A woman in gray came in from outside, lowering her voice.
"The people from the Second Prince's Residence have arrived at the old warehouse."
" The Imperial City Bureau is outside questioning us."
Madam Chun looked at Gu Moran.
"Your Highness, what's the matter with the old treasury? How much are they hiding?"
Gu Moran said, "You need to play it by ear and make sure they find out it was a suicide pact."
"But don't make it too simple; make it like the girls in your building who trick customers into handing over their money."
Madam Chun understood.
"Playing hard to get, maintaining a distance while remaining close, engaging in both overt and covert maneuvers, with each side advancing and retreating?"
"Right."
Gu Moran gathered the broken grass stalks on the table together, pressed the grass stems with his fingertips, and threw them into the fire.
If the evidence is delivered too easily, people will become suspicious.
It's the same principle as picking up girls.
You have to pull them to the limit for them to believe what they're seeing is real.
Liu Ruyan raised her eyes.
"If Your Highness had handed over Su Tan just now, I wouldn't have been able to say anything."
But you didn't.
Gu Moran walked to the table.
"Handing it over will make things easier for now."
"But what Tao Wujiu left behind will also be lost."
He looked at Liu Ruyan.
Most importantly, you will be disappointed.
Liu Ruyan's eyelashes drooped.
Madam Chun picked up the copper basin and pretended not to have heard anything.
Gu Moran continued, "I'm also counting on Madam Liu to write lyrics for me and manage the news lines for the Flower-Between Pavilion."
"Pushing someone close to you to take the blame is a losing proposition no matter how you look at it."
Liu Ruyan's lips finally relaxed.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Why thank me?
Gu Moran raised his hand and brushed the dust off the shoulder of her cloak.
His fingertips touched the ground very lightly.
Liu Ruyan's shoulders and back, which had been stiff, gradually relaxed after being touched.
Gu Moran withdrew his hand.
"Please, Madam, don't hide anything from me in the future, and stop making me guess."
My husband is foolish; trying to guess a woman's thoughts is too much trouble.
Liu Ruyan watched his fingertips leave.
"Your Highness is afraid of trouble?"
"Afraid."
"You're afraid you'll still come to help me?"
Gu Moran glanced at the charred straw in the copper basin.
"Because I wish that when I return to my residence in the future, Misty Waters Courtyard would leave a lamp lit for me."
Liu Ruyan did not respond.
The side of my ear is a little red.
Madam Chun coughed.
"Your Highness, this place is not safe to stay any longer."
Gu Moran turned around.
"Walk."
As the three of them emerged from the abandoned wine cellar, they could already hear hurried footsteps coming from above the secret passage.
Someone outside was shouting and asking questions.
"This area is sealed off."
" The Imperial City Bureau is investigating a case; all bystanders, please step aside."
Another voice was suppressing the fire.
"We are from the Second Prince's Residence, ordered to find the missing medicine slave."
Madam Chun led Gu Moran and Liu Ruyan out through another narrow path.
The water was above the soles of my boots, and a chill crept up my ankles.
Liu Ruyan slipped.
Gu Moran reached out and grasped the cloak at her waist, bringing her to his side.
Her back pressed against his chest.
There was no perfume in her hair, only a faint scent from the rain.
Both of them paused for a moment.
Ahead, Madam Chun had her back to them, and the lamp in her hand swayed slightly.
Gu Moran close to her ear.
"The road is narrow, Madam Liu, please walk carefully."
Liu Ruyan's ear tips turned even redder.
"Your Highness, please don't put your hands down."
Gu Moran's hand, through the cloak, rested on the belt at her waist.
I'm afraid you'll fall.
Madam Chun walked even faster ahead.
After exiting the secret passage, a small lamp was still lit at the back gate of Misty Waters Courtyard.
Gu Moran glanced back in the direction of the Flower-Between Pavilion.
A few lanterns swayed in the rain.
Red and white.
Tonight, this corpse will temporarily hold back the wind.
Liu Ruyan also turned around.
"What is Your Highness looking at?"
Gu Moran said, "It depends on which way the wind is blowing."
Liu Ruyan asked, "What if the wind blows to the Flower-Between Pavilion?"
Gu Moran pulled the brim of her cloak down a little for her.
"Then close the window."
"What if it can't be closed?"
Replace it with a thicker door.
Liu Ruyan looked at him.
"Is the gate of Misty Waters Courtyard thick enough?"
Gu Moran paused in his tracks.
"If you bolt it from the inside, it will be thick enough to protect you from the wind."
Liu Ruyan lowered her head, her emotions hidden by the brim of her hat.
"Your Highness... when you leave Misty Waters Courtyard tonight, please remember to walk quietly."
"Don't disturb the people sleeping in the yard."
Gu Moran was taken aback, but his face remained nonchalant.
"Is Madam Liu inviting me?"
Liu Ruyan did not deny it.
"Let's go back first."
"His Highness still smells of wine."
Back at Misty Waters Courtyard.
Liu Ruyan entered, she first took off her cloak and hung it behind the screen.
Gu Moran stood by the door, not in a hurry to go in.
Liu Ruyan turned to look at him.
"What is Your Highness doing standing at the door?"
She walked to the copper basin and poured in half a basin of water.
"Come in quickly."
She soaked the cloth and wrung it out until it was half dry.
When Gu Moran took it, his fingertips touched the back of her hand.
Liu Ruyan did not dodge, but simply put her hand back into her sleeve.
Wipe your sleeves.
Gu Moran glanced at her.
"Just wipe your sleeves?"
Liu Ruyan raised her eyes.
"Where else would Your Highness like to have cleaned?"
Gu Moran paused for a moment, almost unable to suppress her laughter.
She always leaves herself an out when she speaks.
Tonight's words, however, seemed to have opened the door a little wider.
He pressed the cloth against his sleeve and slowly wiped away the old wine stains.
"I'm afraid if I say it, Madam Liu will accuse me of being frivolous."
Liu Ruyan sat down at the table and poured him a cup of hot tea.
"Your Highness used to be a regular customer of the other girls in the brothel."
"It's not like I haven't seen it before."
Gu Moran stopped wiping his sleeves.
Liu Ruyan lowered her head and stirred her teacup.
The tea swirls gently against the side of the cup.
Gu Moran put the cloth back into the copper basin.
"You're different from the girls in this building."
Liu Ruyan asked, "What's different? To me, they're all the same."
Gu Moran stared at her, thought for a moment, and then spoke.
" Ruyan."
"If you only brought me in tonight because of Su Tan, or because I stood up for the Flower-Between Pavilion, then..."
"There's no need for that. You are my wife, not some girl who needs to repay a debt with her body."
Liu Ruyan was stunned.
"Your Highness thought I was paying off a debt?"
"I don't know, but I'm afraid you're including yourself in the equation."
Liu Ruyan's fingertips touched the rim of the teacup.
The heat made her recoil half an inch, but she pressed herself back against it.
I've seen many accounts at the Flower-Between Pavilion.
"A gold hairpin, a cup of wine."
"A pair of jade bracelets, and a song."
She looked up at him.
"His Highness did not use Su Tan as a scapegoat today."
"They didn't use me to clear their name."
"This is not a record."
Gu Moran looked at her.
The rain outside has subsided.
Liu Ruyan continued, " Tao Wujiu said that women's lives are cheap."
" Su Tan heard this, so she poured out the poisoned wine."
"I heard it too."
She paused, her eyes reddening, but she didn't let the tears fall.
"Your Highness heard it too."
Gu Moran pushed the teacup towards her.
"Have a sip of tea first."
Liu Ruyan did not move.
"Your Highness, please let me finish."
Gu Moran withdrew his hand.
"Good."
Liu Ruyan looked at him, her voice even more composed than before.
"I'm a girl from the Flower-Between Pavilion, and I'm cheap too."
On my wedding day, I thought I was just moving to a different place.
"From the Flower-Between Pavilion to Prince Yi's Residence."
From being looked down upon, to being admired.
"It may seem glamorous, but in reality, it's become your personal plaything."