Before the masked man could react, Gu Qianying had already seized his wrist.
Her jade hand landed on the mask covering his face, intending to gently remove it.
Suddenly, the masked man clamped his broad palm onto the back of Gu Qianying's head.
He leaned in abruptly, gazing at her from close range, his low voice echoing in her ear, "Miss is so forward, could it be you've taken a liking to me?"
Hearing his voice, feeling his breath.
Gu Qianying's mind went blank for a moment, and she forgot how to react.
It wasn't until his lips were about to land on Gu Qianying's lips that she quickly dodged him.
As she dodged him, Gu Qianying accidentally missed her footing on the roof tiles she was standing on.
Her body plunged downwards, beneath the roof.
"Be careful!"
The moment Gu Qianying fell, the masked man abruptly caught her.
They plummeted down together.
Upon landing, the masked man held Gu Qianying tightly, becoming her "human shield."
"Are you alright?"
Lying in the grass, Gu Qianying asked the masked man.
She tried to get up from him, but he held her tightly, refusing to let go.
"Your Excellency, could you please release me? You are..."
"It hurts."
A single word interrupted Gu Qianying's words.
"What?" Gu Qianying didn't understand.
"It hurts, it hurts a lot."
The masked man released Gu Qianying.
"Where does it hurt? What's wrong? Are you injured?" Gu Qianying immediately got up from the masked man and inquired about his condition. However, the masked man suddenly raised his hand and gently pulled.
Gu Qianying once again fell onto him.
"I knew it, Miss must have taken a liking to me, otherwise why would you be so concerned about me?"
A faint smile played on the man's lips, one that Gu Qianying didn't notice.
"..."
Gu Qianying was speechless.
She felt that this masked man was not only shameless but also extremely narcissistic. She disliked such men the most.
Therefore, Gu Qianying unceremoniously delivered a heavy palm strike to the man's chest and quickly got up.
The masked man hadn't expected Gu Qianying to do such a thing and took her palm strike head-on.
"Ugh!"
The masked man's expression turned unsightly.
But Gu Qianying was in no mood to concern herself with that at the moment.
If others respected her one inch, she would respect them one foot.
If others tried to bully her, she would make them pay with blood.
Seeing the blood trickling from the corner of the masked man's mouth, Gu Qianying was satisfied.
She tidied her dress and casually pulled a handkerchief from her waist, tossing it to the masked man, who was now clutching his chest and sitting up.
"This item is a symbol of my identity. To thank you for saving my life, I will give this to you. Should you ever need my help in the future, you may send someone with this item to the Gu Manor, and I will come to meet you."
With that, Gu Qianying turned to leave. Then, as if remembering something, she turned back to the masked man and said, "Oh, and also, although I owe you a favor, I have my own principles. I will not help you bully the weak, the old, the sick, or the disabled, nor will I help you deal with my family. Other than that, anything you need me to do, I will not refuse. Farewell!"
With that, Gu Qianying did not linger.
Watching Gu Qianying's receding figure.
The masked man's lips curved upwards, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Only when Gu Qianying's figure melted into the darkness and was no longer visible did he withdraw his gaze.
A figure then appeared, kneeling on one knee.
"How is the investigation?"
"Reporting to Master, your subordinate has discovered that the reason the current Imperial Advisor is so interested in the eldest daughter of the Gu family is that the Imperial Advisor already knows that the eldest daughter is the Ling Nü. That is why the Imperial Advisor is trying every means to obtain the eldest daughter of the Gu family."
Listening to the words of the dark guard, the masked man's eyes flashed with a cold light, "Heh! Ignorant fools!"
His eyes filled with killing intent, the man cast his gaze upon the dark guard and coldly commanded, "Go, take some death warriors to raid the Imperial City tomorrow night. Kill everyone inside, leave no one alive. Whoever brings me the Imperial Advisor's head will be rewarded with a special merit."
The dark guard seemed to smell the scent of slaughter, his blood boiling, he responded, "Yes, Master!"
The dark guard then departed.
After the dark guard left, the masked man's gaze drifted in the direction Gu Qianying had left.
"Don't worry, I will protect you for a lifetime!"
Gu Qianying returned to the wing room alone. As soon as she entered, she saw Nangong Xuanning, Zijin, and Ziyin surrounded by several contestants, some medicinal boys, and two elders in charge of the room's affairs.
"On what grounds do you accuse our young lady of stealing the items!" Zijin glared at everyone.
"Exactly, I am a princess of the current dynasty. If I say those herbs were not stolen by Gu Qianying, then they were not stolen by her. Haven't you lowly commoners understood?" Nangong Xuanning stood with her hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger, clearly infuriated.
"That's right, that's right. Our young lady is the daughter of the Gu family, a descendant of a military family. She acts with integrity and honor, so why would she steal? Your unreasonable accusations and slander, believe it or not, we will tell our young lady about this, and let her judge for herself?" Ziyin clenched her fists, looking at everyone, wishing she could beat these two unreasonable women in front of her.
"What's wrong?"
Gu Qianying walked in.
Everyone immediately looked at her.
Among them, a large portion of people looked at her with unusual expressions.
"If you didn't steal, why did you sneak out in the middle of the night?"
"Exactly, exactly, why sneak out in the middle of the night? Could it be to meet a wild man in secret? Heh!"
"That's also possible. Meeting a wild man in secret wouldn't prevent you from stealing those precious herbs and selling them for useful silver, would it? That way, you can support your wild men outside."
"Oh, your analysis is so logical. Hearing you say that, there's no need to say anything else. Those precious medicinal materials must have been stolen by her."
"Elders, why haven't you arrested this person and handed her over to the authorities yet!"
Gu Qianying listened to everyone pointing fingers at her and quickly caught some useful information from their murmurs. As she walked to Nangong Xuanning's side, before she could even ask what had happened, Nangong Xuanning huffily laid out everything that had happened, explaining it all.
It turned out that a case of stolen precious herbs had occurred in the Poisonous Doctor's Sacred Hall, and everyone believed that Gu Qianying was solely responsible for the loss of these precious herbs.
The reason everyone pinned the theft on Gu Qianying was that
The other two women who shared the room with Gu Qianying had both seen her secretly open the door and leave in the middle of the night.
And when Gu Qianying went out, she seemed to be carrying a bundle. Although they hadn't seen what was inside the bundle, they could still smell the scent of herbs.
Afterward, the incident of the stolen precious herbs occurred.
With the testimony of two women who had witnessed it firsthand, everyone naturally regarded Gu Qianying as a shameless thief who stole precious herbs.
As soon as Nangong Xuanning finished speaking, the crowd began to say extremely unpleasant things about Gu Qianying.
"Clang!"
The sound of a teacup falling to the ground echoed.
Everyone was stunned and looked in unison at Gu Qianying, who had deliberately dropped the teacup.
Among them, someone sneered, "Miss Gu, are you angered into shame? Heh! It's true, isn't it? Having done such a shameless thing, are you afraid of others talking about it?
If you ask me, Miss Gu, your behavior is truly unbecoming of a young lady of your status. Perhaps you often do such things even in your own manor..."
"Slap!"
A slap landed on the woman's face, immediately interrupting her words.
She was slightly stunned, covering half her face, and glared angrily at Gu Qianying, "Miss Gu, why did you hit me?"
Gu Qianying looked at her coldly, "Slandering me casually, hitting you with a slap is considered light! If this were outside, and you slandered me like this, your fate would only be death!"
As she said this, Gu Qianying's eyes were filled with killing intent. The way she looked at the woman opposite her was as if she were looking at a corpse. The chilling aura emanating from her made the woman who had just mocked her turn pale instantly, and her words became somewhat stammered.
"I... I was only speaking the truth, you..."
"Truth? Heh!"
Gu Qianying sneered.
She turned around and faced the two elders, "Do the two elders also believe that what she said is the truth?"
"This old man certainly does not believe that Miss Gu is a detestable thief.
However, the matter of the lost herbs is indeed true, and those herbs are extremely precious. Furthermore, they are the medicinal ingredients that all contestants will need to use in the third round of assessment tomorrow. Without those herbs, the third round may not be able to proceed as scheduled.
If Miss Gu were to hand over those herbs early, this old man can pretend that nothing has happened. As long as Miss Gu sincerely repents, you can still participate in tomorrow's third round assessment."
"Miss Gu should hand over those herbs early, so as not to force this old man to search your belongings. If they are indeed found, we will follow the rules here and expel Miss Gu from the Poisonous Doctor's Sacred Hall."
Among the two elders, the one dressed in green, stout, and kind-faced elder spoke more gently. The other elder, however, spoke rather harshly.
But judging by their intentions, neither of them believed in Gu Qianying's character.
Not only that, but they also put on an air of immense superiority.
Gu Qianying was amused to the point of laughter, "Based solely on the words of these two people, you are all too hasty in pinning the crime of theft on me?"
"How can this matter be hasty? With eyewitnesses and physical evidence, Miss Gu, it is impossible for you to deny this matter!"
"Physical evidence? Heh, what physical evidence? Where is the physical evidence?" Gu Qianying asked with a cold smile.
"Well asked, where is this physical evidence? And are you all not tired of living to frame our Ninth Imperial Aunt like this!"