I want a hug
"Your Excellency! Something terrible has happened! Your Excellency!"
Gongsun Lie sat up abruptly, his anger intensifying: "What are you wailing about! Is the sky falling down?!"
He hated it most when his subordinates lost their composure like this, especially in front of this plaque, where the mockery seemed even more pronounced.
A trusted follower practically burst through the door, his face ashen and drenched in sweat. He didn't even bother with formalities, panting heavily as he urgently exclaimed, "Your Excellency, something...something has happened at the Ministry of Justice prison!"
Gongsun Lie's heart skipped a beat, a very bad premonition rising within him. He said sternly, "Explain yourself! Is it Sun Miao's side?"
"It was...it was Inspector Sun..." The attendant swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Our men, as you instructed, went to the prison to 'take care of' the aftermath, to prevent him...to prevent him from saying anything inappropriate. But...but when they got to the cell, they found it was empty!"
"Empty?" Gongsun Lie's pupils shrank, and he strode up to his attendant. "What do you mean empty? A living person can't just fly away from the Ministry of Justice's prison, can they?! Were they interrogated? Or were they moved?"
The attendant shook his head violently, his face filled with disbelief and fear: "No! We asked, and there are no written records of any interrogation or transfer! The jailers guarding that area also said... said there was nothing unusual last night, they didn't see anyone come out at all! But the cell door locks are fine, the person, the person is just gone! It's like... like they evaporated into thin air!"
“Vapored into thin air…” Gongsun Lie repeated these four words, a chill suddenly creeping up his spine.
He turned his head sharply, his gaze fixed once again on the broken plaque on the ground.
The plaque broke inexplicably late at night, bearing burn marks.
The key witness, imprisoned in the heavily guarded Ministry of Justice prison, has disappeared without a trace.
These two events happening one after the other are no coincidence!
A surge of fury, fueled by the feeling of being secretly watched, manipulated, and provoked, instantly overwhelmed Gongsun Lie.
However, instead of being furious, he suddenly suppressed his anger and calmed down.
Years of experience told him that this was no laughing matter, and that it was precisely at times like this that he should calm down and analyze the situation carefully.
He stared intently at the plaque... Who could it be?
...
Prince Jin's Mansion · Chun Shen Garden
Gu Jinghong slowly opened her eyes, and in a daze, she saw a tall and slender figure appear before her, sometimes near, sometimes far...
She smacked her lips twice, then slowly closed her eyes, turned over, and seemed to murmur, "I've really... been bewitched."
—I'm so infatuated, I can't help but think of him the moment I open my eyes.
"Yes, he has indeed lost his mind."
A familiar voice rang out, and Gu Jinghong suddenly opened her eyes.
She turned around and saw that Xiao Chengyan had appeared beside Gu Jinghong at some point, staring at her with a deep look in his eyes.
"Your Highness..." Gu Jinghong sat up, "You're here so early?"
Your Highness...
Xiao Chengyan's eyes turned even colder as he reached out and pinched Gu Jinghong's cheek.
"Gu Honghong, you're something else. You use people when you need them and then discard them when you don't. When you were pestering me to go to the hunting grounds, you called me 'Yanlang,' but today you're calling me 'Your Highness,' huh?"
Gu Jinghong was taken aback: "But yesterday at the hunting grounds, Jinghong also addressed you as 'Your Highness'."
Xiao Chengyan pursed his lips slightly, a hint of helplessness mixed with a smile in his eyes, "Yesterday is yesterday, wasn't it in the hunting grounds yesterday?!"
In a public place like the hunting grounds, you're allowed to address me so formally. In a private setting like this, can't you use a different form of address?
Gu Jinghong chuckled, then reached out and tugged at Xiao Chengyan's sleeve, softly calling out, "Yanlang."
Looking at her delicate, unadorned face and hearing her slightly hoarse, childlike voice as she woke up, Xiao Chengyan felt a sweet warmth spreading through his heart, but he suppressed it and remained calm on the surface.
He knew perfectly well that he was finished, completely "controlled" by the little fox in front of him. His deep composure was utterly ineffective in front of her, while she only needed to make a slight change to make his heart flutter and lose control.
However—even if it's hard to control, you still have free time. Why not play something else? Go play at the Duke's Mansion!
Having spent a long time with Xiao Chengyan, Gu Jinghong could always easily catch his emotional changes.
He paused briefly, and Gu Jinghong knew that he wanted to ask about the Duke's mansion.
But this matter... though easy to ask, is not so easy to answer.
As her thoughts raced, Gu Jinghong suddenly looked up at his taut jawline, then stretched out her arms and tightly wrapped them around his waist, burying her face in his slightly cool chest.
Xiao Chengyan's body suddenly stiffened.
Looking down, the person in his arms seemed like a child who had done something wrong and was afraid of being punished, so he had to beg for forgiveness by acting cute.
He was originally filled with anger.
He was angry at her for acting on her own initiative, angry at her for not considering the consequences, and even angrier at her for keeping him in the dark.
He had been thinking about how to explain the pros and cons to her the whole way, and even planned to ignore her for a day to teach her a lesson.
But this burning anger was first disrupted by her calling him "Your Highness," and then calmed down a bit by her pulling on his sleeve and calling him "Yanlang." Now, it was all stuck in his chest by her sudden, reckless hug.
She remained motionless in his arms, even rubbing against him more, as if she was determined not to leave and would stay there no matter what.
That silent dependence and cautious attempts to please were like a soft feather, tickling his heart and making him feel a little tingly.
Xiao Chengyan clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides several times, his palms slightly sweaty.
He could feel a slight damp warmth in the fabric of his clothes against his chest.
The courtyard was quiet, with only the rustling of the wind through the bamboo leaves.
He stood there, letting her hug him for who knows how long, until the terrifyingly cold aura around him was gradually dispelled and neutralized by the warmth in her arms.
After a long while, he finally found his voice and deliberately kept it steady: "Let's get down to business first."
He felt the head in his arms move slightly. "No, I want a hug."
this……
He paused, then added, "Can I hug you after I'm done talking?"
Gu Jinghong slowly raised her head, her eyes moist and the tip of her nose slightly red.
She nodded obediently.
Just as Xiao Chengyan was trying to separate himself from the group—
"no."
She buried her face in his chest again.
Faced with her obvious act of cheating, yet one that was undeniably effective against him, all of Xiao Chengyan's prepared cold words and lectures crumbled instantly.
He was almost defeated by her, and could only raise his hand, wearily pressing his temples: "You..."
Gu Jinghong said nothing, but lowered her head and smiled secretly.
After a long while, Xiao Chengyan finally took out a mechanical bird from his sleeve and showed it to Gu Jinghong.
Gu Jinghong's heart skipped a beat. Forgetting all about being coquettish and charming, she suddenly released her arms from Xiao Chengyan, took the mechanical bird, and examined it closely—it was indeed the one she had released yesterday.
I think there are still problems with the design.
Although Gu Jinghong's release of the mechanical bird yesterday was a risky attempt, she expected that after the mechanical bird ignited the fuse of the explosives, it would be destroyed by the explosives and would not leave any evidence.
Xiao Chengyan brought the mechanical bird, which means that what Yun Ni said was true, and that his initial improvement method was not effective enough. There was indeed a problem with the detonation of the explosive, or at least it was a bit late.
...Thankfully he brought him back; she was indeed reckless in this matter.
Seeing Gu Jinghong staring blankly, Xiao Chengyan knew what she was thinking.
Although his tone was somewhat solemn, his eyes remained gentle: "Therefore, you should consult with me more often in the future."
Gu Jinghong looked at Xiao Chengyan, knowing that he must have deduced everything. After hesitating for a moment, she asked again, "Where did Your Highness find it?"
Xiao Chengyan frowned slightly and tapped Gu Jinghong on the head lightly.
Knowing that Jinghong couldn't change her mind right away, she seemed to sigh and said, "At the entrance of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
He returned from the palace in the early morning. As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, he suddenly remembered Gu Jinghong's barely concealed hostility and hatred at the hunting grounds during the day, as well as the way Gongsun Lie looked at Gu Jinghong... He felt that something was wrong, so he went to take a look in the direction of the Duke's mansion.
As it turned out, they happened to see Gu Jinghong's bird appear at the entrance of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.
Then, with a "thud," an explosive fell out of the bird's belly. Because the detonation was slightly delayed, the bird fell down, and the explosive destroyed the plaque.
Xiao Chengyan knew something was wrong, so he flew over, picked up the mechanical bird, and quickly left... Fortunately, it was early morning, so he still had time.
After a moment's thought, he devised a plan and sent someone to the Ministry of Justice to take Sun Miao away, intending to disrupt Gongsun Lie's plans.
However, given Gongsun Lie's cunning nature, he would surely investigate everyone who appeared near the Duke's mansion last night.
Moreover, although taking Sun Miao away might temporarily disrupt Gongsun Lie's plans, he would eventually suspect Xiao Chengyan.
Xiao Chengyan was not afraid of being suspected. Even if Gongsun Lie suspected him, he could do nothing about it. His status as a prince was the best protection. Without solid evidence, he was sure that Gongsun Lie would not dare to touch him.
But Ah Hong...
Thinking this, Xiao Chengyan looked down at Gu Jinghong again and saw that she seemed to be focused on the mechanical bird. He slowly reached out and patted her head affectionately.
For some reason, he had a vague feeling that this matter would involve Gu Jinghong—although based on the current information, Gongsun Lie had no way of knowing that this matter was related to Ahong.
In fact, Gongsun Lie's reaction seemed to be faster than Xiao Chengyan had imagined.
He sat in his study, his gaze fixed on the broken plaque, lost in thought.
Sun Miao was probably taken away by Xiao Chengyan. In the entire capital, apart from the emperor, if anyone else could take away a criminal who had been the subject of much discussion not long ago, it would be Xiao Chengyan, who has been gaining momentum in recent days.
Therefore, what was said at the entrance of Xuanzheng Hall that day ultimately pointed in the second direction...
Gongsun Lie took a deep breath—if he could, he truly did not want to become an enemy of Xiao Chengyan.
But... Gongsun Lie helplessly tugged at the corner of his mouth—his feud with Xiao Chengyan had actually been brewing for a long time, hadn't it?
Just then, Gongsun Cheyuan, who had gotten up early, came over and was quite surprised to see his father looking at the plaque of their house.
He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Father."
When Gongsun Lie saw his eldest son, his expression softened instantly, and he hummed in agreement.
He then said, "Yuan'er, come and take a look at what's wrong with the broken part of this plaque."
"Yes." Gongsun Cheyuan stepped forward, squatted down to examine the broken piece carefully, then reached out and touched it, frowning as he said, "This nanmu wood is so thick, yet it still broke..."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Father, I think the way this plaque is broken is quite strange."
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