Chapter 67 [VIP]

Gu Yican listlessly toyed with the spear, his phoenix eyes, just like Gu Zhizhuo's, filled with laziness and boredom.

All of this was replaced by overwhelming joy when the girl in front of him ran towards him.

The horse was exceptionally intelligent and understood its master's mind perfectly. Without needing any further instructions from Gu Yican, it galloped off like an arrow. When the two were less than ten steps apart, they simultaneously and in perfect unison jumped off the slowing horse.

Gu Yican even threw away his spear.

"Gu Cancan!!"

"Gu Yaoyao!"

Gu Zhizhuo leaped into his arms, her laughter melodious.

The two were born on the same day and were siblings of the same mother.

When they were little, they were even the same height.

Now, Gu Yican is a head taller than her, with broader shoulders and stronger arms. He can even easily pick her up and spin her around several times.

Gu Zhizhu put her arm around his shoulder, her skirt fluttering in the wind.

Gu Yican cupped her cheeks in his hands, pinching them until they were plump, and smiled like the sun.

My sister is so pretty! Just like him.

Gu Zhizhuo first laughed, then started crying, her eyes brimming with tears.

Gu Yican: ?

He was terrified.

Apart from when she was very young, his sister had only cried like this three times in his memory: once when his grandfather passed away, the second time when his mother died of illness, and the third time when his father died in battle.

According to his reasoning, unless he himself were dead, his sister shouldn't be crying!

She didn't cry out loud, but sobbed softly, her eyes red and swollen, tears falling like broken beads onto the back of his hand, as if falling into the very tip of his heart.

His heart ached terribly.

who!

Who upset his sister? Step forward!

Gu Yican kept a straight face. He looked left and right. His sister had come alone, and all his soldiers were about a hundred paces away.

So, you brought this on yourself?

He was somewhat wronged. But regardless, he admitted his mistake first.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have taken so long to come back."

It must be these messy things in the capital that upset my sister.

Yes, that must be it.

"Once I get back to Beijing, I'll give them a piece of my mind!"

"Don't cry, okay?"

Gu Zhizhuo: "..."

"How about I let you hit me a couple of times?" Gu Yican was flustered. His younger sister had never cried before, and he had absolutely no experience in comforting girls!

Gu Zhizhu sniffed and said angrily, "It's all your fault."

"Blame me."

Why don't you come back?

Why do you want to die?

Gu Zhizhuo punched him in the armor.

It's so hard! My hand hurts!!

Gu Yican was dumbfounded: "How about I take off my armor and let you hit me?"

Gu Zhizhuo pressed her forehead against his breastplate, and tears streamed down her face even more profusely.

She hadn't seen him for a very, very long time.

They were born together, grew up together, and were each other's soulmates.

In her previous life, the young master had gone to great lengths to help her find him.

She rushed over desperately, only to find his body; he couldn't even wait for her to come see him.

His chest was pierced, his abdomen was cut open, and his body was dumped in a mass grave.

His eyes were not closed.

She held him in her arms; his blood had long since dried, and countless flies swarmed around them.

At that moment, half of her soul was lost forever.

Gu Zhizhuo hugged him, her mind filled with the image of Gu Yican's tragic death in her previous life.

She stitched up his abdominal wound herself.

I wiped the blood off his head with my own hands.

I changed his clothes myself.

He then personally set it on fire and brought it back to his grandparents and parents.

"Gu Cancan".

She called out in a muffled voice.

"exist!"

"You are alive, you are still here."

Gu Yican quickly followed her words and said, "I'm alive, feel it, it's warm." He took her hand and touched her cheek, which was warm, and then let her touch his own breath, which was also warm.

"I won't die, I promise, I swear! I definitely won't die."

"I believe you."

A soft laugh escaped Gu Zhizhuo's lips, tears still streaming down her face, but the corners of her mouth were already turned up high.

Gu Yican casually wiped her face with the back of his hand: "If you keep crying and laughing, you won't look good."

"None of your business!"

Gu Zhizhu glared at him, her gaze carefully tracing his features.

Unlike when I last saw him in my previous life, his face was free of blood and vicissitudes. He was still radiant, full of confidence and the arrogance of someone who had achieved fame at a young age. His sword-like eyebrows were heroic, and a ponytail was tied high behind his head.

Seeing her smile, he smiled too, and playfully poked her dimples with his finger.

Snap!

Gu Zhizhuo raised his hand and slapped it away.

He laughed so hard he almost fell over, then draped his arm over her shoulder and said, "Let's go."

He picked up the spear and led her toward the commander's flag, casually asking, "So, all done?"

The two horses didn't need to be called at all; they just trotted along behind.

"Of course I'll take action!"

Gu Zhizhuo snorted and raised his chin, his arrogance undiminished.

"We were born together, how come we're so in sync now that you even have to ask me this?" Gu Zhizhu glared at him. "It's definitely your fault."

"I was wrong, I was wrong."

Anyway, it's always right to apologize first if you upset your sister.

"Jiang Zizhou and Li Qing are captains of the Thousand Machine Battalion," Gu Yican introduced the two lieutenants to her.

The Thousand Machine Battalion, including Qi Fu, has three captains.

Jiang Zizhou was in his thirties, with a deep, red scar between his eyebrows.

Li Qing and Qi Fu were about the same age, with rugged appearances and exceptionally robust builds.

Gu Yican put his arm around her shoulder and smiled at them, saying, "My sister."

The two men clasped their hands in greeting: "Young lady."

They were also sizing up this young lady, Ms. Gu.

They had all heard that the Crown Prince and the eldest daughter were twins.

She did indeed look very much like the Crown Prince. In terms of appearance alone, they were at least seven or eight parts similar. They both had heroic eyes, but the Crown Prince was taller, had deeper eyebrows and eyes, and did not have dimples on his cheeks.

Gu Zhizhuo returned the greeting.

"You can lead your troops back to camp to rest. I still have to go to the palace to report back." As he spoke, Gu Yican clicked his tongue lightly, his raised eyebrows revealing a hint of impatience that he couldn't quite hide.

The two agreed.

"Let's go, we're heading back to Beijing."

Gu Yican is a black horse with four hooves treading on snow, named Yanyunzhao.

He mounted his horse first, then reached out his hand to her.

"younger sister."

Gu Zhizhuo placed his hand in his palm, borrowed some strength, and jumped up to sit in front of him.

The two men and one horse rode towards the capital.

Seeing that it had been left behind, the Jade Lion was furious. It spurred its horse forward, determined to overtake the Smoke Cloud Cover.

Unfortunately, it was still a minor, while Yanyunzhao was in its prime and a warhorse. With two people on its back, it was no problem at all. The Jade Lion couldn't catch up at all and soon fell far behind.

Even though Yan Yunzhao was afraid it would run away, he would slow down his horse to wait for it.

Gu Zhizhuo turned his head and glanced at it. Seeing that it was following well, he felt relieved. Taking advantage of the time on the road, he briefly recounted what had happened in the past few days.

She spoke simply, without mentioning any of the hardships involved, but after she finished speaking, she arrived in the capital.

Gu Yican silently hugged her shoulders.

He's not in now.

My younger sister must have had a very hard time carrying the burden of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion all by herself.

Her shoulders were thinner than mine, but not at all frail.

After she finished speaking, she asked, "Gu Cancan, are you going to enter the palace first?"

Gu Yican nodded: "I'll go report back and then go home."

"You need to be careful. Now that the Gu family and the Emperor have fallen out, he definitely won't treat you well." Gu Zhizhuo spoke to him with her head tilted back, her eyelashes fluttering.

"I understand. With my help, even if his face is broken, I can fix it up."

Gu Zhizhuo lay on the horse, laughing happily.

Yanyunzhao stopped in front of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. The jade lion horse neighed and panted as it caught up, angrily butting Gu Zhizhuo with its head and snorting at Gu Yican. It then angrily stood between Gu Zhizhuo and Yanyunzhao, separating them.

"Okay, okay. I'll treat you to candy."

Gu Zhizhuo took out a piece of candy and fed it to it.

The jade lion sniffed for a long time, and Gu Zhizhuo pretended to feed it to Yan Yunzhao. It immediately became anxious, nudging its head against her hand and snatching the candy away with a flick of its tongue.

Yanyunzhao remained remarkably composed, unperturbed by not getting the candy. He shook his glossy mane and walked away unhurriedly.

Gu Zhizhu tossed the purse filled with candy to Gu Yican and watched him walk away. Only after Gu Yican's figure disappeared at the end of the street did she pull the reins of the jade lion back into the mansion, her eyes and brows radiating joy as she walked, scolding it as she went.

"Are you not angry anymore?"

"With such a bad temper, if you share a stable with Yanyun, be careful it doesn't bite you in the middle of the night."

"Ah, take a sip..."

"Yaoyao!"

Suddenly, Gu Baibai's soft call rang in her ears. She raised her head sharply and saw a dazzling red in her pupils. She was startled and took a big step back, barely managing to regain her footing.

Whew. Gu Zhizhuo patted his chest, almost bumping his head into it!

Shen Xu came out with Gu Baibai. Only he could pull off the magnificent red color, which made his fair skin and unparalleled beauty stand out.

She curtsied and said, "Master Supervisor, Third Uncle."

Shen Xu stared at her, then suddenly let out a sneer.

Gu Zhizhu looked puzzled, not knowing what he was laughing at, but she was in a good mood and didn't care!

"Master Supervisor, what brings you here?"

She smiled and casually pointed to his sleeve.

His hands hung naturally at his sides, and his wide sleeves were stained with finger-sized amounts of dark gray incense ash, which stood out somewhat against the gold and silver threads.

Shen Xu looked down and angrily flicked his fingers, but there were still some faint marks. The more he looked at them, the more uncomfortable he felt, and his face was full of disgust, as if he wanted to tear his sleeve off.

Sheng Jiang hurriedly handed over a white handkerchief, wiping his fingers repeatedly without lifting his eyelids, and said impatiently, "Offer incense. Oh, and announce the imperial decree."

Gu Baibai: "Issue an imperial decree?" I don't think you said that just now.

Gu Zhizhuo's eyes lit up. Could it be the imperial decree for her father to enter the Purple Extreme Pavilion?

It's highly likely, otherwise why would we need to trouble this gentleman?

Just then, a bright yellow imperial edict flew over and landed steadily in her hand.

"I forgot to announce it, you can keep it."

No? You could forget that?!

Shen Xu threw down the imperial edict, strode away, and casually tossed the white handkerchief on the ground.

A large group of people surrounded him from behind, even blocking Gu Zhizhuo.

What exactly is this gentleman here for? However, for the time being, he doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards the Gu family. Thinking this, she took the imperial edict and happily ran towards Gu Baibai.

"Third Uncle, my eldest brother has gone to the palace to report back and will be back later."

Can Can finally arrived safely. Gu Baibai nodded slightly and asked, "What did the imperial edict say?"

Gu Zhizhu unfolded the imperial edict and saw that, just as she had guessed, it clearly stated that her father had made great contributions and was to be admitted to the Ziji Pavilion, to be worshipped by the descendants of the Xie family of Daqi and all the people for generations.

During the reign of Emperor Taizu, every meritorious official who entered the Ziji Pavilion would have their achievements written down by scholars of the Hanlin Academy and compiled into a book. The imperial edict also specified that this matter would be handled by the Ministry of Rites and announced to the world.

On an auspicious day, he entered the palace.

They even set an auspicious day.

Gu Zhizhuo was satisfied after reading it. She handed the imperial edict to Gu Baibai: "Third Uncle, please take a look and see if there are any traps inside."

After he took it, Gu Zhizhuo asked again, "Did Chief Eunuch Shen say anything else?"

He said it was a royal decree, but he'd completely forgotten about it. If I hadn't come back, would he have waited until he remembered and then just sent someone else to deliver it? Hmm, that's quite possible!

"I'm here to offer incense."

"Really fragrant?"

Gu Baibai said thoughtfully, "I think he's testing me."

"Testing?"

"Testing the Emperor's bottom line."

Gu Zhizhuo raised an eyebrow as he listened to him say, "Chief Eunuch Shen is currently at the height of his power in court, but apart from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he actually holds no real power."

Gu Zhizhuo is more familiar with the court five years from now; she doesn't yet have a very clear understanding of the current situation.

Five years later, Shen Xu had reached the pinnacle.

The Grand Secretary of the Song Dynasty suddenly fell ill and died. The Duke of Wei was stripped of his title and his entire family was executed. The Prince of Jin's faction all defected to Xie Jing.

There were no three factions vying for power in the court, only the Eastern Depot's Shen Xu and the Crown Prince Xie Jing.

The emperor suffered from severe headaches, greatly impaired eyesight, and was in poor health. He only held a grand court session once every ten days, and all memorials had to pass through the Directorate of Ceremonial. Shen Xu controlled the court's mouthpieces and informants, and was ruthless, readily confiscating property and exterminating entire families, even resorting to torture and dismemberment. No one dared to challenge his authority.

She was not familiar with the current court, which was divided into three factions. She didn't even know how Shen Xu had stepped down the Duke of Wei and the Prince of Jin to rise to power in one step.

After reading the imperial edict, Gu Baibai nodded and said, "It's credible."

Gu Zhizhu clapped his hands and laughed, "That's fine then."

With Father's entry into the Purple Pavilion, his illustrious military achievements will be known throughout the world, and the Gu family's prestige will reach its zenith. In the short term, it will be difficult for the Emperor to sentence the Gu family to death on charges such as disregarding imperial favor, seeking credit while shirking responsibility, and being disloyal and unjust.

It has been more than two months since I was reborn.

She finally pulled the Gu family back from their predetermined fate, giving them some breathing room.

"Third Uncle, you still haven't told me, what is he testing?"

Gu Zhizhuo's voice trailed off slightly, as if it carried a hint of coquetry.

"Testing the emperor's limits of tolerance."

"He openly offered condolences. How did the emperor react? If he wasn't angry, he could use this as a guideline to climb the ranks in the future."

“Shen Xu is only in his early twenties. It would be difficult for him to reach his current high position by relying solely on his ruthless actions.”

There was a hint of appreciation in Gu Baibai's tone.

The emperor's trust, the officials' fear, and the loyalty and awe of subordinates. Each of these three things is extremely difficult to achieve to the fullest extent, and to have them all is even more difficult.

In particular, as far as Gu Baibai knew, Shen Xu had no one to support him and had reached his current position step by step on his own.

Gu Zhizhuo nodded silently. Whether it was the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Eastern Depot, they both feared him, but even more so, they respected him.

"Yaoyao, are you very familiar with Chief Eunuch Shen?"

Seeing that the two were quite familiar with each other, Gu Baibai noticed that her Yaoyao showed no fear of Shen Xu.

Gu Zhizhuo said frankly, "When Aman got lost, I asked him for help, and he helped me."

"I see."

She pushed Gu Baibai forward slowly.

Passing through the hanging flower gate, you'll reach the main hall.

"besides……"

Gu Zhizhuo was about to say that he was the one who told Ji Shi her real name when he was interrupted by a shrill voice.

"...Your Gu family has plenty of daughters, why are you so fixated on someone else's daughter! I'm taking her back today. Quickly call Ying'er out."

The sound was coming from a floral curtain near the front gate.

A woman in her thirties, adorned with jeweled hairpins, stood with her right hand on her hip, shouting and pointing. If it weren't for several old women blocking her way, her fingers would have almost poked Gu Zhiwei in the face.

Gu Zhiwei said with a stern face, "Aunt, if you've come to pay your respects, then go and offer incense. Otherwise, please leave quickly. I'm busy today and can't entertain you properly."

Her face flushed red, and she was furious.

Gu Zhiwei had originally instructed the gatekeeper not to let the Xu family in, but today the mansion was decorated with white mourning hall, so they couldn't just turn away guests. Before they knew it, the Xu family had arrived.

They said they came to offer condolences, but her aunt took advantage of the fact that the mansion was busy attending to the woman in red and couldn't pay attention to her for a moment, so she rushed into the inner courtyard, only to be stopped by the old women.

“Cousin Ying’er won’t go with you!” Gu Zhiwei pointed towards the door. “If you keep making a scene, I’ll leave.”

"Your mother's surname is Xu, and the Xu family is your maternal grandparents' family. You want to kick me out?" Mrs. Xu's shrill voice startled the birds into flight. "Don't you have any dignity left? She's been a widow for so many years, and I'm afraid no one in the household respects her anymore. Do you want to ruin even the last bit of her dignity?"

Gu Zhiwei was slightly taken aback. Mrs. Xu hummed and walked past her toward the ceremonial gate.

Gu Zhiwei stepped aside, blocking her way, and ordered, "Drag her away."

Several old women rushed up, and Mrs. Xu immediately got angry and shouted, "Zhiwei, don't think that just because Abao has taken a liking to you, you can yell at me like that. With your skinny appearance, it won't be easy for you to have children in the future."

"What nonsense are you spouting? With your son's despicable behavior..."

Mrs. Xu wouldn't tolerate her words and raised her hand to slap her: "Today I'll teach your mother a good lesson..."

Gu Zhiwei stubbornly raised her face, and the next moment, someone grabbed her slender waist and pulled her two steps away.

Mrs. Xu lost her footing and nearly fell over.

She was about to lose her temper when she looked up and saw that it was Gu Zhizhuo. Her face immediately lit up with a fawning smile: "So it's our eldest daughter. My Ying'er has been bothering us in the manor for quite a while. I've come to take her back."

"Big sister, please don't agree!" Gu Zhiwei said urgently, leaning against her. "The Xu family is going to give away Cousin Ying'er to someone else to be defiled, all for the sake of their precious son!"

A note from the author: