Gu Yanxi gazed at her, then after a long while covered his face and laughed silently. Indeed, a blunt knife isn’t sharp enough, yet it’s precisely the dull blade that grinds with the most pain.
All these years, he had been blinded by a single leaf.
“If I had met you earlier…”
“There is no such ‘if.’ If the Hua family were safe and sound, I would have become a bride of the Shen Family this May.”
Gu Yanxi observed her calm expression, as if she were speaking of someone else’s affairs, with no trace of sorrow or regret. He couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you feel any regret? Old Master Hua’s judgment was never poor—Shen Qi stands out among his peers.”
He even thought that if Shen Qi had married A Zhi, he would have recognized her worth.
Hua Zhi shook her head. If that person had held even a shred of personal affection for her, he would not have accepted the situation so calmly. In a world where family interests outweighed everything else, Shen Qi’s reaction was entirely ordinary.
Given that, how could she feel regret? On the contrary, she felt mostly relieved.
Gu Yanxi’s heart, which had been tightly wound, suddenly relaxed, bringing a slight dizziness. Yet even this dizziness pleased him—didn’t A Zhi’s reaction prove that Shen Qi had never entered her heart?
But what about Shen Qi’s heart? Gu Yanxi drank the tea A Zhi had refilled for him. Even if there were feelings, it was too late now.
“Lu Xiansheng, there’s a question that has been on my mind.”
Gu Yanxi looked up. “I’ll answer anything.”
“You bear the surname Gu, and my grandfather has served in the court for many years. Why didn’t he recognize you at Yinshan Pass?”
Gu Yanxi spun the small purple clay cup in his hand. Just as Hua Zhi thought there might be some unspeakable secret and considered changing the subject, the man took out an extremely flat box from his chest. Stroking its edges, he opened it and pushed it to the center of the small table.
When Hua Zhi saw what was inside, her eyes widened in astonishment. She had never imagined that something like a human skin mask truly existed in this world.
Thin masks were stacked one upon another, and at a glance, there were four or five of them.
Gu Yanxi casually picked one up and smoothed it over his face, pressing down the edges with practiced ease. When he lowered his hands, a man in his early thirties appeared before Hua Zhi—ordinary in appearance, with restrained eyes and no distinctive features.
“A minor seventh-rank official serving in the Ministry of Personnel, named Chen Nian.”
He peeled off that mask and applied another, adjusting his movements and gaze accordingly. This time, he became a military officer. “Your grandfather might remember this one—Wu Liang, a fourth-rank armed guard of the Imperial Guards, often in attendance by the Emperor’s side.”
Hua Zhi watched as his skin stretched taut, the corners of his temples reddening from his rough handling, yet he seemed oblivious. As he reached for another mask, she pressed her hand over the box. “I understand now.”
Gu Yanxi paused and looked up at her.
Hua Zhi met his gaze, her eyes filled with an unconscious pity she herself did not recognize.
Gu Yanxi smiled. This girl was far too clever, yet her weaknesses were all too apparent. If someone pinpointed her vulnerabilities, controlling her would not be difficult. But once she sensed malice, she would fight back fiercely, even at the cost of mutual destruction.
Yet it was precisely this girl who made him willing to tear open the festering wounds in his heart once more.
Gently, he moved her hand aside and picked up another mask to put on. This one depicted a young man—handsome in appearance, with a cold and aloof demeanor. “If I had worn this face, your grandfather would surely have recognized me—The Heir, Gu Yanxi.”
Hua Zhi was speechless. Even the face he used for his true identity was a disguise.Gu Yanxi tore down that sheet once more. "My father is Gu Yeyan, the Emperor's only younger brother, granted the title of Ling Wang with his fief in Yangzhou. I lived there until I was fifteen, occasionally visiting the capital but mostly staying in the palace. When I was fifteen, my grandmother fell seriously ill, and the Emperor summoned our family back to the capital. After grandmother gradually recovered, she kept us in the capital. Gu Yeyan had neither ability nor ambition, so the Emperor had always tolerated him. However, the Emperor couldn't stand the incompetent tutors Gu Yeyan hired for me and took me under his personal guidance. At that time, neither I nor the Emperor had any idea that he deliberately intended to raise me into a worthless person."
Hua Zhi emptied the tea leaves from the purple clay teapot and replaced them with a new variety.
Watching her fluid movements, Gu Yanxi felt his heart settle into tranquility. Recounting those past events no longer stirred the anger he had anticipated.
"As Ling Wang, everyone fawned over him. So when a woman appeared who disregarded his wealth and power, he found it extraordinary. That woman was quite skilled—after a few encounters, she had him wrapped around her finger. He wanted to bring her into the manor as a concubine. My mother came from a prominent noble family and would never agree to admit someone of unknown origins. Gu Yeyan didn't dare to openly break with my mother, so he could only wear her down slowly."
Gu Yanxi lowered his head, gazing at the rippling light in the teacup. "My mother's marriage to him wasn't arranged by parents or matchmakers. After Gu Yeyan caught a glimpse of her at my grandmother's place, he went to great lengths to create opportunities to meet. They developed feelings for each other before marrying, shocking many at the time. Yet over a decade later, this man who had once pursued her so fervently now harbored such intense passion for another woman. After her heartbreak, my mother grew disillusioned and let him have his way, allowing him to bring his beauty home. Then, in less than half a year, my mother passed away."
Hua Zhi wasn't surprised. In this era, women placed far too much importance on men.
"It was poisoning." Seeing her astonishment, Gu Yanxi twitched his lips but failed to form a smile. "I understood my mother. Even if every sip of water tasted bitter, she would never throw her life away. She knew all too well how difficult it was for a child to lose their mother in a great family. I hadn't yet married, and Shaoyao was only ten at the time. For our sake, she would have clung to life. But a minor cold confined her to bed, and she never got up again. If it were you, wouldn't you investigate?"
Of course she would! Without a doubt.
Gu Yanxi nodded. "I investigated. Gu Yeyan didn't know what the Emperor had taught me during that year in the capital, nor how much I had learned. It took me only half a day to obtain evidence that he had poisoned my mother. Do you know how he reacted? He tried to kill me. He ordered the Manor Guards to seize me, saying dead or alive."
Hua Zhi silently poured him tea. He had a scoundrel for a father; she had a scoundrel for a mother. Both sought their children's lives—who could say which was more pitiable?
"My position as The Heir wasn't requested by him but personally conferred by the Emperor. The Manor Guards didn't dare strike to kill. If not for that, I couldn't have escaped the manor, summoned reinforcements, or later rescued Shaoyao from the fire."
Hua Zhi looked up. "Was Shaoyao's face ruined in that incident?""Correct. Shaoyao isn't actually my blood sister. Her mother was my mother's maid who came with her as part of the dowry. She died from difficult labor while giving birth to Shaoyao. My mother took pity on the child and brought her back to raise as her own, treating her no differently than a biological daughter. I don't know who she inherited that self-destructive temperament from. After most of the Manor Guards were dispatched to search for me, she secretly went to set fire to that woman's courtyard. She even used some sleeping draught she'd obtained from somewhere, clutching that woman determined to die together. If that woman hadn't possessed martial skills, Shaoyao's plan might have actually succeeded."
"Shaoyao..."
"When I returned with my men, Gu Yexi had rescued that woman and sustained minor injuries. But what were those compared to Shaoyao's condition? When I carried Shaoyao out, her body was covered in bloody wounds, her face and flesh crisscrossed with knife cuts, some so deep the flesh was torn open. You could see how viciously she'd been struck. I wanted to kill that woman, but Gu Yexi shielded her, stubbornly insisting it wasn't her doing. I nearly committed patricide then."
Gu Yanxi suddenly laughed. "And I've thought about it constantly ever since."
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