Are You Jealous

She was tired.

She didn't want to get tangled up in ethical principles and moral codes, nor did she want to fuss over who fell in love first or whose feelings were deeper.

Since her inner demon was in his hands, and since she had accepted him.

Then let it be.

Having figured this out, Lin Qingyan suddenly felt much more relaxed.

She nuzzled against Gu Chengyin's embrace, finding a more comfortable position.

Yet her thoughts drifted away uncontrollably.

Drifting to the royal court, to Gu Chengyin's declaration of love, and Luo Zhao's tacit consent.

Drifting to the second floor of the Wenli Hall, to Shangguan Yunying's reaction upon seeing the inner demon.

Drifting to...

Lin Qingyan's eyelashes fluttered.

Then she suddenly opened her eyes, sat up straight from Gu Chengyin's arms, and turned to face him.

The abrupt movement caught Gu Chengyin off guard, prompting him to ask:

"What's wrong?"

Lin Qingyan didn't speak.

She just stared intently at Gu Chengyin, her usually cold and aloof eyes now rippling with a rare trace of curiosity.

She tilted her head slightly, her long hair slipping from her shoulders, gleaming softly in the morning light.

"... Are you on very good terms with that Shangguan Yunying?"

Gu Chengyin's pupils suddenly shrank.

Before he could react, Lin Qingyan continued asking:

"Is there also someone named Gu Xiaoli?"

"Is she your sister?"

"I heard the Eldest Miss of the Cui Manor..."

"... likes you very much too?"

When Lin Qingyan asked about these three names, Gu Chengyin indeed felt a momentary palpitation.

It was an instinctive reaction carved into the bones of all men when questioned about their romantic history.

But Gu Chengyin was no ordinary man.

An ordinary man facing such interrogation might panic, stammer, or fabricate clumsy lies.

Ultimately making things worse with riddled explanations.

Gu Chengyin was different.

He never succumbed to pressure.

The more tense the situation, the clearer his thoughts became.

He could always pull out the most advantageous thread from a tangled mess of clues in a split second.

And then, following this thread, bring everyone into his own rhythm.

It was the same at this moment.

When Lin Qingyan's cold eyes stared straight at him, after his initial astonishment, Gu Chengyin quickly calmed down.

He didn't even rush to explain, but instead reached out to pull Lin Qingyan back into his embrace.

Lin Qingyan's body stiffened for a moment, but quickly softened.

She didn't resist the embrace, only tilted her face up, scrutinizing Gu Chengyin.

As if saying: Let's see how you spin this.

"Is my little aunt jealous?"

Gu Chengyin asked softly, his fingertips gently combing the stray hairs by her cheek.

Lin Qingyan turned her face away, the tips of her ears slightly red, but she remained stubborn: "Who's jealous? I'm just curious."

"Curiosity is a good thing."

Gu Chengyin smoothly agreed, his arm wrapping around her waist, letting her lean more comfortably against his chest.

Only then did he speak unhurriedly, as if recounting a past event that had nothing to do with him:

"Then let's talk about them one by one."

Gu Chengyin paused and started with the least tricky one:

"Let's start with the Eldest Miss of the Cui Manor, Cui Zilu."

"The situation was quite special at the time."

Gu Chengyin's voice was calm, without a ripple of emotion. "If Cui Shifan, as the representative of the Cui clan, were to side with the Xiao clan,"

"it would cause a lot of trouble. So I went to the Cui Manor, partly for cooperation, and partly as a warning."

He spoke casually, but Lin Qingyan could hear the danger within.

How could an old fox like Cui Shifan, who had struggled in the royal court for decades, be so easy to deal with?

Gu Chengyin entering the Cui Manor alone, claiming it was for cooperation, was actually no different from stepping into a dragon's pool or a tiger's den.

"I stayed in the Cui Manor for a few days," Gu Chengyin continued, his tone carrying a hint of distant nostalgia.

"That was when I met Cui Zilu."

He lowered his eyes, looking at Lin Qingyan in his arms:

"In my heart, Zilu is just a little sister."

"She was protected too well by Cui Shifan, raised deep in the boudoir, ignorant of worldly affairs, full of curiosity about everything outside the manor, and yearning for freedom."

"I just happened to satisfy her pursuit."

These words were spoken very cleverly.

They pointed out that Cui Zilu's affection for him was essentially a young girl's curiosity and longing for the unknown world.

And they implied that this feeling was built on the premise of her being locked in the Cui Manor, an immature attachment tinged with illusion.

"This doesn't count as love."

Gu Chengyin concluded, his tone certain. "When she grows up, matures, sees a broader world, and meets more interesting people, she will naturally understand."

Lin Qingyan listened quietly.

She didn't express her stance immediately, just nodded slightly, a hint of contemplation flashing through her cold eyes.

As a Golden Core cultivator, she naturally understood the meaning behind Gu Chengyin's words.

A young girl's feelings are always poetic, but most of those poems cannot withstand the grinding of reality.

Cui Zilu's feelings for Gu Chengyin might really be as he said, just a blind pursuit of a beam of light shining in while trapped deep in her boudoir.

Not to mention, Gu Chengyin's attitude was also very clear.

He treated Cui Zilu as a little sister, without stepping out of bounds in the slightest.

This explanation was fair and reasonable.

Lin Qingyan was not an unreasonable person.

She had seen too many joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, and had long passed the age of making a big fuss over some unfounded rumors.

Since Gu Chengyin had given a reasonable explanation, she didn't ask anymore.

She just gave a soft "Mm," acknowledging it.

"As for Gu Xiaoli..."

When mentioning this name, Gu Chengyin's voice revealed genuine confusion.

The look in his eyes as he looked at Lin Qingyan was no longer the ease and composure from before, but instead held a bit of probing intent:

"To be honest, regarding her, I wanted to ask my little aunt."

Lin Qingyan was taken aback.

She originally thought Gu Chengyin would clear up his relationship with Gu Xiaoli in a few words, just like he did with Cui Zilu.

After all, the surname Gu easily made people think of blood relatives.

But not only did Gu Chengyin not clear it up, he threw the question back.

This made the subtle jealousy in her heart, born from these female confidantes, instantly replaced by curiosity.

"Ask me? Why?"

"Xiaoli said she grew up by Empress Lin's side."

Gu Chengyin said, "Before Empress Lin passed away, she instructed her to protect His Highness's safety."

"Did you know about this... little aunt?"

Lin Qingyan's pupils suddenly shrank.

She abruptly sat up straight, breaking free from Gu Chengyin's embrace, then closed her eyes and began to search her memories.

As Empress Lin's biological younger sister, during the final days before her sister's passing, she stayed by the bedside almost without taking a single step away.

Every word her sister said, every person she saw, and even every subtle change in her expression, she remembered clearly.

That memory was too heavy, so heavy that she didn't want to recall it.

But at this moment, to verify Gu Xiaoli's words, she forced herself to sink deep into her memories, sifting through every fragment of that time once again.

The carriage was completely silent.

Gu Chengyin didn't disturb her, just watched her quietly.