Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Gu Zhangyuan, grabbed by the shoulder and nearly stripped of his clothes, looked up with red-rimmed eyes and recognized Xie Licheng's face.

Gu Zhangyuan thought he'd escaped one disaster only to walk into another, so the moment he was grabbed and spun around, his first instinct was to stab the newcomer hard with the hairpin in his hand.

This hairpin was something he usually kept for self-defense.

He'd always figured it was just for show, but he never thought he'd actually end up using it.

He'd just used it moments ago to wound the bastard who tried to assault him.

And now, after stabbing one guy, another one had shown up.

He was just too scared and too wound up.

Even though Gu Zhangyuan could clearly see it was Xie Licheng, he still jabbed the hairpin at him.

Luckily, he didn't have much strength behind it, and Xie Licheng easily raised a hand to block.

If it had been anyone else, Xie Licheng would've snatched the hairpin away first to keep them from trying again.

But seeing how red Gu Zhangyuan's eyes were and how shaken he looked, he ended up letting him keep it.

Xie Licheng's mind was spinning—why the hell was Gu Zhangyuan here of all people?

Could it be that his being a transmigrator had changed the whole plot of the book?

But that didn't seem right either.

When he'd first met Gu Zhangyuan, he hadn't done anything to change the story.

In the original story, when that young master brutally beat the original owner, it was Gu Zhangyuan who saved him.

If there was any difference between him and the original owner, it was this...

The original owner, being timid and dull, hadn't dared to look up at Gu Zhangyuan when they met.

That was the only tiny difference—there's no way that could've changed the plot this much, right?

Before Xie Licheng could think any more about it, Gu Zhangyuan finally recognized him and asked in a panic, "You... why are you here?"

"I heard a commotion nearby and came in to see what was going on. I didn't expect..."

He trailed off, glancing at Gu Zhangyuan's disheveled clothes, then at the person lying on the ground nearby.

A moment ago, Xie Licheng had been too far away, and Gu Zhangyuan's body had blocked his view, so he hadn't seen anyone on the ground.

Now that he was closer and Gu Zhangyuan wasn't blocking the view, he could see the person on the ground, along with the pool of blood around them.

"Eldest Young Master, what happened here? Why are you here? And who's that person?"

Gu Zhangyuan, however, didn't trust him right away, and he wasn't about to answer his questions honestly. Worried that Xie Licheng might be in league with that man, he tightened his grip on the hairpin and probed cautiously.

"Aren't you a low servant? Shouldn't you be in the servants' quarters right now? Why are you out in the garden in the middle of the night?"

Seeing how scared Gu Zhangyuan was of him, Xie Licheng had a pretty good idea what he was worried about.

He'd only met the eldest young master once before, and with today, that made twice.

Under the circumstances, it was only natural for Gu Zhangyuan to be wary of him.

Xie Licheng said, "Eldest Young Master saved your servant's life. Your servant would do anything for you—work like an ox or a horse. Please don't be afraid. Your servant is here to protect you."

Gu Zhangyuan asked, "You... you're really not working with that man?"

Xie Licheng shook his head. "Your servant doesn't even know who he is. Is he a thief from outside? Why is he lying here? And why would Eldest Young Master be here of all places?"

That man was badly wounded, and seeing that Xie Licheng had no intention of helping him, Gu Zhangyuan realized they really weren't in league with each other.

He relaxed a little.

He took a deep breath and started sorting through his chaotic thoughts, getting ready for whatever came next.

He really hadn't expected that male guest from outside to be so bold as to lay hands on him right here at the Gu estate.

As for how he ended up here, that story started half an hour ago.

Gu Zhangyuan had been practicing calligraphy in the study when, for some reason, he started thinking about Xie Licheng's eyes.

Xie Licheng's eyes were dark and bright, like a wolf's—beautiful but with a hint of aggression.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't know Xie Licheng's name; to him, Xie Licheng was just a horse slave.

His status was noble—he was the Gu family's precious eldest young master.

Suddenly thinking of a strange man's eyes, he felt it was improper.

Frustrated, he stopped practicing and left the courtyard by himself to clear his head.

That was when he ran into Concubine Xu, who was heading out with his younger sister.

Gu Zhangyuan's younger sister was named Gu Yangxue, and she'd just turned fourteen this year.

Because she was young and often under Gu Zhangyuan's care, the two were very close.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't think much of Concubine Xu's character, and taking his sister out so late at night surely meant some shady business was going on.

For his sister's safety, he followed them without even bringing a servant.

That was when he discovered Concubine Xu had taken his sister to the outer garden.

There were two ways to get from the inner courtyard to the outer garden. The first required passing through two guarded gates that checked identities and recorded everyone who came and went.

The second was a small path that led straight to the garden through a small door. Since this door was always kept locked, there was rarely anyone guarding it.

Seeing that they'd deliberately taken the small path and that Concubine Xu had the key to the small door, Gu Zhangyuan was even more certain something was wrong.

He wanted to go back and get help, but he was afraid it might be exactly what he suspected.

A few days ago, a distant nephew of Concubine Xu's had come to stay at the Gu estate.

Although Concubine Xu wasn't particularly favored in the household, Gu Yangxue was dearly loved by both the old master and Gu Zhangyuan, so Concubine Xu still had some standing in the family.

She'd shamelessly insisted on keeping her nephew there, and the steward hadn't dared to turn him away.

Thinking of that sudden arrival, and knowing the outer garden was close to the outer courtyard's guest rooms, Gu Zhangyuan—well aware of how sordid life in a grand estate could be—didn't dare rush over with a bunch of people.

What if they wanted to be caught in the act? Besides, there were few servants on that small path, and what would happen to his sister while he went back and forth?

Blinded by worry, Gu Zhangyuan quickly followed alone.

Unexpectedly, he hesitated for only a moment, and by the time he caught up, the man was already gone.

He had never thought the outer courtyard garden was that large, but at night, with him in such a hurry, it suddenly felt vast and unfamiliar.

What Gu Zhangyuan didn't know was that Concubine Xu was very cautious—she had spotted him halfway through following her.

Since the two of them were already on bad terms, when Concubine Xu realized he had the nerve to come alone, she immediately altered her original plan.

She found a place for her daughter to wait, then went to find her distant nephew.

She had her nephew grab Gu Zhangyuan, while she took the opportunity to bring her daughter back and round up a group of servants.

She swapped her daughter out of the plan and put Gu Zhangyuan in her place.

Then, when the time came, they would catch him in the act. No matter how noble Gu Zhangyuan's status was, with him caught in such a scandal, the Gu family would have no choice but to accept the marriage.

Then her nephew would marry the Gu family's eldest young master, and whether it was her, her nephew, or her own family, they'd never have to worry about money again.

Unfortunately, her plan was clever, but executing it wasn't so easy.

Because Gu Zhangyuan wasn't your typical young gentleman—he had spent years traveling with the head of the family and was in much better shape than most others like him.

He carried a defensive hairpin, and when opened, it was extremely sharp.

Besides that, he'd learned to ride horses and trained with martial arts masters.

Though what he learned was mostly for show, he still had a lot more strength than the average young man.

So when the nephew dragged him into the rock garden, Gu Zhangyuan not only broke free but also fought back.

The nephew, that male guest, never expected a delicate young man like Gu Zhangyuan to be so fierce.

Besides, Gu Zhangyuan was of very noble status and highly respected in the Gu family.

After being stabbed by Gu Zhangyuan, the man was ridden with guilt and terrified, worried that once Gu Zhangyuan recognized him, he'd find a way to get back at him later.

He didn't dare continue attacking Gu Zhangyuan. Instead, he instinctively covered his face, turned around, and took off in a panic.

Then... who knows if it was bad luck or karma for his misdeeds. In his frantic escape, he tripped over a protruding stone, fell backward, hit his head, and knocked himself out.

Gu Zhangyuan had only been startled at first, but when he realized the man was a spineless coward who couldn't even handle someone like him, he stopped being afraid.

Xie Licheng turned Gu Zhangyuan to face him and saw his reddened eyes and panicked expression.

It was mainly because Gu Zhangyuan had seen that the man had bled a lot after falling—he'd never seen that much blood before. He kept thinking, did that man kill himself from the fall? Why else would he be bleeding so much?

It was seeing the man on the ground that had scared him into such a panic.

Xie Licheng said evenly, "If the Eldest Young Master still doesn't trust me, I can leave right now and bring the household guards for you."

Gu Zhangyuan immediately shook his head and said, "No, I... I can't let anyone see me like this."

Even if nothing had been done to him, with his clothes disheveled and hair a mess, anyone who saw him would gossip.

"How about this—Eldest Young Master, you leave first, and I'll handle the rest."

No matter why Gu Zhangyuan had appeared here, this was no place for him to stick around.

Gu Zhangyuan settled down a little and asked, "How will you handle it? Don't you want to ask what happened here?"

Xie Licheng said without batting an eye, "The Eldest Young Master is kind-hearted and beautiful, a truly good person. It must have been that man who did something wrong—otherwise, the Eldest Young Master wouldn't have struck him."

Gu Zhangyuan pressed his lips together briefly and explained, "I didn't hurt him on purpose. He disrespected me first, and I pricked him in self-defense. But I didn't expect him to be such a coward. He was probably afraid I'd see his face, so he covered it and fled in panic—only to trip and knock himself out."

He paused here, then turned his gaze toward the man, his beautiful eyes, red-rimmed and filled with worry.