Inside and outside the city of Yangzhou, homes were being raided and bandits suppressed; the fighting and killing had not ceased for a moment.
Within the government office, however, a temporary silence had fallen.
After all, those who needed to be arrested had been taken. The remaining banquet guests, though having escaped disaster, were huddled in their seats under the heavy guard of soldiers, not daring to make the slightest move.
Gu Zhao carried the deeply unconscious Zhu Qingyu out through the back corner gate of the small courtyard. Passing through a cluster of flowers and trees, he arrived at the courtyard where he was temporarily residing.
The soldiers in the courtyard had long been withdrawn to the perimeter by Xiong Kun, and even the servants who originally waited on them had been chased away in advance by his personal attendant.
Seeing Lord Gu carry in an unconscious young lady, the attendant who had stayed behind merely lowered his head, not daring to look closer. He followed silently behind and closed the corner gate.
Gu Zhao had not actually given any specific orders, but since childhood, those by his side, whether servants in the manor or subordinates in the officialdom, had always been so perceptive and capable.
When the will of a superior was projected, subordinates, whether out of fear or a desire to climb the ranks, always chose to offer things up on a silver platter rather than put up a stubborn resistance.
Therefore, whenever he wanted something, if he did not restrain his desires, obtaining it was always a matter of course.
Gu Zhao entered the inner room and gently laid Zhu Qingyu on his own bed. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sleeping face.
Perhaps because she had been shifted from reclining in his arms to lying flat, her hair ornaments were pressing against her, causing her to frown slightly in a restless sleep.
Gu Zhao cupped her face and supported her head, removing the gold hairpin behind her ear and setting it aside so she could sleep more soundly.
A faint trace of rouge on his fingertips had been accidentally smudged when he cupped her face.
Redder than the rouge were her slightly parted lips as she dreamed.
The fact that she was lying in his bed made Gu Zhao's entire body restless, boiling, and clamoring with desire.
He desperately wanted to taste her, wondering if she was as sweet as in his dreams, making one linger and unable to stop.
Tasting her would be incredibly easy. With the military-grade sleeping draught she had been given, she would not wake up until the hour of Chen tomorrow morning.
Tonight, no matter what he did, she would not resist.
But Gu Zhao only reached out and gently touched her red lips. His fingertips caught her lip rouge, turning the faint pink into a deeper crimson.
It was exactly as he had imagined, perhaps even softer and warmer to the touch.
After just a light caress, Gu Zhao withdrew his hand.
He was not worried about her waking up; he was worried that once he started, he would no longer be able to restrain himself and would completely surrender to his lust.
It is always easy to pluck a delicate flower.
But once plucked, it would soon wither, fade, and be crushed into the mud.
Having known her for so long, he knew that although she appeared amiable on a daily basis, she was not a weak, submissive woman.
If she woke up tomorrow morning to find that her husband had met with disaster and she had lost her virtue, Gu Zhao was deeply concerned she might choose death to prove her chastity.
He wanted to possess her, not destroy her.
He wanted her, not her life.
Gu Zhao stood up and stepped away from the bed. As he walked out, his mind flashed back to the scene at the ferry crossing: lifting her skirt, her face full of smiles, she had called out Zhang Jingyan's name with pure joy and run eagerly toward him.
Compared to a fleeting night of passion, he wanted her to smile brightly like that and run toward him. He wanted her to willingly offer him her everything.
Just the thought of it made him tremble with excitement.
Plucking a flower took only a moment's whim, but cultivating a flower to bloom solely for him required time, opportunity, patience, endurance, and waiting.
Waiting was necessary.
The days ahead were long; he could afford to wait.
Seeing the Heir Apparent carry Lady Zhu inside, the personal attendant thought to himself that his master likely wouldn't emerge for the rest of the night.
After all, this was not a proper, openly arranged marriage. If word got out, though it wouldn't affect the Heir's future prospects, it would inevitably damage his reputation. Not daring to get too close, the attendant huddled in a corner under the eaves, ready just in case his master needed hot water or something later.
To his surprise, in less than a quarter of an hour, the Heir Apparent walked out fully dressed. Judging by the time, his expression, and his demeanor, he did not look like a man who had just fulfilled his desires.
The attendant hurriedly jumped up and asked in confusion, My Lord?
Gu Zhao was already stepping toward the courtyard gate. He ordered, Arrange a few reliable people to guard her.
The attendant was utterly baffled by this command. Huh? After going through so much trouble, with the person right in front of him and already carried to his bed, he was doing nothing but having her guarded?
So, so what?
A feeling of tender pity bubbled up in the attendant's heart, but he felt pity wasn't quite the right word. Finally, a bizarre thought popped into his head, Does he truly cherish her that much?
The attendant startled himself with this thought. She was just a married woman; the Heir Apparent was merely coveting her beauty in a momentary fit of passion. He must be crazy to use a word like cherish.
But a master is a master. No matter how confused he was, the attendant dared not question the order. He quickly replied, Yes, this lowly one will see to it immediately.
Taking into account the Heir Apparent's overly cautious attitude, and to avoid suspicion or any unnecessary misunderstandings, the attendant didn't even dare step into the inner room. First, he arranged for four maidservants to go inside and keep watch.
After thinking about it, he still felt it wasn't secure enough. This was the Heir Apparent's bedchamber. A woman was staying here for the night, and the master hadn't specified how she should be handled later, whether she was to be locked up or what.
Who knew how Lady Zhu would react when she woke up tomorrow? If she threw a massive tantrum, crying, screaming, or threatening suicide, a few young maidservants wouldn't be able to stop her.
As for himself, he absolutely did not dare lay a finger on her.
Therefore, the attendant found four sturdy older women and instructed them to put away all fragile porcelain and sharp objects in the room. Only then did he feel it was foolproof.
While the attendant was arranging the personnel, Gu Zhao had already left the courtyard and instructed Xiong Kun, Have the generals who have completed their tasks report to me in the study.
Guarding the courtyard, Xiong Kun had originally shared the attendant's assumption, thinking Lord Gu would have no time for official affairs tonight. He had just turned away several generals who came to report.
Seeing Lord Gu heading to the study now, he was also taken aback for a moment before hurriedly following, Yes, My Lord. Your subordinate will arrange it at once!
Gu Zhao was busy with this until the sky began to lighten, finishing only halfway through the hour of Mao.
Lei Dawu had been caught red-handed in his sleep, and all his subordinates were captured. None of the other officials involved in the case escaped; everyone, from the individuals themselves to their families, had been arrested.
Because the Emperor's decree demanded immediate action, the investigating generals deeply understood the imperial intent. None of the criminals were kept overnight. After verifying their identities, lieutenants had already escorted the suspects onto military ships overnight, dispatching them to the capital.
After reviewing everything one by one and confirming there were no omissions in the case, leaving only the final review by the Ministry of Justice upon returning to the capital, Gu Zhao finally returned to his courtyard.
As soon as he saw the Heir Apparent return, the perceptive attendant called all the maidservants and older women out, leaving no one in the inner room.
Gu Zhao entered the inner room. In his bedchamber, which had always been empty before, she was now lying there.
A wave of satisfaction and relaxation, intertwined with the sheer exhaustion of interrogating suspects all through the night, washed over him. Fully clothed, Gu Zhao lay down on the edge of the bed right beside her, and within moments, he drifted off to sleep.
