"But the bowl of wind-cold medicine she drank was definitely the one Yin Lan sent over at my request. Yin Lan and I both confirmed there was no poison in the medicinal ingredients. So the problem must have occurred with whoever concocted the medicine for her or attended to her."
"I never go to the Huanhua Courtyard, and have never been near Huo Qiyun. I'm not familiar with any of the servants who wait upon Huo Qiyun."
"The only personal attendant at her side was the devoted Lv Zhi. The lower servants don't normally handle the mistress's food and medicines."
"If...I'm guessing right, the one who poisoned Huo Qiyun...is most likely Lv Zhi..."
Zhao Changdu's gaze focused intently upon her, his tall and upright figure standing before her petite body, surrounding her completely like a cage.
Gu Ying still feared the authority of men in the end, and couldn't help but retreat back a few steps.
The man's cold eyes captured her evasiveness, and he spoke frigidly, word for word, "Lv Zhi is the handmaiden who accompanied her here. Her well-being is tied to that of her mistress. Why would she poison her own lady?"
On the pitch-black night, the sound of the wind and snow howled loudly beside their ears. The man's questioning felt ten times colder than the wind and snow.
Gu Ying's heart quivered...It felt as if her heart had been gouged out by a knife, extremely uncomfortable.
She lowered her brows helplessly. "I...don't know."
Her head hurt somewhat, and her thoughts were chaotic. She truly couldn't figure out why Lv Zhi would poison her own mistress.
There was still one other possibility - that Huo Qiyun had poisoned herself.
But with a poison like Hook Kiss, if not treated promptly, it could easily lead to death.
Would she truly risk her own life just to falsely accuse her?
Or perhaps Huo Qiyun was deliberately putting herself in peril, in order to cause an unbridgeable rift between the Heir Apparent and herself.
Once a crevice forms between two people, it becomes very difficult to mend.
As long as the Heir Apparent cared for Huo Qiyun in his heart, then no matter what she said, the only one he would choose to believe was Huo Qiyun.
No matter how she struggled and explained, it would all be futile...
An unprecedented feeling of powerlessness swept over Gu Ying. She closed her eyes, and the sourness welled up in her heart. She forcefully pressed it down. Then, amidst the sounds of rustling snow, she raised her head with a faint smile. "Heir Apparent, let's divorce..."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Changdu's eyes suddenly turned frighteningly cold. He grabbed her small hand again and forcefully clasped it, gritting his teeth as he asked, "Gu Ying, what did you say?"
"I said..." Gu Ying sniffed and raised her head to look straight at him, "Let's get divorced..."
A burst of violence swiftly ignited in Zhao Changdu's eyes. After questioning for so long, she actually gave him this heartless answer!
This woman, has she lost all conscience?!
He stared fixedly at her pale and helpless little face, as he laughed coldly again and again. He simply stopped debating with her anymore. Instead, he directly hauled her over his shoulder and strode towards the Changfeng Building.
Gu Ying lay blankly over his broad shoulder, her head and feet inverted. She shivered all over from fear.
Once inside the Changfeng Building, he expressionlessly threw her onto the large bed. His pair of icy sharp phoenix eyes contained endless fury, resembling a provoked and enraged beast as they stared straight at her.
The sharpness of the man's jawline betrayed his anger. This appearance of extreme rage was truly frightening.
Gu Ying landed on the thick brocade quilt and scrambled without thinking toward the corner of the bed. Her eyes stubbornly reddened as tears ceaselessly spun in her eyes, yet she refused to let them fall.
Seeing her on the verge of crying yet desperately holding back her tears, Zhao Changdu felt extremely annoyed.
He forcibly suppressed the churning rage in his heart. With one hand, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her out from the bed.
Gu Ying paled in fright. "Don't!"
"Why are you crying!"
He pressed her down, clasping the back of the young lady's head as he fiercely kissed her lips.
"If you keep crying, do you believe I'll devour you?"
"I...Mm!"
Gu Ying's lips trembled, the mist of tears filling her eyes. For a time, she froze in place.
The two were pressed very close to each other, their breaths intertwining. His features were tall and upright, his profile sharp and distinguished. He shamelessly exerted force against her nose, leaving her flustered and panic-stricken.
The woman beneath him was delicate and pitiable, her apricot eyes big and innocent as they brimmed with moisture.
No matter how furious Zhao Changdu felt, seeing her raise her head pitiably to gaze at him, much of his anger dissipated.
"Do you still want a divorce or not?"
He asked through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.
Without waiting for her reply, he pressed against her tender lips, overbearingly and forcefully twisting and sucking her uniquely wonderful taste.
His large hand crept beneath her clothes, the scorching hot palm covering her flat lower abdomen. He dangerously narrowed his eyes, capturing every wisp of her breaths amidst his lips and teeth.
Gu Ying's body quivered lightly as her small hands weakly pushed against his firm waist.
"Heir Apparent..."
The heavy gasps for breath caused her earlobes to burn.
Her eyes reddened as a pair of tearful eyes looked at him. She grasped his lapel with both hands, refusing to let him continue. "I really didn't poison her."
With his anger dissipated, Zhao Changdu amusingly watched the earnestness in the young lady's eyes. He hadn't truly intended to do anything to her to begin with. Just now, his anger had gotten the better of him for a moment, causing him to lose control. Now that his mood softened, he simply gathered the young lady into his embrace, gently persuading her, "Do you think I'm angry over that?"
Gu Ying was confused. "Huh?"
Zhao Changdu laughed at her lovable reaction. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, his phoenix eyes coldly narrowing. "I've said it before. No matter the circumstances, what you must do first is preserve your own safety. It's obvious someone intentionally targeted you tonight. So why would you still put yourself in danger?"
He didn't even dare imagine what would have happened if he had returned a few steps later. What would Cheng and Zhao Changxing have done to her?
A young lady like her, how could she have ever experienced things like this? She would have been scared witless.
All he wanted was to teach her how to survive inside this rear court. Yet she actually dared to suggest divorcing him!
"Master, things are not looking good over at the Grand Concubine's place."
Outside the door, Huai'an spoke with a trace of unease.
For quite a while, Zhao Changdu didn't say anything before lightly hmm-ing in acknowledgment. He got up from the bed.
His clear cold figure stood at the bedside, tidying his robes. He looked down at her from his superior angle. "I'll go take a look at her situation. You stay here and wait for me to return."
Gu Ying suddenly felt a chill sweep over her. She pursed her reddened lips. "Alright..."
Zhao Changdu turned and exited, closing the door behind him.
Watching the man's departing figure, Gu Ying gave a bitter laugh. She hugged her knees and sat at the edge of the bed.
Seeing that the Heir Apparent had left, Yanzhi and Yin Lan immediately rushed in to tidy up the room.
Glancing at the mess on the bed, Yin Lan sighed. "My Lady, it's been hectic tonight. Would you like to bathe first?"
Lost in thought for quite a while, Gu Ying nodded. "Mm."
...
Huo Qiyun was currently resting in the eastern wing of the Changfeng Building.
Cheng's people couldn't enter. And Zhao Changxing didn't dare brazenly barge in to demand people either.
In handling matters, Zhao Changdu had always acted according to his conscience. Now that a life hung in the balance, he naturally wouldn't care about those so-called protocols anymore before tossing Huo Qiyun back to Zhao Changxing.
