Chapter 11

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Chapter 11: Title

Gu Hengbo blinked, and when she looked again, the Empress had collapsed into the arms of a man dressed in a black qilin brocade robe. “Lan’er, where are you hurt?” he asked softly.

Gu Hengbo was stunned. The man holding the Empress was the ‘royal uncle’ Lian Chen had mentioned. What was going on?

Sensing the strange look on Gu Hengbo’s face, the Empress quickly pushed away from his embrace. “A-Rong, I’m fine.” The man noticed the blood on her arm and, without waiting for her to explain, rolled up her sleeve. A long, painful red mark stood out against her pale skin, and his eyes filled with concern. He gently lowered her sleeve and scooped her up. “Let’s get you some medicine.” Saying this, he started to carry the Empress away but paused briefly to look back at Gu Hengbo. “Come with us.”

Gu Hengbo hesitated. “Me?”

Without another word, the man continued on, carrying the Empress.

Gu Hengbo blinked and quickly followed, taking a winding path to what seemed to be the Empress’s residence, eventually entering a room that appeared to be a bedroom.

The man set the Empress down and turned to instruct, “The medicine is in the second compartment on the left of that brown cabinet.”

“Are you talking to me?” she asked, puzzled. She wasn’t a servant; why was he ordering her around? It was absurd.

“Go get it,” he replied lightly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Gu Hengbo pouted, huffing in annoyance as she went to find the medicine.

The Empress shook her head. “A-Rong, if it weren’t for this young lady, I’d be in grave danger.”

The man slowly looked at the Empress’s sleeve, furrowing his brow at the sight of the glaring blood mark. “I know,” he said. He had seen the whole situation clearly but had been unable to reach her in time. If it weren’t for other reasons, a few assassins wouldn’t have posed a threat to her; she just wanted to know who else wanted her dead besides the last group.

Gu Hengbo returned, carrying several bottles and jars. She tossed them all onto the wide bed. “Here, I brought everything; you can figure it out.”

He glanced at her. “There’s water in the side hall; go fetch a basin of water and get a clean cloth.”

“You—” How rude! Given the Empress’s injury, she didn’t want to argue, so she turned her back in annoyance.

After fetching the water and cloth, Gu Hengbo stood nearby, watching as the man tended to the Empress’s wounds. The Empress gritted her teeth and bit her lip to hold back her cries, her face growing pale. Gu Hengbo found herself admiring the woman; she would have been screaming by now.

Before long, the water in the basin turned red. This time, Gu Hengbo didn’t wait for him to speak. “I’ll go change the water,” she said, lifting the basin and heading out. She repeated this process about seven or eight times before finally finishing the bandaging.

Gu Hengbo sighed in relief, noticing the beads of sweat on the Empress’s forehead. Instinctively, she reached for a handkerchief to wipe her brow. “That must hurt.”

The Empress paused, then smiled. “Thank you. But I still don’t know your name or which family you come from.”

Gu Hengbo beamed, and her words slipped out effortlessly, “I’m Gu Hengbo. Um, no, no, wait—I’m Gu Meisheng. My father is… Gu Xiangguo.” That was close—after all this time, she still hadn’t adjusted.

What she didn’t notice was the fleeting amusement that crossed the man’s face when she spoke.

The Empress froze. No wonder she felt familiar; she was the second daughter of the Gu family who had acted oddly at her poetry gathering last year. Shaking off her thoughts, the Empress smiled at Gu Hengbo. “So it’s Miss Gu, the second daughter of the Gu family. I heard you recovered. Now it seems to be true.”

Gu Hengbo definitely caught the flicker of surprise in the Empress’s eyes. She probably hadn’t expected that the Gu Meisheng she despised had actually saved her.

“Lan’er, I have some matters to attend to. You should rest well. The chaos in the palace has settled, and I’ll come to see you again later,” the man suddenly said.

The queen was stunned for a moment, then nodded gently, "I am fine, you may go."

The person’s deep eyes were filled with tenderness as they leaned down and softly kissed her forehead before standing up and walking out.

Gu Hengbo was taken aback. Did they really?

The person paused by the screen, "Aren’t you coming?"

Gu Hengbo came to her senses and smiled at the queen, "Well, I will leave now." (I can’t believe it, I completely forgot the etiquette.)

Following that person out of the queen’s inner chamber, Gu Hengbo didn’t care about her and walked out on her own. Upon reaching outside the hall, she was called by that person. "Are you Gu Hengbo?"

Gu Hengbo rolled her eyes and turned to face her, "I am Gu Meisheng, thank you."

The person slightly raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I heard that Second Miss went to Daguan Temple after getting better. Is that true?"

Gu Hengbo frowned. Of course she went; that was the first place she visited in this world, where a twisted woman assaulted her. She would never forget it.

“Cough, I think so. I can’t really remember.”

The person smiled gently, what a good memory of ‘not remembering’ she has.

"Why did you save the queen?" the person asked again.

"Hey, why do you have so many questions? I wanted to save her. I like saving people, and I enjoy it. Is that okay? Do you have anything else to say? If not, I will leave." The earlier situation made her unhappy, especially since this person’s looks were better than hers, which annoyed her.

"Mm, you can leave now," the person nodded.

Gu Hengbo pouted and turned to walk away. But after two steps, she turned back, her face slightly red and her words slow, "Um, how do I get out?"

What on earth! Didn’t the queen say to turn left after leaving the back hall? But I clearly turned many corners just now.

The person looked at her with a smile, "Why would I tell you?"

Saying this, they began to walk in another direction.

Gu Hengbo hurried to follow, "No, this place is so big! How do I get out?"

"I see you seem annoyed by me."

Gu Hengbo waved her hand, trying to imply she meant no harm, "No, no, I am not annoyed. I like you, I even like you too much!" What on earth is wrong with me?

"I am Lian Rong."

"Um, huh?" Lian Rong? She loves eating lotus paste. Oh, that must be her name.

"Come on, I will take you out," she said, grabbing Gu Hengbo’s hand and walking.

Gu Hengbo looked at the hand holding hers and remained silent. This man, called Lian Rong, is the royal uncle of the princes and princesses, but he really does look young. The wealthiest person in the world? And a prince? Then… (Hey hey, you’re thinking too much again, aren’t you frozen in place just because you saw a handsome guy?)

In modern times, many girls like her tend to find partners who are older, as they provide a sense of security. She didn’t think much of it; in the end, she still ended up with that scumbag Yan Chufeng. Well, this one could also be considered an older guy, but he doesn’t seem to fit that category at all. No matter how you look at him, he resembles… an androgynous person.

Oh, he also had a relationship with the queen. Indeed, affairs with royal uncles like him happen in every dynasty, and people still enjoy it. Thinking back to the queen’s pained expression when she saw her injured, tsk, what is he holding her hand for now?

Subtly pulling her hand away, she suddenly felt uneasy. Ever since the incident with Yan Chufeng and Gu Ran, she had become very strange; all men are the same.

"What’s wrong?" Lian Rong asked.

Gu Hengbo slightly narrowed her eyes, having tossed aside his identity from her mind. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll reveal your affair with the queen?"

Lian Rong smiled with pursed lips, "What affair with the queen?"

Pretending!

Gu Hengbo gritted her teeth, what a cowardly man, unable to admit to his wrongdoing. Yet the queen still disregarded everything to be with him.

"You can’t treat her this way.”

"I’m innocent, what have I done to her?" Lian Rong looked at her with a face full of innocence.

Gu Hengbo gazed at the face that seemed to scream ‘I am a troublemaker’ and suppressed her urge to slap him, smiling slightly, "Does the prince not know? A heartless man never ends well." Alright, she was genuinely angry. That empress was clearly a very gentle woman. Sigh, the emperor wasn’t bad either; he was still a ruler. Why would he try to flirt with his little uncle? No, it must be that androgynous person flirting with him; it was obvious they were throwing themselves at him. The empress didn’t seem like someone who would actively betray her husband, even though she had.

When Lian Rong heard "heartless man," a strange smile appeared on her face. She reached out and pinched Gu Hengbo’s chin, "Do you think this king is a heartless ‘man’?"

Gu Hengbo jumped in surprise at her action. She didn’t know why, but suddenly, this tone and expression felt familiar, though she couldn’t remember where she had encountered it.

Lian Rong chuckled lightly. "You really haven’t changed."

"What?"

"I’ll take you home."