Don't let people touch alcohol.
Zhenguogong Mansion · Chengxin Residence
The night was as dark as ink, pressing heavily into the room adorned with glaring "double happiness" characters. Candlelight flickered among the cold, ornate furnishings, casting uneasy shadows, and a suffocating silence filled the air.
Gu Jinghong stood barefoot in front of the open window with her back to the door.
Her long, ink-black hair fluttered in the cool night breeze.
The bright red wedding dress had already been torn to shreds and was thrown on the ground along with the crimson gold phoenix crown.
She stood ramrod straight, dressed in a plain-colored undergarment, holding an exquisite white jade wine pot in her hand, her whole being resembling a taut bow.
Her anger and humiliation were no longer as pronounced as during the day; under the cold moonlight, her reason slowly returned.
In fact, on the way to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the bridal sedan chair, she had already begun to realize that today's events were unusual.
Even if Xiao Chengyan misunderstands that she is colluding with the Nanzhao Kingdom and the Nanfeng remnants, he can simply kill her without making a sound.
If he couldn't bring himself to do it because of their three-year friendship, it would have been a piece of cake for him, with his title of King Jin, to ask someone else to do it. So why did he choose to put her into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?
Could it be that Gongsun Lie could protect someone whom even Xiao Chengyan couldn't?
Gu Jinghong subconsciously shook his head—no, the Gongsun family is definitely not innocent.
Tap, tap, tap—
Outside the door, footsteps stopped and started again, then stopped again.
Gongsun Cheyuan had lost count of how many times she had approached this tightly closed door. She knew he dared not knock, much less barge in.
The intense hatred in her eyes when she tore off her bridal veil, ripped her wedding dress, and lunged at Xiao Chengyan during the day must have aroused his suspicion.
Although she later took his hand and called him "husband," Gu Jinghong saw a brief moment of confusion in his eyes.
But she remained cold.
Gongsun Cheyuan is not a fool, so he should naturally know about her relationship with King Jin.
hehe--
Gu Jinghong twitched the corner of her mouth slightly—could it be that he came to negotiate something with her, but hesitated and didn't even dare to enter the room?
Gu Jinghong simply didn't bother to delve into why he hesitated; it was nothing more than a weighing of benefits and risks.
After pacing back and forth outside the door several times, he finally stopped and tentatively called out, "Jinghong? Are you... alright?"
His response was silence.
The footsteps lingered for three or four more times before finally stopping in front of the bridal chamber.
Squeak—
The door was pushed open.
In that instant, Gu Jinghong suddenly turned around.
Under the bright moonlight, a woman in simple white clothes with her hair loose was accentuated by a night breeze, which made her appear even more aloof and fragile, yet strangely beautiful.
Gongsun Cheyuan stood frozen in place, his throat tightening: "Jinghong? You..."
The moonlight outlined her slender yet straight back. Her fingertips casually caressed the cold white jade wine pot, but her eyes were sharp and piercing.
“Your Highness,” her voice was as cold as ice, “did you enjoy this ‘substitution’ act? What did he promise you? How much benefit will the Duke’s mansion gain from this? Is that why you and your father are so… willing to take on this hot potato? Hmm?”
The word "he" is really interesting.
Xiao Chengyan treated her this way, and he was the "him" whose name she couldn't reveal.
She saw Gongsun Cheyuan's face tremble, and his complexion faded.
He forced himself to remain calm and said, "Jinghong, be careful what you say! His Majesty has bestowed this marriage upon us; it is an act of boundless grace..."
"His Majesty bestows this marriage upon us; what boundless grace!" A cold, mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips.
"What a fine 'divine favor'! The war reports from the southwest have only arrived in the capital a few days ago, and His Majesty is so busy with state affairs, yet he has the leisure to 'be aware' of the life-long matter of Prince Jin's sworn sister? And it just so happens that on the same day your father submitted his marriage request, the imperial seal was so readily granted?"
"Your Highness, isn't this 'boundless imperial grace' a bit too... natural?"
“Ah Hong,” Gongsun Cheyuan lowered his eyes, avoiding Gu Jinghong’s gaze, “You…you mustn’t presume to know! The Emperor’s heart is unfathomable; how could you possibly…”
"The Emperor's Heart?" Gu Jinghong suddenly interrupted, her words sharp as knives. "Or the Heart of the King of Jin? The Heart of the Duke's Mansion?"
She pressed closer, placing one hand on Gongsun Cheyuan's shoulder and looking at him with a captivating gaze.
Gongsun Cheyuan lowered his eyes and met her probing, cool yet gentle gaze, and he felt breathless.
Gu Jinghong's lips curled into a smile: "Your Highness, the Duke of Zhenguo's family is of noble lineage. If there weren't enormous benefits or an unavoidable predicament, why would you willingly take on this 'hot potato' of mine, which has a 'notorious reputation' and is entangled with Prince Jin? Hmm?"
"Can it stabilize the restless forces in the court? Or can it bring the Duke's mansion... some benefits in the northern border?"
Upon hearing the words "Northern Border," Gongsun Cheyuan's face paled almost imperceptibly, and he momentarily gasped for breath!
Gu Jinghong sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, pressing on relentlessly: "Or... did the Prince of Jin offer your father a 'generous gift' that he couldn't refuse? A 'sincere offer' that was enough to make the Duke's mansion willing to wade into this mess?"
"This is not a play!" Gongsun Cheyuan suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Gu Jinghong's shoulders with both hands, stared intently into her cold, broken eyes, and his voice was hoarse and trembling.
"Yes, there are indeed considerations behind this marriage... but it is by no means a transaction where you are treated as a commodity!"
He tightened his grip slightly. "You ask me what I'm after? The benefits from the Duke's mansion? The promises from Prince Jin? No! I'm after you, only you!"
"From the first time I saw you in Medicine Master Valley, riding past in your moon-white robes, that fleeting glimpse was enough for me to never forget you! I encountered you several times afterward, and I saw you quietly reading, playing with kittens, and focusing on crafting artifacts... You... are already etched in my heart!"
He lowered his eyes: "Father, he..."
Gongsun Cheyuan suddenly stopped speaking.
The Duke of Zhenguo once warned him, "It's okay to pretend, it's okay to be impulsive, but you can't fall in love with her," and "I will definitely divorce her and marry someone else after a year!"
But he couldn't say it. If he did, it would be the end for him and her!
The immense conflict made his breathing quicken. He avoided Gu Jinghong's scrutinizing gaze and lowered his voice.
"He told me... to be careful. But Jinghong, my heart is true! As long as I can stand by your side legitimately, even if the road ahead is difficult, requires feigning compliance, or requires patience... I'll accept it!"
He suddenly looked up at Gu Jinghong, his eyes glistening with tears.
"Jinghong, if you make me angry, you can scold me, you can hit me, I will never fight back, as long as you are happy."
Gu Jinghong scoffed, "Hit you? You think you're him, that you can withstand my beating?"
Gongsun Cheyuan's eyes widened in surprise—
A moment of silence fell over the room.
I wonder if it was because the moonlight was too dim to see clearly.
Gu Jinghong always felt that the sincerity and pain surging in the prince's eyes did not seem fake.
She didn't mean to hurt anyone, but people just walk right into her, and there's nothing she can do about it.
Thinking this, Gu Jinghong's body suddenly swayed slightly for a moment.
At that very moment, Gongsun Cheyuan stepped forward and tried to put his arm around Gu Jinghong.
Gu Jinghong pushed him away with the wine pot, walked a few steps away barefoot, the mole at the end of her eyebrow broken and crimson, "Ugh...disgusting!"
He immediately tilted his head back.
Gongsun Cheyuan wanted to get close to her, but dared not. In his panic, he suddenly remembered that King Jin had instructed him not to let her touch any wine.
"Jinghong...you, you give me that bottle, please? The rest is up to you."
Gu Jinghong paused, then smiled as she looked at the white jade wine pot in her hand, a cold smile curving her lips: "He even told you about this? He guessed what I would do, but still pushed me away..."
A cruel smile curved her lips, and then she suddenly raised the white jade wine pot in her hand, tilted her head back, and drank it down!
"Jinghong, no!"
Gongsun Cheyuan's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he rushed forward in terror—however, Gu Jinghong stepped back to the side, instantly putting him several steps away.
The spicy liquor, like scalding lava, burned my throat as I swallowed it all!
Gu Jinghong stretched out his arm, turned the empty wine pot upside down, and looked at Gongsun Cheyuan with a smile on his face.
Then, with a sudden release, the white jade wine pot shattered on the ground with a loud "crack."
“Young Master Gongsun, I, Gu Jinghong, am not a noblewoman. Countless women in the capital would kill to enter the Duke’s mansion, so why me? It is simply because I still have some ‘use’, and this ‘use’ outweighs the prestige of the Duke’s mansion.”
"Even though I still don't know what my 'use' is, he told you everything, but forgot to tell you one thing—if you push me too far, I, Gu Jinghong, have never hesitated to... perish together with someone?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the color drained from Gu Jinghong's face at a visible speed, turning into a chilling, ashen white in an instant.
Her breath seemed to be suddenly choked by a giant hand, making a "ho...ho..." gasping sound, each inhalation like the pulling of a broken bellows.
Her eyes became bloodshot and swollen at an alarming rate, her eyelids drooping heavily, almost obscuring her vision. Her once beautiful lips were also gradually becoming swollen and bluish-purple.
On her slender neck and the delicate collarbone exposed below the neckline, large patches of bright red, raised, and grotesque swirling blobs emerged and spread wildly like flowers of hell. Their boundaries were blurred, and they quickly eroded her cheeks and crawled down her arms, a shocking sight!
The immense pain caused Gu Jinghong to instinctively scratch his suffocating neck, his body swaying uncontrollably due to the violent physiological reaction, as if the ground beneath his feet was spinning and collapsing.
As if all her strength had been drained away in an instant, she fell backward with a crash, like a magnolia tree broken by a gale, displaying an indomitable spirit!
"A stunning sight—!!!"
Gongsun Cheyuan followed Gu Jinghong, and it seemed that he only realized what was happening at this moment.
"Bottle, bottle...pills..."
He muttered to himself, frantically pulling out an exquisite jade bottle from the brocade pouch close to his body.
This was given to him by Xiao Chengyan when he entrusted it to him, instructing him to give Gu Jinghong this medicine if he couldn't stop her from drinking.
With trembling hands, Gongsun Cheyuan opened the bottle and poured out a pill. However, his hand was unsteady, and the round pill rolled away and disappeared without a trace.
He forced himself to calm down.
But the more I forced myself, the more my hands trembled.
A few breaths later, he finally poured out a pill. "Jinghong, open your mouth, open your mouth quickly! This is medicine, you'll be fine after taking it!"
However, Gu Jinghong's swollen and bluish lips remained tightly closed.
"Please, Jinghong! Open your mouth, I beg you!" Gongsun Cheyuan's face was pale, and he tried to pry open those tightly closed teeth with his fingers, but no matter what he did, he could not.
In desperation, Gongsun Cheyuan tried to force the pill into her teeth. Just as the pill touched her lips—
Gu Jinghong let out a muffled groan from deep in her throat, and with her last bit of strength, she clenched her teeth tightly.
Gu Jinghong bit her swollen lower lip until it bled!
A streak of bright red blood, mixed with saliva, meandered down her swollen, bluish lips, dripping onto Gongsun Cheyuan's fingers as he tried to insert the medicine; it was warm and sticky.
—Xiao Chengyan, I guess this news will reach your ears soon.
This was her last chilling thought before she lost consciousness.
Endless darkness engulfed her.
Amidst this agonizing emptiness, bizarre fragments suddenly crashed into her mind—three years ago, in the midst of a heavy snowfall, she lay in a thin shirt in the alleyway outside the Jinwang Mansion, a butterfly mark on her shoulder. That day was so cold, so very cold, but she couldn't move; she was using herself as bait…
What's this?
With this sudden surge of unsettling and unfamiliar memories, she sank completely into the abyss of unconsciousness.
Outside, Gongsun Cheyuan's agonizing roar finally broke through the door: "Someone! Summon the imperial physician!! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!!!"
"Guards! Summon the imperial physician!! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!!!"
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