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

Gu Qingzhi endured the pain and kicked the soldier away from herself, using the force to move to the wall.

"The eldest master is here!"

It was probably because the noise made in the South Courtyard was too loud that Zuo Chengyu was attracted over.

Gu Qingzhi vaguely saw a figure through layer upon layer of soldiers. Fearing that she would be exposed, she quickly sank into the water.

Although she could touch the bottom of the pool, she couldn't open her eyes or breathe. She could only hold her breath and grope around on the wall, praying in her heart.

"Go! Go into the water and catch her for me!"

A familiar voice was faintly heard on the water. She knew that Zuo Chengyu was by the pond. If she didn't find the way to the lotus pond in the north courtyard quickly, she would have to wait to be caught.

She reached out and groped hard, and finally found a hole among a pile of weeds.

The hole, which was only wide enough for one person to pass through, was covered with aquatic plants, which was just enough for her, who couldn't swim, to grab onto and push her body in.

Everything in the water is a nightmare for someone who is afraid of water.

Gu Qingzhi didn't know how she squeezed through. She just felt unbearable pain in her waist and abdomen. She didn't know how much mud and sand had entered her body. The pain was so severe that even her consciousness was numb.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the water.

"Sister Azhi, are you okay?"

The boy's familiar voice rang in her ears, and she violently coughed out a mouthful of salty and fishy pool water.

"Aye... why are you here..."

Gu Qingzhi was pulled out of the water by Feng Zhanye. She staggered and fell to the shore, covering the wound on her abdomen with her hands.

"You are hurt!"

Gu Qingzhi had no time to care about anything else. She just waved her hand and supported herself to get up.

No matter how uncomfortable you feel now, if it’s any later, those government troops will catch up with you.

She pulled Feng Zhanye into the bamboo forest on the shore, untied her belt, and without caring that Feng Zhanye was still there, she took off her maid's clothes.

The young man next to her knew that she was destroying the evidence and said nothing. If it hadn't been dark, those red ears would have betrayed him long ago.

Gu Qingzhi was soaking wet, and she took off her clothes almost as she walked, leaving only her inner clothes.

The knife wound ran across her abdomen. The bright red bloodstains were diluted by the pool water. New bloodstains overflowed, but the color deepened a bit as she moved.

When Feng Zhanye saw the condition of her abdomen, his eyes grew darker and he followed her closely for a few steps.

The weather in February was still too cold. Gu Qingzhi's thin wet clothes were almost frozen into ice. The further she walked, the colder she felt, and the less clear-headed she became.

There was a constant sound of water behind her. She was afraid that the palace soldiers had swam towards her through the hole and were looking for her. She could only force herself to pull Feng Zhanye and walk faster.

Suddenly, the world was spinning and Gu Qingzhi felt as if she had fallen into a solid embrace. Looking up, she saw the young man with a firm look in his eyes. He held her with both hands and lifted her up sideways.

"I come."

Feng Zhan Ye's lips moved slightly, without saying much, he just whispered two words, then he picked her up and ran.

Afraid that she couldn't hold the child but wanted to show off, Gu Qingzhi wanted to struggle, but was surprised to find that not only was he holding him very steadily, but he was also running very fast.

His arms were dry and warm, with the scent of ink that only young people have, tender and careful.

The hands on her waist and legs seemed to have grown a lot bigger, and the warmth coming through the thin fabric became increasingly hot, almost scalding her on that cold night.

Even after they returned safely to the villa, Feng Zhanye still did not let Gu Qingzhi go.

"Aye, it's OK."

Gu Qingzhi couldn't help but speak out a reminder, but was given a cold glance by the boy.

"Who said I wouldn't get hurt?"

The young man frowned handsomely, and although his tone was accusatory, it revealed some helplessness.

"..."

Gu Qingzhi was speechless and had to shut her mouth and let him carry her to the back hall.

After entering the house, Feng Zhanye laid Gu Qingzhi on the couch and prepared to find some gauze to bandage her.

Unexpectedly, she pushed his hand away, got up suddenly, and found some clothes to change into.

“Don’t you want to live anymore?” Feng Zhanye looked at her worriedly, his face full of confusion.

Gu Qingzhi held up her pale face, then raised her eyes and gave him a comforting look.

"My injury is not a big deal. The prime minister's residence has lost something important. We are the ones most likely to be suspected. We must not reveal any clues in front of Zuo Chengyu."

Then she took out the joint letter from the salt mine from her bosom and asked him to give it to Wu Fang.

"Tell Wu Fang to deliver this thing to Gao Ye. Go now. If it's any later, it might be difficult to deliver it."

Feng Zhanye had no choice but to listen to her and hand the things over to Wu Fang, and asked him to invite Gu Fengping over.

At the same time, silence had already returned to the study in the South Courtyard.

In addition to the bloodstains all over the yard, the corpses piled nearby were quite eye-catching.

Zuo Fuhong stood with his hands behind his back as he looked at the study room that had been blown into a mess. On the table in front of him was the book where he had placed the letter.

He raised his head and looked at Zuo Chengyu opposite him, his face so gloomy that it seemed as if ink was about to drip out.

"Well, the Marquis of Yongning is quite capable. Not only has he not caught his legitimate son yet, but now he even dares to steal the petition signed by the joint petition. It seems that he is ready to fight to the bitter end. He is truly worthy of being a noble family."

Zuo Chengyu said nothing, but tightly clenched the bloody sword in his hand and kicked away the corpses of the two gatekeepers at his feet.

"It's no use taking your anger out on them. The fact that they were fooled by that thief shows that they are just two complete idiots. Apart from remembering the thief's appearance, they can't think of anything useful."

Zuo Fuhong glanced at Zuo Chengyu meaningfully, as if he was hinting at something.

Zuo Chengyu knew what Zuo Fuhong meant, so he threw the sword aside, lowered his head and said, "My son is useless."

Zuo Fuhong shook his head: "Forget it, you didn't know in advance. Since the thief has made preparations, it is not so easy to catch him. Not many people know that the pond leads to the lotus pond."

At this moment, a soldier came into the study with a pile of stained clothes and respectfully presented them to Zuo Fuhong and Zuo Chengyu.

"Lord Zuo Xiang, Young Master, this is the maid's dress that we found in the bamboo forest near the lotus pond."

As the man spoke, he showed the two of them the blood-stained tear on his dress.

"From this we can see that she must have been injured in the right abdomen when she fell into the pool just now."

This is an important clue.

Zuo Fuhong and Zuo Chengyu looked at each other, both knowing what this meant.

Zuo Chengyu waved to the palace soldier, signaling him to leave. He waited until there were only two of them left in the study before he spoke.

"This person was injured, and she probably took off her clothes to hide herself from others, which means she is still in the mansion."

Zuo Fuhong nodded in agreement: "Since she ran to the lotus pond, she must have found a hiding place nearby."

"If it's not an internal thief, then the most likely person is someone from the other courtyard."

Zuo Chengyu suddenly raised his head and ordered outside the house: "Southern Courtyard troops, listen up! Follow me to the other courtyard to catch the thief!"

"Yes!"