However, he still bowed deeply to Gu Ruobai from afar. "Farewell, Prince Ruixian," he said.
Hearing his voice, Gu Ruobai's wheelchair paused slightly, then he replied indifferently in a frigid tone, "Take care of yourself."
With that, Gu Ruobai and his entourage disappeared from Shi Minglong's sight.
On the way back to the prince's mansion, Su Mingyu tiptoed after Gu Ruobai. It was her carelessness that caused this incident. She wondered if Gu Ruobai would be angry later.
Finally, she accompanied Gu Ruobai back to his room in the mansion. Seeing that most of the servants had left, she was about to slip away.
But before she could move, Gu Ruobai called out, "Stop."
Su Mingyu's heart skipped a beat, but she stood still obediently. "I'm sorry, but I left you clues as soon as possible this time..."
Before she could finish, Gu Ruobai stood up and hugged her tightly. "Do you know what would have happened if I had been a little later?"
Hearing the concern in his voice, Su Mingyu bit her lips. "I was not vigilant enough this time. I made you worry."
Gu Ruobai held her tighter, as if trying to meld her into his body.
Seeing that Gu Ruobai didn't scold her, Su Mingyu tentatively hugged him back. This man must have been really worried, she thought, for his hair, usually so neat, was now in disarray.
Feeling her response, Gu Ruobai frowned and asked, "Why did you only order a beating for Shi Jian?"
Based on his understanding of Su Mingyu's vengeful nature, he thought she would have at least cut off one of Shi Jian's hands or a finger.
Seeing that Gu Ruobai was asking about this, Su Mingyu heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that Gu Ruobai was no longer angry.
She tightened her hold on his waist and mumbled, "It's not the time to break with them yet. Being too extreme will only lead to his revenge on Ye Weiguang."
"Moreover, although Shi Jian didn't see your face, he did see you with me. If he figures out your fake leg injury based on today's incident, he might spread it everywhere. Then your secret will be out."
Hearing that Su Mingyu did all this for him, Gu Ruobai's expression softened. "I will surely make him pay a hundredfold for this."
Hearing his determined words, Su Mingyu couldn't help but laugh. "He didn't really do anything to me. A hundredfold repayment? Are you going to surround him with a hundred men?"
"Forget it. I can't even bear to think about it."
Saying this, Su Mingyu looked up at Gu Ruobai and grinned. "Although I could have escaped on my own today, I'm glad you came."
Gu Ruobai looked down at her, his dark eyes softening. When he found out that Su Mingyu was missing, he immediately sent people to search the whole capital.
Fortunately, he found the mark left by Su Mingyu in an alley, a mark only his secret guards could recognize.
At first, Gu Ruobai was a bit annoyed that Su Mingyu didn't call for help earlier. But then he thought about the fact that Su Mingyu, who usually didn't rely on anyone, had left a mark for him. All his anger dissipated.
This small act proved that Su Mingyu was beginning to trust and rely on him.
This realization made it impossible for Gu Ruobai to stay angry.
Thinking of this, the hardness in Gu Ruobai's heart seemed to soften a bit. He tapped Su Mingyu on the forehead and said softly, "You did well this time. But next time, run away if you can instead of confronting them directly."
Su Mingyu smiled with her eyes narrowed. "I know!"
Anyway, it was a relief that this jealous man wasn't angry.
Perhaps Su Mingyu's punishment was not harsh enough. The next day, the whole capital was abuzz with the rumor that Su Mingyu had a tryst with a man in a private room of a restaurant.
Some so - called "eyewitnesses" described the scene in vivid detail, as if they were the man himself.
People always liked to gossip about the nobles, so they enjoyed the story. Before noon, the rumor reached Su Mingyu's ears.
"Shi Jian is quite cunning. Since he doesn't dare to provoke you, he comes after me instead?"
Although Su Mingyu said this, there was a smile in her eyes, as if she didn't care about the rumor at all.
Gu Ruobai was even more nonchalant. He sipped his tea slowly and said, "It's just a despicable trick of some clowns."
But Zhizhu was a bit worried. "Miss! This rumor has spread all over the capital. It will damage your reputation!"
As everyone knew, a woman's reputation was of utmost importance.
Seeing Zhizhu so worried, Su Mingyu raised her eyebrows and looked at her. "I'm already betrothed to Gu Ruobai. As long as my future husband doesn't mind, what does it matter what others think?"
Then she winked at Gu Ruobai. "Do you mind?"
Gu Ruobai shook his head firmly. "Someone pursuing you means I have good taste."
Su Mingyu grinned at Zhizhu. "See? My future husband doesn't mind. Why are you so worried?"
Zhizhu didn't expect Su Mingyu to use such words to silence her. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She could only wring her handkerchief angrily, snorted, and ran away.
Su Mingyu just smiled. It was just a rumor, and it didn't affect her at all.
"Mu Yi told me today that Wang Manwen took Su Yueyue out of the mansion secretly and went to Xi Han Town," Gu Ruobai said, looking at Su Mingyu meaningfully. "There is a famous doctor named Yang Wanzhi in that town who specializes in protecting pregnancies."
"Su Yueyue is pregnant?" Su Mingyu's eyes widened in surprise. "This is getting interesting. What did the doctor say about her pulse?"
Gu Ruobai shook his head. "I don't know. But Mu Yi had someone copy the prescription the doctor wrote."
Taking out a long piece of paper from his bosom, Gu Ruobai handed it to Su Mingyu. "Leng Ziyue should be back soon. We can ask him to take a look."
Su Mingyu nodded. She wasn't very familiar with pharmacology, so it would be great if Leng Ziyue could help.
Just as they finished speaking, Mu Yi walked over. "My lord, Leng Ziyue is back."
Speak of the devil.
When Leng Ziyue walked in front of them, Su Mingyu noticed that his face looked terrible. He seemed exhausted, as if he had just been through a fierce battle.