Mu Linger was pregnant!
This was the piece of news from Northern Li. Gu Qishao picked himself up from the ground with an expression of disbelief. “Whose seed is it?”
Wasn’t Mu Linger a girl who ran around him in circles all day? All she did said Qi gege this, Qi gege that, so what made her change her mind and grow buddy-buddy with someone else? Hadn’t things developed too fast?
Han Yunxi, Long Feiye, Gu Beiyue, and the rest all turned to stare at him with odd expressions. Gu Qishao stared back, his heart inexplicably fl.u.s.tered.
“You guys...why are you all staring at me like that?” he asked timidly.
n.o.body said a word beyond staring some more. Yet this only made Gu Qishao more nervous. “Poison la.s.s, say something.”
Han Yunxi slowly narrowed her eyes as killing intent rose around her. The others’ expressions all s.h.i.+fted as well. Long Feiye looked scornful, Gu Beiyue knitted his brows imposingly, Tang Li was coldly smirking, Xu Donglin shook his head in displeasure, and Baili Mingxiang had creased her brows in indignation. Gu Qishao subconsciously backed away until he was leaning against the wall. His uneasiness rose before he simply decided to flee.
Finally, Han Yunxi spoke up, her voice full of censure. “Gu Qishao, you...you...just when did this happen? Speak!”
“Me?” Gu Qishao was still lost.
“Gu Qishao, it’s true that Mu Linger adores you, but you can’t be like this. A child out of wedlock, you actually...how could you do this?!” Baili Mingxiang burst out furiously.
“Swine!” Tang Li tossed out.
Long Feiye only gave a soft snort.
Gu Qishao was still wondering what they were talking about. He couldn’t figure out what he’d done. He looked at Han Yunxi, but couldn’t bear to roar back, so he vented his temper on Baili Mingxiang and Tang Li sintead. “What are you two talking about? Speak clearly! Just what did this old man do? What the h.e.l.l matters to me if she’s pregnant? When did I turn into swine?”
Tang Li rushed over and grabbed Gu Qishao’s collar while cursing at him. “So you dare to do it, but not admit it? Gu Qishao, are you still a man? The baby in Mu Linger’s stomach is yours! They’re even using it to threaten you, but you still won’t acknowledge it? Are you a coward or not?! When you leave this place, don’t tell anyone we know each other!”
Gu Qishao was utterly bewildered by Tang Li’s words. He allowed the man to accost him without a reaction. Although everyone’s invectives had been clear enough, he had never thought in that direction. He a.s.sumed that they thought he’d caused Mu Linger to be bullied somehow until she got pregnant.
How could he...how could he do something like that?
“Well, f**k!” Gu Qishao recovered his senses and shoved Tang Li aside, then glared huffily at the crowd. “What kind of person do you take me for?”
Everyone exchanged looks, not getting what he meant. Gu Qishao didn’t seem like he was pretending, nor did his personality match someone who’d only do something without admitting it. But Northern Li had said that Mu Linger was pregnant with Gu Qishao’s child to threaten him to hand over a large amount of medicinal herbs. Jun Yixie didn’t show himself, but a famous pharmacy from Northern Li called Nurturing Heart Pharmacy had sent the letter directly to Pill Fiend Pharmacy. Its owner’s name was Yu Kebing.[1]
Jun Yixie probably was still in the dark that Han Yunxi and the rest had figured out Mu Linger and Ning Jing’s whereabouts, which was why he’d gone in a circle to make Yu Kebing send out the demands. The letter stated clearly that Mu Linger was already five months along in her pregnancy and claimed the child was Gu Qishao’s. Ye Kebing required Pill Fiend Pharmacy to send over eight types of medicine of 10 dan in weight to the borders. He would have people pick them up. If the delivery wasn’t completed within 10 days, fate would see whether Mu Linger could preserve the baby.
Han Yunxi and the rest had viewed the letter with doubts at first, but there was no reason to suspect it was a sham! Northern Li had no one who knew of Mu Linger and Gu Qishao’s relations.h.i.+p. In other words, even if someone knew Mu Linger adored Gu Qishao, they wouldn’t use make up something like that to threaten Gu Qishao! He would know best if it was a sham!
In any case, the pregnancy and the baby both had to be true! Thus, Northern Li had sent this threat, which further cemented proof that the baby was Gu Qishao’s.
“You want to deny it even though Mu Linger said it herself? Gu Qishao, I never expected you to be like this!” Tang Li laughed coldly.
Gu Qishao’s fury rose to his throat. Before he could retort, however, Baili Mingxiang added, “Gu Qishao, do you think Mu Linger would malign you? If it wasn’t true, how could a girl like her ruin her reputation just for your sake?”
“Mu Linger would never do anything like this, nor does she have reason to! Why would she seek trouble for herself for no cause?” Han Yunxi argued while aching for her younger sister.
“I...I...she...her…” Gu Qishao’s words died in her throat against the merciless onslaught.
“Gu Qishao, tell me clearly, just what happened? You two...when did you two...how…” How could Linger, that girl, be so foolish? She knew Gu Qishao felt nothing for her, yet she was still willing… Han Yunxi was too embarra.s.sed to think any further.
Gu Qishao found it difficult to clear his own name. He looked seriously at Han Yunxi and asked, “Poison la.s.s, you really think I’m that kind of man?”
“I just want to know what happened? Would Mu Linger slander you like that? If you really like Linger, why didn’t you marry her first? You’re not only ruining her reputation, but bullying her!” Han Yunxi retorted.
Gu Qishao immediately lost his temper. “This old man isn’t that kind of man! If I really liked her so much, I would want her and get her pregnant regardless of marriage or wedlock!”
Everyone fell silent at his words as they tried to puzzle out the meaning behind his words.
Gu Qishao went on, “This old man doesn’t like her, so why would I mount her?!”
Deeper silence greeted his statement. While everyone was fuming over reputation and moral integrity, it turned out this man hadn’t worried about those things at all. To him, the most important thing was whether he liked the girl at all. Han Yunxi was simply stunned. For a while, all she could do was stare at Gu Qishao.
“In the end, you’re still a swine!” Tang Li cursed.
“That’s too much!” Baili Mingxiang couldn’t understand Gu Qishao’s logic at all.
Gu Beiyue had already started shaking his head, while Long Feiye’s eyes narrowed into slits. He carefully digested Gu Qishao’s statements and pulled Han Yunxi behind him to s.h.i.+eld her. While everyone quieted down, Gu Qishao said irritably, “Where’s the extortion letter? Let me see?”
Before Han Yunxi could hand it over, Long Feiye took it and gave it to Gu Qishao himself. Gu Qishao scanned its contents before stuffing it into his robes and walking off. Finally, Long Feiye asked, “Where are you going?”
Gu Qishao was already drowning in rage. “To find the child’s mother!”
“You’re not allowed to go anywhere before we sort things out!” Long Feiye said coldly.
“You think this old man won’t leave just because you say so?” Gu Qishao disdained.
“You can go ahead and try!” Long Feiye threatened.
“If this old man doesn’t go then…” Gu Qishao trailed off as he saw the warning in Long Feiye’s eyes.
Long Feiye hadn’t let Tang Li off when he was being impulsive, much less Gu Qishao now.
“Then what?” Long Feiye asked word for word.
Gu Qishao narrowed his eyes as the air between them crackled with tension. Abruptly, Gu Qishao turned away and gave a cold harrumph. “Nothing! This old man’s going to sleep. Once it’s all sorted out, remember to return my innocence to me!”
It had to be said that Gu Qishao’s devastating looks, when coupled with his constant exclamations of “this old man,” only served to increase his masculine charm instead of diminis.h.i.+ng it. He flew leisurely back onto the roof and continued to sunbathe as if the past few minutes never happened. n.o.body could do anything about it.
“Xu Donglin, get to Myriad Merchant Hall and figure out what’s going on right away,” Han Yunxi said. Whether this was true or false, all they had to do was ask Ning Cheng.
Everyone dispersed, but Long Feiye remained staring at the roof. Gu Qishao appeared lazy and warm beneath the winter sun, but there was a certain frostiness to his figure as well. He could see Long Feiye’s glacier face at a glance just by looking down.
“You get down,” Long Feiye said coldly.
“You come up,” Gu Qishao grew guarded.
“Are you coming down or not?” Long Feiye asked again.
“Are you coming up or not?” Gu Qishao didn’t give Long Feiye time to reply, but quickly added, “Otherwise, everything’s forfeit!”
As he spoke, he made to leave, but Long Feiye flew up and landed in front of him. Gu Qishao hastily retreated. “I’ll go down! I’ll go down, isn’t that enough?”
Gu Qishao immediately landed on the ground and ran for the exit. However, Long Feiye landed outside the door and soon blocked his way.
“Keep your distance from Han Yunxi!” Long Feiye warned icily. Then he brushed pa.s.sed Gu Qishao’s shoulder, leaving him with a complicated expression. Only now did he realize all the things he’d said on impulse. He scratched forehead, then rubbed his nose, growing uneasy by the minute.
What will Poison la.s.s think of me from now on?
For the next few days, Gu Qishao was nothing if not depressed. Meanwhile, everyone just gave him scornful looks. He didn’t care about that, but every time he ran into Han Yunxi, he wouldn’t meet her eyes. Actually, he wasn’t wrong with his words that day. It was just his style of doing things. But all of his manners, temper, and principles were ineffective in front of Han Yunxi.
Very soon, Myriad Merchant Hall returned Ning Cheng’s letter that revealed the truth. As it turned out, Mu Linger had pretended to be pregnant to protect Ning Jing, thus making Gu Qishao the fall guy...
1. Yu Kebing (郁柯冰) - Yu means “strongly fragrant,” Ke is “stalk, branch,” Bing is “ice.”