"You're awake. Truly reckless, you dared to act on your own before we even arrived."
Ouyang Qinglin's voice reached her ears. Gu Qianying opened her eyes to find herself in a wooden hut.
"But you still came in the end."
Seeing Ouyang Qinglin's anxious yet stubborn expression, Gu Qianying couldn't help but tease him.
"You, you're just too glib. What if we hadn't arrived in time? Would we have had to collect your corpse?"
Thinking of the bodies lying in the bamboo forest, Ouyang Qinglin felt a lingering fear.
In truth, such experiences were not uncommon for him. It wasn't the first time he and Gu Qianying had faced such situations. Back then, with him by her side, even if the enemy was strong, he would have protected her with his life.
But today, he had not been present.
His timely arrival was a blessing from heaven. If such a situation were to occur again in the future, he decided he would no longer concern himself with this woman.
"Alright, I know today was dangerous, but circumstances forced my hand. I had no choice."
Seeing her still trying to argue, Ouyang Qinglin covered his ears.
"Alright, it's all over now. Su Cheng is cooking outside. Eat plenty while it's hot. You're so weak, how can you even fight?"
Upon hearing that person mentioned, Gu Qianying finally seemed to recover.
"Su Cheng."
She murmured his name, but the next moment, she grabbed Ouyang Qinglin's long sword and dashed out of the hut.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Unsure of her emotional state, Ouyang Qinglin quickly followed, but Gu Qianying's sword was already at Su Cheng's chest.
This was the first time he had seen her like this. Ouyang Qinglin was surprised, but thinking that the person was Su Cheng, he seemed to understand something and wasn't overly shocked.
"Who exactly are you?"
Gu Qianying voiced her inner question, her expression extremely serious.
Ouyang Qinglin let out a long sigh. He knew it. This woman must have recognized Su Cheng as Nangong Mo, which was why she was causing this scene.
But just as he was preparing to watch the show, their conversation shocked him.
"You know. It's true, I am not from the Su family."
Su Cheng calmly admitted that his surname was not Su.
Seeing that he wasn't hiding anything, Gu Qianying's sword trembled slightly, but she still voiced her question.
"Heh heh, do you know? Su Xuanlin, before he died, didn't tell me to destroy the country's system, but to kill you for him."
Gu Qianying's eyes were fierce. She didn't know why her heart ached, but the thought that this man had another identity, and might be connected to the Su family and forbidden arts, caused her immense pain.
When she first heard those words, she thought there might be some conflict between Su Xuanlin and Su Cheng. But when he appeared alongside Ouyang Qinglin in the bamboo forest, she sensed something was amiss.
Ouyang Qinglin's martial arts and his current position in the palace might allow him to know what happened in the cold palace.
But Su Cheng was merely a male servant. Without the escort of someone from the Su family, he wouldn't have known what was happening in the palace, nor would he have found her so easily.
Ouyang Qinglin, in his haste to find her, hadn't suspected anything, but Gu Qianying had noticed the discrepancy.
After hearing her words, Su Cheng's eyes deepened. He pondered for a long time before looking back into Gu Qianying's eyes.
"Do you really want to know?"
His words carried a hint of helplessness, but seeing the trust in Gu Qianying's eyes gradually disappear, he felt a pain he had never experienced before.
It wasn't the gratitude for saving a life, nor the destruction of trust between friends. It was fear.
If he didn't speak, would Gu Qianying leave him, or even kill him?
He didn't want any of these outcomes. He didn't want to live a life without seeing this woman, nor did he want her to resent him forever.
After realizing all this, Su Cheng understood that he had developed feelings for this woman that went beyond ordinary platonic affection.
He pursed his lips and revealed his identity.
"Actually, I am not from the Southern Yi Kingdom. I am the Fourth Prince of the Northern Ridge Kingdom, and I have been lurking in the Su family here for many years."
His words shocked the two before him. Gu Qianying had considered many possibilities. Perhaps he was the truly wicked one in the Su family, or perhaps he was an associate of Grand Tutor Su, or even had some connection with the Empress.
She had considered all of these, but had never guessed that he had another identity.
"My mission in the Southern Yi Kingdom is to disrupt the country's rules and systems, and at the same time, I am investigating a peculiar event within the Northern Ridge Kingdom's royal family many years ago."
Since he had decided to be honest, Su Cheng had nothing more to conceal. He revealed everything about his presence here.
Ten years ago, the crown prince of the Northern Ridge Kingdom, the Third Prince, had mysteriously disappeared. Searches were conducted inside and outside the palace, and throughout the Northern Ridge Kingdom, but no trace of him was found.
While investigating in the palace, Su Cheng accidentally found a clue: a portrait. The person depicted in the portrait, which was as thin as paper, was the Grand Tutor of Southern Yi, or someone who looked exactly like him.
Therefore, Su Cheng concealed his identity and came to the Southern Yi Kingdom.
"Why the Su family? What about the real Su Cheng?"
Gu Qianying wanted to know the truth.
"The current Grand Tutor of the Su family actually originated from the Su clan. Although I learned that she is not from the same Su lineage as me, we are still considered close relatives. So, I killed the real Su Cheng and took his place here."
Listening to his explanation, Gu Qianying chuckled, then raised her sword again, pointing it at his neck.
"Then what is your name?"
Since he wasn't Su Cheng, this person must have his own identity. Regardless of how much truth there was in his words, knowing his name and cross-referencing it with what he said would allow Meng Qinghua and others to investigate thoroughly.
"My real name is Murong Feng."
Su Cheng spoke his true name. He hadn't used it in a long time, but saying it now felt incredibly familiar.
"Who's there!"
As the two were looking at each other, Ouyang Qinglin suddenly became alert.
As his words fell, many black-clad assassins appeared around them.
Although their faces were covered, the three of them recognized these individuals as assassins sent by the Grand Tutor.
"Take Miss Gu and leave first. Leave this place to me." Now that his identity was revealed, Su Cheng was no longer the pathetic figure but the true Murong Feng.
As his words echoed, several experts in purple robes flew out from behind the wooden hut.
It turned out he was not alone in the Southern Yi Kingdom. In his ten years here, Murong Feng had developed his own forces, which were no less formidable than the women in the imperial palace.
A guard handed a long sword to Murong Feng and then stood in front of him.
"Truly overestimating yourselves. Do you think my master is someone to be bullied at will?"
As he spoke, he charged forward.