competing

Gu Yu had just finished bathing and washing her hair when Qiu Ju was wringing it dry for her and remembered the small couch.

"Miss, the small couch is finished and should be delivered to your residence tomorrow."

Gu Yu's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "That's good. I've been feeling a bit listless these past few days because I haven't had an afternoon nap."

She deliberately paid the craftsmen extra to speed up the work.

When she returned to her room, there was only one candle left, which must have been left for her. Xu Qiu was lying quietly on her bed with her eyes closed, looking as if she were fast asleep.

On the table lay the official robes that the servants had brought back from their residence.

Gu Yu blew out the candle and, by the moonlight, carefully climbed onto the bed from under Xu Qiu's feet. Sleeping on the inside was indeed a bit inconvenient.

She'd gotten quite used to turning over in bed lately, so she wouldn't touch his body. She rolled skillfully to the inside and then pulled up another thin quilt herself.

The boudoir is a very private place. Gu Yu found that there was another person in her boudoir, and she felt that something was also added to her heart, so she couldn't sleep.

She sighed, turned around, and looked at Xu Qiu's face in the moonlight. His sleeping posture was very upright and proper, which was also evidence that Gu Yu believed he would never cross the line.

The faces of her father, her mother, her brother, and Yuzhu inevitably disturbed her thoughts.

If she were still Tang Qingning, she would inevitably be moved by a handsome young man like Xu Qiu who admires her.

But she was no longer Tang Qingning. Hatred weighed heavily on her heart, occupying her entire being. She had no time to think about anything else, so Xu Qiu's falling for her was truly a terrible misfortune.

She was quite unlucky to be liked by Xu Qiu, and Xu Qiu, who liked her, was also unlucky.

She reached out and gently touched his eyebrows and eyes, tracing them from left to right and then from right to left. Finally, before she became too sleepy, she whispered that he was a jinx.

Seeing that Gu Yu had finally fallen asleep after all that fuss, Xu Qiu lifted her quilt, pulled her into his arms, held her tightly, and then kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, I'm the unlucky one." He remained noncommittal.

*

"Has Madam returned to the manor?"

The first thing Xu Qiu did upon returning to his residence from the Hanlin Academy was to inquire whether Gu Yu had returned from the Duke of Ying's mansion.

If he didn't come back, he thought he would probably still have to go to their door.

"Reporting to your Excellency, Madam returned at noon. Today, a craftsman delivered a newly made rosewood couch, which pleased Madam greatly, and she rewarded him with a considerable sum of money."

Xu Qiu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. He had thought that if he pushed his luck, Gu Yu would back down, but he didn't expect her to back down so quickly.

Prepare some simple food for dinner.

Xu Qiu and Gu Yu lived together almost every day for three days, and Xu Qiu got a general understanding of Gu Yu's living habits.

Gu Yu loves to eat meat and oily food, and doesn't like bland food either. However, her stomach will feel uncomfortable after eating it, and she will groan in pain when she sleeps at night.

Yesterday, upon returning to the Duke's mansion, the mansion prepared a lot of food according to Gu Yu's tastes, so Gu Yu ate mostly meaty dishes, and her stomach felt a little uncomfortable last night.

We can't eat those things today.

He stepped into the main courtyard.

Gu Yu was directing Qiu Ju to set up her small couch. The couch was spacious enough for her to sleep comfortably, and it wouldn't be too cramped for Xu Qiu to sleep on either.

So they can finally sleep in separate beds.

Heaven knows how surprised Gu Yu was when she woke up in the middle of the night from the heat and found herself in Xu Qiu's arms again; she almost jumped up in astonishment.

However, Xu Qiu held her quite tightly, and she couldn't break free, so she drifted off to sleep again.

After finishing her dinner, Gu Yu returned to her room, removed the hairpin from her hair, let her hair down, and went directly to the small couch in her room.

Xu Qiu, who was sitting in the room reading official documents, remained silent upon seeing Gu Yu's actions.

Once everyone was sound asleep, he put down what he was holding, bent down, and carried her to the bed. He sighed, "Silly lady, why bother?"

When Gu Yu woke up the next day, she found herself lying in bed, her mind still a little foggy. But she wasn't stupid, and she immediately understood everything.

Xu Qiu has so much energy. He's just waiting for her to fall asleep so he can play a sneaky trick on her, isn't he?

Gu Yu knew she was going to Shaanxi, so she had been searching for a reliable person to manage her shops, even though she intended to have Chun Yue in charge.

However, she is still a bit inexperienced and can only get help from the stewards in the mansion. As the end of the month approaches, the servants in the mansion begin to prepare their master's luggage for the trip.

As for the rivalry between Gu Yu and Xu Qiu, it continued. No matter how late Gu Yu went to bed, she would only get up on the small couch after seeing that Xu Qiu was fast asleep. She would wake up on the couch the next day.

Gu Yu gritted her teeth, looked at the guy pretending to be asleep in front of her, and bit his wrist without any hesitation.

She didn't bite until she bled, but the person beneath her definitely felt it.

Xu Qiu remained motionless with his eyes closed. Gu Yu tried a different approach, touching his lips. The man beneath her finally stopped pretending; when he opened his eyes, his gaze was dark. "Madam—"

"Is Madam trying to seduce me?" He took the initiative without any politeness, swallowing Gu Yu's argument.

He was much more skilled than when he first kissed her, gently licking her teeth, kissing her tirelessly with a desire to devour her whole.

After the kiss, Gu Yu's eyes shimmered. She didn't forget her original intention, "Why do you have to carry me to bed every day? I'm sleeping perfectly fine on the couch."

"The bed is quite spacious, and I can take care of Madam, so she is less likely to get sick," Xu Qiu said confidently.

A chaise longue is more spacious than a small chaise longue, but it becomes cramped with just one more person.

"Besides, why go to such lengths, Madam? I said I wouldn't touch you, so I won't cross the line."

"Then you kissed me again today."

"Madam, this is a case of 'the magistrate can set fires, but the common people can't even light lamps.' You kissed me first."

Seeing Gu Yu's annoyed expression, Xu Qiu smiled charmingly, "Madam, aren't you cold wearing only your undergarments? Come on up. If you insist on separating, how about I sleep in the study? I'll just say I've been busy with official documents lately, what do you say?"

Gu Yu was a little listless. She climbed over Xu Qiu and rolled to the inside. "Never mind, we're leaving tomorrow. Let's go to sleep early."

Since he doesn't touch her anyway, we might as well sleep together.

Xu Qiu's sleeping posture is very proper; it's her sleeping posture that's bad. "Why don't you blame me for my bad sleeping posture? What if I steal your blanket?"

"No, the blanket is large enough to cover two people."

Looking at her half-asleep, dazed state, Xu Qiu boldly kissed the top of her head for the first time. He felt Gu Yu startled at first, then continue to pretend to be asleep, and he smiled as he pulled her into his arms.

All of Gu Yu's doubts were resolved, but she dared not make any rash moves. After thinking for a long time, she sighed. She really didn't know what to do with him.

If she takes a step back, he will take three steps forward; if she doesn't back down, he will take an inch and a mile.

Too greedy, too greedy. What kind of good person can become an official?

Two days before her departure, Gu Yu received news from Guan Yiyun that Zisu had succeeded and had given her family a large sum of money as promised.

Xu Qiu was transferred to Xi'an Prefecture as Tongzhi, the deputy to the prefect, a fifth-rank official position, in charge of civil affairs related to grain, salt, water, and water resources in the prefecture.

Among this group of top-ranking scholars, besides Xu Qiu, there was another person who was also sent to a post outside the capital, namely Wei Cong.

He was also transferred to Xi'an Prefecture, and then to Tongzhou, a subordinate prefecture of Xi'an Prefecture, where he was appointed as a fifth-rank prefect, in charge of all affairs of the prefecture.

In terms of jurisdiction alone, the governor of a prefecture naturally has a much wider scope than his deputy, but in terms of rank alone, Xu Qiu still surpasses Wei Cong.

Moreover, Tongzhou was a subordinate prefecture under Xi'an Prefecture, and Xu Qiu was Wei Cong's superior, but the difference in their power was not significant.

The two went to Xi'an Prefecture together, ostensibly for disaster relief. Compared to the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who were assigned to Shaanxi after the examinations, they were more than three months late.

They agreed to set off on the same day so they could keep each other company on the journey.

However, Xu Qiu had to bring his family and a lot of belongings, so he trailed far behind.

Wei Cong was all alone, with no luggage, and his hired carriage was traveling ahead.

"Xu Ziliu seems to think highly of Wei Cong. I remember that the Xu family's ancestral home is in Tongzhou, and his younger brother also stays in Tongzhou to do business. This is probably to look after Wei Cong."

Sitting in the carriage, Gu Yu was a little bored, so she discussed some court affairs with Xu Qiu.

Xu Ziliu is Xu Chuxi's father, and Gu Yu naturally knows this clearly.

Xu Qiu looked at her, her tone tinged with bitterness, "Didn't you take good care of him before?"

"Ah?" Gu Yu thought of the imperial examination. "After all, we were friends, and he's the kind of person who would rather break than bend."

"The Xu family of Tongzhou."

As Xu Qiu read those four words, he recalled the letters Gu Hanying had given him. "I wonder if Grand Secretary Xu knows about what his brother did."

Although the Northern Di had surrendered, Emperor Shengyuan had no intention of letting go of the merchants who had transported grain, supplies, and even weapons to the Northern Di during the war.

Therefore, this trip to Shaanxi was not just about providing disaster relief on the surface, but also about catching thieves, seizing stolen goods, confiscating property, and silencing witnesses. In addition, the Land Bureau had new plans for the land lost by the refugees.

There were too many things to do, and Gu Yu didn't know when she would return to the capital next time, but most of the officials in Shaanxi were part of Sun's faction.

These officials had their homes ransacked and were beheaded. Wouldn't Sun Gu have had his wings clipped? It was a good thing that aligned with her goals. If she could drag Sun Gu down with her, that would be even better.

Gu Yu pondered for a moment, still wanting to say a few words to Wei Cong, but Xu Qiu stopped her, "There's no rush, we need to wait and see. After all, he has a teacher-student relationship with Xu Ziliu, and he's a simple-minded person who can't keep things to himself, so it's better to say it later."

Xu Qiu's impression of Wei Cong was rather lukewarm. Although Wei Cong was upright and principled, the complete opposite of Xu Qiu, he didn't particularly dislike him, but he didn't like him either.

Moreover, he had always felt that Gu Yu had a special kind of protectiveness towards Wei Cong, which made him even more reluctant to associate with her.

“I didn’t intend to tell him the truth, but I was afraid he would fall into a trap set by someone with ulterior motives, so I advised him to be careful.”

"Let's wait until we meet at the next post station to talk. After all, the road isn't a place to talk."

Xu Qiu took out some snacks that Gu Yu liked from the food box. "It's noon now. Is Madam a little hungry? Have something to eat."

After Gu Yu finished eating, Xu Qiu showed her the comprehension passage, which made her completely forget her earlier thoughts.

Gu Yu only remembered this matter when Wei Cong came to say goodbye and parted ways with them.

“Wei Cong, I know your nature. You won’t become a corrupt official once you get to your post. However, you still have to be wary of the people around you. Some officials didn’t want to go along with the corrupt practices, but they had no choice but to do so later. Even if you guard against thieves every day, you will still make a mistake.”

Looking at his upright and gentlemanly appearance, Gu Yu sighed, "We are friends. If you encounter any difficulties, come to Xi'an Prefecture to find me."

She glanced at Xu Qiu and said, "My husband is a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the same year as you, and we are also officials who went to Xi'an Prefecture together. Let's look after each other if we can."

When Xu Qiu saw her mention the title of "husband" for the first time, her eyes crinkled with a smile, and even Wei Cong seemed more pleasing to the eye. "My wife is right. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me."

"Thank you, Madam Gu...and thank you, Brother Xu."

Wei Cong bowed respectfully. This was the first time he had seen Gu Yu since her marriage, and he was still getting used to how he addressed her.

Xu Qiu squinted at Wei Cong's departing carriage, lost in thought.

The Xu family's hands are definitely not clean. Xu Yunliang must have colluded with people in the Six Ministries of the court to obtain military supplies.

So, did Xu Ziliu know about the situation and send his student to Tongzhou, or was he completely unaware and Xu Yunliang took it upon himself to contact people from the Six Ministries of the court using his brother's name?

Was Wei Cong completely unaware of the Xu family's affairs?

The carriage traveled for another half month before finally arriving at Xi'an Prefecture. As the prefecture with the most counties and the largest area under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi Province, it could be said to represent the face of the province.

However, at this time, the people of Xi'an Prefecture were all emaciated, and there were far fewer homeless refugees on the streets than they had seen along the way before.

Natural disasters and man-made calamities had a tremendous impact on Xi'an Prefecture.

Because of the drought, the common people sold their land to buy grain, while the gentry who could afford to buy land bought it at rock-bottom prices.

Once the disaster was over, these people became displaced people with no land to cultivate. Many people died in the snowstorm and the cold winter, and those who had finally made it to spring found themselves in a situation where they had no land to cultivate.

They could only become tenant farmers for gentry who owned land, renting land to make a living, but the rent was exorbitant, and they could barely survive by going hungry for three out of five days.

The first word that came to Gu Yu's mind when she saw the people here was "starving corpses".

I was so hungry that my stomach was practically touching my back; I was just a skeleton.

She had seen refugees in Shengjing before, but the people here seemed to be in even worse shape, still struggling to farm despite their frailty.

"How can the prefect here eat?" Gu Yu closed the carriage curtain, her heart tightening. She knew about the situation in Xi'an Prefecture beforehand and had made some preparations.

The issue of the land was left to be resolved by the Land Bureau and Xu Qiu.

Gu Yu was sensitive to the cold, so she put on a cloak when she got off the carriage. Xu Qiu helped her down from the carriage.

"I want to try planting the taro I told you about before on a plot of land. It's a bit late now, but I still want to give it a try."

The taro she brought had already started to sprout. The sprouts had grown quite well over the past month since she came to Xi'an Prefecture. If she planted them now, she would probably get results soon.

If the land yield in Xi'an Prefecture is also good, the food shortage situation here will be much better in the future.

Xu Qiu smiled and said, “Yes, madam, I will go and inform the prefect.”