Gu Shengyin closed her eyes and steeled her heart, ready to leap from the horse. There was no other way; if she let the horse crash into the stone wall, she would be lucky to escape with only injuries!
Just as Gu Shengyin was about to jump, she suddenly heard the system let out a puzzled "Eh?"
At the same time, a strong, powerful arm wrapped around her waist. With a slight effort, Gu Shengyin's whole body lifted into the air and landed in a broad embrace.
With a breath, the subtle scent of lotus enveloped her, and Gu Shengyin instantly knew who was behind her.
A scream rang in her ears, and she subconsciously wanted to look back at the horse she had been riding, but Ji Yu raised his hand to cover her eyes.
"Don't look," a clear voice rose next to her ear.
She thought quietly for a moment, guessing the scene must be somewhat bloody, so she obediently nodded her head and refrained from looking that way.
Ji Yu's expression was cold and stern as he glanced at the horse, now lying in a pool of blood, its fate unknown, then, holding Gu Shengyin, he turned and walked back.
The hand covering Gu Shengyin's eyes lowered, and she belatedly realized – shouldn't this man be at Qianlong Temple? How did he come out?
Ji Yu considerately helped Gu Shengyin down from the horse.
"Thank you," Gu Shengyin sincerely thanked Ji Yu. If not for him, even with the system with her, she would probably have suffered greatly.
"No need to be polite, I just happened to pass by," Ji Yu said, and Gu Shengyin felt, perhaps it was an illusion, that his eyes flicked briefly to her system in front of her.
The system countered, "Impossible! No one but the host can see me."
It must have been her imagination, Gu Shengyin wasn't concerned about it.
"By the way, how did you come here?" Gu Shengyin asked.
Ji Yu smiled, "I have nothing to do, so I came out for a walk."
Gu Shengyin thought to herself: This Crown Prince could still come out for a stroll so calmly despite being under house arrest; it seemed everyone had underestimated him.
She felt a bit excited; the more capable Ji Yu was, the higher her chances of completing the mission, right?
Suddenly, a warmth brushed her cheek, and Gu Shengyin looked up to find Ji Yu's intense gaze upon her.
"There's a dry leaf here," he said.
Looking at the man's attentive face so close by, Gu Shengyin felt her heart skip a beat unexpectedly.
"System, he is really handsome," she said.
The system, for some reason, did not reply to her.
Ji Yu smiled, watching Jiang Lingzhen's face turn slightly red and then shyly looking away.
"Ah, this place is so beautiful!"
Gu Shengyin hadn't noticed before, but behind her was an endless sea of flowers.
"What are these flowers?" Gu Shengyin asked curiously, leaning in to smell the blue flowers she had never seen before.
Ji Yu squatted down alongside hers, "This flower comes from a tribe in the South, known as Summoning Affection. It is said that if a young man from that tribe has feelings for a girl, he will bring her in front of the Summoning Affection Flower. The girl will then know that the man before her cherishes her and is seeking her reciprocation," he explained.
His voice flowed gently, and the beautiful story he told gained an additional layer of romantic significance.
Gu Shengyin felt the heat emanating from beside her, and her heartbeat quickened even more.
What did it mean for him to bring her here and tell such a story?
While she was still lost in thought, a delicate and radiant Summoning Affection Flower suddenly appeared before her, and behind it, Ji Yu's gentle smile.
"I think this flower suits you well."