Gu Qiang struggled out of his arms and said, “What do you want? Why did you bring me here?”

This man had a distinctive face that could be easily remembered. Gu Qiang was sure that she had never met him before, but he acted as if he knew everything about her. Gu Qiang felt the urge to know his identity and what he wanted from her.

She looked at his beautiful face that was bathed in the sunlight after the rain. His fluffy, long eyelashes fluttered as those amber-like eyes gazed at her deeply. He had a charm that no woman could resist.

“You are born to be a talent of martial arts. Do you want to give it a try?” The man gave her a stunning smile, looking even more beautiful than many women. Gu Qiang shook her head blankly and said to him, “I don’t want to try anything. I don’t want to stay here. I still have many things to do. Can you let me go?”

Gu Qiang was clearly begging him, but her tone wasn’t soft at all, even with a trace of aggression. She wasn’t willing to lower herself even when she was asking for a favor – this was the exact kind of woman he wanted.

“You will like it. Your mother was murdered when you were a child. Your father was aware of it but chose to do nothing; your older brother also knew about it and then chose to leave. At that time, your brother didn’t take you with him because he wasn’t able to raise you up and protect you. However, your current power has been beyond his expectation. You have become an Infanta through your own hard work and have earned the Ninth Duke’s heart, who likes you and is willing to protect you.”

The man slowly told her the story of her life as if he witnessed everything. Hearing his words, Gu Qiang’s body started to shiver uncontrollably. There was no way for her to confirm the authenticity of his story because she had forgotten everything. If it was true, she sounded quite pathetic, living in a big family, under someone else’s thumb.

She curled up her lips bitterly, which surprised the man. He had never seen someone who could laugh about her tragic past. This girl was not as poor and pathetic as he expected.

“Why do you smile? Your life is not as noble as it looks, but life will be a bit easier if you learn martial arts. You know, sometimes violence is a better solution, isn’t it?” he added.

He kept trying to convince Gu Qiang to learn martial arts, but what was his reason? No one would help someone only because they had a miserable life. Gu Qiang didn’t believe in this kind of unconditional kindness. Moreover, since she had already become an Infanta, her life couldn’t be too bad. Maybe this man was just meddling with her.

“What do you want from me? You can just tell me directly as long as I can afford it. You know I’m not interested in wasting my time on meaningless talks.” Gu Qiang pulled a long face, not even touched by his words. The man found it quite annoying, feeling his mind was read by her as if his authority was challenged.

“I have been looking for an intelligent and competent woman to be my wife. Do you think you can fit the position?” The man’s tone was unusually confident, and then Gu Qiang asked, “Why do you think I will agree to be your wife?”

Gu Qiang found his over-confidence ridiculous, but this implied he had some unimaginable power.

As for his power, it must be related to martial arts since he thought highly of violence. Gu Qiang felt he acted a bit too assertive, yet she had no idea of the benefits that violence could bring her.

“You need a power that makes everyone afraid of you, no matter it is intelligence or strength. You once were a clever girl. However, God has always been fair. He gives you something that others don’t have while taking something you are good at away from you. Your body is weak, but if you can walk down the path of martial arts, violence can help you achieve everything you want, even though you are not smart anymore.”

Gu Qiang chuckled. She knew she didn’t have a good life before losing her memories, but she couldn’t agree with this man either.

She smiled at him, “Can you just let me go? What should I do so that you will let me go?”

She admitted that she was a bit convinced by his words. His reasoning was very logical, which meant he was well prepared.

But why did he never talk to her before she lost her memories? The only possibility was that she would definitely reject him before. All she could do right now was to make the right choice and leave no regret for the future. Life wouldn’t always treat one kindly, and there was no such thing as rewriting history.

The man seemed to believe that Gu Qiang would accept his proposal firmly. He didn’t try to push her right now and said, “If you make up your mind, you can find me here anytime. I will teach you the most powerful martial arts, but in return, you have to marry me.”

What a peremptory condition! He was simply letting her choose between giving up everything for martial arts and living a miserable life without any chance to resist. It was a hard choice for Gu Qiang, but right now, the more important thing was leaving here first. She doubted if she could fully concentrate on studying something at her age, but still, that choice could be a way out for her in the future.

The man stood up and whistled to the outside. A young girl with a baby face showed up at the door and said beamingly, “Master, how can I help you?”

“Take Miss Gu to her home. You will be her private guard from now on,” said the man. Looking at the young girl, Gu Qiang had a trace of pleasure on her face. This one looked like a good kid, but dealing with Gu Qiang wouldn’t be an easy thing for her. Gu Qiang was aware that the man sent the girl to watch her in the name of her maid.

She packed her stuff and left the room. Finally, she had a full view of this place. It was a palace on a mountain, shrouded by mist after the rain, looking like a place where gods lived. Gu Qiang took a deep breath of the fresh air and felt much better.

When she just woke up, she could barely tolerate the pain from her body. But right now, the whole environment gave her a feeling of rebirth.

The young girl was a lively one. When she walked down with Gu Qiang, she asked in a low voice, “I never expected that Master would assign me a job like this. I’ve never dreamed about leaving the mountain before. Right, Miss Gu, my name is Fu Ling. I grew up here, and this is my first time leaving this place. Is the outside world fun?”

Gu Qiang felt younger when talking with such a naive girl, and her mood immediately got better.

She took Fu Ling to the capital and returned to the Prime Minister Mansion with her. However, the way Fu Ling acted was a bit strange. It didn’t seem like she was here for the first time. On the contrary, Fu Ling seemed familiar with everything in the city.

It was already noon. Old Lady Gu’s body had probably been moved out and buried already, but there were still many guests in the mansion. Although they were having lunch and drinking together, everyone lowered their voices to show respect. However, the buzz of chatting echoed in the place, bringing Gu Qiang a headache.

It seemed that no one found Gu Qiang missing. She quietly walked to her yard, feeling fortunate that everything in the Prime Minister Mansion was resolved by her absence. She didn’t have too many feelings for the Old Lady. Neither could she pretend it. She wished she could act like a filial granddaughter like Gu Zhihua, but she didn’t have the same ability of crying whenever she wanted.

Her yard was in a mess due to the heavy rain. Ting Feng and Chui Xue were cleaning it up with swollen and red eyes.

They suddenly saw their master and were overjoyed by her appearance. They rushed up to check Gu Qiang carefully as if their eyes could see everything through without her telling them about her health condition.

“My lady, where have you been? We were so worried after hearing about your disappearance from Liang. Are you still having a fever?” Ting Feng still looked calm, but Chui Xue immediately burst into tears.

Gu Qiang gave them a smile, pointed at Fu Ling behind her, and said in a flat tone, “This girl will live with you from now on. If you have anything you want to know or to learn, she can be your teacher.”

Ting Feng sized the strange girl up. Her appearance was not outstanding, but Ting Feng could tell from her decent clothes that she was from a wealthy family.

This kind of girl shouldn’t be a maid, but Ting Feng couldn’t say anything about it since it was the lady’s order. She nodded at her master and took Fu Ling to their room.

After Gu Qiang got changed and walked out, she saw a woman in white standing in her yard. Her elegant and fairylike aura matched perfectly with her white outfit. She was showing her back to Gu Qiang and looking at the pear tree in front of her. Gu Qiang couldn’t think of anyone else so suitable for the white color.

It was late autumn already, and the weather started to get cold. The green of the pear tree had faded away, replaced by bare branches and dried yellow leaves. Gu Qiang couldn’t help but wonder if this woman was being sentimental or just put on an act to make herself look graceful.

In either way, Gu Qiang wasn’t in a rush to walk up to her. She showed up in Gu Qiang’s yard, which meant she came for a reason. If so, Gu Qiang felt she should explain herself as soon as possible instead of wasting time on a tree. Gu Qiang was not interested in wasting her time and staring at a beautiful woman at all.

That woman kept the same position for a while, but no one came to welcome her. Ting Feng and Chui Xue even passed by her when they took Fu Ling to pick up her maid uniform but didn’t say anything, deliberately ignoring her.

What an awkward situation! She just wanted to show her dignity but ended up being totally ignored.

She had no choice but to pat her own clothes, turn around, and walk to the main room.

Gu Qiang was sitting in a chair having some tea. Her face was still pale due to her sickness, but fortunately, the medicine given by the strange man was pretty effective. After having it, she felt much more energetic than before.

The woman walked around the room, but Gu Qiang still didn’t have any reaction, as if the woman didn’t even exist. The stranger finally lost her patience and asked coldly, standing at the door, “What do you mean by this? You are not curious about me at all?”

Her voice was pleasing, soft, and sweet, which could easily make people feel a tender pity for her.

Compared to her voice, Gu Qiang’s was much colder and more indifferent, making it hard to tell what she was thinking.

“Why should I be curious about you?” Gu Qiang raised her eyes from the teacup and asked her without any expression. The scariest thing for a woman was that others didn’t show any interest in what she cared about.

And that was exactly how Gu Qiang treated her right now.

The woman’s face blushed in anger and embarrassment immediately. Since she was a child, she had been pampered by her family, and every girl was jealous of her life. Men queued up to catch her attention while women didn’t dare to offend her at all.

However, Gu Qiang was the first one who showed her disdain. But she believed it was because Gu Qiang didn’t know her. Once Gu Qiang knew about her, she would definitely feel jealous.