Chapter 73: She Seems to Have Missed the Plot!
A group of people came in and bustled around Lihua for quite a while. After the cold-prevention medicinal soup was prescribed, Manyue went to oversee its preparation.
Lihua sat back down on the edge of the bed. Gan Qiongying dismissed all the servants and personally applied a hot compress to Lihua’s legs.
Logically, at this moment, Gan Qiongying should have said some comforting words, at the very least reminding Lihua to take better care of his health in the future, emphasizing that nothing is more important than one’s well-being.
However, due to the awkwardness of tonight’s events, Gan Qiongying remained unusually silent.
The compress had to be moved frequently on Lihua’s legs. Gan Qiongying sat cross-legged on the bed, gently applying medicinal oil to her fingers and massaging the areas where the compress had been.
Lihua had changed into dry clothes and was covered with a blanket, but he no longer felt the slightest chill. Warmth spread from his knees, and Gan Qiongying’s hands on his calves felt like small flames, burning all the way into his heart.
Intensely hot.
He kept watching Gan Qiongying, his gaze unconsciously tender and lingering.
But Gan Qiongying didn’t notice his expression. Today, she felt a bit afraid to meet Lihua’s eyes.
She had a vague sense that something was off about Lihua tonight, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. In the end, Gan Qiongying concluded that it might be because Lihua had met with Zhongli Zhengzhen.
That scoundrel Zhongli Zhengzhen was no good character in the original plot.
In the story, there were five male leads. The reason Zhongli Zhengzhen could firmly hold the position of the primary husband, suppressing all the other “wild men” and even defeating the cunning Regent, was because he excelled at strategy.
Gan Qiongying still remembered it clearly: in the plot, Zhongli Zhengzhen’s schemes were endless, one after another, like a sow wearing a bra—layer upon layer.
He was also the only man who truly captured Wen Xueling’s heart. She chased after him relentlessly, and it took great effort to win him over. Yet, he refused to accept the other men, employing traps and schemes one after another, turning what should have been a harmonious household of six into utter chaos.
Moreover, he tormented Wen Xueling both physically and emotionally.
Gan Qiongying recalled a scene where Wen Xueling, caught in the conflicts among the men, accidentally lost her child. But in the dead of winter, Zhongli Zhengzhen picked a fight with her and made her wait for him in the freezing snow, only to stand her up in the end.
Wen Xueling trembled from the cold. When she finally saw him, she tearfully told him she had lost their child—their first child.
But Zhongli Zhengzhen let out a cold, cruel laugh and said heartlessly, “Who knows whose bastard you were carrying? It’s better off dead early. Even if it had been born, it might not have survived.”
According to the original description, Wen Xueling turned deathly pale upon hearing these words, collapsed into the snow, and later even fainted.
Some die-hard fans of Zhongli Zhengzhen insisted that he only said such things out of jealousy.
But when Gan Qiongying read it, she felt that Zhongli Zhengzhen truly disregarded human life.
Because his words in the plot carried a hidden threat: he was implying that if Wen Xueling dared to give birth to the child, he would dare to kill it.
What a monster!
Gan Qiongying was convinced that Zhongli Zhengzhen must have said something to Lihua, which was why Lihua was acting so strangely.
From now on, I should find ways to keep Lihua from meeting Zhongli Zhengzhen as much as possible. Lihua is so innocent and kind-hearted—how could he possibly outmaneuver someone like Zhongli Zhengzhen, who’s full of schemes?
Gan Qiongying couldn’t bring herself to ask Lihua what Zhongli Zhengzhen had said to him. Lihua had gone out in the middle of the night, braving the rain to meet someone, clearly not wanting her to know. Since he didn’t want her to know, Gan Qiongying wouldn’t ask a single question.
So, Gan Qiongying kept her head down, pretending to be a professional masseuse.
“Is this pressure okay?”
“Do you need it a little firmer?”
“Your muscles are a bit tense. Try to relax. Why don’t you lie down? I’ll massage your lower back too.”
Gan Qiongying didn’t actually know any massage techniques. After all, in her previous life, she had only lived a little over twenty years—she had just finished her studies and died before she could even use such skills. She hadn’t even had the chance to show filial piety to her own mother.
She was just randomly pressing and kneading, but fortunately, Lihua wasn’t picky. Whether her touch was too light or too firm, he didn’t make a sound—he was an excellent “client.”
Lihua listened to Gan Qiongying and obediently lay down, turning his back to her, curling up on his side, and closing his eyes.
His mind was also occupied with thoughts. He was thinking that if Caihong and Queli came, the remaining people from Jinchuan all had some martial arts skills. As long as they were provided with some opportunities, they would seize the chance to escape.
And once those people escaped, the Jinchuan royal family would discover his betrayal.
At that point, the businesses in Jinchuan would naturally be suppressed, so Lihua needed to quietly dispose of some of those assets.
Just as he was thinking about which ones to withdraw, he suddenly let out a muffled groan and turned his head, looking at her in shock.
Because without any warning, Gan Qiongying had climbed onto the bed and straddled Lihua’s waist.
Of course, it was to get better leverage for the massage, but Lihua… the flag that had just been lowered was raised uncontrollably again after Gan Qiongying straddled him and kneaded his waist a few times.
His mind went blank, muddled and chaotic, yet he couldn’t bring himself to ask her to get off. Every inch of skin where Gan Qiongying touched him sent an indescribable shiver through Lihua.
This shameful affliction of his—this love of being touched—seemed incurable.
He simply lay there, silently berating himself while quietly savoring the sensation.
It wasn’t until Gan Qiongying ran out of strength and climbed off that the sky outside had already brightened.
Gan Qiongying lay beside Lihua and said, “I’m going to sleep for a bit. Tell Manyue to make sure she wakes me up later. I need to go ask Princess Hui’an about something…”
Lihua responded softly, still maintaining the same position, not daring to move.
Gan Qiongying quickly fell asleep, naturally wrapping her arms around Lihua’s waist.
This was torture for Lihua. Once a person’s thoughts break through a certain boundary, they lose all sense of shame and restraint, expanding uncontrollably in unpredictable directions.
Lihua could no longer control his thoughts. He turned his head toward Gan Qiongying, reached out, and gently touched her sleeping face, letting out a troubled sigh.
When Gan Qiongying finally woke up, it wasn’t just midday—the sun had already set in the west…
She felt refreshed and well-rested, but Gan Qiongying hadn’t been able to go see Princess Hui’an to ask about the Emperor’s situation.
And damn it, it seemed like she had missed a plot point!