Chapter 244 You've Got a Good Plan

A cold wind, carrying fine snow, swept through the peach branches, making Jiang Luli's cloak rustle in the wind. But warm flames burned in his eyes, and his gaze was fixed on Gu Jiayue's reddened cheeks. "Don't worry, I'll be back after the New Year. I promised you that I'd help you teach for two years, and I'll keep my word."

When he finished speaking, his Adam's apple rolled slightly, as if he was swallowing back all the unspoken emotions in his heart.

He then pulled a neatly folded piece of rice paper from his sleeve and traced the lines of the paper with his fingertips, almost touching the wet ink. "Also, aren't you planning on finding a few more craftsmen to teach you? I asked Lu Yao to find some. They're both reputable and skilled. They're in Juzhou. You could go visit them."

The moment he handed over the paper, his knuckles turned white due to the force, but when they touched Gu Jiayue's slightly cool fingertips, he quietly relaxed.

After a brief pause, he frowned slightly, and his tone unconsciously became more serious: "As for the reward for your contribution of papermaking, don't worry. I will give you an answer after I go back and figure it out."

"Also, you have to be careful of Li Ergou's parents. I suspect that they were responsible for the wild boar incident last time." He had been asking people to investigate the last incident, but the situation in the mountains was complicated and many valuable clues could not be found.

But after verification, he already had a suspect, but he just didn't have accurate evidence.

A fierce look flashed across his eyes. He didn't really need evidence; two people dying in the cold winter was perfectly normal.

After making up his mind, Jiang Luli felt less worried.

His nagging words were filled with concern that he himself was unaware of, but the jade pendant in his palm became hotter and hotter in the cold wind, and he ultimately failed to hand it over.

Gu Jiayue unfolded the paper. There were several lines of comments between the densely packed names, describing the family situation, personality, interpersonal relationships, and even the specialty patterns of a certain bamboo weaving craftsman.

Warmth spreads through the paper into my heart.

She looked up at the person in front of her and suddenly felt that Jiang Luli, who always had a cold face, now looked like an elder who was giving her careful advice. "Thank you, Mr. Jiangshan."

She thanked him softly, and snowflakes fell from her eyelashes, streaking out tiny specks of silver light.

Jiang Luli's throat tightened, and he raised his hand for some unknown reason, but his fingertips suddenly stopped half an inch away from her eyelashes.

The moment he retracted his hand, the dark green jade pendant slipped from his sleeve and was quickly grasped back.

He could hear the sound of his own heartbeat like a drum, mixed with Gu Jiayue's words, "The journey is long and the mountains are high, please take care on your journey", buzzing in his ears.

His throat was dry. "Thank you. Is there anything you'd like me to bring you from Kyoto when I get back?"

He pretended to be calm, but a smile appeared on his lips that was uglier than crying.

The moment Gu Jiayue shook her head, his heart sank.

He felt that he had tried hard to close the distance between him and Gu Jiayue, but she still rejected him. He really didn't understand whether Gu Jiayue understood his feelings.

"Miss Gu!" Jiang Luli impulsively asked, wanting to clarify. But at this moment, Gu Yuchuan suddenly appeared and interrupted loudly, "Master Jiang, if you don't leave now, you really won't be able to enter the city!"

After a pause, he turned to Gu Jiayue and said, "Let's go. Grandpa and grandma will be worried if we don't go back."

Gu Jiayue was too cold to bear it, so she nodded and said, "Okay. Have a safe journey."

It was not until Gu Yuchuan's urging voice exploded like thunder that I realized I had been standing in the wind and snow for so long.

Watching Gu Jiayue's back getting farther and farther away, Jiang Luli tightly grasped the jade pendant in his hand, feeling mixed emotions.

He didn't know whether he should be sad or happy at this moment. The words he didn't say were like an unsolved puzzle, lingering in his heart. No one knew what the result would be if he said it.

Jiang Luli squeezed the jade pendant tightly in his hand. The cold jade surface pressed against his burning skin, causing him pain that made his eyes sore.

Heavy snow rarely falls in Juzhou. Even if it does, it only lasts for a short time, and most of the time the ground is not even covered with snow.

At this moment, outside Juzhou City, the snow is gradually stopping.

Song Zhixu lifted the carriage curtain and gazed at the ray of sunlight peeking out from the horizon. A smile finally broke out on his red, cold face. "It's already afternoon. Even if we gallop, we won't be able to reach the next post station before dark. So, why don't you all stay at my house for a night? My mother has already arranged everything, and she will definitely not let you, the teachers and classmates, suffer any injustice."

After a long day of riding in the carriage from Taohua Village to Juzhou Prefecture, they were indeed tired. The aroma of food wafting from the small vendors at the city gate made them want to sit down and eat as much as they could.

But they couldn't make the decisions. When they were out and about, they naturally had to listen to their elders, even though they were only slightly older than them.

Everyone looked at Jiang Luli, who had a cold expression on his face since he left the team, waiting for his response.

Jiang Luli glanced at the sky. "No need. It's still early. If we ride faster, we'll definitely reach the next post station before nightfall."

"Everyone, get back in the carriage and sit down. Let's continue on our journey."

Before he could finish his words, the sound of wheels rolling over snow came from the front.

Song Mingli and his family hurried down from the carriage. The snow crunched under his official boots, and a thin layer of sweat was on his forehead.

He was about to kneel down, but was startled by Jiang Luli's support and froze all over. He caught a glimpse of the other party shaking his head slightly, and immediately understood and changed to a bow: "If I had known that General Jiang Shan would pass through Juzhou today, my wife would have cleaned up the courtyard early and asked the chef who is good at making Beijing cuisine to prepare many delicacies. I'm waiting for General Jiang Shan's visit." His eyes were full of flattery, and even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes turned into humble arcs with a smile.

"And all of my classmates, their homes have arranged courtyards for you to rest and recuperate so that you can travel better tomorrow." Facing those seniors, Jiang Mingli smiled like a kind elder.

How could he not be kind? Even though these people were just low-ranking students now, who knew what would happen in the future? After all, the people who could follow Jiang Luli couldn't be too bad.

Besides, from the letters my son wrote home, I can tell that some of them come from pretty good families.

If I can help my son make friends with these people, we can always help each other in the future.

If you want to survive in the court, you can't fight alone.

They are all smart people. How could Jiang Luli not see what Song Ming’s ideal is?

But this is human nature. If a prefect of a state doesn't even have these thoughts, how can we trust him to continue to manage the state?

After just a few words, a dark cloud appeared in the clear sky again, as if a heavy rain would fall in the next second.

Winters in Juzhou are very strange. It often rains and snows together. It soon turns to ice, making the roads even more difficult to travel.

Jiang Luli looked at the dark and cloudy mountains in the distance, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of his cloak.

This year's winter was exceptionally harsh, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the official road. If he didn't leave now, he was afraid he would be trapped. But the dozen or so pairs of young, tired eyes behind him made him swallow his refusal. "In that case, I'll trouble you, Lord Song."

As he stepped into the prefect's residence, an icicle from the eaves happened to fall, shattering into sparkling water droplets on the bluestone slabs.

Fu Wenhan walked quickly with his head down, but the moment he stepped into the moon-shaped door, he caught a glimpse of a light pink skirt under the corridor.

His breathing hitched, and he looked up suddenly, meeting the pair of almond-shaped eyes that haunted him.

Before he could smile, he felt a sudden strong impact on his shoulder. He turned around and looked at Su Yichen, confused.

Su Yichen chuckled and signaled him to look forward with his eyes.

Fu Wenhan did as he was told, and saw Song Zhixu staring at him with a dark face and unfriendly eyes.

Fu Wenhan's Adam's apple rolled, and he touched his nose with a wry smile, not knowing that the red tips of his ears had already betrayed his thoughts.

I was peeking at a girl and was caught by her brother. It was really embarrassing.

Without having time to think about it, he reflexively showed a flattering expression.

Song Zhixu, who was originally just guessing, saw Fu Wenhan like this, so what was there to be uncertain about?

Hehehe, okay, okay.

He treated him as a brother and a confidant, but he wanted to be his brother-in-law.

What a good calculation!