freenovelworld Chapter 741 If I weren't the Crown Prince, would you... choose me?
Chapter 741 If I weren't the Crown Prince, would you... choose me?
"What is that?" Gu Qingchen asked in a very low voice.
Zhao Chen'an did not answer. He stuck the torch in the crevice of the rock, his eyes fixed on the dim light, and said in a deep voice, "Stay here and don't move."
After saying that, he took a deep breath and plunged into the icy, bone-chilling pool.
"Are you crazy!" Gu Qingchen exclaimed and rushed to the edge of the pool.
The icy pool water instantly swallowed his figure, leaving only ripples spreading outwards.
Gu Qingchen's heart leaped into her throat. She leaned over the rocks by the pool, anxiously gazing down.
The water surface quickly returned to calm, with only the flickering flames remaining on it; nothing could be seen in the deep water.
Just when she was almost thinking something had happened to him, the water suddenly broke open with a "splash".
Zhao Chen'an emerged from the water, breathing heavily. His face appeared pale in the firelight, and his dark hair was wet and stuck to his forehead.
He swam with all his might to the shore, braced himself against the rocks with one hand, threw something at Gu Qingchen's feet, and then climbed up, his whole body dripping wet.
Gu Qingchen's gaze was immediately drawn to that thing.
It was something wrapped in some kind of silk, slightly cool to the touch. It was this thin, cicada-wing-like material that emitted a faint glow in the water.
Zhao Chen'an didn't bother to wipe the water droplets off his body. He took the item and quickly untied the outer silk veil.
When the contents inside were fully exposed to the firelight, Gu Qingchen's breath hitched.
It was a tiger tally made entirely of black iron, with an ancient and simple design and intricate cloud patterns carved on it.
"This is..." Gu Qingchen's pupils suddenly contracted, "...the military tally of the previous dynasty!"
Zhao Chen'an's face instantly darkened to the point of being almost dripping with water.
He turned the military tally over and saw two seal characters clearly engraved on the back: "Xuanjia".
The Xuanjia Army was the most elite and mysterious battle-hardened force of the previous dynasty. Legend has it that it vanished with the fall of the last emperor.
But how could its military tally appear in the royal hunting grounds of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, hidden at the bottom of such a secluded deep pool?
Zhao Chen'an looked up, his gaze sharp as lightning. He looked at Gu Qingchen and said, "What happened today, the military seal here, once we leave this cave, you are not allowed to mention it to anyone, not even a single word."
His eyes were more serious than ever before; this was no longer a matter of personal grudges between the two of them.
Gu Qingchen was not one to be unaware of the gravity of the situation, and she nodded emphatically.
Zhao Chen'an wrapped the military tally again in the silk and tucked it into his bosom. He glanced at the bottomless pool and said in a deep voice, "I need to go down again to see if there's anything else down there."
"Don't go!" Gu Qingchen instinctively stopped him. "It's too dangerous."
Zhao Chen'an gave her a deep look, his gaze complex and unreadable, before finally shaking his head and diving back into the water.
This time, the wait was even longer.
The flames crackled in the cave, and after the initial shock and tension came boundless exhaustion and cold.
Gu Qingchen hugged his knees, leaned against the cold stone wall, and stared blankly at the cluster of flickering flames.
After an unknown amount of time, a warm and dry outer robe was gently draped over her shoulders.
Gu Qingchen's body stiffened abruptly, and he instinctively reached out to pull it off.
But the outer robe carried Zhao Chen'an's clear, cool ambergris scent, mixed with the warmth of the firewood, which dispelled some of the chill from her body.
She looked up and saw that Zhao Chen'an had somehow emerged from the water and was sitting on the other side of the fire, silently drying his soaked undergarments.
He seemed not to see her movements, focusing intently on the flames.
Gu Qingchen's fingers twitched, but in the end, he didn't push the outer robe away.
She pulled her clothes tighter, wrapping herself up even more, and her tense shoulders relaxed slightly without her even realizing it.
The cave was so quiet that only the crackling of sparks and the dripping of water could be heard.
In the flickering firelight, Zhao Chen'an's gaze fell on her arm, and he frowned. "You're injured."
Gu Qingchen followed his gaze and noticed a cut on his arm from the cliff face. It wasn't deep, but after being soaked in cold water, it had turned somewhat white.
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious," she said nonchalantly.
Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Chen'an stood up, walked a few steps to her, and grabbed her arm without saying a word.
"What are you doing!" Gu Qingchen tried to break free, but his wrist was held firmly by the warm, large hand, and he couldn't move.
"Don't move." His voice was deep and magnetic, exceptionally clear in the empty cave. "It'll be infectious."
He took out a delicate white jade bottle from his pocket; it was the royal family's preferred wound medicine.
Zhao Chen'an uncorked the bottle, poured out some medicine powder, and gently applied the medicine to her skin with his warm fingertips.
Gu Qingchen's heart skipped a beat. She could clearly feel the calluses on his fingertips brushing against her skin.
She turned her face away awkwardly, not daring to look him in the eye, her heart a complete mess.
After applying the medicine, Zhao Chen'an did not immediately let go.
He still held her slender wrist, the firelight dancing in his deep eyes, softening his usual calculating and authoritative demeanor.
"Qingchen, if... if I weren't the Crown Prince, would you... still choose me?"
Gu Qingchen's brain went blank.
How should she answer this question?
Saying no? Wouldn't that be too hurtful?
You said you would?
Just as her mind was in turmoil, her lips moved but she couldn't utter a single word.
Suddenly, a faint, indistinct sound came from the depths of the dark tunnel they had come from.
The expressions on their faces simultaneously hardened!
Zhao Chen'an tightened his grip on her wrist suddenly, then quickly released it.
He stood up instantly, and that brief moment of warmth and vulnerability vanished without a trace.
He grabbed the torch stuck in the crevice and shielded Gu Qingchen.
"Who?"
Deep within the dark passageway, something seemed to be approaching.
Gu Qingchen also held her breath, her heart pounding like a drum, and subconsciously shrank back behind him.
The footsteps grew louder and clearer as they approached, indicating that there was more than one person.
"Qingchen!"
"Qingchen! Are you inside?!"
“It’s Father!” Gu Qingchen’s eyes welled up with tears.
Before he finished speaking, a bright flame suddenly appeared at the corner of the passageway, and a group of imperial guards carrying torches strode out.
The leader was tall and imposing, dressed in a black outfit; he was none other than Duke Zhenguo, Gu Junze.
When he saw his daughter safe and sound beside the fire, a hint of barely concealed excitement and lingering fear appeared on his usually icy face.
"Qingchen!"
Gu Junze rushed over in three strides, not even glancing at the Crown Prince beside him, his entire attention focused on his daughter.
He grabbed Gu Qingchen's shoulder and looked her up and down. When he saw the bandage on her arm, his eyes narrowed.
"You are hurt?"
"Father, I'm fine." Gu Qingchen shook his head, and his heart ached when he saw his father's bloodshot eyes. "It's just a minor injury, it's nothing serious."
Holding her father's large, warm hand, all her fear and grievances found an outlet at that moment.
She was no longer the fierce and domineering Miss Gu who confronted the Crown Prince; she was now just a frightened daughter who had finally reunited with her family.
Gu Junze finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was alright.
He turned around, his gaze falling on the equally disheveled Zhao Chen'an, his expression returning to the respect and aloofness befitting a subject.
"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your aid. Please forgive me."
Zhao Chen'an shook his head. He glanced at the Imperial Guards behind Gu Junze and said in a deep voice, "Please rise, Duke. This is not the place to talk."
Gu Junze nodded, his sharp eyes, honed on the battlefield, swept over the hidden cave, and he had already made a judgment.
"Yingqing," he ordered without turning his head, "you take men and guard the cave entrance. No one is allowed to approach."
"Yes!"
After the bystanders left, only the three of them remained on the empty lakeside.
Zhao Chen'an no longer hesitated. He met Gu Junze's scrutinizing gaze and took out the thing wrapped in silk from his pocket.
"Lord Duke, after Qingchen and I fell off the cliff, we accidentally discovered this item at the bottom of this pool."
He handed the item over.
Gu Junze took it; it felt slightly heavy in his hand.
When he untied the glowing silk, he saw the ancient black iron tiger talisman inside.
"Black Armor".
He finally understood why the assassination attempt against the Crown Prince was chosen to take place at the West Garden Hunting Grounds, and why they were forced to this cliff.
So, this was the real goal.
Gu Junze's gaze swept over his bewildered daughter, then glanced at the solemn-faced Crown Prince. This matter had far exceeded their expectations.
He made a decisive move and ordered Lieutenant General Li, who had just stepped back, in a deep voice: "Yingqing, you immediately send Qingchen back to the camp and keep a close watch on her. Before I return, she is not allowed to see anyone or step out of the tent!"
"Father?" Gu Qingchen was stunned. "I'm not leaving. What is this thing?"
"Go back!" Gu Junze's voice suddenly rose. "This is none of your business!"
He had never spoken to her in such a harsh tone before.
Gu Qingchen was stunned by the solemnity and determination in his eyes, and the words she was about to say stuck in her throat.
Yingqing stepped forward and said, "Listen to me, let's go back first."
Gu Qingchen glanced at her father's cold, hard profile, then looked at the silent Zhao Chen'an. Despite having a thousand questions in her heart, she could only swallow them down.
She knew that her father was doing this to protect her.
She took one last deep look at the tiger tally in Gu Junze's hand, then turned and followed Uncle Ying into the dark passageway they had come from.
The footsteps faded into the distance until they could no longer be heard.
In the vast underground space, only the crackling of burning torches and the soft sound of dripping water remained.
Gu Junze turned around, his hawk-like eyes fixed on Zhao Chen'an.
"Your Highness," he said in a very low voice, "who else besides the three of us knows about this?"