The palace. Within the Jing King's room.
Su Yuwan lazily leaned against the soft couch. In front of her was a block of ice.
As the chief concubine, Gu Zixian sat at the side, his hands still flipping through his battle tactics. The two of them could be considered to be in harmony.
Duan Chengxuan frowned as he read the letter in his hands. With a deep voice, he asked Cheng Shan, "With how oppressing Gu Sheng is, isn't he afraid of the Third Prince's counterattack?"
"Lord Gu Sheng said that the Third Prince has always been a coward. If he doesn't get the initiative now, then he won't have such a good opportunity in the future." Cheng Shan explained in a low voice.
Duan Cheng Xuan had no choice but to temporarily hand over the matters of the Imperial Court to Gu Sheng. No matter what, Gu Sheng was the Prime Minister, so his words were of sufficient weight. Thinking that the person behind him was Gu Cheng, he felt at ease.
"Did you wash all the silver?" Duan Cheng Xuan continued to ask.
"I've already done it. Aizi is just a vile person after all. He thought that you had the chance to wash the king's silver, so he eagerly went to wash the silver for you. I'm afraid even the people from Jiang Yan's side don't know that she's actually loyal to you." There was still disdain in Cheng Shan's words when he spoke up to this point.
"If that's the case, then I'm relieved. I'll write to Gu Sheng and tell him not to continue being so flamboyant. Otherwise, I'll have to properly settle old scores regarding his father." Cheng Shan lowered his head and hurriedly went to do what he was told.
After Cheng Shan left, Gu Zixian had already calculated the time to walk over and place a bowl of green bean soup in front of Duan Chengxuan. He said gently, "Father always does things in such a manner. I hope that Prince does not blame me."
Looking at Gu Zixian, Duan Chengxuan couldn't help himself from thinking of Gu Mingyan. His voice also became gentler as he said, "But your father is always so reckless, persuading me."
"Naturally. Prince, please calm down first." Gu Zixian took advantage of the fire to forge the iron.
Seeing Duan Chengxuan drink that bowl of green bean soup, Su Yuwan, who was on the soft couch, narrowed her eyes and stared at Gu Zixian's back view. She had forgotten how Gu Zixian hated Gu Danyan, but in the end, he was still Gu Danyan's younger sister.
Even though they were similar in appearance, in Duan Cheng Xuan's eyes, they were related by blood.
It was as if Duan Chengxuan had never been gentle to Gu Pingyan and had returned it to Gu Zixian, making her clench her teeth in anger.
However, even though Duan Chengxuan had so much faith in Gu Cheng's ability, he still couldn't defeat Gu Cheng's nightmare.
Within Sky Flame City, in the secret backyard of the Prime Minister's Estate.
Gu Cheng looked at the woman in the painting, the hatred in his eyes deepening.
"Yun Wan, how long are you going to pursue me?"
He mumbled to the painting. Throughout the years, he had dreamt countless times that Yun Wan had turned into a monster to take her life. Now, there seemed to be a pair of eyes staring at him from the shadows, just like how Yun Wan had stared into his eyes before.
But very quickly, the venom in their eyes turned into endless desire and ambition, "In this world, only you know the formula for immortality, and only you … If you can fulfill my wish, why would I give you up to the Emperor? "
Gu Cheng heard everything from Gu Sheng at the door.
Gu Sheng listened expressionlessly to Gu Cheng's desire for immortality and his madness, yet his heart was ice-cold. It was Gu Cheng who had given him everything he had now, but at the same time, Gu Cheng also wanted to own everything.
In order to live forever, Gu Cheng could have the golden cicada leave its shell, and he could even wait for the day when Yun Qi would truly come before him to take his life, allowing him to capture Yun Qi and obtain the medicinal formula. In the dark, a force was constantly investigating the Gu family.
Gu Sheng couldn't stop him, he could only push open the door. "Father, compared to waiting for those who are already dead, we should take a look at the situation before us."
Hearing Gu Sheng's words, Gu Cheng quieted down. When he turned around, his eyes were already clear, "What happened?"
"There's a message from King Jing, telling us not to be too flamboyant. The third prince is not as simple as he looks on the surface." Gu Sheng handed the letter over to Gu Cheng.
Gu Cheng glanced at it, then threw it back into Gu Sheng's hands, "Do as he says."
Gu Sheng could only leave with the letter. Before he had even walked out of the courtyard, he had already heard Gu Cheng mumbling to himself. He could only shake his head helplessly as he left, instructing the people beside him, "Father will be making a trip to the Shadow Mountain in a few days' time. All of you should watch out carefully."
After a while, Gu Sheng came back. "Remember, you must dig up Yun Wan's grave and send someone to investigate if she's dead or not. If father is determined, you guys must forcefully bring him back."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After a few days, the rain from the Heaven Flames still did not stop.
On the other hand, Gu Cheng brought his men to the Shadow Mountain. He had wanted to climb the mountain to take a look at Yun Wan's grave, but then he heard the delicate wails of a woman coming from the forest.
"Did you hear anything?" Gu Cheng asked the person beside him.
The timid ones nodded in agreement, but those bold ones followed Gu Sheng's warning and said, "Nothing. Maybe it's just the wind."
"Yes …"
"If you want it that much, then come and find me." A melodious female voice was heard from above.
Everyone raised their heads in panic as they saw a white figure fall down from the sky. A few of them cried out in alarm.
However, when he turned around, Gu Cheng was already nowhere to be seen. In the midst of the drizzling rain, it was still quiet.
Everyone hurriedly searched for him, but after an unknown period of time, Gu Cheng woke up in a patch of mud. The rain was hitting his face and body painfully, as he cursed out loud. Just as he stood up, he heard a familiar female voice within the forest.
"Mother, I've already given the secret recipe to Duke Jing …"
"Yan'Er …" Gu Cheng's heart skipped a beat, feeling goosebumps all over his body. But hearing the word secret recipe, he still took heavy steps towards the direction of the sound.
In the forest, he could only vaguely make out the slender outline of a woman.
"But he betrayed me, so I will definitely get the recipe back. How can I let him give it to that slut?" The girl seemed to be grabbing onto someone's hand as she walked forward step by step.
Hearing Gu Daiyan's voice, Gu Cheng still curiously walked up and lightly called out, "Yan'er …" "You're not dead …"
The woman in white seemed to be shocked as the mist beneath her feet spread out.
When she slowly turned her head around, her face astonishingly looked like Yun Dian's. Even her voice had suddenly turned into Yun Dian's angry voice, "I won't hand over the secret recipe of immortality to you, you aren't worthy!"
Gu Cheng trembled in fear. However, when he retreated a few steps, he tripped over something and fell to the ground. When he raised his head, all that was left was a layer of faint white fog.
When he sucked in a breath of cold air, Gu Cheng scrambled to his feet in an attempt to call out to him. However, an extremely familiar face suddenly appeared in front of him. A hoarse voice came from that person's throat, "You're not worthy …"
What followed was darkness.
Yun Wan, you finally delivered yourself to us! This was what Gu Cheng had thought before he fainted.
Immortality...