Gu Qianying turned her head to look.
Nangong Mo sat in his wheelchair, dressed in a dark straight-collar official robe, cinched with a matching golden spider-patterned belt. His black hair was tied up and secured with an inlaid jade gilded crown.
His icy gaze seemed to be tinged with frost.
As Gu Qianying looked at him, Nangong Mo was also looking at her. Their eyes met, one bewildered, the other sinister.
A guard entered, dragging Cai Xia, who was covered in injuries.
Cai Xia's hands were bound, and her mouth was stuffed with a cloth. The guard threw her to the ground. Cai Xia knelt on the ground, her knees hitting the floor.
Seeing this, Gu Qianying suddenly remembered what had happened before she fainted. She got out of bed barefoot and intended to explain herself to Nangong Mo. However, the latter stared coldly at her bare feet. Finally, he sighed and said, "The ground is cold. Go back and lie down!"
Gu Qianying glanced at Cai Xia, who was kneeling on the ground and weeping at her. Her initial anger subsided. She retreated and lay back on the bed. Her voice was flat and indifferent, "Ninth Imperial Uncle, the maid Cai Xia was bestowed upon me by the Ninth Imperial Uncle. She is, after all, a servant of the estate. If she has made any mistakes, the Ninth Imperial Uncle may deal with her directly. Why must you bring her before me and have her solicit sympathy from me?"
Gu Qianying, who had never addressed Nangong Mo as "Ninth Imperial Uncle" directly before, spoke these words with extreme indifference, but her underlying meaning was to save Cai Xia's life.
"Do you care about her death?"
Nangong Mo suddenly asked this question.
Gu Qianying frowned.
What did Nangong Mo mean by this?
Unless he truly wanted Cai Xia dead?
"Ninth Imperial Uncle, you jest. The maid's life is entirely in the Ninth Imperial Uncle's hands. What use is it whether I care or not?"
Gu Qianying's tone was neither warm nor cold.
"Then what about me? What about me, do you care?"
Nangong Mo looked at her, his eyes full of expectation, but his gaze flickered, seemingly tinged with bitterness.
The memory of yesterday, after the dark guards returned and reported the news, deepened the bitterness in the corners of his eyes.
Gu Qianying did not look at Nangong Mo, but her furrowed brows deepened slightly. She simply lay down fully clothed, her voice becoming increasingly indifferent, "Ninth Imperial Uncle, what you say is even more amusing. Of course, I care about you. Just like now, if you are unhappy, you can punish the maids in the estate, or even beat a few to death, and it would be justifiable. It is the same for me. Therefore, if I have done anything to displease the Ninth Imperial Uncle these past two days, I beg you to overlook my reckless and ignorant behavior and not hold it against me."
As she finished speaking, she grabbed the quilt and covered herself, her voice still clear and cold, "Oh dear, my head suddenly hurts terribly. I need to sleep. If the Ninth Imperial Uncle finds the maid Cai Xia bothersome, you can directly drag her out and have her beaten to death. There's no need to bring her here for me to see."
Her words became increasingly bold and dismissive, and she appeared even more indifferent to the maid Cai Xia's life.
However, her hands, hidden beneath the quilt, were clenched tightly.
She was waiting! Waiting for Nangong Mo to relent. She was also gambling, gambling on Nangong Mo's indulgence towards her, who bore some resemblance to his beloved.
Her face was her life-saving talisman, and also the life-saving talisman for those around her.
After all, even if he couldn't see his beloved, it was still feasible to see the face of someone who bore some resemblance to her.
Moreover, a woman favored by Nangong Mo would never be a weak and timid creature. Her current demeanor, different from that of ordinary women, might make her even more resemble Nangong Mo's beloved.
The more this was the case, the more she believed Nangong Mo would not want to kill her!
"Release that maid."
Nangong Mo finally relented.
How could he not know the girl's thoughts?
She was like this when she was young. That day, though she clearly loved raising small animals, she insisted on telling him she hated them the most. Yet, when he brought a small calico cat to give to her, she was the happiest and took great care of it. The reason she said she didn't like it was because she feared she wouldn't be able to raise the cat well.
However, the words of the dark guards yesterday were still vivid in his mind, and the ferocity in Nangong Mo's eyes could not dissipate.
"From today onwards, wherever the Princess Consort goes, you are to follow her, never leaving her side. If you lose her, bring your heads to me. In addition, for violating the estate's rules yesterday and leaving privately, the Princess Consort is confined to her chambers for seven days."
He summoned two dark guards with high martial arts skills and issued his commands.
Although he could indulge Gu Qianying in whatever she wished to do, even offering her the empire if she desired it, Gu Qianying had secretly met a man yesterday, which made him somewhat jealous and put him in a bad mood. Yet, it was also yesterday that Du Chun brought the weakened Gu Qianying back, making him even angrier. Gu Qianying, that impudent girl, didn't know how to cherish herself, making herself so weak. What was she trying to do! Such a person who didn't care for herself deserved punishment!
Gu Qianying was instantly relieved that Nangong Mo had released Cai Xia, but Nangong Mo had confined her and assigned two dark guards to follow her closely, which gave her a headache.
It seemed that Nangong Mo was truly angered this time, and she would have to coax him later.
A moment later,
Bai Qi pushed Nangong Mo away from Mingyue Pavilion. In the corridor, they encountered Nangong Li, who was fanning himself, his gossip-loving heart piqued, "Ninth Imperial Uncle, I heard that Du Chun brought Ninth Imperial Aunt back yesterday. Ninth Imperial Aunt was still unconscious when she was brought back. What exactly happened? Has Du Chun left? And why was Ninth Imperial Aunt unconscious?"
Nangong Mo's face darkened. He raised his hand, and Bai Qi stopped pushing him.
He glanced at Nangong Li and said in an extremely cold voice, "Bai Qi, throw this fellow out for me!"
"Pfft!"
Outside the main gate of the Ninth Prince's Estate,
Nangong Li, with a face full of dirt, still looked bewildered.
"Ninth Imperial Uncle, did I say something wrong?"
His words were met with the closing gate and two guards who had long grown accustomed to such events.
In Mingyue Pavilion,
Cai Xia sat on a chair, while Gu Qianying applied medicine to her. Her touch was extremely gentle, as if afraid of hurting Cai Xia.
Cai Xia was so moved that she wept profusely, "Princess Consort, my life is cheap and I am unworthy of such treatment from the Princess Consort."
As she spoke, she tried to kneel. Gu Qianying stopped her and pressed her back down, "Don't move. All these injuries on your body are because you concealed things for me. I know your loyalty to me, and I spoke so indifferently just now to protect your life, because the more indifferent one appears, the more the other party will think this pawn is useless. Do you understand?"
As the Princess Consort of the Ninth Prince, she naturally did not need to explain herself to a servant, but when using people, winning their hearts was the best strategy.
"This servant understands. It is my good fortune to be favored by the Princess Consort; it is my fortune for three lifetimes." Cai Xia was intelligent and knew how to play along, but as she lowered her gaze, Gu Qianying caught a fleeting glint of darkness in her eyes.
In the following days,
On the first day of her confinement, Nangong Mo did not visit Gu Qianying, only ordering delicious meals to be sent over.
On the second day of her confinement, Nangong Mo also did not visit Gu Qianying, but as night fell, a figure appeared outside her door.
On the third day of her confinement, Nangong Mo still did not visit Gu Qianying, but he sent people to replace the delicious meals with even more delectable ones, each dish personally prepared by him.
And in the kitchen, due to his inability to stand with his legs, he sustained a minor injury to his wrist.
On the fourth and fifth days of confinement, Nangong Li had Bai Qi push him to stand outside the door, quietly accompanying Gu Qianying during her confinement.
On the sixth day, he directly had Bai Qi push him into the room. He sat in front of Gu Qianying, not saying a word to her.
On the seventh day, Nangong Mo looked at Gu Qianying with a dark expression and finally couldn't help but say, "My anger has subsided. The seven days of confinement have passed, and you may move about freely."
Seeing Nangong Mo like this, Gu Qianying walked to the bedside, lifted the jade pillow, took out an item from within, turned around, and approached Nangong Mo.