After hearing this, Magistrate Luo got up from the ground, his face flushed red, and pointed at Gu Xiuyi and angrily shouted, "How dare you impersonate an official appointed by the imperial court? I can execute you right now!"

After hearing this, Gu Xiuyi raised his thin lips into a bloodthirsty sneer, "Kill me?"

Before he finished speaking, Xu Ge's knife was placed on County Magistrate Luo's neck. The blade left a bloody mark, and blood flowed down the neck into the official uniform.

Magistrate Luo was about to beg for mercy, but Gu Xiuyi didn't give him a chance to speak. "Since you want to kill me, how about I give you a ride first?"

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of horse hooves outside, and nearly a hundred people dismounted from their horses when they arrived at the door of the restaurant.

The leader immediately knelt down and saluted, shouting, "Lu Gaosheng, the garrison commander of Beiyong Prefecture, pays respect to General Huaiyuan. I am late, please forgive me, General!"

It’s over, it’s all over now. This was the only thought left in the minds of County Magistrate Luo and Wang Pinglu.

"I'm glad I came just in time. If I had been any later, the magistrate of Xuyang County would have thrown me out and beheaded me."

There was obvious sarcasm in Gu Xiuyi's tone, which made the garrison sweat profusely.

Lu Gaosheng knocked his head to the ground and said, "I deserve to die."

"Get up." Gu Xiuyi had no intention of making things difficult for him.

Lu Gaosheng stood up, not daring to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and turned around and shouted behind him: "Why don't you tie up these traitors for me!"

The two men who had been bossing people around just now immediately knelt down and begged for mercy after hearing this, but Gu Xiuyi didn't even look at them.

The matter ended with County Magistrate Luo, Wang Pinglu and their thugs being imprisoned, and the position of County Magistrate was temporarily replaced by County Magistrate.

Fortunately, Uncle Xu and Shopkeeper Qiu only suffered some superficial injuries and were not hurt internally, otherwise Gu Lingze and the others would never let it go.

After returning home, Xu Ge gave Uncle Xu two bottles of ointment for external injuries, which could relieve pain and swelling within two days of application.

"Thank you for what you did today." Gu Lingze thanked sincerely.

If it weren't for Gu Xiuyi today, even if Gu Lingze was not afraid of County Magistrate Luo, I'm afraid things would not end well.

Gu Xiuyi had just experienced the experience of drawing the Gu out of his body and was very weak, but he still rushed to the county town to help them out of their predicament. It would be a lie to say that he was not moved.

"There's no need to thank me between you and me." Gu Xiuyi said this not only referring to Gu Lingze's life-saving grace, but also contained another meaning, but only he knew it.

"Just focus on taking care of yourself. Just tell me if you need anything." Gu Lingze said sincerely, and Gu Xiuyi nodded in agreement.

Yunlai Restaurant reopened after a day of repairs. Uncle Xu was recuperating at home, so the tasks of delivering snacks and purchasing goods were temporarily left to Zhao Chengmo.

As they were getting ready to set off early in the morning, Gu Lingze also got on the ox cart.

"I'm just going to the county town to buy some medicinal herbs. Let's go together." Zhao Chengmo didn't say anything, but the slightly raised corners of his mouth revealed his mood.

Gu Lingze and Zhao Chengmo first went to the restaurant to deliver snacks, and then prepared to set off for the market together.

As soon as he came out of the door, Gu Lingze heard a voice that made him feel sick all over.

"Brother Chengmo." The person who came was Bai Yiyuan, who was looking at Zhao Chengmo expectantly.

In Gu Lingze's eyes, although the girl can get married and have children, she is still a man. He really can't bear to hear her calling people in such a coquettish voice.

"Your old lover is here to see you." Gu Lingze said in a sarcastic tone, turned around and was about to leave.

However, Zhao Chengmo grabbed his arm and said, "I don't know him." Then he took Gu Lingze and walked away. No matter how Bai Yiyuan called him from behind, he did not turn back.

After that, the two of them didn't speak until they got home. Gu Lingze was in a bad mood, but he didn't know what was wrong with him. He seemed to be avoiding and didn't want to find out. The two of them didn't mention it again.

"What! He ignored you at all? Didn't you say he liked you?" Bai Xiangyu asked in surprise.

"Brother, I, I." Bai Yiyuan's eyes were a little evasive, "I'm still afraid..."

"What happened that day has spread all over Xuyang County. Even such a high-ranking official is backing Zhao Chengmo up. What are you afraid of?"

Bai Yiyuan didn't say anything. Zeng Cuiman, who was sitting next to him, said, "Why are you so anxious? Listen to what our younger brother has to say." After that, she walked to Bai Yiyuan and patted him on the shoulder.

"Xiaoyuan, your brother is impatient. If you have any troubles, just tell your sister-in-law."

Taking advantage of the moment when Bai Yiyuan lowered his head, Zeng Cuiman gave her husband a wink.

Bai Xiangyu smiled awkwardly, and his tone of voice became much more relaxed: "Xiaoyuan, you also know the difficulties of my elder brother. Word has been passed on that the position of our county chief clerk is now vacant. This opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"The county magistrate is now taking over the position of the county magistrate. He might even be promoted. Then I can also be the county magistrate. How can I treat you unfairly then?"

Bai Yiyuan hesitated, "But Zhao Chengmo doesn't even look at me now, I can't speak."

"Oh, silly brother, you are not married yet, so you don't understand that men care most about their reputation." Zeng Cuiman pretended to advise earnestly.

"You broke off the engagement, so he's naturally angry. Just spend some time and effort to comfort him." Bai Yiyuan glanced at his sister-in-law and nodded hesitantly.

Zhao Chengmo didn't know that he was being thought of again. He was secretly worried about Gu Lingze's attitude towards him these past few days. Now even his family members could see that something was wrong between them.

But Zhao Chengmo has always been a man who does more than he says, and he doesn't know whether Gu Lingze's current attitude is because of him or because of Bai Yiyuan.

Gu Xiuyi asked Zhao Chengmo to come to his room to discuss something that day. After Zhao Chengmo left, Gu Xiuyi did not say a word for a long time and just sat there.

After a while, Gu Xiuyi said, "Have you guessed it?"

Zhao Chengmo was not as respectful as usual. He raised his head and looked directly at Gu Xiuyi, and asked in a somewhat cold tone: "Why?"

This question was asked incoherently, but Gu Xiuyi understood it.

Gu Tianhua has always been caring for his soldiers, regardless of their status. After returning from the border, Zhao Chengmo and his friends went to the General's Mansion to drink.

It would be fine if Gu Lingze looked like Gu Tianhua, but he looked like their mother, Xie Qingwan.

"Lingze is my biological brother." Gu Xiuyi paused and looked at Zhao Chengmo seriously, "I hope you will protect him well after I return to Beijing."

Zhao Chengmo did not respond to him, but stood up and walked towards the door.

"Do you know how much he was bullied when he was stupid?"

"You don't feel sorry, but I do."

As the days passed, the Chinese New Year was approaching, and the whole family was happily buying New Year's goods and cleaning the house.

Gu Lingze felt that many customs and cultures of this era were very similar to those of the Ming Dynasty recorded in history books.