Gu Yuan, who felt reassured initially, immediately had his guard up. He was ready to fight.

Gu Lingzhi’s reaction was vastly different from Gu Yuan’s when she took a closer look at the man in the armor. She immediately relaxed and looking straight at the person, she answered, “It’s me.”

The man in the armor softened his expression and smiled, “Lady Gu, we are the Third Division of the Silver-Armored Troops and we serve the Third Prince, I am the leader of the divison, Yuan Hang. We received specific orders to ensure the safety of your voyage back to Tai-an City.”

The Third Prince’s troops?

Gu Yuan heard this and was delighted. “You were sent here by the Third Prince? That’s great, it means that no one would dare to harm us anymore.”

They need not have to worry anymore as they had the Third Prince’s troops to escort them safely.

Even though Gu Lingzhi wanted to protest against the Third Prince’s kind gesture, she had to admit that having these troops made the journey exceptionally smooth. Yuan Hang was only willing to leave once she entered Tai-an City.

Having returned home, Gu Lingzhi could sense a huge difference in how people treated her. Even Lin Yue-er’s gaze looked much more sincere, but Gu Lingzhi could tell that it was superficial. Gu Linglong was the same, however, and was not very welcoming.

After greeting Gu Rong and Lin Yue-er, Gu Lingzhi returned to her own quarters.

When she entered the gates to her quarters, she was not surprised to see that her servant had changed.

She pretended to be shocked to see an unfamiliar face in her quarters and questioned Lin Yue-er.

“Mother, where is Cui Lian?”

Lin Yue-er, who had already prepared what to say, merely smiled and said, “Cui Lian went crazy all of a sudden not long after you left, she fell down and drowned in the pond half a month ago.”

Gu Lingzhi faked a surprised expression, “She went crazy? She was alright when I left.” She took a long sigh. “Where is she buried? She had served me for a while, I should visit her when I have the time.”

Lin Yue-er hesitated before she made up a location. Looking at Gu Lingzhi, Lin Yue-er found that Gu Lingzhi’s thoughts were getting harder to read.

Lin Yue-er was suspicious of Gu Lingzhi before she left, but this suspicion gradually decreased when Cui Lian suddenly went crazy. Though Cui Lian worked for Lin Yue-er secretly, Cui Lian had never let Gu Lingzhi down. When Cui Lian was sent to be Gu Lingzhi’s servant, she even thought about betraying Lin Yue-er. Even if Gu Lingzhi suspected Cui Lian, she would not have a reason to kill her.

This led Lin Yue-er to think that there must be a secret person helping Gu Lingzhi out, and this person had a very good understanding of the Gu Clan. She thought that not only did this person know about Gu Lingzhi’s past, but could also infiltrate the premises to kill Cui Lian. Pondering on the whole situation, Lin Yue-er could not help but feel slightly guilty. However, it was her who had committed these wrongful deeds and thus she could not confide in Gu Rong, and could only worry and fear alone.

It did not make sense to Lin Yue-er. 

How could there be a secret person behind Gu Lingzhi if Gu Lingzhi did not even know what had happened to Cui Lian? And if there was a person helping Gu Lingzhi, what were his motives? Did he purely want to help Gu Lingzhi or was he targeting Lin Yue-er?

Feeling fearful, when she knew that Gu Lingzhi was going to return home, she did not dare to brazenly plant someone at Gu Lingzhi’s side. Gu Lingzhi’s new servant had been randomly picked.

“Rong Yue may be young, but she is quick-witted. Leave her by your side for the time being and see if you like her or not, if you do not, tell me and I will change one for you,” Lin Yue-er said.

“Thank you Mother, but I am not going to be home for long, she will work just fine,” Gu Lingzhi responded. Her polite attitude made Lin Yue-er wonder if Gu Lingzhi knew all the wrongful deeds Lin Yue-er had done behind her back in the past.

Despite her suspicions, she continued playing the part of being a good mother and promptly left afterwards.

At dinner, Lin Yue-er specially gave orders for the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous meal for Gu Lingzhi. Gu Rong also seemed to have particularly missed Gu Lingzhi, helping to put food in her bowl the entire night and insisting that she eat more.

As the Clan Leader, he received much more detailed information about Gu Lingzhi than Lin Yue-er did. Naturally, he knew what Gu Lingzhi had gone through at the Royal School and was extremely proud of her. Even before Gu Lingzhi had returned, Gu Rong had continually praised Gu Lingzhi in front of Gu Linglong and Lin Yue-er.

“Lingzhi, I heard that you killed a Carmine Python using your own abilities during the final examinations. Is that true?”

“Yes, Father,” Gu Lingzhi spoke after swallowing her food. “Father, regarding this matter, I’m sure you already know what happened from the beginning to the end from your spy that you have been sending to watch me.”

Gu Rong’s body became rigid, and was upset at Gu Lingzhi’s words. However, Gu Rong had his own suspicions about Gu Lingzhi too. Not bothering about being embarrassed about what Gu Lingzhi previously said, he continued, “I heard that a month ago, you accepted over 200 challenges and you won every single one. The skills that you used were also outstanding. It seems that our clan does not teach such techniques though.”

Gu Lingzhi immediately understood Gu Rong’s intentions, to which she blandly replied, “You’re right, Father. I used skills that I had learnt from other students during combat, it doesn’t come from the Gu Clan.”

Gu Rong’s eyes lit up and could not help but further question her, “Well, where did you learn these skills from then?”

Gu Lingzhi looked at him, “The Third Prince taught me. He said that it was a reward for my loyalty to the crown, so it’s not possible for you to learn it!”

Hearing this, Gu Rong furrowed his brows, “Did the Third Prince say that these skills should not be taught to another person?”

“Yes, he did say that.” Gu Lingzhi continued, “When the Third Prince was teaching me, he warned me that it was a royal secret and can’t be taught to outsiders. In fact, he only taught me the basics and only Martial Students can learn it. It would be of little value to people above the rank of a Martial Practitioner.”

“I don’t think that it’s a royal secret, it’s just an excuse for you not to tell us,” Gu Linglong spat.

Gu Lingzhi was not angry, she sincerely suggested to Gu Linglong, “If you don’t believe me, you can go ask the Third Prince yourself, you’ll find out that I’m not lying.”

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