The night wind brushed past, bringing the chill of early spring.
Gu Qingwan lowered her eyes. Her jade-like face still wore that gentle and indifferent expression, but her heart was like a surging tide.
She softly called out in her mind:
‘A-Yuan… if possible, can you look at me like you used to once more…?’
Faced with Gu Qingwan’s proposal, Chu Yuan was stunned for a moment and subconsciously glanced at his childhood friend.
Under the moonlight, her jade-like face was as gentle as ever, but she did not dare to meet his gaze, looking like a child who had made a mistake.
Chu Yuan pondered in his heart:
‘If I follow Ji Xuanyuan, I’ll surely be taken to the City Lord’s Mansion tonight. Who knows how she might drain me dry. But if I insist on returning to the Chu Clan, I’ll undoubtedly offend Her Highness the Crown Prince. In comparison, the Gu family, as a neutral party, isn’t a bad temporary solution.’
Just as Chu Yuan was about to speak, Chu Linfeng spoke up indignantly:
“How can this be! How can that trash live in your home, Qingwan? This, this is…”
Chu Linfeng had done so much just to separate the two of them, but his efforts had backfired.
Gu Qingwan knew what he wanted to accuse her of and explained with a guilty conscience, “Young Master Linfeng, you’ve misunderstood! I am inviting Her Highness the Crown Prince to stay. As for A-Yuan… that depends on Her Highness’s wishes.”
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone’s gaze focused on the red-haired Crown Prince.
Facing the eyes from all sides, Ji Xuanyuan took a deep breath and calmed herself slightly.
Seeing the flicker of wariness in Chu Yuan’s eyes, she could easily guess his thoughts.
‘This child must have been traumatized by being used as my seat cushion today, leading him to be wary of me. It’s also my fault for being too impatient!’
Fairy Gu’s proposal was not a bad one.
After thinking it over, Ji Xuanyuan nodded her head slightly. “Since Fairy Gu has extended such a gracious invitation, I shall not refuse!”
Gu Qingwan then glanced at Chu Yuan and lowered her head again. “Then… A-Yuan, what about you?”
Chu Yuan did not hesitate. “Then I shall trouble you, Wan’er!”
A simple sentence, yet it sounded like a clap of thunder in Gu Qingwan’s ears.
She suddenly looked up, a flash of disbelief crossing her eyes for a moment.
“Then, then…”
Her voice trembled slightly, but she quickly suppressed it, striving to maintain her outward composure. “I will have someone prepare the carriage.”
When she turned around, her skirt swirled out like a flower.
She walked steadily, step by step, yet the surging tide in her heart was so excited it was about to overflow.
‘He agreed! He really agreed!!!’
Chu Yunlan noticed her joy and volunteered himself. “Fairy Gu, Her Highness already has her own imperial carriage. Why don’t you take my carriage back to Xuanji City?”
Gu Qingwan’s sudden proposal had given him a new idea.
At this, Gu Qingwan was startled for a moment, but thinking that her relationship with Chu Yuan was still awkward, she could only nod. “Very well! I will trouble you then, Young Master Yunlan!”
Seeing that Chu Yuan still refused to return, the Great Elder of Chu flicked his sleeve, turned around, and led the members of the Chu Clan away.
His hunched figure betrayed a sense of wretchedness and unease.
Beside him, Chu Linfeng glared hatefully at Chu Yuan, but since things had come to this, he could only follow along dejectedly.
—
Fifteen minutes later.
In the night sky, two imperial carriages flew toward Xuanji City, one after the other.
Inside the leading carriage, Chu Yunlan and Gu Qingwan sat on opposite sides.
At this moment, Chu Yunlan’s mind was in disarray.
Closing his eyes, he remembered the boundary-crossing interaction between the Crown Prince and Chu Yuan in the tea house. He remembered the ambiguous exchange of glances between the Crown Prince and Chu Yuan when the Elder broke the formation. He remembered the Crown Prince’s angry expression when Chu Yuan declined her invitation…
If they were allowed to continue like this, that trash would eventually win her favor.
No!
This must be stopped!
Chu Yunlan opened his eyes and looked at Gu Qingwan across from him.
She was looking out of the carriage window with a dazed expression, though the corners of her lips were slightly curved upward.
It was not hard for Chu Yunlan to see the joy of this black-haired beauty.
It was because Chu Yuan had agreed to go to her place.
She had always been in love with that trash.
Coincidentally, Ji Xuanyuan was inexplicably paying attention to that trash.
And he, Chu Yunlan, wanted to form an alliance with Ji Xuanyuan.
In that case…
The corners of his lips curved up, and a dark light flashed in his eyes.
Since Fairy Gu loved that trash so much, he might as well… help her.
As long as he brought the two back together and had them become Dao companions…
At that time, would the Crown Prince of a nation still look twice at a married man?
With a plan in mind, Chu Yunlan used Sound Transmission:
[“Truly, congratulations, Fairy Gu.”]
Gu Qingwan’s delicate body stiffened, and she looked at him in confusion.
Chu Yunlan’s smile was gentle.
[“Stop pretending! I have long seen that you still have feelings for Brother Yuan. Otherwise, why would you invite him to your home after you two have already broken up?”]
Gu Qingwan’s eyes widened slightly, and she then lowered her head with a sigh.
[“I… I just didn’t want… Sigh! In a few years, I’ll be leaving for the Medicine King Valley Trial. No matter how reluctant I am, what can I do?”]
Chu Yunlan followed with a sigh.
[“I just feel it’s not worth it for you, Fairy Gu. Think about how much you’ve done for him, only for Her Highness the Crown Prince to suddenly interfere… It’s truly a pity!”]
At the mention of Ji Xuanyuan, Gu Qingwan felt a sense of sorrow in her heart.
[“It’s not a pity. Her Highness’s beauty is peerless, and she is both wise and brave. For A-Yuan to be noticed by Her Highness… it is his fortune. Besides, if Her Highness is interested in Chu Yuan, how can a dying person like me… compete?”]
Chu Yunlan comforted her.
[“Fairy Gu, you needn’t belittle yourself. With my assistance, there will naturally be a way for you to pass the trial. Furthermore, you and Chu Yuan were childhood sweethearts. That bond isn’t something others can compare to. As long as you are willing, you can always make him change his mind. Not to mention, Her Highness might not necessarily have feelings for him.”]
Gu Qingwan was bewildered.
[“Young Master Yunlan, what do you mean by that?”]
The smile on Chu Yunlan’s lips became even more gentle, but his eyes were deep and unpredictable.
[“As far as I know, that Crown Prince has obtained a certain cultivation technique…”]
Listening to his narration, Gu Qingwan’s heart tightened.
[“Is that true? If so, wouldn’t A-Yuan be walking into a tiger’s mouth?”]
After saying this, her desire to take him back became even stronger.
Seeing that she had taken the bait, Chu Yunlan’s expression became meaningful.
[“To me, it is a beautiful thing for lovers in the world to finally be united. I have a plan. I wonder if Fairy Gu would be willing to listen?”]
Gu Qingwan looked at Chu Yunlan with a serious face.
[“Please speak, Young Master Yunlan!!!”]
[“Fairy Gu, you only need to…”]
Chu Yunlan’s voice was whispered and dense as he relayed the plan into her ears bit by bit.
At the very end, he did not forget to say, [“…Rest assured, Fairy Gu. With my support, you will absolutely have no problems.”]
His voice grew even gentler, carrying a sincerity that invited trust.
Gu Qingwan was silent for a long time before she finally nodded.
But in her heart, there was a trace of inexplicable hesitation.
She had never done such a thing.
But if she could make A-Yuan escape the Crown Prince’s clutches…
She bit her lip, her lowered eyelashes trembling slightly.
Outside the window, the night deepened, and the lights were dim.
Gu Qingwan leaned against the carriage wall, staring out the window in a daze.
She did not know what lay ahead, whether this plan would work, or if… Chu Yuan’s heart would ever open a window for her again.
But at least tonight, he was safe under her watch!
That was enough!
Seeing her reach a decision, Chu Yunlan chuckled inwardly.
‘As long as I can smoothly reconcile the two of them, won’t Her Highness the Crown Prince be mine for the taking?’
In order to clear the obstacles, Chu Yunlan did not mind acting as a sly advisor for Fairy Gu.