On the night of New Year's Eve, the streets were empty and the sound of cart wheels rolling on the ground echoed throughout the street.
Gu Yanxi leaned against the carriage, with some blood oozing out of his wound. Shaoyao applied medicine to him again and then hugged her knees and ignored him. Azhi spread out the quilt that was always available in the carriage and covered him with it, never looking up.
Gu Yanxi held her hand that was about to be taken back, "Apply the medicine."
Shaoyao looked over immediately and saw a bloody circle on the back of her fair hand that was particularly eye-catching. Normally, even the slightest smell of blood would not escape Shaoyao's nose, but today it was masked by the even stronger smell of blood.
Shaoyao had no intention of returning to the palace, so she took her precious medicine box with her when she left. She took out the medicine from it and gently applied it to Huahua. Finally, she wrapped it up with a clean soft cloth, which was much more meticulous than she was with her brother.
Hua Zhi looked down, with a confusion in her eyes that others could not see.
Why did she come to this world? To save the Hua family? But even without her, the Queen Mother would still protect the Hua family's young women, and would not exterminate the exiled ones even if something happened.
Saved Xiaoliu? Or saved Daqing's national destiny? But judging from Haoyue's behavior, Yan Xi might have sat on the throne without her, instead of sacrificing everything because of knowing her.
Which god allowed her to have a second life? Could it be that he had asked her to harm Yan Xi specifically
Hua Zhi was making up endless conspiracy theories, which she found funny even to herself. She tried to pull the corners of her mouth together but couldn't force a smile on her face.
"Azhi."
Hua Zhi looked up subconsciously.
Gu Yanxi raised her arm and gently covered her eyes as if she didn't feel any pain. "I'm not messing around. This grudge has nothing to do with you. Don't rush to take the responsibility on yourself."
Understanding her well, Hua Zhi knew that she would think in this direction. Her eyes felt sore that she had to blink to feel better.
On the way, Gu Yanxi couldn't say more. She hissed softly, put down her hand and started to act naughty, "It hurts a little."
Hua Zhi looked at him for a moment, then leaned over and lowered her head, puffing out her cheeks and blowing air towards the wound.
The unexpected action stunned both the brother and sister. Gu Yanxi had never thought of making Ah Zhi so humble, as if she was trying to please him. He just wanted to do everything Ah Zhi liked to please her.
He held Azhi's chin and lifted it up, "Azhi, you are blaming yourself."
"Yes, I'm blaming myself." Hua Zhi grabbed his hand and put it aside, admitting it very readily, "If it weren't for me, you would still be the leader of the Seven Stars Division, the most favored prince of the Daqing Dynasty, and in the future... Because of knowing me, you don't have all of these now, am I considered a beauty who brings disaster?"
"She is a beauty, not a disaster." Gu Yanxi held her hand again, "Besides, who said I have nothing now? I have you."
Hua Zhi looked at him quietly.
Gu Yanxi smiled, "People outside the palace try desperately to get in, but only when you've really been inside will you know that life in that small space is far less enjoyable than outside. I've spent far more time in the palace than in the prince's mansion. Every day when I open my eyes, I think about government affairs, and when I close my eyes, I think about the celebrations. On those days, even I don't feel like I have much popularity. Ah Zhi, it's you who let me know what it feels like to be happy, happy, satisfied, and so on. After knowing you, my life is no longer a stagnant pool of water. After what happened today, all the constraints on me are gone. You don't know how happy I am."
He was indeed happy. Hua Zhi confirmed this by looking at every wrinkle on his face stretching upwards.
"When I think about being able to stand beside you openly as Gu Yanxi and openly make an engagement with you, I feel so happy that I want to jump for joy. Although I was the one who stayed by your side before, outsiders didn't know. Now, if anyone dares to covet you, I can beat him down with a clear conscience."
"..." Hua Zhi turned around and faced away from him, "You can try to see if you can jump up."
Gu Yanxi just smiled, her eyes were gentle, but her complexion was a little pale and her lips were a little pale.
The carriage shook a few times and stopped after a while. Yingchun opened the curtain, and Baoxia and others ran over with lanterns in their hands.
Hua Zhi bent down and walked out of the carriage, then looked up. All the masters of the Hua family, big and small, had come to the front yard. She didn't care about so much at this moment, so she turned around and reached out to support the person that Li De had helped out.
Yingchun was thoughtful and stopped the carriage directly in front of the gate of the front yard where she usually worked. Huazhi and Shaoyao helped the person in on the left and right. Baoxia, who was so frightened, came to his senses, quickly went to the room to make the bed, and immediately asked the maid to bring in hot water.
Finally lying on the bed, Gu Yanxi was already sweating all over. Fortunately, he was careful enough this time and did not hurt the wound.
"Fudong, prepare a separate table of food, something light, we haven't eaten yet."
"Yes." Fu Dong couldn't bear to see the young lady starve, so he ran out of the house.
Hua Zhi bent down to wipe the sweat off Yan Xi's forehead and said softly, "I'll go out and make arrangements at home first."
"I'm fine, don't worry."
Hearing this, Shaoyao looked over and gave him a glare.
Hua Zhi stood up, rubbed Shaoyao's head and walked out, "Everyone had a good New Year today."
***
Outside the house, everyone in the Hua family followed into the yard. Zhu, supported by Lin Shuang, stood at the front. When she saw her come out, she grabbed her arm and asked, "What happened? This person... this person..."
"Former leader of the Seven Stars Division, Prince of Ling." This identity was no longer a secret anyway, so Hua Zhi simply pointed it out. Seeing their surprised expressions, she said something shocking again, "Maybe he will become the son-in-law of the Hua family in the future."
It was no secret that there was a man in the front yard who often came and went in the Hua family, but they didn't know that the man was of this identity! But what was going on now
As a mother, Zhu was naturally the best person to ask, "Is he injured?"
"You don't need to care about what's going on outside, just live your own life. But I'm afraid we'll have to close the door for a while."
Everyone looked at each other, feeling uneasy.
Wu wiped the corners of her lips with a handkerchief and said, "I don't have much contact with the outside world, so just say thank you. Let's not talk about this today. Zhi'er, you should eat first and fill your stomach first."
"I asked Fu Dong to do it. Have all the families returned?"
"Yes, I told them that you went out for an urgent matter. They didn't ask any more questions and went back after dinner."
Hua Zhi nodded, "Let's not talk about other things today. If you need to stay up all night, stay up all night. If you want to rest, then rest. Let's go."
"Zhi'er..."
Looking at her mother who was hesitant to speak, Hua Zhi smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's okay."
Even if something happens, it is only her business, and she will protect the Hua family no matter what.