Chapter 717 Reunion (First Update)
Xiao Heng never expected that there would be another person here. He realized that all his cool and domineering antics, from beginning to end, had probably been witnessed by this woman eating watermelon.
His handsome face flushed red instantly!
Like a paper tiger that has been punctured, it deflated quickly and could no longer put on airs.
In normal situations, both the person who catches the woman and the person who is caught are equally embarrassed, but the woman is not embarrassed at all.
Gu Jiao... wasn't that embarrassed.
She always adheres to the principle that she is not embarrassed, but others are.
In the end, Xiao Heng bore it all alone.
His face turned red all the way to his ears, and even his long neck was tinged with a thin layer of rouge.
Xiao Heng experienced a major social disaster and wished he could lose his memory on the spot!
However, more than his embarrassment, he had more important issues to worry about.
He wondered if this person had overheard his conversation with Gu Jiao—about assassinating the Imperial Guards of the Crown Prince's residence and luring Nangong Li to his death.
These are no small secrets; they could lead to your death.
"I think we're in a bad situation," Xiao Heng whispered to Gu Jiao.
"Indeed!" Gu Jiao's expression turned serious. "Xu Fengxian is coming!"
Xiao Heng: "..."
Are you sure this is the key point?
There were three jars of gold in total. Gu Jiao held one jar in her left hand, one in her right hand, and one on her head.
Just as she was about to leave the crime scene with the stolen goods, Yuan Xiao came out to find her.
His voice arrived before he did.
"Liu Lang! Liu Lang, where are you?"
Gu Jiao swore she was walking very steadily, but the moment her name was called, she slipped and fell face-first into the ground.
The three jars of gold rolled away and landed squarely at Xu Fengxian's feet.
Xu Fengxian glared at Gu Jiao with a dark expression, gritting her teeth as she said, "Young Master Xiao!"
Gu Jiao: Liu Lang's name is cursed—
Gu Jiao's plan to steal the gold ended in failure.
A life without gold is an incomplete life. Gu Jiao went upstairs without a soul.
Xu Fengxian was so angry she wanted to bite Gu Jiao, but unfortunately she couldn't beat her.
Although Gu Jiao could beat Xu Fengxian, she couldn't just openly rob her, since the two were now practically business partners.
Xiao Heng also planned to go upstairs.
Xiao Heng had visited Tianxiang Pavilion before, still under the identity of Long Yi, and was friends with Gu Chengfeng. Xu Fengxian treated him with some courtesy.
Xu Fengxian didn't stop him from going wherever he wanted.
But the woman carrying the watermelon also silently followed behind Xiao Heng.
"Stop right there!" Xu Fengxian shouted.
She couldn't afford to offend those two little devils, but she couldn't handle a woman she picked up from the roadside?
She rolled up her sleeves and said angrily, "You're awake, aren't you? If you're awake, then get to work for me!"
The woman, holding a watermelon, moved closer to Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng frowned slightly as he glanced at her, wondering if she had overheard his words. He decided to take her away first, figure things out, and then let her go.
“She’s coming with me,” Xiao Heng said to Xu Fengxian.
The woman bit her spoon, paused in her eating motion, and looked at Xiao Heng, her eyes flashing with a fleeting brilliance.
Xu Fengxian, one hand on her hip and the other holding a handkerchief, pointed at Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao, who had already gone upstairs: "You two are going too far! Stealing gold is one thing, but what? You're trying to kidnap people too!"
Xiao Heng said calmly, "She is not one of your Tianxiang Pavilion members."
No one from Tianxiang Pavilion would dress like this.
Xu Fengxian choked, "That, that is..."
Xiao Heng said unhurriedly, "Today, Tianxiang Pavilion has received many distinguished guests. I heard that people from the Crown Prince's residence have also come. The Crown Prince is the best at upholding justice. If he finds out that you are forcing women into prostitution, will your Tianxiang Pavilion still be able to stay in business?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the woman raised her chin in agreement: "Hmph!"
Xu Fengxian: "..."
The woman was taken upstairs by Xiao Heng.
Xu Fengxian was furious.
The gold was saved, but the beauty that was within his grasp flew away.
This beauty was already unparalleled in the world when she fainted, and when she woke up, she was even more stunning than the celestial maidens of the Nine Palaces.
"What a pity, what a pity!"
...
Gu Jiao wasn't surprised that Xiao Heng had brought the woman over. After all, she had overheard the secret, and she needed to make sure the woman wouldn't leak the information before letting her leave.
After the woman entered the house, she showed no signs of guilt or unease, and the drama in the lobby began.
Gu Chengfeng's room has a special location with a terrace that is neither too big nor too small. Sitting on the terrace, you can overlook the entire stage, and the angle is even quite good.
The woman carried a watermelon and sat down on a stool on the terrace.
Gu Jiao noticed that the watermelon in her hand was no longer the same half as before, but a brand new half, bright red, with what looked like ice crystals, and it was especially sweet and delicious.
Gu Jiao looked at Xiao Heng. When did she take half a watermelon again?
Xiao Heng said he didn't know either.
He walked in front, and she followed behind.
I didn't notice she left.
but--
Just now, two maids, each carrying a large tray covered with cloth, passed by them.
Could it be that she smuggled it from back then?
Moreover, she not only complied, but also put the half watermelon rind she had finished eating under the silk cloth.
I wonder which unlucky soul will end up eating that half-empty melon.
—The unlucky fellow is Prince Ming.
...
She sat on the terrace, diligently scooping out a watermelon.
She had her back to Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao, so the two of them couldn't see her expression.
But the way she did nothing and focused on watching the drama unfold was strangely reassuring; it gave me the feeling that she wouldn't reveal what she had just overheard.
“Maybe she didn’t hear it at all,” Xiao Heng said to Gu Jiao, sitting at the octagonal table.
Gu Jiao sat next to Xiao Heng, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at Xiao Heng's back, lost in thought.
A normal person wouldn't be so calm upon hearing such a huge secret; at the very least, they would worry about being silenced.
Not everyone knows that Nangong Li is a scoundrel. Everyone in Shengdu thinks that Nangong Li is a good person, so those who killed a good person naturally become evil people.
It's standard practice for villains to kill people to silence witnesses.
The fact that she dared to come along shows that she wasn't afraid.
She didn't think they were bad people.
Gu Jiao said, "Perhaps."
Whether she heard it or not is no longer important; what matters is that Gu Jiao also feels that she will not leak this matter.
It was an intuition.
On the stage, the erhu played and the singing began, drowning out all other voices in the Tianxiang Pavilion.
Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng were some distance from the terrace, and with the sound of the opera singing, she couldn't hear their conversation.
Xiao Heng removed his mask and asked about Gu Jiao's situation after she had been missing for several days. Gu Chengfeng said she was fine, but he didn't believe him.
She's the kind of person who braves blizzards to cross mountains and valleys to get home; she wouldn't have been stranded outside for seven days unless something happened to her.
"It's all over now," Gu Jiao said.
"Where are you hurt? Let me see," Xiao Heng said.
Gu Jiao showed him the scratches on her arm that had already healed.
Xiao Heng knew that her injuries were far more than this. He held her hand in his and asked in a hoarse voice, "Why did you have to hunt down the people from the Crown Prince's residence?"
“I have a question in my mind that I want to ask the Crown Princess.” So she said, “I can’t let the Crown Princess be killed by them. But I still haven’t seen the Crown Princess.”
Xiao Heng didn't need to ask to guess that the question was related to him.
He felt terrible: "Don't do such dangerous things again."
Gu Jiao stared at him intently: "Don't you also have that doubt in your heart?"
Neither of them revealed which specific question they were referring to.
Xiao Heng was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Yes. I came here today also to find that answer."
The two were talking and didn't notice that the woman had stopped scooping out the watermelon.
Suddenly, a group of guards rushed in from downstairs and stopped the performance on the stage.
Xiao Heng went up to the terrace, looked down, and frowned, saying, "They are people from the Jingzhao Prefecture."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and picked up the mask from the table.
The woman reached out her hand, as if trying to grab his sleeve.
But in the end, she didn't use any force; the loose, cool fabric slipped through her fingertips.
Xiao Heng put the mask back on his face: "Strange, why are people from the Jingzhao Prefecture here?"
Gu Jiao glanced around and said, "Judging from their appearance, it seems they're looking for someone. Has someone important gone missing in Shengdu again?"
The person who would warrant the personal search of the Jingzhao Prefecture must be someone of extraordinary importance.
Gu Jiao said, "I'll go down and take a look. You wait for me here."
Her identity is more legitimate, while Xiao Heng's "Long Yi" is an unregistered person, so it's best not to confront the government directly.
Gu Jiao went downstairs.
Xiao Heng went to the terrace again, lowered the blinds above his head, and peered into the lobby through the gaps in the blinds.
Beside him, the woman was still sitting on the stool, but her aura had changed somewhat.
He seems...not very happy.
Xiao Heng glanced at her, then looked away, continuing to look at Gu Jiao and the officials.
Suddenly, he felt his sleeve being tugged.
He looked down at her: "What is it?"
The woman presented him with the scooped-out watermelon.
He then noticed that the woman had been sitting on the terrace digging for a long time, but hadn't eaten a single bite.
She was using a new little gold spoon, which she must have just gotten.
The little watermelon balls she dug out were all round and perfectly shaped.
"For me?" he asked.
The woman nodded, her gaze towards him innocent yet profound, tinged with a hint of helplessness, like a child afraid of being rejected.
An indescribable feeling welled up in Xiao Heng's heart.
It felt like my heart had been ripped apart by something.
(End of this chapter)
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