Quick Transmigration: Playing the Role of a Devoted Tool

Gu Liaoyuan's face darkened, and he kicked Lan Bo away. "You dog of a servant, you stink! Get this dead fish away right now!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lan Bo scrambled to grab the fish and gestured for Qi Ran to hurry up.

Qi Ran was about to get up when Gu Liaoyuan called her back.

"Did I tell you to leave?" Gu Liaoyuan turned around and finally saw the boy holding the white peony.

The boy's skin was a cool-toned white, but not a sickly pale; it was like the finest mutton-fat jade, with a faint bluish tint.

I had been kneeling and sweating, and a thin layer of sweat glistened on my forehead. When the wind blew, it shone with a glistening light that made my eyes water.

What a beautiful servant!

Gu Liaoyuan liked pretty things and lost interest in the fish, so he stopped Qi Ran.

"What's your name?"

"Your Highness, my name is Qi Ran."

"Qi Ran, you're not a eunuch?" Gu Liaoyuan looked Qi Ran up and down. He wasn't wearing eunuch's clothes, so he must be someone who served a prince.

"Yes, this servant is a follower of His Highness the Ninth Prince," Qi Ran replied truthfully.

Upon hearing this, Gu Liaoyuan's face turned ashen, as if he had eaten something disgusting.

"The Ninth Prince, that Ninth Prince?" How come he didn't know there was a Ninth Prince in the palace?

Fearing that Qi Ran would be maliciously humiliated by Gu Liaoyuan, Lan Bo quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, it is Gu Qing."

"oh."

Gu Liaoyuan's eyes darkened. He grabbed Qi Ran's chin, forcing the boy to raise his face, and said in a gloomy voice, "I remember now, it's the son of that lowly woman who tried to murder my mother!"

Qi Ran winced in pain, her neck forced into a slender arc, her Adam's apple bobbing slightly, tinged with a faint red.

Seeing Gu Liaoyuan approach, her long eyelashes trembled suddenly. When she looked up, her eyes, which were filled with spring water, were filled with surprise, and then a few tears appeared.

"What's so good about being around that slut? Come serve me, and I'll give you some nice clothes to wear, how about that?"

Gu Liaoyuan released his grip, allowing the boy to catch his breath. He immediately knelt down.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. This servant only wants to follow Your Highness."

"What!" Gu Liaoyuan was furious.

He was his mother's most beloved son, getting whatever he wanted, and he was never refused.

Seeing that Gu Liaoyuan was about to lose his temper, Lan Bo also chimed in, "Our prince is so kind, Qi Ran, why don't you quickly express your gratitude!"

He wanted to help Qi Ran out of her predicament, but he also had his own selfish motives.

If Qi Ran could truly join forces with him, it might not be a bad thing in the future, as he would be able to see her more often.

The boy knelt on the cobblestones, his back ramrod straight, his fingertips clenched until they turned white, and stray hairs fell across his forehead, unable to conceal his clear yet serene eyes.

However, his persuasion failed to convince Qi Ran.

"Your Highness's kindness is too much for this humble servant to accept."

His voice was not loud, but every word was clear. When he kowtowed, his forehead touched the ground, and his movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

"This servant's life was given to me by His Highness the Ninth Prince, and I will never have any other thoughts in this life."

Gu Liaoyuan stood in the path of the peony garden, toying with the jade thumb ring between his fingers, his face darkening inch by inch.

The surrounding maids and eunuchs held their breath and kept quiet, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground.

"What a fine 'single heart' indeed." Gu Liaoyuan sneered, then suddenly bent down, his fan-like hand sweeping down with a gust of wind.

Snapped--

A crisp sound exploded in the peony garden.

The boy was knocked to the side, his chin slamming hard against the cold cobblestones, instantly drawing blood from the corner of his lip.

Five red marks were clearly imprinted on his almost translucent white cheeks, a stark contrast to the bright red blood, a truly shocking sight.

His long eyelashes trembled violently, but he didn't raise his hand to cover them. He simply turned his face back slowly, still keeping his eyes downcast. There was no fear in his eyes, only a hint of indifferent composure.

Her reddened eyes were slightly upturned, adding a touch of broken beauty that made her even more eye-catching than usual.

"Every word I have said comes from the bottom of my heart." Qi Ran's voice was slightly hoarse, but he still straightened his neck, like a green bamboo that had been bent by a strong wind but refused to bend down.

Gu Liaoyuan was stunned. He swallowed his saliva, still feeling the cool, soft touch on his palm.

However, he was even angrier at this moment than at this servant who dared to disobey him!

"Fine! Very well!" Gu Liaoyuan laughed in exasperation.

Lan Bo watched all this with growing anxiety.

He knelt behind Gu Liaoyuan, trying his best to imply that Qi Ran should follow Gu Liaoyuan's wishes and not offend him, but Qi Ran only glanced at him, smiled faintly, and then looked away, no longer meeting his gaze.

At that moment, Lanbo felt as if he were seeing the white camellias he had seen on the mountain when he was a child.

When I was young, my mother said that camellias are proud and unwilling to wither; they would rather die than bow down to worldly customs.

At this moment, the camellias that had been battered by the torrential rain in the mountain stream when he was a child were right before his eyes.

"Lanbo! Lock this servant up for me! He has offended me!"

"Yes, Your Highness." Lan Bo personally took Qi Ran up and handed him to his trusted confidants, indicating that they should find a place to lock him up first.

Lan Bo breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Gu Liaoyuan hadn't killed Qi Ran, but had only locked her up, leaving some room for maneuver.

Lan Bo then served Gu Liaoyuan, but once his temper flared up, it wasn't easy to calm it down.

"You dog slaves, a bunch of dog slaves!" Gu Liaoyuan kicked the palace maids by the roadside a few times before letting them leave.

"Your Highness," Lanbo tentatively inquired, "do you like the way that servant looks?"

Gu Liaoyuan snorted angrily, but he had to admit that the servant had a handsome face, which he liked.

He used to think that his mother was the most beautiful person in the world, but now he sees that the young man is even more beautiful than his mother.

"Do you have a solution?" Gu Liaoyuan asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

If Gu Liaoyuan wants something and he can't have it, then he'd rather kill him than let someone else have it.

Lan Bo saw through Gu Liaoyuan's murderous intent, racked his brains, and finally came up with a good plan.

"Your Highness, I've heard there are many beautiful women outside the palace. You may try them out first. I won't tell the Imperial Concubine."

Seeing that he was so cooperative, Gu Liaoyuan generously rewarded him with some gold ingots and strode away.

The servants swarmed after him and disappeared into the peony garden.

Qi Ran was locked in a woodshed. The surroundings weren't too messy, but there was nowhere to rest. He sat on the ground with his back against the firewood.

Moonlight streamed in through the high window, falling on the boy's slightly swollen cheeks, embedding him in darkness, with only half of his body exposed and bathed in the pure white moonlight.

click-

The door opened.

Qi Ran looked up and saw Lan Bo come in with a food box and a bottle of ointment to reduce swelling.

He knelt beside Qi Ran, carefully reached out, and gently cupped Qi Ran's face in his hands, his breath coming in ragged gasps from the heartache.

Why are you doing this to yourself?

Lan Bo lowered his head, rubbed the ointment on his hands to warm it up, and then gently applied it to Qi Ran's cheeks, massaging it lightly.

"Does it hurt? I'll be gentler." He became even more careful as he spoke.

Qi Ran didn't know what to say, turned her face to the side, and after a long while said, "Thank you."

"Why are you being so polite with me? Aren't we friends?" Lan Bo stared at the hazy look in the boy's eyes, then looked away, opened the food box, and took out the noodles he had made.

"Eat something, and I'll find a way to let you out."