Chapter 47: Why Did You Harm My Husband!
When Lihua leaned in, even he himself wasn’t clear about what he truly wanted.
Was it Gan Qiongying’s continuous stream of praises that had stripped him of reason, or her repeated confessions and coaxing that had robbed him of his senses?
In any case, Lihua, devoid of all rationality, leaned in. The movement was abrupt, even within the swaying carriage in motion.
Gan Qiongying had no idea what Lihua intended to do. As he suddenly drew near, she had no time to react, only widening her eyes slightly.
But just as Lihua reached out, cupping Gan Qiongying’s cheek and tilting her face to lean in, a sudden chorus of exclamations erupted from outside.
Chen Wa’s voice, rough and urgent, shouted, “Steady the carriage! Protect Her Highness!”
Gan Qiongying’s body was thrown backward by the violent impact of the carriage, then slammed straight toward Lihua.
Reacting swiftly, Lihua used the hand that was already cradling her cheek to press against the back of her neck, pulling her into his embrace. The two of them first tumbled onto the carriage seat.
Then, they rolled together onto the soft cushion. Lihua shielded Gan Qiongying, not only firmly holding her head and face but also ensuring she landed safely on top of him.
With a loud crash, the ice basin overturned.
A mix of ice and water spread across the carriage floor, instantly soaking Lihua’s back.
The shock of the cold jolted Lihua awake from his trance-like state.
What had he just been doing?
What had he intended to do…
Lihua watched as Gan Qiongying climbed off him, his body and heart chilling to the core in that moment.
“Husband, are you all right?” Gan Qiongying anxiously patted Lihua’s body, asking, “You didn’t hit anything, did you?”
Lihua was too cold—cold to the bone, so cold he couldn’t even open his mouth to respond to her question.
“Manyue, what happened outside?” Gan Qiongying raised her voice, calling out toward the carriage door.
At that moment, Manyue opened the door and said to Gan Qiongying, “Princess, it was Princess Xue’e’s carriage that was startled and accidentally collided with ours.”
Gan Qiongying raised an eyebrow. “Who? Princess Xue’e?”
The female lead?
“Yes,” Manyue replied. “Princess Xue’e’s carriage overturned in the mountain ditch. The guards have all gone down to rescue her…”
Gan Qiongying fell silent, frowning as she racked her brains but couldn’t recall which part of the plot this sudden collision belonged to.
However, she had no time to dwell on it. She grabbed Lihua’s arm, trying to help him up.
She called out to Manyue, “The ice basin overturned. Someone bring a set of dry clothes for the Consort.”
“Yes,” Manyue immediately went to fetch the clothes.
But Lihua didn’t immediately follow Gan Qiongying’s pull to rise.
He lay in the icy water, wanting to sober himself up completely.
He remembered receiving a letter from Zhongli Zhengzhen the previous night. Zhongli Zhengzhen had learned that Lihua would accompany Gan Qiongying to Xishan Haoyue Villa and arranged to meet him when the opportunity arose.
Lihua had read the note and burned it to ashes.
But no matter how thoroughly it was burned, it couldn’t erase the fact that he would have to find a way to pass information to Zhongli Zhengzhen.
From the very beginning, his marriage to her had been about using her. No matter how intoxicating their relationship might seem, he would ultimately betray her.
She trusted him so much, entrusting him with the management of the entire Princess Manor, yet he was about to reveal all her connections to Zhongli Zhengzhen…
Only by doing so could his subordinates, who had followed him for many years and were detained in Jinchuan, continue to live.
And only by doing so could he find a way to escape after assisting Zhongli Zhengzhen in achieving his goals.
This was all part of his long-laid plans.
But when the moment arrived, Lihua nearly lost control.
He actually thought… he actually wanted to become true husband and wife with Gan Qiongying, to hold her in his arms, to press his lips against hers, entwined and inseparable, greedily absorbing the tenderness and care he had never received before.
“Husband, husband, what’s wrong with you?”
Seeing him lying there motionless, Gan Qiongying was terrified. Her hands kept searching his head, face, and shoulders, fearing he had hit something.
Fortunately, although her hands were wet and sticky, it was only water from melted ice, with no frightening traces of blood.
Soon, Manyue brought in the maidservants, and together they helped Lihua up, cleaning up the mess in the carriage.
Lihua finally stood up, unharmed, but his emotions were clearly off.
Seeing that he wasn’t injured and was cooperating with the maidservants to change his clothes with his head lowered, Gan Qiongying breathed a sigh of relief, assuming he was just frightened.
Thinking of how he had protected her the moment the carriage crashed, a faint ache stirred in Gan Qiongying’s heart.
Lihua really was a good person.
Taking a dry cloth from a maidservant, Gan Qiongying wrung out his black hair, soaked in icy water, and secretly resolved that when the plot reached the point of no return, when Jinchuan’s iron hooves were destined to trample the lands of Nánzhào, and the mountains and rivers lay in ruins…
Even if she had to flee far away with Gan Lin, she would do everything in her power to save Lihua’s life.
In the plot, he died from Princess Duanrong’s humiliation, crushed by the narrative, as if his death were necessary for Zhongli Zhengzhen to have a justifiable reason to conquer Nánzhào’s lands.
After all, the trope of avenging a loved one was always particularly moving in novels.
And now that Gan Qiongying was Duan Rong, she would never let Lihua meet such a tragic end.
By the time Lihua had changed his clothes, the commotion outside had also subsided.
Seeing Lihua still with his eyes downcast and a gloomy expression, Gan Qiongying patted his head and asked, “Were you scared?”
Lihua slowly raised his eyes, meeting Gan Qiongying’s genuinely concerned gaze, and felt an even sharper tug of pain in his heart.
His expression darkened, and he pursed his lips, murmuring softly, “I was startled.”
But Gan Qiongying suddenly stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Lihua in a firm embrace and patting him reassuringly. “Even though my husband is so timid, he still protected me during the crash. I’m truly touched.”
“Stay in the carriage. I’ll go down and take a look.”
Lihua kept his head lowered, his expression blank even after Gan Qiongying had left the carriage, as if still feeling the lingering warmth of her tight embrace.
The scales in his heart seemed to tip once again because of this simple hug.
Gan Qiongying, however, had no idea what Lihua was struggling with.
If she had known, she would have straightforwardly told him: Betray me, use me, it doesn’t matter.
Just add a little more money.
When Gan Qiongying was helped down from the carriage by Manyue, Wen Xueling had already been retrieved from the mountain gully and was standing at the edge of the forest, surrounded by a large group of maidservants.
Chen Wa was negotiating with Princess Xue’e’s attendants. Gan Qiongying overheard a few snippets and learned that this collision was purely a traffic accident.
Wen Xueling looked panicked, her originally innocent and pure face now deathly pale, like trembling pear blossoms, evoking pity in anyone who saw her.
Her smoky pink gauze dress seemed to have been torn in two places, the tattered edges fluttering in the wind at the hem of her skirt, making her appear utterly disheveled.
Gan Qiongying stood by her own carriage, watching as Wen Xueling was helped toward them by her maids, her steps seeming somewhat unsteady.
In the morning forest, birds chirped noisily, and sunlight filtered through the gaps between the trees, forcing people to squint their eyes involuntarily.
As Wen Xueling approached, Gan Qiongying suddenly realized amidst the dazzling, fragmented sunlight that today’s incident might not be a pure accident after all.
She had always thought that ancient transportation was underdeveloped, with slow-moving vehicles and wide roads, making deliberate collisions unlikely unless intended.
They were already several miles outside the city, on this spacious official road, with only their two groups present. For them to collide was truly bizarre.
This was clearly the work of the great plot.
Gan Qiongying vaguely remembered that Princess Xue’e was supposed to perform a dance at Princess Hui’an’s birthday banquet today but fell midway through.
Naturally, a large crowd gathered around her in a panic. After the Imperial Physicians examined and questioned her, it was revealed that Princess Xue’e had been hit by Princess Duanrong’s carriage on her way to offer birthday congratulations.
Later, one of Princess Xue’e’s maidservants risked her life to speak up, pleading with Princess Hui’an to seek justice for her poor mistress. She directly accused Princess Duanrong of intentionally crashing her carriage into theirs!
She claimed it was an attempt to kill her mistress and went on to list a series of other malicious acts Princess Duanrong had committed against Princess Xue’e.
When counted in detail, Princess Duanrong’s misdeeds were too numerous to record.
And each accusation was solidly grounded, with no trace of falsehood.
Although Princess Hui’an was Princess Duanrong’s biological aunt, she had spent many years cleaning up after her niece’s messes. Their interactions were sparse, and they were not close.
With her birthday banquet disrupted in such a manner, Princess Hui’an was understandably displeased and found Princess Duanrong’s behavior utterly absurd.
She then reprimanded Princess Duanrong, humiliating her at the banquet.
Following this, Princess Duanrong, feeling wronged and hurt by the reprimand from one of the few elders she still respected, naturally grew to hate Princess Xue’e even more.
What followed was another round of boundless and despicable “villainous” behavior. But as the antagonist, she was bound to fail in her schemes.
In the end, Princess Duanrong suffered greatly at the banquet without achieving anything.
Ah.
Thinking of this, Gan Qiongying felt a pang of heartache.
She pitied Princess Duanrong, who was not inherently sinister or wicked but had been forced into such a role out of necessity.
Otherwise, in the midst of the royal family’s cutthroat environment, where everyone fended for themselves, how could she have stubbornly persisted until the kingdom fell and her family perished, and still managed to get her brother out of the palace?
It was just a pity that Gan Lin didn’t survive in the end either.
Gan Qiongying quickly sorted through this part of the plot in her mind, feeling utterly exasperated that if she didn’t go out of her way to collide with the female lead, the plot would arrange for the female lead to collide with her instead.
But she saw Princess Xue’e also walking up to her, supported by her maids, and just as she was about to speak, she immediately seized the initiative and said, “Princess Xue’e, you and I have no grievances or enmity. Under the clear sky and broad daylight, why would you want to harm my husband?”