Chapter 23

Gu Ying's clear eyes flashed a hint of confusion. It was said that the Young Marquis was frivolous and unrestrained, but this man was as cold as the King of Hell, speaking these teasing words without the slightest frivolity or vulgarity. Yet somehow he still seemed odd.

"Young Marquis? You've forgotten," she kindly reminded him, "We will annul the engagement in three months."

Zhao Changdu lightly coughed, his cold and white handsome face even more refined in the heavy snow, his naturally gifted appearance as striking as a celestial being.

"I haven't forgotten," he said, before letting her go.

That soft and warm feminine scent left his embrace. Zhao Changdu faintly knit his brows, feeling strangely insecure with her gone from his arms.

The tension left Gu Ying's mind and body, only to be replaced by a wave of sour sorrow. After enduring such torment, she was actually quite afraid of being so close to a man. Perhaps for the rest of her life she would be unable to interact with men naturally and intimately, destined to live out her years alone.

She discreetly moved several steps away from him, maintaining a safe distance, before calling Yanzhi over.

Accompanying Yanzhi was the attendant Huai An.

The two chatted in hushed voices as they walked over.

Jiang Yin's figure was no longer visible down the narrow alley. Gu Ying didn't care to see what state he was left in after being beaten by Huai An. She no longer cared to waste any feelings on that scumbag.

With Yanzhi here, she finally breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Whether it was the past few days or today, she was truly grateful for Su Huanfeng's help. So she asked caringly, "With such heavy wind and snow today, what is the Young Marquis doing in the Western Market?"

The weather in Bianjing was extremely harsh and cold. Most nobles would hunker down in their lavishly decorated mansions to drink wine around the stove, appreciate dancing beauties, and enjoy fine cuisine during the winter days, seldom coming out to the Western Market.

But Gu Ying didn't know the man standing beside her wasn't some Young Marquis of Yong'an, but rather the Heir Apparent Zhao Changdu of the Zhenguo Duke Manor. The old Duke had followed the Founding Emperor from the countryside, leading hundreds of peasants all the way from Jiang Prefecture to Bianjing. The Zhao clan was instrumental in the founding of Dong Li, and was bestowed iron vouchers and vermillion edicts by the emperor to construct the Zhenguo Duke Manor after the establishment of the dynasty, with successive generations inheriting the title in perpetuity. This was a glory unmatched by anyone else in the entire Dong Li Kingdom.

Zhao Changdu had followed his grandfather the old Duke on campaigns to the borderlands for years, always with knitted brows. A military man fully immersed in slaughter, with an aura of violence about him, clearly not one to be easily provoked.

He had always been cold and merciless towards women, but when Gu Ying raised her flushed cheeks wrapped in thick fur towards him, he felt his heart tremble, as if he had known her for lifetimes.

"I'm accompanying a friend to buy saddles," Zhao Changdu replied coolly and mockingly. "And you? Did you really come out because of Jiang Yin?"

Gu Ying laughed helplessly. She quickly held up three fingers to clarify she had nothing to do with Jiang Yin. "I'm also here to buy a saddle. Don't joke around, Young Marquis. Jiang Gongzi will soon become my brother-in-law. I only thought that since the Young Marquis gifted me a fine bow, I must select an equally fine saddle to match it. Wouldn't you agree?"

Looking at the girl's flushed cheeks, Zhao Changdu was silent for a moment. "I do know a thing or two about saddles. Let me help you pick one."

Gu Ying's red lips parted, about to decline.

But the man strode forward in one long step, clearly not giving her the chance to refuse.

After walking a few steps, he glanced back at her. His tall, ruggedly handsome figure and chiseled features were so sharply beautiful amidst the heavy snow, brimming with aggression. "Why haven't you started walking?"

His powerful and cold aura made this man seem very dangerous to provoke.

Gu Ying concluded she had no choice but to hurry after him with Yanzhi. "Where are the Young Marquis's friends?"

Zhao Changdu noticed the girl was struggling to keep up with his longer strides, and imperceptibly slowed his pace. "They're in the shop up ahead."

Gu Ying's eyes brightened. "Is it the Zhou Ji shop? I've heard of it. It's why I came today too. Their family's craft with saddle-making has been passed down three generations."

"Mm."

"The Young Marquis is helping his friend pick a saddle, but why did you come back out halfway?"

The Young Marquis was a man of few words. Gu Ying didn't inquire further.

Before long, the group of four arrived at the entrance of the Zhou Ji shop.

Only now did Gu Ying notice the extremely luxurious and extravagant carriage parked outside the doors, decorated lavishly in gold and intricate curling branch motifs on the carriage roof. One look at the carriage's decorations indicated the eminent status of its owner.

More than ten expressionless attendants stood guard outside the Zhou Ji shop.

Commoners were not permitted entry. She halted in puzzlement, raising her eyes slightly to see the rosewood plaque hanging from the front of the carriage.

A single character was carved on it - "Huo".

The Huo family?

The family of Three-Reign Elder Marquis Huo was also here buying saddles in such a place?

Gu Ying had just stepped into the Zhou Ji shop when she heard a gentle voice like flowing water coming from behind some saddles.

"Cousin, where did you run off to? Why are you only coming back now?"

Next, a graceful and alluring young woman of unparalleled beauty emerged from behind the counter.

She looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, with lightly knit brows and lightly applied rouge. Although brimming with scholarly air and noble grace beyond that of ordinary young ladies, at first glance, Gu Ying immediately recognized her.

She was none other than Elder Marquis Huo's beloved granddaughter, Huo Qiyan.

The legendary woman who eventually became Empress.

She had a special cinnabar mole between her brows. At her birth, a master diviner foretold she was born with the fate of a phoenix, and her future prospects were limitless.

As such, this young lady was different from the rest of them confined to the inner quarters since childhood.

She studied the Four Books and Five Classics meant for men, and was personally tutored in zither, chess, calligraphy and painting by famous masters.

However -

In her previous life, Huo Qiyan did not marry into the imperial clan.

Her future husband's surname was Zhao, name Changdu. He was the Heir Apparent of the Zhenguo Duke Manor, but at this time, that mysterious Heir Apparent was still at the borderlands and had not returned to Bianjing...although that would soon change.

Gu Ying swallowed hard. Recalling that reckless night with Zhao Changdu in the abandoned villa, she was both shocked and terrified.

So Huo Qiyan was actually Cousin Su Huanfeng's cousin?

Although not close with the Young Marquis, she had never heard that such a heaven-born phoenix as Huo Qiyan was even related to him!

"She is Gu Ying," Zhao Changdu's low voice sounded as he strode into the shop. He casually shook the snowflakes off his coat and said indifferently, "Second young lady of the Dongping Earl Manor."