Chapter 44: Blind Devotion
Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t quite understand Qingyu’s pleas. She turned to Gu Xinglang and asked, “Why sell her off?”
It looked like the beauty had escaped the Gu Clan’s extermination in the last life and was bought by Jing Mo, then was sold off by the Gu Clan in this life and bought by Jing Mo again. Yu Xiaoxiao sighed internally Ah, fate.
Gu Xinglang knew that Wang momo hadn’t told Yu Xiaoxiao about Qingyu’s story, but his wife had so little memory of the servant girl that he wondered if she was too forgetful. Yu Xiaoxiao had spoken with Qingyu in the past and even got a faceful of medicine on her.
“She did something she shouldn’t have,” Gu Xinglang told Yu Xiaoxiao. “So she was sold off.”
“Aye,” Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head with another sigh. “You guys sell off people like dogs, that’s no good.”
How was Third Young Master Gu supposed to respond to that?!
Yu Xiaoxiao continued to eat. In this life, she wouldn’t give Yu Ziyi a chance to kill her again, so that Lady Chuqiu, mhm, even if I met them both in this life again, I’ll make sure she doesn’t lure Yu Ziyi to her bed. Qingyu’s tears dried at the sight of Yu Xiaoxiao continuing to eat. She’d been weeping for a while, but her target wasn’t even paying her any attention while happily stuffing her mouth. There was no impetus for her to continue sobbing.
Jing Mo said, “Princess, are you willing to let His Seventh Highness accompany me back to Zhuri?”
Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head.
Jing Mo asked, “But your imperial father has already issued a decree. What’s the use even if the princess is unwilling?”
“This is what I think,” Yu Xiaoxiao set down her chopsticks. “What advantages will it give Zhuri if you take Yu Ziyi away?”
“Oh?” Jing Mo perked up in interest. “What does princess mean by this?”
“My mother’s dead,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Consort Zhao will become empress. She–”
“Princess!” Gu Xinglang wished he could muffle her mouth. How could she give voice to rumors so lightly?
Yu Xiaoxiao startled at his shout, then realized he must be worried that she was still sad over the empress’s death. She patted his hand and said, “I’m not sad.”
Gu Xinglang rested a hand on his forehead. What does that have to do with being sad?
“A prince hostage is basically just a hostage,” Yu Xiaoxiao reasoned, “He’s a little prince without power or influence. What good does it do you to take him?”
Jing Mo asked, “Isn’t the princess and His Seventh Highness’s maternal Jiang Clan, along with the Gu Clan, his power and influence?”
Yu Xiaoxiao shrugged. “But we’ve never been able to beat Consort Zhao or Zhao Qiuming, ah.”
Jing Mo fell silent. That was true.
“If you’re taking a hostage, you should pick a valuable one,” Yu Xiaoxiao went on. “Eldest prince, your days in Zhuri aren’t easy either. Thus, you should make a beautiful job of it so you can go back and get your father’s reward, right?”
“My days aren’t easy?” Jing Mo’s gaze turned to ice. “Why would princess say that?”
“It’s the same reasoning as Yu Ziyi, ah,” Yu Xiaoxiao explained. “Would a father bear to send his favorite son far away?”
“Your Royal Highness!” an aide by Jing Mo’s side barked out.
But Jing Mo only smiled and waved a hand at him before looking back at Yu Xiaoxiao. “Princess is a straight person with blunt speech. Which prince does princess think I should take back to Zhuri to avoid disgracing imperial orders?”
Of the six princes currently residing in Fengtian palace, the oldest was Yu Ziqing at 10 years old. Yu Xiaoxiao carefully thought over the bunch and their eventual ends: decapitation, death by hanging, poisoned by wine, beaten dead by wooden planks, drawn and quartered, and roasted on a hot pillar. With a smart and quick-witted imperial sister after their lives, each of the other six princes had met with tragic ends.
“Don’t know, you figure it out,” Yu Xiaoxiao told Jing Mo.
“I can’t think of a suitable candidate,” Jing Mo replied.
“Oh,” said Yu Xiaoxiao. “Then that’s the end of that.”
Once more, Jing Mo suppressed his temper. No matter how scheming he was, he was only 19 years old. This was a time when young men were hotblooded and impetuous, still trying to control their various raging emotions. “Looks like the princess really doesn’t mind if I take His Seventh Highness away,” he said while looking at Yu Xiaoxiao.
“As long as you don’t gift that Chuqiu to Yu Ziyi, it’s fine,” Yu Xiaoxiao declared. “I prefer my little brother to find a girl around his own age.”
Gu Xinglang’s hands shook, but he didn’t speak as he lowered his head. Jing Mo closed his eyes and told himself no, I can’t stomp the Fengtian princess to death right in the capital city. Their country wasn’t planning to lead troops south and destroy the country yet.
“You guys keep eating, I’m going out for a bit,” Yu Xiaoxiao muttered to Gu Xinglang.
“Princess, what do you want to do?” Gu Xinglang asked.
“I drank too much water, so I need to p–”
Gu Xinglang swiftly muffled her mouth. Even if he died, he wasn’t going to let his wife say ‘I need to pee’ out loud!
The various occupants of the hall all wore odd expressions. Who could tell them what to do in this situation?
Holding back pee was harmful to the body and Yu Xiaoxiao hadn’t had enough of living in this world yet, so she wanted to maintain her health. Rising to her feet, she told Jing Mo, “Eldest imperial prince, I’m going to–”
“Princess, please do as you wish.” Jing Mo interrupted. He too, didn’t want to hear her say she was going to pee.
“You two, guard the princess,” Gu Xinglang instructed Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei.
Yu Xiaoxiao was worried. “What about you?”
Gu Xinglang looked up at her. “How could anything happen to me as a guest of the eldest imperial prince?”
Worries assuaged, Yu Xiaoxiao left with the two shadow guards. Once the trio was gone, Jing Mo told Qingyu. “Aren’t you going to wait on her?”
Qingyu rose to her feet in a flurry. Gu Xinglang didn’t want Qingyu to speak to Yu Xiaoxiao and opened his mouth to say so, but Jing Mo then added, “If you speak any more nonsense, this prince will cut your tongue.”
Qingyu had hardly taken a few steps before she fell to her knees in fear. “This servant doesn’t dare.”
“Does the Royal Son-in-Law have any other worries?” Jing Mo asked.
Gu Xinglang knew he was up to no good. Of all the servants he picked, it had to be Qingyu who served Yu Xiaoxiao. “My conscience is clear,” he replied. “Eldest imperial prince couldn’t have simply called us here to taste fine wine and food, correct?”
Jing Mo replied, “Gu Li wanted me to pass on a message: the Defender Duke’s heard of your imprisonment and was anxious enough to want to lead troops on a killing spree to Fengtian.”
Gu Xinglang’s voice was cold. “Our Gu Clan has long cut ties with Gu Li.”
“Gu Xinglang,” said Jing Mo, “Are you perfectly content with your imprisonment this time, just because your sovereign married his daughter to you?”
“Eldest imperial prince, don’t take me for Gu Li. As a traitor to his country, I’d definitely take his life in another meeting on the battlefield.”
“Ha,” Jing Mo laughed. “Royal Son-in-Law still wants to meet with my Zhuri generals on the battlefield?”
“I am a citizen of Fengtian,” Gu Xinglang replied, “I will never seek refuge with another nation in my lifetime.”
Jing Mo only shook his head and spat out two words. “Blind devotion.”
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