Chapter 34

Upon hearing a soft hiss, Jiang Yunshu hurriedly took a step back.

Looking into Ling Jingchu's meaningful eyes, she felt her face flush; this person seemed different now.

Let's go!

She blinked, then took a step forward.

Ling Jingchu, standing behind her, stared at her retreating figure with a half-smile, a slight smirk playing on his lips. Su Ye asked in confusion.

"Young master, we're sharing a carriage with Miss Jiang, so let's hurry up and go."

Ling Jingchu then pursed his lips and walked outside.

The carriage was large, and Jiang Yunshu sat on a small couch inside, her expression evasive when she saw him.

Ling Jingchu sat down at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from her. The two of them remained quiet in the carriage, neither of them speaking first.

Jiang Yunshu felt the journey was far too long. Every time her gaze fell upon the hem of Ling Jingchu's clothes, she would think of what Ling Jingchu had just said...

Some images keep replaying in my mind.

She had to focus all her attention on today's birthday banquet.

She cannot let her guard down.

Thinking of this, she glanced at Ling Jingchu again, but he seemed to know her inside and out, and immediately said in a deep voice, "Don't worry."

She nodded; she trusted Ling Jingchu's abilities.

But I don't know if the other thing will go so smoothly...

When the two arrived at the ancient mansion, the entrance was already bustling with activity.

They handed over the visiting card, and after entering the mansion, the two of them followed Xiao Lü to Gu Hanyu's boudoir.

"It's good that you've arrived. It's quite lively right now. The Crown Prince's tutor is playing chess with the Vice Minister of Rites in the front courtyard. I'll get the Vice Minister of Rites out of there in a bit. You should hurry."

Jiang Yunshu subconsciously said, "There are so many people in the front yard, maybe we should..."

Ling Jingchu tugged at her shoulder and shook his head: "No, it would be suspicious to call the Grand Tutor away in public."

Seeing Ling Jingchu and Gu Hanyu's confident demeanor, she felt no longer intimidated.

"Then let's go to the backyard. Be careful."

Ling Jingchu nodded, then took his leave with his arm around the arm.

Gu Hanyu stared intently at the man, narrowed her eyes, and turned to look at her: "Jiang Yunshu, this man has great ambitions and will surely become a ruthless and dangerous person in the future. He is not a good match for you."

Jiang Yunshu looked at Gu Hanyu silently: "That's my brother."

She even secretly complained in her heart that Gu Hanyu hadn't seen Jiang Yunzheng, whose ambitions were terrifyingly high.

Gu Hanyu narrowed her eyes slightly and shook her head.

"Alright, let's go." Then, remembering something, she added, "I forgot to tell you, Marquis Shen is here too. His wife is in the backyard right now, and she brought her daughter with her."

"As long as she doesn't contact me, everything will be fine."

Jiang Yunshu wasn't thinking about any of that. She lowered her voice and asked, "That person outside..."

Gu Hanyu waved his hand dismissively: "No need to worry."

Despite saying that, Jiang Yunshu still couldn't help but worry.

When the two appeared together in the backyard, the young ladies of the capital all had strange expressions.

She naturally knew why, and Chu Lian snorted, "It's been a long time, Miss Jiang, you've certainly impressed me."

She had no intention of arguing with Chu Lian, so she turned and walked to the tea table next to her. Just as she was about to put the pastry in her mouth after sitting down, a voice chuckled from the crowd.

"A divorced merchant, instead of going back to her Jiangnan, dares to stay in Yujing City. I'm afraid her father and brothers will look down on her when she goes back, and she won't even be able to get tea and snacks. Look at her anxious appearance, she's really a country bumpkin."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

Gu Hanyu glanced at the person indifferently, her tone neither too loud nor too soft: "A country bumpkin?"

Everyone turned to look at her, and before they could react, Gu Hanyu's tone turned cold.

"I also grew up in the countryside."

The group quickly suppressed their laughter: "That's not what we meant. Jiang Yunshu is nowhere near as good as you. She's just..."

Gu Hanyu's eyes grew colder and colder, and just as she was about to speak again, Jiang Yunshu tugged at her arm.

"Never mind, today is still the Prime Minister's birthday."

Gu Hanyu nodded reluctantly.

The others chuckled and stopped focusing on Jiang Yunshu.

Gu Hanyu was quickly pulled aside. Jiang Yunshu, preoccupied with her own thoughts, simply sat down at the tea table, and Chu Lian sat down opposite her.

"Did you think that by attaching yourself to the ancient prime minister, you could thrive in the Jade Capital?"

Chu Lian scoffed, "Do you really think that a princess accompanying her to school is something rare? It depends on who's behind her."

"But what kind of future can a woman from a merchant family like you possibly secure for her child?"

Chu Lian picked up her teacup with an air of superiority: "I'm just reminding you that there's no place for you in Yujing City. You might as well go back to Jiangnan sooner rather than later, so that Shen Qingyao can live a peaceful and stable life."

She looked up at Chu Lian, the woman she once considered an enemy, but now seemed utterly unfamiliar.

"Yeah?"

Chu Lian was angered by her words, snorted coldly, and left.

At this moment, the outer courtyard started to chatter noisily.

"How audacious! To say such things on the Prime Minister's birthday? Don't they have a death wish?"

"The Prime Minister's residence is quite lively today."

She went to the front hall with the others, and the people above were so angry that their faces turned pale.

"You audacious heretic, how dare you spout such nonsense! Drag him out and give him a hundred lashes!"

Gu Hanyu threw the teacup in her hand hard in front of the evil Taoist.

The person sitting above remained silent with a cold face, while the Taoist priest who was being pressed down hurriedly shouted, "Your Excellency, please understand! Every word I utter is written in blood. If you do not heed my words, Your Excellency will soon be on the verge of death!"

"Prime Minister!"

"Still spouting nonsense? Drag him out and beat him to death!"

Enraged, Gu Hanyu stood up, took two steps forward, and kicked the man to the ground.

The people around were stunned, all staring at the absurd and audacious Taoist priest. Saying such unlucky things at a birthday banquet seemed like a malicious act of revenge.

However, the ancient prime minister has always maintained neutrality, did not participate in factional struggles, and no one would deliberately do something so disgusting.

So everyone just thought this person was incredibly audacious, daring to spout nonsense in court.

Just when everyone thought the man was about to be beaten to death, Gu Boyuan said in a deep voice, "Wait."

Everyone tacitly turned their gaze to the ancient prime minister, who was wearing a black robe and had a few strands of white hair, but was in good spirits.

However, perhaps because of the Taoist priest's words, upon closer inspection, everyone vaguely felt that his complexion was somewhat yellow and he looked rather weak.

"You tell us."

The person holding down the Taoist priest looked at the ancient face, then pushed him back down and pressed him to the ground.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, I had just passed by the residence when I saw a thick plume of black smoke. At that moment, I knew that there was something else inside the Prime Minister's residence."

The Taoist priest looked up at Gu Boyuan: "Now that I have seen you, Prime Minister, I understand completely. This black aura is within your body. If you do not remove it within ten days, then..."

The Taoist priest didn't say anything more, but Gu Boyuan's silence clearly puzzled everyone.

Could it be that what this person said is true?

Can……

"Your Excellency, do you often experience chest tightness and shortness of breath at night, are you unable to calm your mind during the day, do your hands and legs tremble for no reason, and sometimes even hear sounds that others cannot hear?"

Gu Boyuan suddenly stared at him, narrowed his eyes, and Gu Hanyu, who was beside him, quickly led him to the study.

The guests remained.

The Prime Minister's wife then stepped forward to take charge, and had everyone sit down in the front and back courtyards in turn.

Jiang Yunshu didn't rush to the backyard. She looked around but still couldn't see Ling Jingchu.

She could only go to the backyard first.

After seeing the Taoist priest and the Prime Minister, she felt a little more at ease about Gu Hanyu's arrangements. Now, her only worry was Ling Jingchu.

At this moment, Ling Jingchu was sitting in the room, and the Grand Tutor was carefully flipping through the booklet. His old face showed surprise and his eyes were bright.

But when he looked up at Ling Jingchu, he was full of wariness.

Who are you?

"Why save the Second Prince? What are you plotting?"

Ling Jingchu stared intently at the Grand Tutor: "I am from Jiangnan and serve as an instructor at a county school. I am not doing this to save the Second Prince, but to save myself."

He rose and knelt on one knee, raising his hands in a fist salute: "At that time, there was an epidemic, and unfortunately, Consort Li's younger brother contracted the disease, but there was only one Soul-Snatching Grass, so the Jiang family decided to give it to the county government."

"In this way, the Second Prince is only confined, but for the Jiang family, it is a catastrophe."

He bowed deeply and pleaded, "I beg you, Grand Tutor, to save the Jiang family."

The Grand Tutor glanced at him, then asked suspiciously, "How do I know if what you brought is real or fake?"

“If the Grand Tutor does not believe it, then the Second Prince will be imprisoned in Jianyang Palace forever. Do you know what the court officials are hoping for? Even if the Second Prince dies in Jianyang Palace, all we can say is that life is unpredictable.”

"you!"

The Grand Tutor was so angry that his beard stood on end, but Ling Jingchu did not raise his head and remained kneeling in place.

"Grand Tutor, you may speak freely. If I have lied to you, you may cut off my head."

Upon hearing this, the Grand Tutor was so angry that he wanted to take action immediately, but then he thought that if it was true, he would at least have someone to take the blame.

When the two came out of the house, the Grand Tutor went to the front yard to resign.

Ling Jingchu, dressed as a servant, didn't follow the rules much and went to the backyard.

Jiang Yunshu was sitting absentmindedly to the side, oblivious to the commotion that had erupted around her.

Her eyes lit up instantly when she saw Ling Jingchu.

Ling Jingchu's heart stirred, and after a long while, he nodded at her.

Jiang Yunshu finally felt relieved.

However, none of the people at the table had any appetite; they were all secretly speculating about what the Taoist priest had said.

However, they did not see the Prime Minister again until everyone took their leave.

As soon as Jiang Yunshu arrived in the west of the city, Gu Hanyu sent a message over.

Upon seeing the contents of the letter, Jiang Yunshu breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally finished.

Previously, when Gu Hanyu said that the Taoist priest was talking nonsense, she had thought of this trick, just as Gu Boyuan came in and contracted a strange disease.

Upon hearing the symptoms, Ling Jingchu immediately determined that the illness was caused by taking the Qingyou Pill, which was not common, but he had seen it in an ancient book.

The Pure Elixir is meant to restore one's original essence, but if the elderly take too much of it, it will have a negative effect.

Only the flower of destiny can provide an explanation.

Gu Hanyu laughed heartily. No one knew more about the Yuansheng Flower than her. It was the most abundant flower in the mass grave back then, and she survived thanks to the Yuansheng Flower.

Thus, all that remained was to await an audience with that person in the palace.

She chuckled inwardly. The current emperor was so obsessed with immortality, yet he never considered that the elixirs he thought would grant him eternal life were actually death warrants.