First annul the engagement, then sever ties with the empress; the empress reigns supreme.

The food in my mouth is now difficult to swallow.

It was true that she wanted to use the months before giving birth to find her master, Qingyanzi, and Suli. But she never considered abandoning Mu Lingye because of it.

Mu Lingye belongs to her.

She wasn't that great and selfless.

Even if we were to give Mu Lingye up, we should at least wait until after she dies.

"Waiter, the bill please." Gu Junxi felt more irritable than ever before. She couldn't stay in the restaurant any longer and desperately wanted to get some fresh air. She took out a few loose silver coins from her sleeve and left the restaurant.

As soon as she left, the two men and women who had entered stopped talking and stood up respectfully. Then, Mu Lingye, dressed in a royal blue robe and with a handsome and refined appearance, walked in.

The two men and women bowed to Mu Lingye and said, "Master, we spoke as you instructed, but the lady of the house seemed very angry after hearing it."

"Mm." Mu Lingye nodded slightly, following Gu Junxi's footsteps as they left the restaurant, staying a short distance behind her. He gazed intently at Gu Junxi's somewhat lost and dejected figure, shaking his head with tenderness.

He didn't mean to upset Gu Junxi; he just wanted to teach her a lesson.

Let her know what fear is once and for all, so that she will never dare to abandon him again.

"Master, what should we do now?" The man and woman were new hidden guards that Mu Lingye had brought out of the palace, and they were still unfamiliar faces.

Mu Lingye thought for a moment and then instructed, "Follow her and steal her purse when she gets sleepy, but remember, don't hurt her."

"Yes." The two hidden guards left as instructed.

Gu Junxi walked aimlessly down the street when she felt someone bump into her. It didn't hurt much, so she didn't think much of it. It wasn't until she went to find lodging that night that she discovered her money had been stolen.

Sure enough, when you're down on your luck, even drinking water can cause problems.

"Sir, how about it? Do you still need a room?" The innkeeper noticed Gu Junxi's embarrassment and stared at her with a smile.

Gu Junxi pulled her hand away from her purse and shook her head with a smile: "I won't stay."

She turned and left the inn. Just as she reached the entrance, drowsiness surged like a tsunami, and she couldn't resist it no matter what she did.

With no other option, she could only lean against a pillar at the entrance of the inn and fall into a deep sleep.

As she lay down, she seemed to see a pair of leather boots inlaid with golden auspicious clouds, and the familiar Dragon's Breath fragrance.

"Ah Ling..." The two words escaped her lips, and she lost consciousness.

"Sigh..." Gu Junxi sighed helplessly as she looked at Gu Junxi, who had her eyes tightly closed. This was the consequence of running away alone. When she was sleepy, anyone could carry her away.

It wouldn't matter if you were a little ugly, but you're so good-looking that you're bound to attract attention.

When Mu Lingye arrived, he noticed several idlers craning their necks to look at Gu Junxi. They were all chased away by the hidden guards Mu Lingye had sent.

Mu Lingye bent down and scooped Gu Junxi up in his arms. Only after picking her up did he realize that Gu Junxi had become lighter again after just two days.

His dark eyes held an unyielding sorrow.

Gu Junxi dreamed of Mu Lingye.

In her dream, Mu Lingye kept kissing and hugging her.

She lay in Mu Lingye's arms, unwilling to move.

But when she woke up, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar hotel room.

But Mu Lingye, whom she knew, was not in the room at all.

Looking at the clothes she was wearing, she realized they weren't the same ones she had worn yesterday.

A cold glint appeared in Gu Junxi's eyes.

Footsteps sounded outside the room. Gu Junxi got out of bed and hid by the door, waiting for the person to enter before making her move. She used a hairpin from her hair to press against the person's neck, and at the same time, she saw the person's face clearly. It was the man from the restaurant yesterday who had said that Mu Lingye had agreed to take a man and a woman as concubines.

"It's you." Gu Junxi's eyes grew even colder, and the hairpin pressed against his neck tightened. She questioned in a deep voice, "What exactly did you do to me last night? Why did you kidnap me to this place? Tell me the truth, or I have a thousand ways to make you wish you were dead."

Following Mu Lingye's instructions, Xuan Jiu said with a grin, "Why is my temper so fiery, little lady? I didn't kidnap you at all. I just saw you collapsed at the inn's entrance and was worried you'd get cold, so I kindly brought you back. As for what I did..."

He paused deliberately at this point, then said vaguely, "It wasn't my idea; you just kept pestering me, and I'm completely innocent..."

"How dare you!" Even though Gu Junxi was in a daze, she remembered very clearly that she had hugged Mu Lingye last night, but they definitely hadn't gone all the way.

So, the person last night wasn't Mu Lingye; she hugged the man in front of her, but they didn't go all the way. However, she still lost her innocence.

Her first instinct was that Mu Lingye probably wouldn't care. But then she quickly banished that thought from her mind.

Mu Lingye is going to take nine concubines, so she doesn't care whether he cares or not.

In short, she's very unhappy right now.

If this man dares to take advantage of her vulnerability, then he must pay the price.

Gu Junxi showed no mercy as she slashed at his palm with the hairpin in her hand.

Xuan Jiu, being a hidden guard, was naturally skilled in martial arts. He dodged to the side, but the hairpin still cut his skin, and blood flowed out.

Having missed her first attack, Gu Junxi launched another assault.

Xuan Jiu was truly innocent. He had to dodge Gu Junxi's attacks while also being careful not to hurt her, which made him feel constrained.

He was jumping around in the room.

Finally unable to hold on any longer, she cried out, "Master, save me! The mistress is going to kill me to silence me!"

Master? Mistress?

Gu Junxi gleaned a key piece of information from it and narrowed her eyes.

They say pregnancy makes you stupid for three years, and she has been a little slow to react lately, but she's not stupid yet.

She instantly recalled the Mu Lingye she had seen last night, and then thought of the deliberate way the man in front of her was discussing Mu Lingye taking nine concubines in the restaurant, and she came to the conclusion.

This man was a plant that Mu Lingye had specially arranged to mess with her.

So Mu Lingye came too.

Gu Junxi's heart skipped a beat. Then, thinking of her sadness yesterday and her anger just now, she made up her mind that no matter whether she was in the wrong first, she would not give Mu Lingye a good look.

Xuan Jiu roared, and the tightly closed door was pushed open from the outside. Gu Junxi turned around and threw the hairpin in her hand like a dart.

The sharp end of the hairpin came toward Mu Lingye's face as he entered, and it looked as if it was about to hit Mu Lingye's eyes.

Without blinking, Mu Lingye raised his hand and accurately pinched the hairpin with his index and middle fingers, easily averting the crisis.

Mu Lingye's thin lips were full of smiles. The resentment he felt when he first met Gu Junxi yesterday had disappeared, and now he was all flattery: "Axi, are you trying to murder your husband?"

In life, it's either the East Wind prevails over the West Wind, or the West Wind prevails over the East Wind.

Seeing that Gu Junxi wasn't angry yesterday, he seized the opportunity to teach Gu Junxi a lesson and vent his anger.

Seeing that Gu Junxi was clearly angry, it was time to stop while the iron was hot.

Gu Junxi sneered, her beautiful eyes fixed on Mu Lingye: "Who is your wife, and who is my husband? You're about to take nine concubines, what are you doing here looking for me? Besides, I already slept with another man last night."

Mu Lingye's face fell instantly, and one sentence perfectly described his current state.

If only I had known then what I know now.

Mu Lingye's current inconsistency isn't because he's become stupid. Rather, it's because he's not as ruthless in handling his marital relationship as he is with his subordinates.

Mu Lingye first chuckled at Gu Junxi, then feigned ignorance: "What do you mean by taking nine concubines? I had no idea. You are my wife, Mu Lingye's wife. Who would dare to share a bed with you? They'd be asking for trouble."

As she spoke, she glanced at Xuan Jiu out of the corner of her eye.

Xuan Jiu involuntarily shrank back, finally experiencing firsthand what it meant for subordinates to suffer when their masters fought.

Fortunately, Xuan Qi has higher emotional intelligence than Xuan Cang and is more eloquent than Xuan Ying.

He smiled in agreement and looked at Gu Junxi: "That's right, Master is absolutely right. The person who shared your bed last night was clearly Master. Xuan Shi and I guarded the door outside the room all night, and apart from Master, not a single fly flew into this room."

The first eight Hidden Guards all began with the character "Xuan" and each had their own name. After the eight Hidden Guards, the characters still began with "Xuan," but the following characters were represented by numbers.

Every loophole in her words was plugged. Gu Junxi knew she couldn't out-argue two people, and besides, she hadn't had the energy to do so after just waking up.

I was so angry yesterday that I barely ate anything.

I'm a little hungry now, and my legs are almost too weak to move.

She just stared angrily at Mu Lingye and stopped talking.

If you upset your wife, you have to coax her.

Mu Lingye gave Xuan Jiu and Xuan Shi a wink.

The two immediately left and closed the door.

Mu Lingye walked to Gu Junxi's side and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Okay, Ah Xi, don't be angry. I did this because I was just a tiny bit angry. I wanted you to experience in advance some of the little things that would happen after you left me without a word."

"Look, if I were to hold a grudge against you and actually took nine concubines as my own, what would you do? You'd still be jealous, wouldn't you? You'd care about me, wouldn't you?"

Besides, if I hadn't secretly followed you yesterday, you would have been lying there unconscious at the inn's entrance. With your beauty, some bad guy would definitely have been foolish enough to take advantage of you. Sharing a bed with you is the least of our worries.

Mu Lingye tried to persuade Gu Junxi.

Gu Junxi slapped away Mu Lingye's outstretched hand and gave him a cold glance.

"You really think I'm a fool. If you hadn't sent someone to spread the rumor in front of me that you were going to take nine concubines, I wouldn't have been so distracted and let your people steal my purse."

Gu Junxi could not hide any of this from her.

Mu Lingye smiled and lowered his stance again: "Okay, I was wrong. I was petty and shouldn't have argued with you. Knowing you're pregnant, I should have been more accommodating. If you want to go out for a walk, then I'll let you."

"I'm sad and disappointed because I can't find you. I should bear it all myself. After all, I'm a grown man. A grown man should be responsible and not petty."

"I couldn't sleep or eat for the two days you were gone, and I deserved it. It's all my fault for being too petty."

As Gu Junxi listened to Mu Lingye's words, she felt that something was off. His tone sounded so much like how Gu Juntang used to speak to Gu Lichuan.

—It's all the younger sister's fault, don't blame the older sister.

Gu Junxi suddenly got goosebumps and couldn't stay angry with Mu Lingye anymore.

After all, her refusal to remove the Gu worms without saying a word and her departure from the capital were all due to her willfulness.

It is true that she was in the wrong first.