized that when this man was enraged and ruthless, he could have killed her.
Despite her heart pounding wildly in her chest, Shen Mi forced herself to calm down.
She looked up at Gu Zhan and said, "I don't know why Your Highness says this. I think Your Highness has misunderstood what happened tonight. My relationship with him is completely innocent and I have a clear conscience."
Whether Gu Zhan believed it or not, all that could be heard was the rustling of leaves in the autumn wind.
Shen Mi knew all too well that her top priority was to remove Su Xingjian from this matter. His career was on the rise, and he absolutely could not allow it to be affected by her.
So she composed herself and continued, "According to the agreement between Your Highness and me, tomorrow is the day I will return to Bianjing with Your Highness. I have lived in this little courtyard in Runzhou for four years, and I am somewhat reluctant to leave it. However, I am asking Prefect Su to take care of it for me in the future, so that it will not become a desolate place after I leave."
After she finished speaking, her legs were already a little weak, but she still forced herself to lift her eyelids, wanting to peek at Gu Zhan so that she could make up what she was going to say based on Gu Zhan's expression. But she met his dark eyes.
His gaze, icy cold as if frozen in the dead of winter, fixed steadily on her.
Looking down from her high vantage point, it was as if all her thoughts were laid bare before him.
Gu Zhan gave a soft "oh," his tone nonchalant, "I think you're going to run away again."
His tone trailed off smoothly, not out of guesswork, but out of certainty.
All her plans and secrets were so casually revealed that Shen Mi could no longer suppress her fear. She took a deep breath and was about to answer when someone reached out and grabbed the back of her neck.
Shen Mi was shocked and forced to raise her face to look directly into those deep, unfathomable eyes.
She saw her own face reflected in the man's pupils, her face deathly pale, devoid of any of the calm and composure she had thought she possessed.
Shen Mi dared not look any longer and subconsciously closed her eyes.
She thought Gu Zhan was going to strangle her to death right there, but to her surprise, Gu Zhan loosened his grip slightly, temporarily relieving her of the feeling of being lifted up.
But the next instant, his calloused thumb slid down her throat and finally stopped on the side of her neck, pressing against the bite mark he had left there two days earlier. With a little pressure from his fingertip, he made it difficult for her to breathe and forced her to open her eyes.
Gu Zhan lowered his head and asked in her ear, "Do you remember what I said when I left this mark?"
How could Shen Mi not remember?
"I'm warning you, you'd better not try to outsmart me under my nose. Otherwise, I'll deal with your lover and that bastard right in front of you, and then drag you back to Bianjing."
Her consciousness briefly returned to normal.
She absolutely could not let Su Xingjian die because of her, or because of Gu Zhan's suspicion.
Shen Mi spoke hesitantly, "I remember, I didn't intend to run away."
"You didn't intend to run away?" Gu Zhan heard her lie so readily and it sounded like the funniest joke in the world. "Then why did you leave through the back door in the middle of the night? And what was in your bundle?"
Shen Mi stiffened, her lips slightly parted.
The bundle that Gu Zhan had thrown on the ground when he entered the room was in a blind corner by the door. Just how good must Gu Zhan's eyesight be to see it so clearly?
“It seems like a string of lies, and there’s no way to refute it,” Gu Zhan’s tone was tinged with regret. “However, for the sake of the two years we were husband and wife, I’ll give you a choice: you, the adulterer, or yourself. You can only keep one.”
Hearing the words "adulterer" made Shen Mi feel even more humiliated.
Whether it was from the pain, the grievance, or the helpless resentment, she could no longer hold back the tears that had been welling up in her eyes, and they fell down with a "plop".
The heat of the tears hit Gu Zhan's hand, and it felt somewhat scalding.
He gazed into the woman's tearful eyes, and his thoughts instantly drifted back to those sleepless nights of the past four years.
After Shen Mi left, he initially tried to keep her in his sight and memory through painting, but it seemed that no matter how he painted, the woman in the painting always had a sorrowful look on her face. He wanted to paint her smiling face, but he couldn't remember it no matter what. So he burned all those paintings.
Gu Zhan's throat tightened slightly.
Shen Mi was surprised that Gu Zhan would let go. She didn't even bother to wipe away her tears. Almost instinctively, she pulled a silver hairpin from her hair, held it in her hand, and was about to stab it into Gu Zhan's chest.
Gu Zhan seemed to have given her a choice, but in reality, she had no choice at all. She couldn't bear to abandon Su Xingjian for her own sake, but if she chose Su Xingjian, both of them would surely die.
She knew all too well what kind of person Gu Zhan was—he would rather destroy what he couldn't have.
Only by seriously injuring Gu Zhan would she have a chance to escape. Once she escaped, Gu Zhan would have no reason to punish Su Xingjian.
She initially didn't want to tell Su Xingjian because she didn't want him to come and get into unnecessary trouble because of her. But she didn't expect that Su Xingjian was worried about her safety and actually came to Runzhou tonight.
In the darkness of the night, a flash of light streaked past Gu Zhan's eyes as the silver hairpin pierced through the air, his gaze fixed on the tip of the hairpin.
At that moment, Shen Mi met Gu Zhan's icy gaze, but since things had come to this, she had no choice but to take a desperate gamble.
With a "plop," the hairpin pierced through the man's thin clothes and buried itself in the flesh of his chest.
He was unusually dressed in a snow-white robe, but bright red blood instantly soaked into his white clothes, leaving a large bloodstain.
Shen Mi released her grip and said to Su Xingjian, "Don't worry about me, let's go our separate ways."
Upon seeing Gu Zhan injured, Yang Qing disregarded Cuiwei and immediately approached, asking, "Is Your Highness alright?"
Shen Mi hastily wiped the blood off her hands onto her dress, then grabbed Cuiwei's hand and tried to leave through the back door.
However, the scene before her forced her to stop.
The back door of her house was usually a narrow alley with few people walking around, but now there was a huge group of soldiers outside. The soldiers were all wearing armor and holding torches, and they almost completely blocked the alley in front of her house.
Gu Zhan lowered his eyes to look at the silver hairpin piercing his chest, clearly not taking this minor injury seriously.
He brushed Yang Qing's hand aside, pulled the silver hairpin from his chest, and threw it on the ground. "With so little strength, you think you can escape from me with a broken hairpin?"
His gaze swept over Su Xingjian, finally settling on the woman's slender back, clearly indicating he had no patience to continue entangled with her.
Shen Mi stood frozen in place, unable to move.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, she was at a loss for what to do.
Then she heard Gu Zhan slowly speak behind her: "Naive. Since I'm here to catch someone in the act, I've made thorough preparations."
Su Xingjian could not abandon Shen Mi at such a time, so he stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, I have never overstepped my bounds in my relationship with Lady Shen, nor have I ever harbored any disloyal intentions towards Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will understand.”
Gu Zhan ignored his explanation and said coldly, "Whether it is true or not, I will investigate myself."
As he spoke, he stepped forward, grabbed Shen Mi's shoulders, and turned her around so that she was facing him.
Shen Mi was terrified. She didn't know when Gu Zhan had noticed something was wrong, nor when he had started plotting this.
She recognized the man leading the troops outside; he was the prefect of Runzhou. Gu Zhan had actually ordered him to lead troops to block the gate, but when she opened the gate, there was clearly no one else outside except Gu Zhan and Yang Qing.
Gu Zhan said he was fully prepared, so did he anticipate from the beginning that he wouldn't compromise easily?
This person is frighteningly cunning.
Gu Zhan swept his hand, which was stained with his blood, over Shen Mi's hand, gripped her shoulders, and prevented her from moving an inch. "You're really naughty. Since Zhi Niang really can't choose, I'll choose for you. Even though you've disobeyed me, betrayed me, and even hurt me, I still can't bear to let you die. So I'll let your infatuated lover die in your place."
Shen Mi's breath hitched. Gu Zhan calling her by her childhood nickname in that tone sent a chill down her spine.
She understood that confronting Gu Zhan head-on at this moment would not bring her any advantage, and would also drag Su Xingjian into it. After quickly weighing her options, she softened her voice and said, "Your Highness, I will obey you and return with you..."
Gu Zhan stared coldly at her, as if trying to discern how much truth and falsehood was in her words. After seeing that only the familiar timidity and submissiveness remained in the woman's eyes, his mood improved somewhat. "That's more like it."
Shen Mi didn't dare to look at him, swallowed hard, and continued what she hadn't finished saying: "All the mistakes are mine, and I hope Your Highness will not implicate others."
What Gu Zhan wanted was for her to bow her head and admit her mistake, right? As long as she went along with Gu Zhan's wishes and protected those she could protect, as long as she hadn't been captured and brought back to Bianjing, she could still slowly plot her way out.
"Are you pleading for Su Xingjian?" Gu Zhan's expression, which had finally calmed down, suddenly turned cold because of this question.
He thought Shen Mi was genuinely repentant, but he never expected that the first time she bowed her head to him in recent times was because of Su Xingjian.
Shen Mi looked up in surprise at Gu Zhan.
She did want to protect Su Xingjian, but she couldn't admit it in front of Gu Zhan. She could only say against her will, "I didn't. My heart is truly with Your Highness..."
Gu Zhan's tolerance for her had reached its limit. He lifted the woman by the knees, carried her horizontally inside, and instructed Yang Qing, "Take care of the outside. No one is allowed to enter this courtyard."
Shen Mi was well aware of what Gu Zhan was trying to do. Almost instinctively, she kicked wildly in Gu Zhan's arms, but the difference in strength between men and women made it impossible for her to break free.
She could still hear Cuiwei and Su Xingjian's voices. She tried to turn around, but was held tightly in someone's arms. "At a time like this, you're still concerned about others. Shen Mi, you don't respect me at all."
Gu Zhan kicked open the door to her house, glanced around the room, and then carried her toward the bed.
Before Shen Mi could react, Gu Zhan threw her onto the couch. Her elbow hit the bedpost, making half of her arm go numb. As soon as she got up from the couch, Gu Zhan pressed down on her and trapped her in his arms again.
Gu Zhan pinched her chin. "You care about him so much, worry about him so much, that you'd rather bear the stigma of regicide than not protect him, and even leave me? Is this what you call being innocent?"
Shen Mi was forced to meet his eyes. Just as she was about to speak, her lips were covered, silencing her breath, the words she wanted to say, and her tears.
His cool lips pressed hard against hers, capturing every breath in her mouth. The emotions and meanings contained within were nothing more than revenge; Shen Mi couldn't think of another word.
Her hands were held tightly, Gu Zhan's strength was so great that it felt like he was going to break her wrists. She couldn't bring herself to comply, so she used all her strength to bite his lips hard.
Gu Zhan tasted the salty bitterness of tears mixed with the rust of blood on his tongue. He slowed his movements, then raised his head, released the woman's lips, and used his fingertips to wipe away the blood that had stained his bitten lips.
He looked at the woman's slightly reddened eyes and aggrieved expression. Recalling her awkward movements just now, he frowned slightly and asked, "Four years, and he hasn't kissed you?"
Shen Mi gently looked away, suppressing the soreness rising from her nose and chest. "I've already said it before, my relationship with him is that of gentlemen, but you didn't believe me."
Gu Zhan was slightly taken aback.
So he wronged Shen Mi?
A complex expression flashed across his eyes as he looked at the woman on the bed, her face covered in tears, her lips stained with blood from his own, and her lips pressed together in silence. A pain spread through Gu Zhan's chest, as if from breathing.
But he quickly calmed down and cleared his mind.
It is a fact that this woman betrayed and deceived him four years ago, it is a fact that she outwardly complied with his words but inwardly defied him four years later, and it is also a fact that she has now been caught red-handed.
And in his life, he hated betrayal the most.
"How can I believe you?" Gu Zhan guided her hand, letting her fingertips touch the spot where she had just stabbed herself, and asked, "Did you stab Su Xingjian here?"
Shen Mi breathed softly, and for once, she let herself be, saying, "Because he respects me, there's never been any need for things to escalate to this point between us."
Gu Zhan chuckled.
Respect? He is the crown prince, and he has always been respected and honored by others. Apart from Heaven, Earth, Parents, Sovereign, and Teacher, he would never bow his head to anyone.
Even if this person is Shen Mi, even if he considers her his wife, it is absolutely impossible.
But perhaps because he had confirmed that there was no other connection between Shen Mi and Su Xingjian, Gu Zhan felt unusually happy.
He intertwined his fingers with hers, holding them tightly: "Shen Mi, listen carefully, the person you care about must be me, and can only be me."
Shen Mi didn't respond to that. With the clarity she had finally regained, she thought about how to deal with Gu Zhan and how to coax him in a roundabout way so that she could find a chance to escape.
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Author's note: I'll try to write more tomorrow~ [pleading]
And we're just waiting for Gu Gou to bow his head and be slapped in the face.
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