Villainous Fake Eunuch (8)
The man’s eyes were incredibly beautiful, and as he gazed at her with such intensity, Song Xu Yi felt as though she had lost the ability to speak.
“The food you prepared is exactly to my liking.”
Perhaps due to the alcohol, the man’s pale lips seemed to have acquired a glossy layer, and his eyes now held a hint of indescribable charm. His inner qualities made one forget his otherwise ordinary-looking face.
“Xu Yi, may I ask you for a favor?” Perhaps due to the effects of alcohol, the man’s voice didn’t sound as hoarse as before, and there was something inexplicably familiar about it.
However, at that moment, Song Xu Yi’s brain had turned into mush and she couldn’t pay attention to these details. She stared at the man in front of her, feeling that he was very pleasing to the eye. She blinked in confusion and complimented him, “You look really handsome now!”
The man was taken aback and subconsciously touched his face. Despite his usual cold demeanor, his lips couldn’t help but curl up.
“Wait for me here for a moment.” The man spoke slowly and went back to the room. He soon returned, holding a set of paper and pen.
“Can you make me a written promise?” The man leaned in front of Song Xu Yi, trying to conceal his eyes filled with anticipation. “Promise to cook me at least three meals in the future.”
At this point, Song Xu Yi was nearly asleep, but upon hearing the man’s request, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Is my cooking really that delicious?” she asked incredulously.
She never would have thought that the man, who had previously appeared so stable and calm, could have such a childish moment. But as she thought back, she realized that this was not the first time he had shown such vulnerability. When he cured several children with illnesses, some of them had insisted on giving him jujubes to eat, despite his imposing demeanor. At those times, the man had exhibited a similar expression of confusion and helplessness, with a hint of expectation in his eyes that he may not have even been aware of.
In Song Xu Yi’s eyes, the man often seemed cruel and cold, but with a contrasting cuteness that occasionally made him appear quite adorable, causing her to chuckle despite herself.
“Just write it like this,” the man said, leaning in to look at the paper and pen in her hand. “Song Xu Yi promises to personally cook three meals for the holder of this document and will never break her word!”
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
“Okay, okay,” Song Xu Yi restrained her laughter. She hadn’t expected the man to be so serious just to get her to cook for him. She yawned and wrote the document on the paper. Considering the man’s help during this time, she felt that three meals were too few. She wanted to befriend this man who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. So she changed it to “ten meals” while writing the document and handed it to the man with a smile. Her eyelids began to fight against each other. “The document has been made, but I am a little short on money these days, so it may take some time for me to buy ingredients and fulfill my promise.”
“No problem, Xu Yi is so sincere, and I naturally want to repay your kindness.”
Before Song Xu Yi fell asleep, the last thing she heard was the man’s voice with a hint of joy. In the flickering light and shadow, the man carefully folded the document that Song Xu Yi had written and put it in his arms. A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth…
Did he really feel that happy?
Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but curve her lips as she looked at the man’s appearance.
She woke up to the sound of the system’s screams.
“Gu Ruyu!!! That sly little thief who deserves a thousand cuts–“
“Gu Ruyu?”
When Song Xu Yi woke up, she saw a slender figure sitting at the head of her bed. At first, she assumed it was the man named “Zhao San” who had been with her in the fight against the epidemic, but when the man turned around, she was met with a cold and strikingly handsome face that could be mistaken for aloofness. Her grogginess evaporated immediately.
What was going on?
Song Xu Yi wondered for a moment if she was still asleep and rubbed her eyes a few times.
“I should have known!” The angry, shouting voice of the system snapped her back to reality. “No wonder this man gives off a villainous aura. I always knew villains could be deceitful and cunning, but I never thought they could disguise themselves as ugly men and stick around you all this time!”
“Ah! That sneaky villain! If he hadn’t taken off his mask in your room just now, I wouldn’t have realized he was Gu Ruyu…”
?!
“Are you saying that…” Song Xu Yi struggled to process the fact and interrupted the collapsing system, “the man who calls himself ‘Zhao San’ is actually Gu Ruyu in disguise?”
After receiving confirmation from the system, Song Xu Yi felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her mid-air. She was completely overwhelmed!
Therefore, during this period of time, Song Xu Yi thought she had escaped from Gu Ruyu’s control, but in reality, she had been under his control all along? Was she even deluding herself that she and Gu Ruyu could be friends?
This realization made her shudder with fear.
Song Xu Yi looked at the man in front of her. His face was exceptionally beautiful, but she was too preoccupied to appreciate his captivating beauty. She felt chills running down her spine and only wanted to escape from Gu Ruyu’s sight.
“Princess, you’re awake,” he said calmly.
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However, as Song Xu Yi looked up, she noticed that Gu Ruyu had already lifted his gaze to meet hers.
Reminding herself to stay calm, she took a deep breath, blushing slightly as she mustered the courage to look at his flawless face. Gu Ruyu’s beautiful peach blossom eyes naturally carried a hint of charm and tenderness. For the first time, Song Xu Yi noticed a small red mole at the corner of Gu Ruyu’s eye, which seemed to contrast beautifully against his cold, white skin.
But that wasn’t the point.
It suddenly dawned on Song Xu Yi that Gu Ruyu’s eye shape was almost identical to the man who had been by her side all this time, claiming to be “Zhao San”!
As Song Xu Yi thought about the negative comments she made about Gu Ruyu to the man, and also recalled Gu Ruyu’s rumored vengeful personality, she felt the urge to find a place to hide!
“Gu… Eunuch Gu.”
Song Xu Yi just wanted to escape at this point.
With a forced smile, Song Xu Yi trembled involuntarily and curled up in bed, clutching the blanket tightly.
“I am a Eunuch, Your Highness. There’s no need to be afraid of me,” Gu Ruyu reassured Song Xu Yi, noticing her fearful reaction.
However, his eyes darkened and he pursed his lips, sensing her discomfort.
“It’s not that I’m afraid, it’s just… I didn’t expect you to suddenly appear here,” Song Xu Yi replied, trying to calm herself down. Despite the system still angrily scolding Gu Ruyu, she muted it for the time being to focus on the current situation. With her mind finally settling down, she could think about why Gu Ruyu had revealed her identity.
Why did Gu Ruyu suddenly decide to reveal her identity?
According to Gu Ruyu’s shrewdness, he couldn’t possibly not have known that revealing Song Xu Yi’s true identity meant admitting her Princess status. Since he had revealed her true identity, it also meant that he was willing to help the residents of the village from a different perspective.
As expected, Song Xu Yi wandered around the village and found that everything seemed to be in order: there was a laundry room for washing clothes, a medicine hall for making medicine, and a cafeteria for cooking. Even if Song Xu Yi had come to arrange it herself, it might not have been better than it was now.
The old doctor was already very old, and Song Xu Yi didn’t want to bother the man too much. Many of the epidemic prevention measures were only explained to the man who called himself “Zhao San.” Now, with the current situation in Wangjiazhuang, it was conceivable that everything was under Gu Ruyu’s control.
Song Xu Yi turned her head to glance at Gu Ruyu in disbelief. According to the plot summary, Gu Ruyu was notorious for his hatred of the entire Holland, and was even said to have single-handedly pushed the country into a dire situation. She never thought that he would lend a helping hand to Wangjiazhuang.
Despite her surprise, Gu Ruyu’s face remained stoic and inscrutable, as was his usual demeanor.
Just then, Song Xu Yi ran into the old doctor who was busy in the medicine room.
As soon as the old doctor saw her, he knelt down and said, “Thank you so much, Princess, for risking your life to save our entire village! We in Wangjiazhuang are deeply grateful and will worship your longevity tablet for generations to come as a token of our appreciation for your great kindness.”
After taking over Wangjiazhuang, Gu Ruyu had revealed Song Xu Yi’s true identity to the villagers.
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In his half-true, half-false story, he claimed that the Princess had noticed the plague in Wangjiazhuang, sympathized with the suffering of the common people, and risked her life to escape from the palace and come to the village to help them as a righteous ruler.
To Song Xu Yi’s surprise, everyone in the village believed this story without any doubt.
In front of Gu Ruyu, she couldn’t deny it either. She endured her shame and calmed down the excited old doctor. When she turned her head, she saw Gu Ruyu’s ambiguous gaze, which seemed to be smiling but not really.
Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but recall the incident where a few children stuffed jujubes into “Zhao San’s” mouth earlier. Was Gu Ruyu taking revenge for her inaction at that time?
To prevent the old doctor from kneeling down to her again, Song Xu Yi quickly left the medicine room. It was then that Gu Ruyu spoke in a slow, measured tone.
“I have informed the Emperor about the possibility of curing the disease in this region. His Majesty is a benevolent ruler and will undoubtedly take care of his people.”
Song Xu Yi nodded in agreement.
Although Gu Ruyu’s words sounded reassuring, Song Xu Yi knew that it was only because the Emperor trusted him that he was willing to send help to control the epidemic in Wangjiazhuang.
Now that the court had taken over the management of the outbreak, Song Xu Yi felt relieved. All she needed to do was focus on finding the male lead, Zheng Lian, and completing her mission.
As she thought about this, Song Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief. However, she felt like she had forgotten something but couldn’t quite remember what it was. Deciding not to dwell on it and not wanting to accept more gratitude from the people of Wangjiazhuang, she took a small path back to the yard rented by Gu Ruyu.
But to her surprise, Gu Ruyu followed her into the yard.
Gu Ruyu and his servants entered the yard, carrying various ingredients. Once he settled on a stool, he took out a document that Song Xu Yi recognized. He waved it in front of her and spoke in a soft tone,
“Earlier today, a man named Zhao San approached me and said that the Princess had realized her mistake and was willing to cook for me as an apology…”
“I believe that the Princess’s heart is sincere, which is why I came to Wangjiazhuang with my people. I didn’t expect the epidemic to be so serious here…”
“After a tiring journey and feeling hungry, I’m hoping to trouble the Princess for a meal!”