Father Gu gave Chu Hengyuan another stern talking-to, the gist being that if he ever treated Aran poorly, Father Gu would haunt him even from the grave to make his life miserable. Chu Hengyuan would never dare treat Aran poorly; he would have gladly cut out his own heart on the spot just to prove his devotion.
That Aran would be the future Princess Consort was a certainty set in stone. Leng Wu caught the eyes of Leng Er and Leng Qi, the message clear: keep a close watch on Xiao Jiu from now on. If Xiao Jiu was fine, they were fine; if anything happened to her, they could expect to be skinned alive. Leng Qi, for his part, was thinking he needed to cling to Xiao Jiu’s coattails as quickly as possible, so that in the future, even if the Prince didn't care about their past, he might show mercy for her sake.
Once the relationship was out in the open, Father Gu began calling Meng Zirui "Lad Meng," narrowing the distance between them. At lunch, the two even shared some wine, and no matter how much Aran tried to stop them, she couldn't. Setting aside Meng Zirui’s actual status, the more Father Gu looked at him, the more he liked him—learned, bold, and responsible... Father Gu’s mind was already filling with a list of fine qualities that he now applied to Chu Hengyuan as well.
Chapter 62