Perhaps sensing Gu Lanyin’s gaze, Gu Qing shrank back in fear, trying to retreat. But she was bound so tightly—where could she possibly hide?
What a pitiful sight.
Gu Lanyin found herself ironically thinking that.
Although they were twins, they did not resemble each other. Unlike Gu Lanyin’s cold and composed beauty, Gu Qing’s charm lay in her delicate fragility.
She still remembered the year Gu Qing was found and brought back—dressed in white, standing behind Xiao Ye, clutching his sleeve, raising her head bit by bit as if trying to get a good look at the family she hadn’t seen in years. But she was too timid—her gaze barely met theirs before she quickly lowered her head again, like a frightened little white rabbit, startled by the slightest rustle.
Because of that fragile, helpless demeanor, their mother, Madam Wang, had poured all her maternal love into her. Xiao Ye had treasured her like a rare gem, afraid she would suffer even the slightest grievance.
“…It’s you!”
A sudden voice shattered the silence in the room.
“Gu Lanyin! How dare you tie me up!”
The candle flames in the room had already settled.
Hearing these words, Gu Qing also raised her face in disbelief. “Sister, how could it be you? You… why did you tie me up?”
Gu Lanyin did not answer her question. She merely cast a calm glance at her before withdrawing her gaze and looking toward Yelu Yange. Her tone was gentle as she greeted her, “Your Highness, the Princess.”
“Hmph!”
Yelu Yange let out a cold snort. “So you still remember I am a princess? You’ve got some nerve! Release me immediately, then kneel and kowtow to apologize! Otherwise, when—”
Slap!
The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the room.
Yelu Yange’s face was struck to the side.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the room stiffened. Even Gu Qing was stunned. She looked at Shi Yu, who stood before the Liao princess, then at Gu Lanyin, who was sitting calmly, drinking tea as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, she dared not make a sound.
“You dare hit me?”
Yelu Yange stared at Shi Yu in utter disbelief. When she finally registered the burning pain on her face, she immediately lost her composure and screamed, “You lowly servant, how dare you hit me!”
She struggled to stand up, but her whole body was tightly bound to the chair. The moment she tried to move, she fell back down. Her movements were too forceful, and she ended up toppling over with the chair, collapsing onto the ground.
The proud and lofty Liao princess was now lying at the feet of a Han servant girl.
This realization drove Yelu Yange to madness. She screamed and kicked wildly, but it was of no use.
“Too noisy.”
Gu Lanyin frowned, her delicate willow-leaf brows knitting together in displeasure.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Shi Yu grabbed Yelu Yange by the collar and delivered another ten consecutive slaps. Her once-beautiful face quickly swelled and reddened.
Shi Yu had been trained in martial arts from a young age. Her strength far exceeded that of ordinary people, and with the fury simmering in her heart, she struck with even more force than usual. Now, gazing at Yelu Yange’s tear-filled eyes, she said with a chilling smile, “I hope the princess understands—my mistress does not like noisy people. If you make another sound, I cannot say how many more slaps you will receive next time.”
Perhaps out of fear, or perhaps because her face was so swollen that she could no longer speak, there was no further sound.
Shi Yu was satisfied. She turned to Gu Lanyin and respectfully addressed her, “Mistress.”
Gu Lanyin nodded. “Help her up.”
“Yes.”
Shi Yu dragged Yelu Yange up from the floor. Seeing the look of resentment and unwillingness in her eyes as she turned to Gu Lanyin, Shi Yu’s brows furrowed, and she was about to strike again, but Gu Lanyin stopped her. “Enough.”
Setting down the celadon tea cup in her hand, Gu Lanyin dabbed the corner of her lips with a handkerchief before finally turning her gaze toward Yelu Yange and speaking in a slow, composed tone, “I assume the princess already knows why I invited you here.”
Yelu Yange was not foolish.
At this point, how could she not understand?
What she had not expected was that Gu Lanyin would be bold enough to do this. “Liao and Great Zhou are on the verge of a peace agreement. I am carrying the responsibility of the marriage alliance. Do you truly think you dare to kill me?”
Her voice was muffled, her face in unbearable pain.
Thinking about her cherished face, Yelu Yange’s heart burned with hatred. Her gaze at Gu Lanyin was filled with venom. “Gu Lanyin, forget you— even the Emperor of Great Zhou wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me!”
“You must be joking, Princess.”
Gu Lanyin’s smile remained serene and gentle. “I am just a woman—how could I possibly dare to kill anyone?”
But then, she paused.
When she spoke again, her voice was still soft and pleasant.
“Today, the Qingfeng Pavilion received a very lucrative request.”
Qingfeng Pavilion was the most famous male pleasure house in Bianjing. It housed all kinds of beautiful men. Yelu Yange had been in the capital for months, and in private, she was one of its regular patrons.
“What do you mean?”
Yelu Yange’s brows furrowed.
“By tomorrow, there will be rumors spreading—stating that the Liao princess died in the midst of pleasure after consuming Five-Stone Powder.”
Watching as Yelu Yange’s pupils shrank bit by bit, Gu Lanyin’s voice remained soft and slow, as if she were merely making casual conversation.
“Would the princess be satisfied with such a death?”
Gu Qing widened her eyes.
Yelu Yange, however, was filled with shock and fury. “You, you! Gu Lanyin, how dare you! If I die, the Liao will definitely raise an army! Are you not afraid that Great Zhou will suffer from the destruction of its people?!”
Gu Lanyin calmly folded her hands in her lap, exuding the demeanor of both a noble lady and the matron of a household. She simply looked at Yelu Yange, her lips pressing into a thin line as she spoke, “The Liao princess bears the heavy responsibility of a marriage alliance, yet she indulges in pleasure without regard for the face of Great Zhou. Tell me, when we hold this against Liao, should the Liao ruler ask us for forgiveness, or should they apologize to us?”
Yelu Yange looked at her composed face.
It was then that she understood this woman wasn’t joking—she truly wanted her dead.
All her previous arrogance vanished in an instant. Her face went pale as she began to beg, “Gu Lanyin, no, Madam Xiao, I was wrong. Please don’t kill me! I’ll give you anything you want…”
“Madam Xiao…”
Gu Lanyin whispered the name softly. The calm, gentle expression on her face changed for the first time, a smile that wasn’t quite a smile playing at her lips. She had once cherished this title, but now, she found it repulsive.
“Shi Yu.”
“Yes!”
Yelu Yange watched as the woman approached her. She screamed and tried to back away, but still couldn’t escape the fate of having her chin seized…
Gu Lanyin didn’t look at her. She stood up and walked toward Gu Qing.
“Sister…” Seeing her approach, Gu Qing’s pale face twisted with fear. She struggled desperately to free herself from the ropes, but it was of no use. She could only cry and beg, “Sister, I didn’t do anything! I know nothing! I’m your own sister, born of the same mother, your own sister! Are you really going to kill me?”
Her sobs were heartbreaking.
Her voice trembled, and her chin quivered.
Gu Lanyin had often softened because of her appearance in the past, but now, she merely gazed at her face indifferently. “Did you really do nothing?”
“I…”
Gu Qing went silent.
“Yelu Yange originally intended to take action against you because she knew you were someone Xiao Ye cared about. But you told Yelu Yange that Xiao Ye loves me, Gu Qing…” Gu Lanyin smiled as she asked, “Does Xiao Ye love me?”
“He…”
Gu Qing’s eyes flickered slightly, hesitation in her heart. But looking at Yelu Yange not far away, her face turned pale. She was about to speak when suddenly, the sounds of a fight erupted from outside.
“He’s here.”
Gu Lanyin said calmly.
She watched as Gu Qing’s expression momentarily froze, then her eyes cleared. Gu Qing raised her voice and shouted toward the outside, “Langjun, I’m in here!”
The fighting outside abruptly stopped, followed by increasingly intense sounds from outside.
Gu Lanyin didn’t say anything and didn’t pay attention to Gu Qing either.
She wrapped herself in her fox fur coat and walked toward the door, watching as Song Yue and the other three attendants were helpless against Xiao Ye.
“Stop.” She spoke.
Song Yue and the others withdrew their swords and stepped back, positioning themselves in front of her. Watching Xiao Ye approach, they gripped their swords tightly, their stance still brimming with tension, ready to strike at any moment.
Looking at Xiao Ye, who was radiating hostility, Gu Lanyin stood quietly under the corridor and spoke in a calm voice, “The Heir of the Xiao family has come in such a menacing manner—are you here to kill me, or to save her?”
Seeing his expression freeze and his aggression slightly subside, she turned to Song Yue and the others, saying, “Put your swords away. You are no match for him.”
“Mistress…”
“It’s fine,” Gu Lanyin smiled. “After all, the Heir of the Xiao family and I were once husband and wife. I would think he wouldn’t go so far as to utterly destroy me.”
Hearing this unfamiliar form of address, Xiao Ye furrowed his long brows tightly.
He looked at the pale and frail face beneath her hood, as if he wanted to say something, but before he could, Gu Qing’s voice called from inside.
Xiao Ye’s heart clenched. He stepped past them to look inside, and the calm expression he had barely maintained immediately crumbled. “You’re insane!”
Gu Lanyin did not respond to his outburst. She stood on the stone steps, holding a hand warmer, and looked down at Xiao Ye from above as she spoke indifferently, “By now, the Heir of the Xiao family should have already figured out the full story of what happened.”
Xiao Ye fell silent.
He had indeed investigated everything.
He had not expected Yelu Yange’s involvement in this matter, nor had he thought that Qing’er was also entangled in it.
He had already regretted everything.
In the past few days since she had left, he hadn’t had a single peaceful night of sleep.
When Siyu found out about this, she had stormed back home to question him.
At that moment, he had suddenly realized—
Yes, how could he have not believed her?
She was Gu Lanyin.
The Gu Lanyin who had stayed by his side even in his most perilous moments, the Gu Lanyin who would never betray her own pride and dignity for something so disgraceful.
Even his younger sister Siyu had understood that. His mother had understood. Even the servants in the household had understood.
Yet he, blinded by jealousy, had lost all sense.
In his moment of fury, he had humiliated her and forced her out.
And by the time he came to his senses, she was nowhere to be found.
He had gone to the Gu family, believing she had the mighty Gu family behind her.
But he had forgotten—
To her, that house was not even a place where she could take shelter.
He had thought she would go to the Wang family in Jinling.
But the city gate records showed no sign of her departure.
He searched for days, but she had disappeared without a trace—
Until tonight, when Qing’er was taken away, and in her room, there was a note left for him by Gu Lanyin.
“This was my fault, Lanyin…”
As Gu Qing’s cries echoed from inside, Xiao Ye lowered his head under Gu Lanyin’s gaze. His voice was hoarse and dry, filled with regret.
“I’m sorry.”
“Come home with me. I will make it up to you.”
“From now on, let’s live well together, alright?”
He suddenly lifted his head, eyes filled with hope.
He wanted to step closer, and the swords of the attendants were no obstacle to his path.
But then—
Gu Lanyin’s gaze, cold and unyielding like frost-covered snow, stopped him in his tracks.
The hope in his eyes slowly faded away.
Suppressing the nausea rising in her heart, Gu Lanyin asked, “Let me ask you this—now that you know Gu Qing was involved, what do you plan to do?”
“Qing’er…”
Xiao Ye pressed his lips together.
He knew that Qing’er had done wrong, and there was no way he could excuse her actions.
Even if she had only spoken those words out of fear—
She could have told them the truth.
But she hadn’t.
Lanyin’s indifferent gaze was right in front of him.
He knew—
This time, he had truly broken her heart.
And he knew that if he wanted to earn her forgiveness, Gu Qing had to leave.
But…
Inside, Gu Qing was still calling for him.
Hearing her cries, Xiao Ye clenched his grip on his sword hilt. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
A long silence passed.
In the end, he still didn’t dare lift his head.
With a hoarse voice, he said, “Lanyin… she is still your sister.”
Even though she had expected this answer—
Gu Lanyin still felt a twinge of pain.
Not because she still loved him.
Five years of marriage. Twenty years of knowing each other.
She had loved him, hated him, resented him.
But in the end, after all the disappointment, she had become indifferent.
Her feelings for Xiao Ye had already withered away in those countless, lonely nights.
What saddened her was that—
From the time she was a child until now—
No one had ever chosen her.
Not even once.
How pathetic.