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Gu Jiao kept watch over Little Jing Kong until he entered the realm of dreams, his little snores becoming a soothing lullaby. She then got up, quietly left the narrow corridor, and returned to the backyard.
She went to Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun's room. The two young men were already in deep slumber. Gu Yan, in particular, had an exceptionally good sleep posture—— perhaps he had been so frequently bullied by his sister in the womb that he had become accustomed to it. Gu Xiaoshun's sleep was a bit less orderly, with one leg hanging off the bed.
Gu Jiao tucked Gu Xiaoshun's leg back under the quilt and gently touched their foreheads.
Among the few children, Gu Xiaoshun was the least worrisome, while Gu Yan was the one who constantly occupied her thoughts. Solving Gu Yan's heart condition had always been a challenging problem she wanted to tackle, but her little medicine chest didn’t meet the requirements for the operation.
Gu Jiao opened the bedside table and placed the medications for heart failure inside.
After finishing these tasks, she returned to the west room and gathered a few sets of clean clothes.
"Hmm?"
She rummaged through her belongings with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Are you looking for this?" Xiao Heng's voice suddenly sounded at the door.
Gu Jiao turned around and saw Xiao Heng holding a mask adorned with peacock feathers as he approached.
She blinked her eyes and shifted blame, saying, "That's Jing Kong's!"
Xiao Heng smiled, a mixture of helplessness and amusement, and refrained from exposing her. Instead, he opened a cabinet, took out a bundle, and presented it to her.
"There's some dried meat in here and a bit of other dry food."
In the past, she had always been the one preparing things for him. This time, it was his turn to send her off on a journey.
"You…" Gu Jiao opened her mouth and stared at him.
"Aren't you planning to leave the capital?" Xiao Heng nonchalantly asked, then handed her a few more items.
Alas, she thought she had hidden it well.
"Are you planning to leave without a word?"
Gu Jiao shook her head like a rattle, "I wrote you a letter. It's in your study."
Xiao Heng's expression softened as he handed her the bundle and gazed at her deeply, "Will you come back?"
This question had a rather profound undertone.
If she were indeed the true Gu Jiao, she couldn't possibly not return.
Gu Jiao had always thought that only Gu Chengfeng firmly believed she wasn't the real Gu Jiao.
Gu Chengfeng probably thought that she had killed the real Gu Jiao and assumed her identity.
However, Xiao Heng clearly understood that this body had always belonged to the real Gu Jiao.
So why did he ask this question?
As if he had seen the confusion in Gu Jiao's eyes and perhaps felt that some things, if not said today, might never be said in the future, he spoke up, "Ever since you fell into the water two years ago, you've become different. I know you are Gu Jiao, but sometimes I feel like you're not Gu Jiao."
She wasn't, but she also was.
It was indeed a contradictory topic.
"Will you come back?"
He asked her again.
Gu Jiao paused, looked at him, and said, "Whether I am Gu Jiao or not?"
Xiao Heng nodded earnestly, "Yes, regardless of whether you are Gu Jiao or not."
"Then, of cour——"
Gu Jiao's eyes swirled for a moment, and she swallowed the words she had on the tip of her tongue. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Will you let me watch you take a bath if I come back?"
Xiao Heng, at the moment of parting, couldn't have expected that such a thing would be on her mind.
He was taken aback, and for a moment, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Seriously… What kind of girl was this?
He chuckled softly, walked a few steps closer to her, and lightly wrapped his strong arms around her waist, appearing dominant yet restrained.
He was obviously just embracing her, and yet Gu Jiao felt like her waist was encircled by flames, burning its way into her heart. This fire left her feeling dizzy and disoriented.
This feeling was very strange.
Hmm.
She felt like doing something.
Weird.
Xiao Heng stared at her intently, taking in her dazed and desiring expression. With a hint of seduction and hoarseness, he told her, "Alright, when you come back, I'll let you watch. But remember, only if you come back safely. If you're missing a single hair... I'll put on an extra layer of clothing."
Gu Jiao stood there in silence for a few seconds, then without another word, she opened the cabinet and took out the padded armor that Old He from the martial arts arena had given her.
Originally, she thought it was ugly and didn't want to wear it.
After that, Gu Jiao retrieved various blades and concealed them all over her body—— two daggers at her waist, two stiletto blades hidden in her narrow sleeves, several silver needles tucked in her hair bun, knife blades in the soles of her shoes, and even a tiny hidden weapon beneath her tongue.
Xiao Heng: ...That’s a bit too much.
Gu Jiao departed fully armed!
Her red-tasseled spear looked a bit conspicuous, so Xiao Heng used a cloth to wrap it up.
Xiao Heng kept watching her until she disappeared from Bishui Alley, completely vanishing into the endless night. He stood still in his tracks, lost in thought for a long while.
……
It was late at night, and the lights in countless households gradually dimmed, plunging the capital into the tranquility of the late night.
However, the patrolling imperial guards on the streets and alleys continued without stopping. They moved with stealth, trying not to disturb the people along their path.
Gu Chengfeng had reached the northern city gate right under the noses of the city's imperial guards.
The city gate had long been closed, but as the legitimate son of the Gu Family, he knew of a secret passage near the northern city gate, which was typically guarded by two to four guards taking shifts.
Because it was concealed, not many knew of it, so the guards stationed there weren't necessarily formidable experts.
Gu Chengfeng could easily pass through alone, but the key was that he had a horse with him...
Gu Chengfeng glanced at the horse behind him, and the horse glanced back at him.
Man and horse stared at each other. "..."
For a moment, Gu Chengfeng even regretted stealing his father's horse. As good as the horse was, taking it out might not be ideal.
Well, he had come this far, and abandoning the horse was a waste, especially considering that a horse with such exceptional qualities would be hard to find in the relay stations.
If he were to break out… There was a large group of imperial guards just nearby.
In the end, Gu Chengfeng had to close his eyes and grit his teeth, "Forgive me, father, but I can only trouble you."
Half an hour later, Gu Chengfeng, wearing a bamboo hat, rode Marquis Gu's prized horse and held Marquis Gu's personal token as he appeared in front of the secret passage.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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