At the same time, in the front courtyard living quarters of the Ninth Prince's mansion.
Gu Qianying looked at the person lying on the bed, stubbornly holding onto her hand, and felt a headache.
"Little Qianqian, I'm hot, quickly help me take off my clothes."
Nangong Mo tore at his own robes but couldn't manage it. He closed his eyes in a daze, his mind filled with the memories of him and her ten years ago.
"Take off what? Put it on me!"
Gu Qianying pressed down on Nangong Mo's other restless hand.
As she exerted pressure, he suddenly pulled her forward. She leaned in, staring dumbfounded at him, drunk.
His robes had been unfastened at some point.
His exposed chest muscles were strong and well-defined, with clear contours.
She was momentarily stunned.
She heard him say while drunk, "Wife, how is my physique?"
His words instantly brought her back from her daze.
"What's the use of it being good if it's ultimately no good?"
In Gu Qianying's opinion, she had merely been careless and spoken the plain truth.
However, the person tightly gripping her suddenly let go and pulled her closer again. His slightly closed eyes snapped open.
Whoosh!
With a flick of his sleeve, the dim candlelight in the room was instantly extinguished, and the purple, tassel-like gauze curtain fell.
"Nangong Mo, what are you doing! You, you, you..."
Mmm!
A moment later, Gu Qianying got up, lifted the gauze curtain, and got off the bed.
She glanced back at Nangong Mo, whom she had knocked unconscious with a palm strike.
His robes were almost completely removed...
Gu Qianying frowned, turned her head, raised her hand slightly, and with force, the bed curtain fell, covering a certain part of Nangong Mo.
She walked to the tea table, picked up the wine pot, and drank several gulps. The spiciness of the wine extinguished the desire within her.
A knock on the door sounded at this moment.
Gu Qianying's gaze swept towards the door.
"Who?"
"Your Highness, it is this servant." Steward Qi stood outside the door and said.
Gu Qianying glanced at the bed and saw that the person was covered very securely, not revealing any skin. She withdrew her gaze, sat at the tea table, and then said, "Come in."
Steward Qi looked around to ensure no one was nearby, then pushed the door open and entered.
"What is it?"
Gu Qianying looked at him.
Steward Qi took a letter from his embrace and stood respectfully to the side. "Your Highness, this is what Miss Lan entrusted me to take out of the mansion. Please have a look."
Gu Qianying took the letter from Steward Qi, opened it, and as she read its contents, her lips curled into a cold smile.
"For such an ordinary daily report, she would use herself as bait?"
As soon as she said this, Steward Qi was taken aback. He looked at Gu Qianying with shock. "Your Highness, how can you tell? This servant has already... with Miss Lan..."
When he arrived, he hadn't said anything, only handing over a letter that he considered useless.
And along the way, he had been very confused as to why Lan Qingqing was willing to be with him. If he hadn't seen Lan Qingqing embracing Physician Du before, he might have believed that Lan Qingqing truly had feelings for him. But now, he certainly wouldn't be so foolish.
However, what surprised him was that before he had said anything to the Princess Consort, she had already guessed everything?
"The poison you were afflicted with was personally administered by this Princess Consort. Whether it has been resolved or not, this Princess Consort knows best. I told you before that although this poison was administered to you, it is harmless to you. You can rest assured."
A cold statement interrupted Steward Qi's thoughts.
Steward Qi quickly knelt down and said, "This servant is terrified. This servant would never dare to doubt your words, Your Highness."
Gu Qianying carefully examined the letter in her hand. The contents were all about her and Nangong Mo's daily whereabouts, plain and simple, with no important information.
"How many times has she entrusted you to deliver letters like this?"
"Replying to Your Highness, it has been twice."
"Is there any difference between this time and the previous one in your opinion?"
Gu Qianying's expression was cold.
Steward Qi thought for a moment and shook his head. "This servant sees no difference."
Gu Qianying said nothing. After a moment of silence, she suddenly looked at Steward Qi. "Go fetch a bowl of water."
"Yes, this servant will go now." Steward Qi complied.
A moment later, Steward Qi brought a bowl of water. Gu Qianying placed the letter in her hand into the bowl. Steward Qi did not understand.
As the water soaked the entire letter, the black characters on the paper disappeared, and two lines of text written in blood appeared on the paper.
This phenomenon greatly surprised Steward Qi. "Your Highness is wise!"
As he said this, he didn't even realize that the look in his eyes was no longer fear, but a sense of admiration for Gu Qianying.
Having heard about what happened in Lanxi Pavilion, and some of the events before the Princess Consort entered the mansion, he had a new perspective on the current Princess Consort.
Although ruthless, she was brave and resourceful, decisive in her killings, and extremely intelligent. It was said she had also learned many skills. Such a remarkable woman as their Ninth Princess Consort was not to be trifled with!
With her disguise, secretly meeting with Old Gu, and opposing the Chief, she could be killed!
Gu Qianying looked at the hidden content on the letter, her eyes flashing with a hint of coldness.
"This Miss Lan is quite intelligent, using fabricated events to satisfy her private meetings. If this Princess Consort were truly killed by someone else as the letter states, it would be considered helping her master. This way, she would eliminate me, an eyesore, and also leave a good impression on her master. For her, this is a plan to kill two birds with one stone."
"Your Highness, this servant will go and apprehend her immediately for you to deal with."
Upon learning of Lan Qingqing's malicious intentions, Steward Qi could no longer tolerate her.
"You come back. She doesn't have many days left to live. There's no need for such haste."
As Steward Qi was about to go apprehend her, Gu Qianying stopped him. She certainly believed in the potency of the poison she had administered.
"Your Highness, what do you mean...?"
Steward Qi did not know what poison the Princess Consort had given him, but from this moment on, he no longer doubted her words.
"Did you hear what Lan Qingqing and Du Chun said?"
She had always kept Steward Qi informed about Lan Qingqing's movements, and she naturally knew about the events between Lan Qingqing and Du Chun.
"This servant vaguely heard them discussing some kind of face-swapping technique. Afterwards, this servant saw Physician Du come out, and he came to this place."
As he spoke, Steward Qi glanced outside and quickly added, "Your Highness, Physician Du has strong martial arts skills. This servant will immediately send some servants to protect Your Highness's safety."
"No need. What if Physician Du has strong martial arts skills? This Princess Consort is never afraid."
Seeing that Gu Qianying was not exaggerating, Steward Qi felt much more at ease.
"Send this letter out according to Lan Qingqing's plan."
As she said this, Gu Qianying put the letter back into its envelope. However, Steward Qi did not notice that the letter she had put back into the envelope had already been tampered with by Gu Qianying.
"But the content of this letter..."
Steward Qi was a little worried.
"Lan Qingqing's intentions are not important. What is important is to use this bait to draw out her true master behind her."
"Your Highness means that Lan Qingqing's true master is not the Empress?" Steward Qi was somewhat confused.
"This Princess Consort does not know. We can only wait and see."
Gu Qianying did not say more. She glanced back at Nangong Mo, who was covered by the bed curtain.
A calculation formed in her mind.
"Yes, Your Highness, this servant understands. I will make arrangements now."
Steward Qi dared not ask any more questions. Having served by his Prince's side for many years, he had developed a demeanor that feared no one. Even upon learning that Lan Qingqing's master was likely the Empress, the mother of the nation, he seemed unafraid and had never paid attention to the princes in the palace. However, he was only obedient and respectful to the Princess Consort before him.
In his opinion, the Princess Consort's wisdom surpassed that of his Prince.
As Steward Qi was about to leave, Gu Qianying wrote another note and asked him to take it to Physician Ji, Ji Wuyi, who was busy in the inner and outer courtyards of the mansion.
Steward Qi was taken aback, not understanding Gu Qianying's intention, but he dared not ask further questions.
After Steward Qi left, Gu Qianying closed the door and called for the maid Cai Xia to prepare the bathing items for her.
The bathtub, hot water, and flower petals were all ready. Maid Cai Xia helped Gu Qianying undress and get into the bathtub.
However, as Gu Qianying removed her dress, she suddenly instructed Cai Xia, "Go, wake up the Prince. Remember, don't do it intentionally. Make it seem accidental."
Upon hearing this, Cai Xia was stunned. She was also extremely intelligent and, understanding the implication, immediately nodded. "Yes, Your Highness, this servant understands."
Gu Qianying sat in the bathtub, her skin as delicate as a puff of air visible through the water, her graceful and alluring figure faintly discernible. She raised her arm, as fair as condensed jade, and gently stirred the rose petals in the water. Ripples spread across the water, and the mist was hazy, like a scene from the celestial realm.
Suddenly, the door of the main hall was kicked open. Du Chun, sword in hand, entered from the main hall and proceeded to the sleeping quarters.
Gu Qianying let out a perfunctory "Ah!" and pretended to be extremely flustered, hiding by the edge of the bathtub. "Physician Du, what... what are you doing? Quickly get out."
"I'm going to cut off your face!"
Du Chun, sword in hand, walked towards her step by step.
His expression was blank, and his words were spoken without emotion, coldly and indifferently.
Seeing this, Gu Qianying's eyes flickered, but she said with feigned fear, "Physician Du, are you crazy? You, you, you, don't come any closer."
At this moment, the maid Cai Xia, who was serving nearby, was startled to see Du Chun break in with a sword. She rushed forward like a madwoman, spreading her arms to shield Gu Qianying. "Physician Du, what are you doing?" Thinking of the "task" she had just agreed to in front of the Princess Consort, she turned and went to the bedside again, crying out towards Du Chun, "Physician Du is going to kill the Princess Consort! Help! Someone, help!"
Her voice was so loud that Nangong Mo, who was lying on the bed, about to wake up under the bed curtain, was immediately startled awake...