Gu Yanxi looked at her for a long time, then covered her face and smiled silently. Yes, a dull knife is not sharp enough, but it is painful to sharpen a blunt knife.
He has been blinded by one thing all these years.
"If I had known you earlier..."
"There is no such thing as if. If the Hua family is doing well, I should have become a wife of the Shen family in May of this year."
Seeing her frank expression as if she was talking about someone else's business, Gu Yanxi couldn't help but ask, "Don't you feel regretful? Mr. Hua's vision is not bad. Shen Qi is outstanding in this generation."
He even felt that if Shen Qi married Azhi, he would be able to discover her good qualities.
Hua Zhi shook her head. If that man had any feelings for her, he would not have accepted it so calmly. In this world where family interests are above all else, Shen Qi's reaction was normal.
In this case, how could she feel any regret? Instead, she would feel fortunate.
Gu Yanxi's heart tensed up and then suddenly relaxed, making him feel a little dizzy, but he was happy even with this dizziness. Doesn't Azhi's reaction prove that Shen Qi has never entered her heart
But what about Shen Qi's heart? Gu Yanxi drank the tea that Ah Zhi refilled for him. Even if there was any, it was too late.
"Mr. Lu, I have always had a question in my mind."
Gu Yanxi looked up, "I know everything."
"Your last name is Gu, and my grandfather has been in and out of the court for many years. Why didn't he recognize you at Yinshan Pass?"
Gu Yanxi was spinning the small purple clay cup. Just when Hua Zhi thought there was something that couldn't be told to anyone and wanted to change the subject, the man took out an extremely flat box from his arms, stroking the edge of the box, he opened it and pushed it to the middle of the small table.
Hua Zhi couldn't help but look surprised when she saw what was inside. She didn't expect that there really was such a thing as a human skin mask in this world.
Thin human skin masks were stacked one on top of another, and at first glance there were four or five of them.
Gu Yanxi picked up one and wiped it on his face, then smoothed the edges with great skill. When he put his hand down, a middle-aged man in his early thirties appeared in front of Hua Zhi. He had an ordinary appearance, introverted eyes, and no special features at all.
"A minor official of the seventh rank working in the Ministry of Personnel, named Chen Nian."
He tore off the piece and put a new one on his face. Gu Yanxi's movements and eyes also adjusted. This time it was a military commander. "Your grandfather should have an impression of this. He is Wu Liang, a fourth-rank sword-bearing guard of the Imperial Guards. He always accompanies the emperor."
Hua Zhi saw his face was pulled up high, and his temples were reddened by his ruthless actions, but he seemed to be unaware of it. When he was about to put on another one, she pressed the box and said, "I understand."
Gu Yanxi paused and looked up at her.
Hua Zhi also looked at him, her eyes filled with unbearable pain that she was not aware of.
Gu Yanxi smiled. This girl was too smart, but her weaknesses were too obvious. It was not difficult to control her if someone knew her weakness. But once she sensed any malicious intent, she would definitely fight back, even if both sides would suffer losses.
But it was this girl who made him willing to tear open the festering wound in his heart again.
He gently took her hand away and took out another one to put on himself. It was a young man with a handsome appearance and a cold temperament. "If I use this face, your grandfather will definitely recognize me. I am the prince Gu Yanxi."
Hua Zhi was speechless. Even the face he used for his real identity was fake.
Gu Yanxi tore it off again. "My father is the emperor's only brother, Gu Yeyan, who was granted the title of Prince Ling and his fiefdom is in Yangzhou. I lived there until I was fifteen. When I came to Beijing occasionally, I was mostly in the palace. When I was fifteen, my grandmother fell seriously ill, and my uncle summoned our family back to Beijing. Later, when my grandmother got better, he kept us in Beijing. Gu Yeyan had no ability and no ambition, and my uncle could always tolerate him. It was just that he couldn't stand the incompetent teachers that Gu Yeyan hired for me, so he personally brought me to his side to teach me. At that time, not to mention me, even my uncle didn't expect that he was deliberately trying to ruin me."
Hua Zhi poured out the tea leaves in the purple clay teapot and replaced them with a new kind of tea.
Gu Yanxi's heart seemed to find peace as he watched her smooth movements, and when he talked about the past, he did not feel as angry as he had imagined.
"He is Prince Ling. Everyone who sees him would try to curry his favor. He found it strange that a woman who didn't care about his wealth and power appeared. That woman was also very capable. After a few interactions, she had him in her hands. He wanted to bring her into the palace as Madam Ru. My mother comes from a prominent family. How could she agree to let someone of unknown origin enter the palace? Gu Yeyan didn't dare to really break up with my mother, so he had to slowly persuade her."
Gu Yanxi looked down at the rippling water in the cup. "My mother didn't marry him because of her parents' orders or matchmaker's words. It was Gu Yeyan who tried every means to create an opportunity for them to meet after they met at my grandmother's place. They got married after they fell in love with each other. It scared many people at that time. But more than ten years later, this man who had been entangled with her in every way now had such passionate feelings for another woman. My mother was heartbroken and disheartened. She let him do whatever he wanted and let him get the beauty as he wished. Then less than half a year later, my mother passed away."
Hua Zhi was not surprised, because in this era women placed too much importance on men.
"It's poisoning." Seeing her surprise, Gu Yanxi pulled the corners of his mouth but didn't smile. "I know my mother. She would never risk her life even if the water she drinks every day is bitter. She knows too well how difficult it is for a child to lose his mother in a big family. I haven't married yet, Shaoyao was only ten years old at the time. She would have lived well for us, but she couldn't get out of bed because of a minor cold. If it were you, would you investigate?"
Of course I will! Without a doubt.
Gu Yanxi also nodded, "I checked. Gu Yeyan didn't know what my uncle taught me during the year I was in the capital, nor how much I learned. It only took me half a day to get the evidence that he poisoned my mother. Do you know how he reacted? He wanted to kill me. He asked the palace soldiers to take me down, saying that it didn't matter if I lived or died."
Hua Zhi poured him tea in silence. He had a scumbag father and she had a scumbag mother, both of whom wanted to kill them as their children. She didn't know who was more pitiful.
"My title of Crown Prince was not granted by him, but by the Emperor himself. The palace soldiers did not dare to kill me. Otherwise, I would not have been able to escape from the palace, get reinforcements, and later save Shaoyao from the sea of fire."
Hua Zhi looked up, "Is Shaoyao's face ruined here?"
"Yes, Shaoyao is not my legitimate sister. Her mother was my mother's maid who came with her as a dowry. She died of complications during childbirth. My mother took pity on her and brought her home to raise her by her side. She is no different from her own daughter. I don't know who she inherited her nature of wanting to perish together with her. After most of the soldiers were sent out to look for me, she secretly went to the woman's yard and set fire to it. She also used a knockout drug that she got from somewhere, and hugged the woman, determined to die together. If it weren't for the woman's martial arts skills, Shaoyao's plan might have really worked."
"Peony..."
"When I brought people back, Gu Yeyan rescued the woman. He was also injured, but that was nothing compared to Shaoyao. When I carried Shaoyao out, she was covered in blood and flesh. Her face and body were covered with knife wounds. In some places, the flesh was exposed. You can see how cruel he was. I wanted to kill the woman, but Gu Yeyan protected her and insisted that she didn't do it. I almost killed my father at that time."
Gu Yanxi suddenly smiled, "After that, I thought about it all the time."