Gan Qiongying pretended to be pitiful outside, but the carriage curtains remained completely still.
Gan Qiongying pursed her lips, but didn't insist. She quickly climbed into the carriage, glanced at Li Hua who was sitting in the carriage with his eyes closed, and sat opposite him.
Li Hua kept his eyes closed. Although he had just rescued Gan Qiongying and even felt a sense of relief at surviving a disaster, he didn't want to face Gan Qiongying at all.
Or perhaps he simply didn't know how to face Gan Qiongying.
He had come to realize how easily he could be swayed by Gan Qiongying's emotions.
For her safety, he cut off his own escape route almost without thinking.
After those people appeared before the regent, even though they all wore veils, they could no longer stay in Yindu.
Before entering the clothing shop, Li Hua had already given instructions that once the matter was over, they should return to Jinchuan on their own to assist the people there in evacuating.
Those people were the most skilled men that Li Hua had trained over many years and was able to select. Their original purpose was to hide in Yindu to help Li Hua escape to the ends of the earth if he faked his death.
And now...
Li Hua closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly. Now that things had come to this, he didn't blame Gan Qiongying for running around recklessly, nor did he blame her for disregarding the danger and going with the Regent.
He was just blaming himself. He blamed himself for being so easily swayed and for cutting off his own escape route for someone.
Even if he didn't believe Gan Qiongying's claim that she had mistaken someone for someone else and followed the Regent into the clothing shop.
Li Hua couldn't blame her at all; he desperately wanted to embrace Gan Qiongying and feel her presence and safety.
His skin was covered in tiny bumps from suppressing this intense desire.
But Li Hua didn't move. He wouldn't allow himself to move. His heart was no longer under his control. At least he could still control his body and wouldn't act too humbly or anxiously.
At least until he figured out whether Gan Qiongying had any feelings for him, Li Hua didn't want to put himself in a predicament of wanting something cheap and not getting it.
He could feel Gan Qiongying's gaze constantly encircling him, round and round like silkworm silk, soon to wrap him up in a cocoon.
Li Hua was unable to move or break free, and was completely willing from head to toe.
The full moon outside had already explained everything, and even advised Chen Wa not to rush to commit suicide to atone for his sins, as living would be of the greatest use to the princess.
This was, of course, what Gan Qiongying instilled in Manyue: these loyal servants cultivated by feudal society were useful, but they were always willing to die for their masters.
Gan Qiongying told Manyue that when a person dies, nothing remains, not even their soul, and all the things they wanted to do will vanish into nothingness.
Just like the real Princess Duanrong, apart from Gan Qiongying, no one else would remember her anymore.
Only by living well can you do what you want to do.
These are truths that have been passed down for five thousand years. Upon hearing this, Chen Wa suddenly understood. He immediately stopped thinking about going to Gan Qiongying to die and instead quickly rode his horse back to intercept the reinforcements.
Because the reinforcements that Chen Wa brought were people whom Princess Duanrong had instructed her to never expose to the public.
The situation was urgent, and Chen Wa had no choice but to call upon those men. Now that the princess is safe and sound, Chen Wa must stop them before they gather together and enter the street.
Chen Wa rode away on horseback, and the carriage moved forward slowly.
This carriage belongs to Li Hua, and it's heading towards the Prince Consort's residence, not the Princess's.
Although there weren't many attendants outside the carriage, Li Hua's porters were hidden among the crowd, taking turns escorting the carriage towards the Prince Consort's residence.
Of the two people inside the carriage, only Gan Qiongying has been speaking from the beginning until now.
"Is my husband still angry with me? I've already sent Gu Ming and Gu Qing away."
“I didn’t do anything to them. It’s just that their family members were in trouble. After the prince consort took over the princess’s residence, they couldn’t use the money at will, so they came to me in desperation.”
Gan Qiongying said, “As evidenced by the full moon, I was in the same room with them, and we talked about their families the whole time. I didn’t see them dancing or hear them playing the piano.”
"After I sent them away, I immediately went after my husband, but I mistook him for someone else..."
Upon hearing this, Li Hua finally opened her eyes and looked at Gan Qiongying.
Li Hua's gaze was not sharp at this moment, but it was as deep and unfathomable as when he looked at the Regent, as if he could see through everything.
Gan Qiongying's words came to an abrupt halt.
Under such scrutiny, she could no longer force herself to lie.
Gan Qiongying didn't want to lie, but there were some things she really couldn't tell the God of Wealth.
Even though the God of Wealth had just saved her life, Gan Qiongying had to stay clear-headed. She would think of other ways to repay the God of Wealth, but she must never reveal to anyone the plans and arrangements between Gan Lin and her.
Gan Qiongying gritted her teeth, looked at Li Hua, and decided to say something that was both true and false.
“Alright, to be honest, I didn’t follow the Regent because I mistook him for him.” Gan Qiongying got up from her seat, squatted down next to Li Hua’s knees, placed her hands on Li Hua’s legs, and looked up at him with a very sincere gaze.
She said, "He lured me there. I was waiting for you in the private room, but you never came, so I got bored and opened the door to look outside."
“He discovered me at some point, and he tricked me into following him by saying that ‘His Majesty is poisoned and his life is in danger,’ and I followed him all the way to the clothing shop.”
"As you know, I can't get into the palace at all. The palace is controlled by the Empress Dowager's power, and I have no way of finding out about His Majesty's safety."
Because this statement was true, Gan Qiongying's expression was full of genuine helplessness and worry.
"His Majesty is my only brother and my only family. What will I do if something really happens to him?"
"I knew I'd been scammed when I got to the clothing store, but I had to go in and find out the truth."
"But after the Regent lured me there, he started making trouble. Because of the arrow wound in his leg, he threatened me in various ways. There were too many of his men, so I couldn't escape..."
"Fortunately, His Majesty was not actually poisoned."
Gan Qiongying was lying in this part, so she didn't dare to look Li Hua in the eye. She could only pretend to be scared, hug Li Hua's leg, and bury her head in Li Hua's knee.
Gan Qiongying said a lot, but Li Hua kept his eyes closed. His hands, hanging down at his sides, clenched tighter and tighter in his sleeves. His fingers, which had just stopped bleeding, started bleeding again because of his force, and a sharp pain came from them.
He seemed unresponsive, and even closed his eyes again.
However, Li Hua was not conscious at the moment, and even the pain could not bring him to his senses.
He could tell that Gan Qiongying was lying. Li Hua had met so many people, and apart from when he was blinded by concern, how could he be so easily deceived by such verbal tricks?
He knew that Gan Qiongying was avoiding some things and wasn't telling him the whole truth, but Li Hua didn't want to expose her at all, because even he himself was hiding something from Gan Qiongying.
There are too many things standing between them, and even their positions are different.
If he really claims to be Zhongli Zhengzhen's brother, with the blood of the Jinchuan royal family, and that his marriage to Gan Qiongying was merely to steal her power network.
Li Hua really couldn't imagine what kind of reaction Gan Qiongying would have.
Even if he said he hadn't handed over the real power network to Zhongli Zheng, and that it was all a lie, Gan Qiongying would never believe him again.
Given that he absolutely cannot reveal his identity, why would Gan Qiongying open her heart to him simply because of his own wavering?
Li Hua raised a finger, as if to touch her face, but that was all she did.
He was filled with immense sorrow, and he couldn't even confess what he wanted to tell anyone, because even his appearance wasn't real.
How was he going to tell Gan Qiongying all this?
How can we expect Gan Qiongying to believe in his stance and stand on his side because of his so-called feelings?
Under these circumstances, what right does Li Hua have to demand that Gan Qiongying be honest with him?
Gan Qiongying had no idea what Li Hua was going through, and she was still patiently trying to appease the God of Wealth.
“I’ve done a lot of stupid things in the past. As for those people in the backyard… it’s really difficult to leave them to you. I will deal with them all myself in the next couple of days.”
"How about we go back to how things were before?" Gan Qiongying really needed Li Hua's 200,000 taels of silver every month.
It would be even better if there were more.
Gan Qiongying hugged Lihua and said coquettishly, "Please don't be angry with me anymore, okay? Besides His Majesty, you're the only family I have..."
She had said so much before, but Li Hua hadn't reacted at all.
After Gan Qiongying finished speaking, Li Hua finally opened her eyes.
He looked at Gan Qiongying again.
He reached out from his sleeve and lifted Gan Qiongying's face.
Gan Qiongying's chin was slowly lifted. In the swaying carriage, the two people's eyes met. One looked away guiltily, while the other looked tenderly pained.
Li Hua spoke, her usually clear voice surprisingly hoarse: "Do you really... consider me your family?"
Given that there are mountains and seas separating them.
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