She had previously come to the National Preceptor’s Residence and caused such a crazy disturbance, but now she acted like this. It was truly incomprehensible.

The ethereal voice scattered from behind the bamboo curtain.

“Sixteen of the Thirty-Six Stratagems.”

The young child pondered for a moment and spoke, not very certain, “Deliberately releasing the captured?”

*

At Jade Dew Tower, the noble ladies who had vainly grabbed for the embroidered ball all demanded an explanation.

But they obviously didn’t dare to offend the Prince Regent, so they targeted Gu Sui instead.

Gu Sui raised his hand to press his brow, Mu Jiulu’s earlier actions had already made him irritable enough, and these people were still chattering away, so noisy.

“Shut up, all of you!”

The noble young master’s angry shout even startled Sui Yu and Yun Mu beside him for a moment.

“The embroidered ball, I threw it. As for not catching it, that’s your own business, what does it have to do with me?”

Gu Sui looked down at the people below and said coldly, intimidating the few who had been clamoring the loudest.

At this moment, they finally recalled that the one in the high building was not one of those sheltered young masters of the capital, but a young general who could order the massacre of a city without changing his expression.

Seeing that these people had finally quieted down, Gu Sui looked at Mu Jiulu across from him and said through gritted teeth,

“As for your earlier question, do you not know if I want to marry or not?”

Mu Jiulu raised her eyebrows, “This prince and Young Master Gu aren’t familiar with each other, how would I know?”

Not familiar?

Very well.

Gu Sui’s anger rose by another three points.

He raised his hand and tore open the cloak tie that made his movements extremely inconvenient, striding out along the zigzagging corridor with an air of rage.

“Young Master!”

Sui Yu and Yun Mu hurriedly called out, not quite understanding what their young master was going to do.

The dull sound of solid footsteps on the carpet grew closer and closer. Mu Jiulu was still playing with the embroidered ball in her hand, unconcerned.

Until an indignant voice sounded by her ear.

“Give it back to me!”

Five slender fingers went straight for the embroidered ball, but Mu Jiulu raised her hand slightly upward and back, her feet inadvertently stretching out a few inches forward.

Gu Sui, who had grasped at thin air, lost his balance and stumbled forward.

Gu Sui, whose body was a few steps ahead of his mind, didn’t completely fall into the other person’s arms.

He supported himself on the wide chair with his right hand, his left hand reaching forward again.

But he only saw the colorful tassels draw an arc in the air, and in the blink of an eye, the embroidered ball moved from Mu Jiulu’s right hand to her left hand.

At the same time, Mu Jiulu shifted her center of gravity back, causing the heavy sandalwood chair to tilt back a few degrees.

The half-right angle arc finally caused Gu Sui, who was leaning on it, to fall down, the rich fragrance making him lose focus for a moment.

The Prince Regent’s lips curled into a wicked arc, her voice playful.

“To throw yourself into my arms like this, yet claim you don’t want to marry, Mr. Gu is quite contradictory.”

Gu Sui indignantly raised his head, his face twisted with anger.

“Mu Jiulu!”

“You’re going too far!”

“This prince is merely guarding what’s mine from being snatched away, how is that going too far?”

Gu Sui was nearly angered to death by her righteous attitude. After standing up from her, he spoke viciously.

“Is this an embroidered ball you snatched yourself? Have you no shame!”

“The process doesn’t matter, the end result is that this embroidered ball is in this prince’s hand. In the upcoming duel with Mr. Gu, this prince will personally take action.”

After straightening the chair again, Mu Jiulu tossed the embroidered ball in her hand from time to time, as if teasing or provoking.

Gu Sui, with arms folded, took two deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

No matter her current attitude, the development of the situation didn’t seem to differ much from the result he initially envisioned.

If they must marry…

“It’s just that this prince is feeling unwell today, not suitable for combat. Let’s postpone the decisive duel of this third round to another day. Whenever this prince wins against Mr. Gu according to the rules, I’ll marry Mr. Gu then.”

Gu Sui’s emotions, which had just calmed down, were stirred up again.

“What do you mean! Doing this on purpose? Taking revenge on me?”

Mu Jiulu met his gaze, a hint of confusion lingering in her eyes.

“This prince said, this prince and Mr. Gu aren’t familiar with each other, what revenge is there to speak of?”

Gu Sui’s heart turned cold. If she held a grudge about his breakup back then, he could explain and make amends, so why must she do this?

Could it be that she still doesn’t know who he really is?

When she said they weren’t familiar, was she actually referring to her and Gu Suizhi?

Thinking of this, Gu Sui’s heart settled a lot. He eased his tense expression and said softly,

“Mu Jiulu, I am Gu Sui.”

“Since when did Mr. Gu change his name?”

The confusion in Mu Jiulu’s tone deepened. Gu Sui’s face stiffened, and a chill spread throughout his body.

“You… you don’t know me?”

Gu Sui’s voice trembled slightly. Mu Jiulu tilted her chin, her voice light.

“This prince has heard of Mr. Gu’s world-shaking reputation.”

“Not that, you don’t know… Gu Sui?”

Mu Jiulu raised her eyebrows but didn’t speak. The long silence shattered the last bit of hope in Gu Sui’s heart.

“Then why did you snatch the embroidered ball?”

Gu Sui asked gloomily. Mu Jiulu leaned back, the playfulness in her eyes vanishing in an instant, replaced by hard-to-melt indifference.

“The Gu family’s army of 200,000, this prince won’t allow them to fall into anyone else’s hands.”

“You…”

Gu Sui couldn’t help but take a step back. Without the thick cloak’s cover, the winter wind was especially biting.

“You don’t want to marry me, but you also don’t want anyone else to marry Gu Suizhi and inherit the Gu family’s army, so you destroyed two embroidered balls and snatched the last one?”

Gu Sui murmured, his lowered brows and eyes concealing the shock, surprise, and loss flickering in his gaze, but his voice, light as falling snow, had nowhere to hide.

Mu Jiulu didn’t answer, but the smooth embroidered ball in her hand inexplicably developed a few wrinkles.

She wanted to do something, however, the resentment and unwillingness accumulated over the past three hundred days made her suppress the impulse in her heart.

“You don’t know me…”

Gu Sui raised his head and said, staring into her eyes.

In that instant, Mu Jiulu’s heart violently contracted, her lashes trembling imperceptibly.

His first two embroidered balls were actively thrown towards her, Mu Jiulu thought. Actually, she could forgive him, as long as…

“But I know you.”

Before Mu Jiulu could say anything, Gu Sui affirmed his tone.

“If I can catch up once, I can catch up a second time. Mu Jiulu, I’ll make you know me.”

Mu Jiulu lightly parted her lips, speaking as if unconcerned.

“Is that so?”

I look forward to it.