Jingzhou Suijia
Prime Minister's Residence
The hall was silent except for the argument between Sui He and Cong Lan. Pu Yangkai tried to persuade them on one side but then ran off to the other side, going back and forth, but he couldn't persuade them to stop.
He caught a glimpse of Sui Zhixu out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes lit up instantly.
"Junior sister is here!"
"As the head of the family, this is a responsibility I must bear!"
“Jingzhou isn’t without others. There are so many clan elders, so many lazy bums who just want to die. You’ve supported them for so long, don’t they have any obligations? Why does it have to be you who goes?”
"Teacher, teacher's wife, junior sister is here!" Pu Yangkai called out, but they seemed not to hear him and continued arguing. Having no other choice, he could only shout.
"Ah Xu?" Sui He and Cong Lan were both stunned for a moment, and turned to look at her in a daze.
“Mother, Father.”
Her pale pink dress fluttered, and her expression was cold. "I'll go. I haven't passed the young master's clan trial yet, and besides, the matter of the Gu worms might be related to me."
“My mind is made up, Mother and Father, there’s no need to dissuade me.” She lowered her head, when suddenly a pair of hands grasped her wrists.
Fan Lingzhang: "I went with her. Chi Gong said that most people only have one kind of Gu worm in their body. I'll stay with her, so she won't be in any danger."
"Zirong?"
“Ah Xu and I are going back to Jingzhou together.” Sui He patted Cong Lan on the shoulder.
Sui He interrupted him, saying sternly, "No buts."
Realizing her tone was off, she softened her voice, "Alan, from the moment I took over as the head of the family, this position was not just something to talk about. The position of family head makes it easier for me to act in Chang'an, and the people of Jingzhou admire and love me. I should bear this responsibility until I die."
Cong Lan understood everything, but how could he accept watching his wife go to such a dangerous place?
And she had only been back for a short time.
"The court is very busy. You should stay in Chang'an and take good care of the home for me, okay?"
?
"……good."
As Xu held Fan Lingzhang's hand tightly, a variety of emotions flashed in her eyes, but in the end she simply leaned on his shoulder to breathe steadily.
"Are you really coming with me?"
"Would I lie to you?" Fan Lingzhang retorted, a bright smile spreading across his face, as if they were talking about a picnic rather than a dangerous trip.
Her eyes were curved and sparkling, reflecting only her own image. Sui Zhixu lowered her head and punched him in annoyance.
"Go wherever it's dangerous."
"No matter how dangerous it is, I'll stay by your side. I've said it before, I'll be with you through life and death." Fan Lingzhang put away his smile and looked at her seriously.
The light green shawl fluttered in the wind, making her heart itch a little. She smiled, her peach blossom eyes curving into crescents, and gently replied, "Okay, I'll be with you through life and death."
As the two leaders of the two guilds, Chu Feixuan and Sui Chuke naturally received the news from Jingzhou.
After Chu Feixuan was promoted, he was already extremely busy and annoyed. To make matters worse, some of his subordinates advised him not to return to Jingzhou. He then claimed to be ill and stayed home, secretly following Sui He's entourage.
"What are you afraid of? I'm leaving, and that bastard Cong Lan has to cover for me."
Chu Feixuan's matter-of-fact manner made Sui Zhixu somewhat realize that her father could be used in this way. No wonder her mother said that the court was very busy and asked him to guard the home. So that's why.
As expected of my mother, she had foresight.
"Do you feel like we've been followed the whole time?" After a short break, she turned to ask Liu Lü.
Liu Lü shook his head, stood up, and looked around. "Did you sense anything, my lady?"
Although she couldn't quite put her finger on it, a gut feeling told her that she might be hallucinating.
Liu Lü walked to Chu Feixuan's side. Among the group, his martial arts skills were the highest, and his internal strength was profound. This was something that Sui Zhixu could not match even after a year of desperate training.
"You didn't sense anyone? Are you just too tense? Don't worry, we've been through so much together over the years, this time will be no different," Chu Feixuan comforted her, his tall figure enveloping her and giving her a sense of security.
Xu nodded slightly and placed her hand on Xiao Furong's hand. Perhaps it was her imagination, but she still felt a gaze upon her. The feeling was strange, neither hostile nor friendly.
"No news from Alu?" she asked softly, glancing at Fan Lingzhang leaning on her shoulder.
“He sent me a message last night, saying that he found out that Jiang Li’s nephew, Jiang Yun, had left Miaojiang and seemed to have gone to Shu.”
"Shu? There are countless mountains between Jingzhou and Yuzhou, making it rugged and difficult to travel. The waterway also requires passing through the Three Gorges, but we can scout ahead first. Have you found out his appearance and age?" Sui Zhixu asked after pondering for a moment.
"A-Lu heard it from the Miao women, but he doesn't seem friendly. In Miao territory, besides the Holy Maiden Jiang Li, he's the one you absolutely shouldn't mess with."
The wind blew past the jade pendant by Sui Zhixu's ear, and a hint of disappointment appeared in her eyes. Seeing this, Fan Lingzhang quickly said, "I'll have him inquire again. Rumors shouldn't be taken at face value. Maybe he really can help us."
Sui Zhixu gave a faint smile. "I'll also send someone to inquire. Hopefully."
After a shaky journey, the group finally reached an area close to Jingzhou.
A coachman's voice came from outside, "Master, Madam, there's a traffic jam ahead."
As Xu lifted the carriage curtain, a light silk ribbon appeared, one end tied in her hair bun, the other hanging naturally down beside her ear. The sapphire blue ribbon fluttered first, creating a stunning scene amidst the green hills and clear waters.
"Following my wife's lead!" someone on the other end immediately shouted enthusiastically.
“My lady, it’s Second Master Chu,” Danhong whispered in her ear, afraid that she would forget.
As Xu recognized her, she stepped down from the carriage. The lady was stern and had a cool and aloof demeanor. She wore a bright green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with cloud patterns on the hem and cuffs that moved freely and dynamically. The light pink shawl in her arms and the sapphire blue hair ribbon at her temples complemented each other, making her look fresh, refined, cold, and noble.
Chu Shiguan felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest, and he stammered, "Are you going back to Jingzhou with Madam? It seems something happened here, and we might not be able to get there."
Sui Zhixu's gaze fell on the back of the Chu family's carriage. "What happened?"
Her voice was so beautiful, like pearls falling onto a jade plate. Chu Shiguan almost laughed out loud. After hearing what she said, he quickly replied, "Someone in the village ahead has contracted a strange disease. Everyone else in the village wants to burn him alive. Now he's being held up at the village entrance, blocking the road."
"A strange illness?" Sui Zhixu's eyes sharpened, and Dan Hong, who was beside him, received a signal and walked around the Chu family's carriage.
"Young lady, don't go any further, it's dangerous ahead," Madam Chu said, pulling her back.
"It's alright, I'm a doctor."
Dan Hong waved her hand. Madam Chu wanted to say something, but then Sui He stepped off the carriage road behind her and said, "Madam Chu, just let her go. That child knows what she's doing."
"The head of the Sui family has also arrived." Madam Chu looked surprised, glanced at Chu Shiguan without leaving a trace, and stepped forward with a smile to take Sui He's hand.
"The patriarch is taking your little one with him?! Is my lady perhaps going to visit our ancestral home in Jingzhou? What a coincidence, we're going the same way. Why don't we travel together? We can look after each other on the road. What do you say, my dear sister?"
Fan Lingzhang felt increasingly uneasy, especially since Chu Shiguan kept staring at his wife. He quickly stepped forward and walked to Sui Zhixu's side.
"Does my wife think that the village ahead has any connection to Jingzhou?"
Chu Shiguan chuckled foolishly, only then noticing Fan Lingzhang, and asked in surprise, "Aren't you the owner of Yunlai Tower? How come you came with Madam Sui?"
Fan Lingzhang smiled faintly, "Wherever my wife is, I will be there."
"You—" Chu Shi looked at him and then at Sui Zhixu, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Madam Chu quickly pulled him aside, "You rascal, be smart, are they married yet?"
Chu Shiguan shook his head.
"Are you engaged?"
He shook his head again.
"That's settled then. As long as you're not married, you can go for it. Your wife is going to inherit the family business, so having a few casual affairs is perfectly normal. You should learn from your brother. Before he got married, he never paid any attention to the girls that the Princess introduced to Chaoyang. Do you know what that's called?"
Chu Shiguan shook his head again.
Madam Chu choked for a moment, then slapped his head in an annoyed tone, "That's called the demeanor of the eldest son's wife. Learn from this. A wife's heart is the most important thing."
Chu Shiguan was instantly enlightened and nodded frantically.
Looking at his silly expression, like a lapdog, Madam Chu really didn't have much faith in him. Oh well, let's just take it one step at a time. She smiled and went to chat with Sui He.
The Sui family of Jingzhou has been a prominent clan since the pre-Qin period. They had lived in seclusion for many years, but their reappearance caused a sensation in Chang'an, surpassing other prominent families one after another. Sui He's methods should not be underestimated.
If Erlang could get connected with the Sui family, that would be perfect.
Fan Lingzhang snuggled up to Sui Zhixu, completely absorbed in Dan Hong's diagnosis and oblivious to their relationship.
Seeing Danhong return, he stepped forward and walked up to her. Before he could speak, Danhong nodded and said, "His face has black spots, his body is swollen and ulcerated, and he is mentally unstable, which is very similar to the symptoms of those in Jingzhou. It's a pity that the villagers won't let me get close, and some people even suspect that I'm in cahoots with him. Otherwise, if I were to draw some of his blood, everything would be clear."
"Has it spread this far?" Sui Zhixu muttered to himself, resting his chin on his hand and suddenly looking back.
It was that strange feeling of being stared at again.
Turning her head, Fan Lingzhang smiled broadly, as did the others; the strange gazes seemed to be directed only at her.
A wave of discomfort washed over her back, and she shook her head, trying to dispel the strange feeling.
"How does it spread? Someone like him isn't contagious." Sui Zhixu pointed at Fan Lingzhang.
"No report came from Jingzhou."
The suspicions about the Gu worms arose after the report from Jingzhou.
"Then we can only wait and see." Sui Zhixu pondered for a long time, then looked up and could vaguely see the man's face with black spots through the gap in the Chu family carriage.
What kind of Gu worms can spread over a large area?
Perhaps it was because of the worry in Xu's eyes that Danhong comforted her, "Wife, his symptoms are clearly in the later stages. People in the village say he has gone mad, and he keeps saying that he has seen ghosts."
Moreover, he was not a good person in his lifetime. In Jingzhou, the Sui family, in conjunction with the local government, strictly prohibited the practice of wife-selling, and other prefectures followed suit.
“He actually dared to do this, not valuing his wife’s life at all. He deserves to die. In Dan Hong’s opinion, he deserves to die. His greatest value is that his corpse might help Chi Gong research the method to cure the Gu poison. However, Chi Gong is currently in Jingzhou. In short, he is of no value whatsoever.”
Dan Hong was indignant! Then, in the blink of an eye, she blurted out a string of words.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yue frowned deeply. "It's truly despicable. Do any other villagers have symptoms?"
"I haven't found out clearly yet, I'll go and ask again."
"What is a wife-selling?" Chu Shiguan, tall and imposing, bent down to look her in the eye.
Fan Lingzhang calmly dismissed the person and then snapped open his folding fan.
"These are folk customs, so I'd better tell Chu Erlang about them. It's better not to let my wife hear such things."
After he finished speaking, he pulled Chu Shiguan away and briefly explained the situation to him. Chu Shiguan, who had lived in Chang'an for many years, had never seen such a scene before and was shocked. "Wouldn't the lady be doomed if she returned to her husband's home?"
Fan Lingzhang, feigning elegance, fanned himself with a fan and said in a nonchalant tone, "Ah, it's all thanks to the wisdom of the patriarch for stopping it early. Otherwise, so many poor women in Jingzhou would have been spared such misery."
He praised Sui He calmly and without any flattery. Sui He herself remained calm, while Madam Chu, who was chatting with her, secretly cursed Chu Shiguan for doing the work for someone else.
Seeing that he was displaying his peacock-like display for someone else, Xu Zhixu calmly withdrew his gaze, a subtle smile appearing between his brows and eyes.
Suddenly, another eerie gaze shifted, moving from the north to the northeast.
She felt that her intuition was correct; the repeated spying was inevitable.
In the distance, amidst layers of dense jungle, the Night Maiden whispered, "It looks like she's spotted us."
“You two are from the same school, so it’s not surprising that she could sense you.”
The woman in black sneered, "It's not you, so why are you standing so straight?"
Jiang Li shrugged and asked her with a light hum, "I heard that someone named Xi Yushao also came. Is he worried about me or about you?"
"He's risking his life; who else would he trust besides himself?"
"...What you're saying seems to make some sense."
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