Chapter 326 I Like It (Two Updates)

Prince An was too badly injured and fainted.

Grand Tutor Zhuang was both angry and anxious, and almost fainted.

After all, he was his own grandson, and he couldn't just leave him there unattended. No matter how angry he was, Grand Tutor Zhuang had no choice but to have someone bring Prince An back to his residence.

The steward hurriedly brought the royal physician to treat Prince An's wounds.

The effects of the medicine on Prince An's body had worn off, and the reason he was unconscious was mainly due to excessive blood loss from the injury on his thigh.

"Oh dear, he injured his left leg a while ago, and now he's injured his right leg... This is really..." The imperial physician didn't know what to say. Even when Prince An was a hostage in Chen, he probably hadn't suffered such a serious injury. What has he been doing all day?

Servants carried basins of bloody water out of the house, and the entire courtyard seemed to be filled with a huge stench of blood.

Grand Tutor Zhuang could no longer wait outside the door. He went inside and asked in a deep voice, "How is it?"

"Alas," the royal physician said as he cleaned Prince An's wound, "this cut went too deep, down to the bone. I'm afraid it won't heal well, especially in this hot weather..."

In the sweltering heat, wounds can easily become infected if not handled carefully, and even with the utmost caution, there is no guarantee of complete safety.

It was all too chaotic just now, and Grand Tutor Zhuang forgot to ask whether the knife was stabbed by the Yuan family's daughter or by Gu Jinyu.

But what good will it do to find out? Can we still hold them accountable?

Naturally, there is no right to do so.

Grand Tutor Zhuang instructed the imperial physician to treat Prince An well, while he himself left the room and summoned his trusted subordinates, instructing them to investigate any activity at Qingfeng Tower that day and whether any suspicious individuals had appeared.

A trusted subordinate asked, "Does the master still suspect that this was done by someone else?"

Grand Tutor Zhuang said, "Hmph, how could I not know the nature of my grandson whom I raised myself? He wouldn't be so confused. Besides, it would be fine if he admitted that he had been tricked, but his eagerness to take the blame is clearly to protect the person in the dark."

The confidant asked, puzzled, "Master, are you saying... the Prince was framed but is unwilling to reveal who it is? Who is this person to the Prince?"

"I'm just guessing, I have no evidence. Alright, go and investigate. Find out who the cabinet official that Chief Minister Yuan bumped into at the entrance of Qingfeng Tower today was!"

Although Grand Tutor Zhuang did not believe that Chief Minister Yuan would plot against his own granddaughter, the timing of that official's appearance was too coincidental. If he had not stopped Chief Minister Yuan, the Yuan family's daughter would not have been left alone, and none of the subsequent incidents would have occurred.

"By the way, where is Wu Yang? I remember he was Heng'er's personal bodyguard," said Grand Tutor Zhuang. "Bring him here!"

Wu Yang was truly innocent. He had taken leave these past few days to attend the wedding of a brother from the underworld and knew nothing about the matter concerning Prince An.

Grand Tutor Zhuang did not get any clues from him, but he still punished him for failing to protect the person properly and gave him fifty strokes of the cane.

After investigating Qingfeng Tower, the trusted guard returned to report to Grand Tutor Zhuang: "No suspicious persons were found. The cabinet official was Vice Minister Xu. I have investigated and found that his encounter with Grand Minister Yuan was purely coincidental."

The cabinet officials were indeed not very suspicious, after all, the cabinet was under the control of Grand Tutor Zhuang himself, and ordinary people could not mobilize them.

Grand Tutor Zhuang pondered for a moment and asked, "Why is the Gu family's daughter at Qingfeng Tower?"

The trusted guard said, "The young ladies of the girls' school often gather at Qingfeng Tower. The second and third young ladies are here today, but they don't seem to know anything about the Prince."

Grand Tutor Zhuang said, "Bring them here."

"yes!"

Before long, Zhuang Yuexi and Zhuang Mengdie were summoned to Grand Tutor Zhuang's room.

Grand Tutor Zhuang looked at the two of them with a stern face: "What were you doing at Qingfeng Tower today?"

“Let’s play,” Zhuang Mengdie said. “Qingfeng Tower recently sent out new pieces, one every day. We’ve been listening to them for several days in a row. Today is the final piece.”

Zhuang Mengdie was the least likely to lie, and Zhuang Yuexi lowered her eyes and remained silent. Grand Tutor Zhuang glanced at the two of them and dismissed them.

Grand Tutor Zhuang frowned deeply.

Everything seems to be fine. Could it be that Zhuang Yuheng really made the decision on his own?

After the two sisters left Grand Tutor Zhuang's courtyard, Zhuang Yuexi said to Zhuang Mengdie, "You go back first, I'll go see my brother."

"What happened to my brother?" The matter of Prince An's injury was kept a secret, and even Zhuang Mengdie was unaware of it.

Zhuang Yuexi said, "Nothing, I just don't know how to do a problem and I'm going to ask my brother for help. Do you want to come with me?"

Upon hearing that it was a question to ask for help with a problem, Zhuang Mengdie instantly lost interest. Although she liked her brother, she was even more afraid of doing problems.

"I...I...I feel a little dizzy, I might have heatstroke. I'll go back to my room and rest. You go do your homework!"

After saying that, Zhuang Mengdie ran off in a flash.

Zhuang Yuexi went to Prince An's courtyard.

The servants were quite surprised to see her coming.

"You may all leave," she said calmly.

“But the master has given orders…” a maid muttered in a low voice.

Another maidservant, being perceptive, tugged at her sleeve and said to Zhuang Yuexi, "Yes, we will take our leave."

The two men made way for Zhuang Yuexi, who then entered the courtyard and went to Prince An's bedroom.

The physician had finished treating his injuries and went to the small kitchen to brew medicine for him, leaving only a personal servant by his bedside.

"You may also step down," Zhuang Yuexi instructed.

The servant didn't dare to move.

Zhuang Yuexi could command two maids guarding the gate, but she couldn't command Prince An's personal servant.

On the bed, Prince An slowly opened his eyes and said weakly, "You may leave."

"Yes!" The servant respectfully withdrew.

With no one else around, Zhuang Yuexi rushed to the bedside and anxiously reached for her brother's hand: "Brother..."

Prince An propped himself up with his fingers, lay on his side, and raised his other hand to slap her across the face!

He used all his strength in that slap, and after he did, he collapsed on the edge of the bed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Zhuang Yuexi was stunned by the blow. She looked at Prince An in disbelief: "Brother..."

Prince An didn't have the strength to slap her a second time. He propped himself up on his elbows and glared at her angrily: "Why did you do this?"

My brother knows... my brother knows everything...

Zhuang Yuexi looked at Prince An in a panic, wanting to argue, but not knowing where to begin.

Prince An's eyes were filled with heartache and despair: "If I hadn't asked the steward who sent him away... I wouldn't have known that my own sister... would do such a vicious and despicable thing! What did Miss Yuan do to offend you that you would scheme against her like this!"

"I...brother, I...I..." Zhuang Yuexi trembled violently, tears streaming down her face. Her mind was a mess, and she couldn't even finish her sentence. "I...I didn't mean to hurt you...I..."

"You feel absolutely no remorse towards Miss Yuan?!" Prince An was utterly disappointed. This was his own sister. "And she's even dragged the Gu family's daughter into this mess! Are you satisfied now?"

Zhuang Yuexi choked up, "I...I never thought I would implicate Gu Jinyu...I didn't know she would suddenly appear...Yuan Baolin...Yuan Baolin is just a Taoist nun...She is not worthy of my brother!"

Prince An said coldly, "Then find someone to defile her!"

"I...I didn't...I...I just wanted to scare her...to make her...unworthy of marrying you again..." Zhuang Yuexi called the steward out, not simply to get rid of him, but to have the steward lure Prince An out as well.

Prince An noticed that the steward's expression was not right, so he immediately went back to the room and found that the Yuan family's daughter had been drugged and was being harassed by a strange man.

He walked over and chased the man away, but because he touched the man's clothes, he also got a little bit of the drug.

"Go quickly!" he shouted.

The Yuan family's daughter jumped out of the window.

Fearing he might do something irreversible, he rushed to lock the door while he still had a sliver of reason left, but no one expected Gu Jinyu to pass by the door.

Gu Jinyu, unaware of what had happened, noticed his unusual expression and went inside to ask him what was wrong.

His sanity collapsed.

In a daze, he heard Gu Jinyu crying. He drew the dagger from his waist and stabbed himself in the thigh.

At this moment, Chief Minister Yuan also finished his conversation with his colleagues and came up to keep the appointment.

When Chief Minister Yuan stumbled upon him and Gu Jinyu, their clothes disheveled, and the room in complete disarray, he noticed that Yuan Qianjin was nowhere to be seen. He had no idea what Chief Minister Yuan was thinking, but in any case, Chief Minister Yuan left in a great anger!

This marriage is off.

Prince An gave a self-deprecating laugh: "If she's not qualified to marry me, then who is?"

No one is worthy of him. He is the best, the most outstanding man in the world. None of them are good enough for him!

However, Zhuang Yuexi dared not voice these thoughts.

She could sense that her brother was truly angry, and that he might never want her again.

She knelt down, grabbed Prince An's wrist, and sobbed, "Brother, don't you already have someone you love? I...I...I know you don't want to marry her...I..."

Prince An looked momentarily dazed.

Zhuang Yuexi cried, "Brother, I was wrong... I'll never do it again... Please don't refuse to forgive me..."

"Get out." Prince An lay down listlessly, not pulling his arm away from her grasp. He had no strength, and he didn't care anymore. "I don't want to see you right now."

“Brother…” Zhuang Yuexi panicked. She had never been so scared before. Tears fell like broken beads.

"Get out." Prince An turned his back to her, closed his eyes, and said no more to her.

After leaving Qingfeng Tower, Chief Minister Yuan began searching for his granddaughter. He couldn't find her nearby and assumed she had gone back home, so he rushed back to the Chief Minister's residence.

A servant in the manor said, "Master, someone came by just now and left a letter for you."

After reading the letter, Chief Minister Yuan frowned and drove to Bishui Hutong.

Xiao Jingkong went to walk the chickens, Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun went to learn their skills, Xiao Liulang was explaining questions to several junior scholars at the Hanlin Academy, and Gu Jiao was giving acupuncture to a young Taoist nun in her room.

He was received by Ms. Yao.

Chief Minister Yuan and the old Marquis were of the same generation, and Madam Yao greeted him with the courtesy due to a junior.

When Chief Minister Yuan saw that she was pregnant, he quickly told her not to stand on ceremony.

Madam Yao did not say that she was from the Ding'an Marquis's mansion, but only that her husband's family name was Gu.

There are many people with the surname Gu in the capital, and Chief Minister Yuan did not think of the Marquis of Ding'an's residence for the time being. He cupped his hands and said, "Madam Gu".

Madam Yao invited the person to the main room, where Granny Fang served tea. Madam Yao said gently, "Today I went to Shunlai Cloth Shop near Qingfeng Tower to have clothes made. Unfortunately, I found Miss Yuan injured and unconscious by the roadside. My daughter is a doctor, so I took Miss Yuan home to be treated by a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. Miss Yuan has already woken up and is currently receiving treatment in her room. Please wait a moment, Chief Minister Yuan."

Although Grand Secretary Yuan was worried about his granddaughter's safety, he did not act impolitely. He bowed again and said, "Thank you, Madam Gu, for saving my life."

Chief Minister Yuan was unaware that his granddaughter already knew the people from the Marquis of Ding'an's residence. He assumed that his granddaughter had revealed her identity after waking up, which was why the family had gone to the residence to inform him.

"Madam, the son-in-law's books are all aired out!" Yu Ya'er came over from the backyard carrying a large stack of books.

Yao said, "Let me see."

"Hey!" Yu Ya'er placed the sun-dried books on the wooden table between Yao Shi and Chief Minister Yuan.

She only recently discovered that Xiao Liulang had too many books, and some of the ones she didn't read often had gotten damp. She took them out to air them out while it was hot these past few days.

"This one needs to be aired out a bit more." Madam Yao handed a book with a slightly damp bottom to Yu Ya'er.

"Okay, there's still some sun, I'll take it out to dry!" Yu Ya'er took the book and went to the backyard.

Chief Minister Yuan had no intention of spying, but he was bored sitting there and glanced at it casually.

You won't believe it until you scan it; what you find is astonishing.

How could a humble family have historical records from a previous dynasty?

The allure of books to Chief Minister Yuan was equivalent to the allure of weapons to the old Marquis; once seen, they were irresistible.

Yuan, the chief minister, had eyes that seemed to be glued to books.

Noticing his gaze, Yao asked, "Would Chief Minister Yuan like to take a look?"

"Is it convenient?" Chief Minister Yuan asked.

"It's just a few books, nothing inconvenient," Yao said.

Feng Lin and his friends often came to Xiao Liulang to borrow books, as did several other scholars in the alley. Xiao Liulang was always very generous in his requests.

At first, Yao would inform him, but later he let Yao make her own decisions.

Xiao Liulang trusted and respected Yao.

Of course, respect is mutual, and Yao also cherished Xiao Liulang's belongings very much.

Chief Secretary Yuan was a person who cherished books.

Yuan, the chief minister, picked up a book from the table and began to read.

He had only caught a glimpse of it before, but now, after carefully reading through it, he was even more amazed, especially when he came across a book about Emperor Wen Huizong, the second emperor of the previous dynasty, which contained a large part of his poem "Ode to Yanbei".

The book was missing a corner, and the missing part was filled in by a page of letter, which detailed the sources extracted from other major ancient books, historical records and other documents.

The handwriting looks quite new, probably no more than a year old.

In other words, part of the "Ode to Yanbei" was indeed lost, but it was recovered by consulting countless documents.

Yuan Shikai himself knew that this was something he would find very difficult to do.

Wait, how come the source of "Ode to Yanbei" is here?

He remembered that someone in the library also had a history book that mentioned "Ode to Yanbei", which was completed by Prince An.

Could this family have some connection with Prince An?

"Excuse me, where did this book come from?"

Madam Yao smiled and said, "These are my son-in-law's books. I don't know where they came from. Maybe they were a gift from his great-uncle, or maybe they were bought from his study."

How could a study possibly buy one?

This is clearly a unique copy.

"Who completed the second half of 'Ode to Yanbei'?" Chief Minister Yuan asked, pointing to the bookmark on that page.

Madam Yao examined it and said, "It's my son-in-law's handwriting."

"Has this book ever been lent to anyone else?" Chief Minister Yuan asked.

"This one? No." Madam Yao shook her head. If it had been lent out, it wouldn't have ended up at the bottom of the trunk getting damp.

Just as Chief Minister Yuan was about to ask Madam Gu who her son-in-law was, the young Taoist nun came out of the house.

She jumped from the second floor, sprained her left ankle, and was helped by Gu Jiao, limping along.

Although Gu Jiao's appearance was flawed, Chief Minister Yuan did not judge people by their looks, nor did he look down on Gu Jiao's status like others did on female doctors.

He solemnly thanked Gu Jiao, paid five taels of silver for the consultation, and then took his granddaughter home.

After the two left, a tall and robust figure emerged from the study.

He approached Madam Yao, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "Thank you, Madam."

"I didn't do anything, but are you really not going to let Chief Minister Yuan know that you saved his granddaughter?" Madam Yao didn't even leave the house today, how could she possibly run into the injured Miss Yuan?

It was Gu Changqing who brought the person back.

Madam Yao looked at him and said, "What I mean is, you're not getting any younger, and you've saved Miss Yuan twice. Even I think this is a rare kind of fate. If you agree, I'll personally come to your door to propose marriage on your behalf another day."

The fact that Yao was willing to propose marriage for Gu Changqing shows that her resentment towards him has diminished considerably.

She may still not be able to be a loving mother to him, but she can be a stepmother who doesn't lose her dignity.

"What does Jiaojiao think?" Yao asked her daughter, trying to get her into her camp.

Gu Jiao: ...How come the issue of urging people to get married is consistent throughout history?

Gu Jiao thought about it seriously: "Hmm, Miss Yuan is quite nice. I like her, but most importantly, you have to like her yourself."

She looked at Gu Changqing as she spoke.

Gu Changqing took a deep breath and slowly said, "I... don't want to get married."

He had no intention of getting married.

His grandparents were estranged, and his father and mother had no affection for each other. If marriage was like that, he would rather never marry.

Gu Jiao stroked her chin: "I didn't realize you were a staunch non-marriage advocate."

It's almost the end of the month, so if you still have monthly passes, cast them now.

(End of this chapter)