Bai Qi's mouth twitched. He accepted the order, "Yes, Master."
That was a superior horse he had personally selected from the West Market to please his master.
Although his master couldn't ride, he enjoyed watching horse races.
Well then, watching horse races was out of the question for now.
After Bai Qi left, the white-haired man chuckled, "For our Ninth Imperial Uncle, Nangong Mo, who never shows emotion, to be so concerned, this young lady must be quite captivating. I just wonder how Mo and she met?"
"They met ten years ago."
*Bang!*
The string snapped!
The white-haired man shot up, a hint of excitement on his face, "Are you saying the eldest daughter of the Gu family is her?"
Nangong Mo's voice was level, betraying no emotion, "Mm."
The white-haired man seemed even more excited, "So, Mo, your..."
Nangong Mo suddenly looked at him, his voice tinged with coldness, "I am looking for her for no other reason than to protect her for a lifetime."
The white-haired man's tone was a little urgent, "But, Mo..."
"Enough, you don't need to say more. My mind is made up," Nangong Mo's tone was firm.
The white-haired man finally sighed and said no more.
Half a day later.
The Third Prince Nangong Li, with his arm around Bai Qi's neck, came over, arm in arm.
"Yo yo yo, my Ninth Imperial Uncle is actually being so generous for the first time, actually willing to give his beloved steed to this prince. This prince is very curious, what great event could possibly make our Ninth Imperial Uncle go to such lengths? So it turns out our Ninth Imperial Uncle is pursuing a young lady from some mansion.
I'm the best at pursuing girls. How about I teach you a couple of tricks, hmm?"
The Third Prince Nangong Li released Bai Qi, fanned himself with his fan, and chattered endlessly in front of Nangong Mo.
Nangong Mo shot Bai Qi a cold glance, "Talkative!"
Bai Qi immediately lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Nangong Li stood in front of Bai Qi, shielding him behind him and blocking Nangong Mo's view. "Why are you scolding Bai Qi so fiercely? This is a good thing. Even if this prince didn't get the steed, I would still help you."
"Then I won't see you out."
Nangong Li's fan almost fell.
"Ninth Imperial Uncle, I am your nephew. You can't go back on your word."
A moment later.
Nangong Li pushed Nangong Mo into the carriage.
On the road.
Nangong Li suddenly remembered something.
"Ninth Imperial Uncle, have you heard the recent rumors that the Poison Doctor Divine Child has appeared?"
Nangong Mo fiddled with his jade thumb ring, lost in thought. After a long while, he finally said, "Mm."
Nangong Li, long accustomed to Nangong Mo's uninteresting way of interacting, continued the conversation, "Your wet nurse has been unwell for many years. Why don't we have the Poison Doctor Divine Child treat the wet nurse first? If she can be cured, then the Poison Doctor Divine Child can also try to cure your illness."
Nangong Mo listened, remaining silent.
Nangong Li waved his fan in front of Nangong Mo, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I have plenty of silver. This prince will pay the ten thousand taels of gold consultation fee for the Poison Doctor Divine Child."
Nangong Li was very generous.
As soon as he finished speaking, Nangong Mo slowly said, "In that case, it can be tried."
Nangong Li: "..."
Gu Residence.
After nurturing the poisonous flowers for a few days, and once they showed some changes, Gu Qianying carefully peeled off a few petals from the most vibrant bloom. She used these petals along with other poisonous herbs to make some commonly used poisons.
She carefully placed a few of the poison pills into her sachet.
Poisons could not only kill people but, conversely, could also be used to save lives.
Lu Zhu rushed over with a cage of steamed buns.
"Miss, Miss, a tremendous piece of good news, tremendous good news!"
After Gu Qianying finished tending to the remaining poisonous flowers, she turned around, "What tremendous good news? Did you find money?"
Lu Zhu placed the cage of buns beside her and popped a small bun into her mouth. After wolfing it down, she quickly said, "The Ninth Prince and the Third Prince are at the mansion to play chess with the eldest young master. The master said to have Miss accompany the eldest young master and the others in the main hall. Oh, the master also summoned the second young lady, the third young lady, and the fourth young lady."
After speaking, Lu Zhu thought for a moment and quickly added, "Right, Miss, I just met the First Madam. The First Madam asked me to help Miss dress up nicely, preferably to stun everyone and dazzle their eyes."
Gu Qianying: "..."
Lu Zhu, like a worried old hen, rubbed her hands and brought out all the jewelry boxes from the dressing table, as well as a few brightly colored dresses.
"Miss, I think this one is good. Hmm, these hairpins are also beautiful..."
"This young lady is tired and wants to rest."
A faint sentence interrupted Lu Zhu.
Lu Zhu stood frozen, "Ah, you're not going? Miss, you absolutely must not! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! The First Madam said..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Gu Qianying had already taken off her shoes and socks and leaned on the bed.
Last night, after she had released the news about the Poison Doctor Divine Child, she returned late. Today, she had started tending to her poisonous flowers early. After several rounds of effort, she was truly exhausted and had no energy to deal with those people.
However... the scene of her helping Nangong Mo take off his outer robe that day couldn't help but appear in her mind.
She took out a jade pendant from her sleeve. Looking at its quality, it seemed to be a high-grade jade, and it felt good in her hand.
She wondered if this jade pendant was something Nangong Mo casually wore or if it held special significance.
She figured it was the former. If it were crucial, why would he give it to her?
*Crack.*
Lu Zhu rushed in again.
"Miss, something's wrong."
Gu Qianying casually stuffed the jade pendant back into her sleeve, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, "What is it now?"
"The eldest young master is injured."
Gu Qianying suddenly stood up and asked urgently, "Where is he injured? Why is he injured?"
Her jade feet stood on the ground, and she didn't even bother to put on her shoes.
Lu Zhu quickly helped Gu Qianying put on her shoes, "I'm not too sure. Someone from the front hall came to deliver the message."
"Let's go and see."
Gu Qianying hurried out, with Lu Zhu following behind.
In the front hall, behind the garden.
Gu Qianying frowned as she looked at Nangong Mo, who had lied to lure her here, sitting in front of her.
"Ninth Prince, what business do you have here?"
"Mm?"
"May I ask what instructions Ninth Imperial Uncle has?" Gu Qianying quickly corrected herself.
"I've come to see you."
"..."
Gu Qianying's face, hidden beneath her veil, twitched.
She hadn't removed the red patches on her face these past few days.
Firstly, it was convenient for applying medicine, allowing her to continue finding excuses to go out at night.
Secondly, since her injury hadn't healed, she didn't need to pay respects in the front hall.
"Thank you, Ninth Imperial Uncle. Qianying is fine now."
Gu Qianying had an intention to ask him to leave.
But how could Nangong Mo care about such things?
"It's good that you're fine. Sit with me for a while."
The wind blew.
The veil on Gu Qianying's face fell off.
A flushed face was revealed.
Gu Qianying sat down without concern.
She didn't believe that, in this state, Nangong Mo would still have the mood to ask her to keep him company.