Rebirth: The flatterer prince I raised couldn't be so clingy

She resisted the urge to scratch, took a step forward, and struck with lightning speed.

Huang Liang instinctively twisted to dodge, but her skills were far inferior. Gu Qingzhi grabbed her wrist and twisted it in the opposite direction. With her other hand, she pressed down on the back of Huang Liang's neck, firmly restraining her and pressing her face against the table where the candlesticks were placed.

The candlelight illuminated the dark shadow.

The girl in front of me, about fifteen or sixteen years old, had her hair in braids and a pair of bright, sparkling eyes. Her face was pressed against the table, and she glared at me defiantly.

"Antidote."

Gu Qingzhi's hands were incredibly itchy, and she gritted her teeth and threatened him while enduring the itch.

Because his cheeks were being squeezed, Huang Liang's speech became slurred: "Senior sister... it's no use you trying to catch me! That 'back scratcher'... there's no antidote."

Gu Qingzhi tightened her grip on Tang Yinyin's neck. "Tang Yinyin! Don't force me to teach you a lesson!"

"Ah! Quick... let go... there is! There is!"

Gu Qingzhi then released her.

"It hurts so much!" The little girl tried to twist her neck to relieve the pain, gesturing to the corner with her eyes.

There was a small bamboo cage there, inside which squatted a plump, bumpy toad with a few blurry golden lines on its back, slowly puffing out its cheeks.

"Quaa?"

...That doesn't sound very smart.

"Look, the saliva of the golden-thread toad. It's even more effective when taken internally! I raised this to test medicines on it, and I've already trained it to be immune to all poisons."

Tang Yinyin puffed out her chest with a proud look, which vaguely reminded Gu Qingzhi of Gu Fengping's behavior every time he stuffed strange herbs into her hands.

She stared at the toad, which stared back at her blankly, its mouth agape, thick saliva slowly dripping down.

It fell with a "plop" onto the bottom of the cage, slowly forming a puddle.

Putting aside the disgusting aspect, wouldn't using this really make me stupid? Gu Qingzhi found it hard not to have doubts.

She suppressed her anger, took out a piece of herb that Gu Fengping had given her from her bosom, chewed it a couple of times, spat it out, and applied it to her hands.

The itching sensation in her hands gradually subsided. The herbs were so bitter that her face turned green, but anyone would know which to choose between nausea and bitterness.

Seeing that her last trick had been foiled, Tang Yinyin gritted her teeth and muttered, "Damn it, it's that brat Gu Fengping again! I'll kill him one of these days!"

The little girl gritted her teeth, making a "crunching" sound, but Gu Qingzhi gave her a cold glance and she fell silent, becoming completely obedient, only able to grumble inwardly.

What's it like to be even fiercer than your master? It's truly being suppressed in every way.

"You've learned to walk quietly quite well."

Upon hearing the praise, Tang Yinyin was almost speechless, her big eyes blinking for a long time before she finally smiled.

"Right! Old man Yuanjie made me follow him and Huaxu in the shadows all day long. I was so bored that I could only study these things to pass the time. In the end, he finally let me come back, but the gambling den was no fun at all."

“That’s perfect. You can come work for me. Nan Ke is here too, so you can look out for each other. Your medicinal herbs and poisons will be listed separately, and the Prince Duan’s mansion will cover the cost. There will be plenty.”

Gu Qingzhi paused, glanced at the golden toad, and added, "I'll also give you a separate room to mess around with your stuff—the stuff for testing drugs, the layout is up to your liking."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yinyin's eyes lit up instantly: "You should have said so earlier, Senior Sister! Why fight and kill among ourselves? It hurts our feelings!"

Gu Qingzhi glanced at her sideways: "If I didn't do this, would you be willing to show your face?"

Tang Yinyin: "Ugh! Look at the mess this has made!"

With a casual touch, her black-painted fingernails somehow produced an assassination warrant from a gambling den. She held the paper between her fingertips, and it burst into blue flames, instantly turning into dust.

"Although my ambition since childhood has been to catch my master, senior brothers and sisters to test medicines, who would turn down money? Senior sister, I'll be counting on you for my future medicinal herbs!"

Seeing that Tang Yinyin was about to hug her, Gu Qingzhi quickly dodged. It was already troublesome enough that her hands were itching, and being hugged by her would probably make her itchy all over. She really could only eat that frog's saliva.

"Here's a stick of incense. Go and clean up all your decorations, leaving not a single speck of dust."

"Senior Sister—" Tang Yinyin drawled, trying to act spoiled, "Those things are very expensive, it's such a waste to just waste them like this?"

"Come on, if you take one down, how will you explain to Prince Duan? Do you still want that room where you test the medicine?"

Speaking of this, Tang Yinyin had no choice but to abandon her usual coquettish act and, pouting, went downstairs to clean up the mess she had left behind.

Gu Qingzhi watched Tang Yinyin's figure disappear into the night before slowly exhaling. She turned and went downstairs, her steps lighter than when she came.

The last piece of the puzzle is finally in place.

Over the next two days, Feng Zhanye made a grand gesture, converting the courtyard previously used for Gu Qingzhi's recovery into a secret guard residence, which Gu Qingzhi and Granny Liu discussed and arranged together.

The three courtyards were spacious and private enough that anyone else in the mansion who wanted to spy on them would have to put in a lot of effort to figure them out.

Because the armory needs of the Dark Guard Corps differ from those of the regular Imperial Guard, and because Mu Ying and Tang Yinyin both require separate spaces, Gu Qingzhi was constantly running between the gambling den and the Prince's mansion, so busy that she couldn't even attend to Feng Zhanye's nightly riding lessons.

During this period, she also made a special trip to the Imperial Guard and received a definite answer from Mu Ying.

Two days later, in the evening, after she had thoroughly settled the secret guard quarters, she went straight to the library.

The Grand Tutor had just left when Feng Zhanye was studying, while Wu Fang stood guard to the side, using the inkstone as cover to doze off.

As soon as Gu Qingzhi entered the room, she said, "A-Ye, the secret guards are arriving at the manor tonight. Would you like to find some time to meet them?"

Before Feng Zhanye could speak, the inkstone beside him made a loud "bang".

Wu Fang was half asleep when he was startled awake by the sound of the door being pushed open. Thinking that Granny Liu had arrived, he jumped up and wiped his drool as if trying to hide something.

"I didn't sleep, I didn't sleep."

"If you doze off again, you'll have to stand outside." Feng Zhanye glared at him.

"Okay, sure." Wu Fang reluctantly moved out.

As she passed Gu Qingzhi, she helplessly put her hands in her pockets and handed her a message: "Go to the Dark Guard and wait for me. Wake up."

Wu Fang was still a little dazed after waking up. He walked halfway before suddenly turning back: "No, wait! What did you say, Brother Gu?"

"We'll be distributing the guard uniforms and badges later. Aren't you going?"

Wu Fang's eyes lit up instantly, all sleepiness vanished from his face, and he wanted to burst out laughing but quickly covered his mouth, rubbing his hands together and trying to keep his voice down, but he couldn't suppress his excitement: "Really? Brother Gu, no, Commander! I'll go right now!"

After saying that, he happily ran out.

Since Wu Fang mentioned it that day, she had indeed thought about it. Although the remaining five people each had their own skills, they all acted alone. Even though Nan Ke and Huang Liang were familiar with each other, they rarely acted together.

Assassins excel at one-on-one combat, but they are completely inept at teamwork and coordination, a fact she had known for a long time.

But Wu Fang's addition made all the difference.

"If we want to truly unite the secret guards as one and ensure that each member performs their duties, we will inevitably need a smooth person to mediate between them."

Feng Zhanye had spoken her mind, and Gu Qingzhi turned around and smiled.

"You've read all the detailed information I gave you before."

The boy put down his pen and looked up: "Of course, all five of them are very capable and have great potential. As for their character, since it was Sister Azhi's choice, I trust them. It's just that Sister Azhi has been so busy taking care of me that she hasn't had time to learn riding skills."

"I'm fine," Gu Qingzhi replied casually, then continued, "Mu Ying and Wu Fang are still lacking in skills. To catch up with the others, they need to train harder. We also need time to familiarize ourselves with each other's abilities..."

She gave her report at a leisurely pace, but Feng Zhanye's gaze gradually dimmed, his fingers unconsciously tracing the pages of the book before quickly returning to normal and picking something up from the side.

She saw him stand up and stand in front of her, extending one sleeve.

"what happened?"

The boy's cunning eyes made her feel that he was holding something in his hand hidden in his sleeve. As soon as she looked up, a waist pendant with a jade ring hanging from it dangled down.

"The guard's waist token? But Granny Liu already gave it to me..."

"This one is yours, my commander of the secret guards."

Feng Zhanye lowered his gaze, deliberately emphasizing the word "mine," his eyes gleaming.

The waist tag was the same shape as the other waist tags given by Granny Liu, but the pattern was different.

The other waist tags are engraved with eagles and falcons, but the bird on this waist tag has a pointed beak, long legs, and a flying crest.

As she took the waist token, Gu Qingzhi ran her fingertips over the lifelike feathers and sharp beak, vaguely sensing that the bird's eyes were gentler than those of a hawk, yet its posture was more upright and fierce.

“The secretary bird feeds exclusively on snakes and lizards, and its greatest weakness is venomous snakes,” Feng Zhanye explained to her. “I hope it will bring good luck for what we need to do in the future.”

The image of the black snake head waist tag appeared in Gu Qingzhi's mind, and she understood Feng Zhanye's meaning.

We must seize the throats of the Black Serpent Head and the Left Prime Minister and his son, and restore justice to those who died unjustly.

This is exactly what she wanted to do.

"Don't worry, we can definitely do it." Gu Qingzhi placed her hand on the boy's forehead and gently rubbed it.

Feng Zhanye squinted his eyes contentedly and pulled her into his arms, but pretended to scold her, "Sister Azhi, I'm so grown up now, don't keep touching my head..."

Gu Qingzhi chuckled and pinched his nose again: "No matter how old you are, aren't you still my younger brother?"

Feng Zhanye's hand around her waist froze for a moment. He wanted to argue, but seeing her affectionate manner, he couldn't bear to speak. After a long pause, he said helplessly, "Let's go and meet the others."