Inside Pingshuo Hall.
Just now, Gu Yu had pulled Xiao Yi away without saying a word, leaving everyone else in the room stunned. They still hadn’t processed what had happened. By the time someone reacted and rushed out to take a look, the two of them were already gone.
“What happened? Where did Ah Yu take Ah Yi?”
“Did you see Ah Yu’s expression just now? She looked terrifying. Could something serious have happened?” someone murmured a few words before turning to Xu Wan. “Ah Wan, do you know what’s going on? Aren’t you two the closest?”
How would Xu Wan know?
She only knew that Xiao Yi had been acting strangely today. She had seemed off back at the horse track, and now even Gu Yu was behaving unusually. What exactly had happened?
She had never seen Gu Yu like this before, nor had she ever seen Xiao Yi like this.
Could it be…
Xu Wan suddenly stood up as if a thought had struck her.
Someone noticed her pale face and asked urgently, “What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing…” Xu Wan shook her head, her face still pale as she sat back down. She must be overthinking it. How could that be possible? Ah Yi had always been the gentlest person. Even if she had really tried to harm Gu Wuyou, Ah Yi would never do such a thing.
But—
Before she could dispel the thought, a group of people strode inside.
Four guards in black, each gripping their swords, their waists adorned with the Gu family’s insignia, stepped in with solemn, indifferent expressions.
Scanning the room with sharp eyes, one of them finally spoke, “Where is Princess Changning?”
These noble young ladies had grown up in prominent families and were not strangers to such occasions. Though intimidated by the guards’ imposing presence, they still answered, “Princess Changning was taken away by Gu Qiniang.”
The leading guard frowned and issued an order to the two men behind him. “Go find them.”
Then he asked again, “Where did she sit?”
This time, no one answered immediately. Lu Yan furrowed her brows and stood up, her tone unfriendly as she asked, “What do you want?”
The guard glanced at her and recognized who she was. He cupped his hands in greeting and answered, “Miss Lu, we have discovered that the incident at the horse track was not an accident but deliberate sabotage.”
At these words, the room instantly erupted into chaos—sharp gasps, suppressed cries of shock, and hushed murmurs filled the space.
The guard swept his gaze over the crowd before taking an object from one of the men behind him—a horse saddle. Holding it up, he said, “Someone tampered with the saddle.”
Lu Yan, standing closest, immediately stepped forward to examine it. After a long while, she finally spotted a tiny pinprick.
Her expression changed slightly, and after a moment, she murmured, “It’s… an embroidery needle?” Ignoring the murmuring behind her, she pressed her lips together and looked at the guard, asking suspiciously, “If it’s an embroidery needle, why are you only questioning Princess Changning?”
To this, the guard gave no answer. He himself didn’t know. This was an order from the Ninth Young Master, and since his master had instructed him, he naturally wouldn’t say more.
He merely replied, “Whether it is or not, we will know once we check.”
Lu Yan pursed her lips, hesitated for a long moment while staring at the guard, but ultimately pointed to a spot.
The guard nodded slightly. “Thank you.” Then, without another word, he walked over.
When he reached Xiao Yi’s desk, he first saw a mess—papers and objects scattered in disarray. Sweeping his gaze over the area, he found no embroidery needles or similar items. After rummaging through the desk drawers, he finally retrieved a small, ornate octagonal box.
Lu Yan, standing beside him, explained, “This was prepared for us by Teacher Liu, who teaches us embroidery. Every one of us has one, and inside… are embroidery needles.”
She spoke the last three words in an exceptionally soft voice.
But she still couldn’t believe that Xiao Yi would do such a thing. After saying this, she added, “The embroidery needles used by all Pingshuo Hall students are the same.”
As soon as she said this, the surrounding crowd echoed in agreement, and many even took out their own identical embroidery boxes.
The guards, however, remained silent.
The leading guard simply opened the embroidery box and examined its contents. Then, he extended a hand toward Xu Wan. “Please lend me your embroidery box for a moment.”
Xu Wan dared not refuse and quickly handed it over.
Everyone in the room was staring at the guard. When they saw him take out the needles and compare them, before he could even speak, Lu Yan had already turned pale with shock. “How could this be?”
How…
Xiao Yi’s needles were different from theirs?
And—
Lu Yan looked into Xiao Yi’s embroidery box and saw that one needle was missing.
Meanwhile, at the Moon Gate.
Xiao Yi was still pleading with Gu Yu. It was the first time she had ever humbled herself like this.
But she had no other choice.
She couldn’t let anyone find out that she had tampered with the saddle… If others knew what she had done, everything she had built over the past sixteen years—her reputation, her status—would be utterly ruined.
No, not just that.
If she offended both the Gu family and the Wang family, even the Empress in the palace wouldn’t let her off.
Regret, fear…
All her emotions surged up at once.
Xiao Yi could only cling desperately to Gu Yu’s hand, forcing herself to suppress her emotions as she begged, “Ah Yu, help me this once. I swear, I will never do this kind of thing again. Believe me, I won’t be jealous of Gu Wuyou anymore, and I won’t try to harm her again. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
“As long as—”
“As long as you help me this time!” She couldn’t let anyone know what she had done. If the truth came out, it wouldn’t just be her—her father would be implicated as well.
Gu Yu didn’t speak. She just stood there, motionless, as if frozen.
She looked into Xiao Yi’s once-gentle and elegant eyes, now filled with desperation and panic. She saw her pale face, her red lips bitten tightly, and her trembling figure as she pleaded over and over again.
She couldn’t say a word.
Only one thought echoed in her mind.
This person was too unfamiliar, far too unfamiliar.
Was she really Ah Yi? Or had someone else taken over her body?
Her Ah Yi…
How had she become like this?
Seeing that Gu Yu still showed no sign of relenting after all this time, Xiao Yi grew anxious. She tightened her grip on Gu Yu’s hand, and even her voice became sharp.
“Ah Yu, aren’t we best friends?!”
“Why?”
“Why won’t you even help me with this?! Do you know what I’ll be facing if I go back now? Do you want to see me lose everything and be utterly ruined?!”
Her shrill, piercing voice echoed through the space, lingering in the air.
It was as if Gu Yu had finally come back to her senses. She looked at Xiao Yi as though seeing a stranger, her expression complicated, her voice hoarse.
“How did you become like this?”
This question completely pierced Xiao Yi’s heart. At this moment, she had long lost her usual clarity and intelligence. Overwhelmed by emotions, she couldn’t stay calm at all when she thought about the situation she was about to face.
She flung Gu Yu’s hand away, straightened her back, and snapped sharply, “Why? Ah Yu, why don’t you ask yourself that question?”
Gu Yu frowned, seemingly not understanding what she meant. Before she could respond, she heard Xiao Yi continue, “Didn’t you use to hate Gu Wuyou the most? Didn’t you wish she never existed as your sister? What kind of bewitching spell did she cast on you to make you protect her like this?!”
Gu Yu had never expected to hear such words from Xiao Yi’s mouth.
She looked at her, parted her lips slightly, but found herself at a loss for words. She no longer wanted to look at this Xiao Yi, who now felt so unfamiliar. She closed her eyes briefly before speaking in a hoarse voice, “Making a mistake isn’t terrifying. What’s terrifying is not having the courage to take responsibility for it.”
“Xiao Yi—”
She called her name, her voice low and utterly exhausted.
“Don’t make me look down on you.”
Xiao Yi frowned, about to retort, when suddenly a cold, stern voice sounded from behind her.
“Princess Changning, please come with us.”
She turned her head and saw two guards, armed with swords, walking toward her.
Just moments ago, she had been able to sneer at Gu Yu, but now, she couldn’t say a single word.
She could only stare blankly at them.
As they came closer and closer, her gaze suddenly turned sharp, like two knives slicing toward Gu Yu.
Gu Yu was also stunned—she hadn’t expected her uncle’s side to act so quickly.
Looking at Xiao Yi’s gaze, she opened her mouth, as if she wanted to explain something, but in the end, she said nothing.
Even if they hadn’t come, she would have taken Xiao Yi there herself.
The final result would not have been any different.
At least for Xiao Yi, there was no difference.
Gu Yu remained silent, saying nothing. She simply watched as Xiao Yi was taken away, watched as she was led further and further away, yet she stood still for a long time without moving.
By the time Xiao Yi was brought to Madam Zhang, a crowd had already gathered in the courtyard.
Xu Fu was there, as were Gu Wuji and the others. Even the students from Pingshuo Zhai had assembled. Perhaps due to the sound of approaching footsteps, the people who had been surrounding the courtyard turned to look.
When they saw Xiao Yi appear, Xu Wan seemed to want to step forward but hesitated, as if recalling something, and ultimately stopped in her tracks.
She didn’t even dare to meet Xiao Yi’s gaze. Lowering her head, she hid herself among the crowd.
As for the others, like Lu Yan and the rest, they did not avoid looking at her as Xu Wan had, but none of them looked well.
Their gazes were complicated as they stared at Xiao Yi, as if they still couldn’t believe she was truly responsible for this.
“Lord Duke, she has been brought.” The guards stepped forward and saluted Gu Wuji.
Gu Wuji nodded. He stood under the eaves, gazing at Xiao Yi in the courtyard. Then, he signaled for someone to bring the horse saddle and the eight-treasure embroidery box and hand them to Xiao Yi. His voice sounded as calm and friendly as ever, as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
“Miss Xiao, take a look—does this embroidery box belong to you?”
Xiao Yi glanced at it. Her long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and her hands, hidden in her sleeves, clenched into fists.
“…Yes.”
She answered in a low voice.
“Mm.”
Gu Wuji looked at her, his tone still gentle. “Then, can you tell me where the missing needle in this box went?”
Xiao Yi had no answer.
She had actually calmed down on the way here, no longer as hysterical as before. After a long silence, she finally lifted her head… and the first thing she saw was Gu Wuyou’s figure.
Standing beneath the eaves, Gu Wuyou was surrounded and protected by a crowd in various ways.
Jealousy and fury surged up in Xiao Yi’s heart at the worst possible moment, making the hands she had hidden in her sleeves clench even tighter.
She was jealous of Gu Wuyou. She hated Gu Wuyou.
She had since they were children.
Xiao Yi could never understand—why did someone as brainless and willful as Gu Wuyou always have so many people who sincerely cared for her? It had always been like this. The things Xiao Yi had to struggle for, exhausting every effort to obtain—
This woman before her always got them so easily.
Family affection, friendship, attention, admiration—Gu Wuyou could obtain them all effortlessly. In the past, Xiao Yi could still comfort herself by thinking, “Other than her face, Gu Wuyou is inferior to me in every way.”
But now?
She recalled the sight of Gu Wuyou riding at the horse track earlier.
The astonishment and cheers from the crowd.
She had listened as the people around her praised Gu Wuyou with all kinds of compliments, watched as the moment Gu Wuyou dismounted, she was immediately surrounded by admirers…
Never had there been a moment where Xiao Yi loathed Gu Wuyou more than she did now.
Jealousy and resentment clouded her mind.
So, when no one was watching, she had secretly slipped the embroidery needle from her pouch into the saddle.
But she had only wanted to scare her. She had never meant to take her life. In fact, the moment Gu Wuyou had mounted the horse, she had already regretted it.
But now, there was no use saying any of this.
She had lost. Utterly.
She could already picture what her future would look like. All those who once flattered her, surrounded her, and lifted her up—would now distance themselves, sneer at her, and mock her.
Just like—
Xiao Yi’s gaze swept toward Xu Wan and the others. She saw that the people who used to be close to her now either avoided her gaze or looked at her with complicated expressions.
She said nothing and withdrew her gaze indifferently.
Her voice was hoarse, tinged with exhaustion and unwillingness to argue any further. Lowering her eyes, she said plainly, “Uncle, there’s no need to say more. I admit it. I did all of this.”
The moment her words fell, the courtyard erupted into chaos.
Especially among the students of Pingshuo Hall—those who had known Xiao Yi for years, who had close ties with her. They couldn’t remain calm after hearing her confession.
Eyes wide with shock, unable to believe it, they broke into hushed conversations, but the murmuring was impossible to suppress.
Xiao Yi, however, didn’t look at them. She didn’t want to look at anyone anymore.
Keeping her head down, she spoke only to Gu Wuji, “I did wrong, and I accept my punishment. But… this matter has nothing to do with my family.”
At this point, no matter how straight she kept her back, her voice still carried a hint of weakness and humility.
“I hope Uncle can show mercy.”
Gu Wuji didn’t respond.
He only looked down at Xiao Yi from above.
The man who had been smiling earlier now had cold frost in his eyes, and the way he gazed at Xiao Yi was as if she were already a dead thing.
No one knew how long it took before he finally spoke.
“Someone, take Princess Changning back home.”
He neither agreed nor refused her plea. He only ordered that she be sent back properly.
But Xiao Yi understood his meaning perfectly.
The Duke of Ding had no intention of letting her off easily.
Her heart sank, but she found herself unable to say a single word.
“Yes, sir!”
The guards responded immediately, stepping forward and bowing respectfully.
“Princess Changning, this way, please.”
Xiao Yi pressed her lips together.
She did not leave immediately but instead looked toward Gu Wuyou.
The girl in red stood beneath the eaves, her features bright and striking, her expression indifferent. Even as Xiao Yi stared at her, she said nothing.
Xiao Yi also said nothing.
She simply turned and walked away.
As she exited, she happened to cross paths with Gu Yu, who was just returning.
Once, they had been the closest of friends. But now… they merely brushed past each other.
Neither of them spoke a single word.
–+
As Xiao Yi left, Xu Fu stepped forward.
He cupped his hands toward Gu Wuji and sighed, “This incident is ultimately my failure in discipline. If I had been more—”
Before he could finish, Gu Wuji had already stepped forward, reaching out to steady him with a warm voice.
“Bingyan, what fault is there to blame on you?”
“You may be the academy’s headmaster, but there are over a hundred students at the academy. How could you possibly watch over all of them? The human heart is difficult to predict. This matter has nothing to do with the academy—let alone with you.”
Gu Wuji was not a foolish man. If he were, he wouldn’t have held his position for so long.
Those who deserved punishment—he would not let them off lightly. Those who were blameless—he would not wrongly accuse.
“If there is any fault, then I was also in the wrong today,” he admitted. “In my haste, I arrived with my guards without first informing you.”
What could Xu Fu say to that? Naturally, he replied, “It’s no trouble.”
After exchanging a few polite words, Gu Wuji indicated that he would be leaving.
Although Manman had said earlier that she was fine, he was still somewhat uneasy. He needed to have the family doctor examine her once more before he could feel at ease.
Xu Fu, of course, did not object. He even smiled and said, “Then, Leping, take her home. Let her rest for a few days. When she’s fully recovered, she can return.”
At these words, Gu Wuyou’s eyes widened.
Rest at home for a few days?
She didn’t want that at all!
She had been planning to go out for breakfast with the Great General tomorrow!
Just as she was about to speak, she felt a gentle tug on her sleeve.
She froze slightly.
If she wasn’t mistaken, the person standing behind her right now should be… the Great General.
Before she could react further, she suddenly felt something rough and coarse being slipped into her palm.
A paper note.
“Manman, let’s go.”
Her father’s voice rang from beside her.
Gu Wuyou let out a small “ah,” then quickly noticed the eyes of everyone around her were on her.
She hurriedly nodded, secretly tucking away the note in her hand, and replied, “Alright.”