scholar

With Xiao Yi and Li Ranyi setting their wedding date, Gu Jinning's "big worry" can finally be put to rest.

Gu Jinning was worried that Gu Shuhe wouldn't be able to handle the sudden change and would come after her, so she hid in the mansion and pretended to be sick.

"Cousin, cousin!"

The sun was high in the sky, and Gu Jinning was still asleep when Quan Zichu barged into Wangning Pavilion, startling several white doves.

Qinglian stopped him in time, preventing him from barging into the room.

Quan Zichu paced back and forth along the eaves, anxiously asking, "It's almost noon, why is my cousin still sleeping?"

A long breath came from behind the thin windowpane, "Oh dear, can't I even sleep in? Who is it that can be more restless than me?"

Gu Jinning opened her eyes and looked at the gauze curtain above her.

Quan Zichu called out through the window, "Cousin, something terrible has happened!"

Gu Jinning rolled her eyes when she heard Quan Zichu's voice. Oh well, she had to get back to work.

After a moment, Gu Jinning called out, "Come in."

Quan Zichu hurriedly entered the house. Gu Jinning had already dressed, washed her face with cold water, and stared blankly at the bronze mirror with her messy hair.

"Tell me, what happened?"

Qinglian came forward to comb her hair.

Quan Zichu didn't want to get too close, so he kept a few steps away and gestured excitedly, "Yesterday, Princess Anning came to my house to propose marriage to Sun Xianzhu."

Gu Jinning closed her eyes, wondering if she had misheard. "Where did An Ning go?"

Quan Zichu disregarded etiquette and stepped forward, saying, "This is my family. She came to propose marriage, wanting Zijing to marry Sun Xianzhu."

? ? ?

"What?!"

Gu Jinning's sleepiness vanished instantly.

What is it? Xiao Lan went to the Quan family to propose marriage.

Good heavens, what was she thinking? She failed to marry Li Ranyi, and then she turned around and started harassing the Quan family. Is she crazy?!

Gu Jinning's face puffed up with anger, and she asked with wide eyes, "What did Uncle say?"

Quan Zichu said, "Of course my father disagrees. He said Zijin is still too young and he doesn't plan to arrange a marriage. Anning said to accept the betrothal gifts first and then decide on the wedding date later. If we don't accept them, it means that even if the Quan family doesn't like Consort Xian, they still want the Emperor to grant them a marriage. This really angered my father."

Of course she was angry! Gu Jinning was also annoyed when she heard this, and hurriedly asked, "And then?"

Quan Zichu's face was more bitter than the flesh of a melon.

“My father didn’t dare to openly offend Consort Xian, so he made an excuse and said he would think about it, and asked Anning to take the betrothal gifts away first.”

“An Ning was unwilling. Just as things were at a standstill, Zi Jin came out and said that she had someone she loved and was waiting for her ideal man, and would not marry anyone else.”

"Xiao Lei asked which family's young master it was. Zijing said it wasn't from the capital, but a scholar from the imperial examinations. He failed this year and went home to settle his mother first. He will go to the capital next year to settle down and stay there to prepare for the exams. She will then inform her father and grandfather."

Gu Jinning breathed a sigh of relief. "That's a good excuse. Zijing is smarter than you."

Quan Zichu slapped his thigh and said, "That's right. Originally, this matter was settled, but who knew that girl would run away in the middle of the night."

Quan Zichu became more and more anxious as he spoke, "We don't know where she ran off to. We've searched the city, the homes of everyone she knows, and the places she usually goes, but we still haven't found her."

Gu Jinning found it strange. Since Quan Zijin had already made up a story, why was she running away?

"She didn't say anything to you?"

Quan Zichu thought for a moment and shook his head, "He didn't say anything, he just suddenly disappeared."

Gu Jinning pondered that the city's night market had been restored, and the city gates wouldn't close until 9 PM. If Quan Zijing had run away from home last night, she had most likely already left the capital.

"Go find the Crown Prince. The King of Qin previously set up defenses all around the city to investigate the thief, and now that the Crown Prince has taken over the case, he has naturally taken over the defenses. Ask him to keep an eye out, and it will be easier to find Zijing."

Quan Zichu suddenly realized, "Yes, yes, you're right. I'll go find His Highness the Crown Prince for help right away."

After saying that, Quan Zichu hurriedly ran away, tripped on the threshold, and stumbled.

Qinglian fixed Gu Jinning's hair, took out pearl and pear blossom earrings, and said with a smile, "Young Master Gu's temperament is really not steady at all."

Gu Jinning admired herself in the mirror and said, "If he were more composed, wouldn't I just seem more boisterous?"

It was precisely because Quan Zichu was naive that she dared to confide in him and ask for his help.

Quan Zijin is usually quite composed, so why would she think of running away from home?

A girl around ten years old, who usually stays at home and doesn't go out much, may not go far.

Gu Jinning then ordered Qinglian to send people to search the vicinity, while she went to the teahouse on North Street to inquire.

The North Street Teahouse is located on Kyoto's main thoroughfare, where countless vehicles and horses pass by every day, making it a very lively place.

Since the teahouse started selling Hua Lingchen's tea, the number of students coming and going has doubled, and the number of people coming to listen to music at the teahouse has also increased.

When Gu Jinning entered the lobby, the hall was packed.

On stage, the opera "The Jade-Carving Guanyin" was being performed. The female lead, Xiuxiu, was played by a female character. She was beautiful, sang clearly, and performed very lifelike, which whetted the appetite of the audience.

Especially those scholars and gentlemen, who love to look at beautiful women and listen to love stories, can sit for half a day with just a pot of tea and a plate of snacks.

Just then, someone left near the door, so Gu Jinning went over and sat down, leaning against the wall to listen to the music.

As soon as the female lead on stage looked this way, Gu Jinning threw a few flirtatious glances at her, displaying a rather charming demeanor.

"Oh my, the princess has arrived. You didn't even let us know, please forgive us for the neglect."

Aunt Hong finished her work at the tea shop and came inside. She immediately saw Gu Jinning, quickly waved her red handkerchief over, apologized repeatedly, and hurriedly ordered the waiter to prepare a pot of fresh tea.

"Why don't you go upstairs? It's a shorter route here, but it's a bit noisy."

Gu Jinning waved her hand to tell her not to rush, "I think it's fine, you can see inside and out."

Aunt Hong cleaned the table and sat down next to Gu Jinning, saying, "You haven't been here for a long time, everyone has been missing you."

Gu Jinning teased, "Are you thinking about me, or about my money?"

Aunt Hong laughed and said, "You're being too polite. What's mine is yours. I specifically told Qinglian not to pay back the three thousand taels last time. But you insisted on paying it back, and I feel really bad about it."

“One thing at a time. How can I let you suffer a loss? You still have a large family to support.”

Gu Jinning pointed to the busy waiters in the hall, popped a peanut into her mouth, and asked, "Do you know my maternal grandfather's cousin?"

Aunt Hong asked, "Is she the cousin of the Marquis of Wu'an? Young Master Quan brought her to listen to music a few times, so I can recognize her face. She looks quiet and reserved, but strangely pretty and delicate."

"Have you seen her since last night?"

Aunt Hong thought for a moment and shook her head. "No. Young Master hasn't been here for quite some time, so Miss won't be coming either."

Gu Jinning handed her a portrait.

“She ran away from home last night, and we don’t know where she went. Ask the guys in and around the building if they’ve seen her on this street.”

"Oh dear, that's terrible, I'll go ask right away."

After receiving the portrait, Aunt Hong went outside to ask the tea shop waiter.

Gu Jinning followed them out to see what was happening and saw a group of soldiers approaching from afar. The leader was Wu Da, Xiao Liao's close attendant. Behind him, two soldiers were escorting a man dressed as a scholar, who was struggling with his head down.

Gu Jinning thought to herself, "The Prince of Qin is really dedicated. Even after the Emperor stripped him of his position as the organizer, he's still working day and night to arrest and search for people."

The group approached, passing right in front of Gu Jinning. Wu Da had clearly seen Gu Jinning, but chose not to acknowledge her and pretended not to see her.

Gu Jinning glanced around and suddenly caught sight of the face of the person being escorted behind Wu Da. She was surprised to see it was Zhou Bing.

How did that guy get arrested?

"etc!"

Gu Jinning spoke up, stepped forward and questioned, "You saw me, the princess, and just left like that?"

Wu Da stopped and bowed, "Greetings, Princess. I was in a hurry to finish my business and didn't see you. I apologize for my rudeness."

Gu Jinning stopped at a distance, not too close, and asked, "What kind of thief did you catch this time?"

As she spoke, she reached out her index finger to lift the scholar's chin, shaking her head and making a sucking sound, "You're quite handsome, why did you have to become a thief? If you don't have any connections, come to me. This princess likes handsome scholars the most."

"Cough!" Wu Da coughed loudly to remind him, his disdain evident in his words.

“Princess, this man’s whereabouts are suspicious and may be related to the prison break. I need to bring him back for thorough interrogation.”

"trial?"

Gu Jinning sneered and reached into Zhou Bing's arms, pulling out a book.

Gu Jinning casually flipped through the pages and scoffed, "Him? Carrying a tattered book, completely powerless, and he thinks he can break out of prison? Is the prison made of water?"

Zhou Bing, who had been stunned by her sudden offense, blushed and said in shame and indignation, "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Princess, please do not insult a scholar!"

"Ha! What's wrong with scholars? They've all become bookworms, and they don't even know how they died."

Zhou Bing hurriedly said, "I'm not a bookworm!"

Wu Da, unwilling to listen to Gu Jinning's nonsense, glanced at the portrait in Aunt Hong's hand and said sarcastically, "Princess, it's more important to find the person. This thief isn't worth your breath."

Gu Jinning glared at him unhappily and threw the book in her hand at him.

"Speaking of which, go back and tell your master. A real man acts with integrity, not resorting to underhanded tricks. If anything happens to my cousin, I will personally inquire about the health of both siblings."

Wu Da stuffed the book into his pocket and left with a dark expression. He had already cursed Gu Jinning a hundred times in his heart.

Zhou Bing tried to reason with them, but the soldiers gagged him and forcibly took him away.

Gu Jinning's gaze lingered on Zhou Bing, her eyes gradually narrowing, and she couldn't look away for a long time.

"Oh, Princess, you were just flirting with me, and now you've fallen for someone else?"

Dan Niang arrived unnoticed, draping an arm over Gu Jin Ning's shoulder and leaning almost her entire body against her, twisting her handkerchief in her hands and following Gu Jin Ning's gaze.

"He's just a poor scholar, what's so interesting about him?"

Gu Jinning joked, "A pretty face can't compare to an interesting soul."

Dan Niang asked, "So, is His Highness Prince Jin handsome or interesting?"

"He's a blockhead, a solid blockhead at that."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Heng'an felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Turning her head, she saw that Dan Niang had taken a half-step back and stood at attention. Xiao Heng'an appeared like a ghost by the door, staring at her intently.

Gu Jinning smiled guiltily at Xiao Heng'an, "What a coincidence, you're here to listen to music too?"

She secretly punched Dan Niang, then forced a smile and went to greet her.

Xiao Heng'an said, "I was just passing by when I heard someone mention me, so I came to listen."

Gu Jinning took his arm and gave him a sincere smile.

"I'm complimenting your looks. A beautiful face like yours deserves an interesting soul like mine."

Aunt Hong followed and said, "Your Highness Prince Jin, Princess, please come upstairs."

Then she ordered Dan Niang to prepare tea.

The music in the hall had stopped, and the guests chatted in groups, creating a lively atmosphere.

Upon entering the elegant room upstairs, the three-sided screens blocked out the noise downstairs, turning it into distant whispers, instantly bringing peace to the ears.

Dan Niang brought tea and pastries, and just as she reached the elegant pavilion at the entrance of the corridor, she heard a voice, "Dan Niang."

Dan Niang stopped and looked into the pavilion. A person walked out of the pavilion, looking at Dan Niang with a mixture of joy and nervousness, his eyes full of tenderness.

"Dan Niang, will you sing again today?" he asked cautiously.

The female lead politely replied, "I will stop singing now, Your Highness, please return."

"That……"

Xiao Jun was about to ask another question when Dan Niang interrupted, "She won't be singing tomorrow either, so you don't need to come. I have to deliver tea and snacks to the princess, so please excuse me." With that, she left.

Xiao Jun sighed, bowed in the direction of Gu Jinning and the others, and went downstairs dejectedly.

Gu Jinning saw Xiao Jun's figure as she entered the pavilion. After overhearing their conversation, she asked Aunt Hong, "Does the Prince of Wei come here often?"