Are you unwilling?
The dark blue royal carriage rolled along the snow-covered official road, its wheels creaking monotonously. The carriage was not spacious, but the heater emitted a warm glow, dispelling the biting cold outside.
Xiao Chengyan leaned against the carriage wall covered with thick brocade cushions with his eyes closed, his brows still furrowed, his thin lips pressed into a cold, hard line, and the low pressure emanating from his body seemed to freeze the warmth.
Gu Jinghong appeared to be bowing her head, but she was actually very alert.
She naturally knew the power of the Warmth Powder, but she had never used such a despicable drug before. In addition, the duration of the Warmth Powder's effects varied from person to person, so she really didn't know when Xiao Chengyan's drug would take effect.
So all she could do was wait, using all five senses to wait.
The carriage was deathly silent.
A moment later, Xiao Chengyan suddenly raised his hand, his slender fingers tugging at the tightly fastened buttons on his collar with some irritation, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
Gu Jinghong suddenly became alert, but her face remained calm.
Xiao Chengyan did not sense the change in the other person in the carriage. He only felt a strange, subtle restlessness, like an undercurrent quietly surging beneath the ice in early spring, creeping up from his limbs and entwining his heart at an inopportune time.
He frowned slightly, assuming that the heater in the carriage was burning too brightly and the space was too cramped, making it difficult to breathe.
"Gu Jinghong." His voice carried a hint of irritation and its usual coldness, yet it seemed a degree lower than usual, like a river surging beneath the ice. "Four days ago, you left so resolutely..."
He leaned closer, his gaze sweeping over her lowered head, as if trying to see through her to understand what she was thinking.
"Today, you've gone to great lengths, even risking your reputation, to return... Tell me, what exactly are you plotting?"
Gu Jinghong's heart sank. Sure enough, everything that happened in Xuemei Garden could fool others, but it couldn't fool him.
His question once again hit the nail on the head, demonstrating that any elaborate lie would appear pale in comparison to his discerning eyes.
But what could she do?
She created the image of a devoted lover herself, and she had to walk this path even if she had to crawl on her knees. Otherwise, wouldn't it be obvious to Xiao Chengyan that she had "ulterior motives" towards him and his royal family from the very beginning?
Gu Jinghong slowly raised her head. The light from the brazier shone on her beautiful face, and her usually cold eyes were now misty with tears, carrying a sense of desperate despair and honesty.
“Your Highness, Jinghong dares not lie. That day, Jinghong was only thinking about her godfather’s health and forgot to reply to Your Highness that she wanted to come back.”
She took a deep breath, her voice filled with a pitiful remorse: "But in these past three days, I've realized my mistake. Away from the Prince's residence, away from the Prince… I can't sleep at night…"
Gu Jinghong lowered her eyelashes slightly, concealing the disdain in her eyes. Her thick eyelashes, like butterfly wings, were covered with tiny teardrops. Her voice became low and hoarse, carrying a heart-wrenching sense of brokenness, "My heart feels empty, like I've lost my soul, and my mind... is filled with the Prince..."
At this point, Gu Jinghong realized with surprise that she had actually mastered the techniques taught by Yun Ni.
And it seems... she's already reached a level of mastery? She can talk on and on about this whole thing in front of Xiao Chengyan without any apparent burden?
This feeling made Gu Jinghong want to show off his skills.
So she continued to feign a pitiful and aggrieved look: "Jinghong knows she is as lowly as dust, but I just regret it... Only after leaving the prince did I realize what it means for life to be as bland as water. It's a woman's most sincere longing for a man, as if the world has no color except for him..."
The heat from the heater made the carriage feel like a steamer.
Upon hearing Gu Jinghong's words, Xiao Chengyan felt a surge of anger rising within him, burning through his limbs and bones, and his temples throbbed.
His body was taut like a bow, he didn't come closer, but his gaze was like a shackle, coldly locking her in, trying to freeze all her performance.
"Sleepless nights? Your mind is filled with thoughts of me?" he repeated, his tone calm but each word like a knife. "You're getting more and more adept at this charade of deep affection."
Just as he was about to say something, the suppressed restlessness within him suddenly surged up, and a strange heat rushed straight to the top of Xiao Chengyan's head.
His heart skipped a beat and then began to pound wildly like a drumstick out of control!
He knew perfectly well that the person in front of him was lying, but a strong urge to wipe away the tears on her face and pull her into his arms instantly overwhelmed his reason like vines.
This feeling... is really wrong!
The moment this thought arose, a terrifying glint suddenly flashed in Xiao Chengyan's eyes! He abruptly realized that his thoughts had gone astray!
Could this be the "response" that Gu Jinghong mentioned earlier?
...This is the kind of reaction?!
Was he poisoned by aphrodisiacs?!
Xiao Chengyan suddenly raised his hand and pulled open the heavy car curtain beside him.
call--
A biting, icy wind rushed in instantly, like countless cold steel needles piercing Xiao Chengyan's burning face and neck. The bone-chilling cold was like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing the inappropriate romantic thoughts that had just risen in his heart, and temporarily suppressing the turbulent restlessness within him.
He took a deep, greedy breath of the cold air.
The cold wind whipped up the stray hairs at his temples, dispersing the sticky warmth inside the carriage and the faint, cool fragrance emanating from Gu Jinghong.
Xiao Chengyan's taut jawline appeared even more hard and cold in the cold wind.
He didn't look at Gu Jinghong again, but simply maintained the posture of lifting the carriage curtain, letting the biting cold wind whip his burning skin, trying to use this extreme cold to suppress the increasingly uncontrollable and dangerous restlessness within him.
Gu Jinghong couldn't help but sigh inwardly—Xiao Chengyan was indeed a man capable of great things. He was poisoned by the Warmth Powder, yet he was able to restrain himself so well? He actually managed to suppress it by blowing cold air on him?
Clearly, Gu Jinghong did not fully understand the effects of the Warmth Powder at this time.
The carriage continued its journey amidst the silence and the howling of the cold wind. Inside the carriage, only the mournful sound of the cold wind and Xiao Chengyan's icy back could be seen.
Finally, the carriage stopped in front of the imposing gate of Prince Jing's residence, and Xiao Chengyan, who had been peeking out of the carriage, turned around.
When Gu Jinghong saw his face, he was suddenly stunned, and a sense of fear arose in his heart.
His deep eyes were bloodshot and his forehead was covered in beads of sweat. His shirt had been undone, revealing his muscular chest…
He didn't even spare a glance for Gu Jinghong, but instead pushed open the car door and strode towards Chen Anju.
Gu Jinghong's brow twitched as she watched Xiao Chengyan's seemingly composed but actually unsteady gait—sweat was rapidly seeping into the back of Xiao Chengyan's dark blue brocade robe, and his breathing was becoming increasingly rapid and heavy.
A pungent, masculine heat filled the air.
She was unsure and a little scared, so her steps became slower and slower, and the distance between her and Xiao Chengyan grew larger and larger...
She seized the opportunity to turn and leave, but in that instant, a hand grabbed her collar.
Gu Jinghong turned around dejectedly, only to meet Xiao Chengyan's increasingly red and lustrous eyes.
His voice had become uncontrollably low and hoarse: "What, you poisoned him, and now you want to run away?"
Gu Jinghong smiled and said, "No... I just got lost."
"very good."
He offered no comment, but simply grabbed her by the collar with one hand and led her away without giving her a chance to refuse.
As Gu Jinghong walked side by side with Xiao Chengyan, she could only sense the increasingly strong masculine aura emanating from him.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the two finally arrived at Chen'an Residence.
Xiao Chengyan abruptly stopped, turned around and faced away from Gu Jinghong. His voice was hoarse and low, each word seeming to be squeezed out from his burning throat, carrying a barely restrained rage.
"So, what kind of poison did they give me?!"
"...If I'm not mistaken, Gongsun Jingyao must have given you the Warmth Powder."
"Aphrodisiac?" He clenched his fists, his unfocused eyes darting around. "...Despicable!"
Gu Jinghong's eyelashes trembled slightly as she looked at Xiao Chengyan and tentatively asked, "...Your Highness, should I...leave?"
Xiao Chengyan's body was already swaying uncontrollably: "What did you say?"
Gu Jinghong thought for a moment and said, "I...I'll go and call the royal physician for the prince."
As she finished speaking and was about to step away, a large, hot hand with irresistible force suddenly grabbed her slender shoulder!
Gu Jinghong suddenly opened her eyes wide, and a cold sweat broke out on her back.
Xiao Chengyan's head was spinning more and more, and only one thought kept repeating in his mind—it was her, only her, it was she who had been entangled with Gongsun Jinyao just now! Only she had the motive and the audacity to do such a despicable thing!
Why? To get back by his side? For revenge? Or... Xie Yan's doing?!
"Gu Jinghong!" Xiao Chengyan's voice was low and hoarse. His once clear mind was now in chaos under the influence of the drugs, and only one name kept flashing through his mind: "You dare... to drug me?!"
The scorching breath, like flames, washed over Gu Jinghong's face, carrying a strong masculine scent and the aroma of desire. A tremendous sense of crisis instantly gripped her!
Gu Jinghong was stunned. "It wasn't me, it was Gongsun Jingyao! She's the one who drugged you! I'm innocent!"
Xiao Chengyan sneered: "Innocent? You went to great lengths to return to the Prince's mansion, and you say you're innocent?"
Before Gu Jinghong could reply, his lips were already drawing closer to hers.
Gu Jinghong turned her face away, and Xiao Chengyan stopped just before touching her, chuckling softly—this was probably Gu Jinghong's true nature.
Warm breath brushed against Gu Jinghong's neck: "Didn't you admire me? What, you're unwilling now that you've given me such a vile poison?"
The intense restraint made Gu Jinghong's breathing rapid. The cold touch of the mechanism pressed against his fingertips, and it could pierce him in an instant!
At that critical moment, when armed conflict was about to erupt—
Xiao Chengyan grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away forcefully!
"Sizzle—!"
The fabric on Gu Jinghong's shoulder ripped open, revealing a small portion of her rounded, fair shoulder and delicate collarbone.
On that delicate skin, near the end of the collarbone, a red, lifelike butterfly birthmark, as if startled, was unexpectedly exposed to the warm candlelight and Xiao Chengyan's bloodshot eyes filled with lust.
The butterfly wings spread out, their lines graceful and delicate, fluttering as if about to take flight on the fair skin.
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