So that's how it is.
"Your Highness! No!"
Changfeng's figure rushed into the workshop like a whirlwind. He had obviously tracked Xiao Chengyan all the way here after discovering that Xiao Chengyan had lost control and left the palace. When he saw the scene, his eyes widened in fury. Without hesitation, he used all his strength to meet the attack head-on and struck out with both palms, trying to forcefully suppress Xiao Chengyan.
"Bang!"
Changfeng and Xiao Chengyan exchanged a palm strike, and Changfeng was so shocked that he was forced to retreat repeatedly, his blood and qi surging, and his tiger's mouth burst open!
Xiao Chengyan was repeatedly thwarted, which enraged him. His body was surrounded by black energy that resembled a vortex, and it looked as if he was about to indiscriminately destroy everything around him.
Despite their injuries, Phantom and Long Wind pounced again, clinging to him tightly from the left and right, but they were like a small boat in a raging torrent, about to be torn apart at any moment!
At this critical moment, Gu Jinghong's gaze suddenly locked onto the giant torsion ballista next to her, which was poised to fire! She rushed over and used all her strength to pull the release mechanism!
Buzz—Boom!
The dull, thunderous roar and violent tremors caused Xiao Chengyan, who was in a frenzy, to momentarily freeze in his movements.
"Tsk—"
A slightly languid voice rang out at the door, "Master Gu, the way you welcome distinguished guests at Jinghongwu is quite unique."
Everyone looked up and saw that the new emperor of Beizhai, Murong Xiao, was leaning against the door at some point.
He crossed his arms, his black sable coat casually draped over his shoulders. In the candlelight, his face, which bore a resemblance to Xiao Chengyan but was more aggressive, was filled with keen interest and inquiry.
His gaze first swept over the mess, and finally landed on Xiao Chengyan, who was being desperately entangled by the phantom of the long wind. He lingered for a moment on the grotesque writhing right arm, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.
"Your Majesty Murong, please lend a hand!" Changfeng pleaded urgently while Xiao Chengyan was stunned by the loud noise.
Murong Xiao did not make a move immediately. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Gu Jinghong, who was still standing straight despite his pale face. A meaningful smile appeared on his lips: "Master Gu, was it because of such a... troublesome person that you rejected my sincerity that day?"
He slowly took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Chengyan's face as if appraising a precious trophy: "Xiao Chengyan, the King of Dayong. Tsk, I never expected the renowned God of War to be so... wild and unruly in private. I wonder what the officials of Dayong would think if they saw this?"
Gu Jinghong naturally understood the threat in his words.
Seeing his expression of interest mixed with slight hesitation, Gu Jinghong knew that he was weighing his options, not only the risks of taking action, but also the potential benefits behind the matter.
Neighboring countries have no friendship.
The Northern Di and the Great Yong have only maintained a superficial peace in recent years, but the temptation to seize control of the Great Yong's most critical weakness is too great.
Gu Jinghong met his gaze: "Your Majesty, Jinghong knows what you're thinking. Since you've guessed what I'm thinking, you should know how important the Prince is to me. If you stand idly by now... everything we discussed before is immediately null and void!"
What a woman who dares to love and hate!
Upon hearing this, Murong Xiao not only did not get angry, but instead chuckled softly.
"Gu Jinghong, you always know how to make me... unable to refuse."
He wiped the smile off his face, his eyes suddenly turning sharp. "Remember, you owe me one. This favor will have to be repaid with interest in the future."
In the next instant, he joined the battle like lightning. Without using any killing moves, his palms flew, and his pure and gentle internal energy, like invisible threads, wrapped around several key acupoints on Xiao Chengyan's body, specifically for blocking and channeling!
Thus, the combined efforts of Phantom's unpredictable movements, Changfeng's fierce frontal attacks, and Murong Xiao's exquisite control finally brought Xiao Chengyan, who was in a berserk state, under control.
Xiao Chengyan let out a roar of unwillingness, his body trembling violently. Darkness and clarity alternated wildly in his eyes. Finally, as he looked in Gu Jinghong's direction, a moment of clarity seemed to appear in his eyes. His lips moved, and he uttered a few words extremely weakly: "Ah Hong... go..."
Immediately, his body went limp, all his strength receded like a tide, and he fell into a complete coma.
Changfeng, Huanying, and Murong Xiao all breathed a sigh of relief, their breathing becoming disordered.
Murong Xiao straightened his slightly disheveled robes, looked at the messy workshop and the unconscious Xiao Chengyan, a deep look of inquiry flashing in his eyes, and then smiled at Gu Jinghong: "Master Gu, I came to see about the crossbow matters, but I didn't expect to run into such a big show."
She leaned closer to examine Xiao Chengyan's features, then casually remarked, "The man you long for but cannot have is him?... The renowned Prince Jin of Dayong, Xiao Chengyan, does indeed possess some of my handsome features."
Gu Jinghong glanced at Murong Xiao, not bothering to argue with him, and simply gently held Xiao Chengyan's head.
She reached out and touched his increasingly gaunt face, feeling his restless body even in his coma, and his scarred skin... Ever since he returned from the southwest, he had been pushing her away, and she didn't know why at first.
But now, they probably know.
She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart.
Snap—
A tear fell and landed on Xiao Chengyan's neck.
After a long while, she looked up at Changfeng.
Changfeng, who had been concerned about the prince's gaze, instinctively looked away when Gu Jinghong saw it.
"Changfeng," she said calmly, "how could he have become like this?"
Changfeng remained silent and did not answer.
Gu Jinghong knew without even thinking that it must have been Xiao Chengyan's instruction.
She began to deduce: "The three months she disappeared in the southwest, the evasive news about A-Yuan was false, the news that the prince was poisoned was the truth..."
She paused for a moment, touched his arm which had calmed down, and then looked up to observe Changfeng's expression.
He remained silent, and the phantom beside him also kept quiet.
Gu Jinghong continued her deduction: "He's been poisoned by a Gu. When it flares up, his strength is astonishing, but he doesn't recognize people. He's afraid of hurting me... His judgment is correct. But why is he afraid of hurting me even though he's never had an attack in front of me? It's because... because..."
She thought about it carefully for a while, and suddenly remembered the secret reports from Qianyuan Pavilion that she had read: "Because of Mu Chuchu, Mu Chuchu was killed by that crazy Cheng Yan. He never kills women, so he was afraid."
Changfeng's eyes grew increasingly red; this grown man, who had spent half his life fighting on the battlefield, was on the verge of tears.
Gu Jinghong stared intently at Changfeng. "So, even now, you still refuse to tell me the truth? Don't you think that knowing this would actually help Ayan more?"
Changfeng lowered his head deeply, as if he had struggled for a long time. He finally spoke, his voice dry as if sandpaper was being rubbed: "Miss Gu... Now that things have come to this, I dare not hide it any longer."
Gu Jinghong keenly noticed that Changfeng addressed her as "Miss Gu" instead of "Princess Consort." Clearly, in Changfeng's eyes, the pretense of marriage was never valid.
"The prince didn't go to the southwestern front at all! It was a secret decree from His Majesty that ordered him to secretly enter the Nanzhao royal court for negotiations, with the intention of eliminating the threat at its root and ending the border troubles forever!"
“But none of us expected…” At this point, Changfeng clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, and his eyes flashed with deep-seated hatred, “The Fifth Prince Xiao Chengming’s influence has already infiltrated the upper echelons of Nanzhao.”
"Xiao Chengming?!" Gu Jinghong's pupils shrank, instantly connecting all the clues—Gongsun Lie's conspiracy with Xiao Chengming, the impeachment against her, and... the Gu poison in Xiao Chengyan's body!
Changfeng gritted his teeth, "Yes, or at least, they are his men. The Nanzhao royal court has long been divided. The peace faction is willing to negotiate with my Dayong, but the war faction, led by General Chachai, has already been heavily bribed by the Fifth Prince's men! They have no intention of succeeding in the peace talks!"
"Chachai and the others know that the Prince is the soul of the Dayong army and the backbone of the pro-war faction! As long as the Prince is destroyed, the Dayong border army will suffer a heavy blow. At that time, the pro-war faction of Nanzhao can take the opportunity to start another war, and the Fifth Prince... can also use this opportunity to eliminate the most powerful opponent on the road to the throne!"
"So at the negotiation banquet, they pretended to make peace, but secretly put... the Southern Wind Gu in the prince's wine!"
Changfeng's voice was filled with endless regret and anger, "What a vicious plan that kills two birds with one stone! It can cripple my Great Yong War God, ignite the flames of war, and embolden the Fifth Prince to suppress the pro-peace faction in the court!"
He looked at Xiao Chengyan's hideous arm, as if recalling that day, his brows furrowed, and tears seemed to be welling up in his eyes.
"That thing was supposed to burrow into the ear, gnaw on the brain, drive the person insane and kill them, but it... it just happened to have its eye on this old wound on the prince's arm."
Tears finally rolled down Changfeng Hu's face.
"The prince was fortunate enough not to die on the spot, but the poison had already taken deep root in his meridians and bone marrow... From then on, the prince gradually became two different kinds of people. During the day, he could still stay awake with his profound internal strength and amazing willpower, just like an ordinary person. But once night fell, or when his emotions fluctuated violently, the poison would become uncontrollable... He would become sinister and violent, his power would surge, but he would not recognize his own family."
Gu Jinghong seemed to understand, and lowered her eyes to stroke Xiao Chengyan's forehead: "If it weren't for this reason, I think he would have had a hard time escaping from the Nanzhao royal court."
Changfeng nodded, feeling a little unaccustomed to Gu Jinghong's way of thinking.
In fact, Gu Jinghong was right. If it weren't for his strange state, no one in Nanzhao could defeat him for a time, and he probably wouldn't have been able to escape.
But what exactly does Miss Gu want to say?
Changfeng almost blurted out, "Miss Gu, do you really think that the prince being poisoned by Gu is actually a good thing?"
Murong Xiao's thoughts were more complex and profound than the other two's, so he leaned against the wall and looked at Gu Jinghong with great interest. He was also curious to know why she thought that way.
Gu Jinghong's face remained calm and expressionless: "Of course, compared to the original, normal prince, being poisoned by such a Gu is indeed heartbreaking. But think about it, if it weren't for that explosive power back then, the prince might have already died in Nanzhao. We don't even have a single prince poisoned now. So, this matter..."
Just as things were getting to the crucial point, Gu Jinghong changed the subject: "That Miss A Yuan is Princess Yongning, so what's the story behind that?"
Changfeng said, "Princess Yongning, also known as Miss Ayuan, is skilled in Gu magic and came to treat the Prince. With her acupuncture and medicine, the Prince's condition has improved slightly, and he can barely suppress it on a daily basis..."
"However, when he was at the Southwest Headquarters, for some unknown reason, the Gu poison in the Prince's body suddenly and violently erupted without warning. When he regained consciousness, he discovered that Miss Mu Chuchu at the Headquarters... had been killed by his own hand."
Changfeng closed his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to recall that bloody scene any longer. When he spoke again, his voice was filled with despair.
"After learning the truth, the prince became afraid. He was afraid that one day he would lose control and hurt you, or even kill you, just like he did when he accidentally killed Miss Mu."
"He can't afford the consequences, not even a one in ten thousand chance! So..."
Gu Jinghong coldly replied, "So he'd rather push me to Gongsun Cheyuan?"
Changfeng nodded silently.
This sounds plausible on the surface, but it doesn't make much sense logically.
For example, why didn't Xiao Chengyan simply push her away or refuse to return to the capital? Why did he go to such lengths to marry her off to Gongsun Cheyuan? Could it be that the Duke's mansion could offer better protection than the Prince Jin's mansion? And what about Gongsun Lie, that cunning old fox, and what Gongsun Cheyuan said on his wedding day: "Father has his reasons"...?
Bang bang bang—
"Jinghong, are you there? We've come to see you."
Gu Jinghong snapped out of her thoughts and met the eyes of the others—it was Gongsun Lie's voice!
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