CH 32

Chapter 32: Re-entering the town god’s temple

It was just that she had not expected there to be saltpetre in the wine cellar. She thought that there would be something else hidden there, such as the corpse of the owner’s wife.

Gu Yu Qi’s face turned pale when she saw the saltpetre. She naturally thought of the large pile of dry wood stacked in the yard of the firewood shed. Saltpetre, wine, dry wood, snowy night, these words put together could make a chill run up one’s spine.

Although Yun Yi did not know about the firewood, his expression also changed like Gu Yu Qi.

He took the jar from Chun Xing’s hand uneasily. Then he leaned closer and smelled it carefully. The pungent smell made him frown and he shook his head hurriedly.

“How did you find out about this?” Yun Yi asked. This was a matter of great importance so he could not help but ask clearly.

Gu Yu Qi recounted the story from when Chun Xing discovered the waiter knew martial arts up until how they found the innkeeper for questioning. However, she still withheld some things. For example, the pictures that she had put away herself and were now stored in her chest.

“Someone,” Yun Yi said in a deep voice.

“Your Highness, please wait.” Gu Yu Qi said hurriedly, “Please wait a moment, Your Highness. This minister’s daughter has a request.”

“Go ahead,” Yun Yi looked at Gu Yu Qi and his face softened. There was a hint of admiration between his eyebrows. He had just thought that she was charmingly naive, sometimes savage, sometimes slow-witted, sometimes clever. Today, she had really impressed him again.

This girl was only ten-years-old. If it were a few years later, when she had grown up…

“This minister’s daughter’s family members are still in the hands of those thieves. If Your Highness really sends people to search the inn without restraint, it’s just that it may be acting rashly and alerting the enemy. Not to mention not being able to catch them, it may force them to do something in desperation. So this minister’s daughter has a plan, but does not know if Your Highness is willing to help this minister’s daughter,” Gu Yu Qi spoke while still kneeling.

Just as Yun Yi was about to speak, he heard a guard announce outside, “Your Highness, His Highness the Seventh Prince is requesting an audience.”

Damn, why did he come to join the fun again? Gu Yu Qi was stunned at first, then felt at ease. He had secret guards arranged around him. He must have discovered she was at Yun Yi’s place and did not go out for a long time, so could not help but come over and take a look.

Yun Yi did not want Yun Ke to intervene on this matter. To have saltpetre placed in the inn meant there was an intention to kill. If it had been a simple matter of dealing with the Ding Yuan Marquis before, it would have been fine. However, this place was full of imperial relatives and nobles, not to mention that half of the imperial court ministers were gathered here; there were quite a lot of people. Furthermore, he and his seventh brother, who were two princes, were staying here. If this place was really set on fire in the middle of the night, these ministers and their families as well as themselves would all be sent to the afterlife and it was likely that the Qi dynasty would be in chaos for a long time.

If he found all those thieves and solved the crisis, then it would give him great honour and glory. Not only would his father the emperor look at him with admiration, even the imperial relatives and ministers would be grateful for his life-saving grace and it would be greatly beneficial to him in the future.

This Gu Yu Qi was like a lucky star, bringing him such great credit directly.

Yun Yi’s affection for Gu Yu Qi secretly increased.

He had not told Yun Ke because he wanted to take all the credit by himself, but now Yun Ke had come to him. If he kept him out, it would be a bit cruel. Yun Ke had been loyal to him all these years, putting him first in everything. This time, he would not dare to rob this great achievement; he would bring him along, perhaps making him even more committed to him.

Gu Yu Qi did not know that in this split second, Yun Yi had already thought about so much. She just thought that Yun Ke was really a jinx, causing issues wherever he went! This kind of thing never happened at this time in her previous life, alright? It must be because she and Yun Ke had both been reborn and all the cheats had been turned on, so the heavens could not stand it anymore and changed the plot.

Did that mean Yun Ke would not be able to become the emperor in the future? Gu Yu Qi was thinking wildly.

“Let him come in,” Yun Yi said.

After a while, Yun Ke pushed open the door and entered. He glanced around the inside of the room. Gu Yu Qi and Chun Xing were still kneeling in a proper manner. He narrowed his eyes. “Fifth Brother. Younger Brother has something to discuss with Fifth Brother,” he cupped his hands towards Yun Yi and said.

Could this damn woman not cause less trouble? Could it be that she turned to Fifth Brother because she could not get any information from him?

His guards had not found any clues, so did this stupid woman think that Fifth Brother would help her wholeheartedly? Such ignorance.

This time, it was not because Yun Ke’s secret guards were incompetent. It was just that they had gone in the wrong direction and were desperately searching outside, ignoring the inn itself. Yet, Gu Yu Qi had found some clues through the power of rebirth. 

In his past and present life, Yun Ke was a prince. Although he had been to this inn many times before, due to his identity and pride, he had never paid attention to the innkeeper’s whole family. So Gu Yu Qi had an advantage.

He had received news from a secret guard that Gu Yu Qi had been at Yun Yi’s place long enough for a whole stick of incense to burn. He originally had not wanted to care, but he was restless and could not even keep reading the book. He came to Yun Yi as if he had been possessed. As soon as he came in and saw her kneeling honestly with no bad behaviour going on, his heart settled down a little.

Did this woman want to give up on him and run into Fifth Brother’s arms? Yun Ke sneered from the bottom of his heart. If she really had the memories of her previous life like himself, then she would know what would happen to Fifth Brother in the future. Perhaps she would say something that should not be said in front of Fifth Brother? In his previous life, she had looked at him blankly and kept saying that she loved him. If she used that face to say those words to Fifth Brother, he swore that he would slap her to death on the spot.

Or, she would pretend to be a ghost in front of Fifth Brother and tell Fifth Brother to be wary of him early on. That would also be very bad.

Maybe he should not allow this woman to exist and kill her directly to avoid all future troubles.

Gu Yu Qi felt that the temperature around her dropped sharply. She subconsciously raised her eyes and glanced at Yun Ke, but she found a murderous intent flashing in the corner of his eyes!

He… Was he actually going to do something to her? Gu Yu Qi felt suffocated. The lever was not so straight anymore.

His previous attitude had really caused her to ignore one thing and that was that he had always been Yun Ke, the cold-hearted emperor who would do anything to achieve his goals.

Yun Yi did not notice the murderous intent in Yun Ke’s eyes. Yun Ke had lowered his head and only Gu Yu Qi who was kneeling on the ground and knew him well enough was fortunate enough to see it.

“Seventh Brother, you came just in time.” Yun Yi handed the jar of saltpetre to Yun Ke, “Take a look at what this is?”

“Saltpetre?” Yun Ke frowned deeply after only one glance.

“Young Miss Gu and her maid found it. More than half of the wine jars in the inn’s wine cellar have been replaced with jars of saltpetre. Young Miss Gu had also discovered it by accident and came to this prince for help. This prince was just about to order someone to call you over, but you had come by yourself,” Yun Yi said.

Yun Ke’s eyebrows twitched. He naturally knew the seriousness of the matter, only… He looked sideways at Gu Yu Qi. Why had she not gone to find him when she found such a thing? Yun Ke was very angry now, more angry than knowing that someone was trying to kill him in the middle of the night.

***

“Right. Seventh Brother, Young Miss Gu said she had a method to catch people without alerting the enemy rashly. Let’s listen together,” Yun Yi said, thinking that the anger in Yun Ke’s eyes was because he had found out that someone was conspiring to do something bad.

“Mm,” Yun Ke nodded, then stared at Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi instantly felt like she was being targeted by a poisonous snake. However, that was besides the point. She tried hard to ignore the fear and discomfort caused by Yun Ke’s gaze. She looked up at Yun Yi and said, “The assassins have schemed for a long time and they were certainly determined to do this. If they succeeded, it would definitely shake the foundation of the imperial court of the Qi dynasty and it’s likely that for the next few years, the Qi dynasty’s imperial court would not be stable and peaceful.”

The admiration in Yun Yi’s eyes deepened a little. This little girl was able to see so far ahead.

“So if we arrest them with great fanfare, I’m afraid that if we do not catch all of them completely, we would alert the enemy by acting rashly. It would be better to lure the enemy in deep.” Gu Yu Qi continued, “Didn’t they want to burn us? Then let’s play their own game.”

“How will we play their own game?” Yun Yi asked with interest.

“Those assassins were able to come up with such a sinister plan so they must succeed. They would definitely choose to start in the dead of night.” Gu Yu Qi pondered for a moment, “Although this minister’s daughter’s younger brother and younger sister are missing and the inn had increased patrols, they would relax somewhat by the middle of the night. This minister’s daughter expects that they will act in the second half of the night, so we still have time.” She paused and continued, “This minister’s daughter requests Wang Ye to please lend her a few good guards to investigate a few places where things can be hidden. The minister’s daughter is afraid that her younger brother and younger sister as well as the innkeeper’s whole family are also hidden in these places.” After speaking, Gu Yu Qi revealed the locations of the vegetable cellars, then she explained why she made such an inference.

Yun Ke could not help but glance at Gu Yu Qi slightly. He knew she was smart and had helped him a lot in the previous life, but he had always taken those as performances to curry favour and had not cared about them.

However, Gu Yu Qi was currently talking eloquently under the candlelight without panicking. She carried a calmness and self-confidence which was rare for someone at her age and it was really attractive.

He could not help but glance at Yun Yi again only to see that his eyes were full of surprise and admiration, and his heart sank slightly.

His fifth brother had mentioned Gu Yu Qi in front of him more than once. If he waited for Gu Yu Qi for a few more years and his fifth brother began to have feelings for her that he should not have, then it would be a real hassle!

“Then what?” Yun Yi was completely captivated by Gu Yu Qi and did not care about Yun Ke’s slightly gloomy gaze.

“Then we’ll start a fire in an inconspicuous corner of the inn.” Gu Yu Qi’s eyes were bright, “Firstly, the fire will alert and lure all the adults in the inn and all the madams, young men and young ladies will be moved out of the inn. Secondly, we will be at every point, especially at the wine cellars, there will be good guards lying in ambush. When there is a fire, people who do not run for their lives but instead go to see the saltpetre must be suspicious. We will catch any who come and as long as we act fast, those thieves will not be able to communicate with each other and all of them will be captured. At that time, it will be possible to interrogate who is the mastermind behind the scenes. So much saltpetre was transported and hidden without anyone noticing. This is not something ordinary people can do.”

Seeing Yun Yi was thinking, Yun Ke spoke first, “Fifth Brother, Miss Gu’s plan is good. What do you think?”

Yun Yi was like this, sometimes hesitant, so he decided to push Yun Yi.

In his previous life, he had not experienced such an assassination event. In this life, many things had really changed. However, he had to say that the solution Gu Yu Qi came up with so far was excellent.

“Since Seventh Brother also thinks it’s feasible, then let’s do it this way.” Yun Yi nodded, “Seventh Brother, protect Miss Gu and leave first. When this prince has arranged everything, this prince will naturally come to find you.”

Leave first? Hehe, Yun Ke laughed coldly at the bottom of his heart. He had hesitated before but now that he had gotten his method and knew what to do, he sent him away; then he would throw him away when he was really used up. Saying something about protecting Gu Yu Qi, but he was just afraid of him stealing the show.

However, he did not care too much about this. If he wanted to buy someone’s heart, he could do it at any time. It was just that he was afraid Yun Yi’s wishful thinking would fail this time.

That was right, if Yun Yi saved the people in the inn, these people would definitely be grateful to him. If he divided the credit equally with himself then it would not be particularly enviable. However, now he was going to take over so the spearhead would secretly be pointed at him in the future.

If it had been like this in the previous life and it could not be changed even in this life, then the conflicts between him and the crown prince would only deepen. Fame and fortune was a double-edged blade. If one was careless, they would hurt themselves. Yun Yi had always been unable to understand this principle, so he showed too much of his ability.

It was predestined. Yun Ke simply responded with a sound, then looked at Gu Yu Qi, “Miss Gu, please come with this prince.”

Gu Yu Qi stood up reluctantly, bringing Chun Xing up from the ground. After kneeling for such a long time and standing up suddenly, her knees hurt. Gu Yu Qi gritted her teeth. Fortunately, Chun Xing supported her in time so she would not make a fool of herself in front of two princes.

The blizzard outside seemed to be heavier than it had been that night.

“Chun Xing, go back and see if my mother is back. If she is back, bring her out of the inn, find some reason or other but don’t tell her the truth for the time being so as not to alert the enemy. If she has not come back, go out and find her and tell her not to come back to the inn,” Gu Yu Qi said to Chun Xing. She had been out for a long time and if her mother came back and could not see her, who knew how she would worry.

“Yes, Young Miss,” Chun Xing responded, still looking at Gu Yu Qi with a little apprehension.

“Don’t worry. I will definitely be safe with His Highness the Seventh Prince,” Gu Yu Qi gritted her teeth and emphasised the word “safe”. After speaking, she raised her eyes to look at Yun Ke, pretending to smile innocently, “Right, Your Highness the Seventh Prince?”

“Naturally.” Yun Ke’s face was a little blurry under the snowy night. He just spoke in a muffled voice, “This prince will bring your young lady to take refuge in the town god’s temple. When you find your madam, bring her with you.”

“Yes,” Only then did Chun Xing feel relieved and she immediately walked towards the inn. 

Yun Ke summoned four guards to walk out with Gu Yu Qi and him and they went to the town god’s temple silently. The guards cleaned a small area of the temple, lit a bonfire, then guarded it from a distance.

Gu Yu Qi sat down in front of the fire and Yun Ke also found a relatively clean place to lean against.

“You found something wrong, but why didn’t you come to me?” Yun Ke originally had not wanted to talk to Gu Yu Qi, but he felt more and more uncomfortable.

Under the firelight, the girl’s face was demure and beautiful. She simply sat there quietly, but her face before her death in the previous life floated before Yun Ke’s face. Even after so long, he still did not want her to be so close to the fire anymore. Was she not afraid? The flames seemed to be surging under her eyelids and there was always a feeling of them completely destroying her.

Gu Yu Qi was also full of thoughts. Looking at Yun Ke through the flames, she could not help but think of the previous life. He helped heal blood.

The tall and slender figure of the young man in front of her overlapped with the person from her previous life. A pair of eyes with an indescribable light stared at her. Before she had died, she had heard him call her Xiao Yu. How funny, she had begged him all her life, but she had only heard that call before she had died.

Really, why did she fall in love with him wholeheartedly?

Seeing him again this life, she no longer had that deep-rooted liking for him as she had in the previous life. She just subconsciously avoided him in fear.

“You want to kill me?” Gu Yu Qi suddenly asked. However, it seemed like an irrelevant answer to Yun Ke’s previous question.

Yun Ke’s brows moved slightly and a trace of killing intent reappeared in his eyes.

Yet, facing the girl’s clear eyes with a bit of calmness in the firelight, he felt the anger that had surged up in his heart disappear miraculously.

This made Yun Ke a little startled. He did not really want to kill her.

He turned to look at the guards he had brought. They were very wise and stood far away.

“I’ll make you my main consort,” Yun Ke, who was being mysterious, said slowly.

He could not really kill her, so he could only keep her by his side. This was good for both him and her, and it had been what she asked for in the previous life. He had to do this in this life to protect his secret.

If she became his main consort, then the crown prince must be born by her.

Yun Ke actually began to try hard to recall the appearance of the crown prince from his previous life. Did he have her eyebrows?

“Main consort?” The corner of Gu Yu Qi’s mouth showed a sarcastic smile, “And then?”

Then, of course, she would spend the rest of her life with him. At this moment, Yun Ke actually forgot how much he had hated her in his previous life, and how he had despised her until not long ago in this life. Not long ago, he still had thoughts of killing her.

“Even if you raise a dog, you would have feelings for that dog being around you after a dozen years.” Gu Yu Qi said with a cold smile, “Oh right, His Highness the Seventh Prince is someone who does not have feelings. My mistake.”

Although she did not speak clearly, Yun Ke understood what she meant, and felt a bit uncomfortable. He frowned slightly and looked at Gu Yu Qi. The sarcastic smile on the corner of her lips hurt his eyes.

He felt like something was leaving him and he wanted to hold onto it, but was unable to hold on, to hold on… This kind of feeling was really bad.

Where was the admiration in her eyes? Why was there only sarcasm and disdain in her eyes looking at him coldly now?

Yes, disdain, she actually disdained to be his main consort. Was this not what she had asked for in the previous life and never got?

The young man’s hand trembled slightly and he felt panic for no reason. However, he said coldly, “This prince has promised you the position of the main consort. What are you still dissatisfied with?”

It was not dissatisfaction, it was disdain! Do you understand? You would not understand!

The sarcasm in Gu Yu Qi’s eyes deepened and there was a bit of pity, “In the heart of His Highness the Seventh Prince, this is a great gift from heaven.” She could not help but chuckle.

In the firelight, her smile shifted and it overlapped with her from back then. Yun Ke practically did not think about it before he rushed over and pulled Gu Yu Qi away from the fire, then tightly imprisoned her in his arms.

At that moment, he had felt another kind of fear, that she would suddenly disappear.

The guards standing far away naturally saw this scene. They stood looking at each other at a loss for what to do, but no one dared to come forward and they could only continue standing to the side pretending to be pillars.

Gu Yu Qi was furious. She raised her hand and slapped Yun Ke’s face with a clear slap.

Miss Gu was so strong. The guards continued to pretend they had not seen it.

This slap finally woke Yun Ke. He pushed Gu Yu Qi away from his arms and his eyes widened, “You hit me?” He looked at Gu Yu Qi in surprise.

The little person in front of him was furious and her pair of black eyes shone with sparkling flames. He did not know if it was the reflection of the bonfire in her eyes or if it was a real flame surging from her heart into her eyes.

“Yes I hit you!” Gu Yu Qi regretted it after hitting him!!!!

Impulse was a devil! Gu Yu Qi silently shed two streams of tears in her heart, I actually hit Yun Ke, the future emperor!

Great, now her little life was in danger!

“Good, very good!” Yun Ke said good twice, then he laughed in anger, “You just wait for this prince’s engagement letter!”

She did not want to interact with him again? Well then, he, Yun Ke, would just tie her by his side!

In his previous life, it was her who had pestered and provoked him. What happened in this life? Had she figured it out? Or had she changed tactics to get his attention? No matter what, he was not going to let her go.

Just as he had exploited Gu Yu Qi in the previous life, burying her ashes under his coffin, in this life, she would never escape his grasp!

Never seeing each other again, he was the emperor of the human world and everything was up to him! Not her!

“Don’t be like this!” Gu Yu Qi was suddenly like a deflated ball, looking like a lackey, “How about we reconsider? You see, I’m still young, stupid and foolish, and rude, and I even hit you. No matter how you look at it, I’m not suitable to be your main consort, right?”

“Side consort? Noble concubine? You really are the same as always! You won’t be a good main consort, but you just have to be a concubine. You’re born lowly!” Yun Ke looked sarcastically at Gu Yu Qi who was wagging her tail like a puppy. He could not help but provoke her.

Sure enough, her face paled. Yun Ke should have been happy, but right now he could not smile no matter what. When her small face paled, he actually felt a trace of heartache.

Damn it! Yun Ke cursed from the bottom of his heart. He turned his head away and stopped looking at her.