The third watch had passed, and the fourth was approaching. The night was not yet cool, and the night wind was still biting.
Ninth Prince's Manor.
Nangong Mo returned just after the fourth watch.
He pushed open the door of the main hall in the front courtyard, and his eyes fell upon women's robes, shoes, and socks, a man's outer garment, and several overturned precious jade artifacts on the ground.
The floor was in disarray.
The scent inside the room was unusual, and he frowned as he walked further in.
It became messier the deeper he went.
"Girl!"
Anxious, his steps quickened.
On the bed, the bed curtains had fallen, obscuring the vague figure within.
Lifting the bed curtains, Nangong Mo, who had been worried about Gu Qianying's safety, was stunned.
The Evil King, half-naked, was hanging upside down from a beam, his head pointing downwards. The white silk binding him had loosened, causing his body to sway like a "human swing."
"Why is it you?"
Nangong Mo's eyes were as cold as ice.
At this moment, the Evil King's mouth was stuffed with cloth, rendering him unable to speak, only able to emit muffled sounds.
His evil energy and true qi had been sealed by Gu Qianying with silver needles, leaving him like a cripple.
Tearing off the cloth from the Evil King's mouth.
Nangong Mo had lost all patience.
"That damned Gu Qianying, I wasn't planning to touch her, yet she was so vicious to me. Lord Lian Di, you'd better control your woman..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was knocked unconscious by a palm strike from Nangong Mo.
Exiting the main hall.
Nangong Mo stood alone in the courtyard.
In the night, several fireflies flitted around him.
The night wind rustled. Standing in the empty courtyard, he tilted his head slightly and soon noticed the woman in red sitting on the roof.
Her usually cold gaze suddenly softened, the corners of her lips curved upwards, revealing a faint smile.
He summoned the person serving him to prepare a jar of good wine and found a white cloak that a woman would wear.
He carried a jar of wine in one hand and the white cloak in the other.
Turning, he flew onto the roof and settled beside the woman in red.
"Drinking alone is so boring. Come, girl, I'll keep you company."
After draping the cloak over Gu Qianying, Nangong Mo opened the wine jar he had brought.
"He's gone?"
Gu Qianying did not look at Nangong Mo; she continued to drink.
Her gaze seemed to be fixed on the faint moonlight in the distance, or perhaps on the twinkling stars.
Mysterious, inscrutable.
Nangong Mo looked at her, his eyes filled with obvious affection, but his brows were furrowed.
"Yes, he's gone."
He didn't want her to mention other men when they were alone together.
"That's for the best, then."
Gu Qianying still did not look at him.
She merely continued to drink.
Nangong Mo frowned, reached out, and snatched the wine from Gu Qianying's hand.
He tilted his head back and drank the remaining wine in Gu Qianying's cup, as well as his own wine, emptying both jars.
After tossing the empty wine jars onto the ground below the roof, Nangong Mo pulled Gu Qianying towards him.
As Gu Qianying turned her head, he embraced her and kissed her.
During their kiss, Gu Qianying seemed unwilling. She tried to push him away, but he only held her tighter.
Not far away, two white-haired old men hiding behind a tree hugged each other excitedly.
"They kissed, they kissed! Ah, our little Lord Lian is going to be born! Ah, ah, too exciting."
"Hush, hush, keep it down. That's great. Our Lord Lian has finally been kissed by a woman. *Sniffle*, I want to cry."
Old Man Guo and Old Man Wu acted like fools, crying and laughing with joy.
To avoid disrupting their Lord Lian's good fortune, these two old men, after watching the spectacle, whispered to each other about whether to go back and buy baby supplies.
However, they didn't know whether the future little Lord Lian would be a boy or a girl. So, these two old men decided that one would buy boy's clothes and supplies, and the other would buy girl's clothes and supplies.
But just as these two old men, with great enthusiasm, turned to sneak back to prepare,
"Slap!"
A crisp slap echoed as if it could pierce the heavens, shocking everyone.
When Old Man Guo and Old Man Wu turned back, they saw their Lord Lian looking at Gu Qianying with disbelief.
At this moment, they were also very curious, so they hid again and continued to watch the show.
Gu Qianying looked at Nangong Mo, her eyes filled with half pity and half sorrow.
"Nangong Mo... Old Mother... I... I'm pregnant!"
As she uttered these words, Gu Qianying's voice suddenly rose; she was shouting.
Pregnant?
Nangong Mo, who had been confused about the situation just moments before and didn't understand why Gu Qianying had hit him,
His anger immediately turned into a smile.
"Really? That's wonderful, girl, truly wonderful."
Nangong Mo smiled, a very happy smile.
If the circumstances were different, he would have loved to hold her and be intimate with her.
Overjoyed, he momentarily overlooked the abnormality in Gu Qianying's expression.
"Are you happy?"
Gu Qianying's eyes were like ice; she sneered.
Nangong Mo's smile faltered. "Girl, what's wrong? Aren't you happy? We have a child, you..."
"Are you an idiot? This child is not yours! Don't you understand?"
Gu Qianying was furious.
She had only reunited with Nangong Mo less than half a month ago; how could she have a child?
And before that, she clearly remembered that day in the small wooden house when she had a moment of intimacy with a "wild man."
Counting the days, the child in her belly belonged to that man!
She was a physician; she knew her body's changes very well.
And she also clearly remembered that her menstrual cycle had not arrived.
"Not this prince's?"
Nangong Mo was stunned.
How could that be?
And his expression made Gu Qianying feel guilt and self-reproach.
At the same time, she told Nangong Mo about the time she had intimacy with a man she hadn't even seen in the small wooden house a few days prior.
"Silly girl, that man was me."
Nangong Mo stepped forward, embraced Gu Qianying, and flicked her nose.
"What?"
This time, it was Gu Qianying's turn to be surprised.
Nangong Mo told Gu Qianying everything that had happened a few days ago, in detail.
Gu Qianying, having learned the truth,
Her eyes were cold. "Nangong Mo!"
In the early morning.
Old Man Guo and Old Man Wu, these two old men, were worried about their master.
Therefore, under the guise of delivering breakfast, they went to the front hall together.
To their surprise, when these two old men entered,
They saw someone massaging his wife's legs and back, and even her feet.
These two old men were instantly dumbfounded.
At this moment, the person who was diligently working turned his head and looked at them with a cold gaze.
"What is it?"
The two old men looked at each other.
"Oh, Old Man Guo, my eyes suddenly hurt a bit, I can't see. You... you quickly help me back."
"Oh, oh, oh, my stomach suddenly hurts a lot. Come, come, I'll help you, you help me..."
The two old men, acting in unison, put down the breakfast in their hands and immediately turned and fled.
My goodness! It was too much for their eyes; they believed in "seeing no evil."
And a moment later, the two people inside the room.
"Wife, don't be angry anymore. Your husband will do this for you, okay?"
Nangong Mo embraced Gu Qianying from behind.
He also guided Gu Qianying's hand from beneath his own abdomen, moving it slowly downwards.
"Get lost!"