Clang—
The study door was violently kicked open.
Jiang Ning’s legs trembled. Looking toward the doorway, she saw a burly, fierce-looking rough man in his thirties or forties with a muscular build, a face full of fleshy menace, and unibrow eyebrows, striding inside.
At a single glance, this man was clearly someone who had taken countless lives.
He was even staring at her up and down with sharp, scrutinizing eyes like those used on a criminal.
Is this Gu Jianshen?
The general commanding the Northern Pacification Army naturally couldn’t be a fair-skinned, pretty-boy youth. Exposure to wind and sun without skincare would certainly make him look much older than his actual age. Besides, who else but him would dare to charge around recklessly in this courtyard and stride in so blatantly?
So this is the God of War, Gu Jianshen!
Jiang Ning’s legs grew even weaker, completely terrified.
The rough man walked over to the bookshelf and picked up a nine-ring broadsword. Following his action of taking the sword, Jiang Ning went from weak legs to trembling legs, shaking hands, and shivering all over.
“Concubine Jiang, do you plead guilty?!”
His voice resounded like a brass bell, shaking Jiang Ning so hard her ears nearly rang.
With a thud, Jiang Ning collapsed onto the floor, her face as pale as death. “Confession brings leniency… can you please not resort to violence?”
Gu Jianshen’s mother wouldn’t need to urge him to produce a grandchild anymore—she was already scared into acting like a grand-daughter herself!
Waaah, she wanted to go home.
“Concubine Jiang, let me ask you: were you instructed by someone to enter the Gu Residence?”
With a deathly pale face, Jiang Ning leaned against the main support pillar, not daring to look at the rough man at all. Just one glance was enough to give her nightmares.
Suppressing the terror in her heart, Jiang Ning said, “When I first arrived here, I was presented as a gift by Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Rites. To say I was instructed by someone is technically not wrong.”
In the Great Lan Dynasty, women held a low status, and beautiful women were frequently given away as gifts.
On the surface, the Minister of Rites and Prince Jing were at odds. From this point alone, it was actually very difficult to infer that the person behind Jiang Ning was Prince Jing—unless Gu Jianshen had already seen through the true relationship between the Minister of Rites and Prince Jing.
The rough man asked again, “Have you ever done anything to betray me?”
Jiang Ning thought for a moment and said, “Over these three years, I have never done anything to betray Master. When I first entered the estate, I brought only one maid, whom I dismissed from my courtyard that very day. Everyone serving my daily life, food, and lodging are household servants of the Gu family. My every move has been right under everyone’s eyes. Master may freely question them, or ask the Madam, about what I have done over these three years.”
For the past three years, Jiang Ning had focused entirely on eating, drinking, and enjoying herself.
This Gu Residence was vast and even had a theater troupe. Jiang Ning ate fine food, drank good wine, and when she had nothing to do, she watched plays with Gu Jianshen’s primary wife to foster their sisterly affection.
She had no contact with outsiders and had never transmitted any information—mainly because Gu Jianshen wasn’t home at all, so there was no information to transmit outside in the first place.
If she hadn’t done anything, there was no leverage against her.
As for the ridiculous matters in her dreams, she truly didn’t believe anyone could sneak into her dreams to spy on her.
The rough man, however, let out a cold sneer and said, “So according to you, you are completely innocent? Yet you are so terrified and guilt-ridden like this—I’m afraid you’ve given yourself away without even being beaten.”
He asked again, “Why is the whereabouts of your family unknown?”
When her family was mentioned…
Jiang Ning’s heart throbbed as if pierced by a blade. That was an exceptionally wonderful family; though destitute, they were upright and kind. When she first arrived, she had felt the warmth of a home from them.
Yet now they were held as hostages, trapped somewhere unknown.
The disappearance of her entire family was undoubtedly a silent declaration that Jiang Ning was problematic—a glaring flaw, and the ultimate source of Jiang Ning’s anxiety.
Jiang Ning didn’t know what was going through Prince Jing’s mind either. When Gu Jianshen was in the north, her family lived peacefully in the countryside. The moment Gu Jianshen returned to the capital, Prince Jing captured them.
Was he afraid Gu Jianshen wouldn’t find out?
Suddenly, a realization dawned on Jiang Ning—Prince Jing had done it intentionally.
She had no way out. Her path as an informant began with surviving under Gu Jianshen.
Between life and death, was this the fate that truly belonged to her?
The peaceful three years in the past felt like a fleeting flower, making one miss them dearly.
The cold light from the nine-ring broadsword in the rough man’s hand gleamed frostily, dazzling Jiang Ning’s eyes.
She gave a bitter smile.
The lost and helpless look in Jiang Ning’s eyes gradually cleared. She slowly moved, adopting the humble attitude of a low-status person kneeling before a superior, crawling to the rough man’s feet. She hugged his leg, looked up, and allowed tears to stream down the corners of her eyes, appearing pitiful, sorrowful, and deeply wronged.
“Master, Ning’er’s heart is so bitter! That Minister Zhao had no good intentions when sending me here, but Ning’er knows Master is a heroic man who stands tall and protects the nation. Ning’er admires and adores Master, and would never wish to do anything to betray Master!”
“However… that Minister Zhao actually kidnapped Ning’er’s family to force Ning’er into compliance!”
“Master, what should Ning’er do? Ning’er is so scared!”
“Waaah—”
Once Jiang Ning started crying, it was uncontrollable. She was truly feeling wronged. Growing up, no one had ever threatened her with death, and her parents couldn’t even bear to hit her once.
Why did she have to time-travel? Why did she have to do all these things?
She didn’t want to. None of this was what she wanted! Who was she getting in the way of by just wanting to live happily, that she had to suffer all these hardships?!
Waaah, she wanted to go home.
Jiang Ning had outstanding looks, delicate and beautiful; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been picked to be sent to Gu Jianshen. Gu Jianshen himself had kept her after merely glancing at her portrait. Now, crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain, incredibly pitiful, even a heavy-set rough man would be moved when hugged by a young girl crying like this.
A cough sounded from outside the window.
Relieved as if freed from a heavy burden, the rough man put the nine-ring broadsword back on the rack and said, “Your helplessness and grievances are now known to me. In the future, be honest and dutiful, and do not cause trouble.”
The rough man strode out of the study with a faint hint of fleeing; listening to her crying made even his heart tremble.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ning’s crying had gone overboard, and she couldn’t stop anytime soon, wailing at the top of her lungs to vent her feelings.
Leaving the study, the rough man turned right toward the back window, bowed respectfully, and said, “My Lord, Concubine Jiang has confessed.”
The young man had a tall, slender stature, eyes like a phoenix, thin lips, a ruggedly handsome appearance, and a grand presence that commanded respect without anger, exuding a heavy aura of a ruler.
This was the genuine Gu Jianshen.
He leaned against the window sill, meticulously observing Jiang Ning—who was crying so hard she was nearly hyperventilating in the study—through the crack in the window, feeling an inexplicable tightness in his chest.
It was probably because he had never seen any woman cry with such total disregard for propriety.
“Escort her back to Qingxiang Residence.”
Having given the order, Gu Jianshen turned and walked away.
Returning to his bedroom, he had just sat down and taken a sip of tea when something suddenly crossed his mind. He strode over to the bed and saw the blanket bulging as if something was hidden underneath.
Roughly three years ago, a strange thing had begun happening to Gu Jianshen. He would meet a woman in his dreams, and upon waking, gold would pop up in his blanket.
That woman said it was paper money she had burned for him, telling him to go away and stop pestering her.
He must have encountered a fairy.
The fairy was his lucky star, a secret held deep in his heart.
With a hint of anticipation, Gu Jianshen lifted the blanket. Sure enough, dazzled by golden light, a mountain of gold was piled in his bed—roughly a hundred bricks of pure gold, far more than ever before.
Floating above it was a line of text, a message left by the fairy:
—I hope my husband treats me a bit better and spares my lowly life.