Chapter 353

Tuo Ba Yu steadied himself, not daring to say anything, and could only wait outside, waiting for Gu Jiu Ling to calm down.

But Gu Jiu Ling's temper is too great; even though it's been over twenty days since she gave birth, she still refuses to see him.

He admitted that he had fallen for a married woman, which in Southern Qi is simply unimaginable, contrary to ritual and morality.

But that day at the imperial hunting grounds, he was bullied and mocked by everyone, and Third Prince Xiao Wei shot him in the chest, framing Prince Rui.

Some laughed at him as a joke, some didn't care about his life at all, and some felt it didn't matter whether he lived or died……

Only that radiant woman slowly stepped forward, saying she could save his life.

She actually willingly took such a great risk for this stranger.

After all, in the eyes of those Southern Qi nobles, whether he lived or died really didn't matter.

But that woman, for this good-for-nothing, pledged a life-or-death vow before the emperor, determined to save him.

At that time he was truly in agonizing pain, and even now he remembers Gu Jiu Ling's arms tightly embracing his ice-cold body.

She lowered her head and leaned close to his ear, saying a sentence.

"Life is not meant to be treated as trash; to live is the proper way, one should not degenerate, one must live."

When he was nine, his father abandoned him in Southern Qi, weak as a kitten, left to be bullied.

No one had ever spoken such words to him; at that moment, a ray of light shone into his dreary life.

Unconsciously he wanted to follow that light forward; later he guessed that Xiao Yin was the biological father of Gu Jiu Ling's unborn child, and he panicked completely.

He never expected Xiao Yin to treat Gu Jiu Ling so well, the two being as close as glue, which plunged him into utter despair.

He then bribed the palace servants, fabricating one illusion after another, gradually inserting himself between Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin.

But illusions are ultimately illusions; he could no longer tell what was real.

At this moment he could only suppress his inner urgency and obediently wait outside.

He knew this woman couldn't be tamed by force, so he dared not try, nor could he try.

This was the first time in his life he had liked a woman, and he also wanted to cherish her properly.

The son in Gu Jiu Ling's arms finally grew tired from nursing and fell asleep.

Gu Jiu Ling carefully handed the child to Jiu Yue, while Yun Duo had already fed her daughter warm goat's milk.

Both children needed milk, and these days Gu Jiu Ling has been anxious and agitated, her milk supply obviously insufficient.

But now she also dares not hire a wet nurse, since she is going to Peach Blossom Island, and once she leaves she may not return for a long time.

To have the nurse separated from her own flesh and blood for too long, she could not bring herself to do that.

She had people raise two dairy goats, tending them well each day, and they produced plenty of milk; after filtering it through the spatial filter, it could also be used to feed the children.

The two dairy goats, plus her own milk, actually raised the pair of little ones to be white and chubby.

Gu Jiu Ling, for fairness' sake, also scheduled time for the two little ones.

On days 1,3,5,7 the daughter drinks her milk, on days 2,4,6 the son drinks her milk.

Because the son resembles Xiao Yin, he is given an extra day of goat's milk.

Although she harbors resentment toward Xiao Yin in her heart, this time Gu Jiu Ling has also developed feelings for the two children.

From now on, she will raise these two children alone, absolutely not letting Xiao Yin know.

Seeing that the boat was about to reach the dark-current zone, passing through it would bring them to Peach Blossom Island.

On that shoal, this large ship is prone to running aground and difficult to dock; in another hour Gu Jiu Ling will have to change boats.

At that time she will bring only her confidants and the crew coming from Peach Blossom Island to go ashore.

The rest of the people will have to return with the large ship to Quanzhou port; henceforth each goes his own way, bridges to bridges, roads to roads.

Gu Jiu Ling is also magnanimous; the people on the ship, those who have protected her along the way.

Whether from her side or from Tuo Ba Yu's side, she had already richly rewarded them the previous night, and none were displeased.

Only the grudge between her and Tuo Ba Yu remains unresolved.

After Gu Jiu Ling had soothed the two children, she ordered Yun Duo and Jiu Yue to guard them, then she dressed herself, put on a cloak, walked out of the inner chamber, and came to the side hall of the outer chamber.

"Qiao'er, please invite His Highness inside!"

Gu Jiu Ling slowly sat down in the chair, and not long after Li Qiao'er brought Tuo Ba Yu inside.

Tuo Ba Yu wore a moon-white embroidered bamboo-pattern brocade robe; if not for his strikingly outstanding purple eyes, one would think he was some handsome young gentleman of the Han household!

Upon hearing Gu Jiu Ling's invitation to enter, Tuo Ba Yu not only did not feel relieved, but felt even more nervous and terrified.

He cautiously lifted his gaze to the Gu Jiu Ling seated in the place of honor; although she is no longer the consort of Prince Rui's manor, her aura still makes people dare not look down on her.

However, after giving birth, these past twenty-plus days in Quanzhou, with good food and drink, she has recuperated.

Her skin is fair, her hair loosely tied in a bun, showing a somewhat languid air.

This demeanor simply possesses a deadly allure.

Tuo Ba Yu's gaze lingered on her lovely face; one must say that these descendants of the Gu family have all inherited Gu Shijie's fine looks.

Whether male or female, they all possess a degree of stunning beauty.

Gu Jiu Ling stared coldly at him, and Tuo Ba Yu, steeling himself, sat beside her under her icy gaze.

"I'm sorry…"

"No need!" Gu Jiu Ling raised her hand to cut off Tuo Ba Yu's words.

She coldly looked at him and said, "No need to say sorry; today I invited Your Highness here to settle accounts with you."

A flicker of panic crossed Tuo Ba Yu's eyes, then returned to calm.

He lowered his head and gave a bitter smile: "Gu Jiu Ling, I deceived you, but my sincere feelings for you have always been genuine, without any falsehood."

"Stop!" Gu Jiu Ling chuckled lightly, "Your Highness, the most unreliable thing in this world is a man's mouth."

"A man's mouth is a deceitful ghost; whoever believes it dies!"

"No, I am sincere toward you!" Tuo Ba Yu flared up, hastily standing, wishing he could cut open his own heart to show her whether it was red.

Gu Jiu Ling lifted her gaze to the frantic man before her and said, word by word: "Your Highness, when I saved you earlier, I wasn't actually doing it to save you—what are you to me? I was doing it to save Xiao Yin; after all, if I couldn't save you, Xiao Yin would cause big trouble."

Tuo Ba Yu's face instantly turned slightly pale.

Gu Jiu Ling knew these words were hurtful, but she wasn't a womanizer—she didn't have many lovers, nor did she like keeping fish.

Not loving is not loving; not loving this person yet stringing them along—she herself found that behavior shameful.

Gu Jiu Ling stared at him and said: "Besides, when you first came to me saying you were the father of my unborn child, I did have some doubts about your words, but I still accepted it."

"I accepted it, not because you are the child's father—I accepted it because I wanted to save Xiao Yin and hoped to borrow your influence."

"Look, the first two times I didn't take you seriously; this is the third time—I'm using you to pull off a golden cicada shell‑shedding."

"Tuo Ba Yu, I have never loved you; the only man I like is Xiao Yin."

"So, I can't give you anything—let's settle our grudges and each go our own way peacefully."