The housekeeper brought a tray of food to Gu Yanze, but he just sat there, lost in thought, flipping through old photos of Lingyuan.
From the time she was a toddler, to when she first called him “uncle,” to the shy little girl with pigtails who would hide behind walls and cry, afraid of everything. He remembered how he’d scoop her into his arms, comforting her for ages before she’d finally calm down.
Suddenly, his memories were shattered by the housekeeper’s frantic voice. She knelt before him, tears streaming down her face.
“President Gu! Miss Lingyuan never escaped the burning herb garden!”
His heart clenched painfully, and he slammed his fist down on the table. The housekeeper, trembling, continued through her sobs:
“After you left the garden, some of the guards thought it was too dangerous and didn’t even try to save her. When I tried to stop them, they beat me and threatened to do worse if I kept interfering! They said they’d just let her die, just like you wanted!”
She was crying so hard she could barely speak. Gu Yanze staggered, nearly collapsing from the shock and guilt that stabbed through his chest.
No! Lingyuan… how could this happen?
He roared for the guards to be brought in at once.
Moments later, the guards were dragged before him, already pale with fear. Seeing the housekeeper’s tear-streaked face, they knew the truth had come out and fell to their knees, begging for mercy.
Gu Yanze showed no mercy. He kicked one guard to the ground, punched another, and grabbed the last by the throat, his rage uncontrollable. He beat them until he was exhausted, then slumped to the ground.
“Throw them out. Let them fend for themselves,” he ordered coldly.
“President Gu, please forgive us! We’ll never do it again!”
“We didn’t mean any harm!”
“Please, President Gu!”
But their pleas fell on deaf ears as they were dragged away.
Gu Yanze’s anger turned inward. Why had Lingyuan been so foolish, rushing into the flames for a handful of herbs? Was it really worth her life?
He wandered back to the ruins of the herb garden. The place was unrecognizable, nothing but ashes and charred debris. Anyone would think it had always been this barren.
He remembered how, after Lingyuan first arrived at the Gu estate, she’d begged him for a place to grow herbs. He’d agreed, building her a garden all her own. From then on, she spent every day tending to her plants, inviting him to see her latest blooms, her face always lit with pride.
Now, Gu Yanze knelt in the ashes, tears dripping onto the scorched earth. Regret and pain twisted inside him until he could hardly breathe.
He pounded the ground with his fists, splitting his skin and drawing blood, but he didn’t care.
“Lingyuan! I was wrong! Please come back!”
“I’ll build you a bigger, better herb garden. I’ll buy you every plant you want—just come back alive.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… It must have hurt so much when the fire burned you…”
The pain and guilt crashed over him like a tidal wave. He howled in agony, tears streaming down his face.
It was all his fault. He was the one who had hurt Lingyuan most.
Suddenly, a spark flared in the ashes. Without thinking, Gu Yanze pressed his arm into the flames, welcoming the pain as punishment for his sins.
The burn seared his skin, but it was nothing compared to what Lingyuan must have suffered. She’d always been afraid of pain—how much had she endured?
“President Gu! You can’t do this to yourself!” the housekeeper cried, rushing over to pull him away.
“Get out! Don’t stop me!” he shouted, shoving everyone aside.
Just as he was about to burn himself again, the housekeeper gasped, “President Gu, there’s no body here! Miss Lingyuan might still be alive!”
Gu Yanze froze, his eyes wide as he began searching through the ashes. The guards and staff joined in, combing every inch of the ruins—but there was no trace of a body.
The housekeeper added, “No one found anything. She might have made it out!”
A glimmer of hope pierced Gu Yanze’s despair. If he’d been pushed into an abyss before, now he saw a ray of light.
Lingyuan—maybe she was still alive!
Chapter 09
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