"Qianying, wait a moment!"
Supporting her swollen belly, the new Empress Chen walked over, helped by a palace maid. Gu Qianying turned and looked at the new Empress.
Ouyang Qinglin also stopped, looking in their direction.
Outside the hall, Nan Gongmo was another person who paused. Ouyang Wan'er, standing beside him, didn't know why Nan Gongmo wasn't moving. She wanted to ask, but upon seeing Nan Gongmo looking towards the new Empress, she realized the person standing next to the new Empress was Gu Qianying.
Jealousy and hatred surged in her heart. She twisted the handkerchief into a knot, unable to contain her anger. She grabbed Nan Gongmo's sleeve: "Mo Bai, I am tired. Will you escort me back?"
Nan Gongmo did not look at her, instead, he pulled his sleeve from her delicate fingers and said coldly, "Princess, you are not blind. Can't you find your way?"
Ouyang Wan'er was choked with anger, but facing Nan Gongmo's sharp, handsome face, she suppressed the fury within her.
Beautiful things should only be hers! Including the most perfect man in this world, he would only be hers!
Meanwhile,
"Tomorrow, I am holding a flower appreciation banquet. Are you interested in attending?"
As she spoke, the new Empress Chen glanced at Nan Gongmo, who stood not far away. Then, her gaze returned to Gu Qianying. Seeing Gu Qianying still hesitating, she added, "At the banquet, I will give you a small palace maid. When I found her, I asked her name, but she only said: 'Xiluzhan sheng chang, lu zhong fei nan jin.'"
Gu Qianying was stunned. When she looked at the new Empress Chen, the latter suddenly smiled: "Very well. It is not appropriate for the Empress to be without a physician by her side during her labor. Although my medical skills are superficial, I can still attend to the Empress during her confinement."
"That would be excellent. I couldn't ask for more," the new Empress Chen turned to Ouyang Qinglin: "May I ask if the Third Prince is willing to lend Miss Gu to me for a few days?"
Although it was a question, the new Empress Chen had already pulled Gu Qianying behind her.
Watching Gu Qianying and the new Empress Chen conspire before him, a chill flashed in Ouyang Qinglin's captivating, charming eyes, disappearing as quickly as it came: "Tomorrow, this prince happens to have nothing to do. I will accompany Ying'er to the palace."
He did not respond to the new Empress Chen's words, but instead revealed his possessive and unyielding stance.
The new Empress Chen's expression stiffened slightly, and she smiled awkwardly: "But tomorrow, only women will be attending my banquet. It might not be appropriate for the Third Prince to come..."
Her words were interrupted by Ouyang Qinglin's laughter: "That is of no consequence. This prince will find several other gentlemen to accompany him. Enjoying flowers, drinking wine, and composing poetry is also a pleasant affair."
Ouyang Qinglin pressed forward, refusing to retreat or concede!
As he spoke, he walked up to Gu Qianying, looked at the new Empress Chen, a wicked smile on his lips, and his eyes deepened with coldness.
The new Empress Chen felt a chill down her spine and dared not look at Ouyang Qinglin.
She had witnessed Ouyang Qinglin's ruthlessness and harbored some fear of him.
Suddenly, warmth appeared on her hand. The new Empress Chen looked down.
It was Gu Qianying who had grabbed her wrist, brought her forward, and faced Ouyang Qinglin, her eyes cold: "If the Third Prince does not mind the trouble, he is welcome to come. With the Third Prince by my side, I will feel very reassured."
So reassured that she wished she could kill him!
Ouyang Qinglin smiled at her.
Although her words were meant sarcastically, he enjoyed hearing them.
However, when these words reached Nan Gongmo's ears, they took on a different meaning.
"Heh!" Nan Gongmo walked over coldly and sneered, "The Third Prince and the Third Princess Consort are truly devoted to each other! It is truly enviable." He glanced at Ouyang Wan'er: "Wan'er, didn't you say you also wanted to attend the Empress's flower appreciation banquet tomorrow? I will accompany you tomorrow."
With that,
Nan Gongmo turned to the new Empress Chen: "Does Your Majesty the Empress mind two more people at the banquet tomorrow?"
"Not at all, not at all."
Meeting Nan Gongmo's icy gaze, the new Empress Chen dared not say anything else.
She had just been crowned Empress and was about to give birth. Without real power in her hands, she naturally dared not offend a lunatic like Nan Gongmo.
To openly target Ouyang Qinglin in front of the Emperor, such a suicidal person could only be a madman.
Indeed, at that time, she had noticed that Gu Qianying had a different feeling towards this man. Otherwise, she would not have spoken up for him.
Although this man possessed a face that could incite divine wrath with its beauty, she never cared about looks. What she wanted was power, supreme power!
After receiving the new Empress Chen's response, Nan Gongmo walked past Gu Qianying, then to Ouyang Wan'er, deliberately raising his voice: "Wan'er, you are tired today as well. I will accompany you back and make some of your favorite dishes for you, alright?"
"Alright!"
Ouyang Wan'er pushed away her personal maid, linked her arm with Nan Gongmo's, and pulled him away. At the winding corridor, Ouyang Wan'er turned back and arrogantly tilted her chin at Gu Qianying.
Little vixen! Competing with me? Dream on!
Watching the receding figures of Nan Gongmo and Ouyang Wan'er, Gu Qianying was stunned, lost in thought for a long time.
The scene of Nan Gongmo in a wheelchair cooking for her flashed before her eyes. He had made many of her favorite dishes. At the time, she thought Nan Gongmo was quite decent to her. Seeing the table full of her favorite dishes, she had been touched.
Her cold gaze shifted, retracting her gaze, a cold smile appearing on her lips.
Making some of her favorite dishes for Princess Changping? And calling her by her given name, Wan'er?
Heh!
This was the mouth of a man, a deceiving ghost. What had he said before, that he had only ever cooked for her in his life? And what was that just now?
How ridiculous.
"Third Prince, I am also tired. Let us go back."
Gu Qianying forced herself to focus on the present, not thinking about what had just happened. Her people were still in Ouyang Qinglin's hands, and some plans needed to be implemented quickly. Unknowingly, her words carried a hint of sour jealousy.
"Alright, let's go back."
Ouyang Qinglin's voice was gentle and charming, ignoring the obvious jealousy on Gu Qianying's face. He turned, took Gu Qianying's hand, and followed the path Nan Gongmo had taken through the winding corridor, leaving.
At the other end of the winding corridor,
When the figures behind them were no longer visible, Nan Gongmo stopped and coldly shook off Ouyang Wan'er. He tore off the wrinkled sleeve and casually threw it away.
Ouyang Wan'er's expression froze, her face turning pale. She glared at Nan Gongmo, her face cold: "Mo Bai, what do you mean?"
"I do not like to be touched by others!"
Nan Gongmo was direct, his words like a merciless carving knife.
"But you were just..." Suddenly remembering something, Ouyang Wan'er's eyes suddenly turned red: "You actually took me as a pawn? Mo Bai, you want to die..."
Her angry roar came to an abrupt halt as Nan Gongmo turned and walked away.
That was the path they had just walked. Gu Qianying and her Third Imperial Uncle were right behind.
"Gu Qianying, you vixen, I will definitely get rid of you!"
Ouyang Wan'er gritted her teeth hatefully, her eyes filled with frenzied hatred, and turned to leave.
Nan Gongmo, returning along the same path, wondered if what he had said earlier was too harsh.
Would that girl Gu Qianying be hurt?
Should he go back and explain?
His heart was in turmoil.
Unexpectedly, ahead, two figures laughing and holding hands intimately fell into his sight.
The surrounding aura suddenly turned cold, and the chill in his deep eyes was piercing.
His well-defined hand clenched tightly. Beneath the shady tree, his shadow was thin and long.
The wind blew, entering her water sleeves, and suddenly she woke up. Looking down, she saw that Ouyang Qinglin was holding her. She quickly shook him off and quickened her pace, disappearing from sight shortly after.
"I can walk myself."
"Alright, walk yourself."
Ouyang Qinglin was indifferent to Gu Qianying's tantrum at this moment.
He glanced at the figure hiding under the shady tree, turning to leave, and smiled wickedly, as if talking to himself, or perhaps informing someone: "She is mine now!"