After confessing her feelings to the two people she cared about most in her previous life, Gu Qinghan felt even better.
She slept peacefully with the help of a group of maids, as sweet-smelling smoke curled up from the incense burner. In her dream, Gu Qinghan unexpectedly saw the Crown Prince from her previous life.
In the dream, she transformed into a jade pendant hanging at the Crown Prince’s side, witnessing the usually cold and aloof Crown Prince appear in the dungeon, where his methods of dealing with prisoners were extremely brutal.
This violent and ferocious side was something Gu Qinghan had never seen before.
In her memories, although the Crown Prince was always icy and distant, he treated her gently and never displayed such behavior in front of her.
The rumors about the Crown Prince turned out to be true. Even though Gu Qinghan knew this was just a dream, she still felt a lingering fear, her heart pounding wildly.
After interrogating an assassin, the Crown Prince’s handsome face was stained with blood, his dark eyes growing even deeper. He was slightly out of breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing faintly.
Gu Qinghan couldn’t help but swallow.
Suddenly, she saw the second son of the Liang family being dragged before the Crown Prince by guards, his body soaked in his own blood and trembling slightly.
The second son of the Liang family cried out, “Your Highness, I have never done anything against you! My loyalty to you is as clear as the heavens and the earth!”
Hearing this, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but laugh, though his eyes remained icy cold.
“Just for daring to covet my treasure and attempting to taint her, you deserve to die ten thousand times.”
With that, he signaled the guards to take Liang Er away.
The second son of the Liang family quickly pieced everything together and, while struggling, shouted, “Your Highness… Your Highness! I deserve to die ten thousand times, but I never laid a finger on Gu Qinghan. It was Xiao Yinghuai and Gu Xu who forced me to do it… They forced me!”
“Pei Lie, cover his mouth. How dare he utter Qingqing’s name?”
Ye Muyan clenched his fists, one dark thought after another surfacing in his mind.
“No, Qingqing would be afraid…” Though it was a whispered murmur, Gu Qinghan heard it clearly. She was stunned for a moment as the Crown Prince stood up and went to the small courtyard where he kept everything related to her.
The Crown Prince walked straight to a painting, gazing obsessively at her face in the portrait.
Curious, Gu Qinghan looked as well. She noticed that the features in the painting were incredibly lifelike, and the lively, charming expression was exactly like her own!
The Crown Prince picked up a brush, lightly dipped it in a crimson hue, and touched it to the lips of the figure in the painting.
Gu Qinghan continued to follow the Crown Prince, watching as familiar faces of those who had harmed her appeared one by one in the dungeon. Each of them was dealt with severely, meeting tragic ends.
Only then did she realize why certain people had suddenly disappeared in her previous life. Their parents would claim they had been sent away for studies or dispatched to a countryside estate to recuperate.
As such incidents piled up, Gu Qinghan grew suspicious. She remembered asking Xiao Yinghuai about it, and he shamelessly replied that he had secretly threatened them all to avenge her.
Now, knowing the truth, her hatred for Xiao Yinghuai grew even stronger.
Suddenly, one day, a shadow guard placed a letter on the Crown Prince’s desk. Its contents were simple: “Wedding in three days.”
Gu Qinghan expected the Crown Prince to fly into a rage or curse her.
But after reading it, the Crown Prince simply stood quietly by the window, not eating or drinking for two days.
When the shadow guard returned, he brought urgent news. This time, the situation was critical and required the Crown Prince’s personal intervention.
At this moment, the Crown Prince gently caressed the portrait, as if whispering to a lover: “Qingqing, I can’t bear to watch you marry someone else. Don’t worry, I will arrange everything for you.”
“Even if they are weasels, they must pretend to be rabbits to serve our Qingqing. Qingqing doesn’t need to know any of this; she only needs to be happy.”
The Crown Prince had long discovered Xiao Yinghuai and Gu Xu’s schemes, but Gu Qinghan’s feelings for them ran too deep. Unable to bear letting her know she had been betrayed by those she trusted most, he had no choice but to secretly restrict that despicable pair at every turn.
He sent people to closely monitor them daily, subjecting them to daily torture and threats. Humiliated and degraded, Xiao Yinghuai and Gu Xu still had to pretend to care for and cherish Gu Qinghan whenever they saw her.
Thus, the two took advantage of her coming-of-age ceremony to connect with the Grand Prince, using their families to threaten the dark guards protecting her into betrayal. By luring the tiger away from the mountain, they ultimately killed Gu Qinghan.
Only then did Gu Qinghan understand everything from her previous life. For a moment, she choked up with emotion. She had followed the Crown Prince when he was lured away from the capital, and he was the first to sense something amiss.
His brows furrowed tightly, threads of unease coiling around him.
“Return to the capital,” he immediately decided, waving to signal the elite soldiers beside him.
But the once-obedient elite soldiers instantly turned into puppets, attacking the Crown Prince in unison.
The air around the Crown Prince grew even colder. Drawing his longsword, in the blink of an eye, all the puppets fell silently to the ground.
Suddenly, someone shouted, “Miss Han!”
The Crown Prince’s attention was instantly diverted.
A poisoned arrow pierced through the Crown Prince’s chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood, the crimson staining his dark robes as the poisoned arrow tore through his sturdy attire.
“Harming Qingqing—you all deserve to die!” The Crown Prince’s deep eyes had turned blood-red. His state was no longer that of an ordinary person; he resembled an enraged, sinister beast.
After dealing with all the assassins, the Crown Prince spurred his horse at full speed toward the capital.
Passing by a lake, Gu Qinghan saw the design of the jade pendant that housed her soul reflected in the water.
It was actually the one she often wore as a child!
Before she could ponder the implications, she heard Chun Tao calling her softly.
“Young miss, young miss, didn’t you say yesterday that you were going out with Miss Xin today? It’s time to get up.”
Chun Tao fanned her gently while calling out softly.
Gu Qinghan slowly rose, and a group of maidservants filed in. They washed her face and cleaned her teeth.
Chun Tao styled her hair into a feitian bun, adorning it with a pink jade hairpin. The maidservants gently dressed her in a peach blossom glazed skirt.
The maidservants couldn’t help but steal glances at Gu Qinghan. Her skin was like congealed jade, her face like peach blossoms. The watery red dress made her appear even more radiant, her bright almond-shaped eyes glistening. Paired with the feitian bun, she looked both adorable and lively.
After getting ready, Gu Qinghan left her small courtyard only to find Gu Xinrong waiting outside early, a light blue gown making her appear even gentler.
Just as she was about to greet her younger sister, she saw Gu Xu gracefully approaching. Upon seeing Gu Qinghan, Gu Xu’s expression stiffened slightly before quickly adjusting.
“Are you two younger sisters going out today?”
As Gu Xu spoke, her heart bled. She had worked so hard to make Gu Qinghan neglect her appearance, yet someone had ruined her plans again.
Gu Qinghan turned her head and rolled her eyes, while Gu Xinrong and Chun Tao covered their mouths and chuckled softly.
“Yes, cousin, you two are the only ones in this family who treat me the best. I want to spend more time with everyone before my grand wedding with Yinghuai.” Gu Qinghan’s sweet and naive appearance put Gu Xu at ease. She had initially worried that Gu Qinghan might have learned something, but seeing her foolish demeanor, it seemed impossible.
She adjusted her expression and spoke softly, “Sister has been taking care of you these past few days and has been staying in the mansion for a long time. I’m feeling quite exhausted.”
Gu Xu thought to herself, how could she miss such a perfect opportunity to take advantage of Gu Qinghan?
Gu Xinrong watched them with concern, about to speak up when Gu Qinghan stopped her.
“Then why don’t you join us, sister?” Gu Qinghan smiled and extended the invitation.
For a moment, Gu Xu felt a twinge of regret. She cleared her throat softly and followed them out of the mansion.