Pingshuo Hall.
After what happened at the racecourse earlier, everyone’s expressions were somewhat unpleasant. More than a dozen people sat together in a circle, whispering among themselves:
“Why did that horse suddenly go mad?”
“Maybe the Princess of Leping wanted to win too badly, and the horse went berserk from the pain.”
“These horses were originally gifts from foreign lands, wild and difficult to tame. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. Otherwise…” That person trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought.
After a moment of silence, someone else spoke: “I wonder how the Princess of Leping is doing now? Should we go check on her?” Having spent the past few days with Gu Wuyou, they had begun to like her.
Especially after today’s incident, they were genuinely worried.
Just as they were about to agree, Lu Yan, who had escorted Gu Wuyou earlier, returned. Seeing her come back, the group immediately asked, “Ah Yan, how is the Princess of Leping? Is she all right?”
Lu Yan had walked all the way back and was quite thirsty. She first took a cup of tea from a female attendant, took a sip, and then replied, “She’s fine. Madam Zhang has already applied the ointment.”
Hearing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Even Xiao Yi, who had been silent the whole time, unconsciously relaxed. She hadn’t even noticed that ever since returning from the racecourse, her hands had been tightly clenched.
Only now did she seem to awaken from a deep dream, finally loosening her grip. But in her reddened palms, a few crescent-shaped nail marks remained deeply embedded in the flesh, nearly breaking the skin.
Just as she was beginning to feel at ease, Lu Yan continued, “But—”
At this, everyone tensed up again. “But what?”
“The Duke of Ding has arrived, and he brought quite a few personal guards…” Lu Yan frowned, lowering her voice slightly. “I saw some of them heading toward the racecourse.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence before erupting into discussions.
“What does this mean? Bringing his guards and heading to the racecourse? Could it be that the Duke of Ding suspects something strange about the Princess of Leping’s accident?”
“Speaking of which, that horse’s madness was indeed unusual.”
“If someone really did something behind the scenes, that’s utterly despicable! We’re talking about a human life! If Li Qinyuan hadn’t shielded the Princess of Leping just now, who knows what would have happened to her?”
The room buzzed with indignation and fury.
No one noticed that Xiao Yi’s expression had changed drastically ever since Lu Yan finished speaking. Her delicate and gentle face had turned deathly pale, and the hands she had just unclenched balled up tightly once more.
The room was noisy, but she seemed to hear nothing.
No, there was still sound…
“The Duke of Ding has arrived, and he brought quite a few personal guards.”
“Some of them are already at the racecourse.”
“The person who did this is truly vile. They must be found out. If we let someone like this stay among us, how will we ever have peace in the future?”
These words echoed in her ears, ringing so loudly that her head felt like it was going to explode.
Xiao Yi wanted to shake them off, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t make them disappear. As the voices grew louder and louder, she felt her heart pounding, as if it was about to leap out of her throat.
Xu Wan, hearing all this, also frowned and turned to Xiao Yi, saying, “Ah Yi, do you think someone really tried to harm Gu Wuyou?”
Although she disliked Gu Wuyou, she had never dared to do anything beyond petty words.
After speaking for a while and receiving no response, she turned to look at Xiao Yi, only to find her face frighteningly pale. She was startled and asked with concern, “Ah Yi, what’s wrong? Why do you look so awful?”
As she reached out to touch her, Xiao Yi suddenly stood up with such force that the brushes, inkstones, and papers on the table were knocked to the ground with a loud crash.
The heavy sound silenced the entire room.
Everyone turned to look and saw a young girl in a lilac ruqun, her face pale as paper, her crimson lips deeply bitten.
They had never seen Xiao Yi like this before.
For a moment, they were stunned, just as they were about to speak—Gu Yu entered from outside, her face dark and solemn.
Seeing Xiao Yi’s expression and the mess on the floor, Gu Yu’s eyes flickered slightly. Then, her face darkened further. She stared at Xiao Yi, as if seriously looking at her for the first time. As the light in Xiao Yi’s eyes gradually focused, Gu Yu said in a deep voice, “Come with me.”
“Ah Yu?” Xiao Yi seemed momentarily stunned.
Before she could say anything else, Gu Yu had already stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and pulled her away. She paid no attention to whether Xiao Yi bumped into anything along the way, nor did she care about the group of people behind them calling their names. She just dragged Xiao Yi straight outside.
“Ah Yu, you’re hurting me.”
Xiao Yi had no idea what had gotten into Gu Yu. Her first thought was that Gu Yu had found out what she had done. But that couldn’t be—Duke Ding’s men had only just gone over, and the needle had long since been embedded in the horse’s belly.
It was just an ordinary embroidery needle. How could Gu Yu possibly know it was her?
So after a brief moment of panic, Xiao Yi quickly regained her usual composure—gentle, agreeable. Even as she was being treated like this, she only softly complained from behind Gu Yu in a mild tone.
Hearing her familiar voice, Gu Yu’s steps briefly faltered.
She even began to wonder if she had guessed wrong. Could it have been someone else? Ah Yi had always been kind—how could she possibly do something so harmful? Even if it was just a small embroidery needle, weren’t there many others in Pingshuo Hall who might have one as well?
But then she recalled Xiao Yi’s panicked expression when she entered, the mess scattered all over the floor. Gu Yu closed her eyes.
She and Xiao Yi had grown up together; no one knew her better than she did. If nothing had happened, Xiao Yi would never have shown such an expression.
Finally, they reached a quiet place. Gu Yu stopped, let go of Xiao Yi’s wrist, and ignored her staggering posture. With a dark face, she looked straight at her and asked, “Why?”
Even with her usual gentle temperament, Xiao Yi was slightly provoked by Gu Yu’s attitude and actions.
Her expression was rare—somewhat displeased. She steadied herself against the wall, rubbing the red marks on her wrist left by Gu Yu’s grip. With furrowed brows, she asked, “Ah Yu, what’s wrong with you? What do you mean, ‘why’?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
Gu Yu remained as she was before, her fists clenched, lips pressed tightly together. “Jing Yubai and I found traces of an embroidery needle on the saddle.”
She saw Xiao Yi’s long lashes tremble slightly, and a fleeting trace of panic flash across her face.
“So what?” After a brief moment of alarm, Xiao Yi quickly recovered.
She clasped her slightly trembling hands behind her back and forced herself to maintain her usual composure. “Ah Yu, we’re all girls, and we just had an embroidery lesson not long ago. Why would you assume it was me?”
After saying this, she sighed softly, looking at Gu Yu with a hint of disappointment. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, and I don’t know what the Princess of Leping said to you to make you…”
Before she could finish, Gu Yu cut her off. “We’ve come to this point, and you’re still lying to me?!”
Unlike her previous disbelief and coldness, Gu Yu was now furious. Her eyes were red as she stared at Xiao Yi, the usually slightly upturned corners of her peach blossom eyes now brimming with tears.
“Do you know that my uncle has arrived? He’s already sent people to the racecourse, and they will soon discover the tampered saddle.”
“Do you think you can cover it up? Do you think no one will trace it back to you?”
“Xiao Yi, don’t you think you’re being a little too clever for your own good?!”
In the eyes of those in power, people like them were merely playing childish games. They might think they left no trace, that their plan was foolproof, but in this world, as long as one took action, how could there ever truly be no flaws?
She looked at Xiao Yi, watching as her pale face tried to form an argument. Whether it was exhaustion or a refusal to engage in further debate, Gu Yu’s anger faded, replaced by a calm and indifferent tone.
“The needle marks on the saddle were even smaller than those of an ordinary embroidery needle. And not long ago, you specifically had someone bring you a box of fine embroidery needles from Jiangnan.”
Seeing Xiao Yi’s expression freeze as if struck by lightning, Gu Yu looked at her and said coolly,
“When you did all of this, did you forget about that?”
“I…”
Xiao Yi was truly panicked now. She had indeed forgotten about that detail.
Seeing her like this, Gu Yu remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. Her voice was filled with deep disappointment, mixed with an endless sigh. “Ah Yi, how did you become like this?”
In her memories, Xiao Yi had always been gentle and well-mannered, someone who treated others with kindness. As a child, she had spent most of her time playing with Ah Yi.
They weren’t blood sisters, but their bond had been closer than that of real sisters.
But now—
The woman before her, with that panicked expression, had the same face as the Xiao Yi she once knew, yet… why did she feel like a complete stranger?
As if all the strength had drained from her, Gu Yu asked in a low voice, “Have you ever thought about what would have happened if Li Qinyuan hadn’t been there? If he hadn’t managed to save Gu Wuyou… what would things be like now?”