Chapter 301: Rotten Peach Blossoms

Qi Sixteenth was utterly confused. Has Princess Yongfu lost her mind?

The young lady had stabbed County Princess Lin’an, which clearly meant the two had become enemies.

Yet she was eagerly inviting her over to treat the injury—wasn’t she afraid that the young lady might end up making things worse and render her foolish?

“Young Lady, are you going to treat her?”

Qi Sixteenth’s gaze flickered toward Gu Huaizhi, who was reading a letter under the lamplight.

“No.” Su Wan refused outright.

“I’ll go reject them right away!” Qi Sixteenth hurried off.

Su Wan sat beside Gu Huaizhi and pulled a thin letter from his hand. “You have way too many rotten peach blossoms^[1]“rotten peach blossoms” (爛桃花) = refers to unwanted or troublesome romantic entanglements..”

“This isn’t my fault.” Gu Huaizhi grasped Su Wan’s slender wrist, which still hadn’t gained any flesh despite care. “I’m weak and sickly, and to the outside world, my face is ugly. I’m hardly a good match for anyone. What they like is merely my status.”

He toyed with Su Wan’s wrist, her skin icy cold. “Madam, you must protect me well.”

Su Wan rolled her eyes. “Shameless. Shouldn’t you be the one to deal with your own rotten peach blossoms?”

“I’m yours.” Gu Huaizhi’s gaze was gentle. “It’s your responsibility.”

“Madam, you’re not any better off yourself.” Gu Huaizhi spread her fingers apart, interlacing their fingers before giving a slight tug, pulling her into his embrace and wrapping an arm around her slender waist. “County Princess Lin’an’s hostility toward you is because of Zhao Wei.”

“Uh…” Su Wan recalled the message on the note Tang Haoyue had given her and had already guessed the source of County Princess Lin’an’s hostility.

“Don’t be nervous.” Gu Huaizhi’s gaze was deep and unreadable. His thin lips brushed from the corner of her mouth to her ear as he murmured, “This only proves that I have good taste. Madam is too exceptional—that’s why so many people can’t help but be drawn to you.”

Su Wan trembled all over, and the arm around her waist tightened even more.

This was just a deceitful man who said one thing but meant another.

He claimed not to care, yet his actions spoke volumes.

“Are you trying to say that I’m being too petty? That I shouldn’t get jealous just because others admire you, and instead, I should be magnanimous—proving that my taste and sense of aesthetics are impeccable?”

Su Wan let out a soft “Mm” and grabbed his mischievous hand, her cheeks flushing red as she shot Gu Huaizhi a glare.

But that glare carried no threat at all—if anything, it was even more captivating.

Gu Huaizhi tightened his grip on her waist, pressing her against the edge of the table, trailing downward along the curve of her slender neck.

Su Wan’s fingers dug tightly into his arms, her neck arching as she tensed up, her breathing turning rapid.

“Gu Huaizhi.”

Unwilling to show weakness, Su Wan moved her hands from his arms to his chest, slipping them through the overlapping folds of his robe, pressing against his burning skin. He was nothing like the frail scholar she had imagined—his muscles were firm and well-defined.

She pulled his robe open.

Gu Huaizhi trembled, his chest rising and falling sharply. He suppressed himself with great restraint and said, “Wanwan, your body…”

Su Wan tilted her head up and sealed his lips, grasping his hands and guiding them to her waist. The moment his fingertips touched her delicate, ice-cold skin, Gu Huaizhi could no longer hold back. Yet, mindful of his own health, he hesitated for a brief moment.

“We’ve been married for a year—what are you still hesitating for? If you keep igniting the fire without taking responsibility, I’m not playing along anymore. You can sleep alone from now on.”

Su Wan urged him impatiently, and Gu Huaizhi, already teetering on the edge of losing control, was completely undone by her words.

He swept Su Wan into his arms, and as they tangled together, they made their way inside, tumbling onto the bed.

The bed curtains fell, and garments slipped to the floor.

The warmth of his palm seeped into her skin, and she felt as if she were about to melt. Curling up, she clung tightly to him.