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

Yiguan Street is not very big. Merchants and envoys from various countries live here. It is bustling during the day, but at night, it is as quiet as other streets.

"How do you plan to find the prince and the others?" Gu Nianzhi asked.

"Use the whistling arrows."

Sima Yao took out an inconspicuous little object, which looked like a short arrow, but had several holes on it.

"Before Shu Huaiyuan and my elder brother set out, they came to see me. He said that if the prince was in danger, I was the only one he could trust completely. He taught me how to use the whistling arrows and we agreed on a short and a long signal. As long as they are in a place where they can hear the sound of the whistling arrows, they will definitely come to find me."

"So this is what you bought after searching for so long at the market today?"

"The number of holes in the whistling arrowhead varies, and the duration of the sound varies depending on the length of the arrow." Sima Yao said as he fired the first arrow. "The first arrow was short and heavy, so it couldn't fly very far, so the sound was very short and ended."

Sima Yao pulled out another slightly longer arrow and released it: "This arrow is longer and not that heavy. It will fly farther and the sound will last longer. If there is no reaction after a long time of shooting the two arrows, we can try again."

"I understand. The reason we have to wait until night is because Posthouse Street is crowded with people during the day. Even if we fire the whistle arrows, they may not be able to hear us."

"Yes, and there are too many people on the street. Even if we hear each other, it will be difficult for us to find each other."

In the distance, several drunken men were staggering towards us, talking drunkenly.

Sima Yao immediately pulled Gu Nianzhi to a dark area between the two houses.

This is a small passage between two households, not even an alley, but just enough for a person leading a horse to walk directly from here to the stable in the backyard.

The two men stood facing each other.

Gu Nianzhi's eyes were only at Sima Yao's chest height.

She was a little embarrassed and took a step back, but bumped into the outer wall of the house.

Fortunately, Sima Yao was quick-witted and put his palm between Gu Nian's head and the wall.

"You feel crowded, don't you?"

"A little bit." Gu Nianzhi's face seemed to be a little hot uncontrollably.

"Let's not stand facing each other. Just stand behind me."

Sima Yao turned sideways and walked in front of Gu Nianzhi, with his back facing her.

The biggest difference between Qiangyi clothing and Dasheng clothing is that all of its designs are for the convenience of riding and hunting, so it tends to be tight-fitting, unlike the loose Dasheng clothing.

Standing behind Sima Yao, Gu Nianzhi could clearly feel the huge difference in size between himself and Sima Yao.

His body was like a solid wall, separating Gu Nianzhi from the dangers of the outside world.

The group of drunks finally passed by. When their voices became farther and farther away, Sima Yao took Gu Nianzhi's wrist and pulled her out of the narrow corridor.

"These people around Qiangyi drink endlessly, and once they get drunk they are prone to causing trouble, so it's better for us to avoid them to avoid unnecessary trouble."

"Yeah." Gu Nianzhi felt that her face seemed to be getting hotter.

Fortunately, the light on the street was dim, and Sima Yao did not notice anything unusual about her.

There was a rest pavilion at the corner of the street. The two walked a few steps, sat down in the pavilion, and waited patiently.

"Mr. Gu, do you know that before I met you, I never believed that there would be someone like you in the world."

"Oh? In the eyes of the Third Emperor... the Third Young Master, what's the difference between me and others?" Gu Nianzhi tilted his head and looked at Sima Yao.

"You're confusing me."

Gu Nianzhi saw that Sima Yao's eyes turned slightly to the left. According to the novels she read, when a person looks to the left, it means he is thinking seriously.

"Can't see through?"

"I originally thought you were very timid. You kept begging for mercy when I found you in the secret room, and you kept screaming when you first got on the horse. When you met a pack of wolves, you couldn't help but hide behind me. But when Batu wanted to hand me over to Bater, you stood in front of me without hesitation to protect me. So, I was very confused." Sima Yao turned his head and looked into Gu Nianzhi's eyes: "Why did you treat me like this?"

The two people looked at each other, and the air seemed to freeze at this moment.

Maybe it was because of the ambiguous atmosphere in the alley just now that made Gu Nianzhi a little dizzy, but she actually saw tenderness in Sima Yao's eyes.

Gu Nianzhi couldn't help but be shocked by his own thoughts.

She immediately put on a playful smile and said, "I promised your mother that I would protect you... She saved my life, so I can't just watch her son fall into danger."

Gu Nianzhi stole a glance at Sima Yao, he was still looking at her.

Sima Yao didn't say anything.

After a moment, he turned his head silently and looked forward.

Gu Nianzhi buried his head and rubbed his hands awkwardly.

There was no sound at all on the quiet street.

Gu Nianzhi seemed to hear her own and Sima Yao's heartbeats.

It's strange. I can understand my heart beating faster, but why is his heart beating so fast, so fast that it is actually in sync with my own heartbeat?

"Mr. Gu, did you help me and save me just because of my mother?" There seemed to be a hint of loss in Sima Yao's voice.

"Strictly speaking, not entirely."

Gu Nianzhi turned his head, and the two of them looked into each other's eyes again.

There seemed to be a glimmer in Sima Yao's eyes, as if he saw some kind of hope.

"What other reasons are there?"

"After all, you are a prince. I saved you. When you return to Dasheng safely in the future, let alone promotion, at least you will have gold, silver and jewelry, right?"

The light in Sima Yao's eyes dimmed, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he said with a smile: "Mr. Gu is indeed a smart man. Don't worry, when I return to Dasheng with my elder brother, whether you want a promotion or gold, silver and jewelry, I can satisfy you."

"Then I would like to thank you in advance." Gu Nianzhi continued, "However, I am not interested in promotion. I just need gold, silver and jewelry, lots and lots of gold, silver and jewelry. Money is too important to me. I have something very important to do and I need a lot of money."

Gu Nianzhi thought of his own theater.

That was my grandfather's hard work, and also my favorite career that I was prepared to fight for my whole life.

But the pace of life is so fast nowadays that not many people can calm down and appreciate the slow-paced traditional opera.

If it hadn't been for the government subsidies for traditional opera in recent years, which barely paid the rent, this theater would probably have been gone long ago.

If we could really get a large sum of money from here and sell it in reality, the theater would not be facing its current predicament.

Alas, I don’t know what the situation is like at the theater now.

Could it be that he has been kicked out by the landlord?

"Money is really important. Without money, you can't protect what you care about, and you can't own what you like..."

Seeing that Gu Nianzhi was disappointed, Sima Yao asked, "Mr. Gu, do you want to redeem Miss Qiluo after you have money?"

Gu Nianzhi's eyes widened, and it took her a moment to realize that Sima Yao must have misunderstood.

"Mr. Gu is truly sincere to Miss Qiluo. When we return to Dasheng, I will definitely fulfill your wish."

"Actually... my attitude towards Miss Qiluo... is not what you think..." Gu Nianzhi wanted to explain, but was interrupted by the sudden sound of hurried footsteps.