Chapter 34 Chapter 34 "Gu Shidu?" [Additional]...
==Chapter 34==
Feng Wenyu saw Mr. Kong. A group of young men in blue and white shirts dispersed from the poetry gathering and walked out in twos and threes, full of high spirits. The man in the lead had a tall figure. He had only taken two steps forward when he looked up several times as if inadvertently.
He looked around as if he was looking for something.
This scene, this posture, seemed to be replayed in the past, and Feng Wenyu suddenly closed his eyes in a hurry.
She loved to play and make noise, and was never as gentle and virtuous as the other ladies from wealthy families. During the period when she and Gu Yushi were in love with each other, if Gu Yushi had any poetry gatherings or banquets, she would find out the news and then pretend to be unaware and pass by nearby.
After the poetry gathering ended, Gu Yushi subconsciously looked for her everywhere, just like Kong Huaijin now.
She always had bad intentions and would hide for a long time without letting Gu Yu find her. Only when he became impatient or felt lost would she stick her head out and scold him with a smile, "idiot", and then cover her lips with her hands and laugh secretly.
Jiang Zhilan tried her best to ignore Yan Yunhe and whispered to Feng Wenyu about the private matters of women:
"Grandfather said he has real talent and will definitely do well in next year's exam."
Although it is not certain that he will be among the top three, it is not difficult to be a second-class Jinshi. However, Jiang Zhilan pursed her lips and finally did not say it. Mentioning the top three will easily remind people of one person.
Feng Wenyu forced a smile. She remembered that before she and Gu Yushi got engaged, her grandfather had specially asked her to visit him once, and he seemed to have said something similar.
Grandfather nodded, and even though my mother was dissatisfied with the Gu family, she still tapped her forehead helplessly:
"You are so ambitious. You are hoping that he will get top three in the imperial examination. It would be great if you could become the wife of a top scholar."
As everyone expected, Gu Yushi passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar, but she did not become the top scholar's wife.
Feng Wenyu closed her eyes irritably. She was annoyed with her current state of mind. Why did she think of this person again?
Jiang Zhilan's voice continued, and she paused for a moment: "The most important thing is, mother said that the Kong family has a family rule that if you don't have an heir by the age of 35, you are not allowed to take a concubine."
For Jiang Zhilan, no matter how talented or knowledgeable she is, it is not as exciting as this family rule.
She has been in the capital for so many years, hasn't she met many young talents?
But the literati acted in a pretentious manner, and privately visited brothels, which they considered elegant. When they occasionally held a banquet, they would also invite actors to accompany them, saying that they were the beautiful women who added fragrance to the banquet. Jiang Zhilan was too lazy to mention these practices.
Feng Wenyu took these words to heart. She suppressed her emotions and said with some surprise:
"If that's true, then the Kong family is indeed a good match."
Especially for a family like the Kong family, they attach the most importance to reputation and will never let themselves be embarrassed.
While the two were talking, someone knocked on the door of the private room. Kong Huaijin appeared in front of everyone in a rather embarrassed manner. He subconsciously straightened his clothes. When he raised his eyes, his gaze swept across Feng Wenyu and soon fell on Jiang Zhilan.
Jiang Zhilan blushed slightly in uneasiness.
Seeing this, Feng Wenyu finally perked up a bit. She nudged Jiang Zhilan teasingly and said with a smirk, "Is this my future brother-in-law?"
All of a sudden, both of them in the private room blushed, and Jiang Zhilan wanted to cover her mouth.
Kong Huaijin blushed, bewildered by the call. After a flustered moment, he finally remembered to introduce himself: "My name is Kong Huaijin, nice to meet Miss Feng."
He glanced at Yan Yunhe, a little hesitant. It was Jiang Zhilan who introduced his identity. Kong Huaijin was surprised for a moment, but still bowed and said:
"Shizi Yan."
Yan Yunhe had no choice but to return the greeting: "Mr. Kong."
The Kong family is of great significance among the literati. No one dares to offend the pens of the literati. Even the Duke's Mansion has to be polite to these literati.
The group sat in the private room for a cup of tea, and Kong Huaijin discovered something very interesting. The Prince Yan sitting opposite him seemed to be fiddling with the cup nonchalantly, but his eyes would occasionally look towards Miss Feng on the other side, as if he was observing her expression and mood.
The subconscious humility revealed during this period was shocking and astonishing.
When the few of them said goodbye, Feng Wenyu got straight into his own carriage without waiting for Yan Yunhe at all. The two of them ended up parting on bad terms.
Yan Yunhe's face was expressionless for a moment.
Jiang Zhilan was about to have a headache again. Thinking of their friendship, she couldn't help but remind him:
"You were the one who wronged him back then. Why did you have to quarrel with A-Yu?"
Yan Yunhe raised his eyes in annoyance: "I wasn't the one who harmed him."
Hearing this, Jiang Zhilan also frowned:
"But that man borrowed your influence. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the courage."
Yan Yunhe had no way of denying this, and because of this, from that day on, he was destined to be inferior to Gu Yushi.
Seeing that the other person had nothing to say, Jiang Zhilan softened her tone: "You know Ah Yu. She seems tough, but in fact she is the softest of hearts, let alone when the other party is Gu Yu."
The incident was too big. The young master of the Gu family was young at that time, and the entire Gu family relied entirely on Gu Yushi. When Gu's mother saw that Gu Yushi had a broken leg, she almost took her child to death in front of the gate of Jingzhao Yin, saying that the Duke's Mansion wanted to force them, an orphan and a widow, to death!
When people are in desperate situations, they can do anything.
Forcing someone to cut off their pulse is shocking.
Especially for orphans and widows, they are naturally at a disadvantage.
Regardless of whether it was sincere or not, the Duke's Mansion and the Princess had to force Yan Yunhe to go to the Duke's Mansion to apologize. The Emperor also stepped in and finally resolved the matter.
But the entire capital city has long since tacitly accepted that the Duke's Mansion owes the Gu family.
The relationship between Gu Yushi and Feng Wenyu is even more complicated and tangled. Not to mention the fact that Feng Wenyu and Gu Yushi broke off their engagement, the Feng family may not necessarily have no debt to Gu Yushi.
The year Gu Yushi broke his leg, he had just arranged to get married to the Feng family.
Feng Wenyu was trapped in the inner house, but was it true that no one in the huge Feng family noticed the predicament that Gu Yu was being targeted?
Jiang Zhilan doesn't know the truth.
But in the imperial examination that Gu Yushi missed, the two most outstanding people were Xie Zhujing and Feng Wenxu. When Gu Yushi was lying in bed recuperating from his injuries, the top scorer and the second place winner were riding horses in a parade.
During the year when Gu Yushi was recuperating from his injury, he had no way out and his future was uncertain. What was he thinking at that time?
Jiang Zhilan didn't know, but she thought that he must have had a hard time that year.
The burden of the family, the mother's cries and expectations, the outsiders' contempt or sympathetic gazes are enough to suffocate. Jiang Zhilan dare not think about it. If she were in such a situation, would she collapse?
But some people made it through.
Jiang Zhilan's thoughts were full of random thoughts, and finally stopped at a scene in her mind -
Someone struggled to get up from the bed and wiped the little girl's tears helplessly, a rare moment of panic:
"Don't cry, don't cry, I'm fine."
The boy's face turned pale with pain, but he still smiled and coaxed her: "I'm going to marry Ah Yu. I won't be willing to lie in bed for the rest of my life."
His eyes were dark, as if he was coaxing her, making a promise, or even begging her.
Jiang Zhilan sighed. Perhaps the scene was too profound, so when she learned that Gu Yushi had come to break off the engagement, her only thought was disbelief, and she was unable to express any resentment towards Gu Yushi from beginning to end.
Yan Yunhe turned his face away.
Jiang Zhilan stopped talking here and let Yan Yunhe get on the carriage and leave. Someone raised his hand and touched her eyebrows. She was startled and looked up in surprise.
It was Kong Huaijin. He withdrew his hand, not daring to meet her gaze. He was a little nervous and tense, but he still whispered:
"Don't frown."
Jiang Zhilan suddenly laughed.
******
As the year was coming to an end, the Hanlin Academy was extremely busy. Xie Zhujing put down a file, glanced towards the upper room, paused with his writing, but soon resumed his movements as before.
A quarter of an hour later, someone walked in quickly. He was wearing a round-necked robe with dark ink patterns and a dark crane cloak. The color was too dull, just enough to suppress his slightly sad face. He walked very fast, but did not seem to be in a hurry. Therefore, he was seen as relaxed and composed in the eyes of others, with a hint of dignity.
He came quickly and left quickly, taking only a few files.
Someone whispered, "I heard that the emperor asked Gu Shidu to go to the Dali Temple to help."
Xie Zhujing calmly withdrew his gaze and thought to himself, no wonder I haven't seen many people lately.
It was so cold that he couldn't hold the pen for more than a quarter of an hour before his hands were frozen stiff. Someone knocked on the back of his chair and invited him:
"After the shift, shall we go have a drink together?"
Xie Zhujing turned around and was not surprised to see that the person who was speaking was Zhang Zeling. This man was an excellent writer and was quite favored by the emperor. The only thing that was worthy of criticism was that his private style was rather unruly.
Xie Zhujing was just an acquaintance with him, so when he heard this, he refused outright.
Zhang Zeling was a handsome man in his prime, and many women were attracted to him. He also prided himself on being a playboy, and even after being rejected, he refused to give up:
"You don't have a family, so why are you coming home so early?"
He lowered his voice and said, "I'm telling you, I discovered a very good musician at the Music Bureau a few days ago. Do you really want to go with me to take a look?"
Jiaofangsi.
Xie Zhujing frowned at the mere mention of these three words. He glanced at Zhang Zeling coldly and said, "No need."
After being rejected again and again, Zhang Zeling was a little annoyed. He had been praised all the way, and this person kept ignoring him, so he was too lazy to invite him again.
He curled his lips imperceptibly, then thought of something and said jokingly:
"You and Miss Feng Er haven't even gotten married yet, and yet she's controlling you so much? It's common for men to have three wives and four concubines, let alone just going out for a drink. Doing this and that doesn't show her being a kind and virtuous person."
Not to mention drinking and hiring prostitutes, even taking a concubine is nothing. A concubine is just a toy. As long as the man returns home on time, what does it matter?
Xie Zhujing's expression suddenly turned cold, and he looked at Zhang Zeling.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly dropped to freezing point.
Suddenly, Zhang Zeling's bench was kicked over with such force that he couldn't steady himself in time and fell directly to the ground. He turned around in anger and saw Gu Yushi who had come in again. Gu Yushi's eyes were cold and he stared at him intently. Zhang Zeling's heart trembled and he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
His lips trembled: "Gu Shidu?"
Wu Ping'an coughed lightly.
Gu Yushi withdrew his gaze expressionlessly, picked up the file, turned and left.
From beginning to end, he did not give Zhang Zeling any explanation. Zhang Zeling moved his lips, but in the end he did not dare to call him to stop, so he had to swallow his anger.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com