Thank you for your guidance.
"One night before the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, an assassin came to the palace. I came here to deliver the banquet arrangements. Was the young lady in the room at that time?"
Startled and taken aback, A Qiu immediately looked up at him. Lie Changkong merely smiled at her, but left without waiting for any explanation.
Gu Yi's calm voice rang out from inside the room: "Come in."
Embarrassed by the fact that Lie Changkong had exposed her identity, and unsure whether Gu Yi had heard what they had just said, A Qiu reluctantly entered Gu Yi's room.
In fact, the night Lie Changkong bumped into her and was rescued by Gu Yi, she was not only in Gu Yi's room, but also in Gu Yi's bed.
With Lie Changkong's shrewdness, since he already knew that she was the head of the Divine Weapon Hall of Lanling Hall, he naturally guessed that the assassin in the palace that night was her, and the person in Gu Yi's room was naturally her as well.
The lamp was brightly lit on the desk. Unusually, Gu Yi was not reviewing official documents, but sitting alone by the window gazing into the distance.
For some reason, at first glance, A Qiu felt that he had more white hair, but he didn't know if it was just his imagination.
A Qiu stood a few feet away from him at the doorway and bowed, saying, "The matter has been settled. From the moment Li Chongyu arrives in the capital, the Thirteen Shadows of the Divine Soldiers will take turns monitoring and protecting him day and night until he leaves."
Gu Yi's voice softened slightly: "Are they willing to listen to you?"
Ah Qiu joked, "With Master backing them up, how could they not listen to us?"
Even from behind, one could see Gu Yi slightly lower his head, seemingly smiling. After a moment, he said, "You've worked hard, but I have something else I need you to do as soon as possible."
It was unprecedented for Gu Yi to ask her to do two things in one night.
A Qiu had always trusted Gu Yi, but she couldn't help but feel confused. She approached Gu Yi and said in a slightly coquettish tone, "Master, I'm tired after rushing around all night!"
She had barely finished speaking when the sound of wind blew in front of her.
Before she could even react, she found herself in Gu Yi's embrace, filled with a refreshing fragrance.
The next moment, she fell onto Gu Yi's bed, and a blanket spread out and wrapped directly around her.
A Qiu was thrown onto his bed by Gu Yi, but she was neither dizzy nor sleepy at the moment. Her face immediately turned red, and she couldn't help but protest, "Master, I'm tired, not sleepy."
Gu Yiren stood by the bed, his back to her, and said calmly, "Rest if you're tired."
Ah Qiu said, "But I can't sleep!"
Gu Yi then glanced at her and said, "If you can't sleep, what can I do? Should I sleep for you?"
A-Qiu: ...
Gu Yi's shadow fell on her in front of the bed. His fragrance was also closer to her.
Gu Yi's voice was soft, but weary: "A Qiu, you don't need to take any risks this time. You just need to deliver a message to Gongye Fusu and bring him a list."
A-Qiu wanted to ask why, if it was such a small matter, the Junior Master Charioteer could have handled it. But then he thought that although the matter might be minor, the information conveyed could be extremely confidential, so he only trusted himself.
Before she could react, she heard Gu Yi say, "That order is under the paperweight on the table."
As soon as Gu Yi finished speaking, A Qiu suddenly felt a warm breath on her face.
He lay down on the edge of the bed, beside her, and fell into a deep, weary sleep.
A Qiu stared in astonishment, too afraid to move.
If she remembered correctly, she was always the one who fell asleep next to Gu Yi; there was never a time when Gu Yi was so tired that he would doze off in front of her.
Therefore, in her heart, Gu Yi was almost like a celestial being, who neither drank nor ate nor slept, and was never tired.
No wonder, despite his respect for the distinction between men and women, he didn't send her back to her room to rest, but instead put her directly on his bed.
The reason was probably that he was already tired and didn't have the strength to carry her to another place.
So tonight, Gu Yi forced himself to stay awake and waited for her to come back.
A Qiu didn't dare to breathe, but couldn't help reaching out to touch Gu Yi's brow.
She had never been so close to Gu Yi while she was sober, looking at him like this.
Gu Yi had long eyebrows that reached his temples, a straight and handsome nose, and eyes as deep as the starry sea. They were so captivating that she dared not look at them for too long. But when those eyes closed and he fell asleep, it was as if the night was closing and melting away, and they also had a warmth that was rarely seen on him.
Even with his eyes closed, there was a slight frown between his brows, so when A-Qiu saw it, she unconsciously reached out to smooth it out.
But as soon as her hand touched his brow, she heard him say in a deep voice, "Stop fooling around."
Then, Ah Qiu's hand was grasped in his palm.
A Qiu's hand was held by him, and she couldn't move.
She tried calling to him, "Master, I'll go and tell you, you can come up and rest." Having already taken up Gu Yi's bed, she wasn't about to be so shameless as to ask him to come up and sleep with her. So, quite consciously, she decided to get up and give the bed to Gu Yi.
Besides, she really wasn't sleepy.
Although she got up, Gu Yi didn't let go; he still held one of her hands firmly in his palm. So when she stood up, she was immediately pulled back abruptly and fell onto the bed. And the momentum—pulled Gu Yi's body mostly onto her as well.
In a panic, A Qiu immediately rolled further into the bed to avoid touching Gu Yi again. But Gu Yi's right hand still held onto her tightly. After thinking for a moment, she simply used her left hand to wrap around Gu Yi's waist and used her strength to lift him onto the bed. Then, she used her left hand to pry open his hand that was holding her wrist, preparing to escape.
Just as A Qiu had pried off the last finger that was wrapped around her wrist and thought she was about to succeed, Gu Yi made a reaction she never expected.
As if by accident, he rolled over and pulled her back into his arms.
A Qiu was so anxious that her nose was sweating. She wasn't sure if Gu Yi was really sleepy or just pretending. She only knew that if Gu Yi woke up and found that she was sleeping in the same bed with him, he would definitely kick her out of Jinlingtai.
The more she struggled, the tighter Gu Yi's embrace became, determined not to allow her any attempt to escape.
As she struggled, she seemed to feel something glaring on the pillow. Glancing over, she saw a strand of snow-white, glistening hair, gently scattered beside the pillow.
Only then did she belatedly realize that Gu Yi's body temperature seemed lower than usual.
A sudden sense of foreboding rose in A Qiu's heart. She stopped struggling, but gently wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "Master?"
Her body nestled securely against his chest, embracing him comfortably.
Gu Yi didn't answer again. His furrowed brows relaxed, and he finally fell into a deep sleep.
After checking his meridians and finding no problems, A Qiu withdrew and stood up.
She glanced at the table, then tucked the list written by Gu Yi into her bosom, turned, and left the room.
Gongye Fusu, the richest man in Dayan and born into a family of spice connoisseurs, was also the foremost master of incense in the Southern Dynasty.
However, besides making incense, the Gongye family also produced poisons and various medicines. The latter, however, is little known.
A Qiu, carrying the Junior Tutor's order, went directly to the Gongye family's "Wanxiang Palace." Fortunately, Gongye Fusu was still awake.
The one carrying the lantern and leading the way for A Qiu was A Qin, the yellow-clad maid who had accompanied Gongye Fusu to the Tangli Music House before. She still remembered A Qiu and said as they walked, "You danced very well. Our young master often praised you afterward."
Caught off guard, A-Qin asked, "When have you ever seen me dance?"
The last time I met Aqin was when Gongye Fusu entered the palace to discuss the matter of making incense for the dance "White Silk".
Aqin replied matter-of-factly, "It was at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. That night, I was the one who accompanied the young master to the palace. When your music troupe performed 'White Silk,' I was watching from the sidelines." She shook her head and concluded, "Your dance was quite good, worthy of our Gongye family's daughter, Xiang. However,"
She thought for a moment and then said, "You're still too useless. A white tiger can scare you like that, and you still have to act tough."
A Qiu knew that A Qin must have seen her stabbing the tiger to protect the Crown Prince. She had always known that the beautiful maid in yellow from the Gongye family was both proud and quite capable, so she dared not contradict her. She smiled to herself and said, "Yes, Miss A Qin is right. Thank you for your guidance."
Ah Qin stopped, and said proudly, "Next time something rushes at you, if you're scared, just do this." She gestured with her left hand as if to catch it, while her right hand twisted and pushed it outwards.
"With this move, 'Supporting the Sky and Embracing the Moon,' we can push it far away!"
Seeing her gesture, A Qiu was both amused and exasperated, and couldn't help but ask, "Did Young Master Fusu teach you this move, Miss?"
Ah Qin said, "No, I created it myself. I have used it to deal with our big dog, Xian'er, many times, and it has never failed."
Ah Qiu patiently explained, "Dogs and tigers are not the same thing. A tiger weighs over 200 pounds. If it were to crash into you head-on, unless you were a person with superhuman strength like General Sikong, an ordinary person couldn't push it away with a wave of their hand."
Aqin's martial arts skills were considered good among Gongye Fusu's four incense attendants, but she lacked real combat experience. Upon hearing Aqiu's words, she blinked her eyes and could no longer reply.
Ahead, the lights were dazzling, and a line of exquisite houses emerged in the night, like a celestial palace.
Gongye Fusu's voice, tinged with laughter, came from within, clear as day despite the distance: "Aqin, Miss Aqiu is the successor of the Grand Tutor, so don't try to teach me a lesson!"
Ah Qin exclaimed "Ah!" with a look of sudden realization in her eyes, and said, "We heard from the young master that Master Gu has taken a beautiful female official from the Music Bureau as his disciple. So it was you!"
He added repeatedly, "He has good taste!"
A Qiu was unsure whether A Qin was praising or criticizing him, and asked, "Are you saying that the young master has good judgment?"
Ah Qin replied matter-of-factly, "Yes!"
For some reason, A-Qiu's face felt slightly hot, and she asked awkwardly, "Why?"
Ah Qin said, "Even our young master considered taking you as his incense attendant, which shows that you are a good person. The fact that the young master has taken a liking to you shows that he has good judgment."
A Qiu finally understood her logic: in her heart, everything about the Gongye family was the best, and Gongye Fusu was the best. Gu Yi was able to share the same vision as Gongye Fusu, therefore his vision was good.
In the room filled with dazzling light, Gongye Fusu unfolded the list brought by A Qiu.
He glanced at it once, and his expression became extremely solemn.
Even the air inside seemed to freeze.
After a long pause, he looked up at A Qiu and said gently, "Has Miss A Qiu seen this list herself?"
A Qiu truthfully replied, "I've seen it, but I don't understand it." The list contained dozens of medicinal herbs, all extremely rare names. Even with her familiarity with poisonous herbs, she had never heard of at least half of them.
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