Chapter 71

After much difficulty, it was finally Gu Ying’s turn. She could only think of Zhao Changdu’s decree of marriage. Now she only hoped that His Majesty would give her an imperial edict to forbid her from marrying for the rest of her life!

"Miss Gu, what reward do you want?" Tianqi Emperor patiently looked at the woman kneeling below and smiled, "You have made quite an achievement this time. In the future, come to the palace more often, so those young ladies in Bianjing can learn from you."

Jiang Yin's deep eyes quickly glanced at Gu Ying. These days, he had more dreams about her... They were all about scenes where she admired and smiled at him affectionately, but he clearly didn't have much interaction with her, so where did those scenes come from?

Gu Ying respectfully bowed and said, "Your Majesty is too kind. Gu Ying is not worthy of your praise."

"Alright, tell me what reward you want. As long as I can do it, I will definitely grant it to you."

Gu Ying originally wanted to give the fairy deer she hunted to Su Huanfeng who gifted her the crossbow, but now, things had changed, and that crossbow was no longer Young Master Huo's.

She could only bite her teeth and say, "Your servant also wants to ask Your Majesty for a promise, like the Crown Prince. When your servant thinks of something in the future, I will mention it to Your Majesty again..."

She thought Tianqi Emperor would not agree, but unexpectedly, Tianqi Emperor agreed without thinking twice, "Okay, as long as it does not go against my principles, I will grant you one thing."

Gu Ying was overjoyed. If it was really like this, as long as Zhao Changdu dared to force her again, she would resist him to the end.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Changdu raised his eyebrows and looked at her as if asking: Little girl, is this to deal with me?

Gu Ying's lips curled up slightly, and cast him a bright look: Crown Prince, let's wait and see.

Tianqi Emperor's face was full of smiles as he looked at the scholars and officials below, "Alright, for this imperial hunting event, everyone performed very well. Stay here tonight, and we'll return to Bianjing at dawn tomorrow."

Everyone knelt down and cheered, "Long live the Emperor!" After that was the bonfire feast with fine wine and delicacies.

The two sides of the long wooden table were filled with young ladies from prestigious families and young masters from noble households.

After dinner, His Majesty and Consorts left the banquet tent, and everyone else became more relaxed.

Among the young ladies, Gu Ying was no longer as unknown as before. Many young ladies from prestigious families took the initiative to chat with her.

Even Huo Qiyan walked over with a smile and sat down beside her, raising the jade cup in her hand, "Miss Gu, I have to thank you this time."

Gu Ying raised her eyebrows slightly.

Huo Qiyan lowered her voice and said, "I took your suggestion and had people search the attendants, and they found one of them carrying a medicine packet. Guess what medicine it was?"

Gu Ying already knew the answer but still remained expressionless and asked, "What was it?"

Huo Qiyan whispered mysteriously, covering her mouth, "Mother had the doctor take a look. He said it was Bliss Powder that could make men and women infatuated. This is a major matter, mother didn't want me to talk about it to others, so only you know about this. As for the one who wanted to harm me behind the scenes, I'm still investigating."

After she finished, Gu Ying took a sip of hot tea.

Seeing that Gu Ying remained silent, Huo Qiyan tilted her head in confusion and glanced at her, "But how did you know that person would drug me?"

Gu Ying smiled slightly, "When I arrived at the hunting ground, I accidentally saw your servant looking strange, as if he had done something bad, so I suspected he might harm Miss Huo, and guessed from that."

Huo Qiyan let out a long "oh" sound, she didn't doubt it, and felt somewhat grateful to Gu Ying in her heart, wanting to befriend her, "In the future, I'll invite you to visit the Huo residence."

Gu Ying's eyes were filled with smiles, "That would be wonderful, I humbly obey Miss Huo's kindness. But Miss Huo, as an unmarried young lady, carrying such indecent medicine powder in your sleeve, if seen by others, would damage your reputation. Why not give the medicine to me, and I'll discreetly dispose of it for you?"

Huo Qiyan hesitated looking at her, "You are also a woman—"

Gu Ying smiled and said, "I'm different from Miss Huo. Miss Huo is unmatched in Bianjing, bearing the destiny of a phoenix. Everyone's eyes are on you."

Upon hearing this, Huo Qiyan also felt that the thing in her sleeve was indeed a hot potato.

She quietly lowered her head and slipped it into Gu Ying's hand, "You keep it safe, don't let anyone else see it."

Gu Ying subtly nodded, "Don't worry."

After doing something naughty together, Huo Qiyan looked at Gu Ying with warmer eyes. She didn't think Gu Ying was someone worth befriending before, but now she saw that Gu Ying was smart and knew how to adapt to circumstances. Most importantly, her respect and liking for herself was not mixed with the jealousy and contempt behind the back like other girls.

She really liked her.

So she had a good impression of her.

Gu Ying secretly tucked the Bliss Powder into her sleeve, then bid farewell to Huo Qiyan.

Huo Qiyan looked up, "There are song and dance performances later, won't you miss them if you leave now?"

The corners of Gu Ying's mouth raised, "My clothes are dirty. I'll go change and come back."

She then gently ordered, "Yin Lan, Yin Zhu, let's go."

Huo Qiyan was puzzled. Although Gu Ying left, she left a seemingly silly maid here.

But she was soon attracted by the graceful figures of the dancing girls at the banquet and returned to her seat, looking at Zhao Changdu eagerly.

...

After leaving the imperial tent, Gu Ying immediately handed the Bliss Powder to Yin Zhu who knew martial arts. Yin Zhu didn't say anything and just left with a cold face.

Gu Ying paused and said solemnly, "Was Yin Zhu always like this before? She just leaves without asking anything when I do bad things?"

Yin Lan smiled, "Yes my lady, she doesn't speak much and seldom smiles, but is very obedient. She said as long as it’s what my lady wants done, she will help without asking anything more."

In other words, a very good tool. Gu Ying could rest assured.

The corners of Gu Ying's mouth twitched as she smiled wryly.

No wonder her aunt sent Yin Zhu over. This maid is a ruthless, no-nonsense type, but her martial arts skills are good. She can protect Gu Ying and help her get things done, very convenient.

"What about you?"

Yin Lan lowered her eyebrows, the ambiguous smile still lingering around her lips, "I don't know any martial arts. I'm just clever. I was originally bought by the old master to serve the mistress and have her learn more tricks. Unfortunately, in the Censorate these years, the mistress was the only woman, so I didn't get to use my skills. The mistress said this time, no matter what my lady wants to do, I'll just help without asking anything more."

From her tone, she sounded a little proud and expectant. She even seemed somewhat eager when she heard she could do bad things.

This maid looked like the truly ruthless one!