For the Jade Token?
A warm touch suddenly descended, carrying his unique, refreshing scent, like a feather brushing against the heart.
Gu Jinghong's mind went blank for a moment, as if a buzz had gone off. All the sounds of the world disappeared, leaving only the sound of their sudden, rapid breathing.
His kiss was light and gentle, like snowflakes falling on flower petals in early spring, with a careful and precious touch. Their lips met lightly, cool and soft with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor. He didn't go deep, but simply remained there, quietly feeling the warmth and softness of her lips and their subtle trembling.
This gentle touch felt like an electric current, instantly shattering all of Gu Jinghong's defenses. Her whole body stiffened, her fingertips unconsciously gripping his shirt collar tightly, a strange tingling and throbbing sensation surging deep within her.
Just as Gu Jinghong was at a loss for words due to this sudden gentle probing, and was almost drowning in this unfamiliar sensory shock, Xiao Chengyan suddenly stopped.
His lips left hers.
His embrace remained tight around her, their breaths mingling at a distance. His deep, icy eyes, now swirling with even more complex and turbulent emotions, stared intently at her face.
What did he see?
He saw that her once clear eyes were now veiled with a misty haze, filled with astonishment, bewilderment, and a faint glimmer of light that she herself was unaware of.
Her cheeks were flushed crimson, and her lips, made even more rosy and full by his touch, glistened with moisture. Her long eyelashes trembled violently, betraying the turmoil within her.
There was no resistance.
There was no aversion.
There was only a bewildered, turbulent state of mind and a hint of...falling into despair.
That one glance!
Like a spark thrown into boiling oil, it instantly ignited the deepest desires and longings that Xiao Chengyan had suppressed in his heart, desires that he himself had not fully understood.
It turns out... these past few days of deliberate avoidance were not entirely without effect.
It turns out... every moment I didn't see her, the emptiness and suppressed anxiety had already piled up like a mountain.
Just as Xiao Chengyan's lips parted, gazing deeply into the misty light in her eyes, confirming she wasn't unmoved, a surge of joy welled up within him, and he was about to lower his head again to deepen the kiss—
Gu Jinghong's hand suddenly touched the square piece of paper she had prepared, and she snapped back to her senses and turned her head away!
Xiao Chengyan's lips ultimately landed only on her burning cheek.
He opened his eyes, and in an instant, Gu Jinghong was no longer the same as before.
She used almost all her strength, pressing her hands against his firm chest, trying to create some distance.
Her breathing was still rapid, her cheeks flushed, but her misty eyes now forced together a cold, clear-headed gaze.
Then her hoarse but cold voice rang out: "Your Highness, may we ask Mr. Cen for help?"
Xiao Chengyan's gaze shifted from tenderness to doubt and then to coldness in the blink of an eye.
The resistance of the person in his arms and that cold reminder were like a bucket of ice water, dousing his burning passion and ecstasy.
Instead of loosening his grip on her waist, he tightened it even more, almost breaking her waist.
He lowered his head, his gaze as sharp as an icy blade locking onto her forced composure. His voice was low and dangerous, filled with disbelief, anger, and a stinging pain of being fooled: "Gu Jinghong... you allowed me to kiss you, just for this? For the jade token?!"
Gu Jinghong stood up and broke free from Xiao Chengyan: "Otherwise what..."
A chilling anger and an indescribable sense of loss instantly gripped Xiao Chengyan's heart, like being stabbed by the most trusted dagger, or like having a bucket of ice water poured over his burning passion.
He stared at her face, which instantly regained its composure and even became somewhat businesslike and aloof, and almost doubted whether her previous dreamy and intoxicating response was just his illusion.
What is this? She clearly liked it just now—didn't she?
Xiao Chengyan stared at her for a moment, then suddenly let go, took a piece of white jade and threw it on the table: "Take it."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Gu Jinghong curtsied and left, his fingers tightly clenching the cold jade token in his sleeve, his knuckles turning white.
Just as he was about to step out of the study, Xiao Chengyan's voice rang out again from behind him.
"Gu Jinghong, in this Jinwang Mansion, I can indulge you. Whatever you want to investigate, whatever you want to do, even if you cause a huge upheaval, I will cover for you."
“However,” he changed his tone, his voice suddenly turning cold, “outside this palace, my reach might not be that far, and I might not be able to protect you. So, you’d better… really just want to practice calligraphy.”
She took a deep breath, suppressing her turbulent emotions, her steps faltering slightly but without turning back: "Jinghong understands. Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness."
Watching Gu Jinghong's departing figure, Xiao Chengyan sat at the long table, his brows slightly furrowed.
For the first time in his life, he began to doubt himself—he was insane, truly insane. If his initial inappropriate behavior towards her was due to being drugged, and the later influence of the New Year's Eve atmosphere, what about this time?
Before long, Changfeng's figure appeared silently in the corner.
"Your Highness, Miss Gu, she..."
"Take this royal jade token and go find Mr. Cen." Xiao Chengyan's tone carried a hint of indifference.
"What is the matter? Do you need my help?" Changfeng asked with some concern.
"No need. Since she dared to investigate the Southern Wind Secret Box and come to me for the Jade Token, she must already have a plan. Let her investigate." When talking about the Jade Token, a flicker still appeared in Xiao Chengyan's lowered eyes—this Gu Jinghong, she really is capable of such things.
Changfeng frowned: "But this matter is of utmost importance. If someone with ulterior motives discovers that Miss Gu has tampered with the secret box, it could even..."
"So what if they notice?" Xiao Chengyan's lips curled into an extremely cold smile. The smile didn't reach his eyes, but instead revealed a chilling aura and an undeniable dominance. "Changfeng, remember this. Gu Jinghong is now in my palace, and is a person of my palace."
He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a drawn blade, and said, word by word, "You tell me, who can touch my men?"
Changfeng nodded as if suddenly realizing something: "Your subordinate obeys."
...
next day
Inside the Jingxinzhai (Quiet Heart Studio), the air is filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.
Mr. Cen was an elderly man with white hair and beard, and a gaunt face, but his eyes were exceptionally clear and sharp. He examined the jade token handed over by Gu Jinghong, nodded slightly, and did not ask any further questions.
"Young lady, would you like to learn the ancient seal script of the Southern Wind? Do you have any copies to practice?" Mr. Cen asked in a calm voice.
Gu Jinghong took out a palm-sized, exquisitely crafted "mechanism box" made of special cardboard from her sleeve. The box appeared to be flat, but it actually had a hidden mechanism with several folds in different directions.
"Please look, sir," Gu Jinghong placed the mechanism box on the table and carefully opened one of the folds, revealing a small area inside. She then took out several irregularly shaped pieces of paper from a small cloth bag, cut with an extremely fine blade. Each piece of paper had a single character in the ancient seal script of Nanfeng on it, which she had carefully rubbed onto the original paper with a special medicinal solution before cutting it out.
She pointed to an empty space next to a font style and size that she had drawn in very fine charcoal pencil, which she needed to imitate: "Please, sir, copy this character here." She then pointed to a sample she had drawn next to it.
Mr. Cen carefully examined the character sample provided by Gu Jinghong, then looked at the position where he needed to place the brush, and nodded slightly.
He dipped his brush in ink, held his breath, and wrote with lightning speed, his wrist steady and powerful. Each stroke precisely imitated the brushwork, strength, turns, and even the shades and blurring effects of the original. With the unique charm of the ancient seal script of Nanfeng, he achieved a level of realism that was indistinguishable from the original, completing the work in one go.
Then, Gu Jinghong opened another fold and pointed to another empty space: "Then, please write this character here again."
When Mr. Cen finished writing, he saw the character "琰" fall out of Gu Jinghong's purse.
At the same time, a hint of urgency flashed in Gu Jinghong's eyes, but her years of experience allowed her to maintain a calm expression: "Sir, there's no need to write this character. Let's choose another one."
Mr. Cen did not think much of it and continued to imitate Gu Jinghong's writing as requested.
In this way, Gu Jinghong opened many different folds, designated different positions, and had Mr. Cen copy the single-character samples she had prepared.
These positions, thanks to her ingenious folding design, allow the box to be perfectly pieced together into a complete new list when it is finally unfolded in a specific way—a list exactly the same as the original, except for the missing six characters "Xie Yan, acting as Grand Secretary".
Mr. Cen looked at the peculiar request and the ingenious mechanism box, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but he didn't say anything, instead burying himself in writing.
Gu Jinghong watched with bated breath, marveling at Mr. Cen's incredible skill while also remaining on edge.
With the final stroke, Mr. Cen put down his pen.
"alright."
Gu Jinghong carefully put the puzzle box away, sealing it perfectly so that it was impossible to tell what was written inside the exquisite paper box.
Gu Jinghong bowed respectfully to Mr. Cen: "Thank you, sir! You are very talented, and I admire you greatly."
Mr. Cen stroked his beard, his gaze lingering on Gu Jinghong's face for a moment, before finally saying indifferently, "You're too kind, young lady. This box is exquisite; it's the first time I've ever seen one like it. I will certainly obey the Prince's imperial decree. Please take care, young lady."
Gu Jinghong carefully put away the small, yet now immensely secret, mechanism box, thanked them again, and left Jingxinzhai. Sunlight shone on her, but it couldn't dispel the chill in her heart.
The list has been copied, but that's only the first step... But today, she has to go see the landlord.
...
A moment later, in the study
Xiao Chengyan sat behind his desk, a military report spread out in front of him, but his expression was not focused.
The events that occurred in this study yesterday kept replaying in his mind: Gu Jinghong resisting in his arms, coldly demanding the jade token, and finally leaving in a pale state... He forcefully suppressed the sense of defeat from yesterday and transformed it into a sense of inquiry.
He didn't understand why Gu Jinghong would go to such lengths to "flatter and fawn" to obtain the jade token, just so that Mr. Cen would write something.
Logically speaking, even if she had the idea of imitating the handwriting, wouldn't Mr. Cen still have been able to see the manuscript in the end?
Thinking of this, Xiao Chengyan silently shook his head—this should be true for others, but she is Gu Jinghong…
Before long, Changfeng appeared silently in the shadows of the corner.
"Your Highness."
"Speak," Xiao Chengyan's voice carried a lingering melancholy.
"Miss Gu has left Jingxinzhai and returned to her room."
Xiao Chengyan raised an eyebrow: "What did she have Mr. Cen write?"
Changfeng's tone hardened slightly: "Mr. Cen... doesn't know."
Xiao Chengyan raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife: "You don't know?"
Changfeng lowered his eyes and said, "Mr. Cen said that Miss Gu brought a folded paper box. The box has a hundred sides and is exquisitely crafted. Each side has only one word written on it, so he cannot see what is written inside."
Changfeng paused, his voice even lower, "But Mr. Cen noticed a detail. When Miss Gu asked him to imitate the character, she accidentally dropped a piece of writing material. She quickly picked it up and said that she would not use that character and asked him to imitate another character instead."
Xiao Chengyan leaned forward slightly, an ominous premonition gripping him: "What word?"
"According to Mr. Cen's recollection, it was the character '琰'. It was written in the ancient seal script of Nanfeng." Changfeng said, extending his finger and using it as a brush, he precisely traced several key features of the ancient seal script character "琰" in the air—especially the sharp turn when the slanted jade radical overlapped with the three strokes of fire below.
“Yan”...
A thunderbolt seemed to explode in Xiao Chengyan's mind—Xie Yan?
So, all that effort she put in yesterday—using his feelings, enduring his anger, and mobilizing the most secret resources of the Prince's mansion—was for something related to Xie Yan.
Xiao Chengyan abruptly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the raging tide that was about to burst through the dam of reason. When he opened his eyes again, all that remained in them was a cold, deathly silence, as if coated with poison. His voice, however, was unusually calm, so calm that it sent chills down one's spine.
"Long Wind".
"Your subordinate is here." Changfeng's voice clearly betrayed his guilt.
Is Xie Yan still at the 'Yuelai Inn'?
Changfeng was taken aback, and lowered his head even further: "...It should be."
Xiao Chengyan's gaze was like a needle chilled to ice, fixed firmly on Changfeng's lowered head, and his calm voice suddenly tightened.
"'Should be there'? Does that mean they are there or not?... The people I asked to keep an eye on have all plotted against me, and now you're telling me they don't even know where they are?!"
"..."
"Keep a close eye on Xie Yan! I want to know his every move, and..." He paused, each word like a sharp icicle, "...find out exactly what Gu Jinghong and Xie Yan have ever done!"
"Yes!" Changfeng accepted the order and turned to leave.
Just as Changfeng stepped out of the study, he suddenly stopped, realizing what Xie Yan had been plotting. Wasn't the jade token given to Miss Gu by the Prince himself?
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