promise

"...As I said, give me three years, and I will definitely have a place in Shengjing City."

Gu Hanying sat in his study, lost in thought, staring blankly at the burning candlelight.

Xu Qiu's voice rang in his ears. Three years? It seemed that three years ago, in this same study, Xu Qiu had indeed made this promise to him.

Then what did he say? Whether he believed him or scoffed at him, Gu Hanying completely forgot.

"One year as a sub-prefect, two years as a prefect, outstanding political achievements, and a triumphant return to the capital. These three years must have been very tough, right?" Gu Hanying sighed.

“It’s not too hard. Ayu and I divorced a year and four months ago, but my feelings for her have never changed. I hope my father-in-law will grant my request. I want to marry her again. She will still be my wife.”

Xu Qiu knelt down on both knees in front of Gu Hanying.

Gu Hanying murmured as he asked him, "Is Ayu still my Ayu? Is Ayu still my daughter? Xu Qiu, do you know something? If you still want to acknowledge me as your father-in-law, shouldn't you be more honest with me?"

“What exactly happened in Shengjing City while I was away? You couldn’t possibly be completely unaware of what A’yu did. Why did the new emperor poison A’yu?”

“You should know that if I hadn’t gone out with A-Yu today, she would have definitely died from the poison and died in prison with Sun Gu.”

Xu Qiu clenched his fists tighter and tighter. He knew Tang Qingning was cold-hearted, but he didn't expect her to be ruthless not only to others but also to herself.

But should we tell them about the possession of her body? If Gu Hanying knew that his daughter had been taken over by someone else, would he do something outrageous?

"Xu Qiu, don't even think about lying to me." Gu Hanying glanced at his expression and instantly guessed what he was thinking.

“I overheard Ayu and Sun Gu talking in the prison. She said she was Tang Qingning. If you don’t answer me, she’ll have to ask her when she wakes up.”

Xu Qiu tried his best to maintain his composure and told everything he knew, word by word.

"No wonder, no wonder..."

Gu Hanying felt like crying, but he felt it was improper to cry in front of his juniors. "So Ayu is resenting me. I shouldn't have kept her. She was so young then, and I never spent enough time with her. She must hate me, her heartless father."

"But Tang Qingning didn't intend to kill Gu Yu, she just..."

Xu Qiu admitted that his heart was biased, completely biased towards Tang Qingning, "She just wanted to use Gu Yu's identity to avenge the Tang family."

"Ayu took the poison herself, how could I blame her? On the contrary, she gave me three years, giving me something to look forward to..."

Gu Hanying cried, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm just... I'm just blaming myself."

“I fought for the Great Sheng for many years, and in the end my mother died, my wife died, my daughter died. I didn’t even get to see them one last time. I was not a good son, a good husband, or a good father. I regret it.”

Gu Hanying was distraught, haggard, and disheveled. "They have every right to resent me..."

“Ayu, she…”

Gu Hanying still couldn't bring himself to say that unfamiliar name. "The poison in her body should have been cured. You two can decide your own affairs. I won't interfere anymore."

"However, she has been frail since childhood, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for her to stay with you for a long time. Even so, do you still want to marry her?"

"I did think of it." Xu Qiu's eyes lit up when he mentioned her. "If we can't be together every day, then let's seize the day."

"If she leaves first, I will never live on alone."

Gu Hanying stared at Xu Qiu for a long time. At first, he did have a prejudice against Xu Qiu. After all, Xu Qiu came from a humble background and would definitely have to curry favor with the powerful if he wanted to rise in the ranks.

Now that his prejudice has completely disappeared, how many people in this world can do what Xu Qiu did?

Having such a husband in her later years meant she had someone to rely on, and at least she wouldn't be alone anymore.

"Okay, I believe you. You can go now, but let me sit for a while longer."

After a while, Gu Jin, who had clearly been crying, knocked on the study door. "Father, she wants to see you."

"How is she feeling? Has the poison been neutralized?"

"The imperial physician examined my pulse and confirmed that the poison has been neutralized, but the foundation of my body has been damaged..."

With red eyes, Gu Jin had just accepted the fact that his sister had already passed away, and upon hearing the news that Tang Qingning would also soon die, how could he remain unmoved?

His sister died three years ago in a heavy snow. At that time, he was so busy with military pay and supplies that he never cared about her.

If... if he had cared more about her back then, would A-Yu have been able to live with such suicidal thoughts?

Gu Hanying patted his shoulder, "It's not your fault, it's my fault. You're just a child. Ajin, it's my fault. If only I had put down my burdens earlier and spent more time with Ayu and Wanniang."

He held back the tears in his eyes. He should go see her without crying.

He didn't know who Tang Qingning was. But the father-daughter relationship they had shared for three years was genuine; after Gu Yu's passing, Tang Qingning continued this bond for him.

He didn't hate Tang Qingning, only felt guilty and remorseful. He knew that his absence must have caused Wan Niang and A Yu to resent him, and he even hated himself.

Tang Qingning sat up halfway, leaning against the cushion, her face gentle. "Father, Father."

"Would you still allow me to address you this way?"

“Ayu, no, Qingning, it’s okay, this wasn’t your fault to begin with.”

Gu Hanying shook his head. "I just hate myself for not caring more about my wife and daughters."

“Father, she doesn’t blame you.”

Tang Qingning slowly recounted the beautiful times Gu Yu had spent with her father in her memories, "You see, she gave these memories to me. I know what she's thinking and what she's longing for, so you should believe me, she doesn't resent you."

Did Gu Yu resent her father and Gu Jin? Of course she did. Human emotions are inherently complex and impure, with love and hate intertwined, making it difficult to discern true feelings.

However, a beautiful lie can spare the living some suffering, and Tang Qingning wanted to give this cheap father a happy ending.

“I believe you.” Gu Hanying nodded. “Qingning, I want to hand over my military power and then take you and Gu Jin back to the north. Would you like to come with me?”

Tang Qingning looked stunned, her beautiful eyes falling on the exquisite bed curtains. "I know the new emperor's secret. He won't let me go."

"I'll use the power I have to save your life; he won't refuse."

"Father, is it worth it to go to such lengths for me? After all, I am not your biological daughter, but just a vengeful ghost who has taken over your place," Tang Qingning asked, puzzled.

Is this what parental love is like? She hadn't felt it in a long time; willing to give up everything just for her children's safety.

If it were her parents, they would probably make the same choice as Gu Hanying, so would they want her to go to the underworld to accompany them?

She seemed to harbor a fleeting, desperate hope of surviving. Who was it because of? Xu Qiu?

“It’s worth it,” Gu Hanying said earnestly.

If it were Gu Yu, she would definitely agree wholeheartedly and be willing to do so, as this was something she had longed for her whole life.

But Tang Qingning wouldn't. She didn't want Gu Hanying to give up so much for her; she didn't deserve Gu's father to do that.

She hadn't brought anything to the Gu family in the first place.

*

Liu Yun took the letter from the gatekeeper and rushed into Xu Qiu's study with a face full of excitement. "Young Master, a letter has arrived from the Duke of Ying's mansion. Miss Gu invites you to come over for a gathering."

Xu Qiu has now returned to the capital and is waiting for the Ministry of Personnel to finish its selection process so that he can be reappointed.

The three-year period in Shaanxi has passed, and the new policies on land administration and salt tax are a done deal. The people's granaries are full, commerce is booming, and everything is thriving.

What was once the poorest and most disaster-prone place has now become a prosperous land. Liang Lingfeng, the prefect of Xi'an Prefecture, finally got promoted to the head of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission after thirteen years in office, becoming a second-rank official in the local government.

Although the implementation of the Land Administration Bureau in Jiangnan encountered some obstacles, it laid a solid foundation, and the next step was to promote it nationwide.

Therefore, if Xu Qiu were to remain in Shengjing to oversee the implementation of local land administration in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, he would need to hold the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to have such authority.

Upon hearing Liu Yun's message, Xu Qiu suppressed the upward curve of his lips and said calmly, "Hmm."

Liu Yun looked at Xu Qiu's expression, somewhat puzzled. Why wasn't his master jumping up with joy?

"Let's postpone it."

Tang Qingning sent Shen Changqing invitations for fifteen days straight before inviting him out last time, so how could he agree to go on the first try?

Things that are easily obtained are never cherished; he can't afford to lose money again.

He would have to wait until the fifth time—no, the third time—or until she asked him to come again before he could go see her.

"My lord, are you really going to push it away?" Liu Yun was somewhat shocked. He suspected that his master might have fallen for someone else, but he hadn't seen any other young ladies.

"Yeah, I turned her down. She's rejected me so many times, what's wrong with me rejecting her this one time? She has to ask me out again before I'll go see her."

Liu Yun understood; it turned out that his family felt they had lost face and wanted to regain some dignity.

During his leisure time at home, Xu Qiu spent his days reading classics, practicing calligraphy, writing and drawing, and occasionally inquiring about news from the Duke of Liuyun's mansion.

Still no movement today?

Liu Yun scratched his head in confusion, wondering what he was struggling with. It wasn't the first time he'd gone to such lengths, but now he was suddenly concerned about these things.

"There was no movement."

“Things that are easily obtained are not cherished. She abandoned me once, and she might do it again, two or three times. I don’t want that to happen again.”

Xu Qiu stared blankly, his pen untouched, gazing again and again in the direction of the Duke of England's mansion, until the days grew longer and the weather gradually turned colder.

What exactly does she mean? The British government has not responded.

The imperial decree appointing him as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue has been issued, and people from the palace have delivered a court robe with a scarlet peacock insignia for a third-rank official, along with a new black gauze hat.

Xu Qiu stroked the court robe. Three years of ups and downs in officialdom, though there were dangers, he always managed to turn misfortune into good fortune. Compared to what he had achieved, it could be said that things had gone too smoothly.

He was promoted three ranks in three years, becoming the youngest third-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. This was an unprecedented act of imperial grace in the history of the Great Sheng Dynasty, and he could see a bright future laid out before him.

Tang Qingning was right. Now that he's left the Duke of Ying's mansion, he can live a smooth and successful life without relying on anything else.

This tree was carefully planted by someone, and after experiencing thunder, rain, dew, wind, snow, sunshine, and now it has finally grown into a useful tree, but the people who planted it are all gone.

After Emperor Shengyuan's death, Xu Shanhai voluntarily drank poison to be buried with him in the imperial mausoleum. Emperor Shengyuan, who had been kind to him, passed away peacefully, his soul ascending to the heavens.

Tang Qingning, the only one still alive, had long since abandoned him and ignored him.

He finally obtained the fame, fortune, and wealth he had pursued his entire life, but his heart felt empty. He felt somewhat hypocritical; he had obtained what he had sought for so long, yet he found it tasteless to have and a pity to discard.

If others knew his true thoughts, he would definitely be criticized as insatiable.

He received a favor from Xu Shanhai, who encouraged him to serve the emperor wholeheartedly. He then gained the favor of Emperor Shengyuan, who entrusted him with the care of the country and its people.

Only Tang Qingning, who had initially schemed against and exploited him extensively, ultimately let things go, preserving his loyalty to his ruler and his relationship with his son, and granting him some freedom.

He should have realized this long ago. If Tang Qingning didn't care about him and didn't have him in her heart, why would she have let him go and continue to be Xu Qiu?

Xu Qiu put on the scarlet official robe. There was still an hour before the court session. This was his first time attending court since taking office, but he felt uneasy.

The sky is gloomy today, which is not a good omen.

He carefully straightened his robes and cuffs, then glanced at the black gauze hat lying to one side. Although his official robes were not as magnificent as brocade robes, they exuded an aura of power and wealth.

Once he put on this garment, he was no longer Xu Qiu, who needed to depend on others; now, others should fawn over him and bow down to him.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Only Liu Yun could be so flustered and rude in the mansion.

"grown ups--"

Liu Yun panicked, her face deathly pale. "My lord, I saw that the Duke of Ying's mansion has set up a mourning hall today. The lanterns hanging at the entrance have been changed to white, and there are white banners at the entrance..."

Xu Qiu's mind went blank, his whole body trembled, and the official hat he had just picked up fell to the ground.

His lips trembled. "W-what?"

"What did you say?" He grabbed Liu Yun by the collar. "Say it again."

"Miss...Miss is dead..."

Liu Yun recalled the gentle and kind young lady from her memory, and tears streamed down her face. "Lord Xu, the Duke of Ying's mansion has set up a mourning hall. Miss Gu has passed away."

"My lord, my lord——"

Liu Yun watched Xu Qiu rushing outside in a panic and called out, "You haven't taken your hat yet, you still have to go to court later!"

Why? Why did Tang Qingning still die? Wasn't the poison cured? She even handed him an invitation. Shouldn't she be alive and well? Why did it turn out like this?

Xu Qiu was filled with remorse. He should have gone to see her. What did face or dignity matter? Nothing was more important than his wife.

He completely forgot about the imperial court, the position of Vice Minister of Revenue, and all his power and wealth.

His name was carved on this tree long ago; he couldn't live without it.