"Grandfather, rest assured, your granddaughter will protect herself well."
Gu Qianying walked over, tilted her head, and leaned against Old General Gu's shoulder, like a spoiled child.
Gu Yefeng also walked over and pinched Gu Qianying's cheek, "Exactly, Grandfather. Our little Ying is very capable. Look, before receiving parental orders, she rushed to marry herself off. Now she's a married woman. In a few more years, let our little Ying have a baby for Grandfather to play with, hahaha."
Gu Qianying slapped Gu Yefeng's hand away and glared at him, "Brother!"
Speaking of marriage and Gu Qianying's current situation, Old General Gu became even more serious, "Qianying, Prince Nan Gong Mo is by no means a good person. You must be careful."
Old General Gu solemnly cautioned, and Gu Qianying nodded, saying, "Yes, Grandfather, please rest assured. Although Nan Gong Mo is not a good person, his lifeblood is firmly in my grasp. There will be no problems. Moreover, this person is my last trump card. Even if, in the future, the truth comes out and I have nowhere to turn, as long as he is still in my hands, I will surely turn danger into safety."
"Qianying, you mean... you've made a move against Nan Gong Mo?"
Old General Gu looked at Gu Qianying, deeply shocked.
Nan Gong Mo was not only suspicious but also difficult to deal with, and his vigilance was extremely high. Making a move against him seemed difficult.
"The poison of Yan Ran Chi Fu!"
Besides her, no one in this world could cure it.
"But Brother sees that Nan Gong Mo seems to have genuine feelings for you. Can you bear to treat him like this?"
Gu Yefeng placed a cup of tea in front of Gu Qianying, also giving her time to think it over while drinking tea.
After all, a girl, once married, hopes to live in harmony with her husband, be equal partners, and be deeply in love.
The steaming fragrant tea fell into Gu Qianying's sight.
The events of her past life flashed before her eyes.
In her previous life, her sincere heart was fed to dogs. Having been reborn, why would she make the same mistake?
Moreover, Nan Gong Mo's affection for her was merely because she bore some resemblance to the person he truly loved.
His various kindnesses towards her might have been an attempt to compensate for his guilt towards the one he loved.
"Brother, do you know that you can't judge a person's heart by their appearance? Someone who seems extremely kind to you might be the one who betrays you. Moreover, even if Nan Gong Mo has some genuine feelings for your sister, how can you be sure that he won't sell out those feelings in the face of power and profit?" Gu Qianying drank the fragrant tea in front of her in one gulp.
"...This..."
Gu Yefeng was speechless for a moment.
After leaving Baihua Lane, Gu Qianying used her lightness skill to shuttle through the darkness. A figure also left with her, but the two were one in front and one behind, one near and one far, never interacting.
As they passed a teahouse and flew over the rooftops, a red figure suddenly appeared and blocked Gu Qianying.
"Miss Gu, you have quite the capability to dare to use me!"
The red figure was close at hand, and a powerful aura of malevolence enveloped her.
Seeing the face of the approaching person, a cold glint flashed in Gu Qianying's eyes. With a raise of her palm, two silver needles were unsheathed and flung out, repelling the red figure.
The red figure pursued relentlessly.
She dodged several times, and he caught up several times, like a cat chasing a mouse. The two sparred in the darkness.
Finally, he cornered her, trapping her in a hidden corner.
"Miss Gu, are you still running?"
A devilish smile played on his lips as he looked at her at close range.
Gu Qianying glanced at the sharp, slender sword held at her neck, and a cold light flared in her eyes.
"If the Imperial Tutor still wishes to pursue, this Princess Consort will run again."
Cornered with no escape, she still refused to yield with her words.
Beneath her sleeve was the last silver needle, containing a potent poison.
If she could not escape today, she was determined to perish together with Ouyang Qinglin.
"Heh!"
Ouyang Qinglin chuckled. His fingers, more slender than a woman's, suddenly gripped Gu Qianying's chin. He smiled wickedly, "I originally thought that by cooperating with you, you would be sincere. But I never expected that this sincerity of mine would be used and trampled upon by you. Gu Qianying, do you really think I'm easy to bully?"
The force in his hand gradually increased, causing a small red mark on Gu Qianying's chin. Pain struck, but Gu Qianying endured it, still speaking words of defiance, "Bully the Imperial Tutor? How would this Princess Consort dare? This Princess Consort merely believes that when cooperating with an intelligent person like the Imperial Tutor, one must leave a way out for oneself. Otherwise, what if the path laid out by the Imperial Tutor is a dead end?"
"Heh, a dead end? Why do I feel that Miss Gu's little cleverness in front of me is precisely walking towards a dead end!"
Suddenly,
A man dressed in purple robes, carrying an injured woman, flashed past Gu Qianying.
When he paused, the man in purple robes wanted to turn back to help Gu Qianying, but Gu Qianying stopped him with a look.
"If it's a dead end, wouldn't it be a pity not to drag the Imperial Tutor along?"
As soon as these words were spoken,
Gu Qianying flicked out the last silver needle, stained with potent poison, from beneath her sleeve. As she flung it, she raised her palm, gathered her internal energy, and struck Ouyang Qinglin's shoulder fiercely.
"Ugh!"
Ouyang Qinglin recoiled several steps from Gu Qianying's blow. He was then struck again in the abdomen by the poisoned silver needle. As he raised his palm again, the potent poison rapidly spread within him, and black blood trickled from his lips. He clutched his chest and watched from afar as Gu Qianying escaped from his grasp.
A devilish smile appeared on his lips, "Interesting! Such an interesting young lady, I must have her!"
Returning to Baihua Lane, Gu Qianying saw her long-awaited "relative," Lu Zhu.
At this moment, Lu Zhu was no longer plump. She was thin and frail, with several bloodied wounds of varying depths on her small, palm-sized face.
Upon seeing Gu Qianying again, she was momentarily stunned, somewhat dazed, as if the sight before her were a dream, and in that dream, she was perhaps dreaming of her young lady again?
"Lu Zhu, Lu Zhu~"
Gu Qianying called out to her.
She suddenly came to her senses.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked at Gu Qianying, crying, "Miss... Miss, it really is you, it really is you, thank goodness."
Lu Zhu was somewhat agitated. She knelt on the ground, hugged Gu Qianying's leg, and sobbed, recounting her tragic experiences during these past days.
Gu Qianying helped her up, treated the wounds on her face, and then personally examined other untreated wounds on her body. After a moment, she said, "Lu Zhu, you have suffered."
Lu Zhu shook her head, "Miss, Lu Zhu does not suffer. Lu Zhu is willing to do anything to serve Miss."
After getting up, Lu Zhu handed Gu Qianying a letter. Gu Qianying opened it. It was a letter exchanged with an enemy country, detailing the recent events in the enemy country's imperial palace. The content of the letter was ordinary, but the address before "To be opened by" on the envelope caught Gu Qianying's attention.
"To be opened by the Third Prince!"
The Third Prince?
Gu Qianying narrowed her eyes, and after a moment, a faint smile curved her lips, "It seems that the powerful Imperial Tutor Ouyang Qinglin of the current court has another unknown identity?"