rockery

When Gu Ji walked outside his master's house, this was the scene he saw.

Gu Huaizhi was standing in front of a bronze mirror, applying medicine to the small scar on his face awkwardly, and then staring silently at the medicine bottle with peach blossom patterns on it.

Gu Ji admired it with great interest for a while, until the young man slowly glanced aside.

Gu Ji was startled, and quickly put away the smile on his face, then walked into the house.

He took out a few rolls of paper from his sleeve, cleared his throat and said, "Sir, this is what I have found in the past few days."

The previous assassination of the crown prince and Gu Huaizhi was closely related to Liang Guoxi's conspiracy.

However, they have not yet obtained definite evidence, and now that the envoys from Liang have left Chu, the situation may become more complicated.

Gu Huaizhi took the paper as if nothing had happened, and then raised his eyebrows: "Gu Ji, do you not want this month's salary?"

He read the words on the paper at a glance while putting the porcelain bottle in his hand into the drawer at hand.

Gu Ji's eyes fell on the porcelain vase in Gu Huaizhi's drawer. He was moved and said quickly, "Sir, I was just giving you a plan."

The young master was usually generous, but when it came to deducting the monthly salary, he was also very ruthless.

If his salary is deducted again this month, it will be completely deducted.

Occasionally, he would still feel sympathy for his own son, even though the son mostly "deserved it".

In the past, the young master said that he would not use Miss Mu's medicine, but he would always use it up and put away those porcelain bottles one by one, calling it appreciation.

But this time, the young master did not use it for a long time and only used it once today.

It's no wonder that the young master is afraid that this is the last bottle of medicine Miss Mu gave him, and if he uses it, it will be gone forever.

And he will see Miss Mu again tomorrow, but the scar has not healed yet, so he guessed that the young master was afraid that the scar would affect his appearance, which was why he rarely used it.

Gu Huaizhi looked up at his subordinate with disdain: "What bad ideas do you have?"

His expression was a little unnatural: "...Tell me about it."

The idea of ​​pretending to be sick that Gu Ji came up with last time caused Mu An Ning to treat him even colder now.

Gu Ji smiled secretly in his heart, as if he had expected the young master's reaction.

The young master had no idea about love matters, so even though he denied it, he clearly needed help from others.

Gu Ji coughed and said in a pretentious tone, "Sir, in fact, girls often yearn for the love in picture books that shocks the world and makes the gods and ghosts weep."

Seeing his young master frowning, Gu Ji confidently explained, "I will plan a few heroic rescues for you. Who knows, Miss Mu might change her mind."

Gu Huaizhi stroked his chin thoughtfully, as memories flooded into his mind.

She vaguely remembered that once she nearly fell off her horse and was saved by him.

The look in her eyes when she looked at him at that time seemed to be bright and full of love.

Gu Ji breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his young master smiling.

However, the next moment, Gu Huaizhi seemed to remember something, and unconsciously reached out to touch the tiny scar on his face, and the light in his eyes dimmed a lot.

This scar was also left in order to save her, but now she seems to... not care at all and is unwilling to apply medicine for him.

Gu Huaizhi glanced at Ji coldly and made a move to lift his foot.

Gu Ji dodged the fatal blow swiftly this time and said helplessly, "Sir, can't you be a little gentler?"

He added bitterly, "It's okay for you to do this to your subordinates, but you must never do this to Miss Mu."

Although the young master treated Miss Mu much better than he treated him, his unforgiving nature made him a difficult person to deal with.

Of course, if the young master could be a little gentler to him, he would be thankful.

Gu Huaizhi's eyebrows moved slightly: "Gentle?"

This word was very unfamiliar to him.

"Yes, sir." Gu Ji nodded heavily and expressed his guess, "In fact, I think that a girl as gentle as Miss Mu should be like this in the same way."

In the past, it must have been a surprise that Miss Mu would fall in love with a man like you.

He noticed that the young master seemed to have listened, and added hesitantly: "Young master, you can try to show weakness occasionally."

In fact, he wanted to give the young master a suitable example. For example, the young master Tan who was beside Miss Mu recently, didn't he attract Miss Mu's favor because of his 'gentle and weak' appearance?

However, he could never say this out loud, as his life was more important.

"Gu Ji, you are really getting more and more outrageous." Gu Huaizhi snorted and crumpled the paper in his hand into a ball: "It's fine if you are gentle, but you actually asked this prince to show weakness?"

...is ridiculous.

*

"Your Highness, the Queen wants to arrange a marriage for Ah Huai." Luo tightly grasped the handkerchief in her hand, her brows furrowed. "I'm afraid that the Queen will directly ask the Emperor for permission for the Dragon Boat Festival tomorrow."

Prince Anqing snorted coldly and guessed which girl it was without his wife saying anything.

"The Queen actually set her sights on Huaizhi." Prince Anqing narrowed his eyes in displeasure, then patted his wife's shoulder and said soothingly, "Don't worry, I will explain it to His Majesty."

The Duke of Huguo is the Queen's biological brother. He has been wanting his daughter to become a rich and successful woman, and the Queen is happy to see it happen.

Now that the Crown Prince is engaged, there is no prince of marriageable age in the palace, so the only one left is the Third Prince.

But the Third Prince was extremely stupid and opposed the Crown Prince every day. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that marrying their daughter to him would not benefit her family at all.

It is not surprising that the Empress and the Duke of Protectorate put this idea into the Anqing Palace.

"I'm just afraid that Ah Huai will act impulsively." Luo sighed, her brows revealing an unconcealable worry.

She knew her son's character best.

She had chosen to keep it secret because she was worried that once he heard the news, he would enter the palace without hesitation and directly reject the Queen's "kindness".

Unexpectedly, the Queen actually discussed the matter directly with Gu Huaizhi, but surprisingly, he did not offend the Queen that day.

"You should look for a suitable girl for him to go to the capital in the next few days." Prince Anqing cast his eyes to his wife beside him and said in a heavy tone, "It is of utmost importance to arrange a marriage for him as soon as possible."

The emperor has become increasingly jealous of the father and son in recent years, and there is a high possibility that he will use his marriage to the Duke of Protectorate as a lever to control them.

The safest way at this time is to choose a suitable marriage for Gu Huaizhi as soon as possible.

"I will take a look at it in the next few days." Luo sighed with sadness and helplessness: "My Lord, please take a rest first, don't wait for your back injury to relapse."

Her husband devoted himself to the court and led troops to defend the State of Chu countless times, suffering many injuries, but the emperor was always jealous of his own brother.

*

The next day.

The scale of this palace banquet was not particularly grand, and Mu An Ning and Mu Wan'er were seated together.

But when the two sisters arrived at the table, most of the seats were still empty, so they were in no rush to sit down.

Mu Wan'er smiled meaningfully: "Sister, will Mr. Tan come today?"

[Hey, I can have CP again today. 】

This time, Xu did not stop Mu Wan'er from attending the banquet because the Queen gave the order.

As a concubine's daughter, Mu Jingyue was not eligible to participate, so she did not come.

Mu An Ning looked at Mu Wan'er, whose eyes were almost narrowed into slits, and shook his head helplessly.

The relationship between her and Tan Wenhuai had not yet reached the point where they knew each other's schedules very well.

Glancing at Mu An Ning's slightly red ears, Mu Wan'er couldn't help but lower her head and smile.

【My daughter is about to fall into the sea of ​​love! 】

[However, if I remember correctly, the emperor should arrange a marriage for Gu Huaizhi today.]

[Now that my daughter has Tan Wenhuai, she shouldn’t be heartbroken anymore, God bless her! ]

While Mu Wan'er was thinking, she looked at Mu An Ning with concern.

Although Mu An Ning looked calm, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised in his heart.

Why did His Majesty suddenly arrange a marriage for Gu Huaizhi?

While Mu An Ning was doubtful, Mu Wan'er's eyes suddenly lit up.

[I finally have the chance to enter the palace. While it's still early, I'll go to the male protagonist to gain some favor.]

"Sister, my stomach hurts." Mu Wan'er immediately covered her belly and frowned in pain: "Wait for me here, I'll be back soon."

Mu An Ning couldn't help but nodded with a smile, and looked at Mu Wan'er's leaving back helplessly.

Not long after Mu Wan'er left, Tan Wenhuai really appeared in front of her.

Although he was wearing a moon-white plain robe today, he was still particularly eye-catching.

Tan Wenhuai clutched his sleeves tightly, and with a red face, he called out, "An, An Ning."

His aunt used her connections to arrange for him and Mu An Ning to sit next to each other, so he was extremely nervous today.

Mu An Ning nodded and asked with a smile, "Is Sister Su here today?"

Sister Su told her in the clinic yesterday that she would attend the banquet, but now she is nowhere to be seen.

Tan Wenhuai shook his head and stared into the girl's dark eyes: "My cousin felt a little unwell this morning, so she didn't come to the banquet."

Mu An Ning expressed her concern for her and was relieved to find that the condition was not serious. After all, Doctor Lu had been taking care of Su Nianci's health these days.

The two of them were speechless for a while. Mu An Ning was about to take his seat when he suddenly felt something flash across his right eye, followed by a sharp pain.

Tan Wenhuai had been peeking at the girl unconsciously, and he immediately noticed that she was different: "An, An Ning, what's wrong with you?"

Mu An Ning's eyelashes trembled unconsciously: "It's no problem."

She raised her hand and rubbed her right eye, which was a little hard to open, and said with a smile: "It must be the wind and sand that blinded me."

"How about, how about..." Seeing that she couldn't even open her eyes, Tan Wenhuai looked a little nervous for a moment: "Let me help you take a look."

Mu An Ning thought for a moment, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he loosened his hand that was covering his right eye: "That's troublesome."

It was the stinging sensation that made her want to shy away, but she couldn't.

Tan Wenhuai held his breath, carefully stretched out his hand to open the girl's slightly red eyelids, and said after a while: "There is a little bug."

Mu An Ning unconsciously slowed down his breathing. He thought it was sandstorm, but it turned out to be insects.

Seeing the girl's long eyelashes tremble, Tan Wenhuai hurriedly spoke to comfort her: "An Ning, don't be afraid, the insect is very small."

He then tried to reach out and take it out, but it seemed impossible no matter how hard he tried.

Seeing that he had no idea where to start, Mu An Ning said directly, "Go ahead and blow it."

What she feared most was mosquitoes and the like. The thought of it getting stuck in her eye sockets made her feel nauseous.

Tan Wenhuai was stunned: "Blow?"

Mu An Ning felt a stinging pain in his eyes again and nodded quickly.

Tan Wenhuai noticed her trembling shoulders, so he pursed his lips and approached the girl's eyes: "Excuse me, I'm sorry."

*

This was the scene that Gu Huaizhi saw when he arrived.

The girl tilted her head slightly, while the man in front of her leaned over in front of her.

So Tan Wenhuai is kissing her?

Gu Huaizhi tried his best to put on a warm smile and called the two people back to their senses: "What are you doing?"

Seeing this, Luo Zhiyan, who was standing next to Gu Huaizhi, looked at the two people in front of her coyly and said, "Hey, Brother Huai, don't ask anymore. Yan'er has seen it, can't Brother Huai see it?"

Mu An Ning really made her look at him with new eyes today. She originally thought that Mu An Ning still liked Brother Huai in her heart.

But this is really difficult, as she is still counting on Mu An Ning to join her in fighting against Miss Liu.

Gu Huaizhi didn't know whether he heard Luo Zhiyan's words or not, and took another step towards the two of them.

Tan Wenhuai was about to explain, but Gu Huaizhi interrupted him directly.

He stared at the girl with red eyes and took a breath with difficulty: "Aning, don't you have anything to say to me?"

Mu An Ning blinked her sore eyes, feeling that this question was a little puzzling.

Gu Huaizhi raised the corners of his lips in a bitter tone and suddenly said, "Aning, come with me."

Mu An Ning hesitated for a while, afraid that he would grab her the next moment, so she followed him.

*

Gu Huaizhi swallowed those questions and unconsciously slowed down his speech: "Aning."

If she likes gentle men, then he should just...learn from her.

Although there was no one here, Mu An Ning still looked around uncomfortably: "Prince, you'd better not call me like this."

That's too intimate a term.

But he looked rather strange today, and his tone was different from before.

"You have no right to control how I call you." Gu Huaizhi closed his eyes: "Unless we renew our engagement."

He didn't want to care about what she and Tan Wenhuai had just done, as long as they renew their engagement.

Mu An Ning thought of Mu Wan'er's thoughts. He was about to get engaged, yet he still came to tell her these things: "If the prince called me here for these nonsense, then I'd better go back to the table first."

Nonsense?

Gu Huaizhi stared at the girl's distant expression, his heart skipping a beat: "Wait, I have something to give you."

Mu An Ning turned around and saw the young man taking out a strange thing from his sleeve.

He pursed his lips and said, "This is a talisman."

For some reason, he had been having two similar dreams over and over again in the past few nights.

In his dreams, Mu An Ning was either hanging himself or having his throat slit, which was really creepy.

He didn't want to take it seriously at first, but then he remembered the mysterious words the old man said.

Gu Huaizhi had only said halfway through the words "I asked for it specially for you" when at that moment, two hurried footsteps were heard.

The two looked at each other and felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Gu Huaizhi acted decisively, grabbed her slender wrist, and hid behind the rockery.

Mu An Ning did not get rid of him. After all, if someone saw the two of them meeting here, it would inevitably cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

The visitors were a man and a woman.

Mu Anning and Gu Huaizhi had just hidden behind the rockery when they heard the woman say coquettishly, "Third Prince, please don't be so impatient..."