Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: Title

"Eldest Son has great taste. Since it’s for pleasure, why not choose a beautiful and ideal place?" The person sitting in the chair observed the disheveled couple on the bed with great interest.

Gu Hengbo turned her head, staring blankly at the person in the red robe, calmly enjoying the scene.

Gu Cheng lifted his head from Gu Hengbo’s neck, his eyes foggy and his mind still disoriented. "Who are you?"

"Ah, I’m sorry for interrupting. I just happened to pass by," the person said as they stood up to leave.

"Help me," a hoarse voice called out from the bed.

"Beg me," the person said, still facing away.

Gu Hengbo bit her lip and held back her tears. "Please, help me."

Gu Cheng frowned. "Meisheng."

Gu Hengbo looked at Gu Cheng, slumped over her, and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"I’ve preserved your purity, how will you reward me?"

"Whatever you want," Gu Hengbo pushed Gu Cheng off her and sat up with a pale face. She had nearly gone too far.

"How about offering yourself to me?"

Gu Hengbo straightened her clothes. She was already wearing little, and now they were torn, revealing much. "Miss Long, can I borrow your outer robe?"

"Miss Long?" Lian Rong’s lips curved slightly. "You haven’t answered me yet."

"Can’t you give me a break? I just got bullied, and you can’t comfort me?" The emotions she had held back finally erupted as Gu Hengbo squatted down, tears streaming down her face.

A strange glint flashed in Lian Rong’s eyes. She had originally wanted to visit the Prime Minister’s residence, but seeing Gu Cheng carrying her out of the royal city out of curiosity led her here, never expecting such a scene would unfold. She had sensed something off in Gu Cheng’s gaze toward her, and now reflecting on it, she truly felt regret.

"Alright, stop crying. I’m here with you. He won’t wake up anytime soon. Look at you, you’re perfectly fine, and you haven’t lost any weight," Lian Rong said helplessly as she lifted Gu Hengbo, who was squatting on the ground, and draped her outer robe over her shoulders.

Gu Hengbo’s eyes were as red as a rabbit’s. "How can you say that? You clearly came in earlier and just watched the show," she accused, feeling heartbroken, and tears began to fall again, as her nose started to ache.

"Alright, alright, it’s my fault. Stop crying, I’ll take you home," Lian Rong gently coaxed.

Gu Hengbo sniffled, feeling wronged. "I don’t want to go home. I never want to go back. They all bully me."

Lian Rong raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to cling to me?"

"Who is clinging to you? I can walk by myself! Can’t I just elope on my own?"

Lian Rong found it a bit awkward. "Fine, you can elope, but can you at least go out first?"

Gu Hengbo nodded.

The two stepped out of the courtyard, and Gu Hengbo squinted at her surroundings. "Are we outside the royal city?"

"Yes, you can run away anytime," Lian Rong replied.

Gu Hengbo wiped her face dry of tears. "I want to take my mother with me."

Lian Rong was slightly surprised. "With you looking like this, do you mean the Prime Minister abuses both you and your mother every day?"

"Not just that, let me tell you," Gu Hengbo started.

"Go ahead," Lian Rong was ready to listen attentively.

"Forget it, I won’t say anything. We’re not close enough," Gu Hengbo said to herself as she walked ahead.

Lian Rong raised an eyebrow. They weren’t close? That seemed to be true.

"How did you end up here?" Gu Hengbo asked.

Lian Rong looked at her red nose for a moment and smiled. "I missed you, so I came to see you."

Gu Hengbo directly ignored her smug expression (even though she couldn’t see her face). "How did you know I was from the Prime Minister’s residence?"

"I just knew," Lian Rong smiled.

Gu Hengbo felt a bit frustrated. "Why do you always wear a mask?"

Lian Rong dramatically sighed. "That’s a long story. Something happened a few years ago that ruined my looks. I became so ugly that I needed this mask to cover up."

Gu Hengbo looked at her in surprise. "I never expected something like that would happen to you." She thought, people like her were either doing bad things or wore masks all the time to stand out. But being disfigured… well, there’s a saying that goes, ‘Those who are pitiful must also have despicable traits.’ That describes the woman named ‘Longyang.’

Lian Rong waved her hand dismissively. "I’ve come to terms with it. As long as I live well, beauty and ugliness don’t matter, so I’m not afraid of what others say."

If you’re not afraid, why do you still wear a mask? Gu Hengbo thought to herself.

"What will you do when you get married?" she asked the strange woman, who was certainly not married.

Lian Rong suppressed a laugh that nearly escaped. "I used to feel sad about that too. My lover, who I was with for years, left me because of my looks. No matter how much I begged her, she stubbornly left me."

Gu Hengbo perked up. "You had a lover? Oh, that’s not what I meant. I meant, I didn’t expect you had experienced love too." She sighed; indeed, it was a pity. She had also been abandoned, sharing a similar fate, but unfortunately, she was a woman.

"But now it’s better."

"Bbetter how?" Gu Hengbo asked.

"I met you," Lian Rong replied.

"Me? What does that have to do with me?"

Lian Rong nodded, “You don’t care about my appearance, do you?”

What does that even mean? “Why should I care what you look like?” This person has a bad habit again. Gu Hengbo wanted to say something more, but suddenly remembered how she looked last time—like someone who could kill without blinking. She had actually forgotten that, what if she upset her and ended up slicing her open?

“Um, didn’t you say you would take me home? Let’s go.”

Lian Rong narrowed her eyes, “Miss Gu, I saved you. Are you planning to just end it here?”

Gu Hengbo felt a chill at her back. What else did she want? “Once I’m successful, I will definitely repay you. Right now, I’m completely broke.”

“Are you sure you want to return to the Prime Minister’s residence now?”

Gu Hengbo was taken aback. Did she really want to go back? Gu Cheng’s engagement must have just been set up. It seemed Madam Dou had already spoken to the old turtle, so she didn’t need to worry right now about getting married. The main issue was, after what happened today, how would she be able to meet Gu Cheng again? She was really angry. It was the first time she had been treated like this, and she was afraid that when she saw Gu Cheng again, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from slapping him.

“I don’t know, but if I don’t go back, the old turtle will lecture me again.” She didn’t want to trouble Madam Dou anymore.

Old turtle? Gu Yuanqing, right? “You call the esteemed Prime Minister ‘old turtle’?” Lian Rong thought for the first time that Gu Hengbo was quite odd.

Gu Hengbo shrugged, “So what? I haven’t told you that you look a lot like that androgynous Prince Rong.”

Lian Rong raised an eyebrow, “Prince Rong?”

Gu Hengbo nodded, her mood seemed to lift quite a bit. “You must know, that Lian Rong, so beautiful itmakes people envious, that men drool over her, and women feel inferior. Totally androgynous. And the wealthiest in Dongyin, so stingy that it’s unbelievable I don’t even want to talk about it.”

“Lian Rong?”

“Yup, that big man. With a name like that. To tell you the truth, whenever I see her, I just want to eat something. My mouth waters.” Gu Hengbo spoke while swallowing. (Who was the one crying just now?).

“Does androgynous mean not fully male or female?” someone asked thoughtfully.

“Yeah, but honestly, you don’t look much like her,” Gu Hengbo said, fiddling with her fingers as she walked.

“Really?”

“Yeah, after all, you’re a woman and she’s a man. And he’s pretty extreme, quick to chop off hands and looks at people with a lustful gaze. Probably indulges too much.” Definitely not a good person.

Lian Rong looked at the woman wearing her outer robe. Did she look like someone who indulged too much? Good. After all, she hadn’t fought in many years. Why not practice on her?