The Phoenix is Back - Chapter 196

Chapter 196 Name A Price
Eastern Palace.

“Your Highness, I’m back.” Before Gu Cheng could step into the room, his voice rang out.

Hearing the voice, Chu Yanzhi hurriedly stood up and said, “How is it? Did you find anything?”

Gu Cheng shook his head. “The Marquis of Loyalty has never been on fire.” With that, he knitted his eyebrows and said with an unhappy expression, “Your Highness, with all due respect, this Xiao Xiwei is simply lying to you! What kind of fire is she making up for you? If there really is that fire, why is she still alive? She doesn’t even have any injuries on her body.”

“No, she didn’t.” Chu Yanzhi frowned slightly, but his words were very certain.

When Xiao Xiwei said this, there was too much resentment in her eyes. Her eyes were clearly telling her that what she said was true. He even had a faint premonition that the person who set the fire had an inexplicable connection with him?

“Your Highness, but the information I found is that the Marquis of Loyalty has indeed not been on fire, and Xiao Xiwei has not been burned by the fire.” Gu Cheng said with a frown.

Chu Yanzhi did not say anything. He turned around and silently sat back on the chair.

His instincts told him that Xiao Xiwei was not lying.

However, why couldn’t they be found?

Seeing that Chu Yanzhi hadn’t spoken for a long time, Gu Cheng pursed his slightly dry lips and said tentatively, “Your Highness, about my sixth sister …”

Before Gu Cheng could finish his sentence, a sharp gaze swept towards him.

“What do you want to say?”

Gu Cheng was stunned, and when he touched Chu Yanzhi’s gaze, he silently swallowed the words at his lips.

Gu Cheng returned to his courtyard with a bit of frustration. When he passed the big locust tree in the front yard, he suddenly remembered that he had fallen from it when he was six years old. Sixth sister Gu Qingyou, who was only one year older than him, rushed over and caught him with both of her hands. He was fine, but Sixth Sister’s hands were forcefully fractured. He still clearly remembered Gu Qingyou clenching her teeth. Her face was pale with pain, but she still struggled to get up and ask him if he was hurt.

Thinking of this, an impulse surged in Gu Cheng’s heart. Immediately, he turned around and walked towards Gu Qingyou’s small building in the backyard.

Gu Qingyou’s small building was located on the south side of the Gu Manor. Not far from it was the Lotus Lake of the Gu Manor. However, it was winter now, and the Lotus Lake was covered in a thick layer of ice. No matter how one looked at it, it revealed a sad chill. It just so happened to coincide with Gu Qingyou’s current situation.

Unexpectedly, Gu Cheng had just arrived at the door when someone blocked his way.

“Young Master, you can’t go in.”

“Fuck off!” Gu Cheng’s face darkened as he reached out and pushed the man’s hand away.

“Young Master, this is Master’s order. No one is allowed to enter Miss’s boudoir without Master’s permission.” The attendant said perseveringly.

Gu Cheng raised his black eyebrows and punched the attendant’s nose with his fist. Then, he punched the attendant with his fist, causing his nose to become swollen and his face to be stained with blood. Only then did he stop glaring at the attendants guarding the door. He gritted his teeth and said, “Who dares to block Yours Truly’s path again? Don’t blame Yours Truly’s fist for not growing eyes.”

After being shouted at by Gu Cheng, coupled with such a bloody lesson from the past, the others immediately didn’t dare to harrumph.

Gu Cheng curled his lips and swaggered into Gu Qingyou’s courtyard.

“Sixth sister, sixth sister.” As soon as he entered the courtyard, he opened his mouth and shouted loudly.

There was no movement in the courtyard. Gu Cheng was suspicious. He hurriedly quickened his pace and walked towards Gu Qingyou’s bedroom. A few steps later, he saw the tightly closed door open. Ju Qing, the personal girl beside Gu Qingyou, walked out.

Seeing Gu Cheng, Ju Qing was first stunned, then ecstatic. “Seventh Young Master, why are you here? Quickly take a look at Miss.”

Hearing this, Gu Cheng’s expression changed. He quickened his pace and anxiously said, “What happened to my sixth sister? Are you alright?”

“Miss, she hasn’t eaten for three days.” Ju Qing said anxiously.

As they spoke, the two of them had already stepped into Gu Qingyou’s bedroom.

In the room, Gu Qingyou was leaning against the warm couch, her gaze quietly staring at the few bare plum branches in the white jade porcelain bottle on the table in front of her. A faint sky light gushed in from outside the window and cast itself on Gu Qingyou’s thin face, making her look even more dull.

Gu Cheng glanced at Gu Qingyou and felt a burst of sadness in his heart. He walked to Gu Qingyou’s side and squatted down. He held her hand in distress and said, “Sixth sister, are you alright?”

Gu Qingyou came back to her senses and saw Gu Cheng chuckle softly, “Cheng, why are you here?”

Gu Cheng frowned, “Sixth Sister, Ju Qing said you refused to eat.”

Gu Qingyou smiled and gently stroked Gu Cheng’s cheek. “Cheng, don’t worry about this.”

This was her own choice, and she didn’t want to involve him in it.

“Sixth sister, how can I not care about your affairs!” Gu Cheng rose to his feet, his brows furrowed as he stared down at Gu Qingyou with puzzlement in his eyes. “Sixth sister, you betrayed your father and the Gu Clan just because of you, Qin King. Is it worth it?”

Gu Qingyou raised her eyes. Her eyes were clear, “Cheng, you never liked anyone. That’s why you asked me such a question.” Seeing that Gu Cheng was still frowning, Gu Qingyou lowered her eyes and smiled, “If you really like someone, you can only be willing or not. Where is the value?”

Gu Cheng looked at the happy smile on the corner of Gu Qingyou’s lips, and somewhere in his heart, he was touched inexplicably, “Sixth Sister …”

“Cheng, can you do me a favor?” Gu Qingyou suddenly remembered something. She raised her head and looked at Gu Cheng expectantly.

Gu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then he pursed the corners of his lips and said, “Sixth sister, tell me.”

Seeing Gu Cheng agree, Gu Qingyou smiled and turned to Ju Qing. “Ju Qing, go, bring me the scissors.”

Ju Qing was stunned for a moment, but she still turned around to look for a pair of scissors and handed them to Gu Qingyou.

Gu Qingyou took the scissors with one hand and pulled the green silk behind her with the other. She picked up a strand, then held the scissors and cut it off with a crack.

“Sixth sister, what are you doing?” Seeing her actions, Gu Cheng was so shocked that his eyes almost fell.

Gu Qingyou seemed as if she didn’t hear him. She carefully put the strand of green silk she had cut into a purple purse embroidered with orchid grass.

“Ah Cheng, can you give this purse to His Highness Prince Qin for me?”

“Sixth sister” Gu Cheng’s eyebrows furrowed into a deep knot.

He really didn’t understand what was so good about that Qin King that it was worth her sacrificing so much for him.

“Ah Cheng, you have a straightforward personality, always say what there is, this is not a bad thing, but you were born in the Gu family. Others will always allow you three points for father’s sake, but father can’t protect you for the rest of his life. “Also, keep a distance between you and the Crown Prince. Although you two have some friendship, he is a monarch and you are a subject. There is no relationship between a monarch and a subject … Cheng, in the future, once you restrain your temper, you must never act recklessly according to your temper again.” Gu Qingyou looked at Gu Cheng. A layer of mist gradually appeared in her eyes, and her voice started to tremble slightly. “Ah Cheng, elder sister is not by your side. You must protect yourself properly.” Just as Gu Qingyou’s voice fell, tears suddenly fell out of her eyes.

She knew very well that even though the Crown Prince and the Emperor had forced her to marry the Qin King, whether it was the Emperor’s Crown Prince or his father, they would never allow her to marry the Qin King. Although the decree to grant the marriage would not be withdrawn, there were other ways to destroy it. The most effective and direct way was to kill her.

Gu Cheng looked at his sister.

He had heard these words from her countless times, but he had never felt so shocked and sad.

She must have felt that she couldn’t survive, so she warned him like this.

Once again, she remembered catching his little sister who had fallen from a tree.

Gu Cheng took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the tears in his eyes. “Sixth sister, don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.” After he finished speaking, he pinched the purse that Gu Qingyou had given him and left without turning back.

Gu Qingyou looked at Gu Cheng’s back and her tears that had just stopped flowed out again.

Bie Yi Villa.

After waiting for a few days, Bie Yi Villa finally welcomed a rare guest.

“Prince Tuli, how are you?” Chen Mubai raised his hand to salute the person who came and said with a smile.

The person known as Prince Tuli was wearing a brown brocade robe with thick eyebrows and large eyes. His facial features were much deeper than those of the Dayue people. Seeing Chen Mubai salute, he smiled and raised his left hand to his chest. He said in stiff language, “Young Master Chen can make it easy for Xiao Wang to find all the way!”

Chen Mubai curled his lips and stood to the side. “Prince Tuli, let’s talk inside.”

Prince Tuli nodded and walked in first.

After entering the table, Chen Mubai personally poured a cup of tea for him and said, “Prince, this is the most famous Longjing tea in Dayue. Please help yourself.”

Prince Tuli smiled. He reached out and took a sip of his teacup. He then smiled and said, “Big Yue is indeed worthy of being rich in land and resources. Unlike our Northern Desert, where resources are scarce, we can only rely on barter to make the people barely have enough food and clothing. How can we have any leisure time to taste tea?”

Hearing Prince Tuli’s words, Chen Mubai smiled and said, “Look at what the Prince said. There are gold mines all over the Northern Desert. I don’t know how many people are envious of it. In addition to the natural barrier of the surrounding desert, even if others are envious, they can only look at the Desert and sigh!”

Suddenly, he smiled and put the teacup back. “Young Master Chen, we Northern Desert people always say what we want and don’t go around in circles. Young Master Chen, please give us a price, right?”

He knew that the Chen Clan of Jiangnan was Princess Yan’s uncle’s clan. He also knew that King Yan had reached an agreement with his father, and with the help of his father, he had met the ninth princess of Dayue under the Northern Desert Tribulation. In order to give Da Yue an explanation, he used this opportunity to incite the king’s violence and political misconduct, and the other kings gathered to seize the throne. However, before they could act, the king suddenly died. Prime Minister Treasure King claimed that his father had poisoned the throne in order to seize the throne, and tangled with the other kings to fight against them. Father was confident in this war because he was sure that Dayue King Yan and the Chen Clan would help him. However, he did not expect that before the war was over, King Yan would drown and disappear from Dayue, and the Chen Clan, which had been supplying them with food, had no news. It was cold winter now. There were a few heavy snowfalls. Both sides had almost used up their grain. If they could get the grain, they could take advantage of the heavy snow to annihilate the Prime Minister Treasure in one fell swoop. Just as they were worrying about food, they didn’t expect that the Chen Clan would suddenly send someone to invite him to Su City to talk secretly.

Now that King Yan was dead, which meant that the Chen Clan’s backer had fallen, it was naturally a bit strange for the Chen Clan to contact them at this time? He and his father were both guessing what the Chen Clan’s goal was. However, the grain in their hands was enough for them to take the risk. That was why he disguised himself and went to Bie Yi Villa under the guidance of the Chen Clan.

Hearing Tu Li’s words, Chen Mubai smiled and said, “Of course, the price has to be set. However, the person who set the price is not me.”