The prince loves me like his life, but I force him to rebel

After listening to her explanation, Cen Yu was silent for a moment. His expression seemed to ease a little, and then he slowly said, "Then I'll take it as your agreement."

There was still a trace of scrutiny in his eyes, as if he was observing Gu Nianzhi's reaction.

"Well, you can trust me."

Gu Nianzhi said this with a guilty conscience, her eyes somewhat erratic.

However, in her heart, she silently prayed to God: "God, I was forced to do this, otherwise I would not have lied."

"By the way, I want to tell you another secret."

Cen Yu's voice suddenly sounded, and a strange light seemed to shine on his face, as if what he was about to say next made him particularly excited.

He held Gu Nianzhi's hands affectionately. His hands were warm and strong, tightly wrapping around Gu Nianzhi's slightly slender fingers.

Cen Yu looked straight into Gu Nianzhi's eyes, which were full of expectation and desire, as if he couldn't wait to share this secret with Gu Nianzhi.

"There is someone in Qiangyi who has mastered the secret technique of raising Gu to regenerate severed limbs. If I can find him and learn the secret technique during this trip, then when I ascend to the throne, I may be able to grow new limbs."

Cen Yu's voice trembled slightly, with a hint of barely perceptible excitement. His face was full of anticipation, as if he had already seen the day when he would have a complete set of limbs.

There was a gleam in his eyes, which was a vision and hope for the future.

However, after hearing these words, Gu Nianzhi didn't know what expression to make for a moment.

Her mind was in a mess, and all kinds of thoughts came flooding in like a tide. This was obviously an absurd method, but he believed it firmly. In her cognition, things like regeneration of broken limbs only existed in legends and myths, how could it happen in reality? But looking at Cen Yu's expectant eyes, she couldn't bear to break his fantasy immediately.

"Why, are you too surprised? So you don't even know you're happy for me?"

Seeing Gu Nianzhi's expressionless face, Cen Yu's eyes flashed with a hint of loss, and he asked with a little disappointment.

He originally thought that Gu Nianzhi would be as excited as he was and would be happy for his dream that was about to come true, but Gu Nianzhi's reaction was beyond his expectations.

Gu Nianzhi came back to his senses and forced a smile, trying to make his expression look more natural.

She said softly, "It's really too unbelievable. I couldn't react for a while. If it really succeeds, it would be great. Your legs wouldn't have to suffer so much."

"To be honest, last night I had a dream... I dreamed that my legs had successfully regenerated, and you and I..."

Cen Yu spoke slowly, and the moment the words came out of his mouth, his eyes became a little vague, as if he had returned to that dream again.

Cen Yu paused, his ears turned slightly red, and a strange feeling quietly spread in his heart.

In that dream, he seemed to be in a fantastic and beautiful world. He saw that his body was no longer incomplete, and the legs he had lost were intact under his body.

He can walk and run freely, feeling the solidity of being down to earth. And in this beautiful picture, there is one most important person, that is Gu Nianzhi.

He dreamed that he and Gu Nianzhi were on a gorgeous and warm red wedding bed. They were wearing festive wedding dresses, and each other's faces were filled with happy smiles.

They did what newlyweds should do, and everything was so natural and harmonious.

In his dream, he could even clearly feel the touch of his feet touching Gu Nianzhi's skin. It was a delicate and gentle feeling, as if it brought endless warmth and love.

The feeling was so real even in a dream that he was intoxicated by it and didn't want to wake up.

"You just said you dreamed about me and you doing what???"

Gu Nianzhi didn't think much about it, but when he saw Cen Yu suddenly stop, he subconsciously asked.

Her voice is clear and pleasant, like a silver bell.

Her eyes were full of curiosity and confusion, and she stared at Cen Yu closely, as if trying to find the answer from his expression.

When Cen Yu heard Gu Nianzhi's question, his heart suddenly tightened. He blinked in panic, trying to calm himself down.

He knew that he couldn't tell Gu Nianzhi about the real dream, otherwise she would definitely think he was a frivolous person.

So he took a deep breath and tried to make his voice sound calm and natural.

"I climbed the mountain with you and looked into the distance. My legs were strong and healthy, and I could even hold you in my arms as I walked forward..."

Cen Yu made up a few words, trying his best to make his description sound beautiful and romantic.

He imagined himself and Gu Nianzhi standing on the top of a mountain, overlooking the beautiful scenery, enjoying each other's company and warmth. He hoped that through this dream, he could make Gu Nianzhi feel his expectations and yearning for the future.

Cen Yu was worried that if he described his dream, Gu Nianzhi would feel that he was like a playboy and was somewhat untrustworthy.

He didn't want to ruin his image in Gu Nianzhi's heart because of a dream, so he chose to conceal the real dream and replace it with a false but beautiful dream.

Upon hearing this, Gu Nianzhi was startled at first, then her cheeks flushed and she lowered her head silently.

Cen Yu thought she was shy because of the scene he described, but he didn't expect that what Gu Nianzhi was thinking about was the scenes he and Sima Yaozi had seen on the hill outside Lunan City that day.

At that time, they walked together on the mountain trails, admiring the beautiful scenery and enjoying each other's company.

They also looked forward to the future together, imagining that they could go through every stage of life together.

However, everything has changed now.

Gu Nianzhi's blushing face somehow made Cen Yu trust her even more.

He thought Gu Nianzhi was shy because of his dream because she had the same feelings for him.

His heart was filled with joy and happiness, and he felt that the distance between him and Gu Nianzhi had shortened.

"My crippled leg has always been what I care about the most."

Cen Yu's voice sounded slowly, as if carrying endless melancholy and sadness.

His eyes became a little dim, and his thoughts gradually drifted back to the painful past.

Cen Yu slowly closed his eyes, and the floodgates of memory slowly opened. It was a long time ago, a sudden accident caused him to lose his legs.

From that moment on, his world seemed to collapse, and endless pain and despair overwhelmed him like a tide. He used to be a proud and confident man with great ambitions and ideals, but all of this was shattered in an instant.

Since losing his legs, Cen Yu's personality has changed dramatically. He has become sensitive and irritable, and deep down he is filled with inferiority and fear. He is afraid of others seeing his mutilated body, and afraid of the sympathy and pity in others' eyes.

Whenever a maid accidentally saw his crippled leg, the rage in his heart would burn uncontrollably. He felt that his dignity was being ruthlessly trampled upon, so he chose to protect himself in the most extreme way - that is, killing.

He killed five maids who saw his crippled leg. Every time he did that, the pain in his heart deepened, but he could not control himself.

He also showed no mercy to the doctors who prescribed medicine for him.

He killed three doctors just because he couldn't stand the panic and fear on their faces when they saw his broken leg.

He felt like a monster, despised and hated by everyone. He licked his wounds alone in the darkness, his heart filled with resentment towards the world.

When Gu Nianzhi heard Cen Yu's story, an indescribable complex emotion surged in his heart.

The little bit of happiness in her heart was suddenly interrupted by Cen Yu's cold description.

She had never thought that she had been so close to death.

She stared at Cen Yu with eyes wide open in disbelief, and asked with a trembling voice: "Then, why didn't you kill me? I've seen your broken legs more than once."

Cen Yu slowly opened his eyes and his gaze fell gently on Gu Nianzhi's face.

The corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint smile, and said: "Because you are the only stranger who cares about my life or death."

Cen Yu's thoughts returned to the moment they first met.

That day, he came to the lake and was in a daze. Just as he was immersed in his thoughts, Gu Nianzhi's face suddenly appeared in front of him.

She looked at him nervously and concernedly, telling him not to give up on his life.

At that moment, a warm current surged in Cen Yu's heart. He had never thought that there would be someone in this world who would care so much about his life and death.

Cen Yu looked at Gu Nianzhi, as if he saw a ray of light in the darkness. He was moved by her kindness and sincerity, and developed a special feeling for her.

He knew that he couldn't hurt such a beautiful person. If he hadn't reacted quickly and stopped the guards around him with gestures in time, Gu Nianzhi would have been poked into a hornet's nest by them.

A smile appeared on Cen Yu's face. Gu Nianzhi's shyness seemed so satisfying and comfortable to him.

Although Gu Nianzhi was still wearing men's clothes, she had a girlish shyness that even the most feminine man could not learn. He looked at her quietly, his heart full of love and pity.

"Come and see this."

Cen Yu's voice sounded softly with a hint of mystery.

His eyes were focused and deep, staring intently at an ice basin in front of him.

When Gu Nianzhi heard his words, she came over curiously.

There was a porcelain bottle placed in the ice basin. The pattern on the bottle was a bit strange, as if it contained some unknown secret. Cen Yu picked up the bottle and placed it in front of Gu Nianzhi.

The mouth of the porcelain bottle was large, large enough for Gu Nianzhi to see the scene inside clearly.

Gu Nianzhi curiously put his head close to the porcelain bottle and observed it carefully.

The patterns on the outside of the porcelain vase looked chaotic and confusing, as if it was an ancient and mysterious pattern. However, when she looked deeper into the vase, she was surprised to find that there were no patterns inside, only pure white.

At the bottom of the white bottle, two poisonous insects were lying quietly.

Unlike other poisonous insects that were constantly wriggling, the bodies of these two insects were almost translucent. They just lay quietly at the bottom of the bottle, only moving occasionally, as if they were in a special dormant state.

"Why aren't these two bugs moving? Are they frozen to death?"

Gu Nianzhi asked doubtfully, her fingers unconsciously reaching out to the bottle, wanting to touch the strange-looking poisonous insect.

However, the moment her fingers touched the bottle, a biting cold instantly spread throughout her body, and she subconsciously retracted her fingers.

This kind of ice does not bring the cold feeling brought by ordinary ice.

"careful!"

Cen Yu's anxious voice sounded, and he quickly grabbed Gu Nianzhi's fingers.

Then, without hesitation, he tore open his collar with one hand and held Gu Nianzhi's fingers tightly against his warm chest.

A warm current came from her fingertips and quickly spread throughout Gu Nianzhi's body, making her feel particularly warm and at ease.

Gu Nianzhi slowly raised his eyes, looked at Cen Yu's concerned face, and said, "It's just a little cold, there's no need to be so nervous, right?"

There was a hint of teasing in her tone, but she felt inexplicably moved.

Cen Yu's eyes were filled with worry. He said seriously, "You don't know that these two ice Gu are sealed in thousand-year-old ice. It is different from ordinary ice. It is easy to get frostbite if you touch it."

"I went through a lot of trouble to find these two ice Gu," Cen Yu's voice was filled with a hint of subtle emotion and pride, "In order to find them, I traveled through countless dangerous places and experienced many hardships and obstacles."

His eyes revealed memories and emotions of past experiences.

Gu Nianzhi listened quietly.

Cen Yu continued, "Put them in the thousand-year-old ice and let them sleep. They can be fed after three years. By then, they will be of great use."

His eyes became firm and full of expectation, as if he saw a scene in the future where the ice poison would play a huge role.

"Hibernating for three years?" Gu Nianzhi couldn't help but be a little surprised. She widened her eyes and looked at Cen Yu in disbelief.

"Yes," Cen Yu nodded, "It has been dormant for two years and eight months now, and there are only four months left."

There was a subtle excitement and nervousness in his tone, as if he was waiting for an important moment to arrive.

"These two bugs are very different from the other bugs. Do they have other uses?"

Gu Nianzhi asked curiously, her eyes fixed on Cen Yu, trying to find the answer from his expression and words.

Cen Yu hesitated for a moment, then said, "It has something to do with my legs. When the conditions are ripe, I will tell you everything."

There was a hint of worry and hesitation on his face, as if there were some things he didn't want Gu Nianzhi to know too early.

Gu Nianzhi looked at Cen Yu and understood that he might have his own difficulties and considerations.

She didn't ask any more questions, but just nodded gently and said, "Okay, I'll wait for the day you're willing to tell me."

There was understanding and respect in her tone, which made Cen Yu feel a little warm and comforted.