NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 14: Chapter 13
📖 CHAPTER 13: THE GATHERING STORM
The dawn broke over Gu Manor, casting a golden hue over the rooftops. The early morning mist curled lazily through the courtyards, but within Gu Qingyan's chambers, the atmosphere was anything but calm.
She sat before her mirror, brushing her hair with slow, deliberate strokes. Her reflection stared back at her—serene, composed, untouched.
As if last night's assassination attempt had never happened.
But the faint cut along her sleeve, hidden just beneath the embroidery, told another story.
She had been marked.
Not as a victim.
But as a threat.
The thought made her lips curl into a smirk.
A knock at her door.
"Miss," a servant's voice carried through. "The master has summoned you."
Gu Qingyan set down her brush, her amusement flickering.
Her father?
She had expected retaliation from Gu Ruoyun, whispers from the concubines, perhaps even an indirect probe from her grandmother.
But her father calling her so soon?
Interesting.
---
📍 Main Hall – Gu Manor
Gu Qingyan stepped into the hall, her expression demure. The atmosphere was tense, thick with unspoken words.
At the head of the room, Gu Tianlong, the Lord of the Gu family, sat with his usual rigid posture. Beside him, Lady Zhao, his main wife, held her teacup with a faint, unreadable smile.
And standing to the side—Gu Ruoyun.
Ah.
So this was her doing.
Gu Qingyan's gaze flickered briefly to her father. His expression was unreadable, but his fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair.
He was considering something.
Dangerous.
She lowered her head in greeting. "Father."
Gu Tianlong studied her for a long moment before speaking. "I heard you caused some trouble last night."
Gu Qingyan's lips curled slightly. "Trouble?"
His gaze sharpened. "An assassin was found near the estate."
Ah. So they had discovered something after all.
But if they were bringing it up now, it meant they were testing her.
Gu Ruoyun's eyes glowed with thinly veiled delight. "Father is merely concerned, Sister. After all, it would be terrible if someone had unknowingly made enemies, wouldn't it?"
Gu Qingyan smiled, slow and deliberate. "You're right, Sister. Making enemies out of ignorance is quite pitiful. However—" she turned to her father, voice soft yet unwavering, "—I was unaware that it was a crime to be targeted."
Gu Ruoyun stiffened.
Gu Tianlong's fingers stopped tapping.
Lady Zhao set her cup down. "Yan'er, your father simply wishes to know if you've offended someone."
Gu Qingyan tilted her head slightly. "Would Father not know better than me who might bear ill will toward the Gu family?"
The silence that followed was heavy.
A test.
A trap.
A battle of words.
Gu Tianlong's eyes narrowed slightly. Then, he exhaled, his expression relaxing. "You're right."
Gu Ruoyun's fingers clenched.
Lady Zhao merely chuckled. "It seems our Yan'er has grown sharper."
Gu Qingyan met her stepmother's gaze and smiled. "Survival requires it."
Another beat of silence.
Then, Gu Tianlong stood. "This matter ends here."
Just like that, the conversation was dismissed.
Gu Qingyan lowered her head respectfully. "Of course, Father."
But as she turned to leave, she caught the briefest flicker of something in her father's gaze.
A hint of amusement.
Or was it approval?
---
📍 Gu Ruoyun's Courtyard
The sound of porcelain shattering against the floor rang through the chamber.
Gu Ruoyun's face twisted with fury. "How? How does she keep slipping past?"
A maid trembled beside her, unable to answer.
It had been perfect. The assassin's presence had been proven, the evidence stacked against Gu Qingyan.
But somehow, she had twisted the situation once again, walking away untouched.
A voice interrupted her seething thoughts.
"She is playing a different game now."
Gu Ruoyun's eyes snapped up.
The man in black robes leaned lazily against the doorway, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement.
"You're predictable," he mused. "She is not."
Ruoyun's jaw clenched. "Then tell me what I must do."
The man's lips curled.
"Change the game."