Gu Ying said she wanted to help her, and Huo Qiyun was very complicated. She didn't know what feelings Du had for Gu Ying. She had heard that the two had consummated their marriage. Naturally, she would feel that Gu Ying was doing this for her own benefit. It was also possible that she was exploring something.
She was a little wary of Gu Ying.
"I appreciate my younger sister's kind intentions..."
"Since you appreciate it, don't fail to live up to my good intentions. What I mean is the Crown Prince's intention."
Gu Ying smiled charmingly, looking so vivid that Huo Qiyun's heart ached and her eyes grew moist.
Seeing that Huai An was inseparable from her side, she also felt jealous.
However, would she help herself on Du's orders?
If so, Du must still care about her in his heart.
Thinking of this, she was a little more delighted, "Okay..."
It was good that Gu Ying was willing to help her... After she got away from Zhao Changxing, she could explain everything to Du properly.
If there was a chance... she still wanted to be Du's woman.
...
After talking with Huo Qiyun.
In the snowy wind, the three of them slowly walked towards Changfeng Pavilion.
Gu Ying's voice was crisp and tender in the sound of the wind and snow, as if an early cherry blossom struggling to bloom in the ice and snow in March, "Yin Lan, when you go back, let Yin Zhu and Yanzhi go find out about Cheng's situation."
Previously, when Yin Lan learned that her young lady and the Crown Prince were in a fake marriage, she was still worried. It was only until the wedding night, when the Crown Prince consummated the marriage with her young lady, that her heart fell by half.
Although there was some inexplicable affection between Huo Qiyun and the Crown Prince, Yin Lan also felt that Huo young lady was really too miserable.
She knew that for a man of the Crown Prince's noble status, having three wives and four concubines in the future would be proper.
If the Crown Prince had Huo young lady in his heart, her young lady helping Huo young lady would also leave a good impression on the Crown Prince.
If Huo young lady became the Crown Prince’s woman, she would be grateful for her young lady’s help, and the two of them could at least get along harmoniously.
So she gently said, "Okay, Madam."
"See what the eldest sister-in-law lacks. If she lacks necessities for winter, secretly send her some without letting the eldest son know."
Yin Lan smiled. "Don't worry, Madam. Yin Zhu handles things very properly."
"Well, that's good. Since ancient times, women's inner quarters have been difficult. When we were at the Marquis Manor, we also lacked charcoal and food. Others all looked at our grand manor and thought we lacked nothing, but that was not the case. Ah, let's help wherever we can."
"Madam is indeed considerate. When I go back, I will prepare some food, clothes, quilts, medicines for treating colds and send them over."
"Um."
Listening to Gu Ying's well-organized instructions, Huai An didn't know if he should say something. But if he didn't, he was worried that his mistress would misunderstand the Crown Prince.
"Madam, don't blame Huai An for being meddlesome."
Gu Ying looked at him strangely, "What's wrong, Huai An?"
Huai An said awkwardly, "Our master doesn't have that kind of intention towards the eldest wife."
Gu Ying blinked. "What kind of intention?"
Looking at the mistress' clear eyes, Huai An calmed himself and said, "When our Crown Prince was young, he had a hard time and received a lot of favor from Huo young lady. So later, the master wanted to marry her to help her get out of hardship. Later, the master also helped her, but the master definitely doesn't like her."
"Our master has always stayed away from women. After those things with Huo young lady, he never had contact with women again. But the mistress is the one the master has been determined to marry back home."
"The master doesn't understand love. Mistress, don't overthink it. The only one he likes is you."
Gu Ying was stunned for a moment, "...?"
After speaking, Huai An pressed his lips tightly and said no more.
Yin Lan said unhappily, "Huai An, don't you know that the Crown Prince is the next Marquis, who will naturally have three wives and four concubines, to have children for the Marquis Manor?"
Huai An frowned, "I naturally understand that."
Yin Lan added, "So what's wrong with the mistress making preparations for the Crown Prince early on?"
Huai An turned his head and stared at Yin Lan with wide eyes, angrily saying, "Can't they just be lifelong companions?"
Yin Lan was startled, her heartstrings stirred, and she turned to look at Gu Ying.
The cold wind blew by, and the chill kept seeping into her bones.
When Huai An said this, Gu Ying was also stunned for a moment.
Huai An looked away, his tone cold, "I've spoken out of turn. Please forgive me, Madam!"
But Yin Lan suddenly burst into laughter, plucked up her courage and pulled at his sleeve. He also kept a straight face, solemnly confirming that what he said was true.
Yin Lan said helplessly, "Madam, let's go back."
Gu Ying came back to her senses, with a faint smile at the corners of her lips, "Okay."
...
Back at Changfeng Pavilion, Gu Ying was once again deftly pulled into an embrace.
The more time she spent with him, the more Gu Ying realized that he had a strange habit of liking to hug people.
Before getting married, he could still restrain himself. Now that they were married, he didn't know restraint at all. No matter when or where, he would hug her if he could, as if she were his rag doll.
As it was, he still had government affairs from the court laid out on his desk, yet he unabashedly held her in his arms and asked her how her greetings went today.
Gu Ying told him how she had angered Cheng, and felt more and more gratified the more she talked about it. "I'm going again tomorrow, and I'll have breakfast with her. I heard she's been waiting for me to serve her, wouldn't it disappoint her if I don't go?"
The man's handsome face curved into a beautiful smile. He pecked her lips and said, "Good job, as expected of my wife."
Gu Ying still wasn't used to such intimacy. Staring at his clear and elegant phoenix eyes, her nose reddening, she told him about wanting to help Huo Qiyun.
Zhao Changdu raised his phoenix eyes and looked at her profoundly and silently.
Gu Ying said seriously, "Yes, she's so pitiful. I thought the Crown Prince would also be reluctant to see her continue to be tortured."
She felt that as the proper wife, she was also quite magnanimous.
But unexpectedly, the man's previously amiable handsome face suddenly turned cold.
Zhao Changdu's large hand pressed her slender and delicate waist closer against him, and upon hearing this, he tightened his grip. "On our wedding night, did you understand what I told you?"
Even through the thick clothes, Gu Ying could feel the heat coming from his body. Her mind also felt somewhat dizzy. "I understood. By helping her, it's actually also for the Crown Prince."
Zhao Changdu's long eyes narrowed, somewhat displeased in his heart.
The little girl looked quite smart, but probably didn't know what feelings were important.
Gu Ying didn't understand why his face had suddenly become ugly. She explained with a smile, "If I protect Huo Qiyun, it will make Cheng more upset. She can't torture Huo Qiyun or me, won't that make her even more unhappy in her heart?"
Although she said this, Zhao Changdu was still displeased in his heart.
Rumors outside said that in his youth, he and Huo Qiyun were childhood sweethearts, deeply in love, and that he wouldn't marry anyone but her. For her, he had even been willing to give up his life.
And the little girl, after hearing this, wasn't jealous at all?
