Chapter 8: Being Forced to Lower One's Head under the Eaves...

Qianqian felt that her mistress was looking for trouble.

Master's eyes were terrifying.

Qianqian didn't dare to move. When Gu Yunfeng cast a cold glance her way, she hurriedly fled like the wind.

The door closed, and Ziling looked at Gu Yunfeng. She was about to speak when he directly picked her up, startling Ziling. Her cheeks turned crimson, and she said, "What are you doing? Let me go!"

Gu Yunfeng threw Ziling onto the bed, causing her pain and making her grimace. She only heard him say, "Only after confirming your innocence will we know for sure."

The bed was in disarray, and Ziling quickly grabbed the blanket and hugged it to her chest. She stared nervously at Gu Yunfeng, saying, "Stand there and don't move! If you have something to say, say it properly!"

Indeed, Gu Yunfeng didn't move.

He hadn't intended to consummate the marriage in the first place. However, this woman was becoming more and more outrageous. If he didn't teach her a lesson, who knows what she might say next time, especially when it came to requesting a divorce.

She had been the one to abduct him on the street, and as she wished, he married her. Now, she was causing a scene and demanding a divorce. What did she take him, Gu Yunfeng, for? Did she think that just because she had medical skills and could save him, she could toy with him so casually?

Ziling was genuinely frightened. Gu Yunfeng was handsome, but after such a short time together, she had no idea what kind of person he really was. The force he used when choking her yesterday... if he decided to get rough, she wouldn't be able to resist.

One who recognizes the situation is a hero; when under the eaves, one must lower their head...

But he was the one who needed a favor from her!

Ziling felt frustrated.

Gu Yunfeng looked at Ziling, his expression unchanged, and said, "I don't like to speculate. I'll give you half a cup of tea's time to explain things clearly to me."

Ziling clutched the blanket tightly and said, "What's there to explain? The clearer I explain, the quicker I'll die."

Gu Yunfeng frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Ziling gritted her teeth and said, "You're unconscious and the Duke's Manor wants me to consummate the marriage. I originally thought the Duke's Manor just wanted to vent their anger, but after examining your pulse, I realized that someone clearly wants you dead and is making me bear the blame. The Duke's Manor doesn't even tolerate you, a young master, so how could they tolerate me, a young mistress? You may be good-looking, but you're not so good-looking that I should sacrifice my life for you."

This is Ziling's sincere statement, but when she finished speaking, she saw a layer of frost on Gu Yunfeng's impeccably handsome face. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes, and she felt that she had been too hurtful with her words.

But his expression confirmed that she hadn't guessed wrong.

He had poison in his body and couldn't use force, so when Ziling publicly snatched him away, he couldn't resist and was bound back to the Duke of Dongling's residence.

As soon as he left the Duke of Dongling's residence, he was brought back immediately. The toxins in his body worsened. It wasn't the people from the Duke of Zhengu who poisoned him, and others didn't have the opportunity to do so.

However, there was one thing that Ziling couldn't figure out. This was the perfect moment to change the subject, so she asked, "Although the poison in your body is unstable, as long as your blood and qi don't surge, you won't faint. When I bound you back to the Duke of Dongling's residence, you were fine. It shows that you were mentally prepared. Why did you start coughing up blood and fainting when you left?"

This was the only part that Ziling couldn't understand. With his endurance, this shouldn't have happened.

Gu Yunfeng's eyes were ablaze with fury. "Are you really clueless, or are you pretending to be ignorant with me?"

Ziling looked innocent. If she wanted to know, did she even need to ask? "I fainted that day, and no one told me what happened afterward."

Gu Yunfeng felt his blood and qi surging again. He gritted his teeth. "It's all because of your father!"

Ziling was taken aback. "My father? How did my father provoke you?"

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door, and Qianqian's voice came through, "The physician has arrived."

"Come in," Gu Yunfeng said as he turned and sat down.

Ziling quickly got off the bed.

Soon, the maidservant led the physician into the room, with Qianqian following behind. She walked up to Ziling with concern and asked, "Miss, are you alright?"

Ziling asked, "After I fainted that day, what did my father say to him?"

Qianqian blinked and said, "He didn't say much, just praised Miss for a few words."

Praised her?

"How did he praise me?" Ziling asked again.

Qianqian thought for a moment and replied, "He praised Miss for being kind, obedient, filial, sensible, considerate, gentle, and reserved... He told the young master that he should come and propose marriage after returning home, and the Marquis didn't have any other requirements. As long as he doesn't mistreat Miss by taking concubines, it will be fine. If the young master can't do it, the Marquis will kill him. That's all."

That's all...

Ziling felt light-headed, her face burning hot and throbbing.

How did Dongling Marquis manage to compliment like that?

Even if Gu Yunfeng didn't have any illness, just listening to this would make anyone cough up blood, right?

The more Ziling knew, the more embarrassed she felt to ask for a break from writing. Can't she be proactive and give her one?

While lost in thought, the imperial physician finished examining Gu Yunfeng's pulse and asked if he had taken any medicine. The maidservant said no, which puzzled the physician. He couldn't pinpoint what was strange but concluded that it was possible that the fertility treatment was actually effective.

The physician didn't prescribe any medicine, as medicine always has its risks. Ordinary tonics wouldn't benefit Gu Yunfeng; the only advice was for him to avoid getting angry or... overexerting himself.

These instructions were fine, but when the physician glanced at the messy bed while giving them, it became a big problem. It indirectly confirmed everyone's speculation: in order to secure the marriage with the noble young madam for fertility purposes, they took advantage of the young master's unconscious state and turned his hopes into reality. The physician could tell from the pulse and warned her not to do it again!

After Ziling finished breakfast, she accompanied Gu Yunfeng to serve tea. Along the way, people pointed and whispered behind their backs.

They looked at her with hatred and accusation, while Gu Yunfeng received pity and sympathy.

Ziling told herself that those shameless, shameless scoldings were not about her, so she didn't need to get angry.

Gu Yunfeng glanced sideways, his patience impressing others. She wondered how long she could endure and what kind of resistance she would put up.

Seeing that Ziling remained calm, Qian Qian looked at her and said, "Miss, aren't you angry at all? They say you're dung, and the young master is a flower stuck in dung. This servant can't bear it anymore; I want to hit someone."

Ziling felt like she was going to spurt blood. Why did they have to say it in front of her? Were they afraid she wouldn't be internally injured from anger?

Taking a deep breath, Ziling smiled and said, "That's a compliment. Without the nourishment of dung, how could the flower be so brilliant?"

Qian Qian, "..."

Gu Yunfeng, "..."

Can this woman have any dignity?

Ziling glanced and saw Gu Yunfeng staring at her, his slightly twitching lips not escaping her notice.

The accusations kept coming, non-stop, using the same words. If she didn't resist, she would eventually grow calluses on her ears from listening.

Ziling twisted her ankle and grumbled, "I'm tired, I can't walk anymore."

Qian Qian exclaimed in alarm, "We've only walked a short distance, how can you suddenly be unable to walk? Are you ill, Miss? Let me carry you back to see the doctor."

Ziling ignored her and just looked at Gu Yunfeng.

Gu Yunfeng was bewildered. Did this woman intend to go down in flames and take him with her?

But her temperament actually suited his taste.

Gu Yunfeng walked over, lifted Ziling up in his arms, and continued forward.

The maidservants who had been gossiping instantly widened their eyes and were dumbstruck.

Ah!

They were defending the young master, but he himself had fallen into depravity. How could he embrace a female bandit?

It had only been a day, and that female bandit had already led the young master astray. And they were shameless about it!

Looking at the maidservants clutching their chests in anger, Ziling stifled a laugh. "From now on, no one will pity this terminally ill young master."

"I don't need their pity."