Realizing that Gan Qiongying was about to wake up, Li Hua, like a lecherous thief who couldn't stand the light of day, quickly got up, but it was too late.
"Um?"
Gan Qiongying opened her eyes, and the two stared at each other at a distance of less than a fist's width. Li Hua dared not speak, because if he spoke at this moment, his heart would surely come to life and burst out of his mouth to escape.
Fortunately, because he had just gotten up haphazardly and landed on the ice basin, the ice basin tipped over at just the right moment.
Under Gan Qiongying's watchful gaze, he grabbed a piece of ice and handed it to her.
Then he pulled Gan Qiongying to her feet.
"Did I knock over the ice basin because I was sleeping too restlessly?" Gan Qiongying sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Looks like I've always been a restless sleeper..."
She had always thought she was quite honest, but she ended up hugging Lihua all night long, and she got used to it.
After waking up, Gan Qiongying didn't fall back asleep. By this time, the carriage was already very close to the city. She was still quite groggy and didn't speak, and Li Hua didn't dare to utter a word either.
The two remained silent, but there was no awkwardness between them.
Because Gan Qiongying rested her head on Li Hua's shoulder. Li Hua slightly slumped his shoulder to make it more comfortable for her to lean on, but in reality, his mind was in turmoil. On one hand, he condemned his behavior just now, and on the other hand, he was stubbornly arguing.
They are husband and wife, a couple married by imperial decree, in accordance with the laws of Nanzhao. What's wrong with kissing?
It's perfectly normal for her to kiss him even if she's awake, right?
Li Hua glanced at Gan Qiongying's face several times, but he didn't move until he returned to the princess's residence.
They're utterly useless.
The carriage traveled swiftly and arrived at the princess's residence around noon.
Just a few days later, upon returning to the princess's residence, Li Hua surprisingly felt a touch of familiarity.
Along the way, Gan Qiongying held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder, and he, without realizing it, took Gan Qiongying's hand in return, and they naturally walked into the mansion hand in hand.
The maids went down to settle the things they had brought back.
Gan Qiongying and Li Hua were enjoying the cool shade under an old tree in the courtyard.
During dinner, Gan Qiongying kept serving food to Li Hua, and Li Hua's rice bowl was piled high. He ate one bite after another, and even after eating a lot, he didn't forget to serve food to Gan Qiongying.
He was using his own chopsticks.
Li Hua's eyes gleamed as he watched Gan Qiongying eat without any difficulty.
But for some reason, when things are going incredibly well, they are always easily interrupted by unexpected events.
Before the two had finished their meal, a maid rushed over, her voice filled with anxiety.
“Princess,” the maid knelt outside the palace, “Gu Ming and Gu Qing request an audience. They say they heard that the princess is having a hard time at Haoyue Manor and want to play the zither and dance for her to help her through her troubles.”
Gan Qiongying was stunned for a moment, not knowing who these two people were, but who else could they be but those money-grubbers in the backyard who were playing the piano and dancing for her!
As Li Hua's movements slowed down, the warmth in his eyes gradually faded.
Gan Qiongying opened her mouth, feeling as if she had died innocently.
Heaven and earth bear witness, not only has she not seen those money-grubbers in the backyard for a long time, but didn't she hand them all over to Li Hua to deal with?
And why does this scene seem so familiar?!
The last time she couldn't eat properly was probably because of General Qu.
Gan Qiongying's hand trembled as she picked up some food. She slowly turned to look at the maid, glancing at Li Hua out of the corner of her eye, and said directly, "I won't see her."
Manyue was also startled. She now knew how much Gan Qiongying cared about Lihua, and immediately went outside the palace to drag the maid away.
Feeling inexplicably guilty, Gan Qiongying immediately picked up a piece of fish and put it in Li Hua's bowl, preparing to shift the blame and escape the situation. "Didn't you say it was up to you to handle? Haven't you cleaned them up yet?"
Li Hua remained expressionless, but his hands, resting on his lap, were already clenched. He looked at the fish in the bowl and was about to look up to observe Gan Qiongying's expression when hurried footsteps sounded again outside the hall.
Gan Qiongying was already somewhat alarmed, but when she turned her head, she vaguely saw two people quickly passing through the moon gate and walking towards them.
The two young men arrived at the door but stood outside the hall, peering into the room several times, but dared not come in.
Soon, Manyue returned and looked at Gan Qiongying, saying, "The two young masters were so eager to see the princess that they couldn't stop them."
How could they not have stopped them? All those guards were useless; how could they not have stopped two seventeen or eighteen-year-old young masters?
Gan Qiongying felt that something was wrong with Manyue's words, and Manyue's expression was also not quite right.
Gan Qiongying naturally stepped over the threshold and looked outside.
The twins were dressed in blue. The moment Gan Qiongying saw their faces, the part of her memory belonging to Princess Duanrong opened up like a book being blown by the wind, and she quickly recognized the two people.
They had identical faces, wore identical clothes, and were both incredibly handsome and elegant, with an extraordinary and refined air about them.
However, Gan Qiongying remembered that they were not male concubines or entertainers who pleased people with their talents. They were people secretly trained by Duan Rong and were about to be sent to Zhangzhou.
After realizing that these were her own people, Gan Qiongying's expression changed slightly. She said to Manyue, "We're eating. Whatever it is, we should finish eating first. Let's take them to the side courtyard."
Gan Qiongying was distressed because she had no one to use except for seventeen shadow guards. Since these two men were Princess Duanrong's men, she couldn't easily dismiss them; perhaps they could be of use.
Gan Qiongying had Manyue take the person away, completely unaware that Li Hua's complexion was getting worse and worse.
Why these two in particular?
Why did they have to be twins?
Li Hua gripped the chopsticks so tightly they were almost cramping.
Li Hua thought Gan Qiongying would send Manyue back, but she didn't expect that she would want to see them.
She must be reluctant to part with the twins, right? After all, they... are really handsome.
Li Hua lowered his eyes and put down the fish that Gan Qiongying had given him.
Gan Qiongying was completely unaware of Li Hua's state of mind; in the blink of an eye, she had already caused a cataclysmic upheaval.
She frantically searched her mind for Princess Duanrong's memories, but the parts she could recall were very limited.
Because these memories weren't hers, she could only recall them by seeing something with her own eyes, being triggered by a certain scene, or even by dreaming.
For example, she didn't know what her relationship with the emperor was at first. It was only after she went to the palace and was traumatized that she dreamed and recalled her memories of the emperor.
However, Gan Qiongying hadn't dreamed for a long time, and there weren't many things she could remember lately. Her chest hadn't hurt anymore, and Gan Qiongying didn't know how many of Princess Duanrong's arrangements before her death she had overlooked.
The memory is only triggered upon meeting the person, which is too passive.
Gan Qiongying wondered, since these two male lovers were her people, could the others be too?
Could it be that Princess Duanrong was using the pretext of keeping male concubines to keep all the people she could use in her own backyard?
She needs to find an opportunity to meet them one by one.
As she was thinking, she picked up another piece of food and offered it to Li Hua, but Li Hua moved the bowl, and the food fell onto the table.
Li Hua didn't even look up, continuing to eat slowly.
Gan Qiongying paused, chopsticks in hand, staring at the food that had fallen onto the table. Her thoughts returned, and she finally realized that something was wrong with Li Hua.
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