Take by force

Gu Huaizhi's words were like a huge rock thrown into the lake, immediately stirring up thousands of ripples and attracting the three people on the other boat to turn their eyes towards the source of the sound.

In a flash, the first person to speak was the boatman of Mu An Ning's ship.

He slowly stopped the boat in the middle of the lake and waved to another boatman with great joy, his eyes showing the excitement of seeing an old friend: "Lao Li!"

The boatman, who was called Lao Li, stopped the boat with some hesitation, lowered the oar, and took a deep breath without making a sound.

After taking a glance at the young man in red standing next to him, he wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, hesitating for a moment, and waved to the person who greeted him, saying softly, "Lao Lu!"

No wonder he was so nervous and obeyed the boy's orders just now.

Indeed, in the capital, apart from the Prince of Anqing, no one would wear a high ponytail and a striking scarlet brocade dress.

If he offended this nobleman, he would be in big trouble. He wanted to earn this money and then go back to enjoy his retirement.

Gu Huaizhi was not disturbed by the conversation between the two boatmen. Instead, his eyes were still fixed on the man and woman, as if he wanted to stare a hole through them.

Seeing Mu An Ning pursed her lips and said nothing, he raised one eyebrow, and a playful smile spread across the corner of his mouth: "Mu An Ning, I haven't seen you for a long time, are you mute?"

She had been chatting so happily with that man just now, but when she saw him, she seemed to not want to talk any more.

She was clearly not like this before.

There was some displeasure in Mu An Ning's eyes and eyebrows, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow.

She took a deep breath and was about to speak, but then she felt that sitting still seemed to lack momentum, so she imitated the young man and stood up slowly.

The boat was rocking slightly. After she steadied herself, she smiled in a neutral tone and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. Your Highness' words are still so unpleasant to the ear."

She didn't quite understand why this person always liked to find fault.

When they were still engaged, he always criticized her every word and action, but she would just compromise.

But now that the engagement was over, he became even more aggressive and even started stabbing people around her.

Upon hearing this, Old Li, who had originally lowered his head, couldn't help but raise his head and look at Mu An Ning twice, with a hint of surprise and admiration in his eyes.

This girl looked well-behaved, dignified and generous, but I didn't expect that she was so bold as to speak to Prince Gu like this.

At the same time, Mu Jingyue, who was sitting aside and still a little frightened, also looked surprised.

She had long known from her father that her elder sister had broken off the engagement with the Prince of Anqing.

But she didn't expect that the young man who was boating with her was the Prince Gu who was admired by many noble ladies.

However...looking at the way her elder sister and him looked, it seemed that they were still entangled, and it was not like what she had heard before.

Gu Huaizhi listened to this cold and harsh voice, and the corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a mocking smile: "Is it unpleasant to hear?" He cast his eyes on the man sitting behind her and snorted coldly: "Then tell me, is there anything wrong with what I said?"

He is clearly a grown man, but he hides behind a woman and acts timidly. If not a gigolo, what else could he be?

He just couldn't understand why different men kept appearing around her after she broke off the engagement with him.

He didn't know why, but he just didn't like this feeling. He didn't like seeing her showing that obedient smile to others.

Tan Wenhuai, who had not yet reacted, felt the sinister gaze and realized belatedly that the young man in red was extremely hostile towards him.

Moreover, he was extremely disrespectful to Miss An Ning.

Thinking of this, he seemed to have made up his mind. He suddenly clenched his fists, stood up, and walked to Mu An Ning's side.

He couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

Seeing that the girl beside him still didn't move, he stretched out a hand to block her, and looked straight at Gu Huaizhi without flinching: "Sir, it is not gentlemanly to treat a girl like this."

Mu An Ning's eyebrows moved slightly, and she looked at the man in white robe standing in front of her with some surprise.

Throughout all this, she had never heard Tan Wenhuai speak a whole sentence so smoothly and without any pause.

Gu Huaizhi took in Mu Anning's reaction, glanced at Tan Wenhuai, and said with a smile that did not reach his eyes: "So you are a gentleman?"

A suspicious blush suddenly appeared on Tan Wenhuai's handsome face.

Because, he may not be considered a gentleman.

He seemed to...have developed a crush on the girl he had just met.

Gu Huaizhi sneered, then suddenly looked at the boatman with a smile: "Old Li, right?" He pointed at the boat next to him and said magnanimously: "This prince wants you to reach the other side before them. If you can do it, you will be rewarded handsomely."

Old Li wiped his sweat, gave Old Lu a secret look, and only felt relieved after seeing that the other party understood his intention.

I have heard for a long time that although this young King Yan is a smiling tiger, he is actually very generous. Now it seems to be true.

Gu Huaizhi stopped talking and looked at Tan Wenhuai provocatively, as if to say: Do you dare to compete with him?

As the wooden boat gradually sailed away on the lake, Mu An Ning truly felt the meaning of the word "speechless" for the first time.

Why didn't she realize before that this man didn't look like he was almost seventeen years old. He was clearly more childish than a seven-year-old child.

However, if she were serious with him, she would be even more childish than him.

Thinking of this, she shook her head slightly, smiled gently at the man beside her, and said, "Master Tan, let's just sit down and ignore him."

Tan Wenhuai nodded, but his eyes could not help but linger on the distant boat for a moment. He hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't help asking: "Ms. Mu...Ms. Mu, who is that gentleman?"

If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to imagine that a girl as gentle and considerate as Miss Mu would have known such an aggressive man.

Mu An Ning looked at the man in front of him with a slightly red face and was stunned for a moment. He did not expect that there would be someone in Shangjing City who did not know Gu Huaizhi.

After a moment, she raised the corners of her lips slightly, her voice clear and soft, like flowing water gently brushing past: "Unimportant people."

The moment Mu An Ning finished speaking, someone on the other side was asking about the relationship between them.

Mu Jingyue pursed her lips, pretending to know nothing about Gu Huaizhi's identity. With a hint of inquiry in her eyes, she asked, "Sir, are you acquainted with my elder sister?"

Gu Huaizhi was puzzled for a moment, and after a moment's hesitation, he finally looked at the girl who had traveled with him, frowned, and said, "Big sister?"

Why didn't he remember that besides Mu Wan'er, Mu An Ning also had a younger sister?

It suddenly flashed through his mind that Xie Yunting had previously said that he wanted to become his brother-in-law, and he suddenly felt a pang of pain in his teeth.

But his marriage with Mu An Ning no longer exists. Even if he wants to become a brother-in-law to Xie Yunting now, he can't do it.

I don’t know whether Xie Yunting knows that the woman his mother arranged for him today is the sister of the person he has in mind.

Mu Jingyue nodded gently, looking apologetic, and said to herself: "Big sister sometimes speaks without restraint, please forgive me, young master."

Gu Huaizhi withdrew from his thoughts and glanced at the yellow-haired girl in front of him with a slightly focused gaze.

Seeing that she wanted to say something else, he waved his hand impatiently to stop her, "Alright, alright, it's not your turn to apologize."

It's really confusing. He hasn't said anything yet, so why is this person apologizing on Mu An Ning's behalf?

In fact, he probably didn't have any resentment towards Muran Ning, but...

He suddenly looked back a few times, but because the boat was going too fast, the small boat behind him had disappeared into the boundless lake.

An indescribable emotion surged in his heart again, as if a tangled thread was entangled in his heart.

He couldn't help but sigh, patted the boatman on the shoulder, and said amiably, "Old Li, there's no need to be so fast."

Old Li paused in rowing and suddenly felt his clothes soaked with cold sweat. He was a little confused about what this ancestor wanted from him.

*

A noblewoman pointed at a tall man who had just got off the boat not far away and said in a teasing tone, "Hey, look, is that Prince Gu?"

The girls, who were originally a little listless, suddenly became eager and looked in that direction at once: "It's Prince Gu! Why is he here?"

They had clearly inquired about it and found out that Prince Gu would not be attending the blind date today.

One of the girls pouted her lips in dissatisfaction and asked, "Whose family is the girl behind the prince? Have you ever seen her?"

Who on earth is so lucky to travel with Prince Gu?

On the other hand, they basically met some bad guys, and their original expectations gradually turned into impatience for it to end quickly.

The other girl shook her head and asked in a puzzled voice, "What is the prince looking at?"

Why has he been staring at the lake since he got off the boat?

A girl who looked uninterested heard this and said jokingly, "Come on, stop looking. Aren't we going to have a poetry duet later? Then you will have seen enough."

*

The lady who had been speaking on the stage before was still standing gracefully on the stage at this moment, and asked with a smile on her face: "Everyone, did you enjoy the meeting just now?"

The reactions from the audience were different. Some people pouted their lips, seeming to be extremely dissatisfied, while others were beaming with joy, as if they had found their ideal partner.

The woman took in everyone's reactions, cleared her throat, pointed at the ball on the table, and got straight to the point: "If you are willing to join the next poetry meeting with the person who just went boating with you, then vote for the ball on the left, otherwise vote for the ball on the right."

After that, she raised her hand and signaled the maid to give each of the noble ladies a peony, and said meaningfully: "This time, only the ladies will vote, and the gentlemen will just watch from the side." She paused and smiled, "If there are only a few people who want to change partners, then there is no need to go through the trouble of drawing lots again."

The girls who had talked about Gu Huaizhi before glanced shyly at the most conspicuous man among the group of young men, and spontaneously threw the flowers in their hands into the tube on the right.

Let's take a chance. Who knows, maybe the next person to be by Prince Gu's side will be them?

Gu Huaizhi stood at the front, crossing his arms lazily, a smile on his lips, staring at every move of the moon-white figure.

Just give her one more chance. If she chooses to change her partner, then he will... reluctantly accept to be with her.

In the crowd, Mu Jingyue asked in a coquettish voice: "Big sister, do you want to change your partner?" She tried to persuade him: "I think the young man just now is quite good."

Mu An Ning recalled the scene at the lakeside and smiled deliberately, "Does my sister want to go with him?"

She could see that Mu Jingyue was obviously unwilling to change his partner.

She was actually somewhat relieved now that she had exchanged notes with her half-sister in advance, otherwise she would have been the one boating on the lake with Gu Huaizhi.

But why on earth was he on the ship that his grandmother had arranged for him to board?

It couldn't be that the husband her grandmother showed her was him again, right?

Mu An Ning walked two steps forward with the crowd, shook his head lightly, and put the young man out of his mind.

Soon, it was her turn.

Under Mu Jingyue's nervous gaze, she raised the corners of her lips slightly and walked from left to right.

Judging from the conversation just now, although Mr. Tan speaks with a bit of a stutter, he is very interesting.

Appearance...is also within her range.

She slowly raised her hand, but just as Shaoyao was about to be thrown out, a strong hand restrained her arm.

Then the white flower in her hand was snatched away.