Coming Kingly Son-in-Law: Don't Provoke the First Daughter - Chapter 136

Chapter 136 The Assassination

Shen Qianshan helped Gu Qiang sit in the chair next to him. She glanced over the surroundings as if she was looking for something.

Not far away from them, there were some sparkling lights moving like fireflies. Some people were holding lanterns wandering in the woods.

Although the plum blossom season was yet to come, many people had already been attracted here for its fame.

“About your lost memory, I’ve discussed it with your brother and we hope you could get it back. If you agree, I will send people out of the capital to look for the medicine,” said Shen Qianshan.

Sitting still, Gu Qiang didn’t let out a sound. The flickering lights were drawing near; many people were strolling along the nearby lanes, whose voices echoed at her ear now and then.

She thought about it for a little while. There was indeed nothing in her mind like it was a deep well with no end. What was in there? What did she care?

Finally, she broke up the silence, “Yes, I want to take my memory back. But you can’t leave the capital.”

She must keep both her brother and Shen Qianshan by her side in the capital, or she would feel really insecure and helpless.

Shen Qianshan smiled, seeming to be happy with Gu Qiang’s reaction. But her worries were unnecessary, he was fully capable of protecting himself.

“Are you worried about me?” asked Shen Qianshan, he looked around, his voice was cold but gleeful.

“Yes,” answered Gu Qiang after a long pause.

At that moment, Shen Qianshan felt spring comes with all flowers blooming. Even though he was now sitting in the chilly wind, his heart was beating violently in his chest while Gu Qiang’s words kept echoing at his ears.

He did it! He once said that even though she had forgotten him, he would make her fall in love with him again. But the condition was that he had never changed his feelings for her.

It was getting colder, Shen Qianshan put his clothes around Gu Qiang’s shoulder. Gu Qiang found the smell of pear flowers on it very familiar, like many things would come back to her mind soon, her eyes dried.

The things she could find back might not all be good. But if there was a chance, she didn’t mind knowing how much feelings she had had for Shen Qianshan.

Clever as Gusu Liang and Jin Ye, they were now standing away from them, with no attempt to disturb the reunion of this couple. It had taken Jin Ye a long time to learn this lesson.

Nobody was talking in this beautiful moonlit night; the world now fell into silence.

Suddenly, something ripped across the air before they realized what that was. A long and thin arrow cut through the crack between them and stuck into the pillar behind.

The pavilion had been standing here for years, with the traces of time left the wood used to make it. The arrow cut very deep. Gu Qiang could imagine how things would be like had it not missed the target.

Someone was watching them?

Shen Qianshan quickly carried Gu Qiang away and flung down to the ground under the chairs, covering her with his body. The inner wall of the pavilion could protect them from the arrows.

But lying down there, Gu Qiang felt she was shrouded in the smell of Shen Qianshan completely.

She could hear his heart beating like thunder, the sound of which was so clear in this narrow space.

Was he afraid?

“Stay here and don’t move. It’s not easy to get out of here as they are in the dark while we are exposed. I need to think of a way to help you out,” said Shen Qianshan. Then he gave out a whistle and something started to scuffle around. She frowned and found that the light on the pavilion went out.

Shen Qianshan crawled for some distance, still holding her firmly in his arms. Now they were kind of glued to each other and Gu Qiang could feel his strong arms. He was panting heavily, but it seemed like he was trying to suppress something instead of feeling tired with Gu Qiang’s weight on him.

The next minute, Shen Qianshan took Gu Qiang up and jumped, and then he threw her away. Before she could let out a sound, she found herself landing in another man’s arms, whose face was indiscernible. There were many people around, rushing away like they had received some kind of order.

Gu Qiang felt very safe. Around midnight, the man carrying her arrived at the top of Xiaoyao Mountain, only by then did she realize that he was none other but Su Ge, who had never grown fond of her.

Su Ge left immediately after putting her down in the main hall as if he didn’t want to let her know that he found her quite a weight to carry.

Shen Qianshan came in, looking quite worn out by his journey. He walked straight toward Gu Qiang, sized her up, and then took his seat after making sure Gu Qiang remained intact.

“You must be scared. I will never take you to these desolated places again,” said Shen Qianshan.

How could he make such a stupid mistake? He knew there were many people in the dark wishing to kill him and take Gu Qiang away.

Hadn’t he learned enough lessons from the time he spent in the capital?

“It’s fine, we are safely back here anyway,” smiled Gu Qiang, trying to comfort him.

After so many times’ visits to Xiaoyao Mountain, she found this place very familiar.

Gusu Liang walked in, dragging a pale-looking woman in her hand; her face was hidden under her dirty tussled hair.

Gu Qiang immediately recognized who she was judging from her clothes and shape.

Shen Qianshan found her a bit strange, but he only compressed his lips, saying nothing.

Lifting her up, Gusu Liang kicked her in the waist. The woman suddenly fell onto the ground and cried out, looking in great pain.

“My lady, she was the one who tried to assassinate you in the backyard when the duke was in sickness. As you are here, do you want to interrogate her?” asked Gusu Liang.

Gu Qiang nodded. “What’s your name?” she asked the woman.

Totally strained out, the woman tried so hard to raise her eyes, and then froze up when her eyes met Gu Qiang’s as if she was shocked. Then she let out a mocking smile, thinking of herself as a big joke.

“Nobody has ever asked my name before, you can call me Gu Qiang,” answered the woman, smiling. Clearly, she was doing it on purpose; she knew what the consequences were.

But Gu Qiang didn’t get crossed as she had expected. On the contrary, she burst into laughter when Gusu Liang and Shen Qianshan were burning with anger.

“That’s a good name, as you look quite like her. Why don’t you just take her place?” said Gu Qiang.

The woman didn’t know how to respond. She thought her words would make Gu Qiang scared, letting her know that she was not a pushover. Who would have known that she was so good at turning other’s tricks for her own use?

Gu Qiang continued, “As you are the only one that wanted to be Gu Qiang, I must not miss this chance. Let me send you to the Prime Minister’s Mansion so that you can marry that rich guy from the south.”

Not knowing what she was saying, Shen Qianshan turned to her, “What do you mean by this? Is the Gu Family planning to marry you to someone?” he asked in a clear voice.

At Shen Zhongbai’s wedding, Shen Qianshan had deliberately flirted with Gu Qiang to let others know that this was his woman. The Gu Family should have respected him.

But now they still wanted to marry her to someone else? Qiang would be another man’s wife if he still didn’t take any action.

Knowing what Shen Qianshan was angry about, Gu Qiang added, “Yes, he is a young man from Ye’s family, and they say he is quite rich. But how can you expect Ye’s relative to be nice? They were only trying to kick me out as soon as possible.”

If it was Ye’s plan, she must have wanted to prey on Gu Qiang. How could Shen Qianshan allow that to happen?

The woman was still kneeling, looking at Gu Qiang. Life was so unpredictable. How could people with similar faces end up in completely different scenarios? Why could Gu Qiang be able to win all men’s hearts from the rich southerner to the Ninth Duke and even the Third Prince, while she couldn’t even be enough to become her shadow?

Gu Qiang turned to ask her again, “Who are you serving for? Now that you are under arrest, you can’t escape. I sincerely recommend you to confess everything, or I would kill you directly.”

“I am Murong Shu,” replied the woman in a soft voice, finding it no use in keeping Shen Qiangwei’s secret anymore, as she would definitely kill her for her failure. Tell them everything. There were not many loyal people in this world.

“So you are serving the lady in the Third Prince’s Mansion?” asked Gusu Liang, standing aside and frowning.

“You know me?” replied Murong Shu with a sardonic grin.

“I know more than that. What she had been doing has never escaped our eyes. She is indeed a beautiful woman, but not smart enough. What a pity,” said Gusu Liang slowly.

“Hadn’t she been born with a similar face to Gu Qiang’s, she wouldn’t have got her place,” Murong Shu said, her eyes flickered. In fact, she was the one that looked more like Gu Qiang. But she was hidden by Shen Qiangwei to serve her in the dark.

Back then, Murong Shu was still a naive girl, not knowing why Shen Qiangwei had sent her to learn martial arts. She thought the wife for a prince was as far as what a prostitute could go. She had even taken Shen Qiangwei as her greatest benefactor as it was her who saved her from the brothel.

As time went by, Murong Shu gradually understood that she was fully capable to climb higher with her face and win more love from Shen Zhongbai.

Shen Qiangwei gave her a second life, and then ruined it.

Although she had always been a hard-working person, she couldn’t help feeling aggrieved sometimes, and the wrap kept heaping up. She didn’t notice that her trust for Shen Qiangwei had already disappeared after numerous times of jealousy and resentment against her.