"Jiangyue, I didn't mean to lie to you. Don't cry."
A tear rolled down Gu Jiangyue's cheek. Xie Jiuan immediately panicked. He reached out to wipe away the tear from the corner of her eye, but Gu Jiangyue turned her head to avoid him.
Just as Xie Jiuan was at a loss, he suddenly felt a pair of warm hands on his cheeks. Then, there was a soft touch on his lips. Only then did Xie Jiuan realize that Gu Jiangyue was kissing him.
Their lips touched and then separated. Gu Jiangyue buried her head on Xie Jiuan's shoulder. Her voice was a bit muffled and sounded extremely aggrieved.
"No matter what the reason is, can you not lie to me anymore in the future?"
Xie Jiuan reached out and pulled Gu Jiangyue into his arms. He nodded heavily and whispered,
"Okay, I won't lie to you anymore."
Gu Jiangyue spoke again,
"I feel that you are so familiar. Are you the man in black?"
As soon as Gu Jiangyue asked this question, Xie Jiuan answered resolutely, almost without a moment's hesitation.
"It's me."
As soon as Xie Jiuan finished speaking, as if he was afraid that Gu Jiangyue would get angry, he quickly added,
"I wanted to protect you better. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have kept it from you for so long."
This time, Gu Jiangyue didn't say anything. She just hugged Xie Jiuan even tighter, using her actions to tell Xie Jiuan that she wouldn't blame him.
Xie Jiuan was the man in black. In fact, there were clues to everything. Now that Gu Jiangyue thought about it, she was just angry because Xie Jiuan had kept it from her. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, she wasn't that angry anymore.
Xie Jiuan's background was too special. He was destined not to show any extraordinary abilities, especially his martial arts. If the emperor found out, Xie Jiuan might lose everything.
"Miss, General Gu is here!"
The sound of Zhi Yuan knocking on the door rang out. Xie Jiuan and Gu Jiangyue glanced at each other. Gu Jiangyue turned her head away, feeling a bit embarrassed. As soon as she turned her head, Xie Jiuan pulled her back and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Let's go."
Xie Jiuan spoke first. His expression was normal, as if nothing had just happened.
Gu Jiangyue nodded and followed Xie Jiuan out of the door. When Zhi Yuan saw the two of them together, she wasn't too surprised.
Zhi Yuan led them to the front hall. In the front hall, Gu Yanwu was standing there. His expression was not good, and his brows were tightly furrowed. When Gu Yanwu saw Gu Jiangyue coming, his brows finally relaxed a bit. He quickly stepped forward.
"Jiangyue, what's going on between you and the Ninth Prince?"
Naturally, Gu Yanwu also noticed the unusual relationship between the two. He had just returned today, and no one had told him what had happened.
"Dad, I've broken off the engagement with Xie Chengrui. He only had his eyes on your military power. He never really loved me. I like the Ninth Prince."
Gu Jiangyue looked solemn. She stared at Gu Yanwu firmly with her eyes. For some reason, Xie Jiuan's palms were covered in a thin layer of sweat.
Under their gazes, Gu Yanwu sighed and then said,
"I've noticed. Xie Chengrui even pretended that nothing had happened and came to ask me today. I found out about it from others. I've never thought highly of Xie Chengrui. As for this one,"
Gu Yanwu was a military general and didn't talk in a flowery way. He sized Xie Jiuan up from head to toe, nodded, and said,
"This one seems good. He's good at martial arts and can protect Jiangyue. Although your reputation in the capital is not very good, I've never cared about such superficial things. As long as Jiangyue likes you, I have no objections."
Gu Yanwu smiled at Xie Jiuan. He was telling the truth. Gu Jiangyue and Gu Yi's mother had passed away early, and Gu Yanwu had no time to take care of them. So, Gu Yanwu always felt that he owed Gu Jiangyue and Gu Yi. Therefore, he always approved of their choices.
In her previous life, when Gu Jiangyue was determined to marry Xie Chengrui and gambled everything to help him seize the throne, Gu Yanwu had tried to persuade her, but to no avail. In the end, Gu Yanwu still helped Gu Jiangyue.
"Thank you, General Gu, for your approval."
Gu Jiangyue tugged at Xie Jiuan's sleeve. At this moment, Xie Jiuan didn't know what to say, and his tone was a bit stiff.
"Hahaha, good."
Gu Yanwu didn't think there was anything wrong. He reached out and patted Xie Jiuan on the back a few times.
"When do you plan to get married?"
As soon as Gu Yanwu asked the question, Gu Jiangyue blurted out,
"I haven't thought about it yet, Dad. How was your visit to the palace today?"
Gu Jiangyue glanced at Xie Jiuan and then quickly changed the subject. When it came to this, Gu Yanwu's expression darkened.
"Some things did happen. Today, the emperor hinted that I should hand over my military power. What do you think, Jiuan?"
Gu Yanwu looked at Xie Jiuan with a somewhat melancholy expression. Handing over the military power meant that the emperor was gradually becoming hostile to the military generals, and Gu Yanwu was the first target he was going to deal with.
Xie Jiuan was close to the emperor. When Gu Yanwu asked Xie Jiuan, he was asking for a solution and also testing him.
"The emperor is always like this. His suspicion is getting worse. Many important court officials have been persecuted because of it. I think that with General Gu's ability, there's no need to rely on him. Moreover, I can also help General Gu."
This time, Xie Jiuan didn't hide his ambition anymore. Although he didn't know much about Gu Yanwu, he knew Gu Jiangyue. He didn't want to keep it from her anymore.
This was the first time Xie Jiuan had said such things in front of Gu Jiangyue. Gu Jiangyue couldn't help but turn her head to look at him. There was no expression on Xie Jiuan's face, but there was a frightening aura emanating from him. Even Xie Chengrui, who was about to ascend the throne in her previous life, didn't have such an aura.
Gu Yanwu looked at Xie Jiuan, his eyes full of admiration. He nodded and said without any hesitation,
"The emperor wants my life this time. He has planted many informants in the military camp, but I've discovered them all and killed them in the name of rebels."
Gu Jiangyue also understood the seriousness of the situation. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes. These were things that Gu Yanwu hadn't told her in her previous life. Presumably, he was afraid that she would worry. Gu Jiangyue said,
"Strike first. If we don't act quickly, we'll be the ones who suffer."
Gu Yanwu sighed deeply and said,
"This matter is complicated and needs to be considered carefully. But what exactly happened to the Gu Mansion? The old matriarch was a bit abnormal today."
Seeing that Gu Yanwu had mentioned the Gu Mansion, Xie Jiuan didn't think it was appropriate for him to get involved. He clasped his fists at Gu Yanwu and said,
"I have something to attend to and need to leave first. General Gu, you and Jiangyue should have a good chat. I won't disturb you anymore."
Xie Jiuan knew that these things about the Gu Mansion still needed Gu Jiangyue to talk to Gu Yanwu about in person.
Gu Jiangyue also understood what Xie Jiuan meant. She had no attachment to the Gu Mansion now. After Xie Jiuan left, Gu Jiangyue told Gu Yanwu in detail about the treatment she had received in the Gu Mansion over the years and what had happened.
After listening, Gu Yanwu was extremely angry. He punched the table, and even the teacups on the table flew out.