In short, it all ended with a slap on the wrist and a sweet talk to smooth things over.
Under Gan Qiongying's urging, Li Hua obediently drank the medicine, and was then able to leave.
However, just before leaving, as she stepped out the door, Gan Qiongying slightly restrained her gentleness and looked at Li Hua, saying, "I won't restrict you. You can do whatever you want, but you must come back before dark."
Li Hua froze as she took a step. The harmonious atmosphere that had just been created between the two of them because of Gan Qiongying's concern and gentle words was now flowing back like hot blood as Gan Qiongying's words contained a hidden threat.
In the blink of an eye, Li Hua felt cold from head to toe.
He pursed his lips, and the warmth in his eyes vanished completely.
Throughout his life, he never received any tenderness or genuine care from his relatives or family.
He shouldn't be swayed by the slightest bit of warmth offered by a woman who is supposedly his "husband" but actually despises and humiliates him and only wants his looks.
So Gan Qiongying looked at the God of Wealth's bright eyes, which were like shattered stars, and in the blink of an eye they turned dark and icy, keeping people at arm's length.
She was nothing like the obedient and cooperative person she had been when she was sitting blankly in the hall, taking small sips of her medicine.
Gan Qiongying sighed inwardly.
She finally started to realize what was happening.
Li Hua is someone who responds better to gentle persuasion than force.
Gan Qiongying thought for a moment and said, "Isn't that easy to handle?"
After being frightened by the tiger, people dared not disobey her, so there was no need to be forceful anymore.
Therefore, Gan Qiongying stepped forward and reached out to grab Li Hua's sleeve.
Her phoenix eyes, looking up from below, were almost like two crescent moons as she leaned closer to him and whispered, "Come back soon, I'll have someone make some nourishing soup and medicine for you later."
Li Hua subconsciously took two steps back, trying to break free from Gan Qiongying. Her expression didn't change much, but the ice in her eyes was clearly cracked.
Gan Qiongying, however, tugged at his sleeve, acting like a typical young girl.
Reluctantly, she said, "I know you have business to attend to. I'm not restricting your personal freedom; I just hope you can go home to sleep tonight. We're husband and wife; isn't this a matter of course?"
Li Hua finally managed to pull out her sleeve and subconsciously glanced at the maids standing around her.
Led by Silver Moon, the maids all bowed their heads and stood like wooden stakes, well-trained.
Li Hua could hardly believe that Princess Duanrong had so many faces.
Seeing his shocked and speechless expression, Gan Qiongying smiled and said in a sticky tone, "Don't be angry with me anymore. Everything in the past was my fault. I will change from now on. As long as you don't want to do something, you won't have to do it, okay?"
As she spoke, she stepped forward again. Upon seeing this, Li Hua stepped back. However, he was a dignified and refined gentleman, and with a slight disability in his leg, he disliked walking in front of others, let alone walking or running.
Therefore, Gan Qiongying caught up with him in just a few steps.
The two stood by the moon gate in the inner courtyard. Li Hua was tense all over, as wary as if he were watching a vicious wolf that was gradually approaching him.
Gan Qiongying moved closer to him, looked at him and said, "Why are you running? You haven't answered me yet... If you don't say anything, I'll take that as an answer."
She smiled and said, "Go through this moon gate, all your people are over there. You're not well, so don't work too hard."
Li Hua suffered because he bit his tongue and couldn't speak.
Therefore, she could only move her lips, and then, with her ears turning bright red, she flung her sleeves and huffed as she entered through the moon gate.
In reality, his back view seemed to suggest he was fleeing in panic.
To be honest, he was terrified of Princess Duanrong's behavior. He would rather use extreme measures, at least he could break off relations with her decisively.
Gan Qiongying watched him walk with a limp, her brows furrowing slightly.
His leg injury needs to be properly examined by the royal physician tonight.
Li Hua did indeed see his people at the villa. When San Jiu saw him arrive, he immediately stepped forward to support Li Hua.
The people who usually served Li Hua all rushed forward, almost surrounding him.
Every time Li Hua left the princess's residence, she was covered in wounds, and her clothes were in a mess.
They surrounded Li Hua, expertly preparing to change his clothes and treat his injuries, but the maidservant closest to him stopped abruptly when she saw the brocade robe on Li Hua's body.
Then her eyes reddened, and she glanced at the maids beside her. Everyone could tell that Li Hua was not wearing the clothes she had worn when she came to the princess's residence last night. The young girls' lips trembled.
"Young Master..." Have you been humiliated?
Sweetie didn't dare to ask a question. All the maids noticed that something was wrong with Li Hua, but no one asked.
The young girl in the lead is called Sweetie. She was an orphan girl that Li Hua picked up on the road when he was traveling as a merchant. She is only fourteen years old this year, with small nose and eyes, and she treats Li Hua like her own father.
Tears streamed down her face, just as she had when she knelt on the street corner, selling herself to bury her mother.
Li Hua was already unsettled by Princess Duanrong's changing attitude. When he saw a group of maids surrounding him, all staring at him as if they had lost their parents, he initially thought they had been wronged in the princess's residence.
Finally, based on the gazes of Sweet Corner and Sanjiu fixed on his clothes, they realized what was going on.
Li Hua's ears, which had just started to feel a little better, turned bright red again.
He opened his mouth to explain, but couldn't speak. Instead, the movement was so forceful that he winced in pain.
This outfit was indeed not the one he wore yesterday; it was given to him by Princess Duanrong.
He hadn't thought too much about it, since he had been focused on being wary of Princess Duanrong from yesterday to today.
But now that I think about it carefully, why would there be men's robes in her room?
It's probably... that one of the young masters from her household stayed overnight and left it at her place!
Thinking of this, Li Hua suddenly felt as if a million ants were crawling all over her body. She immediately stepped past everyone and into the house, tearing off her clothes.
Seeing this, Sanjiu and Tianjiao quickly followed. Tianjiao and several maids, being perceptive, brought Lihua new clothes.
“Young Master, don’t worry, I already sent someone to inform the Second Young Master last night,” Sanjiu said angrily. “We’ll go back to the shop tonight and never come back! At worst, we can go to Jiangbei with the cargo ship tomorrow!”
Li Hua changed her clothes, and Tian Jiao was about to leave with the clothes when Li Hua suddenly overturned the tray and coldly watched the clothes fall to the ground.
Of course, he had considered leaving the princess's residence and embarking on a long journey on a cargo ship.
But if you can hide for a while, how can you hide forever?
Princess Duanrong is known for her ruthless methods. Could he really think she's someone easy to get along with just because of a few sweet words and a girlish act?
If he leaves without a care, what will happen to his business associates?
His purpose in coming to Nanzhao... was something he could not escape.
Li Hua stepped over the clothes on the ground and went into the house. He beckoned San Jiu to come over. Fortunately, although he could not speak, San Jiu had been by his side for many years. They had traveled all over the country and had even entered a bandit's den.
They know some simple ways of communicating using gestures.
Before long, Sanjiu nodded and, with a solemn expression, took the lead in leaving the princess's residence to act according to Lihua's plan.
Li Hua led his people out of the princess's residence, and as he had imagined, no one stopped them. The people in the princess's residence even treated them with great courtesy.
They even prepared horse-drawn carriages for them.
Li Hua returned to his residence and spent the entire day dealing with the backlog of affairs.
As night fell... he finally felt at ease when he didn't receive a carriage from the princess's residence urging him to return.
After washing up, he lay down on his bed.
But he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
A moment later, he opened his eyes in the darkness, looked at the top of the bed curtains, and chuckled.
Just as he had thought, Duanrong was using him as a substitute for Zhongli Zhengzhen.
Now... naturally they won't come looking for him anymore.
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