Their eyes t.
Rong Heng coughed, avoiding her intense gaze, and said, "Gu Lan, why is it you again?"
Gu Lan t his cold eyes directly, pulling Jiu to the front, and finished the sentence she had left half-said:
"Brother Hang, you really know how to make things up."
Jiu awkwardly smiled, greeting him, "Your Highness, you’re awake."
Seeing Jiu appear, Rong Heng thought of how he had previously said, in front of Gu Lan, that he was buying candy to mourn him...
He pressed his temples, feeling a headache.
Gu Lan looked into his eyes, calmly retorting, "Brother Hang, are you trying to tell that this is actually Jiu’s ghost?"
Rong Heng: ...
If he fainted again now, would there still be ti?
"Jiu isn’t dead, and I didn’t deliberately slander you into the Imperial Prison. I was the one who sent you dicine for your wounds, and I took care of your als. After everything, you don’t acknowledge it; is this how you treat a brother?" Gu Lan, in front of Rong Heng, threw a handful of sweets into her mouth, successfully seeing a trace of distress flash on his face.
Rong Heng found sothing odd about Gu Lan’s words but couldn’t put his finger on it.
He closed his eyes, and upon reopening them, clarity and indifference had returned to his gaze: "What compensation does Young Master Gu want? Anything Rong Heng has, you can have, as long as you promise not to provoke again."
The scene before losing consciousness was still vivid, and he didn’t want to see that brash young man with his hands stained with blood because of him, nor did he want to see her surrounded by countless assassins again.
Although, at that mont, he hadn’t thought Gu Lan would lose control by getting injured because of him.
Although, holding her, he truly felt it was good to have such a sibling.
Leaving him, Gu Lan remained that bold and bright Gu young master in the Capital City; no one could harm her, and assassins wouldn’t appear...
Gu Lan curled her red lips, getting straight to the point: "Brother Hang, Jiu has already told about his past and your past."
"Jiu!" Rong Heng suddenly turned his head.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough—" Jiu started coughing violently, then turned to run, "Your Highness, Young Master Gu, my old wounds haven’t healed, I’m going out to look at the moon."
Although... is there any direct connection between old wounds not healing and looking at the moon?
"Rong Heng, we’ve risked our lives together. If you truly dislike so much in your heart, then why did you risk your life to save just now?" Gu Lan pressed aggressively with the question.
Jiu had said that Rong Heng feared the people close to him would be hard by him, so he did not want to let anyone near.
She just wanted Rong Heng to admit it himself and then change his mind.
In the original book, Rong Heng had sworn brotherhood with Tang Zhan, and if that simpleton could win him over, surely she could too.
Just a few years earlier, to make Rong Heng more open.
However, Rong Heng clenched his fists, red-eyed, and spoke word by word, "Gu Lan, today’s events have nothing to do with you, and those who co near won’t have a good end."
Gu Lan laughed, "But those people were actually after . You are the forr Emperor’s Fifth Prince, a sensitive identity that makes you feared, while I am the only son of Dingyuan Marquis, always on guard against danger... Brother Hang, I’m not afraid, what are you scared of? Even without you, before knowing you, this is how I lived, and in the future, only I might implicate you."
"What did you say?" Rong Heng was slightly stunned, suddenly recalling Gu Lan’s skillful and indifferent deanor when killing.
His thoughts returned, and he recalled the earlier scenarios.
Those people were chasing Gu Lan all the way, those arrows rained down towards Gu Lan.
She wasn’t dragged into it because of him; she was living in danger all along.
"If you choose never to approach out of fear of loss, then Brother Hang, you’ve got it wrong. Watch closely, I won’t leave you like others. I’ll live well, live long and prosper, for a long, long ti."
Gu Lan’s words were light, but each word fell into Rong Heng’s ear, heavy as a thousand weights, precious and lodious.
Rong Heng had never heard such words, nor had anyone ever said them to him. He didn’t know whether he should believe them, yet his heart seed to have suddenly found a place to rest.
Even if Gu Lan was lying to him,
He liked it a lot.
He hoped she could keep lying to him forever.
Taking the chance while Rong Heng hadn’t reacted, Gu Lan administered another heavy dose:
"We’re considered friends who know each other well, going through school, carrying guns together... even visiting brothels together, and now, sharing life and death once more.
I’m ill, you’ve got the dicine, and as you saw before, only you can awaken . Why not swear loyalty to each other, sharing fortunes and hardships, without any nonsense."
As she spoke, she was almost moved by her own words.
Unknowingly, she and Brother Hang had experienced so much.
It was only him who, when she lost control, enmired in bloodlust, would hold her, like a healing redy.
Sworn brotherhood?
Why did Gu Lan bring this up again?
Rong Heng stiffened, hesitating.
He clearly wanted to distance himself from Gu Lan, but the more he tried, the harder it beca to do so.
Gu Lan was still unwell... If he refused again, would it upset her?
Seeing his expression, Gu Lan knew there was hope today.
She widened her eyes at Rong Heng, her gaze clear and bright like radiant gemstones, making it hard for anyone to refuse.
"Bang—!"
With a dull thud, a bloody object fell from the sky, landing between the two of them.
"Lanlan!" Wei Chengyuan’s voice suddenly rang out.
Gu Lan looked up sharply, her teeth grinding audibly.
Just a little more, and the most loyal and righteous male lead in the world would have beco her brother from another mother.
Wei Chengyuan rushed in from the door, throwing the item in his hand at her feet, "I’m back."
Gu Lan glanced at it, her brow twitching. Damn, it was a freshly severed arm.
The cut was particularly clean, showcasing Wei Chengyuan’s expert blade technique.
"Lanlan, are you okay?" he asked with concern, scrutinizing Gu Lan with worry-filled eyes.
"It’s all my fault. I haven’t been by your side these days; I failed to protect you... This is the arm of the leader who tried to assassinate you. I... I let him get away, leaving only this."
He apologized remorsefully, pointing to the arm on the ground.
Gu Lan disdainfully moved closer to Rong Heng, "Did you chase after those assassins? You’re covered in blood, and it slls awful. Besides, why would I need this thing? Take it away."
Wei Chengyuan quickly stepped back a few paces and then softly said, "Lanlan, you’re covered in blood too."
Gu Lan: ... Haven’t you heard that when beautiful won kill, it’s supposed to sll sweet?
Rong Heng looked at the arm, his gaze slightly sharpening, "Iron rings? Those people aren’t from Yan Country."
In Yan Country, gold and jade are valued, only Qiangrong people wear iron rings.
Gu Lan said, "I saw their hair color before; it was red, clearly Qiangrong people."
Wei Chengyuan scratched his head and said, "Lanlan, should I continue chasing after them? I was just afraid... afraid sothing would happen to you, so I wanted to hurry back to find you. Then the leader had many people supporting him, so I didn’t pursue further. But everyone along the way, I killed them all."
He glanced at Rong Heng, huffing arrogantly, "Rest assured, no one saw this kid."
Gu Lan said helplessly, "No need to chase them. This is the Capital City; if Qiangrong people dare do such a thing, it ans they’re looking for death. Do you know whose arm this is?"
Wei Chengyuan pondered for a mont and said, "The person assisting him had red hair, and called this arm’s owner Jiang Qu."
"Jiang Qu is the Second Prince of Qiangrong, and the one assisting him should be the Eldest Prince, Duoji."
Gu Lan discussed the day’s events with the two, then looked at Rong Heng, "Brother Hang, now you must believe, this group is targeting . Marquis Gu defeated Qiangrong at the border, and they see unguarded and want to kill , to eradicate the Gu Family. After all, I’m the next Dingyuan Marquis."
Rong Heng said gravely, "In the register, the Qiangrong delegation entering the Capital City numbers just over thirty people, and today the second group that ca to assassinate you already exceeds thirty. Furthermore, Wei Chengyuan saw Duoji leading a group to receive Jiang Qu—"
Wei Chengyuan added, "The group receiving him was about thirty people too."
"The numbers don’t add up," Gu Lan mused, "there must be Yan Country people collaborating with Qiangrong, secretly hiding them in the Capital City, and working with them to assassinate ."
Who could it be?
To investigate these people, they could only start with the corpses, but unfortunately, she hadn’t left a single survivor. Those people were Death Warriors, likely carrying no clues on them.
"Oh Lanlan, when I saw Duoji earlier, he felt very familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I had seen him before," Wei Chengyuan said.
Gu Lan: "Don’t you rember that whenever Yunzhou is ntioned, your head aches? Consort Qian was saved by you, and you carry the scent of returning from the battlefield."
Yunzhou is in the Northern Territory, and so is Qiangrong. You find Duoji familiar, probably because you’ve seen him on the battlefield before."
From the salt cloth and various signs Wei Chengyuan carried, Gu Lan had already determined he had definitely served in the military before.
Wei Chengyuan’s head began to ache again, frowning, "Probably so, I’d rather not think about it."
"So during this period, where have you been?"
Although the sandbag in front of her didn’t want to be one, he’d been by her side for a long ti. With his disappearance these days, she suddenly felt a bit unaccustod.
Wei Chengyuan hesitated for a mont and said:
"Lanlan, I suspect Consort Qian has discovered that I’m protecting you."
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