But the two of them acted as if nothing had happened. Except that they no longer did intimate gestures, they got along the same as before, like an ordinary husband and wife.
The Prince still treated her very well and gently.
Gu Ying opened her eyes and smiled at him, "After walking for a while, I'm tired of lying in the carriage."
Zhao Changdu's eyes were as deep as ink. "Let me massage it for you."
After Gu Ying spoke, she felt a little regretful. "No need, it's not that uncomfortable."
Being too polite made her seem a little distant.
Zhao Changdu stared at her. "Ying Ying, both Jiang Yin and Prince Shu are now in Yueyang. Do you have anything to tell me?"
The man put his big hand on her lower abdomen, and the warmth passed through her clothes. The lower abdomen was warm and comfortable.
Gu Ying's mind was indifferent. She thought of her previous life, remembered Jiang Yin, and thought of her own miserable and painful life. She shook her head. "No."
Although she had said she would find an opportunity to tell him, but now, she became more and more afraid that the Prince would know about her indecent past. She could not bear the Prince looking at her with disgust, and she could not let her child suffer other people's gossip together with her.
So she would not tell anyone anything about her previous life.
Including the Prince.
Then there was another oppressive silence.
Gu Ying felt depressed. She got out of his arms, "Your Highness, there are many people in the government office. I want to live in Ning's house."
Zhao Changdu's voice was low and hoarse. He looked at her deeply and kissed her eyebrow before holding the back of her head. "Alright."
The corner of Gu Ying's mouth curled up in a faint smile.
Look, he still catered to her every demand. He was a model good husband, only his heart was a little distant.
"The imperial commissioner and Prince Shu have arrived. Yueyang City must be very busy with official business. Go ahead, Your Highness. I’ll go over to Ning’s house first to chat with her."
Zhao Changdu's eyes darkened. "I left someone to protect you. I’ll come get you tonight."
Gu Ying said awkwardly in good faith, "No need...I want to stay at Ning's house for a few days before talking about it. Your Highness is busy with official duties, I'm afraid you won't have time for me by then. It’s better for me to recuperate quietly at Ning Si’s house."
The government office arranged a residence for the Prince in Yueyang.
Zhao Changdu was silent for a while, unable to overcome Gu Ying’s temper.
"Alright then, wait for me."
"Okay."
After getting out of the carriage, Gu Ying stood upright at the Ning family's door and watched the Prince get on his horse and ride away.
She knew that perhaps it was her ruthless and cruel side that made the Prince disgusted.
But what could she do about it?
She could no longer be the innocent and kind Gu Ying.
...
"Ying Ying! You’re finally back!"
Ning Si received the news early in the morning. With someone's help, she turned from behind a screen.
The streets were a little deserted, and there were no servants guarding the Ning mansion gate.
Gu Ying brushed aside the oppression and bitterness in her heart and turned around to see Ning Si from far away, wearing a moon-white long skirt and green lined jacket, walking slowly towards her.
After half a month of not seeing her, she had gained some weight, but her face was a little pale.
Gu Ying led Yin Lan, Huai An and others, smiling and walking quickly over to grab Ning Si's wrist, happily said: "Sister Si, what's wrong with you? You don't look very well."
Ning Si's mouth twitched slightly, her eyes flickering slightly. She paused for a while and said, "Let’s talk in the yard."
Gu Ying's expression became cold. "Okay."
Their group entered Ning’s house. Ning Grandpa was not in the house. It was said that he had also gone to the government office to attend the meeting. Since Prince Shu and Zhou Yan came, Yueyang City seemed calm on the surface, but under the calm surface, there were surging undercurrents.
The two walked hand in hand along the winding corridor.
After passing through several carved doors, Ning Si’s pace quickened anxiously.
"Ying Ying, it’s not a good time for you to come back now. If you had come back earlier, we could have returned to Bianjing together."
She licked her lips, her expression solemn: "But now I'm afraid we can't."
Gu Ying frowned slightly, puzzled: "Sister Si, what on earth is going on?"
Ning Si bit her lip and said, "I don't know what happened to Yueyang, but a plague suddenly broke out and the roads for entering and leaving have been blocked... The blockade of Yueyang City has only happened in the last few days."
Gu Ying was shocked. "What?"
No wonder she saw more than a dozen sick commoners sitting paralyzed by the roadside when she entered the city.
She thought they were refugees who had wandered into the city and had nothing to eat.
Now that she thought about it, they were clearly sick people!
Although she had written down the prescription and made medicine pills to prepare for the plague after the disaster, how could the plague still break out at this critical juncture?
Ning Si said annoyedly, "I don't know what happened either. Grandfather has been very busy recently, he is often summoned to the government office by Lord Zhou and Prince Shu. In theory, the death toll from the snow disaster was not large. It can be said that this disaster, His Highness’s relief efforts were effective, but...the outbreak of this plague is really strange."
Gu Ying looked serious. "Sister Si, what about the prescription I left for you, have you tried it? Does it work?"
Ning Si shook her head. "The first time a patient appeared, I secretly asked someone to use medicine according to your formula, but it didn't work. The servant who delivered the medicine has been detained. He soon got infected with the plague. After two or three days, he became weak all over, coughed, had a fever, and couldn’t even walk. I also tried the medicine pills you left behind, but they didn’t work."
While she was talking, the two entered Ning Si’s yard.
At this point, Gu Ying saw that the atmosphere in Ning’s house was depressing and everyone was worried.
No wonder when she first entered the door, the family guards and guards who usually guarded the entrance were not outside.
It must be assumed that everyone was now confined in the house, without other important things to do, and would not easily leave the house.
When Yin Lan heard the word “plague”, she also became anxious. "Madam, Miss Ning, what should we do now?"
Whenever a plague breaks out, it must kill people in large numbers...
She unfortunately lost her parents when she was young. She had also fled famine with her parents and survived epidemics... At that time, not only were there dead people, in the end all those who died of illness could only be burned into a pile of ashes and buried deep underground.
If the epidemic really spread in a city as big as Yueyang...the consequences would be unimaginable.
Gu Ying patted Yin Lan's hand and smiled to calm her down first. "Don't worry. We have His Highness and Lord Zhou here. The plague will be contained."
She had already warned the Prince that there would be a plague.
Therefore, after the prince came to Yueyang, preparations were made early on.
All the doctors in Yueyang’s territory who knew medical skills were brought together early on and now lived in Qingjiang Manor in Yueyang City. As for medicinal materials and other supplies, they were also prepared in advance. If a plague did occur, there would be ample time, manpower and supplies to respond.
Therefore, Gu Ying was at ease. She also believed in the Prince that he would handle the Yueyang disaster properly.
Yin Lan's face turned slightly pale as she shook her head and said, "I’m not afraid of death, I’m just worried about my lady."
