New Year's Eve (3)
He must take her away, immediately! Right now!
He needed a completely quiet place, where no one could watch, to interrogate this woman thoroughly! He needed to find out why she was there, and more importantly... why she was using this method to "cry for help."
"Shut up!" he shouted, cutting off Changfeng's unfinished advice. The violence in his voice silenced Changfeng instantly.
Xiao Chengyan stopped looking at anyone and wrapped his arms around Gu Jinghong's waist like iron clamps. He almost dragged her away from the noisy and chaotic center that made him feel extremely embarrassed and furious with irresistible force.
He tightened his arms, almost half-embracing and half-carrying Gu Jinghong away from the center of the noise, and led her to a riverside pavilion with a wide view.
This is royal property, heavily guarded, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter.
Once you reach the private room on the top floor, the noise is shut out.
Xiao Chengyan abruptly released his grip, the force causing Gu Jinghong to stagger before she could barely regain her balance. Her head was bowed, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from her chest, and the secret box in her sleeve was burning hot.
The air inside seemed to freeze, with only the muffled roar of fireworks outside the window remaining.
Xiao Chengyan did not walk to the window; he stood in front of Gu Jinghong, his tall figure casting a heavy shadow that completely enveloped her.
“Raise your head.”
Gu Jinghong's heart skipped a beat. She slowly raised her head and met his unfathomable eyes, which were filled with the embers of a storm.
Xiao Chengyan's gaze lingered on her face, as if trying to pierce through all her pretenses and see into the depths of her soul. He saw her feigned composure, but also the undisguised panic and guilt deep in her eyes.
"Gu Jinghong, tell me—where is the 'godfather' you keep saying you want to visit? And why are you here?"
“And,” he paused, his eyes growing even more intense and dangerous, “what are you hiding in your sleeve?”
Gu Jinghong was so overwhelmed by his rapid-fire questions that she could hardly breathe, especially the last question about the "thing in her sleeve," which made her instinctively want to hide the Nanfeng Secret Box.
But only for a moment, and she forced a smile that was tinged with lingering fear and embarrassment, her eyes flickering even more intensely. "Your Highness, this servant...this servant did indeed go to see my godfather first. My godbrother just said that he had taken his medicine and had just fallen asleep, so it was inconvenient to disturb him. This servant...this servant thought that today is New Year's Eve, and the whole city is ablaze with fireworks. I've never seen such a magnificent sight before, so I couldn't help but want to come and see..."
Her voice suddenly softened, almost trembling with tears, "Who knew there would be so many people, and the firecrackers would be so loud... I was so scared that I... I lost my mind... and offended Your Highness..."
As she spoke, she glanced at Xiao Chengyan's still cold and tense face, and added, "Your Highness, you...you won't blame me for...absent from my post, will you?"
"Departed without authorization?" Xiao Chengyan frowned and repeated.
He stepped forward, so close they could feel each other's breath. His deep eyes were fixed on her, showing no sign of being fooled, only cold scrutiny and deeper disbelief. "Gu Jinghong, do you think I care about your so-called 'absconding' right now?"
Looking at Xiao Chengyan's furrowed brows, Gu Jinghong suddenly, as if possessed, reached out and gently pressed her finger to the center of his tightly furrowed brows, forcing a fragile smile on her face: "On New Year's Eve, Your Highness... please don't keep frowning, try to be happy..."
This action, this expression... was like a bolt of lightning, suddenly cleaving open a corner deep in Xiao Chengyan's memory!
—There was once a little girl who hated his sudden furrowed brows so much that she would always reach out and press them…
Xiao Chengyan's heart suddenly jolted! A strong, mixed feeling of pain and longing seized him without warning.
Looking at the face before him, which wore a forced smile but whose eyes concealed fear and guilt, and recalling her genuine fright on the street and her current "disarray"... the raging anger and icy questions in his chest were strangely overwhelmed by a more complex and turbulent wave of emotions.
The cold distance created by her phrase "clearly distinct" seemed to have cracked open with a huge fissure in the face of this unexpected flashback and the fragile attempt to please her.
A moment later, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, slowly moving it away, his gaze turning to the dazzling, unreal fireworks exploding across the sky outside the window.
“…If you want to see fireworks, then go ahead. It’s quiet here….” His voice was still deep, but it seemed to have lost some of the biting coldness from before, replaced by an indescribable weariness and… a certain suppressed undercurrent.
Gu Jinghong was unaware that Xiao Chengyan was still holding her hand, and she also looked out the window.
The dazzling light illuminated her beautiful face and temporarily dispelled the tension and gloom in her heart.
The view from this attic was superb; the fireworks seemed almost within reach, as if they could be touched. Huge fireworks burst and fell against the dark blue sky, dazzling and breathtakingly beautiful.
The two stood side by side, neither speaking. The only sounds in the room were the booming of fireworks as they rose and exploded, and the gentle murmur of the river flowing outside the window.
The air was filled with the distinctive smell of gunpowder, and a faint, almost imperceptible, scent that belonged to each other.
A huge firework, shaped like a golden peony, burst into bloom in the night sky directly in front of the two of them!
The golden light instantly illuminated the entire private room, as well as Gu Jinghong's upturned profile. Her eyes sparkled, as if filled with a galaxy.
Xiao Chengyan's gaze, which had shifted from the window at some point, fell upon her face. He looked at the red mole at the end of her eyebrow, at her rare moment of pure amazement, free of all guard and pretense, at her eyes and brows illuminated by the fireworks, and at her slightly parted lips, gleaming with a natural sheen…
An inexplicable impulse and longing seized him without warning.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too good, too unreal.
Perhaps it was the resentment stemming from the phrase "clearly distinct."
Perhaps it's her unguarded and touching appearance at this moment.
Amidst the deafening roar of another firework bursting into the sky, Xiao Chengyan suddenly pulled hard on Gu Jinghong's wrist, causing Gu Jinghong to almost fall into his arms.
Long, slender fingers, slightly cool, gently lifted Gu Jinghong's chin.
Gu Jinghong turned her head in astonishment, meeting his eyes, which were as deep as the sea yet as bright as the stars. His gaze was so complex, containing inquiry, something suppressed, and a dangerous heat that made her heart race.
Before she could speak, Xiao Chengyan had already leaned down and kissed her lips with an undeniable force and a long-suppressed desire that even he himself was unaware of!
The soft, warm touch, carrying a hint of smoky flavor, instantly overwhelmed all their senses...
Gu Jinghong's pupils suddenly dilated, and her mind went completely blank!
All that remained in the world was the deafening roar of fireworks outside the window and the unfamiliar, burning temperature on my lips!
Xiao Chengyan's kiss was initially tentative, but upon touching that soft spot, he involuntarily softened his grip, becoming infatuated with a feeling he hadn't anticipated. One hand gripped the back of her neck tightly, while the other encircled her waist, holding her firmly in his arms, not allowing her to retreat even an inch.
Brilliant fireworks silently bloomed and fell behind them, illuminating the silhouettes of the two embracing and kissing like those in a dream.
Clearly defined? At this moment, the ice wall was finally knocked down by this sudden kiss.
...
The winter morning light, carrying a hint of chill, barely pierced through the carved window lattice, spreading a thin, grayish-blue halo throughout the room, while the embers in the charcoal brazier emitted their last bit of warmth.
Gu Jinghong tossed and turned in bed all night, constantly troubled by the inexplicable feelings between her and Xiao Chengyan.
She fell asleep just before dawn, but at this moment her eyelashes fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes.
Those two earth-shattering kisses on New Year's Eve are as clear as if they were right before my eyes.
...It was too direct, too forceful, carrying an ambiguous declaration and possessive meaning, completely exceeding the boundaries of Gu Jinghong's "role".
What alarmed her even more was that at that moment, she forgot the reaction that "A-Ning" should have, and her body's instincts seemed to have betrayed the rationality she was so proud of.
That was absolutely a mistake that shouldn't have happened.
Gu Jinghong shook her head, suppressing her previously chaotic thoughts, when she heard Xiao Chengyan's footsteps pacing back and forth at the door of the side room.
She silently opened her eyes wide... So, he couldn't sleep either?
A moment later, Changfeng's deliberately lowered voice rang out: "Your Highness, everything is arranged. It's time to depart."
Gu Jinghong heard Xiao Chengyan's footsteps pacing back and forth a few times at the door of the side room before gradually fading away, as if he had left with Changfeng.
Last night, I was first in a moment of panic, and then I was "confused and infatuated".
Gu Jinghong scratched her long hair in frustration—she was always calm and composed when on missions, so what happened to her yesterday? Was she, Gu Jinghong, also such a shallow person, actually deceived by Xiao Chengyan's appearance?
Gu Jinghong threw off the covers and got out of bed, stepping barefoot onto the cold floor, letting the chill clear her muddled mind.
Those tails from yesterday were dangerous...
"Green Wutong".
Qingwu appeared outside Chen'an Residence at some point. Upon hearing the Minister call her, she immediately responded and entered with nimble movements.
Gu Jinghong walked to the window and pried open a crack with her fingertips. "The time has come. Take advantage of the Prince's visit to the palace today to find out the landing spots and activity patterns of 'Falcon's' tails."
She paused, a blush creeping onto her face. "Last night I... His Highness must be even more suspicious now, with even more eyes watching me inside and outside the mansion. I can't make the slightest move; I can only rely on you. Please be careful."
Qingwu nodded vigorously: "Don't worry, Your Excellency, I understand. I will definitely handle it cleanly and efficiently."
Gu Jinghong nodded slightly, watching Qingwu quickly retreat to make arrangements, and felt somewhat relieved.
After a quick wash, Gu Jinghong sat in front of the dressing mirror, about to retrieve the Nanfeng Secret Box, when a voice came from outside the door announcing that Manager Liu from the needlework room had arrived.
Liu Zhaowan entered with two maids, carrying a stack of clothes. She gave Gu Jinghong a perfunctory curtsy, a fake smile on her face, but her voice carried a condescending sarcasm: "Oh, Miss Gu, you're up really 'early'. This servant is here on the orders of the Prince to deliver some 'properties' for the New Year to you."
She stood beside Gu Jinghong like an expressionless statue, her cold eyes scrutinizing Gu Jinghong, who was only wearing an undergarment and had no makeup.
—Gu Jinghong's face is truly that of a vixen! Even Steward Su is no match for her. I don't know what methods she used, but this morning I heard that the Prince was with her on the street yesterday... She really has the demeanor of a brothel owner, shameless!
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