Better to kill the innocent than to kill the guilty.
The Empress Dowager came to her senses.
Surprise exploded in her heart like fireworks—her Yan'er, the Yan'er who had closed his heart to Ning, a girl who died young, for over a decade! Was he finally willing to let another woman near him?!
Although this woman has no family background or social standing, her appearance... with a striking beauty mark at the end of her eyebrow amidst her cold and broken features, is captivating... Even if she cannot become his concubine, keeping her by his side as a confidante to alleviate his loneliness over the years would be good enough.
At the same time, doubts arose—if what Yan'er said was true, and the two had a close relationship, then why did he forcefully suppress it last night? Even at the cost of self-harm?
But in any case, Yan'er herself admitted it, and breaking the ice that had lasted for more than a decade was great news!
The frost on the Empress Dowager's face visibly melted away. She even leaned forward and tightly grasped Xiao Chengyan's slightly cool hand outside the brocade quilt, gently patting it as her tone became more inquisitive and concerned: "Yan'er... don't try to deceive your grandmother by making up stories to protect her! I think she... is very beautiful, but her temperament..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chengyan's lips curved into a faint, weak smile. His gaze returned to Gu Jinghong, and his voice, soft yet clear, reached everyone's ears: "Jinghong... is quite considerate towards her grandson. Yesterday's events... also had their reasons."
Quite considerate?! There's a reason?!
Gu Jinghong, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly stiffened!
She suddenly looked up, her usually cold and calculating eyes now filled with shock, her disbelief and a hint of mocked anger meeting Xiao Chengyan's deep and unfathomable phoenix eyes.
Her mind was in turmoil—no way?! I wasn't even going to lie anymore, this aloof and noble prince... he actually started spouting nonsense?!
The Empress Dowager said "good" three times in a row, her icy expression completely melting away, even showing a hint of a relieved smile. She took a deep look at Gu Jinghong, who was still kneeling on the ground in shock, and her tone softened many times over, "I understand, I understand."
She turned to the head guard, who was still kneeling on the ground, not daring to breathe, waved her hand, and even said with a hint of relief in her voice: "That's enough, that's enough, it's just a misunderstanding. All of you, step back. What kind of behavior is this, standing here like this!"
The guards, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, immediately bowed and withdrew.
The Empress Dowager looked at Xiao Chengyan again, her eyes filled with love and relief: "Yan'er, now that you've come to your senses, my heart... can finally be at ease!"
She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.
She then looked at Gu Jinghong, her gaze still carrying the scrutiny of a superior, but no longer filled with murderous intent. "Now that you've won Yan'er's favor, then..." The Empress Dowager swallowed the words "take care of yourself," and continued, "serve her well!"
She paused again, as if she felt that this was not "appropriate" enough. Recalling Xiao Chengyan's pale and weak appearance, and the turmoil of last night, a glint of shrewdness flashed in her eyes. "However, this woman was also frightened last night. How can she rest and recover peacefully in such a remote servant's room? How can she serve the prince wholeheartedly?"
The Empress Dowager's tone left no room for argument, "From today onwards, let her move to the side room of Chen'an Residence, closer to the Prince, so she can serve him day and night and ensure his speedy recovery! If she is not served properly in the slightest..."
She changed the subject, "I will hold you responsible!"
Moved to the east wing of Chen'an Residence? To serve day and night?
Gu Jinghong's heart was instantly gripped by a tremendous sense of absurdity and an even deeper chill! She subconsciously looked at Xiao Chengyan.
Xiao Chengyan was clearly not expected that his grandmother would "fuel the flames" like this. A look of surprise and barely perceptible stiffness flashed across his pale face.
But faced with his grandmother's unquestionable gaze, which carried a great sense of "favor," he could only nod slightly: "Grandson, thank you for your kind arrangement, Grandmother."
Even after everyone had left, Gu Jinghong remained kneeling there, still in a daze.
What is this all about? Why did things turn out this way?
A moment later, a long, slender but cold hand appeared in front of her.
She snapped back to reality and looked up.
Suddenly, Xiao Chengyan, despite his weakened state, got off the soft couch and reached out his hand to her.
"Get up." His voice was low and hoarse, revealing neither joy nor anger.
Gu Jinghong looked at the hand, then at his pale, weak but still upright figure.
In the end, she simply lowered her eyelashes, avoided his hand, and stood up silently and stubbornly, supporting herself on the cold ground.
Xiao Chengyan's hand hovered in mid-air, his fingertips curled slightly, and he slowly withdrew it.
He looked at the silent, stubborn woman before him, her back still straight despite her disheveled appearance, and at the unfathomable depths beneath her lowered eyelashes. The words he had uttered to his grandmother in his haste, "Something is different," stirred ripples in his heart once more.
...
Afternoon.
The door to Chen Anju was gently pushed open, bringing with it a touch of warmth from a winter afternoon.
Gu Jinghong carried in a steaming bowl of soup that smelled strongly of medicine, her steps very light.
Inside the room, Xiao Chengyan was already sitting on the soft couch by the window, his deep eyes regaining their usual clarity and sharpness, like a frozen lake reflecting the gray-white light of the sky outside the window.
Gu Jinghong gently placed the medicine bowl on the small table beside the couch, bowed his head and stepped back, his posture respectful yet somewhat distant.
"Your Highness, it's time to take your medicine."
Xiao Chengyan turned his gaze from the window and landed on her. His gaze swept over the lingering bruise on her forehead, over the carefully mended but still tattered fabric on her shoulder, and finally settled on her lowered eyelashes, which concealed all her emotions—last night's loss of control had hurt her.
He stared blankly at the brown medicine in the bowl for a moment, then finally grunted and finished the whole bowl of medicine with a frown.
Gu Jinghong remained motionless as instructed, still standing with her head bowed.
A silence spread between the two, carrying an invisible tension.
Finally, Xiao Chengyan spoke: "Gu Jinghong, yesterday, the effects of the medicine were burning my heart and clouding my mind. Everything I saw and thought was distorted by desire and anger. I did lose my composure, and... I wronged you."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jinghong suddenly looked up: "A misunderstood?"
Xiao Chengyan shifted his gaze from Gu Jinghong to the window, watching the snowflakes fall again outside. The cold made his thoughts clear.
"Firstly, that drug is a potent and ruthless one, designed to incite lust and cloud the mind. If it was truly you who administered it..." Gu Jinghong's resistance from yesterday flashed through his mind, "What was your purpose? Was it to make me unable to control my passion for you and to commit those shameful acts?"
A barely perceptible self-deprecating smile played at the corner of his lips. "But your reaction last night when you were cornered was one of pure resistance and disgust. If you really did drug me, wouldn't you be shooting yourself in the foot? That first objective falls apart in the face of your resistant attitude!"
Xiao Chengyan turned his head to look at Gu Jinghong, whose pupils had shrunk slightly, then looked out the window.
"Secondly, the timing of the drugging. Yesterday in the warm pavilion, when you were arguing and struggling with Gongsun Jinyao, everyone was watching. If you had drugged her then, the risk would have been enormous. You would have been exposed with the slightest carelessness. With your abilities... you wouldn't do something so clumsy, foolish, and suicidal."
"Thirdly, I carefully smelled the medicinal powder residue that Changfeng brought back this morning. Although the powder itself is almost colorless and odorless, there is an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible sweet and warm fragrance in the residual scent! This fragrance is exactly the same as the special incense that Gongsun Jingyao wore yesterday!"
He leaned forward slightly, exuding an invisible sense of pressure, his gaze sharp as he locked onto Gu Jinghong's eyes: "So yesterday, I must have misunderstood you."
Clear, thorough, and logically rigorous!
Gu Jinghong looked at the man in front of her who had just struggled back from the brink of death and whose face was still pale, and felt a sense of emotion.
Just one night later, when his mind returned to clarity, he was able to instantly connect all the chaotic clues, unraveling them layer by layer, pointing straight to the core. This terrifying clarity, maintained even amidst excruciating pain and weakness... sent a chill down her spine!
Amidst her reflections, a deeper uncertainty, like a creeping vine, coiled around her heart—what about the Nine-Turn Resurrection Grass? Did he already know?
After thinking for a moment, Gu Jinghong asked again, "Since Your Highness already knows that it was Miss Gongsun who drugged me, and knows that I am innocent, why... why didn't you just report the truth to the Empress Dowager? Why did you have to..."
Xiao Chengyan looked at the complex emotions surging in her eyes—fear, confusion, humiliation, and a calmness that remained throughout.
He sighed softly, a sigh tinged with helplessness and a cold, worldly-wise understanding.
He stood up and approached her, reaching out his hand. He didn't touch anything else, but with his cool fingertips, very naturally and with a hint of soothing, he gently patted the top of her lowered head. The movement was very light, as if handling a ruffled and confused cat.
"Fool," he said softly, a sigh he himself didn't even realize, "Do you think that if I tell Grandmother the truth, that Gongsun Jinyao drugged you, Grandmother will believe me and let you go?"
Gu Jinghong froze, somewhat bewildered by his sudden intimate gesture and address. She subconsciously looked up and met his deep, cold eyes.
"Who is Grandmother?" Xiao Chengyan withdrew his hand, his gaze turning sharp and cold. "She comes from a top-tier aristocratic family and has managed the inner palace for decades, witnessing firsthand the behavior of noble ladies. In her eyes, the eldest daughters of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion are golden branches and jade leaves, the embodiment of rules and etiquette. They may be spoiled, they may be willful, but they would never, and would disdain, use such despicable and vile methods, especially not on her own grandson!"
His voice carried a cold sarcasm: "If I were to tell my grandmother that it was Gongsun Jinyao who drugged me, she would only think that I was bewitched by you, or that you, a lowly and scheming maid, were framing a noble lady behind her back, trying to exonerate yourself."
He watched as Gu Jinghong's small face slowly paled, even the red mole at the end of her eyebrow dimmed, yet she could still only utter the cruel reality clearly, word by word:
"In my grandmother's eyes, beating a lowly maid who framed a noble lady and tried to bewitch a prince to death was nothing more than crushing an ant, completely insignificant. In fact... to maintain the face of the royal family and the dignity among the aristocratic families, she might very well choose... better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."
“Therefore,” Xiao Chengyan’s gaze was as deep as the sea, with a protector’s decisiveness, “telling her the truth, whether she believes it or not, will only lead to your death. The only way to save your life is for me to say that you are ‘somewhat different’ and to place you by my side, under the ‘grace’ that my grandmother can barely accept.”
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