Gu Changyuan, who had been caught by the shoulder and nearly had his clothes torn open, saw Xie Licheng's face clearly through his reddened eyes.
Gu Changyuan thought he had escaped one disaster only to run into another, so his first reaction upon being grabbed and spun around was to stab fiercely at his attacker with the hairpin in his hand.
This hairpin was something he usually kept for self-defense.
He had thought it was just for show, but he never expected it would actually come in handy.
He had just used it to wound the man who had tried to assault him.
But then, to his dismay, after wounding one, another had appeared.
Because he was too frightened and too tense.
Even though Gu Changyuan had clearly seen Xie Licheng's face, the hairpin in his hand still stabbed toward him.
Fortunately, his strength was not great, and Xie Licheng easily raised his hand to block it.
If it had been anyone else, Xie Licheng would have snatched the hairpin away first, to prevent the other person from trying to attack him with it again.
But seeing Gu Changyuan's reddened eyes, looking as though he had suffered a great fright, he ultimately left the hairpin with him.
Xie Licheng's mind was a bit chaotic now—why was Gu Changyuan the one who appeared here?
Could it be that because he was a transmigrator, all the plot points of the book had changed?
That didn't seem right either.
When he had first encountered Gu Changyuan, he hadn't done anything to alter the plot.
In the original text, when the young master had been beating the original owner, the original owner had also been saved by Gu Changyuan.
If one had to point out a difference between him and the original owner—
It was that when the original owner met Gu Changyuan, because he was timid and dull by nature, he hadn't dared to look up at Gu Changyuan.
That was the only small difference. It shouldn't have changed the plot this much, should it?
Before Xie Licheng could continue thinking, Gu Changyuan finally recognized who he was and asked him in a flustered voice, "You… why are you here?"
"I just heard some commotion over here and came in to see what was going on. I didn't expect…"
He didn't finish his sentence, instead looking at Gu Changyuan's disheveled clothes, then at the person lying on the ground not far away.
Just now, Xie Licheng had been a bit far from this spot, and with Gu Changyuan's body blocking the view, he hadn't seen that there was someone lying on the ground.
Now that he was closer, without Gu Changyuan blocking the view, he could see the person on the ground and the blood pooled around them.
"Young Master, what's going on here? Why are you here, and who is that person?"
Gu Changyuan, however, did not immediately trust him upon hearing this, nor would he honestly answer his questions. He was somewhat worried that Xie Licheng might be in league with that man, so he secretly tightened his grip on the hairpin and probed cautiously.
"You're a lowly slave—shouldn't you be in the slaves' quarters right now? Why would you come to the garden in the middle of the night?"
Seeing how afraid Gu Changyuan was of him, Xie Licheng vaguely guessed what he was worried about.
He had only met the Young Master once before, and counting today, that made only twice.
Given the situation the other party was in, it was only natural that he would be on guard upon suddenly encountering him.
Xie Licheng: "Young Master saved my life. I would be willing to serve you like an ox or a horse. Please don't be afraid, Young Master—I'm here to protect you."
Gu Changyuan: "You… you really aren't in league with that man?"
Xie Licheng shook his head. "I don't even know who that is. Is he a thief from outside? How did he end up lying here? And why is the Young Master here?"
That person was badly wounded, and seeing that Xie Licheng showed no intention whatsoever of saving him, Gu Changyuan knew they really weren't in league with each other. The tension in his heart eased somewhat.
He took a slight deep breath and began to organize his chaotic thoughts to deal with what would happen next.
He truly hadn't expected that a male guest from the outer courtyard would be so bold as to lay hands on him here in the Gu residence.
As for why he was here, that would have to be traced back to half an hour ago.
Gu Changyuan had originally been practicing calligraphy in the study when, for some reason, he suddenly thought of Xie Licheng's eyes.
Xie Licheng's eyes were very dark and bright, like a wild wolf's—beautiful yet carrying a hint of aggression.
Gu Changyuan didn't know Xie Licheng's name. In his eyes, Xie Licheng was just a horse groom.
His own status was noble—he was the precious eldest son of the Gu family.
Suddenly thinking of a strange man's eyes, he felt that his behavior was truly improper.
Feeling restless, he stopped practicing calligraphy and went out from his courtyard alone to take a walk.
Then he encountered Concubine Xu, who was leading his younger sister out.
Gu Changyuan's younger sister was named Gu Yangxue, and she had just turned fourteen this year.
Because his sister was young and was often brought over by Gu Changyuan to be raised and educated, the two of them had always had a very good relationship.
Gu Changyuan felt that Concubine Xu was a person of poor character, and suddenly taking his sister out this late at night likely meant she was up to some shady business.
For his sister's safety, he followed without even having time to bring any servants.
As a result, he discovered that Concubine Xu had taken his sister to the garden of the outer courtyard.
There are two paths from the inner courtyard to the garden in the outer courtyard. The first path requires passing through two guarded gates. These gates would question one's identity and record who passed through each day.
The second path was a small trail that led directly to the garden through a single small door. Because this door was kept locked all year round, there was usually no one guarding it.
When Gu Changyuan saw that they had deliberately taken the small door, and that Concubine Xu even carried the key to it, he became even more certain that something was wrong.
Gu Changyuan very much wanted to go back and fetch others to come along, but he was afraid it was the kind of thing he suspected.
A few days earlier, a distant nephew of Concubine Xu had come to stay at the Gu residence.
Although Concubine Xu was not particularly favored in the Gu household, Gu Yangxue was greatly loved by the elder master and Gu Changyuan, so Concubine Xu still held a certain status in the family.
She shamelessly insisted on keeping her nephew there, and the steward did not dare to drive the man away.
Thinking of the other's sudden appearance, and knowing that the outer garden was very close to the outer courtyard's guest rooms—being well aware of how filthy and sordid things could be in a great household—Gu Changyuan did not dare to rashly bring people over.
What if they actually wanted to be caught in the act?
Moreover, there were no servants along this small path. If he went back and forth, what would become of his sister in the meantime?
When one's heart is troubled by concern, judgment falters. And so Gu Changyuan quickly followed alone.
But unexpectedly, he had only hesitated for a moment, and by the time he caught up again, he could no longer find them.
He had never thought the outer garden was particularly large, but at night, in such a moment of urgency, it suddenly became vast and unfamiliar.
What Gu Changyuan did not know was that Concubine Xu was a very cautious person by nature. She had discovered him when he was only halfway through following them.
As it happened, the two of them did not get along. When Concubine Xu realized he had dared to come alone, she immediately altered her original plan.
She found a place for her daughter to wait, then went to find the distant nephew herself.
She had her nephew go seize Gu Changyuan, while she took the opportunity to bring her daughter back and, in the meantime, gather a group of servants.
The daughter in the plan was swapped for Gu Changyuan.
When the time came, they would catch him in the act. No matter how noble Gu Changyuan's status was, once such a scandal befell him, the Gu family would have no choice but to acknowledge the marriage whether they wanted to or not.
Then her nephew would marry the eldest young master of the Gu family. Whether it was for her, her nephew, or her natal family, they would never have to worry about money again.
Unfortunately, her plan was quite good, but carrying it out was not so easy.
Because Gu Changyuan was not an ordinary young master. He had spent years traveling about with the elder master, and his body was much stronger than that of a typical young master.
He carried a hairpin on his person for self-defense, and when opened, the hairpin was extremely sharp.
In addition, he had learned horseback riding and had studied under martial arts instructors.
Although what he had learned was mostly superficial, he still had considerably more strength than an ordinary young master.
So when the nephew dragged him into the rockery, Gu Changyuan not only broke free, but he also successfully fought back.
The nephew—the male guest—had never imagined that a young master like Gu Changyuan could be so fierce.
Moreover, Gu Changyuan's status was extremely noble, and his prestige within the Gu household was very high.
After being stabbed by Gu Changyuan, the man was both guilt-ridden and terrified, extremely worried that once Gu Changyuan recognized him, he would find every possible way to take revenge in the future.
He did not dare to continue attacking Gu Changyuan. Instead, he instinctively covered his face, turned around, and fled in panic.
And then… perhaps it was his bad luck? Or perhaps it was karma for his misdeeds. In his frantic flight, he tripped over a protruding stone, fell backward, struck the back of his head on the ground, and knocked himself unconscious.
Gu Changyuan had only been startled at first. Later, he realized the man was nothing but a useless good-for-nothing who could not even handle a young master like him, and facing him, he was no longer so afraid.
Xie Licheng turned him around and saw his reddened eyes and panicked expression.
The main reason was that Gu Changyuan had discovered that the man had bled a great deal after falling. He had never seen so much blood in his entire life. He kept thinking—had the man, had the man fallen to his death? Why else would he be bleeding so much?
It was because he was frightened by the person on the ground that he had become so panicked.
Xie Licheng said calmly, "If the eldest young master still does not trust me, I can go out right now and fetch the guards for you."
Gu Changyuan immediately shook his head. "No, I—I cannot be seen like this."
Even if the man had not done anything to him, with his clothes disheveled and hair in disarray, anyone who saw him would still gossip.
"How about this: the eldest young master should leave here first. I will handle what comes after."
No matter why Gu Changyuan had appeared here, this was not a place where he should linger.
Gu Changyuan calmed down slightly and asked, "How will you handle it? Aren't you going to ask what happened here?"
Xie Licheng said without even blinking: "The eldest young master is beautiful and kind-hearted, a truly good person. It must have been something that person did, otherwise the eldest young master wouldn't have hurt anyone."
Gu Changyuan slightly pursed his thin lips and began to explain: "I didn't intentionally harm him. It was he who was disrespectful to me first, so I pricked him in self-defense. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be so timid. I suppose he was afraid I might see his face, so he covered it and fled in panic, but in his haste, he tripped and knocked himself unconscious."
At this point, he paused, then turned his gaze toward that person, his reddened, beautiful eyes filled with worry.