Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Gu Zhangyuan, his shoulder grabbed and his clothes nearly ripped off, saw Xie Licheng's face clearly through red-rimmed eyes.

Gu Zhangyuan figured he'd just dodged one disaster only to run straight into another, so the moment he was spun around by the shoulder, his first instinct was to lash out with the hairpin in his hand.

He usually kept this hairpin on him for self-defense.

He'd always figured it was just for show, but it turned out to be useful after all.

He'd just used it to stab the guy who tried to assault him.

And now, after taking care of one, here came another.

He was just too scared and too wound up.

Even though he could clearly see it was Xie Licheng, he still jabbed the hairpin at him.

Luckily, he didn't have much strength behind it, and Xie Licheng easily raised a hand to block the strike.

If it had been anyone else, Xie Licheng would've snatched the hairpin away right off the bat, so they couldn't take another swing at him.

But seeing how red Gu Zhangyuan's eyes were and how terrified he looked, he ended up leaving the hairpin with him.

Xie Licheng's head was spinning—why the hell was Gu Zhangyuan here?

Could it be that his being a time traveler had thrown the whole plot of the book off track?

But that didn't add up either.

When he'd first run into Gu Zhangyuan, he hadn't done anything to change the story.

In the original story, when that young master was beating the original body half to death, it was Gu Zhangyuan who saved him.

If you had to point out what he'd done differently from the original body—

Well, when the original body met Gu Zhangyuan, he was too timid and dull to even dare look up at him.

That was the only tiny difference—there's no way that could change the plot this much, right?

Before Xie Licheng could think any more about it, Gu Zhangyuan—who'd finally recognized him—asked in a panic, "You... what are you doing here?"

"I just heard a ruckus over here and came to check it out. I didn't expect..."

He trailed off, glancing at Gu Zhangyuan's rumpled clothes, then at the body lying on the ground nearby.

Earlier, Xie Licheng had been too far away, and Gu Zhangyuan's body had blocked his view, so he hadn't noticed anyone lying on the ground.

Now that he was closer and Gu Zhangyuan wasn't in the way, he could see the person on the ground—and the blood pooling beneath them.

"Eldest Young Master, what happened here? Why are you out here, and who's that guy?"

Gu Zhangyuan, however, wasn't about to trust him right away, and he sure as hell wasn't going to answer honestly. He was worried Xie Licheng might be in on it with that guy, so he tightened his grip on the hairpin and probed carefully.

"Aren't you a low-ranking slave? Shouldn't you be in the slaves' quarters right now? Why would you be out in the garden this late at night?"

Seeing how scared Gu Zhangyuan was of him, Xie Licheng had a pretty good idea what he was worried about.

He'd only met the Eldest Young Master once before—today would make it twice.

Under the circumstances, it was only natural for the guy to be on guard after running into him like this.

Xie Licheng said, "Eldest Young Master saved this humble servant's life. I'd be willing to work like a mule for you. Don't be afraid—I'm here to protect you."

Gu Zhangyuan asked, "You... you're really not with that guy?"

Xie Licheng shook his head. "I don't even know who that is. Is he some thief from outside? How'd he end up lying here? And what's the Eldest Young Master doing here?"

That guy was seriously hurt, and seeing that Xie Licheng had zero intention of helping him, Gu Zhangyuan figured they really weren't in cahoots. He relaxed a little.

He took a deep breath and tried to sort out his scattered thoughts to figure out what to do next.

He really hadn't expected some male guest in the outer courtyard to have the nerve to attack him right here in the Gu residence.

As for how he ended up here—it all started half an hour ago.

Gu Zhangyuan had been practicing calligraphy in his study when, out of nowhere, he suddenly thought of Xie Licheng's eyes.

Xie Licheng's eyes were dark and sharp, like a wolf's—striking, but with a hint of danger in them.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't even know Xie Licheng's name—to him, Xie Licheng was just a horse slave.

He was of noble status—the prized Eldest Young Master of the Gu family.

Suddenly thinking about some strange man's eyes, he felt like he was out of line.

Too restless to keep writing, he set down his brush and went out alone for a walk.

That's when he ran into Concubine Xu, who was heading out with her daughter.

Gu Zhangyuan's younger sister, Gu Yangxue, had just turned fourteen.

Since his sister was young and often looked after by Gu Zhangyuan, the two of them had always been close.

Gu Zhangyuan thought Concubine Xu was bad news, and taking his sister out this late at night had to mean something shady was going on.

Worried for his sister's safety, he followed them without even bringing a servant along.

That's when he discovered Concubine Xu had taken his sister to the garden in the outer courtyard.

There were two ways to get from the inner courtyard to the outer garden. The first went through two guarded gates, where they'd check your identity and log who came and went.

The second was a little path that led straight to the garden through a small door. Since that door was locked all year round, nobody usually bothered to guard it.

Seeing they'd deliberately taken the small door—and that Concubine Xu had the key on her—Gu Zhangyuan was even more sure something was off.

He really wanted to go back and get help, but he was also afraid his suspicions were right.

A few days earlier, one of Concubine Xu's distant nephews had come to stay at the Gu residence.

Even though Concubine Xu wasn't exactly favored in the Gu household, Gu Yangxue was doted on by the head of the family and by Gu Zhangyuan, so Concubine Xu still had some clout around the place.

She'd shamelessly insisted on letting her nephew stay, and the steward hadn't dared to kick him out.

Thinking about that guy's sudden arrival, and knowing the outer garden was right next to the guest rooms, Gu Zhangyuan—who knew all too well how dirty things could get in a big household—didn't dare go barging in with a bunch of people.

What if they actually wanted to get caught?

Besides, there were hardly any servants on that little path—what would happen to his sister while he ran back and forth?

Beside himself with worry, Gu Zhangyuan quickly followed alone.

But unexpectedly, he hesitated for just a moment, and when he caught up again, they were nowhere to be found.

He'd never thought the outer garden was this big, but at night, in a moment of such urgency, it suddenly became vast and unfamiliar.

What Gu Zhangyuan didn't know was that Concubine Xu was a very cautious person—she'd spotted him tailing her halfway along the path.

As it happened, the two of them didn't get along. When Concubine Xu discovered he had dared to come alone, she scrapped her original plan on the spot.

She parked her daughter somewhere to wait, then went to find her distant nephew herself.

She had her nephew capture Gu Zhangyuan, while she used the chance to fetch her daughter and round up a bunch of servants.

She swapped her daughter out for Gu Zhangyuan in the scheme.

Then, when the time came, they'd catch him red-handed. No matter how noble Gu Zhangyuan's status was, once such a disgrace stuck to him, the Gu family would be forced to accept the match.

Then her nephew would marry the eldest young master of the Gu clan, and whether it was her, her nephew, or her natal family, they'd never have to worry about money again.

Unfortunately, her plan was well-conceived, but execution proved far from easy.

Because Gu Zhangyuan was no ordinary young man—he had spent years traveling with the head of the household, making him far more robust than most.

He carried a defensive hairpin on him, which was extremely sharp when opened.

Additionally, he had learned horseback riding and trained with martial arts masters.

Even if his skills were mostly flashy and shallow, he still possessed considerably more strength than the average young man.

So when the nephew dragged him into the rockery, Gu Zhangyuan not only broke free but also successfully fought back.

The nephew, that is, the male guest, had never expected that Gu Zhangyuan, a young lad, would be so fierce.

Moreover, Gu Zhangyuan held a very noble status and enjoyed great prestige within the Gu family.

After being stabbed by Gu Zhangyuan, the man was both guilty and terrified, worried that once Gu Zhangyuan recognized him, he would find every possible way to take revenge in the future.

He didn't dare attack Gu Zhangyuan again, but instinctively covered his face and turned to flee blindly, running helter-skelter.

Then... whether it was his bad luck or karma for his misdeeds, in his frantic escape, he tripped over a protruding stone, landed on the back of his head, and knocked himself out.

Gu Zhangyuan had been startled at first, but when he realized the man was nothing but a good-for-nothing who couldn't even handle a young lad like him, his fear began to fade.

Xie Licheng turned the man over and saw Gu Zhangyuan with red-rimmed eyes, looking panicked and flustered.

It was mainly because Gu Zhangyuan had noticed that the man was bleeding profusely after the fall. He had never seen that much blood in his whole life, and he kept thinking the man might have killed himself from the fall—why else would he be bleeding so much?

It was the sight of the man on the ground that had frightened him, leaving him so shaken and alarmed.

Xie Licheng said without batting an eye, "If the Young Master still doesn't trust me, I can leave right now and fetch the guard for you."

Gu Zhangyuan immediately shook his head and said, "No, I... I can't let anyone see me like this."

Even though nothing had been done to him, his disheveled clothes and messy hair would invite gossip if anyone saw him.

"Then how about this, Young Master, you leave this place first, and I'll handle the rest."

No matter why Gu Zhangyuan had come here, this was not a place where he should linger.

Gu Zhangyuan calmed down a little and asked, "How will you handle it? Aren't you going to ask what happened here?"

Xie Licheng said without batting an eye, "The Young Master is kind-hearted and beautiful, a truly good person. That man must have done something wrong—otherwise, the Young Master would never have hurt anyone."

Gu Zhangyuan pressed his lips together slightly and explained, "I didn't mean to hurt him. He was the one who disrespected me first. I jabbed him in self-defense. But I never expected him to be such a coward—probably scared I'd see his face, he covered it and tried to flee in panic, only to trip and knock himself out."

He paused for a moment, then turned his eyes to the man on the ground, his beautiful, red-rimmed eyes filled with worry.