freenovelworld Chapter 786 Both Mothers Agreed
Chapter 786 Both Mothers Agreed
Song Ruyan rushed out, her hair disheveled, her eyes bloodshot, like a lioness driven to the brink. In her hand, she held a guard's knife that she had pulled from the wall.
"I don't care who it is, I want his life!" Her voice was shrill, piercing the oppressive silence within the mansion.
"Ruyan!" Chu Ruohan rushed over with her entourage and hugged her tightly from behind. "Calm down! She's already gone. Where are you going to look for her?!"
"Let me go!" Song Ruyan struggled violently, the blade flailing wildly in the air. "My Gun Gun! My Gun Gun is still inside, his life hanging in the balance! How can I stay calm!"
"That's precisely why you need to stay calm!" Chu Ruohan's voice trembled with tears as she looked at Gu Qingchen, who was also covered in blood and standing dejectedly in the corridor, and felt an overwhelming pang of heartache.
"Dr. Qian is still inside! Are you trying to distract him by rushing out now?"
These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Song Ruyan's head.
The knife in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter.
She collapsed, leaning against Chu Ruohan, and burst into tears.
Inside the room, Dr. Qian, a renowned physician in the capital, was standing by the bedside.
Lying on the bed is his son.
He reached out to take the wound medicine from the tray, but his usually steady hand was now trembling uncontrollably.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his eyes were calm.
He picked up the medicine bottle and precisely sprinkled the powder onto the deep, bone-revealing wound on his son's back.
The bleeding finally stopped slowly.
Dr. Qian's back was already soaked with cold sweat.
A few days later.
Gu Lu walked into a side hall of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and placed a file on the table.
Gu Junze and Chu Ruohan were both there.
"How is it?" Gu Junze asked in a deep voice.
“We can’t find anything.” Gu Lu’s face was grim. “The method was very clean, like a professional assassin. There’s nothing suspicious about their records of leaving the city. It’s like they appeared out of thin air and disappeared into thin air.”
The trail went cold.
Everyone fell silent.
The person behind this is frighteningly meticulous.
A strong smell of medicine permeated Qian Zhenyun's bedroom all day long.
Gu Qingchen stayed by the bedside, never leaving for a moment.
She had lost a lot of weight, and her once bright eyes had lost their sparkle. She just stared stubbornly at the unconscious person on the bed.
That afternoon, as she was wringing out a handkerchief to wipe his face, the person on the bed suddenly twitched his fingers.
Gu Qingchen froze instantly.
She held her breath and stared at him without moving.
His eyelids twitched a few times with difficulty, and he slowly opened them a crack.
His chapped lips moved, uttering a faint, hoarse syllable.
"water……"
Gu Qingchen seemed to have been switched on, suddenly snapping back to reality and frantically trying to pour water.
The teacup made a clinking sound because of her trembling.
She lifted his head and carefully fed him water.
“Qingchen…” Qian Zhenyun looked at her, a glimmer of light appearing in his eyes. He tried to force a smile, but it aggravated his wound, causing him to gasp in pain.
"Don't move! And don't speak!" Gu Qingchen hurriedly pressed him down. "Uncle Qian said you are badly injured and need to rest properly."
Qian Zhenyun looked at her red eyes and said nothing more. He simply raised his uninjured hand and struggled to hold her hand that was resting on the edge of the bed.
Her hands were cold and trembling slightly.
He warmed her little by little with his own body heat.
Gu Qingchen did not pull away, letting him hold her hand, and tears finally fell silently, one drop at a time, landing on the back of his hand.
East Palace.
Zhao Chen sat behind the cold desk, listening to the eunuchs' reports below.
"...Young Master Qian was seriously injured while saving Miss Gu, but his life is no longer in danger. His Majesty has specially dispatched imperial physicians and sent countless precious medicinal herbs. It is said throughout the capital that Young Master Qian is a man of great loyalty and affection, and that he and Miss Gu are a match made in heaven..."
"A match made in heaven?" Zhao Chen'an repeated these four words in a low voice, then suddenly laughed.
That laughter was hollow and sorrowful.
He lost.
Total loss.
He tried every means possible, but all he got in return was her disgust and contempt.
Qian Zhenyun did nothing but silently protect her, and yet he obtained everything he had ever dreamed of.
A hero saves a damsel in distress, risking his life to protect her.
How can Gu Qingchen ever repay such a heavy debt of gratitude?
The only thing I can do is offer myself in return.
Zhao Chen'an slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the withered locust tree in the yard.
He suddenly understood.
His mistake wasn't in his methods or his scheming.
His mistake was that he was the crown prince.
As long as he remains the crown prince of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the future emperor, Gu Qingchen will always look at him with wariness and scrutiny.
She wouldn't believe his sincerity; she would only think it was another scheme.
He will never win her pure affection.
Zhao Chen'an slowly closed his eyes, a self-deprecating smile curving his lips.
He lost because of his identity.
Qian Zhenyun gently rubbed Gu Qingchen's hand with his thumb.
Gu Qingchen's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously tried to pull her hand away, but he held it even tighter.
"Don't cry."
His voice was still weak, but gentle: "It's not worth it for someone like me."
"You're an idiot."
Gu Qingchen sniffed, raised her swollen eyes, and glared at him, "Who told you to rush over here? Didn't you ever think you might die?"
Qian Zhenyun smiled, and some color finally returned to his pale face.
"I can't think about that anymore." He looked at her, his gaze so focused it seemed like he wanted to draw her in. "When I saw that knife pointed at you, my mind went completely blank."
He paused, then tightened his grip on her hand.
"Qingchen, I'm afraid if I don't speak up now, I'll never have another chance."
Gu Qingchen's heart was in her throat. She had a premonition of what he was about to say and wanted to interrupt him, but she couldn't utter a single word.
I've loved you for a long time.
His voice was soft, yet it exploded in Gu Qingchen's mind like a thunderclap.
"It's not because you're a young lady from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, nor for any other reason. It's simply because you are Gu Qingchen."
The bedroom was so quiet that they could hear each other's heartbeats.
Gu Qingchen looked at the open and passionate affection in his eyes, and at his knuckles that were slightly white from nervousness, and her mind went blank.
She opened her mouth, about to say something.
With a creaky sound, the door was gently pushed open.
Chu Ruohan and Song Ruyan walked in carrying a bowl of freshly cooked ginseng soup.
The worry on their faces froze the moment they saw the scene inside the room.
They saw their son and daughter holding hands, one lying on the bed and the other sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at each other, the atmosphere... was extraordinary.
Gu Qingchen felt as if she had been pricked by a needle. She jerked her hand away from Qian Zhenyun and stood up as if she had been electrocuted, her cheeks instantly turning red.
"Mom! Aunt Song!"
She hung her head, her hands twisting the hem of her clothes helplessly, wishing there was a crack in the ground she could crawl into.
"Mother, I..."
Qian Zhenyun was also a little nervous and tried to sit up.
Chu Ruohan quickly stepped forward and pressed him down.
"Don't move, the wound is going to reopen."
She glanced at her daughter, who was burning up with fever, and then at the young man on the bed, whose eyes were full of expectation and trepidation, and suddenly smiled.
She turned to look at Gu Qingchen, "Mother agrees."
Gu Qingchen looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Song Ruyan laughed too. She put the ginseng soup in her hand heavily on the table, walked over, tucked the blanket around her son, and added happily.
"Both mothers agree!"
Qian Zhenyun lay on the bed, stunned at first, then his eyes flashed with a huge light, and his face, which was pale from blood loss, suddenly glowed red.
He looked at Gu Qingchen, who was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and grinned silently.
"You...you..." Gu Qingchen stammered, unable to finish a single word.
"What about us?" Song Ruyan walked over and grabbed Gu Qingchen's hand tightly, as if afraid she would run away. "I've been looking forward to this day for a long time!"
Chu Ruohan smiled and nodded, her eyes filled with tenderness as she looked at her daughter.
She walked to the bedside, tucked the blanket around Qian Zhenyun, and spoke very softly.
“Good child, you’ve suffered. Once you’re healed, your aunt will stand up for you.”
The meaning of this statement is clear.
Qian Zhenyun nodded vigorously, but his gaze remained fixed on Gu Qingchen, burning with intense intensity.
Gu Qingchen felt extremely uncomfortable, caught between the gazes of her two mothers and Qian Zhenyun, as if she were being roasted over a fire.
She stomped her foot suddenly.
"I'll go check if the medicine is ready!"
After saying that, without waiting for their response, she turned around and ran out of the bedroom as if fleeing.
Outside, the afternoon sun was shining brightly. She leaned against a pillar, covering her burning face with her hands, her heart still pounding uncontrollably.
Everything goes too fast.
From the brink of life and death, to revealing one's true feelings, and finally to the approval of elders.
In just a short moment.
Her life seemed to have been set in stone.
From the bedroom came Song Ruyan's barely suppressed laughter.
"This girl is shy."
Chu Ruohan smiled and said, "Let her be, let her calm down on her own."
The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.
She still takes care of him, but the atmosphere can never be the same as before.
She didn't dare look him in the eye when she fed him the medicine.
He would secretly take her hand when she wasn't paying attention and squeeze it in his palm.
She would pull back as if she'd been burned, then glare at him angrily.
But there was no harm in that glance; instead, it seemed to hold a hint of moisture.
Qian Zhenyun's injuries healed quickly under such meticulous care.
A month later, he was able to get out of bed and walk around.
But the scar on his back served as a stark reminder of how dangerous that day had been.
That day, Gu Qingchen accompanied him to bask in the sun in the courtyard.
He was wearing loose-fitting casual clothes, and although he was still thin, his complexion had improved considerably.
"Qingchen," he suddenly said.
"Hmm?" Gu Qingchen was staring at the koi in the pond, lost in thought.
“Once I’m better, let’s go to Yunqi Temple outside the city.” Qian Zhenyun looked at her profile. “I’ve heard that the Bodhisattva there is very efficacious, and I want to go and fulfill a vow.”
Gu Qingchen turned her head and looked at him.
"Fulfilling a vow?"
“Yes.” Qian Zhenyun smiled, a glimmer of light in his eyes. “Thank you, Bodhisattva, for keeping you by my side.”
Gu Qingchen's heart skipped a beat again. She turned her head away so he wouldn't see her blushing cheeks.
"Grumpy."
That's what she said, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.
Two more months passed, and it was early summer in the capital.
Qian Zhenyun's injuries have completely healed.
However, the case of his assassination attempt remained unsolved. The Court of Judicial Review and the Imperial Guard investigated for a long time, but made no progress beyond discovering that the assassins were suicide agents.
The mastermind behind the scenes is like a venomous snake, lurking in the shadows, never knowing when it will resurface.
This became a heavy burden on the hearts of both families.