On the way back when Wumi took Ye Qianmo away from the cliff, she was abducted by the secret guards arranged by Gu Jiangli. They sent Ye Qianmo back to a tranquil and idyllic village in the south of the Yangtze River to settle down.
This place was a mansion secretly bought by Gu Jiangli to surprise Ye Qianmo. He planned that after he resigned from office, the two of them would stay together hand in hand until they grew old and their hair turned white.
But in the end, only Ye Qianmo was left.
As soon as she entered the door, everything in the mansion was in place. All the decorations and arrangements were according to her preferences.
She said she wanted a courtyard full of her favorite flowers.
She said she wanted a swing.
She said she wanted to raise a cat.
...
Every word she said had been taken to heart by Gu Jiangli and realized in this house.
His shadow could be seen everywhere in this room.
Ye Qianmo sat alone by the window, staring into the distance.
Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and the tears were still flowing. Her lips were tightly closed as the tears freely trickled down her cheeks and dropped onto the floor.
The little kitten timidly walked up to her feet and gently rubbed against her, trying to comfort her.
Gu Jiangli had trained a team of secret guards long ago to protect Ye Qianmo.
His original intention was to prevent the intrigues of the court from affecting her. Unexpectedly, they finally came in handy.
Gu Jiangli wanted his girl to live a happy and care - free life. She should have lived in the sunshine.
He firmly believed that time could heal everything.
His girl should live a worry - free and happy life. She should live the rural life she wanted, without intrigue and power struggles.
She should work at dawn and rest at dusk, free from troubles.
It's just that he would no longer be with her...
Without Gu Jiangli, the Southern Kingdom had no scruples. It allied with the surrounding countries and launched a large - scale attack. The Northern Kingdom was in retreat and lost many cities.
The Southern Kingdom replaced the Northern Kingdom as the most powerful country. However, the countries that had followed him in the battles did not gain any benefits from him.
Wumi's cruelty gradually emerged. He even tried to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, which caused dissatisfaction among other countries.
But under his coercion, they dared not disobey. Every country more or less regretted their choice back then.
The emperor of the Northern Kingdom, Gao Zhuo, seemed extremely helpless and powerless in this national crisis. He panicked.
When he saw his son's head, he was completely broken. He regretted his choice back then. Karma is a wheel, and no one can escape it.
He knew that the assassin was the prince of the Southern Kingdom at that time, but he still insisted on asking Gu Jiangli to kill him and send his head back to the Southern Kingdom to provoke them. Now, all the consequences had come back to him.
However, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day. The military advisor immediately entered the palace to comfort him and handle state affairs to keep the country running normally.
The deputy generals in the military camp had been waiting for the current situation where all countries were dissatisfied with the Southern Kingdom according to Gu Jiangli's instructions before his death.
They used the information about the various countries that Gu Jiangli had collected before his death to secretly sow discord between the countries and the Southern Kingdom. This saved the Northern Kingdom and gave it a chance to catch its breath. It also boosted the morale of the army.
Several deputy generals took on the heavy responsibility of restoring the country together. They would surely live up to expectations.
Ye Qianmo often seemed to see Gu Jiangli in a trance when she lived in this mansion.
Sometimes beside her bed, sometimes in the corridor, and sometimes in the hall.
But she couldn't catch him. She had lost him forever.
Gu Jiangli sacrificed his life to save Ye Qianmo, just wanting her to start anew.
She would abide by his wishes. She would do whatever he wanted.
Even though she cried bitterly at night, when she first came here, she had moments of being out of her mind. She wanted to commit suicide and go to Gu Jiangli.
The secret guards saved her again and again, patiently telling her about Gu Jiangli's expectations for their beautiful life in the military camp.
After calming down, Ye Qianmo accompanied the little kitten to grow up. She would go shopping and make friends. Everything in her life seemed to be moving in a good direction.
The villagers here were enthusiastic and kind. They always warmed Ye Qianmo inadvertently, but there was always an empty feeling in her heart, as if cold wind was blowing through.
The kitten grew up day by day. It was pure white all over, as if carved from the finest mutton - fat jade. It was extremely beautiful, especially its watery eyes, which were like two pieces of obsidian shining with light, making people can't help but want to get close to it.
It was obvious that the owner had taken good care of it on a daily basis. Ye Qianmo gave it a name, Xiaoyu.
Ye Qianmo thought that perhaps it was because Gu Jiangli's name was not well - chosen that it determined the outcome of his life.
She placed her hope of reuniting with Gu Jiangli on this little cat.
Xiaoyu could already walk on the eaves alone. At this time, the little kitten was still very obedient. But for some reason, it never let strangers get close to it. Only Ye Qianmo was allowed to touch it.
Xiaoyu could be said to have been raised by Ye Qianmo herself.
Whenever someone wanted to touch it, Xiaoyu would stare at them with its black - and - white eyes. That kind of look seemed to be a silent warning. If you dared to touch me again, I would bite off your neck.
When Ye Qianmo reached out her hand, it showed no sign of fear. Instead, it stared directly at her with its clear eyes.
"Meow~" It meowed once, as if acting coquettishly to its owner.
It was Ye Qianmo's motivation to start a new life.
Xiaoyu was like a guard. Its small body always blocked in front of Ye Qianmo, trying to protect her.
When she had suicidal thoughts, it would always appear beside her in the first place and meow continuously, telling her that it was still with her.
But there were always some people who didn't want Ye Qianmo to live a good life. Thanks to Gu Jiangli's arrangements, no ill - intentioned people could get close to Ye Qianmo.
Ye Qianmo's existence was originally unknown to others, but she was deliberately sought out by someone with ulterior motives.
When Gao Zhuo found that Ye Qianmo was living a care - free life in the small town while his own son had been beheaded.
Jealousy took deep root in his heart. The more he experienced in a high position, the more insidious and selfish Gao Zhuo became. He was just like the emperor of the Southern Kingdom, Wumi.
The former Gao Zhuo, who used to speak up for justice and fight side by side with Gu Jiangli, had long disappeared. The person left now was repulsive.
He wanted to harm Ye Qianmo, and he really did it. As a result, he was blocked by the people arranged by Gu Jiangli.
This action completely enraged him. He might have felt a little guilty, but more of it was hatred. He hated everything.
Since he couldn't kill Ye Qianmo, he killed her cat and deliberately threw it on her bed.
His original intention was to give her a warning, but unexpectedly, this action directly broke Ye Qianmo's last line of defense and made her choose to commit suicide.
Ye Qianmo held Xiaoyu's body in her arms. Nightmares flashed through her mind again and again. She seemed to have returned to the day when Gu Jiangli died.
Ye Qianmo's eyes were blood - red. She sat on the ground all night, holding Xiaoyu's cold body in her arms.