Yin Lan held up a lantern and placed it on the table.
Gu Ying leaned on the table wearily, propping up her cheeks with her hands, feeling a bit cold over her body.
The Eldest Prince had not yet returned from the wing room, and she felt restless and uneasy, unable to calm down and sleep.
Seeing her pale complexion, Yin Lan took a cloak and a bowl of ginger soup and handed them to her, smiling reassuringly, “My lady, don’t worry. I feel that the Eldest Prince is not the kind of person who can’t tell right from wrong. He certainly won’t overthink things and doubt you.”
Gu Ying dispiritedly said, “I hope so.”
She was not worried about this either. The Eldest Prince would not be muddled and confused to that extent yet.
She just... knew that after the Eldest Prince protected Huo Qiyun, she felt somewhat complicated.
Yin Lan sighed, “My lady... the main wife has moved into Changfeng Pavilion today... in name that’s unspeakable, but she was harmed and poisoned... the Huo family also needs an explanation for this matter... I’m afraid the Eldest Prince won’t let her return to live in comfort for the time being.”
“Mm.”
“For the main wife to have this status and live in Changfeng Pavilion... if word got out...”
It would surely become a laughingstock for all the noblewomen in the capital.
Gu Ying felt slightly sour in her heart and gently sighed.
She had also expected that such a day would come—from the time she married into this family, she had planned to take in concubines for the Eldest Prince in the future, and also arrange a place for Huo Qiyun.
But she never imagined it would happen in this way or so quickly.
Huo Qiyun’s move was very cunning and intelligent. As much as she disliked to admit it, it was the best way for her to leave the inner palace.
"My lady, let's broaden our minds first... From ancient times, a man having three wives and four concubines has been commonplace..."
Gu Ying knew what she wanted to say. She gently smiled, “You always worry about me. Actually, I’m fine. I was prepared early on, so when it really happened, I remained calm. Go rest first. I’ll wait here for the Eldest Prince to come back and have a good talk with him about Huo Qiyun’s living arrangements.”
“Alright. My lady, please call me if you need anything.”
“I know. Go on.”
Yin Lan helplessly had to exit the room.
The room became quiet, and the dim environment amplified emotions many times over.
Gu Ying blankly held the scalding hot hand warmer, seemingly unable to feel its warmth. She foolishly sat alone on the heated brick platform waiting for a while.
Sure enough, she soon heard the sound of someone entering through the door.
The man’s footsteps were somewhat urgent.
She had just stood up when she was fiercely pulled into a broad embrace.
The way things were progressing surprised her.
She was stunned for a moment, and all the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat. The man's force was so great that he almost suffocated her.
"Wha... What's the matter?"
"Earlier you said you saw me at the hot spring behind Qingyun Temple when you were young, right?"
"Yes... yes..."
"Did you give me medicine afterwards?"
"I..."
It seemed like she did, but she was so little at that time. To her, the injured teenage boy was no different from the little rabbit she raised since childhood. The only difference was that the boy was prettier while the rabbit was softer.
"Did you ever come looking for me at Changfeng Pavilion?!"
The man's voice was low and hoarse. Red in the eyes, he loudly questioned her.
Gu Ying couldn't quite remember. Held in the man's arms with her lower back forcibly gripped by him, her little face flushed red.
"Adu... let go of me first... you're suffocating me..."
Only then did Zhao Changdu realize what he was doing. He released the little girl in his arms and carefully cradled her petite face in his palms, crying and laughing at the same time, "Ying, tell me, did you come looking for me at Changfeng Pavilion when you were little?"
"Me?" Gu Ying blinked. She didn't know what this had to do with Huo Qiyun being poisoned today.
"You were still young then, so you may not remember. But try to slowly recall it."
Zhao Changdu rarely showed such emotional ups and downs. He pulled the little girl over in one swift movement and made her sit on his lap. His handsome face tensed up as he stared at her bewildered eyes, "Hurry up and remember it. If you can't remember today, then you're not allowed to sleep!"
With such an awkward seating position, Gu Ying's face slightly reddened.
Not daring to meet his fiery gaze, she carefully nestled in his arms and truly tried her best to think back to her childhood memories.
With such an unparalleled handsome appearance, anyone who saw the Eldest Prince once would never forget him. Although she was only three or four years old back then, after seeing that teenage boy in the hot spring, her heart and mind were filled with his beautiful face.
Afterwards, she even dreamt of him for several days straight, dreaming that he came with a cold expression on his little face to marry her. When she wanted to kiss him, he was disgusted and pushed her to the ground.
Speaking of kissing him...
She remembered!
She remembered that she was worried he would be beaten to death by his mother, so she begged Cousin to take her to find him!
It was as if finding a thread in a messy ball of yarn—once she found one lead, everything suddenly became clear.
She remembered not only sneaking through the dog door to get inside Changfeng Pavilion, but also forcibly prying open his lips when he lost consciousness in order to wake him up. She followed his lead by breathing air into his mouth with great effort, kissing him many times.
Thinking of this, Gu Ying's face turned crimson. "I was so little back then... I was afraid you would die... so I did that to you... but it wasn't my idea. Cousin took me there..."
Could it be that he came to accuse her?
Just because she had bitten his lips when she was a child?
Nevermind, she’ll just shift the blame to Cousin first... The Eldest Prince surely can’t take revenge on Cousin.
Zhao Changdu was extremely pleasantly surprised. After hearing her finish, what else was there left to doubt? It turned out that the little sweet dumpling who saved him was his darling Ying!
His hot blood boiled and he burst out laughing loudly several times. He directly lifted her soft waist and carried the little girl towards the bed.
Gu Ying only felt restless. She tightly hugged his waist, "Adu, what exactly is going on?"
Huo Qiyun was still lying poisoned in the wing room, how could he even be thinking of this kind of thing?
Zhao Changdu pressed down his body and stared at her panicked and helpless eyes with a pair of amorous phoenix eyes. Then he lowered his head to fiercely nip at her delicate lips, as if wanting to pour all the feelings he had suppressed over a decade into her.
Gu Ying's pupils suddenly enlarged. Her cherry lips slightly parted, and her mind was instantly blanked.
The man's kiss was fierce and violent. His heavy breathing fell beside her ear, mixed with an attractively low chuckle, "Ying, I'm really...very happy."
Before she could resist, she felt Zhao Changdu's aura and might ferociously suppress her...
Gu Ying softly moaned.
The charming and tender sound made one tingle.
Almost every time after their wedding night, he left her unable resist. And today he went all out without holding back.
Gu Ying parted her cherry lips. Her mind was chaotic and she could barely control her breathing.
In the second half of the night...
She moved her sore, soft waist and finally rested breathless in his arms after their passion.
The man's eyes were dark and deep. He held the little girl's soft waist lovingly in his arms, feeling like he could never love her enough.
But looking at the girl's exhausted state on the verge of dozing off, he indulgently laughed and carried her into the bathroom.
