Chapter 46 [VIP]

Xie Yingchen grabbed her wrist.

His hands were still cold, but the skin his palms touched was warm, warming him right up to his heart.

He was reluctant to let go of the warmth, and couldn't help but linger his fingertips for a few more breaths before letting go.

"Young Master!"

Joy easily crept into Gu Zhizhuo's eyes and brows.

"You're alright now." She smiled cheerfully, "but you'll need at least another three to five years to recover."

This is a strong medicine, and strong medicine means it will damage the foundation, but as long as the residual toxins are cleared, it can still be gradually healed.

In this life, the young master has not suffered any serious injuries, and his physical condition is much better than in the previous life.

We won this round.

She would not let the young master die as young as he did in his previous life.

"Young master, would you like some water?"

"good."

Xie Yingchen's voice was hoarse, as if his throat was burning.

Huai Jingzhi hurriedly brought over some warm water, and Gu Zhizhuo naturally reached out to take it. She used a small silver spoon to dab a tiny drop of water on his lips and fed it to him. Just a few drops were enough to slightly moisten his dry lips.

After a while, I fed them some more.

She placed the teacup on the round stool beside her and instructed, "You can only drink this much. You can't drink water for another six hours."

Every move she made was so open and honest, without the slightest shyness or awkwardness that arose from the difference between men and women. This made Qin Chen think of the way she had just taken off her clothes.

Hmm, never mind, I can't think about this too much.

Xie Yingchen's pale cheeks regained some color.

"I've got it."

He smiled at her.

Just like the countless nights after the young master's death, she had the exact same dream.

She carried with her a hope that she could never reach, no matter how hard she stretched out her arms in her previous life.

She quickly turned her head away, hiding the sting in her eyes.

Qin Chen helped Xie Yingchen sit up and placed a large, soft pillow behind him.

Xie Yingchen looked around.

In the past, whenever he had a day off, he would come to this house with his parents and stay for a few days. They would go out together, go shopping, visit restaurants and teahouses, and go on outings in the outskirts of Beijing, just like ordinary people. He would also change into coarse cloth clothes and follow his father, pretending to be a commoner looking for relatives, talking to the villagers and even helping with the work in the fields.

His father took him to understand the people's lives and the ways of the world, telling him that no matter how much the tutors taught him, it was not as good as him coming out of the palace and seeing the Great Qi with his own eyes.

It's all too familiar.

Even the table lamp, screen, gauze curtain, and incense burner were the same as those that had appeared repeatedly in my memories.

He's finally back.

The injustice done to his parents, and the lives of tens of thousands who died in the Eastern Palace Case, sustained him through all these years.

Finally, I'm back here again.

“Young Master,” Huai Jingzhi said slowly, standing to the side, “the guards outside have all been replaced by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.”

Xie Yingchen was not surprised.

He knew it when he saw Gu Zhizhuo, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get in.

“Lord Shen…” His throat was hoarse from thirst, and he spoke haltingly, “It seems he is quite satisfied with the Yongzhou Gazetteer.”

Shen Xu is not a good person to associate with.

Since returning to the palace, his only direct contact with Shen Xu was yesterday.

Transactions are reciprocal.

He offered the bargaining chip that Shen Xu wanted.

In retrospect, his bargaining chip was far more valuable than he had imagined.

Therefore, Shen Xu replaced the Jinwuwei with the Jinyiwei, which to some extent gave them freedom.

"The Yin family of Yongzhou."

Xie Yingchen finally confirmed: "His surname is Yin."

"Jingzhi, give the list I compiled not long ago to Chief Supervisor Shen."

"We must return the great gift that Chief Supervisor Shen has given us."

"yes."

Huai Jingzhi accepted the order expressionlessly, then said, "Young Master, the lights in the Imperial Study are still on. The Emperor summoned Prince Jin, and the two of them spent two hours alone in the Imperial Study. The other officials are in the waiting room, discussing your sudden serious illness and departure from the palace..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Gu Zhizhuo frowned even more deeply: "You've gone too far."

ah?

"Get out, get out."

Without saying a word, she got up and shooed them away, her face tense, clearly unhappy.

That guy surnamed Huai has absolutely no sense of propriety!

No wonder that even though the young master didn't fall into Chen Xu's ambush in this life, his health didn't improve at all. It's just that these people don't understand the meaning of "knowing when to stop"!

Young master just opened his eyes, it hasn't even been an incense stick's time yet, has it?

All these things piled up at once. There's no need to rush! The sky isn't falling.

Even if the sky were to fall, there would still be a chosen one to hold it up.

"Young master needs to rest."

"You," Gu Zhizhuo instructed Huai Jingzhi, "go prepare some rice porridge. Young Master can only drink rice porridge for three days and cannot eat anything else."

"And you too." This was addressed to Chongjiu. "Go and brew the medicine. I'll write a prescription for you later."

"besides……"

She calmly gave the instructions one by one, just as she had done countless times before.

What about me?

Qin Chen pointed to himself and realized that Gu Zhizhuo had completely ignored his presence.

Gu Zhizhuo was stunned for a moment. Oh right, Qin Chen had died long ago in his previous life. She had forgotten that he was still alive.

"you……"

Gu Zhizhu couldn't think of anything for a moment, so Huai Jingzhi grabbed his arm and walked out, saying, "Go and see those Imperial Guards."

Finally, it's quiet.

Gu Zhizhuo turned to Xie Yingchen and said matter-of-factly, "Do not overthink."

"At least five days... never mind, at least three days. Don't worry about anything, don't think about anything. Is that okay?"

Her phoenix eyes stared at him intently, her clear pupils revealing everything, like a cat's.

It's still a cat that can extend its claws.

Xie Yingchen replied obediently with gentle eyes, "Okay."

"That's more like it."

Gu Zhizhu smiled, her eyes crinkling. She calculated the time, then bent down to pull out the last silver needle from his body.

Her breath suddenly drew near, like a shadow over Xie Yingchen, a few strands of hair falling on his cheek, a faint fragrance lingering around his nose.

"alright!"

She picked up the needle and was about to get up when her hair was suddenly pulled, and her scalp immediately went numb with pain.

Gu Zhizhuo followed her touch and found that the hooks of the bed curtains were sticking out and had caught on her hair.

No matter how well this house is preserved, it is still the house of the deposed crown prince. Everything inside is old stuff. The young master came suddenly, and these bunch of roughnecks probably didn't check it properly and just took whatever they could from the storeroom.

Why.

Gu Zhizhuo pursed her lips and started pulling at her hair.

I tried to pull it off but couldn't. Could it have snagged the hairpin?

"I'll do it."

Just as Xie Yingchen was about to speak, she had already removed the hairpin from her hair, and her jet-black hair flowed smoothly down her shoulders.

Gu Zhizhu tilted her head to look at him, a small dimple appearing on her cheek.

Xie Yingchen's breath hitched for a moment, and his fingers, hidden under the covers, gently curled up, as if he wanted to grasp that dimple.

Can't.

Everything is still unclear, and it's still dark.

Xie Yingchen slowly curled his fingers, suppressing all the trembling in his palms.

He looked at her with a smile and saw her take a hairband from her purse and skillfully tie her long hair into a high ponytail, neat and tidy.

She thought for a moment, then took out a clean handkerchief, covered the exposed hook, and tied it with a pretty bow.

nice!

She looked around and sat down on the round stool by the tatami mat with satisfaction.

Xie Yingchen, as always, perfectly suppressed all his emotions.

Let's wait a little longer.

Wait until he won't be a burden to her, wait until he can support the family.

"Miss Gu."

"Um?"

"Your medicine works really well."

“Right!” Gu Zhizhuo raised his face, smiling broadly. “I’m very capable! Young master, you…”

"you."

Gu Zhizhuo was stunned, looking completely bewildered.

"you."

Gu Zhizhuo's lips parted slightly, and he subconsciously repeated, "You?"

Xie Yingchen nodded gently, his smiling gaze remaining fixed on her face, and said once more, "It's you, not 'you'."

He didn't want to hear her use honorifics all the time; it made him feel very distant from her.

"Can I say 'you'?"

Gu Zhizhuo's eyelashes trembled slightly. There were faint noises behind her. Qin Chen peeked in, but was pulled out after only a moment, and the door closed again.

"What's wrong?"

Qin Chen was puzzled: "There's something I need to report to you, young master, about those Imperial Guards..."

“I just received the news.” Huai Jingzhi interrupted him directly, rubbing his temples as he said, “Yesterday at the flower festival, the Emperor personally stated at the West Water Pavilion that the engagement between Miss Gu and the Third Prince is invalid.”

"That's wonderful!" Qin Chen clapped his hands, genuinely delighted. "The Third Prince's character is not worthy of Miss Gu."

Huai Jingzhi's tone was slightly strange: "The Emperor himself said that he would betroth Miss Gu to our young master."

"Tsk, why does Your Majesty love playing matchmaker so much? Even if you're addicted to arranging marriages, don't always target Miss Gu. Wait a minute!" Qin Chen's brain was slow to process what he was saying.

He looked up and saw Huai Jing looking at him with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

"You mean..."

Qin Chen really couldn't understand the logic behind this.

Why would the emperor suddenly think of the young master?!

Miss Gu and Young Master Gu?! His mind isn't quite right.

That's it.

Huai Jingzhi said with certainty.

For more than a day, the young master's coma had consumed all of Huai Jingzhi's energy and attention. Apart from a few urgent matters, he hadn't paid much attention to the messages sent from the palace. Only now that the young master had woken up did he manage to tidy up a bit.

Unexpected!

"However, no sooner had His Majesty finished speaking than news of the young master vomiting blood reached the emperor. Therefore..."

There is no imperial edict yet.

Furthermore, it remains to be seen whether the emperor will actually issue an edict to finalize the marriage.

"Perhaps he's so happy that the young master is about to die that he'll forget to issue the decree," Huai Jingzhi said coldly. He had absolutely no respect for the person on the dragon throne, neither in body nor in mind.

Qin Chen: "..."

He spoke with a beast-like intuition: "The Emperor wouldn't want Miss Gu to 'kill' the young master, would he? That's hilarious." As he spoke, he lowered his voice even further, "If you ask me, it would be wonderful if Miss Gu were willing to marry into this family."

"By the way, young master, you don't know yet, do you?"

affim.

Not only does the young master not know, but judging from Miss Gu's appearance, she has most likely forgotten as well.

After all, it was a time of war and chaos.

"Should we tell you?"

Huai Jingzhi did not respond.

The door wasn't closed properly, and through the narrow gap, Huai Jingzhi could see his young master seemingly listening to Miss Gu speak. He was leaning back against the pillow, and the relaxation in his eyes was something Huai Jingzhi hadn't seen in many years.

The more we value it.

The more cautious they are, the more careful they will be.

If the young master knew about this now, he would definitely find a way to refuse the marriage proposal immediately.

Back then, almost everyone in the Eastern Palace except for these people died, including the Crown Princess.

Young Master's future is uncertain, and he certainly doesn't want to implicate Miss Gu.

"Wait a minute."

Huai Jingzhi finally spoke.

Qin Chen stared at him for a while, then suddenly said, "You're finished."

If you dare to keep this a secret, and the young master finds out, Huai Jingzhi is absolutely doomed.

Huai Jingzhi glanced at him and said with his eyes: If you want to say something, then go ahead.

No way! Qin Chen isn't stupid.

The two fell silent in unison, their silence perfectly synchronized.

At worst, you'll just get a beating from military law and kneel for another day... right?

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of chairs clattering came from inside. A moment later, Gu Zhizhuo came out with Qingmei and gestured for them to be quiet.

"Young Master has fallen asleep."

Qin Chen immediately covered his mouth with both hands and remained silent.

Gu Zhizhuo carefully closed the door: "This time I should sleep for more than twelve hours, so don't worry. I will wake up when it's time. Just prepare some rice porridge. Drink some rice porridge when you wake up, and then take your medicine. You can't eat anything else for three days, no matter how hungry you are."

She gave them all the important points to note, and after confirming that they had all remembered them, she curtsied and took her leave.

Qin Chen escorted her to the door, chatting idly for a while.

It's almost June, and the mornings are a bit chilly with a somewhat gloomy atmosphere.

Gu Zhizhuo left the mansion "quietly" (openly and legitimately), just as he had arrived.

Her steps were light, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up, and her bright eyes shone like stars.

Anyone could tell she was in a good mood.

"Dong dong, wontons, dong dong."

A series of muffled "thump-thump" sounds interrupted her thoughts.

Not far away on the street, a wonton stall was set up. An elderly woman was tapping bamboo clappers, then hanging the clappers on the stall before going to move a chair.

Gu Zhizhuo got hungry and finally remembered that he hadn't eaten anything since returning from the palace yesterday.

"Would you like some wontons?" she asked Qingmei with a smile. "It's on me!"

"Yes, yes!"

Qingmei responded loudly and happily followed her to the wonton stall.

The old woman, with a limp, carefully placed the chairs one by one. She also had a seven or eight-year-old granddaughter with her. The tables and chairs were quite heavy for the child, and her little face turned red as she carried them.

Gu Zhizhuo and Qingmei readily helped by placing the chairs in the chairs. Gu Zhizhuo then called out, "Give us two bowls of wontons, large bowls, please!"

"Oh! Please wait a moment, young lady."

The old woman smiled kindly. The water was already boiling, so she quickly cooked two bowls of wontons and served them to Gu Zhizhuo with her granddaughter.

The wontons were beautifully wrapped, and they were warm, fragrant, and delicious. After eating a bowl, it felt as if the chill and fatigue were driven away.

"Grandma, it looks like it's going to rain." The little granddaughter sat on a bench and asked obediently, "Should we put the umbrella up?"

The old woman came out from behind the stall, frowning as she looked at the sky.

“It won’t rain today.” Gu Zhizhu finished the last wonton and put down his spoon with satisfaction. “There will be a big thunderstorm around 7 PM the night after tomorrow. If you’re setting up a stall tonight, pack up early.”

"Really, sister?" The little girl looked at her with shining eyes.

"Mmm." Gu Zhizhuo nodded. "It definitely won't rain today."

Yesterday, she was bored and anxious while waiting for nightfall, so she calculated the celestial phenomena of the past few days, and the results were at least 80% accurate.

Gu Zhizhuo put down a few copper coins and got up to leave. The rapid sound of horses' hooves and a gust of wind rushed towards him. Dozens of men dressed in brown robes and pointed hats galloped past on horseback, as fast as the wind. Gu Zhizhuo could only see that they were people from the Eastern Depot.

What happened? Gu Zhizhuo turned around, and Qingmei shook her head; she didn't know either.

Gu Zhizhuo stopped asking questions and immediately got up and left. When he walked across the main street, the Eastern Depot blocked the road, so he had to take a detour. By the time he returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, it was already past 7:30 AM.

"girl."

When Qiongfang saw her return, she quickly came to greet her, her eyes brimming with tears: "You're finally back."

She was extremely anxious that night.

This was the first time the girl had stayed out all night.

She dared not rest, nor dared to light a lamp, for fear of being discovered by someone with ulterior motives.

Fortunately, only she and Qingmei could freely enter and exit the girl's room, so nothing went wrong.

"I'm back!"

"I'm going to take a nap." Gu Zhizhuo yawned and walked inside. "You two should also go and rest for a while. Have Qingwei come over."

Needless to say, Qingmei's dark circles under her eyes were a clear indication that Gu Zhizhuo hadn't slept all night either.

"Go to sleep now."

After she dismissed the two of them, she flopped onto the couch. She had intended to close her eyes for a while before getting up to wash, but as soon as her head touched the quilt, she fell asleep and slept soundly for a long time.

When I woke up, it was already past 1-3 PM.

She was dizzy and dazed after washing up. She ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup and finally came back to life.

"My stamina is still not up to par. I'm already this tired after just one acupuncture session." Gu Zhizhuo yawned, wondering if she should go take another nap.

Qingmei came in from outside: "Miss, Steward Zheng requests an audience. There's been some progress on the Ji family's matter."

Gu Zhizhuo's eyebrows twitched. Well, now he was completely awake.

"Tell him to wait a moment, I'll be right there."

"Oh, by the way, remember to remind me to tidy up another yard in the front yard. It's not right to always use my eldest brother's study."

The inner courtyard and the outer courtyard are separated by an inner ceremonial gate.

Since Zheng Qi could not freely enter or leave the inner quarters, Gu Zhizhuo borrowed Gu Yican's study to meet him.

Zheng Qi waited cautiously outside the study until she arrived. After exchanging greetings, he followed her inside.

Gu Zhizhuo sat down behind the desk and raised his hand: "Go on."

Zheng Qi cupped his hands and said directly, "Young lady, it is true that someone in the Ji family made a fortune six years ago, and now they have built up a considerable business."

Gu Zhizhuo raised an eyebrow: "Who?"

"Ji Huacheng, the third son of the second branch of the Ji family."

Gu Zhizhuo did not overlook Bai Changjia's phrase "six years ago" that day.

Clearly, Bai Chang's family had some leverage over the Ji family, but even though Gu Zhizhuo could tell, she didn't stop the Ji family from beating her to death.

Bai Chang's family deserved to die. More importantly, Bai Chang's death could create an opening in the inner quarters, which were firmly controlled by the Ji family, allowing her to take their place in a very short time.

For the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, controlling this leaky residence is far more important than knowing what secrets the Ji family has.

As for the others...

Gu Zhizhuo checked the roster. Six years ago, Bai Chang's wife was a stewardess in charge of the Ji family. She was mainly in charge of the gift list, which was the registration and recording of gifts sent and received.

At least six years ago, the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion was not so leaky. Everyone in the mansion had their own duties, and Bai Chang's wife had no access to other people's jobs. The fact that she was able to discover and use it as leverage to make her rise to become Ji's right-hand woman in just six years was most likely related to the person who came to deliver gifts back then.

This investigation drew Gu Zhizhuo's attention to the Ji family.

Six years ago, the Ji family came to the capital under the pretext of delivering holiday gifts, and a total of twenty or thirty people came.

She said, "Go on."

"The Ji family stayed at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion during their trip to the capital for about a month. For some reason, the eldest son of the Ji family, who was also the lady's elder brother, had a big fight with the lady, and the Ji family left the capital and returned to Jiangnan that same day. The eldest son of the Ji family fell seriously ill on the way and passed away."

Gu Zhizhuo pondered for a moment.

"Since then, the annual festival gifts from the Ji family have only been delivered to the capital by servants, and no one from the Ji family has come to the capital again. Apart from Miss Ji, the lady has not had much contact with the Ji family."

The Ji family has three branches in this generation, and they have already separated. Ji Shi is from the eldest branch, while Ji Nanke is from the third branch.

Gu Zhizhuo didn't stop him, so Zheng Qi continued, "That same year, Ji Huacheng made a fortune. He claimed to have invested a large sum of money in a merchant ship in Minzhou, and the ship returned intact, bringing back a large amount of cargo. He received a huge share of the profits. But..."

“However, the Ji family has been prominent in the previous dynasty for generations. These scholars look down on merchants the most. How could Ji Huacheng have access to maritime trade?” Gu Zhizhuo rubbed his fingers and continued, “These merchants are very shrewd. They won’t just let anyone take the money and say they want to invest.”

"yes."

Therefore, the source of Ji Huacheng's family's money was incorrect.

"Even if Ji Huacheng does find a ship willing to accept his money, where will he get the capital? You can tell from the lady's dowry that the Ji family was suppressed for three generations and forbidden from entering officialdom, and then experienced the fall of the country, so their foundation is empty."

"The young lady is truly perceptive." Zheng Qi's face lit up with joy, and he readily agreed.

Gu Zhizhuo curled his fingers and gently tapped the desk.

One, two, three...

She raised her head slightly and asked, "How many times has the Ji family come since Madam married into the family?"

"Twice."

Zheng Qi answered very affirmatively.

"The lady married into the family eight years ago. At that time, she was escorted by the eldest son of the Ji family, who was also the lady's deceased elder brother."

They escorted his wife all the way to the capital, and stayed there for another half a month before returning to Jiangnan.

"This is the first time the Ji family has come to the capital."

After the fall of the previous dynasty, the Ji family moved back to their ancestral home and still live in Jiangnan today.

"At that time, the Duke was still the heir apparent and should have personally gone to Jiangnan to fetch the bride to show his respect. However, the border was in dire need of help, so the Duke returned to the northern frontier with the old Duke and had no energy left to spare."

"This marriage was arranged in a hurry. The late emperor did not want to be too impolite, so he specially ordered the Ministry of Rites to be in charge of the wedding arrangements. At that time, the second prince was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, so the late emperor ordered him to take the officials from the Ministry of Rites to Jiangnan to welcome the bride, thus giving the Ji family full face."

The second prince at that time is the one who is now on the dragon throne.

"No one in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is available, so I have to lead the wedding procession myself."

Gu Zhizhuo was unaware of these things.

At that time, she was still young, and she thought about her mother every day, crying herself to sleep.

It turns out that back then, it was actually the emperor who was in charge of welcoming the bride.

A note from the author: