Chapter 116: Despair

Su Mixue felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She struggled desperately, and shouted towards the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion, “Help me! Someone save me! Father, Mother, I don’t want to die, please save me-“

“Mmmph…”

Su Mixue’s mouth was gagged.

The stout old women dragged her onto the carriage, and immediately stuffed a rag into her mouth and tied her hands and feet with hemp rope.

“No matter how much you scream, it’s useless. We are acting on the Crown Prince’s orders. Who dares to save you?” One of the women held an embroidery needle and jabbed it into Su Mixue, and smiled coldly, “This old servant is waiting for you to beat me to death with your stick!”

Su Mixue curled up in pain, her body convulsing.

The old woman, with a vicious look, slashed a long, bloody cut across her face. With her face ruined, her future prospects were completely destroyed.

Su Mixue’s eyes widened in horror, her eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets, and tears streamed down her face, filled with despair.

—

Su Wan hung the curtain on the carriage wall, one hand resting on the window sill while the other played with the jade hairpin given to her by Gu Huaizhi.

The gentle breeze brushed against her face, and her thoughts drifted.

The hairpin was a token of affection; this man had given her two. One was a hand-carved wooden hairpin, and the other was a jade hairpin.

Her gaze shifted to the man beside her.

He was lying casually on the carriage blanket, one hand supporting his head, and his dark, soft hair spread out on the floor. His sleeping face was exceptionally gentle, lacking the usual cold and distant demeanor.

Su Wan climbed down from the stool and sat cross-legged beside him. She put her elbow on her knee, and her chin in her hand as she stared at his face. As she leaned in closer, she noticed his eyelashes were long and curled, making her heart itch as if scratched by a cat’s paw. She wanted to reach out and touch them.

With this thought in mind, Su Wan went ahead and did just that. The moment her fingers touched his eyelashes, a cold hand grabbed hers, pulling her with great force. Su Wan, losing her balance, fell forward.

Gu Huaizhi opened his arms, and Su Wan tumbled into his embrace. He brushed aside the hair that had fallen onto her face, revealing a faint, elegant floral scent.

“What are you doing?” Gu Huaizhi’s voice was husky from just waking up.

Su Wan met his slightly dazed eyes, which were clear and bright, devoid of the usual darkness and sharpness, making her heart soften.

She extended a finger and poked his cheek. “Your eyelashes are so long. I was just curious and wanted to touch them.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Su Wan found herself staring into his deep, dark eyes. Her heart suddenly began to race, and she bit her lip. “Can I touch them?”

Gu Huaizhi stared at her moving red lips. “No.” He flipped her off him and pinched her nose. “Behave yourself.”

Su Wan pouted, and realized that lying down was indeed more comfortable than sitting. She sprawled out on the blanket.

This man had a big temper and was still upset about the bracelet from Jiu Yu.

She took the bracelet off her wrist and placed it in his hand with a “snap.” “Alright, alright. Can you keep it for me?”

Gu Huaizhi looked at the bracelet in his palm, his eyebrows twitched. Keep another man’s bracelet for her?

If he threw it into a fire pit to burn it, it would still be considered merciful.

Gu Huaizhi, feeling a headache coming on, said, “Su Wan, be more mindful.”

He tossed the bracelet back to her.

Su Wan caught the bracelet and watched as Gu Huaizhi sat on a stool, pulling out a book to read.

She lowered her gaze, looked at the bracelet in her palm, and rubbed her thumb over the characters “Jiu Yu” carved into the beads.

Jiu Yu’s background was mysterious; the book had hinted that he might not be from the Zhou Kingdom.

Su Wan sighed, knowing she couldn’t afford to make a powerful enemy and needed to find his sister before Su Mixue did.

She shoved the bracelet into her sleeve pocket.

Gu Huaizhi’s tightly pressed lips relaxed slightly as his well-defined fingers turned a page of the book.

Su Wan moved to sit beside him, nudged his arm with hers, and opened her bright and dark eyes wide. “Hey? Why did you give me the jade hairpin?”

Gu Huaizhi didn’t even lift his eyelids, and said with a calm face. “You’re the eldest daughter of the Marquis’s household. Wearing a wooden hairpin is too shabby.”

Su Wan continued to probe. “Then why did you give me the wooden hairpin?”

Gu Huaizhi’s fingers paused on the book, and he looked up, his gaze calm as he stared at her. “Do a husband and wife need a reason to give each other gifts?”

Su Wan was left speechless by his response.

Seeing her turn away from him in a huff, presenting him with the back of her head, Gu Huaizhi’s lips curved slightly.

He was about to say something more.

Suddenly, the carriage shook violently. He quickly grabbed Su Wan’s arm, and protected the back of her head with his palm.

“Thud—”

Su Wan’s head hit the carriage wall, but she didn’t feel any pain. She turned her head, and Gu Huaizhi had already let go of her, lifting the curtain. “What’s going on?”

Mo Chen quickly responded, “Mr. Gu, there’s a girl who collapsed in the middle of the road.”

Gu Huaizhi’s expression darkened as he looked at the young woman on the ground. The horse’s hooves were just an inch away from crushing her neck.

“Move her out of the way.”

Gu Huaizhi dropped the curtain.

Su Wan frowned deeply. “The girl seems to be unconscious. I’ll go check on her.”

She nimbly jumped out of the carriage and quickly ran over to the girl, and instructed Mo Chen to carry her to the side of the road.

Gu Huaizhi, worried about Su Wan, followed her off the carriage.

Mo Chen moved the girl to the side of the road.

Su Wan squatted beside the girl, took her hand to check her pulse, and frowned at how emaciated she was. The girl’s hand was practically skin and bones.

“This girl is severely malnourished, weak, and has fainted from hunger.”

“Mo Chen, go to the carriage and bring a jug of water and a pack of snacks,” Su Wan said. She let go of the girl’s hand and gently lifted her head. She brushed the hair away from the girl’s face, revealing a small, gaunt face with sunken eyes, sallow skin, and frothy lips, so dirty that her original appearance was unrecognizable.

“Here,” Mo Chen handed over the water bag.

Su Wan pried open the girl’s mouth and placed the mouth of the water bag inside.

The girl instinctively gulped down the water when she tasted it.

After drinking half of the water bag, she finally woke up. Her eyes were beautiful, clear like autumn water, and she stared at Su Wan in a daze.

The girl blinked, and suddenly her pupils contracted, like a startled deer in the woods. She was drenched in fear and quickly crawled out of Su Wan’s embrace, and kneeled opposite her. Nervously clutching her clothes, she stammered, “Was… was it you who saved me?”

Su Wan handed her the water bag and a pack of snacks. “You fainted from hunger. Eat something first.”

The girl stared blankly at the food in her hands. Her straw shoes were worn out, and her feet were covered in a mixture of dark scabs and dirt, looking painful. Su Wan said softly, “Where are you planning to go? If it’s on the way, we can give you a ride.”

“No, no… it’s not necessary.” Jiu Ge glanced at the carriage and then at her own ragged, dirty clothes. She pulled back, and said warily. “We’re not going in the same direction.”

She pointed in the opposite direction. “I… I’m going that way.”