warn
Gu Jinning reluctantly entered the palace, and as usual, she first paid her respects to Xiao Juebai before going to the Empress's palace for a meal.
Gu Shuhe hadn't seen Gu Jinning for a long time and was in pain, so she prepared a large table of dishes according to Gu Jinning's taste.
After the meal, Gu Jinning accompanied Gu Shuhe for a walk in the Imperial Garden, and then they got down to business. Gu Shuhe subtly inquired about the progress of the annulment of the engagement.
Gu Jinning complained that Xiao Heng'an was stubborn and refused to break off the engagement, which made her extremely anxious.
Gu Shuhe then advised her to be patient, keep Xiao Hengan calm, and proceed slowly.
Gu Jinning knew in her heart that if Gu Shuhe wasn't in a hurry, why would she keep urging her to go to the palace? She replied, "I'll try again, Aunt, please don't worry. Look, I've even got some white hair."
Gu Shuhe sighed, and the gold hairpins and phoenix hair ornaments in her hair faded in color.
"As you've seen, the King of Qin has been causing quite a stir in the city lately, and His Majesty has only stripped him of his patrol duties. Your cousin was merely speaking up for his teacher out of old friendship, yet he's been confined to his residence. How can I not be worried?"
Gu Jinning helped Gu Shuhe walk slowly, then nodded and coaxed, "Cousin's benevolence is unmatched. The more Uncle values Prince Qin, the clearer he can see Prince Qin's shortcomings, which only highlights cousin's forbearance and composure."
"Don't overthink it. No matter how much your uncle favors Consort Xian, he won't disrupt the order of legitimate and illegitimate children. With you firmly in the empress's seat, no one can shake your cousin's position."
Gu Shuhe was quite pleased with Gu Jinning's flattery and held her hand, saying, "You're quite considerate when you're not causing trouble."
Gu Jinning leaned on her shoulder and said coquettishly, "No, I've always been considerate of my aunt."
The two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the pavilion.
A brown, spherical object flew through the bushes with a "whoosh" and came hurtling towards us.
"Hey, watch out!" a boy's voice rang out.
Gu Jinning reacted quickly and raised her hand to block it.
The object fell to the ground with a thud; it was a football.
Xiao Jing emerged from the bushes, picked up the cuju ball, and laughed, "Cousin, you're quite skilled." He then greeted Gu Shuhe, "Mother, you summoned my cousin, why didn't you invite me to accompany her?"
Gu Shuhe looked at the football in his hand, clutching her chest in lingering fear, and scolded, "I might want to find you, but I'd have to find you first. Where have you been running around all day?"
Xiao Jing hopped over in a few strides, grinning, "I've been busy practicing Cuju (ancient Chinese football). There's a Cuju competition in a few days, cousin, are you going to participate?"
Gu Jinning helped Gu Shuhe sit down and pouted, saying, "I'd like to, you go and talk to my grandfather."
Xiao Jing immediately stopped him, "Then forget it. I don't want to hear my grandfather scolding me."
He took a step forward, put his hand on Gu Jinning's shoulder, and was about to sit next to her.
Gu Jinning's shoulder had just been aggravated by the football, and now it hurt a little when he pressed down on it. She frowned and slapped his hand away. "You're seventeen already, and you still don't know the difference between men and women."
Xiao Jing withdrew his hand and retorted, "How dare you talk to me like that? You were even fighting with that kid from the Sun family."
Gu Jinning raised her face, snatched the football from his hand and threw it outside the pavilion, scolding, "I told you not to reopen my wounds."
Xiao Jing immediately complained to Gu Shuhe, "Mother, look, she's always bullying me."
With a smile in her eyes, Gu Shuhe helped Gu Jinning scold, "Your cousin is right. Even a king should know some rules and not be reckless."
Xiao Jing had already been granted a princely title and a residence, and should have moved out of the palace. However, Gu Shuhe did not want to become a lonely person so soon, so she specially requested permission to keep Xiao Jing there until he got married before leaving the palace.
Xiao Jing was spoiled since childhood, which made him innocent and unrestrained. He didn't like studying and only liked to play, which was somewhat similar to Gu Jin Ning.
Not far away, Consort Xian and her son Xiao Liao passed by. Consort Xian saw the joyful scene of them playing and laughing in the pavilion and felt a pang of jealousy.
"Look at them, treating the Imperial Garden like their own home. Who knows who they'll be making fun of."
She turned away disdainfully, adjusted the pearl-adorned hairpin behind her ear, and swayed gracefully away.
"My son, you're the same. How come you didn't catch the thief, and you also failed to improve your relationship with the princess?"
Xiao Liao was already troubled by not being able to find the person who broke him out of prison, and the Consort Xian summoned him to the palace specifically to scold him. He was unhappy and tired of dealing with her, so he just said perfunctorily, "What's the rush?"
Consort Xian continued her incessant chatter, "The Princess and Prince Jin's wedding is approaching, and the Empress will surely make her move. You must hurry and make sure to ruin their good time."
Xiao Liao said, "As long as the Prince of Jin doesn't give in, they're even more anxious than we are."
Consort Xian said anxiously, "Prince Jin is ambitious because of his military achievements. We must not let him rise to power through the Gu family and become a stumbling block in the future."
Xiao Liao got annoyed and simply said he understood, then made an excuse that he had something to do and hurriedly left.
After chatting and laughing for a while, Gu Jinning took her leave and left the palace. As she sat down in her carriage, Xiao Liao's carriage followed.
"Cousin, how about we have a chat?" Xiao Liao sat upright in the carriage and lifted the curtain to invite her.
Through the car window, Gu Jinning asked knowingly, "Have the results of the interrogation of the chicken thief been released?"
When the Prefect of Jingzhao sent someone to deliver compensation, he only said that the thieves had been transferred away by the Prince of Qin, without mentioning that those people were the Prince of Qin's spies, so Gu Jinning pretended not to know.
Xiao Liao said, "A few petty thieves took advantage of the chaos in the capital to steal chickens and dogs, and they have already been severely punished."
Gu Jinning asked suspiciously, "How come I heard there are assassins in the tea garden? Could these thieves have scouted the place and are specifically targeting me?"
Xiao Liao replied, "It's just a coincidence, cousin, you don't need to take it to heart."
Gu Jinning smiled slightly at him, tossed down the bamboo curtain, and kicked the wooden board, signaling to set off.
As the car slowly drove away, a mocking voice drifted out from inside, "Your Highness, it's best to keep your distance from me, lest you one day die a violent death in the street and cause me to suffer an undeserved calamity."
Xiao Liao's smile froze on his face as he watched the carriage recede into the distance. The gilded "Gu" character hanging from the top corner of the carriage's rear swayed precariously, so ostentatious and eye-catching.
He lowered the carriage curtain, bent down and fiddled with the jade pendant at his waist, his eyes revealing a kind of unwillingness and an arrogant determination to win.
Gu Jinning hurriedly returned to Wangning Pavilion, dismissed her attendants, and applied the medicine. The crack had been itching and hurting her all the way, and she couldn't help but curse Dao Wuqing in her heart again.
After the medicine was applied, Gu Jinning collapsed on the bed, but she did not feel relieved.
She knew Gu Shuhe's personality all too well. Gu Shuhe was easy to talk to because there was still room for negotiation; once there was no room for discussion, she would stop at nothing and resort to force.
To some extent, women who care about their families are quite stubborn.
The marriage with Xiao Heng'an must be canceled as soon as possible.
After much deliberation, Gu Jinning realized that the only solution was to force the issue. She might be shameless, but Xiao Heng'an certainly had one.
Thinking of this, Gu Jinning rolled over and got up, completely forgetting the pain in her shoulder. She told Qinglian to cover it up, and then she disappeared in a flash.
Late summer arrived quietly, the weather gradually cooled, and the cicadas among the branches lost their voices and disappeared without anyone noticing.
In the Yunshu Courtyard, Xiao Heng'an sat calmly by the window, his eyes closed, listening intently to Song Ming's report. After a long while, he slowly said, "The tea garden is safe and sound. The Prince of Qin must be worried."
Xiao Liao's thinking was simple: it would be best if Hua Lingchen participated, but if not, he could still pin a fabricated charge on her and use her as a scapegoat. However, Hua Lingchen was clever and easily thwarted his plan.
Song Ming said, "Due to the continuous searches and strict control of the city gates and the flow of people, many people have already complained. I think that in a few days, the King of Qin will not be able to withstand the pressure and will restore access to the city gates."
Xiao Heng'an paused, then asked, "Don't you think the whole thing was handled too cleanly?"
Song Ming, not understanding, asked, "Your Highness, what do you mean?"
"Not even a trace. Was the army that the King of Qin painstakingly arranged truly just for show?"
In the past few days, Xiao Heng'an had been pondering that before the Heavenly Prison was besieged, Xiao Liao had arranged patrols in various parts of the city to guard it strictly, in order to lure people into breaking into the prison and capture them all in one fell swoop.
Gu Jinning's prison break was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision. Her escape was rather hasty and dangerous. Coupled with the patrol soldiers' intensive search, they would not have had time to pay attention to details and would certainly not have left no trace.
It's unusual to handle something too cleanly.
It should be noted that the men he sent that day also retreated in a hurry, not to mention that Gu Jinning was injured and Zuo Wenzhong was seriously injured and weak.
Song Ming guessed, "Your Highness, are you saying that besides the man in white, there is someone else secretly helping you?"
Xiao Heng'an remained silent. He was almost certain that someone had helped him, but who it was was truly hard to guess.
Regardless of who is behind this, it seems that their aim is to rescue Zuo Wenzhong, and therefore they will not harm Gu Jinning.
As he pondered, a sweet, coquettish voice called from outside the door, "Cousin."
The person who arrived was Ji Lin. She held a plate of pastries and sweet soup in her hands, and looked at Xiao Heng'an with her eyes full of anticipation and caution, asking, "May I come in?"
Xiao Heng'an met her charming eyes and remained silent, which was taken as tacit consent.
"Thank you, cousin." Ji Lin swayed as she entered, asking, "Did I disturb you?"
Xiao Heng'an's gaze continued to wander over her body, his meaning unclear.
Seeing this, Song Ming called out "Miss Biao," and tactfully withdrew, closing the door behind him.
"Cousin, these are freshly made lotus cakes and lotus root soup. Would you like to try some?"
Ji Lin placed the tray on the table and began to ladle a bowl of soup over it.
Xiao Heng'an took the document and asked, "Is there something you need?"
Ji Lin smiled and said, "It's nothing. I was just thinking that my cousin has been working so hard lately. I didn't know what I could do to help him, so I came to help you relax."
After Xiao Heng'an took a sip of soup, Ji Lin handed him some pastries, and only after watching Xiao Heng'an eat a piece was she satisfied.
"Oh, right." Ji Lin took out a pair of boots from her sleeve. "These are the boots I said I'd make for you a few days ago."
These are a pair of all-black combat boots, with dark patterns embroidered on the sloping sides and around the opening, exquisite yet not jarring.
But this style seems familiar; I've seen it somewhere before.
Seeing that Xiao Heng'an remained silent, Ji Lin invited him, "Try it on and see if it fits."
As soon as Xiao Heng'an got up, Ji Lin led him to the soft couch in the inner room, which was a temporary resting room in the study.
Xiao Heng'an sat down on the couch and said, "You are very familiar with this place."
"I saw it by chance when I came looking for patterns that day, please don't be offended, cousin."
Ji Lin squatted down to take off Xiao Heng'an's shoes. She had specially worn a low-cut gauze dress today, and as she bent over, her beautiful collarbone was clearly revealed, and her fair skin was faintly visible.
Xiao Heng'an leaned down and put his arm around hers, meeting her delicate face as she looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with a gentle warmth, silently inviting him.
Xiao Heng'an felt dizzy, and his hands felt as limp as if he were holding cotton. Ji Lin sat on the bed and helped him up, asking, "Cousin, what's wrong? Are you tired? Lie down and rest for a while."
As Ji Lin helped him lie down, she followed him down, almost pressing herself against Xiao Heng'an. Her black hair slid down, brushing against Xiao Heng'an's nose, bringing with it a delicate fragrance of lotus blossoms.
Xiao Heng'an felt extremely dizzy. His hand instinctively grabbed the person who was about to leave, but he tried his best to control the strength so as not to hurt her arm.
"Ouch!" Ji Lin used the momentum to fall onto him, still concerned, "Cousin, your face is so red, are you hot? Let me help you take off your clothes."
Before Xiao Heng'an could refuse, Ji Lin had already pulled off his belt and started to rip off his clothes.
Xiao Heng'an reminded him, "Be careful with your arm."
"Arm? Did you hurt your arm?"
Ji Lin took the opportunity to pull his clothes down to his arm, carefully examined them from left to right, and when she confirmed that there was nothing there, her eyes turned to Xiao Heng'an's chest, and her face flushed red.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
