"Gu Kun!"
Gu Qianying was furious.
This was the first time she had called her father by his name.
Inside the room, the dilapidated window was left ajar, the casement creaking.
In the center of the room stood a broken table with only three legs remaining.
The table was filthy, crawling with several rats that squeaked incessantly.
Gu Qianying dragged Gu Kun by the collar of his back, pulling him onto the tabletop with one hand. With the other, she took out a silver needle she carried and inserted it into the Shenting acupoint on the crown of Gu Kun's head.
Pain, like that of a thousand ants tearing at him, surged through him.
Gu Kun's face contorted in pain.
"It's up to you whether you speak, but if you do, I'll leave you here to fend for yourself. If you don't, I'll make you suffer a slow, agonizing death!"
"Hahaha, look at your disgusting, twisted face. Look closely, do you look like Gu Kun's daughter, Gu Qianying, in this ghastly state?"
Gu Kun trembled all over with pain, yet his smile was devilishly charming.
His gaze, filled with the desire for revenge, followed past Gu Qianying's back.
On the wall behind Gu Qianying hung a bronze mirror.
This bronze mirror seemed deliberately placed there, surrounded by other old and broken items.
Only this bronze mirror looked as if it had just been hung, new and fresh.
Gu Qianying followed Gu Kun's gaze and turned back.
The bronze mirror reflected her image, her red hair, her unusual eyes, and her long fox tail.
"Who is... this...?"
Gu Qianying's pupils dilated.
Was this her? The her from her dreams?
"Gu Qianying! Your secret can't be hidden any longer. Soon, very soon, he will come looking for you, hahaha!"
Gu Qianying's face turned cold, and she turned back, frowning.
The Gu Kun before her was not Gu Kun at all, but an ugly "monster."
"Rumble!"
The dilapidated house suddenly collapsed.
Nangong Mo and Gu Yefeng, who were guarding outside the door, were startled.
They both turned at the same time, and one of them kicked open the door.
Just as the door was kicked open, a red figure was sent flying out from within.
"Qianying!"
"Little sister!"
Nangong Mo and Gu Yefeng both leaped up, attempting to catch Gu Qianying in mid-air.
Nangong Mo was a few steps faster than Gu Yefeng.
He embraced her as she descended gracefully.
"Qianying, Qianying!"
However, Gu Qianying, held by Nangong Mo, fainted in his arms.
"Boom!"
The collapsing house nearby instantly turned into ruins, dust filling the air.
Gu Qianying lay unconscious in Nangong Mo's embrace, unresponsive.
"Go, back to the manor!"
Nangong Mo picked up Gu Qianying and flew towards the Ninth Prince's Manor.
Gu Yefeng glanced back at the house that had become a ruin.
His father was still inside; he was likely dead.
After a brief pause, Gu Yefeng followed Nangong Mo back to the Ninth Prince's Manor.
Right now, his little sister was the most important.
Unbeknownst to them, as they left, a figure hidden in the shadows also departed.
The next day.
Within the Ninth Prince's Manor, imperial physicians from the palace, doctors from the martial world, and skilled disciples from the Poison Doctor's Sacred Hall, all came and went, a constant stream of people gathered within the manor.
Each of them wore a troubled expression.
Even Du Chun, a physician renowned as a reincarnation of Hua Tuo, stood in the courtyard.
Before him were medicinal herbs required for various prescriptions.
More than a dozen prescriptions had become useless, each one carefully formulated by him after deep consideration.
Yet, they remained ineffective.
Gu Qianying had not yet woken up.
He was consumed by anxiety.
On the stone table beside him lay untouched meals.
Maids delivering food came and went repeatedly, bringing fresh meals to replace the cold ones.
This continued for an unknown duration.
Nearby, the Sixth Prince Nangong Li inquired several times.
However, Du Chun ignored him, leaving him only with a determined, unyielding back.
Nangong Li, helpless, ordered his attendants to prepare tea for Du Chun.
If he wouldn't eat, he should at least drink water.
After checking on Du Chun, Nangong Li turned to look at Nangong Mo, who had been keeping vigil by Gu Qianying's bedside without rest.
Nangong Mo's robes had been worn for two consecutive days.
With his severe潔癖 (cleanliness obsession), he would never normally tolerate not changing his clothes.
But at this moment, he could no longer afford to care about such things.
His unshaven appearance did not resemble a prince at all.
His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the person lying on the bed, still unconscious.
He held her hand, repeatedly recounting their past together.
"Wife, do you remember... that time..."
"Wife... do you remember..."
The phrase "do you remember" was repeated many times by him.
He showed no hint of impatience.
Gu Qianying had been unconscious for two days.
Nangong Mo had stayed by her side, neither eating nor drinking, for two days.
"Ninth Imperial Uncle, perhaps you should rest, and I will keep watch?"
Nangong Li advised.
He feared that the Ninth Imperial Uncle might also collapse.
"No need. Leave."
Nangong Mo was in a foul mood.
Ever since his wife had been brought back by him, she had remained in a deep slumber.
Renowned physicians from outside, even imperial physicians from the palace, had been summoned.
Yet, their diagnosis was that his wife's pulse was stable, the fetus in her womb was normal, and she might simply be asleep.
Asleep? Yet unable to be woken?
He was naturally dissatisfied with such a diagnosis.
After kicking out several physicians, he ordered them to continue seeking more doctors.
During this time, Du Chun had also examined her, and even Du Chun could not ascertain why his wife remained unconscious.
Princess Xuanning, upon hearing of Gu Qianying's predicament, suffered a miscarriage due to her grief.
Empress Meng informed Gu Yefeng, who then rushed back into the palace.
Hence, everyone was deeply worried about Gu Qianying.
Even Lan Qingqing and Caixia, who had taken over the Poison Doctor's Sacred Hall, came to check on her multiple times.
However, due to urgent matters requiring their attention at the Poison Doctor's Sacred Hall, and Lan Qingqing's own pregnancy,
Her husband and mother-in-law were very concerned for her. Therefore, Lan Qingqing and Caixia did not linger.
And Gu Qianying, whom everyone was worried about, in her unconscious state, a divine realm filled with white mist and surrounded by ethereal energy appeared in her mind.
"You are Duan Xingyue!"
"No! You are Princess Ziling."
"Wrong, you are a man-eating monster, a demoness."
Three voices, three figures dressed differently but with the same face, appeared and intertwined in her mind.
Who was she, after all?
Since Gu Qianying's unconsciousness, the plan to rescue Ouyang Qinglin had been postponed.
Meng Yixin, by Ouyang Qinglin's side, was extremely anxious. He knelt outside the main hall of the Ninth Prince's Manor.
He implored the Ninth Prince to send people to rescue his master.
Gu Qianying remained unconscious and it was unknown when she would wake.
His master, Ouyang Qinglin, was also unknown where he had been taken, and whether his wounds were being treated.
Moreover, his master was usually very pampered; it was unknown if he had eaten enough after falling into the hands of villains.
The weather changed abruptly, and snow began to fall from the sky, the snowflakes drifting down and landing in the courtyard.
Within half a day, the courtyard was covered with a thin layer of snow.
Meng Yi knelt on the ground, his legs numb, becoming a "snowman."
He shook the snow off his body, tidied his robes, and continued to kneel.
If the Ninth Prince did not save him, he would not rise.
Even if he knelt to his death here, he would accept it.
He had been in the Ninth Prince's Manor for the past two days and had already heard that the Ninth Prince was exceptionally capable and possessed immense power.
If the Ninth Prince were willing to save his master, he would be willing to die immediately.
Three days later.
Gu Qianying slowly awoke, her first sight being a haggard face.
"Nangong Mo..."
"Qianying, you're finally awake, thank goodness."
Nangong Mo, who was wiping Gu Qianying's hand with a wet cloth, dropped the cloth by the bedside. He was overjoyed.
He tightly embraced the beloved woman before him, afraid she might fall asleep again. He held her and spoke softly in her ear.
Upon learning that Gu Qianying had awakened and was not seriously injured,
The people waiting outside the hall cheered with joy.
"That's wonderful, she... finally... woke up."
Du Chun's eyes welled up with tears, his lips trembling. His bloodshot eyes looked towards the entrance of the main hall.
Snowflakes filled the air, and his robes were also covered with layers of thin snow.
His standing legs were already numb and had lost all sensation.
While he breathed a sigh of relief, his body stiffly toppled forward.
At this moment, having not eaten, drunk, or slept for three to four days, he could no longer hold on.
He fell heavily into the snowdrift, his consciousness gradually fading.
His white robes merged with the white snow.
"Du... Physician Du, you... you... what's wrong? Quickly, someone, help!"
If not for a maid coming to replace the meals, no one would have discovered him collapsed in the snow.