Chapter 442: Deliberately Scaring You

Gu Xixi looked at Mu Nan Zhao with a smiling gaze, partly domineering, partly playful.

"Prince..."

"Are you acting coquettish with me?"

She rarely shows this lovable, charming side.

Mu Nan Zhao's heart swayed at the sight, and he couldn't help lowering his head to peck at those cherry lips.

But Gu Xixi, before their lips touched, suddenly shoved him away hard.

She switched to a stern face: "Come in with me, we need to talk this through properly!"

Mu Nan Zhao was startled.

Just a moment ago we were fine—how did you get angry again?

He felt puzzled, somewhat flustered as he followed Gu Xixi inside.

Gu Xixi sat down at the table, gesturing for Mu Nan Zhao to sit opposite her.

Her expression was pale, even her attitude rather icy: "Since we've come this far, confess."

It's always Mu Nan Zhao interrogating others, but now the situation has suddenly reversed.

Mu Nan Zhao still couldn't react, "Huh?"

Gu Xixi lifted her eyes to him, utterly unsmiling: "What you just said—what if."

"Actually, it really happened, didn't it?"

"The Beili Princess wants a marriage alliance, picking you as her prince consort, right?"

"Just what is going on? How did you meet the Beili Princess, what did you do to her, what happened between you, to make such a noble princess insist on marrying no one but you?"

Gu Xixi blurted out this string of questions in one breath.

As he listened, Mu Nan Zhao even felt his breath catch.

His mind conjured Huo Jiang's frequent saying: "The lady's death problem."

Huo Jiang also said: "When faced with such a moment, you must answer carefully, or else your life is at risk."

Only when Gu Xixi stopped did Mu Nan Zhao manage to take a deep breath.

He felt as if he had never been this nervous or guilty in his life.

Seeing Mu Nan Zhao silent, Gu Xixi raised an eyebrow and smirked: "How much have you hidden from me that you can't speak now?"

Mu Nan Zhao was greatly startled.

But then it struck him: he clearly hadn't hidden anything from Gu Xixi, nor done anything unspeakable.

Exactly.

What did he have to feel guilty about? Why should he be afraid?

Mu Nan Zhao steadied himself, his mind already rapidly forming an answer.

"The Beili people approached Huo Jiang, hoping he would memorialize the Imperial Court to pursue the marriage alliance."

"This still awaits the Emperor's approval; the eight characters haven't even a single stroke."

"As for that Beili Princess, I happened to meet her in Huo Jiang's tent; our encounter lasted no more than two cups of tea, and we never even spoke alone, nor have I seen her since."

Mu Nan Zhao's solemn expression rivaled that of a worshipper in prayer.

Gu Xixi merely glanced at him lightly: "Oh, is that so?"

"How did she take a liking to you? And how do you know she chose you as her prince consort?"

Mu Nan Zhao spoke righteously: "Why should I care what she thinks? Anyway, I don't fancy her."

"As for when she decided to pick me, that was her suggestion to Huo Jiang before she left; I wasn't there, and if I had been I would have refused her outright."

"Oh……" Gu Xixi realized, "If she's taken a fancy to you, didn't she arrange a private meeting with you?"

Mu Nan Zhao's face tightened a bit: "Well… we did make an appointment."

"She had someone send a message to Huo Jiang asking me to see her off; I said, I won't go."

Gu Xixi asked with a smiling squint, her tone gentle: "Is the princess beautiful?"

"A princess chosen for a marriage alliance must surely have looks and talent to show off."

Recalling Huo Jiang's earnest past advice, alarm bells rang in Mu Nan Zhao's head.

Although he'd never learned how to coax women, his survival instinct pushed his wit to the limit.

"They said the meeting was brief—I didn't even get a clear look at her appearance!"

Yet the death question wasn't over.

Gu Xixi propped her chin on her hand: "She must be of high birth, so her dowry is surely lavish."

Mu Nan Zhao: "Noble?"

"Originally, marrying into another tribe as a prince consort is a thankless task everyone tries to avoid."

"Moreover, she's a princess tossed out by her family as a hostage—what good is there?"

"Does she have the freedom and autonomy of my household? Or is she wealthier than my household?"

"……"

Gu Xixi suddenly asked, "Feeling better?"

Mu Nan Zhao froze, yet saw Gu Xixi's bright smile, tinged with three parts mischief.

He realized, and couldn't help laughing: "You!"

"You did this on purpose?"

Gu Xixi leaned on the table and laughed: "I've heard that when people are extremely tense, focusing on how to respond next lets them forget bad moods."

Mu Nan Zhao, relaxing, chuckled and sighed: "Indeed, I feel less bothered."

"But I'm also sufficiently rattled by your scare!"

The next day, Dependents Village celebrated the harvest.

Early in the morning, Gu Xixi asked if he wanted to go along, but Mu Nan Zhao gave a wry smile and declined:

"It's not yet the day for soldiers to return home and visit family; the whole village is only women and children—what fun would I have tagging along?"

However, Mu Nan Zhao also didn't go to the camp this morning, so Gu Xixi let him stay at home.

"There's nothing else going on, so you might as well take a leisurely break by yourself."

"At noon you don't need to worry about what to eat—I'll have the two kids bring you food."

"Even after working as a teacher for so long, even if you don't want to see outsiders, you'll feel more at ease in front of the children."

Mu Nan Zhao clasped his hands solemnly and said, "The host is very thoughtful."

Actually, Mu Nan Zhao felt quite at ease here, and nobody treated him with the reverence due to a high official.

Everyone knows that in the Xi Bei region, General Ho is the highest authority,

The dependents were accustomed to Ho Jiang being easy‑going and unpretentious.

They had little real sense of the Regent Prince who had come all the way from the capital.

Just what rank he held, nobody really cared.

All they knew was that he had official business at the border camp; as for the village, his only identity was "Gu Xixi's man".

A jar of brewed tea, a bowl of rock‑sugar lily and mung bean soup.

Gu Xixi left these for Mu Nan Zhao, then took Lv Jing out.

Madam Lin's household had already laid out the preparations for a big feast.

The women and children all pitched in, chatting and laughing, bustling about in lively fashion.

Gu Xixi had basically finished everything for this trip.

She was just waiting for someone from the army to come in the afternoon to discuss and hand over the next season's planting plan.

So after lunch, Gu Xixi bid farewell to everyone in advance.

"I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, so I won't say goodbye to everyone individually."

"All the medicines I brought this time are stored at Madam Lin's place; if you need anything else, just speak up."

"I'll go back and tell my master; if it's suitable to make into a finished medicine, I'll bring it next time."

Everyone felt a little embarrassed.

"Before, the military doctor came on a rounds visit, saw the few kinds of pills Boss Gu had sent, and kept praising them, asking which divine doctor's skillful hand they were."

"He also said that some of the herbal ingredients aren't cheap."

"Boss Gu has already given us things for free several times—we have no face to keep asking for more!"

Actually, everyone had already discussed it and pushed Madam Lin to speak on their behalf.

Madam Lin said to Gu Xixi, "We want to go to Boss Gu's master to ask for medical help and medicine."