Chapter 69: Is It Because… He Wasn’t Holding Her?
Gan Qiongying got up and searched the room for someone. Outside, the rain was still pouring heavily. In the middle of the night, how could he have disappeared without a trace?
Gan Qiongying called for a maid. Tonight wasn’t Manyue’s shift; it was Tianjiao standing guard outside.
“Where is the Consort?” Gan Qiongying asked Tianjiao.
Of course, Tianjiao knew where the Consort had gone, but as she was ultimately the Consort’s person, her first instinct was to keep her master’s secret. Thus, Tianjiao avoided Gan Qiongying’s gaze, bowing her head as she said, “Princess, please don’t worry. The Consort’s leg ailment flared up during the night, causing him too much pain to sleep. He was afraid of disturbing you, so he went to another courtyard. He’s currently applying a hot compress to his leg.”
At first, Gan Qiongying actually believed her. She had prepared medicinal packs early on, knowing the weather had been changing lately, and had kept them warm at night.
However, just before going to bed, the Consort had suddenly asked for a hug and held on tightly without letting go. In the moment, Gan Qiongying had forgotten all about applying the hot compress to his leg.
Hearing Tianjiao’s explanation, she felt quite guilty. She hadn’t taken good care of her patron saint! Gan Qiongying immediately said to Tianjiao, “Which courtyard is the Consort in? Bring me my clothes and take me to see him…”
Such opportunities to show concern were not to be missed.
After all, there wasn’t much time left until the next 200,000 payment.
“Where’s Manyue?” Gan Qiongying asked.
“Sister Manyue has already fallen asleep. It’s my shift tonight.”
Although Tianjiao was young, having followed Lihua through many travels, she remained calm and composed, showing no signs of panic.
She eagerly stepped forward but didn’t fetch Gan Qiongying’s clothes. Instead, she poured her a cup of water before persuading her further: “It’s pouring rain outside. When the Consort went to the neighboring courtyard, he took San Jiu with him and brought all the umbrellas.”
“The rain is so heavy that water has already pooled on the ground. If the Princess goes now, her shoes and socks will surely get wet. The wind outside is treacherous, and you might catch a chill.”
Tianjiao added, “Besides, there are no umbrellas… Even if I were to look for one now, it would take time. Why doesn’t the Princess wait a little longer? The Consort has been gone for quite a while now, so the medicinal pack should be almost done. If I go and hurry him, he’ll surely return soon.”
Up to this point, Gan Qiongying hadn’t suspected anything. But then Tianjiao helped her back to the bedside and said, “The Consort left precisely because he was afraid of waking you. Why doesn’t the Princess go back to sleep?”
This statement wasn’t particularly suspicious either, but Gan Qiongying suddenly realized: Lihua was only applying a hot medicinal pack—it wasn’t some noisy affair. Why would he need to go to another courtyard for that?
Moreover, Tianjiao was his personal maid. If Lihua’s leg was truly hurting, Tianjiao would have been bouncing with worry, following him eagerly, probably even crying from distress. How could she remain so calm and composed, staying here to take care of her?
Outside, the sound of rain continued relentlessly, with occasional rumbles of thunder drawing near.
Gan Qiongying had just woken up, her mind still foggy. But after hearing a few claps of thunder, she became fully alert and realized Tianjiao was lying to her.
This little girl had quite a few tricks up her sleeve—so many that they must be weighing her down and stunting her growth.
It seemed Manyue still hadn’t managed to win her over with affection.
They would have to keep trying.
However, Gan Qiongying remained calm and indeed lay down following Tianjiao’s gentle push. Tianjiao covered her with the quilt and said to Gan Qiongying, “Princess, do not worry. This servant will go check on the Consort now.”
Gan Qiongying nodded, truly intending to sleep, mainly because she had quickly figured out that Lihua had likely gone to see Zhongli Zhengzhen today.
In the plot, Lihua was actually Zhongli Zhengzhen’s elder brother. Lihua had been constantly pestered by Gan Qiongying recently, leaving him no time to send messages outside. Now that he was managing the Princess Manor, he was bound to transmit some information out.
Gan Qiongying closed her eyes, her mind racing.
She wasn’t angry with Lihua at all, even if Lihua truly betrayed her tonight, just as in the plot, revealing everything to Zhongli Zhengzhen.
Gan Qiongying was not the real Princess Duanrong. What Gan Qiongying wanted to do was entirely different from Princess Duanrong’s goals. Princess Duanrong had used her life and every means possible to protect Gan Lin and secure his position as Emperor, because for Princess Duanrong, her background and upbringing had limited her choices.
She was so intelligent and sincere, giving her all for her loved ones, but in her worldview, Gan Lin was the Emperor, and the Emperor could not abandon the throne, just as a Princess could not pursue freedom by retreating to seclusion in the mountains.
But Gan Qiongying was different. Gan Qiongying came from another world of freedom and equality. Her mindset wasn’t superior to Princess Duanrong’s, just broader.
Gan Qiongying knew there were many choices in life, understood that living wasn’t solely about inheriting a throne, and didn’t hold the rigid belief that being a Princess meant she had to remain one for life.
She just wanted to run away.
She could never utilize the forces Princess Duanrong had left behind.
Those forces were too superficial. Although Princess Duanrong had painstakingly built them over many years, abandoning them was a pity, but they all left traces. Even if Lihua hadn’t investigated and informed Zhongli Zhengzhen, anyone with some skill could trace them back to her.
And if Gan Qiongying wanted to run away, she absolutely could not let anyone know where she was.
That was why she had handed over the household management to Lihua, allowing him to see the guest lists, even the private correspondences of the ministers, the estates in various regions, and so on.
She was essentially feeding him information to pass on to Zhongli Zhengzhen.
That was also why she had brought Lihua to the birthday banquet.
She was actually creating an opportunity for Lihua to meet Zhongli Zhengzhen.
This served both as a favor to Lihua, thanking him for the two hundred thousand taels each month, and to prevent him from being caught in a difficult position between two sides.
Through her understanding during this period, plus coaxing some information out of Manyue while sleeping with Tianjiao, she knew Lihua was merely acting under duress.
He likely held no affection for the Jinchuan royal family. A prince raised in the common streets—what sense of royal belonging could he have?
It was also to let him use this information to mislead Zhongli Zhengzhen, preferably spreading it far and wide, to facilitate her own plans of feigning one action while secretly pursuing another.
Gan Qiongying could reason through all of this, and everything was slowly progressing according to her plans.
But Gan Qiongying couldn’t sleep.
Meeting him? Why not meet him? She wouldn’t stop him anyway. During tomorrow’s hunt, all the male guests would be gathered together—wouldn’t that be the perfect opportunity to run into Zhongli Zhengzhen?
At that time, the two brothers could slip into a grove and plot whatever they wanted without being noticed.
So why did he have to run out in this heavy rain?
Gan Qiongying sat up in bed, rubbing her face, her expression genuinely worried.
Lihua was already lame, and with the heavy rain, the ground outside was surely slippery. If they were to meet, they’d likely choose somewhere like a grove to avoid prying eyes—what if he slipped and fell on the path?
Moreover, his leg always ached on rainy or overcast days. Manyue had learned from Tianjiao that there was one winter when Lihua’s leg pain was so severe he couldn’t even walk.
What if he fell again? Soaked by the rain and already weak, what if he caught a chill?
All these days, she had made sure the household stewed ginseng soup for Lihua to nourish his body—wouldn’t all that effort go to waste?!
That was century-old ginseng bestowed by the Emperor. Gan Qiongying had specifically sent someone to inquire at an outside pharmacy—a single root was incredibly expensive!
And Lihua had so many merchant guild matters to handle every day, with account books piled higher than the Emperor’s memorials.
What if he fell ill?
Wouldn’t that delay earning money?!
Gan Qiongying was truly worried, which was why she sat up again. Tianjiao was no longer at the door—having just bought time for her master, she must have gone to tip him off.
Gan Qiongying walked to the door and pulled it open, intending to call Manyue to help her dress. But as she looked up, she saw Lihua holding an umbrella, emerging from the thick darkness, turning through the small gate and walking toward the entrance.
Tianjiao was beside him, carefully supporting him. San Jiu wasn’t even holding an umbrella—he was drenched like a duck, with only one umbrella in hand, tilted toward Lihua.
Even so, Gan Qiongying could see at a glance that Lihua was trudging toward her, the lower half of his robe completely soaked.
No doubt his shoes and trousers were wet too.
Gan Qiongying frowned, even feeling a little angry.
She was angry that Lihua didn’t take care of his own health.
“Just a hot compress for your leg—how could that wake me up? Why run out in such heavy rain?”
Gan Qiongying’s tone carried some emotion and reproach. Wearing only thin clothing, she took two steps forward, grabbed Lihua’s sleeve, and pulled him from the rain into the corridor.
The sound of rain was louder in the corridor, and a cool breeze swept through.
As Lihua approached, feeling guilty, hearing Gan Qiongying’s accusatory tone, and indeed soaked to the bone, he instinctively shivered.
His expression was gentle and subdued, slightly bowing as he stood before Gan Qiongying. The commanding presence he had shown earlier with Zhongli Zhengzhen was gone, replaced by timidity in his eyes.
Tianjiao had already “coached him” on what to say. Lihua hadn’t expected Gan Qiongying to wake up in the middle of the night and catch him absent.
Gan Qiongying usually slept soundly until morning—why had she woken up halfway tonight?
Was it because… she wasn’t holding him?