Many things were involved.
The autumn wind at night carried a slight chill, striking Sui Zhixu's body. Her emerald green earrings swayed violently, their green light standing out conspicuously in the night.
She unconsciously touched her arm, and seeing this, Danhong took off the cloak from her arm and draped it over her.
She lowered her eyes and remained silent in response to Gu Qingyi's words, her dark eyes calm and still beneath her fluttering eyelashes.
A cold gaze, a unique personality and temperament, distinctive tastes… all these qualities combined made Gu Qingyi smile, a smile that became much more genuine. “Why don’t you come back?”
Sui Zhixu: "Huh?"
"Madam Gu is joking. We have no relationship whatsoever. You are being far too familiar with me."
Gu Qingyi frowned, looking at her with the same eyes she would look at Sima An, as if she were a disobedient child.
A few seconds later, her brows relaxed. "It's alright, you'll come back eventually. No one but her can cure Jiang Li's Gu worms."
"What did you say?" Sui Zhixu's face darkened, and his hands clenched tightly.
Gu Qingyi waved her hand with a smile, "You know Jiang Li best, don't you? She never holds back when she strikes, but she's a little patient with you."
Sui Zhixu found it all laughable; she had died without even a complete body, yet one or two of them still thought they were being very kind to her.
Where is she?
"Go into seclusion."
"Come back obediently, and Fan Lang will be alright. Don't worry, the king doesn't intend to take his life. A good child always comes home. Come home, there's nothing a family can't solve..."
Sui Zhixu reached out and grabbed her pale neck, his eyes bloodshot and filled with malice. "Don't talk to me with that useless nonsense."
A hand with distinct knuckles restrained her and pushed her against a vermilion pillar. Danhong immediately looked around.
"Ahem." Her face flushed red, and she muttered to herself, "You've gone astray; you've learned to threaten your teacher."
Sui Zhixu glanced at Dan Hong, who was standing in the distance looking around, and sneered, "What have you taught me?"
"Will you marry me off to him when I'm seventeen, or will you keep me in Tianque Tower as an assassin all this time?"
Gu Qingyi's face turned purple, and she instinctively pulled out the hairpin from her hair and stabbed Sui Zhixu.
As he dodged the sharp hairpin, he released her neck.
"Cough cough!" Gu Qingyi steadied herself against a nearby pillar and mocked her, "Since you resent him, why go to all this trouble to save him?"
"Isn't this marriage a good one?"
As Xu Zhiqi breathed a sigh of relief, her mind became hazy. Large swaths of red seemed to be the red silk of a wedding, but she wasn't sure if it was because she was attending Xu Mingyi's wedding.
She shook her head, which Gu Qingyi mistook for a negative answer.
"Alright, you went to great lengths to escape, even faking your death to get Jiang Li to take you back, so you are indeed very dissatisfied with the marriage."
"But what are you doing now? Have you fallen in love with him again? Does he know that you faked your death to escape him? Go back obediently, the king will call Jiang Li back, and after you sleep, everything will be resolved."
“He knows, you don’t need to provoke me.” Sui Zhixu glanced at her coldly. “I won’t go back, so stop trying to instill your crazy ideas in me.”
She couldn't kill Gu Qingyi here. Gu Qingyi had rendered meritorious service and was a female official of the Prince's Mansion personally appointed by the late emperor. She couldn't touch her.
“You know better than I what happened three years ago.” Sui Zhixu’s ambiguous words stunned her.
Xu ignored her and left, leaving her alone slumped in the empty corridor.
Moonlight spilled onto Gu Qingyi's hands, and when her fingertips touched her neck, a burning pain shot through her.
She smiled, a smile that looked slightly eerie in the deserted corridor.
She got up, dusted herself off, and slowly walked away.
They've really grown up; they've learned to disobey their teachers.
Grown-up children are always a little naughty, but that's okay, they're still your children.
Children should behave like children, stay at home and listen to adults, instead of running around outside and mingling with strangers, causing adults to worry.
Gu Qingyi bit her nails, wondering how to get her disobedient child home.
The fake items in the house definitely can't be kept; after all, children have tempers.
She needs to carefully plan how to get her back.
She grew up and ruined her plans against the Pei and Yang families. Or was it because she had made arrangements in advance and used the title of "Seeking the King" that she was not caught?
We need to think carefully about how to deal with her.
Sui Zhixu strode away, and Dan Hong almost couldn't keep up.
He whispered, "My lady, slow down, Danhong is going to fall behind."
Su Zhixu suddenly stopped, trying to calm his heaving chest.
"Sorry, I was in a hurry."
Dan Hong shook her head, her chubby cheeks beaming with joy. Just looking at her made Sui Zhixu feel good; she looked like a bright red little apple.
She squeezed it in her hand; it was probably the only red apple in the world that was so soft yet firm and elastic.
"It's so cute, like a New Year's picture doll. I'll give you an extra red envelope this year for the New Year."
"Really?"
Dan Hong's eyes sparkled, and as she looked at Xu Zhixu, a smile appeared on her face. She affirmed, "Of course."
Who wants to go back with her?
Her uncle who killed her, her parents who hid, and the women who went mad.
She has a mother and a father, and many, many lovely young ladies, so why would she want to go back to that godforsaken place?
Their constant talk of benevolence and morality is nauseating.
"I'll wrap you up in a big red envelope so you'll have medicinal herbs to use all year round, and I'll also help Liu Lü maintain her sword."
"Oh, I love my wife to death."
Dan Hong, disregarding the palace lantern in her hand, rushed towards Sui Zhixu. Sui Zhixu embraced Dan Hong's round and smooth waist, finding her adorable.
"Let's go, let's go back and find Aye to go home."
She can find peace in her home.
"Uh-huh!"
As Xu picked up the palace lantern, Dan Hong was still immersed in the fact that she didn't have to spend money to buy medicinal herbs to refine her beloved poison for a year.
"Be steady, my first maid."
"Oh dear, let me be happy for a while. When I return to the Daming Palace, I will still be the first maid."
—
The sight of the master and servant laughing and joking caught Chu Shiguan's eye. His gaze was intense. Madam Chu followed quietly behind him. Seeing his disheveled appearance, she slapped him on the head in annoyance.
“You good-for-nothing brat, you look like you’re chasing after something! Like your brother, who quietly hooked up with the princess, and our Chu family became royalty. Learn from your brother.”
Chu Shiguan scratched his head, his eyes innocent, "I can't learn my brother's methods. He can only write some pretentious poems."
"If he were just a poet, how could the princess have taken a liking to him?"
“He’s cunning!” Chu Shiguan blurted out.
Madam Chu glared at him for a long time, "No, I'm so angry! How could I have given birth to two people who are so different? They're practically born with the same brains."
"Mother, calm down. Maybe she likes me just like her mother."
Madam Chu sneered, "Heh, she doesn't even want the Prime Minister's many disciples, but prefers a brainless fool like you?"
"Oh dear, does the young master of Puyang also like to follow his wife's example?"
Madam Chu was even angrier. So he didn't even know who his rival in love was?
Madam Chu turned to her husband, only to find him even more unreliable. Drunk, he grabbed Cong Lan by the neck and said, "Lan, is your daughter married yet? What do you think of my Erlang? He may not have much else, but he's good-looking and honest. He can marry into your family."
Cong Lan: "..."
Haha, thanks for the invitation. He doesn't want a foolish son-in-law.
Many officials in the Daming Palace were drunk and confused, but those who couldn't control themselves like Lord Chu were a minority.
He and Chu Shiguan were indeed father and son, and their voices were loud and clear. Now the whole palace knew that Chu Shiguan, the second son of Lord Chu, was in love with his wife.
Cong Lan's eyebrows twitched, wishing he could execute the person on the spot. The Emperor, watching from above, chuckled. Seeing Cong Lan's suppressed anger, he quickly took the person away.
“My dear minister, don’t get so angry. As the saying goes, if a family has a daughter, a hundred families will want her. Lord Chu is right, Erlang is honest. If you really like him, we can be considered in-laws.”
That's getting off-topic. What kind of in-laws are we? I don't want to be in-laws with you.
Cong Lan smiled but remained silent. "The women in the household make the decisions. Ah Xu listens to his wife. If it doesn't work out, it's up to her own wishes. I won't offer any opinions."
His Majesty: "..."
Fu Mingguang snorted coldly, and Lord Chu was sobered up a bit by the noise.
Seeing his wife's icy gaze across from him, he shuddered instantly.
It's over.
Amidst the dazzling lights and joyful laughter, the banquet quietly came to an end. Families chatted idly and returned home in twos and threes. The Empress Dowager of Xingqing Palace, led by her female officials, left Daming Palace and walked step by step into the depths of the imperial palace.
When Sui Zhixu found Cong Lan, he was joking and playing around with Duke Pei.
"Do you like Erlang? He's not bad in any other way, except..."
"No, I'm telling you, you really should have your second brother go and pray for his second son. That guy has already lost two fiancées unexpectedly. What if he's a jinx to wives?"
"...That makes sense! That makes sense!"
Xu sighed, looking at how reluctant they were to part, he wondered if they were the same person.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like laughing. She walked to the palace gate and waved for someone to separate the two of them.
"Cong Xiao'er!"
"Pei Gou!"
"...Get out of here!"
Pei Qinglian looked distressed and pulled Pei Dalang and Pei Qingzhu away from their wives to help them up.
He helped the person onto the carriage and then waved goodbye to Sui Zhixu.
Cong Lan lay back in the carriage, calling out "wife" repeatedly.
Sui Zhixu was in the mood to talk to him, "Mother has returned to Jingzhou and is not here now."
"No, I want my wife! Why isn't she back yet?"
"I won't be back for a while."
Sui Shan died, and his share of the property undoubtedly fell to his three children. However, Cui Niangzi was dissatisfied that Sui Chengyu received the same amount as her two sons, and now she was causing trouble for the clan every day.
My mother had just managed to get things sorted out recently, but then an important clan elder passed away. I heard he was angered by Cui Niangzi and fell ill. In addition, he was quite old. My mother even called the head of the medical clinic, who had just returned from gathering herbs, back to Jingzhou, but he still couldn't be saved.
The matter has escalated again.
Mother needs to deal with this for a while.
Cong Lan suddenly sat up, muttering, "So annoying."
Sui Zhixu thought he had sobered up, but the next second, he fell asleep again.
Sui Zhixu: "..."
She sighed and rubbed her forehead. It was hard to reconcile this father with the Lord Cong who had launched a series of reforms in the court three years ago, exposing a large number of remnants of the previous dynasty.
Back home, Yueling was leaning against a plum tree in Jianjia Pavilion, drinking wine.
Seeing her return, he casually greeted her, "You're back."
Xu Qing hummed in response and remained silent for a while, without mentioning her meeting with Gu Qingyi.
Let's wait until Lord Zhen brings Doctor Chi back before we talk about it.
Why didn't you go to the birthday banquet?
"It's pointless. It would be better to just have His Majesty send me some wine. If I go, the Empress Dowager will be furious."
Xu guessed her age, and indeed, she was over a hundred years old.
She suddenly asked, "Shouldn't the King be coming to Chang'an by now?"
"Um."
On the day the Pei family left, every single matter in the imperial court pointed to Xun Wang. The emperor was heartbroken and issued an edict summoning Xun Wang to the capital.
"Another period of turmoil is about to begin."
Her tone was full of vicissitudes, which showed that Xu Xiang had indeed experienced a lot: the court reforms three years ago, the current emperor's ascension to the throne, and before that, the time when the previous emperor took the throne...
"Since we're here, let's make the best of it."
Sui Zhixu sat under the plum tree. Tonight, the stars twinkled. In the vast night sky, the light of a single star was faint, but when there were many, they could illuminate a whole area.
Prince Xun was the eleventh and youngest son of the late emperor. When the emperor ascended the throne, he eliminated the power and manpower of most of the princes, but Prince Xun was still an infant. The empress dowager spared him and sent him and his mother to their fiefdom.
When Xu thought of Sima Xian, he realized that the Empress Dowager always made the same choices, and in doing so, she let the tiger return to the mountain.
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