Gu Ying couldn't stand his scorching gaze and turned her eyes away, saying, "Adu, can I... invite Cousin into the manor now?"
"Now?"
"Mm... and secretly without anyone knowing."
"That's easy enough, but—" He clasped the back of the little girl's neck with his big hand, staring fixedly at her, "Can you tell me why?"
Gu Ying licked her dry lips, not avoiding his gaze, "I said that one day, I would definitely tell you everything about me."
As for how he would choose in the end... that was his business.
Zhao Changdu's lips quirked up slightly and he dropped a dragonfly touch of a kiss on her forehead, "Alright."
He could probably guess what the little girl was going to do. She couldn't do this kind of thing without a certain someone's participation. "Do you want Su He there too?"
Gu Ying was puzzled. "Su He?"
Zhao Changdu said lightly, "Mm. He's the owner of the Fuyun Building."
As soon as Gu Ying heard, she stared in astonishment, eyes wide. "It's him?!"
In the northwest there was a tall building, reaching as high as the floating clouds!
The foremost intelligence organization in the world, gathering the most detailed and formidable information across all of Dong Li!
Whether it was the Dong Li people or the Qiang Tribe, whether it was a prominent household or common folk, as long as it was information that Fuyun Building wanted, there was nothing they couldn't obtain!
Yet the esteemed owner of Fuyun Building was unfathomable and mysterious, never revealing himself in public. How could he be the most inconspicuous Young Master Su Su in the Yong’an Marquis Manor?!
And he was even on such good terms with the Heir Apparent?!
Gu Ying was still immersed in surprise.
Zhao Changdu rubbed the top of the little girl's head. "With him there, we might be able to get some useful information."
Having said that, he set her down and went to the door to call Huai An over.
Not only was the Qilin Army an elite force, but they were also the best secret guards across all of Dong Li.
After giving the order, the man turned back around. He saw that his little girl hadn't eaten a single bite of food. She had run into the study wearing a pair of sopping embroidered shoes. Not long after, she took some paper and a writing brush and came back.
She drew many strange symbols on the paper and also wrote down words like snowstorm, earthquake, plague, time, etc.
Zhao Changdu was also in no mood to eat anymore. His brows were furrowed as he stood to the side watching her wet shoes. He had Yin Lan bring over new shoes.
Gu Ying was still carefully sorting through everything that had happened in her past life during the month of the snowstorm.
All of a sudden, she felt her body go light. She was swept up horizontally into someone's arms.
"Ah..." She gave a soft cry. The emotions she had finally calmed were stirred up once more. Her small hands instinctively hooked around the man's neck. The tips of her ears swiftly turned a shade of pink. "Adu, what are you doing?"
The man's tone was reproachful. "Your shoes are wet and you don't even realize it yourself?"
She really doesn't know how to take care of herself. When he goes to Yueyang for a few months, what will she do in the manor then?
Gu Ying was taken aback. She really had forgotten. Seeing his meeting with Huo Qiyun in the pavilion and his low mood when he came back, she didn’t have the frame of mind to change her shoes at all.
Zhao Changdu directly took off her shoes and socks, using his palm to cover her icy jade feet. "When I'm not at the manor, I'll have some Qilin Army guards secretly watching over Changfeng Pavilion. You have to remember to write me more letters. The Qilin Army has special channels to deliver letters that will get them to me within one to three days. If anyone bullies you in the manor, just threaten them with my name, especially Lady Cheng. No matter what trouble she tries to cause, simply plead illness and refuse to see her."
The man spoke earnestly, resenting that he couldn’t grab her ear and nag at her directly.
"Is it warmer now?"
As the precious heir apparent of the prestigious Prince Jing’s manor, the battle god who struck fear across Dong Li, this cold and ruthless man was now carefully warming her feet.
Gu Ying's heart trembled slightly. She stared blankly at him with wide bright eyes.
Zhao Changdu saw the silly little girl blankly staring at him. He chuckled lightly and helped her put her embroidered shoes back on.
Gu Ying still had some confusion in her eyes. She didn't quite understand what kind of feelings the Heir Apparent had towards her.
To be more precise, she didn’t not understand the Heir Apparent, she didn’t understand all men in this world.
Forget about a man of such high status and power like the Heir Apparent, or His Majesty in the palace. Even someone of humble birth like Jiang Yin—before he became the top scholar, his mother had already secretly raised Jiang Ling'er to be his concubine.
Jiang Yin had long known that Jiang Ling’er wasn’t his sister. So afterwards, when he made great achievements, he quickly brought in many beautiful concubines and made Jiang Ling’er his side consort. He was even able to enjoy all three women in one night...
Why were men able to have three wives and four concubines? Why didn't they need love to maintain these romantic ties?
If she wasn’t the one marrying over, would the Heir Apparent treat another woman the same way he treated her?
Gu Ying sighed silently in her heart, knowing that this was simply men's innate nature. If they could get along amicably and trust each other, that would already be quite good.
It was just that even though she didn’t have any extravagant hopes, she still felt somewhat disappointed.
Zhao Changdu didn’t know the little girl behind him actually dared to think this way about him. He only saw her staring blankly at himself.
Like a cat. The purer its gaze, the more alluring it became.
Seeing her like this made his heart irritated.
"A Ying, don't look at me like that..."
"How am I looking at you..."
He chuckled and leaned in next to her ear. His thin lips pressed against her tender earlobe, his voice lowered huskily, "Or I'm afraid I won't be able to restrain myself..."
Gu Ying's face grew hot and her heart chaotic. She swiftly regained her senses and jumped out from his embrace, "You can't. We have to listen to Sister Fish!"
Her waist was still sore right now.
Zhao Changdu's lips turned up and he suppressed that irritation, not forcing her. He simply stood by her side watching her write at the table.
The little girl was beautiful as a flower or the moon. Every frown or smile was a magnificent painting.
Although he didn’t know what she was writing, watching her write and watching her was a harmonious, beautiful scene—just as the ancients said, with zither and pipes played before them, such tranquility was good.
He watched her earnestly for a while.
There was a knock on the door from Huai An outside.
"Master, Young Master Ye and Young Master Su have arrived."
"Good. Have them go to the study."
"Yes."
At this time, Gu Ying had also just finished organizing the timeline of events during the month of the snowstorm. She smiled and hugged the papers to her chest. "Adu, let's go over."
Zhao Changdu's expression was tranquil. He grasped her little hand in his palm. "Mm."
The couple walked to the study hand in hand.
Seeing this, Ye Qingzhi and Su He continuously clicked their tongues.
Zhao Changdu however felt it was nothing out of the ordinary. Completely unperturbed, he pulled the little girl to sit by his side. It was Gu Ying herself who felt her face grow somewhat hot.
Su He lounged lazily against the armrest, smiling mockingly. "Calling us over so late at night, Adu, don't tell me it's to show off your lovey-doveyness? Brothers shouldn't do this kind of thing, you know. Don't you know that Ye Brother and I are still lonely singles? We're not like you two, basking in newlywed warmth, mingled like oil and honey, so clingy not even a crack can separate you. If word got out, wouldn't you lose face? You’re the heir apparent of the prestigious Prince Jing’s manor, Supreme Commander across Dong Li, overseeing tens of thousands of imperial guards!"
