Gu Jiangyue heard it clearly. Just as she was about to pretend not to hear and quickly leave, she saw Chen Yanqin beside her opening her mouth.
Chen Yanqin cast aside her usual meek demeanor. She casually glanced at Shen Menglan and said disdainfully,
"Don't even think about your own problems but come to blame others. Are you afraid others will soar too high and outshine you?"
"You!"
Shen Menglan was left speechless but could do nothing.
Gu Jiangyue almost burst out laughing upon hearing Chen Yanqin's words. Since she had put Gu Zhengwan in such a state, it was absolutely impossible for Chen Yanqin to speak up for her. So Gu Jiangyue guessed that Chen Yanqin thought Shen Menglan was talking about her and thus started to fight back.
Gu Jiangyue had no time to bother with the two of them. She kept walking, but there was still a little excitement in her heart. After all, she didn't expect the show to start so soon. She thought it would take some time to intensify the conflict between the second and third branches.
A beautiful smile curled up on Gu Jiangyue's lips. She inexplicably looked forward to what would happen in the future.
While Shen Menglan was still confronting Chen Yanqin, Gu Jiangyue called out to Zhiyuan and left in the direction of the courtyard together.
A gentle breeze blew. Lost in thought, Gu Jiangyue didn't notice a purple figure flashing past in the tree beside her. If you listened carefully, you could faintly hear the crisp sound of silver stones colliding.
With the help of the people sent by Xie Jiuan, Huayan Tower wasn't so busy anymore. Gu Jiangyue got a chance to catch her breath and had a good rest for a few days. As long as Gu Zhengwan was around, Gu Jiangyue had to be on high alert all the time.
There were probably many more conspiracies waiting for her to deal with during the prayer - seeking trip to Qingshan Temple. Gu Jiangyue didn't idle away these days. She asked Zhiyuan and Xiyun to gather a lot of information about Gu Zhengwan for her.
Xiyun was Gu Jiangyue's confidant and naturally knew who Gu Jiangyue was at odds with. So she paid extra attention at Huayan Tower. Recently, she also reported to Gu Jiangyue that Gu Zhengwan's maidservants were coming to Huayan Tower more and more frequently.
Xiyun had probed about Gu Zhengwan's situation. She knew a bit about these things and told Gu Jiangyue that Gu Zhengwan's leg wouldn't recover anytime soon.
Gu Jiangyue guessed that the skin on Gu Zhengwan's leg probably hadn't healed yet. Gu Zhengwan must have thought the rouge from Huayan Tower was effective, which was why she often went there. And Zhiyuan had also met Xie Chengrui looking for Gu Zhengwan recently.
But according to Zhiyuan, the two of them didn't seem to get along well. Gu Zhengwan had smashed a lot of things and beaten many maidservants. Zhiyuan inquired and found out that it was because Xie Chengrui had asked Gu Zhengwan about Gu Jiangyue, which had angered her.
Gu Jiangyue wasn't angry about this. The more Xie Chengrui cared about her, the more beneficial it was for her. Xie Chengrui didn't come to find her directly but went to Gu Zhengwan instead. It seemed that the last time Gu Jiangyue spread the news about Xie Chengrui giving her the guqin had brought a lot of trouble to him.
Everything was developing in a good direction. After a few days of rest, it was soon the day to go to Qingshan Temple to pray. The old matriarch seemed to attach great importance to this matter. She had prepared the carriages a few days ago and didn't spread the news, for fear of affecting the reputation of the Gu Mansion.
The carriages were waiting outside the Gu Mansion. Gu Jiangyue had rested well these days and got ready early. But since the carriages were shared by two young ladies each, Gu Jiangyue deliberately went a bit late so as not to sit with them.
When Gu Jiangyue arrived, most of the young ladies from the Gu Mansion who were going to pray were already in the carriages. Gu Jiangyue casually glanced at the carriages and saw Gu Zhengwan inside lifting the curtain and looking at her.
Gu Zhengwan was very different from before today. Her originally rosy face was pale in a sickly way. Her eyes were blood - shot. She didn't even bother to put on her usual false pretense and just stared at Gu Jiangyue fiercely, as if declaring war on her.
Gu Jiangyue only locked eyes with her for a moment and then shifted her gaze. She just gave her a cold side - glance and never looked at her directly again.
Everything Gu Zhengwan was suffering now was what she deserved. She couldn't blame anyone but herself for being unwilling to be ordinary and jealous of others.
Shen Menglan was a bit dissatisfied. She never liked to hide her emotions and directly said,
"Why did you take so long? The whole Gu Mansion has been waiting for you."
Gu Jiangyue didn't rush to reply. Instead, she looked around first and didn't see the old matriarch. So she simply stopped pretending, ignored Shen Menglan directly, and walked straight towards the only empty carriage without looking sideways. As Gu Jiangyue had expected, she got to sit in the carriage alone.
Gu Jiangyue got into the carriage and put down the curtain. No matter how much Shen Menglan shouted, she couldn't hear or didn't bother to hear.
It was spring now. The carriage swayed gently. The warm air made Gu Jiangyue feel bored. She leaned against the carriage, thinking about what had happened recently, and soon fell asleep.
When Gu Jiangyue woke up again, it was Zhiyuan who woke her up. The carriages of the Gu Mansion were of the best quality, and one couldn't hear the outside sounds inside. Gu Jiangyue was shaken awake by Zhiyuan. Before she even had time to open her eyes, she heard Zhiyuan's anxious voice.
"Miss, we're here. Wake up quickly. The Ninth Prince and the others are also here."
Xie Jiuan. Gu Jiangyue opened her eyes. She was still a bit dazed at first. So what if Xie Jiuan was here? There was nothing to be surprised about. But soon she noticed what Zhiyuan had said. Her heart sank. Could there be other princes besides Xie Jiuan?
Zhiyuan helped Gu Jiangyue out of the carriage. There were already many people standing in front of Qingshan Temple outside the carriage. Gu Jiangyue squinted her eyes and saw clearly who was there.
Besides the young ladies from the Gu Mansion, Gu Jiangyue also saw three familiar figures: Xie Jiuan, Xie Yuwen, and Xie Chengrui. Gu Jiangyue was a bit confused. Wasn't this a prayer - seeking activity organized by the old matriarch? Why were they here?
Before Gu Jiangyue could figure out the reason, she found that Xie Jiuan had already seen her and was smiling at her. The gazes of the others also slowly fell on Gu Jiangyue. She quickly walked towards them.
A proper smile was on Gu Jiangyue's face. She had said so much in front of the old matriarch about how well Xie Jiuan treated her. Now that she saw Xie Jiuan standing right in front of her, she felt a bit guilty instead.
Before Gu Jiangyue could say anything, Xie Jiuan spoke first and solved her confusion.
"I've been idle recently. I heard that the divination at Qingshan Temple is very effective, so I'm just taking a stroll."
How could Gu Jiangyue believe Xie Jiuan's nonsense? If these words were said by Xie Yuwen or Xie Chengrui, they might be a bit more reliable. But when it came from Xie Jiuan, Gu Jiangyue didn't believe it at all.
Everyone in the capital knew that the Ninth Prince, Xie Jiuan, didn't believe in gods and Buddhas. If someone saw the Ninth Prince in a temple, they would have to rub their eyes to make sure they weren't hallucinating.
Seeing Gu Jiangyue looking at him suspiciously, Xie Jiuan quickly tugged at the corner of Xie Yuwen's clothes, signaling him to say something.
How could Xie Jiuan admit that he had spent a long time tricking the news that Gu Jiangyue was coming to Qingshan Temple from Ji Yunsheng?
Xie Yuwen glanced at Xie Jiuan, understood his meaning, and smiled as he explained,
"I wanted to come here, and Jiuan just accompanied me. I hope we won't spoil the young ladies' fun."
Since the words had been said like this, Gu Jiangyue nodded and said with a smile,
"How could that be? It's better that we don't disturb the princes."
Although it wasn't obvious, Gu Jiangyue still noticed that Xie Chengrui was secretly looking at her.
Qingshan Temple was famous for its effective divination. In her previous life, Gu Jiangyue and Xie Chengrui had also been here. Xie Chengrui didn't like Gu Jiangyue, so he naturally refused her requests.
But Gu Jiangyue had risked her life to win over powerful officials for him. Only then did Xie Chengrui reluctantly agree to her.
How could Gu Jiangyue not see Xie Chengrui's perfunctory and impatience? When she first married Xie Chengrui, she would also act like a delicate girl and pester him, but all she got in return was Xie Chengrui's disgusted look.
At that time, Gu Jiangyue was too naive. She just wondered why the same things that Gu Zhengwan did could win Xie Chengrui's favor and tolerance, while she couldn't, even though she had helped Xie Chengrui more.
In her previous life, Gu Jiangyue had come here to pray for a child. She naively thought that as long as she had a child, Xie Chengrui would change his attitude towards her. But Qingshan Temple, which was always known for its effectiveness, didn't work this time.
It was only before her death that Gu Jiangyue found out that in order to avoid trouble, Xie Chengrui had even added contraceptives to the only tonic soup that was often served to her. Gu Jiangyue had ruined her health. She would never forget Xie Chengrui's vicious and hateful face at that time.
"It was you who wanted to drink it. I didn't force you."