Dongmei hid herself under the covers.
"You're just feeling guilty. But I promise I won't say anything. Come on, go to sleep quickly."
Dongxue climbed onto the bed, nudged her sister further inside, pulled the quilt over herself, but still couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
At this moment, inside the City God Temple outside the capital, Gu Qinglan was sitting against a pillar, while Gu Qing was roasting a chicken.
"Early tomorrow morning, I'll sneak back into the capital. Then you just follow my plan."
Gu Qing nodded and passed her a chicken leg. "Are you really going to do this?"
Gu Qinglan frowned impatiently. "Things have come to this point. You don't still think I'm joking with you, do you?"
Gu Qing sighed helplessly. He knew he couldn't change Gu Qinglan's mind.
"I know, but Lan'er, have you ever thought that once the news spreads, your reputation will be ruined!"
"Alright, alright. Stop talking!"
She threw the chicken leg on the ground, wrapped the cloak she had taken from Gu Qing more tightly around herself, and fell asleep leaning against the pillar.
Gu Qing looked at her profile and fell into deep thought.
He hated himself so much. He hated that he was unable to protect her, and that he couldn't let her marry the man she loved as she wished.
If only he had great power and influence. Then he could protect his Lan'er for a lifetime, making her carefree and giving her choices.
But unfortunately, all these were just fantasies. He was an orphan who didn't even know who his parents were.
How could he ever achieve great power and influence?
He walked up to her, gently stroked Gu Qinglan's cheek, and tenderly tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Silly Lan'er, although I'm powerless, I'll always be by your side. As long as you need me, I won't even frown, even if it costs my life."
He walked to the door and sat on the threshold, holding his sword and looking into the distance.
When dawn was approaching, hearing the movement behind him, he turned around to look at Gu Qinglan.
"You're up so early?"
Gu Qinglan stood up and patted the hay off her body. "If I run back to the capital from here now, it will be broad daylight."
Saying that, she started to tear at her clothes. Gu Qing swallowed hard and averted his gaze.
After tearing for a while, Gu Qinglan suddenly felt it wasn't realistic enough.
She looked at Gu Qing, smiling as she hooked her lips. "Come here."
Gu Qing stood up curiously and walked up to her.
"What's wrong?"
She puffed out her chest. "Come on, make it more realistic."
Gu Qing: ...
Seeing that Gu Qing was reluctant, she frowned unhappily. "You're so useless. Fortunately, I've made preparations in advance."
She took out a small bottle from her bosom and handed it to Gu Qing.
"Take this."
Gu Qing closed his eyes, intending to refuse, but Gu Qinglan pinched open his mouth and stuffed the pill in directly.
Gu Qing stared at her in shock and pushed her away. "What did you give me?"
Gu Qinglan smiled mysteriously and hid behind the golden statue of the City God.
"You'll know in a while. But I'm warning you, don't take this fake show for real. You have to control yourself. Do you hear me?"
At first, Gu Qing didn't feel anything, but after about a quarter of an hour, he began to feel unbearably hot all over, and his throat was dry.
Gu Qinglan was hiding behind the statue. Seeing the medicine taking effect on him, she walked up and gently patted his shoulder.
Gu Qing suddenly turned around, and his blood - red eyes startled Gu Qinglan.
"Lan'er!" he murmured.
He walked towards Gu Qinglan step by step, but Gu Qinglan hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation yet.
She stood there waiting for him to come.
Gu Qing came in front of her, reached out and held her shoulders.
His rationality was instantly shattered. He suddenly threw Gu Qinglan to the ground.
Pressing on top of her, he frantically tore at her clothes. Her plump chest was suddenly exposed.
He lowered his head with red eyes and roughly kissed her neck. Gu Qinglan couldn't break free, and feeling a certain reaction from his body, she finally became scared.
Crying out, "Gu Qing! Let go of me, you bastard. Let go!"
She kicked him in the groin. Gu Qing groaned in pain, covering his crotch, which gave Gu Qinglan a chance to escape.
She stood up and ran out desperately.
She didn't forget to cover her chest with her hands. Gu Qing watched her fleeing back with a pang of heartache. He raised his hand and slapped himself.
The desire hadn't subsided yet, so he picked up his sword and slashed two cuts on his arm.
Only then did he regain his senses.
Gu Qinglan ran desperately in the direction of the capital, with tears streaming down her face. She didn't dare to look back. Stumbling, she rolled down a dirt slope.
She ignored the pain in her body and got up to continue running forward.
Gu Qing followed her later. He still had to rush back to the capital to carry out Lan'er's plan.
But he thought his foot speed was faster than Gu Qinglan's.
Surprisingly, he didn't meet her along the way, which suddenly made him feel uneasy.
He didn't care about carrying out the plan anymore and searched for her figure everywhere.
Gu Qinglan took a small path and ran towards the capital. When she reached the city gate, Lieutenant Liu saw her.
He quickly took off his cloak and covered her exposed skin.
"Miss Gu, what happened to you?"
Only then did Gu Qinglan come to her senses. She wiped away her tears. "I... I'm fine! Could you please send me back to the mansion, Lieutenant Liu?"
During the conversation, she kept looking back in panic.
Lieutenant Liu seemed to understand something. He called two guards. "Go and find a carriage."
Gu Qinglan gave him a grateful look and nodded at him. Lieutenant Liu carefully blocked her with his body, afraid that others would see.
But still, quite a few on - lookers gathered. Yang Suxin was on her way back from collecting debts. Seeing the city gate surrounded by people, she walked forward out of curiosity.
As soon as she got closer, she heard the whispers. "Judging from her appearance, it seems she's been through something bad."
"Needless to say. It's obvious she's been..." The woman shook her head, too embarrassed to say it.
Yang Suxin craned her neck and saw that the person hiding behind Lieutenant Liu was none other than...
The legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Gu Qinglan!!!
But, after going through such a thing, for a split - second, why did it seem like she saw a smile on Gu Qinglan's lips?
She felt something was wrong. After a while, the guards found a carriage, and Lieutenant Liu helped Gu Qinglan into it and sent her back to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The crowd finally dispersed, and Yang Suxin also rushed back.
The Yang family's mansion was in the same direction as the Prime Minister's Mansion, so she told her personal maid to keep an eye on the situation.
Halfway there, she was suddenly covered by someone's hand over her mouth and pulled into an alley.
She panicked and stomped on the person's foot. Yin Cong groaned and looked at her with a sad expression.
"Why is it you?" Yang Suxin lowered her head in embarrassment.
"Our Highness wants to see you, but he's afraid it's not appropriate to come to you openly, so..."
As soon as Yang Suxin heard that Mu Yefeng wanted to see her, she immediately forgot all about what had just happened.
"Where is His Highness now?"
"I'll take you there."