“Could it be Prince Duan? Is someone among the senior officials at court jealous of the power in the Crown Prince’s hands?” Gu Ying wanted to remind him, but felt she didn’t have the standing. He was so meticulous, he might detect something amiss with her and kill her for being a monster.
She chose to speak circuitously. She left her words half unsaid.
Zhao Changdu raised his sword-like brows, but read the deeper meaning behind her unfinished words. “It wouldn’t be Prince Duan’s line.”
Gu Ying was puzzled and blurted out, “Why?”
As soon as she asked, she realized right away. Prince Duan wouldn’t be stupid enough to make a move against Zhao Changdu during the winter hunt. What’s more, Zhao Changdu now held military power, Prince Duan would need to curry favor with him if he wanted to contend for the Eastern Palace.
Gu Ying felt annoyed at herself and rapped her knuckles against her head. It was her fault for being preoccupied with affairs in the rear courtyard that she’d forgotten the tangled relationships in court.
Zhao Changdu’s cold lips quirked into a faintly mocking arc. “I returned to Bianjing this time to investigate the truth behind my mother’s death years ago. It’s possible someone doesn’t want me to discover anything.”
Gu Ying froze. “Your Highness, your mother—”
“She fell to her death beneath this Jixue Cliff.”
Gu Ying stiffened again. She suddenly felt an eerie chill creep down her spine. She could also sense the unspeakable pain hidden in his tone when he spoke those words.
Zhao Changdu indifferently lowered his long lashes, but didn’t continue.
The silence at this moment made Gu Ying’s heart ache. Since it was the pain in someone else’s heart, she didn’t feel right to keep asking.
The two of them lapsed into lengthy stillness again, as time trickled by.
As the night grew increasingly darker, Zhao Changdu took the initiative to stand and check their surroundings. When he returned, he carried back damp air and white snow. After just that brief time outside, his clothes were soaked through again, which showed how heavy the wind and snow was.
He stepped into the cave entrance and used withered vines and rocks to block it up. He shook off the snowflakes clinging to him and headed over only after seeing Gu Ying had worn her clothes properly.
“We can’t light a fire now. There are tracks left by beasts walking outside. The flames might attract wild animals looking for shelter.”
Gu Ying turned her back to him and shyly tied her sash. “Alright, I’ll listen to Your Highness.”
Hearing her soft, tender voice, something in Zhao Changdu’s heart inexplicably softened.
He watched her deeply for a few moments before using sand to put out the fire.
With the firelight extinguished, darkness swiftly closed in. The bone-chilling cold seemed to seep into their marrow and creep into their bones.
In her previous life, Gu Ying had spent years sleeping in the pitch-black nights of a dilapidated temple. She had some trauma now and shivered all over, hands and feet icy cold while unease and confusion seeped out in her heart.
She had no other choice but to sit leaning against the icy stone wall. Only this way did she feel like she had something supporting her back.
“Gu Ying?” A steady, rich voice sounded in the dark.
Gu Ying moved her stiff little face in the direction of the voice. “Your Highness?”
No sooner had she spoken than a warm body shifted closer.
The bloody scent grew stronger. Gu Ying leapt up in an instant, scared out of her wits. “Your Highness, what are you trying to do!”
Zhao Changdu hadn’t expected Gu Ying to react so intensely. Her small hands bumped into his wounds and the pain made him knit his brows. “It’s extremely cold outside. Even with the cave entrance blocked up, the chill in this cave is enough to take a life. Now that we’ve lost the fire, if we want to make it through tonight, we have to huddle together for warmth.”
Huddle together? How would they huddle?
They were a man and a woman. Even if nothing truly happened between them, if the search party that came in the morning saw them clinging so close like this, it would give rise to all sorts of unspeakable rumors.
Yet he spoke righteously and properly, without a hint of vulgar intention.
But Gu Ying was so frightened she trembled all over, eyes welling red...
She thought of the people who had bullied her in the past, the foul stench that clung to them as they rushed at her...as well as their vicious beatings and molestation.
They had shaved off her hair over and over with knives until no one bothered anymore. Then they tossed urine and excrement on her. Those nauseating filthy things stuck in her dry, withered locks...And so year after year, day after day, she lived as humbly as an ant.
The more she thought about it, the more she loathed herself, hated herself to the point that tears rolled uncontrollably from her eyes.
Hearing Gu Ying’s muffled sobs, Zhao Changdu’s body stiffened. His thin lips moved awkwardly. “Don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean to take advantage of you.”
Gu Ying gave a bitter laugh amidst her silent tears and sat far from him.
Although it had been caused by the drugs, the fact was Zhao Changdu was the first man to have her in her previous life...Now just his touch made her very afraid.
“It’s not Your Highness’s fault, but my own issues.” She paused and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, forcefully suppressing the surging hatred in her heart and struggling to calm herself. With a smile, she said, “I’ll just sit here. If I get cold, I’ll get up and jog in place to warm myself up. Don’t worry about me, Your Highness.”
In the darkness, Zhao Changdu’s brows knitted tightly, but he didn’t say anything more.
As the night grew later and later, the cold had Gu Ying frozen stiff. She couldn’t fall asleep at all. The more unbearable it became, the slower time seemed to crawl. Having no other option, she could only stand and feel her way along the stone wall, jumping and running while kneading her numb body, striving to warm herself up.
But she hadn’t anticipated the extremely low temperature in the mountains. Her body heat was still seeping away bit by bit.
Gradually, she grew lightheaded with a headache and restlessness. Her heart raced as her joints stiffened and her limbs shook.
“Gu Ying?” Zhao Changdu had his eyes closed but suddenly didn’t hear the sounds of her movements anymore. His eyes snapped open.
As Gu Ying slowly lost consciousness and finally collapsed, she thought that if she died one more time, she hoped Heaven would give her another chance at rebirth...
...
Zhao Changdu gathered the girl who was nearly frozen stiff into his embrace. With his better night vision, his long arms easily swept her petite frame into his arms.
Only after reaching the spot furthest inside the cave, out of the wind, did he set her down, propping her against himself.
She had already completely fainted and softly leaned on him, her faint breaths lightly blowing at his neck and making it somewhat itchy but also providing some warmth.
He held her stiffly, senses amplified many times over in the dark.
Even through the icy clothes, he could feel her slender arm was less than half the size of his own. Her skin was as smooth as fat, flawless. Her scented hair, her pert nose, her tender flower petal lips, and also that sweet, floral peach blossom fragrance from her collar.
