CH 143

Villainous Fake Eunuch (20)

Gu Ruyu tightened her grip around Song Xu Yi’s arm without saying a word.

Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but lower her head and dare not look at Gu Ruyu’s face. After all, given Gu Ruyu’s intelligence, she must know that Song Xu Yi had informed the court about their whereabouts.

Thinking back carefully, the experience of the past two months was like a dream. Song Xu Yi never thought that the relationship between her and Gu Ruyu would develop into this strange friendship where they were neither friends nor enemies. She never imagined that Gu Ruyu would risk her life to save her.

However, the arrival of the court envoy shattered all the false peace – Song Xu Yi and Gu Ruyu belonged to two completely different camps.

Almost as soon as the envoy finished speaking, Gu Ruyu’s entire demeanor changed, like a dangerous curved blade suddenly unsheathed. Gu Ruyu narrowed her eyes and looked at the envoys with a cold and chilling voice, once again.

“Ah, you all came just in time!”

“The Third Prince was wandering in the mountains with no money, and the Princess almost got buried in mud and rocks. I had to cross-dress to avoid the pursuers…”

Gu Ruyu’s voice concealed obvious displeasure. She recounted the experiences of the three of them during this time, and the envoys remembered the cruel methods of this chief Eunuch in the past. Even if they had doubts in their hearts, they dared not ponder deeply and could only kneel down with their heads lowered, unable to look directly at the frosty-faced adult.

Gu Ruyu calmly picked up some soil from the ground and smeared it on her face to cover the female features that were apparent at the moment. Even though she looked disheveled and her eyes had lost their luster, she still maintained her composure and carried an imposing manner befitting a superior.

“It’s time to go back!”

Gu Ruyu slowly stood up from the ground and walked towards the somewhat bewildered Zheng Lian and Zhao Qin, bowing slightly in a seemingly humble but cold manner. “This servant, Gu Ruyu, respectfully welcomes the Third Prince back to the palace.”

The envoy’s carriage was parked outside the forest, and since they had already found the Third Prince, Gu Ruyu presented the evidence of the aristocratic families’ exploitation of the people and their disregard for human life. The envoys immediately wrote a letter and returned to the Imperial Palace.

Song Xu Yi looked at the envoys’ fast horses sending the letter with mixed feelings, but she had no position to stop them.

The Emperor had become more and more stubborn and selfish over the years, and Song Xu Yi could almost predict that after receiving the evidence, the arrogant Emperor would definitely be furious and, under the instigation of some people with malicious intentions, would launch an invasion of Jiangnan regardless of external threats.

The more chaotic the domestic situation became, the more advantageous it would be for Gu Ruyu.

As the grand mansion collapsed helplessly, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but feel a sense of powerlessness – time was too short. Even though she wanted to stop Gu Ruyu’s plan, she simply didn’t have the ability to do so in such a short time, and the chances of helping Zheng Lian recover her memory seemed bleak.

The Emperor’s orders became more urgent one after another. At this time, the officials and soldiers in the Jiangnan region were still searching for Gu Ruyu. In order to escape Jiangnan as much as possible, the envoys decided to split into two groups: Zheng Lian and Gu Ruyu would take the fast route back to the capital for treatment, while Song Xu Yi and Zhao Qin would form another group following behind.

At Zheng Lian’s insistence, the envoys took Zhao Qin with them to the capital. It was unclear what Zheng Lian had said to Zhao Qin, but Zhao Qin, who had originally been reluctant to go to the capital, changed her mind and got on Song Xu Yi’s carriage with an anxious expression.

Not long after the Emperor’s envoys appeared, Gu Ruyu’s subordinates appeared among the group like ghosts.

Perhaps fearing that Song Xu Yi would try to escape again, Gu Ruyu left most of her subordinates to guard around Song Xu Yi’s carriage. The two groups went their separate ways. Song Xu Yi had originally wanted to check on Gu Ruyu’s injuries, but unfortunately, she coincidentally stumbled upon Gu Ruyu in a meeting. Even though Gu Ruyu was now blind and couldn’t see, everyone still trembled in fear and remained silent in front of her.

Song Xu Yi looked at Gu Ruyu, who appeared both familiar and unfamiliar, and swallowed the words of advice that had reached her lips. She quickly inquired about Gu Ruyu’s condition with little concern.

Soon after, the group began to split up.

Zhao Qin looked forlornly at Zheng Lian’s carriage, which was gradually getting farther away. When she looked at Song Xu Yi, her eyes gradually grew resolute. “Princess, can you teach me how to read?”

Song Xu Yi had always felt guilty towards Zhao Qin. According to the original storyline, Zhao Qin was supposed to develop a deeper relationship with Zheng Lian before parting ways. However, Song Xu Yi had accelerated this process in order to equip Zhao Qin with more life-saving skills in the future wars. Therefore, Song Xu Yi decided to not only teach Zhao Qin how to read, but also impart some knowledge of military strategy and defense skills.

Zhao Qin was extremely intelligent and understood that what Song Xu Yi was teaching her were all means of survival. She studied diligently, as Song Xu Yi was willing to teach and she was eager to learn. Time quickly passed by.

Song Xu Yi never expected that Gu Ruyu would leave her a letter.

In the evening, Gu Ruyu’s subordinates knocked respectfully on Song Xu Yi’s door and placed a letter on her desk. Curious, Song Xu Yi opened the letter and found only a few simple words inside: “As the Princess wishes.”

Song Xu Yi didn’t understand the meaning behind Gu Ruyu’s words: did she mean to rest well as she had instructed, or did she refer to something else?

After pondering for a while, Song Xu Yi couldn’t figure it out and didn’t think about it again, placing the letter aside.

However, in the following days, Song Xu Yi realized belatedly that Gu Ruyu’s subordinates had begun to stare at her with strange expressions, as if they were expecting something from her…

However, without Gu Ruyu by her side, even if her subordinates committed a mistake, she could not plead with her. When she tried to ask about it, the group of people evaded the question and wouldn’t give her a straight answer. Song Xu Yi didn’t want to push it further, so she focused on teaching Zhao Qin and gave her the military tactics she had written earlier to pass on to Zheng Lian when the time came.

The system could sense something from the reactions of Song Xu Yi’s subordinates, but it didn’t want to give the villain any advantage. Whenever those subordinates appeared, the system would often make a joke or use some other means to divert Song Xu Yi’s attention.

Before long, Zhao Qin learned the basics of writing. When she heard that she could send a letter to Zheng Lian, she eagerly began to write, her eyes shining brightly.

With Song Xu Yi’s guidance, Zhao Qin finished the letter and handed it to her subordinates. At this point, one of them couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Song, aren’t you going to write a letter to Lord Gu?”

Seeing Song Xu Yi’s stunned expression, the subordinate coughed and continued, “Recently, Lord Gu’s eyesight has worsened, and his appetite has been affected.”

Song Xu Yi pursed her lips, originally not intending to write a letter to Gu Ruyu because she didn’t know what to say. But upon hearing her subordinates speak of how stubborn Gu Ruyu was and how she likely wouldn’t listen to them, Song Xu Yi remembered that Gu Ruyu was injured because of her. After much thought, she decided to write a short letter.

“Take care of yourself, cooperate with the doctor’s treatment…”

Song Xu Yi only wrote a few words, but her subordinates treasured it as if it were a precious gem. They happily took Song Xu Yi’s letter and rushed to deliver it.

With this opening, whenever Zhao Qin wrote a letter to Zheng Lian, Song Xu Yi could always hear news about Gu Ruyu from her subordinates. They would talk about how Gu Ruyu often suffered from headaches, how her eyes hadn’t healed in a long time, and how she was restless because of it. They even mentioned how she had trouble sleeping. After thinking about it, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but also send a letter to Gu Ruyu.

Time flew by, and Gu Ruyu and Zheng Lian’s team traveled quickly on the expressway, and soon returned to the capital city.

As predicted by Song Xu Yi, the worst-case scenario had come to pass: with the loss of his memory, Zheng Lian was powerless to resist Gu Ruyu’s orders. Gu Ruyu had not yet returned to the capital when Song Xu Yi heard the news that the Emperor had decided to send troops to eliminate the Jiangnan gentry.

The people of He Gou had long been living in dire straits, and this news was like a fuse that ignited their anger. Before the Emperor’s troops even reached Jiangnan, urgent reports of uprisings throughout He Gou had reached the capital: bandits were wreaking havoc in various places.

Everyone understood that these so-called bandits were just ordinary people who had been forced to rebel for the sake of their livelihoods, but no one had the courage to confront the Emperor directly.

The Emperor was infuriated by these reports and his health was deteriorating rapidly. He increasingly relied on the miraculous medicine provided by Gu Ruyu. Although Gu Ruyu herself had been staying at a hot spring villa outside the city to recuperate from her eye problems, it was clear to everyone that the Emperor valued her highly. At this time, Gu Ruyu and her supporters were becoming more and more influential at court.

When Song Xu Yi returned to the capital half a month later, He Gou had fallen into a state of internal and external turmoil. The gentry had begun to organize their own armies and ambushed the troops sent by the Emperor. Unrest was spreading throughout the country, and foreign invaders were also starting to make their move along the borders…

As it was recorded in the original synopsis, Zheng Lian regained his memory under the treatment of the Imperial Doctor after returning to the capital. However, before he had a chance to gather his power and gain influence in the court, the Emperor issued an order to send him to the frontier to lead the army.

At the same time, perhaps upon hearing the news that Zheng Lian had developed feelings for a lowly tea-picker, the Emperor did not want him to marry Zhao Qin. Just as Song Xu Yi and her companions arrived near the capital, a secret edict was quietly handed to Song Xu Yi, ordering her to accompany Zheng Lian to the border in two days.

Song Xu Yi never imagined that the Emperor would have such thoughts of matching her and Zheng Lian together. However, she had no choice but to accept the imperial edict. Thinking that she could bring Zhao Qin with her to the border and help Zheng Lian avoid the tragic ending of the original story with modern methods, Song Xu Yi accepted the order.

She did not notice the strange looks from the followers of Gu Ruyu along the way.

After a long journey by boat and carriage, Song Xu Yi spent the night at an inn to pack her luggage. In the middle of the night, the system suddenly shouted out: “Xu Yi, a group of people have sneaked into your room!”

Song Xu Yi quickly got up and was about to escape through the back door, accompanied by the piercing screams of the system warning her that “they are coming.” Suddenly, a strange fragrance filled the air.

Her vision went black, and Song Xu Yi collapsed weakly to the ground…

When Song Xu Yi woke up again, her surroundings were filled with steaming water vapor.

She was lying on a warm jade bed, with the smell of sulfur in the air. In front of her was a semi-transparent screen, and she had already been dressed in garments made of light gauze.

Realizing that she must have been brought to a hot spring pool, Song Xu Yi began to speculate about the situation in her heart.

“The shameless villain!” The system’s cursing voice in her mind further confirmed Song Xu Yi’s suspicion.

Song Xu Yi didn’t believe that Gu Ruyu would harm her. She stood up, frowned, and heard the sound of water from the other side of the screen. Then, a stunning figure slowly appeared on the semi-transparent screen.

Realizing what it was, Song Xu Yi blushed and closed her eyes:

Gu Ruyu… Why did she abduct her here? What does she want to do?!

The author has something to say:

Song Xu Yi, what do you think she wants to do?