"What are you two talking about?" Gu Chengzhi walked over from behind, smiling at the two of them. "Something about a husband taking a concubine? Whose husband is going to take a concubine?"
Lu Yunxi's smile froze halfway. She quickly withdrew her hand and sat up straight.
Gu Chengzhi didn't notice. He still grinned and asked, "Princess, are you feeling better?"
Lu Yunxi coughed dryly. "Er... much better. Thank you... Fourth Brother, for your concern."
Gu Chengzhi frowned. "Why are you being so polite? Did something happen?"
Lu Yunxi's willow - shaped eyebrows shot up. "You call me Princess, so I should treat you with courtesy. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Gu Chengzhi scratched his head, thought for a while, and then nodded. "You're right. But I'm so used to you calling me by my name. Suddenly... Hehe, Princess, it actually sounds quite nice when you call me Fourth Brother."
Lu Yunxi's face flushed instantly. She didn't dare to look up and tightened her grip on Gu Liyue's hand.
Gu Liyue was in pain and couldn't break free. She quickly changed the subject. "Hey, Fourth Brother, aren't you on duty? How come you have time to come here?"
Gu Chengzhi replied, "I heard from others that you were here, so I came to check on you. Are you okay?" As he spoke, he walked around the stone bench and stood in front of Gu Liyue and Lu Yunxi.
When Lu Yunxi looked up, she saw Gu Chengzhi's face. Seeing the long scar on his face, she paused for a moment. Her eyes instantly turned red and her lips trembled slightly. "I'm... sorry."
"What?" Gu Chengzhi was a bit slow to react. "You mean the scar? It's okay. It's much better already."
Gu Liyue found it quite amusing to see the usually playful Lu Yunxi act so differently in front of Gu Chengzhi. She yawned and pointed forward. "Hey, I seem to see Qin Caiyin."
Both Gu Chengzhi and Lu Yunxi turned their heads to look, but they didn't see anything.
Gu Liyue stood up. "I still have something to say to Qin Caiyin. Fourth Brother, you stay with the Princess. I'll leave first."
She didn't really see Qin Caiyin. She just made up an excuse. She walked all the way to the Tianmi River. There, boys and girls were laughing and playing with lanterns. From time to time, children would run through the crowd. It was a very lively scene.
Gu Liyue stood there quietly. She used to be one of them. She looked up at the sky full of stars. Yunniang once told her that after people died, they would turn into stars in the sky, watching over those they were reluctant to leave.
Back in Yangxin Town, when she stayed up late doing work, she would look at the stars outside through the window. She always wondered if two of those stars were her parents, watching over her.
Gu Liyue clasped her hands and closed her eyes. "Dad, Mom, if you're really watching me, have you seen that I'm doing well now? The people who killed you have been brought to justice. From now on, I'll get better and better."
When she opened her eyes again, the people in front of her seemed to have changed. Looking from afar, there were still pairs of shy lovers.
However, it seemed that someone had been staring at her.
Gu Liyue frowned and turned to look. She saw Qi Manyan standing not too far away.
Qi Manyan's gaze was emotionless, without any trace of hatred or jealousy. For some reason, Gu Liyue saw sadness in it, endless sadness.
Gu Liyue paused. She wasn't familiar with Qi Manyan at all. Moreover, after her eldest brother told her that Qi Manyan might be involved in those cases, she just wanted to stay away from this woman.
Naturally, she wouldn't care about Qi Manyan's inexplicable sadness.
Gu Liyue turned around to leave, but Qi Manyan walked straight towards her.
"Miss Gu."
Gu Liyue stopped. Qi Manyan was excellent, whether in appearance or other aspects. Her voice was always gentle and amiable. But tonight, her voice was a bit hoarse and softer.
"Gu Liyue, are you proud now?"
Gu Liyue looked at Qi Manyan in confusion. Was she crazy?
Qi Manyan stepped closer. "You've got him. You're proud, aren't you? Gu Liyue, why did you show up? It should have been mine. Why did you take my man away?"
Gu Liyue instinctively stepped back. Her engagement with Lu Jinchen had been set for nearly half a year. Before, Qi Manyan had always been very polite in public and didn't seem to care at all. Why was she suddenly causing trouble now?
Just as Qi Manyan was about to come closer, a guard stepped forward and stood in front of Gu Liyue. Although he didn't say a word, the hilt of his sword spoke for itself.
There was a prominent character "Liang" on the hilt.
Gu Liyue saw it, and so did Qi Manyan. She staggered back a step, carefully sizing up the guard. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Why? Why is this? What's wrong with me? In which aspect am I inferior to her..." Qi Manyan sobbed softly. She looked really pitiful. It seemed that her emotions were in a very bad state. She even regarded the guard in front of her as Lu Jinchen.
The guard remained expressionless and looked back at Gu Liyue. "Miss Gu, this subordinate will escort you back home."
Gu Liyue nodded and followed the guard away.
When she got home, she found that the whole family was in chaos. Yunniang was coughing up blood, which was very serious. The old lady had invited three doctors and even sent a sign into the palace to invite the imperial physician.
Gu Liyue rushed back to the courtyard in a hurry, but the old lady and Mrs. Jiang were guarding the courtyard and wouldn't let Gu Liyue in.
"We don't know the situation yet. Liyue, you can't go in. These days, you can stay in your grandmother's courtyard."
Gu Liyue was panicked. "What's wrong with Yunniang? I want to see Yunniang."
The old lady held her hand and whispered, "Don't worry. It should just be an old illness. The weather turned cold too early and too fast this year. She just didn't take precautions."
Gu Liyue's tears fell one by one. She choked with sobs and shook her head. "Every year on this day, Yunniang would be like this... She always thinks that she didn't take good care of Mom and Dad. She always says that if she had gone to look for Dad that day and hadn't let the sick Mom go out, Mom wouldn't have..."
The old lady's eyes also turned red. She hugged her granddaughter. "Yunniang is a good person. Good people have their own blessings. Moreover, your parents' spirits in heaven will also bless her to be safe."
The imperial physician came quickly. After diagnosing Yunniang, he quickly said, "It's an old illness. I'm afraid the lady herself didn't notice it before. My master used to see this kind of illness often when he traveled among the common people. But at that time, because the common people were living a hard life, this illness gradually developed into pulmonary tuberculosis and..."
"Pulmonary tuberculosis?" Gu Liyue was even more panicked. "Then isn't it incurable?"
The imperial physician shook his head. "Don't worry. The lady's condition isn't that serious. It's just that the illness has invaded the lungs. Before, it was misdiagnosed as an ordinary fever and cough, which actually brought out the underlying illness, making it seem more serious. I'll prescribe new medicine and slowly adjust her condition..."
"Can it be completely cured?"
The imperial physician pondered for a long time before saying, "It may be quite difficult to completely cure it. This illness usually recurs in autumn and winter."