“When you had a high fever yesterday, your brother hurriedly left the capital while the man you needed the most, Shen Qianshan, was staying with me. Aren’t these enough for you to care about?” The woman showed a faint smile on her delicate face.

There were many kinds of beautiful women in the world, some born to be pretty, some having an elegant temperament. This woman was the delicate type. However, the delicacy she had seemed to be built with high-end cosmetics and clothes as if she wasn’t born to be very beautiful and tried to use these things to make it up.

Such an ugly, narrow-minded person tried to compare herself to Gu Qiang? She even spent so much effort coming to meet her. Gu Qiang only found this strange woman hilarious.

As for the man who disappeared suddenly, the so-called man of hers, Gu Qiang felt even funnier about him. What was he? He told her he was her man but then abandoned her to meet another woman when she needed him the most.

Gu Qiang didn’t see any point in caring about him anymore. A man who broke a person’s heart didn’t deserve her attention, and she didn’t want to say anything in the position of his woman. Gu Qiang was not a fool. She knew those words must be heartbroken for her old self and maybe even for her current self, so she chose not to listen to them.

“Does it have anything to do with you? Besides, the things or people you like won’t be liked by everyone else. Don’t force your preference on other people.” Gu Qiang gave her a smile back. She had a strong feeling that she had seen an annoying smile like that before. Otherwise, why did she feel so disgusted right now? Watching her expression, Gu Qiang wished she could rush up to punch her face. Now she suddenly understood why that man told her that she would want to learn martial arts. At least right now, she could make good use of it instead of wasting her time on this woman.

The woman dropped her jaw in shock. She expected Gu Qiang to be pissed off but not this reaction. It was as Gu Qiang said, people didn’t necessarily care about what she cherished.

Before she had time to speak, Shen Qianshan walked in through the door. He was stunned seeing the woman, and then he said coldly, “Su Shuangning, why are you here?”

Su Shuangning? It was a good name that matched well with her appearance.

“So, this is the woman you love. I’m disappointed. I’ve known you since we were kids, and you always say you are not interested in women. I know it now. You are just not interested in me, right?” Su Shuangning said while laughing as if it was a joke.

However, there was a clear trace of sadness in her eyes. It was clear that she was just faking a smile.

She hoped both Gu Qiang and Shen Qianshan could deny it, which could make her feel a bit better at least. However, no one spoke.

The silence made her more embarrassed as she smacked her lips. Shen Qianshan’s voice was still cold, “Go back immediately. Stop acting like an idiot here.”

“What did you say?” Su Shuangning pulled a long face. Clearly, she should be someone quite important. Even Shen Qianshan had to show respect to her.

Who did she think she was? A person as important as the emperor?

“I said go back immediately. Can’t you understand?” Shen Qianshan had lost his patience.

Su Shuangning chuckled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, “Let me remind you. If you don’t want those things to be exposed, you have to obey me.”

Shen Qianshan turned his head and looked at this woman in silence. She was a noble lady, but she lowered herself to such a position and acted stupidly like an entertainer.

He let out a deep sigh. Gu Qiang didn’t know he was sighing for his weakness or her power. Then he said to Su Shuangning, “Then what’s your purpose? If your purpose is me, you achieved it already, didn’t you?”

“Of course not! You know, what I want is not you simply staying with me. I want everything from you, your body… and your heart.” Su Shuangning clung to Shen Qianshan’s arms like a snake. Shen Qianshan looked at her coldly, suppressing the feeling of nausea in his heart. It felt like he had feces stains on his clothes that he couldn’t get rid of.

Gu Qiang frowned at these two, who were acting so intimately in front of her. Were they trying to laugh at her or provoke her?

She probably was born to be like this, having no tolerance when people talked nonsense about her. If these two people had a good relationship, they could just make out somewhere she couldn’t see instead of behaving like this in front of her. Although Gu Qiang didn’t remember anything about Shen Qianshan, she could still tell that they did it on purpose.

“My house is too shabby for your great acting. Sorry, I don’t have time to watch your drama now.” Gu Qiang turned around and left immediately, which made Su Shuangning overjoyed. Su Shuangning thought she won this time by possessing this man and irritating Gu Qiang!

Since she achieved her goal, Su Shuangning also left immediately with no hesitation.

Irritated by her straightforward attitude, Shen Qianshan gnashed his teeth but didn’t chase after her. After all, he had something important to say to Gu Qiang today.

Gu Qiang’s house was humid because of the rain overnight. When he stepped into the room, Ting Feng was making a fire with Fu Ling to dry the room up.

When the two maids saw Shen Qianshan, both of them lowered their heads. There was no disgust in their eyes, but the looks on their faces were certainly not friendly.

They didn’t need to show any kindness to a man who broke their master’s heart.

When Shen Qianshan walked into the inner room, Gu Qiang was lying on her bed, eating some fruit quietly. She had always liked eating fruits. Then he took out something from his pocket at his chest and passed it to Gu Qiang seriously. Gu Qiang turned her head and saw a thick book. It looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall anything.

“Why didn’t you leave?” Gu Qiang sat up and put on a stern look. She didn’t want to show her relaxed self in front of Shen Qianshan anymore. All they could do right now was mutual suspicion. It was all because of Gu Qiang’s obsession and stubbornness.

“You asked me to help you keep this notebook. You’ve recorded important things in it, including instruction for yourself about how to use a mysterious diary,” Shen Qianshan said cautiously in a polite manner, sitting opposite to Gu Qiang. He was trying to make Gu Qiang feel better by flattering her.

But it was meaningless. Gu Qiang was not a child who only wanted some attention.

“Put it down, and then you can leave. I’ve thought about it. Since I don’t remember anything now, you can choose to start over your life, and I will try my best to reach my goal. It’s the best way for both of us. Goodbye.” Gu Qiang turned her face to the window. The autumn flowers were blooming beautifully. Her mind was as calm as a lake as if it was not a sad farewell.

She didn’t know if she would feel sad about it when she still had her memories. But now, she felt kind of relieved.

Or to be more precise, it was more like a sick pleasure of punishing him and watching him suffer. She knew she didn’t need to be so cold-hearted.

Shen Qianshan opened his mouth but didn’t utter a word. He put everything down on the table and left.

When Fu Ling came in, she ran into Shen Qianshan, who was leaving. She curled her lips up subconsciously as she smelled a pleasing fragrance from him, like the smell of grass after rain. This man was on her master’s list of primary focus, so everyone from the Yaomeng Pavilion knew a lot about him.

Feeling her bold gaze, Shen Qianshan turned around and looked into Fu Ling’s eyes. However, she seemed to be prepared for this moment, quickly lowered her head, and stared at the lady’s lunch in her hands.

Ting Feng sat up in the outer room and said to Shen Qianshan, “My lord, are you leaving? See you next time.”

Ting Feng was a brilliant girl who had a clear idea about Shen Qianshan and her master’s relationship. The words her master said were very hurtful, but she still thought of this as an ordinary argument between a couple, believing that they would get back together eventually.

Su Shuangning, the woman who showed up earlier, looked like a noble lady. Having this kind of woman as a competitor meant Shen Qianshan was an excellent man.

Ting Feng still remembered the old days when Shen Qianshan pampered Gu Qiang, and she believed he must’ve got into some trouble being involved with that woman.

“Who is that woman who just entered your master’s room?” Shen Qianshan lowered his voice and asked Ting Feng.

Ting Feng froze for a second and then smiled, “The lady just brought her back as her private maid. You know, the lady can’t remember anything right now. She probably saw this girl and thought she was smart, so she took her in. As servants, we can’t say anything about it.”

Instead of being jealous, Ting Feng felt more worried and annoyed. Her master’s careless attitude irritated her. With so many people having evil intentions in the capital, the lady just brought back a girl coming out of nowhere simply because she liked her looks.

Gu Qiang had been pretty self-willed before, but it was the first time that she went this far.

Even Shen Qianshan could tell that the new maid didn’t hold any good intentions. However, what could a maid do? Ting Feng had grown up in the Prime Minister Mansion, and she had the confidence to deal with anyone who wanted to cause trouble to her master.

She nodded, and Shen Qianshan continued, “The book I gave to your master is confidential. You can’t let anyone read it, especially that new maid.”

After finishing his words, he jumped up and disappeared into the sky. Ting Feng bit her lips. She still held a lot of respect for Shen Qianshan and was willing to trust his words. It was none of her business, but she would do anything for her master’s peace and happiness.

Fu Ling put the food down on the table, looked at the book curiously, and giggled, “Is this the farewell gift from the Ninth Duke?”

“Nonsense! Get out first!” Gu Qiang pulled a long face as her eyes darkened.

Annoyed by her indifferent and hostile attitude, Fu Ling stood up and said in a weird tone, “Gu Qiang, do you really think you are my master’s wife? Let me tell you, Master said the exact same thing to every woman he likes. You are no different than all the other women in the Yaomeng Pavilion.” Suddenly, she reached out her hand, trying to grab the notebook. Gu Qiang was startled and yelled at her immediately, “Are you overthinking things? When did I say I want to be your goddamn master’s wife? Your master is the crazy one who forces a woman to be his wife! Did someone ever ask if I agree?” Gu Qiang observed Fu Ling’s expression and understood the situation now – this woman wanted to be her master’s wife too. Like she said, every woman who joined the Yaomeng Pavilion all wanted to become that man’s wife.

Gu Qiang just didn’t understand why a pure and simple girl like Fu Ling suddenly became so unreasonable and rude.