Chapter 39 Chapter 39 is the only genuine version...
"Girl, he's gone."
Qiongfang looked out the window and said:
"In this case, Miss Ji Biao will definitely come back."
Qiongfang actually didn't quite understand, the older girl didn't seem to care about it at all.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't even raise his eyebrows as he said, "Ten days ago, Ji Nanke met a pair of grandparents and grandchildren at the Nu Temple and had a great time chatting with them. Not long after, the pair were going to the Nu Temple again, and a statue enshrined in one of the main halls of the Nu Temple fell down and nearly hit them. It was Ji Nanke who saved them despite the danger.
"They are the Queen Mother and the eldest princess Zhaoyang."
ah!
Qiongfang covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide open.
If Miss Ji really saved the Queen Mother and the eldest princess, the Queen Mother would definitely take her out of the temple with great fanfare! By then, the Gu family and the eldest princess would be the ones to lose face.
Qiongfang could even imagine that by that time, outsiders would not think that the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was acting in accordance with the Queen's orders. They would only say that it was the eldest daughter who bullied and mistreated the cousin daughter Ji and drove her to the women's temple.
Gu Zhizhuo spread his hands.
There was no way, Ji Nan Ke's luck was just that good! Even if she intervened to stop it, Ji Nan Ke would have a second, third, or even countless chances.
Instead of being on guard day and night, it is better to take advantage of it and get yourself out of this shabby engagement first.
Gu Zhizhuo took a bite of the rose pastry and said with a smile, "My cheap senior brother is quite capable."
She said this sincerely. Master Qingping was very proficient in various arts, especially astrology. It had been half a month, which was enough for him to coax the emperor into doing whatever he said.
"As for the Third Prince, he can only rely on his senior brother now."
The third prince had no official residence and no ministers. Although he was known as the legitimate son of the empress, he no longer had himself and his brother as stepping stones in this life. Even until now, he had not been able to truly enter the court.
It is simply incomparable to the situation in the previous life.
He can only rely on Master Qingping, which means that he has to stick to the path of self-torture.
Gu Zhizhuo held his chin in his hand and said insincerely, "Oh, how pitiful."
This look is definitely a charlatan! Qingmei couldn't help but ask, "Miss, are you really the junior sister of Qingping Zhenren?"
Gu Zhizhuo turned his face towards her and smiled like a flower: "Are they similar?"
“No!”
She chuckled, "It's genuine!"
Hmm, Qingmei tilted her head. What should I do? This makes me look even more like a charlatan! !
Gu Zhizhuo ate the rose pastry in one gulp, then finished his tea. He brushed off the crumbs on his hands, stood up, and said, "Let's go. Let's buy some delicious food and then go back home."
Delicious? Qingmei pointed to the elm seed cake downstairs with a smile: "This one?"
No way! "The oven at Xilai Pavilion is about to start, let's buy some Hongyan pastry and eat them together!"
This is good! The two maids agreed.
Each person is limited to buying two packs of Hongyansu from Xilai Pavilion. Gu Zhizhuo asked Qingmei and Qiongfang to queue up together. They took home a total of six full packs. She squinted her eyes with satisfaction.
Not only the Hongyansu, she also ordered a new horse whip a few days ago. The shop happened to be on Zhuque Street, so they went to pick it up together.
The whip is jet black, and the cowhide that has been rubbed repeatedly is extremely soft and very light in the hand. Gu Zhizhuo specially asked the craftsman to inlay a circle of small gems on the top of the handle, which sparkles in the sun and looks very beautiful.
Gu Zhizhuo ordered two in total, one with rubies and the other with sapphires. The sapphire one was for Xie Danling.
She played with the new whip in a very happy mood and showed it to the jade lion.
The jade lion was bouncing and turning a corner. In front of it was the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Gu Zhizhuo's smile faded.
It’s Qin Su.
He was not there when she went out, and now he is here again. What bad luck.
He stood in front of the gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, looking thin and haggard, without his former vigor and composure.
There was darkness under his eyes and his beard was scruffy.
As far as Gu Zhizhuo knew, in the past few days, he would come as soon as he finished his work every day, and when he was on leave, he would stand from morning to night, looking miserable.
That's fine, as long as she doesn't go out, it won't be an eyesore to her.
That's right. Ji always went to see her aunt and said some inexplicable things, saying that Qin Su was sincere to her, but now he realized his mistake, and she had to think about the eight years of love between husband and wife, and also said that A'man couldn't live without a father and so on.
“Yaoyao…”
Qin Su was delighted to see Gu Zhizhuo and couldn't wait to ask, "Are your aunt and Ah Man okay?"
Gu Zhizhuo was too lazy to pay attention to her at first, but when she heard it, she pulled the reins, looked back, and whipped him with her backhand, interrupting him before he finished speaking.
Qin Su didn't expect her to move so quickly, and hurriedly raised his arm to block it. The whip cut his sleeve, causing a burning pain.
"Where were you when Ah Man's heart blood was taken?"
"Where were you when Ah Man nearly drowned?"
"Where were you when my aunt was in agony?"
"You weren't there then. Now that Ah Man and Auntie don't need you anymore, you come all the way here again. How come, knowing your family line is going to end, you finally remembered you still have a daughter?"
"roll."
After she finished speaking, she whipped him again.
Qin Su stood there in a daze. The whip hit his face, leaving a deep whip mark.
Gu Zhizhuo glanced at him sideways and walked straight into the door.
The corner door closed behind Gu Zhizhuo. Qin Su covered his face with his hands, squatted down, and let out a suppressed cry.
Gu Zhizhuo placed the jade lion and entered the ceremonial gate, saying casually, "Send the Four Seasons to Madam later."
Qiongfang responded with a smile and asked, "Miss, are you still going to Duanfu Hall..."
Her voice stopped abruptly. Gu Zhizhuo turned his head, bowed, and said with a smile, "Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Nannan, are you going out? Or are you waiting for me?"
"I brought back some Red Beauty Pastry from Xilai Pavilion. They're delicious."
The third girl, Gu Zhinan, happily and obediently greeted the guests. She was only about ten years old, with chubby cheeks and eyes that curved when she smiled.
Gu Baibai's gaze fell on her hands holding the horsewhip. Her fair and tender hands were covered with tiny wounds and small calluses that had just grown.
"Have you been practicing archery lately?"
Gu Baibai had a smile on his face. Although he was a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for many years, there was no aggressiveness in his words and deeds.
Gu Zhizhuo nodded coquettishly: "Third Uncle, do you want to go and see how I'm doing?"
Gu Baibai agreed, and Gu Zhizhuo took the initiative to push his wheelchair. Gu Zhinan carefully took Lu's arm and followed them.
Gu Baibai was injured last year.
Last year was a cold winter, and tens of thousands of cattle and sheep of the Northern Di people froze to death. The Northern Di people once again invaded the border and robbed food.
At that time, Gu Baibai and Gu Yican were guarding the northern border.
As early as the first wave of cold waves, Gu Baibai had deduced from experience that the cold would be extremely cold, with blizzards blocking the border, and submitted a memorial requesting food and fodder support. The court was slow to respond.
The northern border is bitterly cold and not suitable for farming. In addition, the military pay has been insufficient for years, so the northern border army has always only stored food and fodder for one season.
Later, just as Gu Baibai expected, a blizzard came.
Not to mention the army, even the civilians have run out of food.
The Northern Frontier Army held out for three months and almost lost.
Gu Baibai used himself as bait to lure Gu Yican into an ambush, leading to a bitter battle. In the end, he used his own legs to save the life of the Beidi King. The death of the Beidi King severely damaged the Beidi army, forcing them to retreat. This retreat made it difficult for the entire nation to invade again for three to five years.
After the battle, Gu Baibai returned to the capital and took Lu to live in a hot spring villa on the outskirts of the capital to recuperate.
If Ah Man hadn't been in trouble, Gu Baibai wouldn't have returned from the Hot Spring Villa. He did return, and seeing that Gu Zhizhuo handled things properly without any panic, he hadn't interfered with anything in the mansion these days, and simply watched from the sidelines.
This time, I realized that my eldest niece had changed drastically.
Even he was a little confused about this approach.
My niece went through so much trouble just to provide for the household expenses? It's not that...
Gu Zhizhuo pushed him as the wheelchair moved on the road. The wooden wheels made a creaking sound and the wheelchair was a bit bumpy.
She asked with a smile, "Third Uncle, do you think the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion will be wiped out?"
Gu Baibai's pupils shrank and he slowly rubbed his thumb.
Gu Zhizhuo only brought Qiongfang and Qingmei with him, and Gu Baibai was only accompanied by Lu and Gu Zhinan, so what Gu Zhizhuo said was not concealed at all and hit the nail on the head.
Gu Zhinan covered his lips with one hand, suppressing the soft cry that was about to escape from his lips.
"meeting."
Gu Baibai said.
As expected, Third Uncle was not completely unaware.
Gu Zhizhuo said slowly, "Third Uncle, I've recently discovered that it's very easy to find evidence against the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion."
"The Bai Chang family owns a farm of a hundred acres outside the capital, three shops in Yizhou, and tens of thousands of taels of silver. This is not enough for them to embezzle just from purchasing goods."
"Madame Qian, the Madam's maid, has a little grandson who is currently studying at Zhanghua Academy. I checked, but I couldn't find any evidence of his slave status."
"Also, Madam Zhou's youngest daughter married the eldest grandson of Manager Zheng from the front yard."
Manager Zheng is in charge of the correspondence in the front yard.
Even Gu Baibai didn't know about this, and he couldn't help but ponder.
Gu Zhizhuo smiled helplessly. Most of these were said by the maids when they came to recommend themselves. When the internal managers came to report on their work, she either guided or coerced them, and slowly pieced together some seemingly insignificant information.
She has been busy with this these days and hasn't met all the people yet.
Gu Zhizhuo sighed, "Everyone in the mansion has different intentions."
"You and Dad are in the Northern Frontier, too busy to care about other things. As for me, your niece, I didn't know much before, but now I know that our family is like a broken sieve."
"Recently, Ah Man was taken away openly by the Qin family from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
"In the long run, aren't our every word, action, and gesture also under the eyes of others?"
Gu Zhizhuo pushed him forward and said, "The Duke's Mansion is too disorganized these days. Since Madam can't manage the household well, I'll take over."
External difficulties.
Internal factors.
All these things caused the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion to be reduced to ashes in the previous life.
What Gu Zhizhuo was fighting for was never the right to feed the family.
The first is to force Ji to ask Ji Nan Ke for help, which will make Xie Jing anxious; the second is the most crucial, what she wants is a Zhenguo Mansion that is like an iron barrel, at least she won't have to face the enemy in the front and be stabbed in the back.
Gu Baibai looked relieved.
He said only two words: "Very good."
After saying this, he paused for a moment and said more seriously, "Whatever you want to do, just do it."
Gu Zhizhuo smiled like a flower, with two deep dimples on his cheeks.
"Yaoyao." Mrs. Lu asked excitedly, "Tell your aunt quickly, was it really you who figured out what happened to the Bai Chang family?"
Gu Zhinan also tilted his head to look at her, his almond-shaped eyes sparkling.
"Yes!" Gu Zhizhuo raised his little face slightly, "I am amazing."
Gu Zhinan clapped his hands and said, "Big sister is so amazing!"
"Big sister, you count as one more!"
Gu Zhizhuo pushed Gu Baibai and continued smugly, "Before I came back, I met the Third Prince. I calculated with my fingers that he would definitely fall off his horse today."
Lu and Gu Zhinan said in unison: "Really?"
Mrs. Lu pulled Gu Baibai's sleeve and said, "Hurry up and find someone to find out if it's true!"
Her eyes lit up with excitement.
Gu Zhinan nodded and pulled her father's sleeve, shaking it coquettishly: "Daddy, go, go. Go quickly."
Gu Baibai: “…”
Who can stand this!!!
So, as soon as they arrived at the training ground, Gu Baibai sent for the chief steward Zheng Qi. After giving him his instructions, he asked, "Yaoyao, how heavy is the bow you are using now?"
"Five dou."
Gu Zhizhuo picked up a bow from the bow rack and weighed it in his hand.
She has been practicing with a five-bucket bow recently. Pulling the string and shooting arrows three hundred times a day has produced some results. Gu Zhizhuo can easily pull the string to its full length.
She faced the target and released the arrow neatly. The bowstring was still trembling when the arrow hit the bull's eye with a sound of breaking through the air.
Gu Zhizhuo turned around and said, "Third Uncle, what do you think?"
She was a hundred steps away from the target, and she was still able to hit the bull's eye at such a distance. It was obvious that she had practiced hard.
Gu Baibai clapped his hands generously and asked, "Can you shoot a string of arrows?"
In the previous life, yes.
Now, no, her arm strength is far from enough.
As Gu Zhizhuo thought this in her mind, her right hand had already skillfully hooked up three feather arrows. Her movements were extremely smooth, as if she had done this countless times before.
All three feathered arrows were placed on the string. She pulled the string with her right hand three times in succession. The third time, she obviously felt something was wrong. Her arm strength could not keep up, and she was unable to pull the third arrow to full string. Her arm shook uncontrollably, and the feathered arrow flew out of the string.
The first arrow hit the bull's eye, the second arrow followed the tail feather of the previous arrow steadily, and the third arrow lost its strength and fell before it reached the target.
"Amazing!" Lu clapped her hands vigorously. "Let me try it too."
Gu Zhizhuo rubbed his sore arms and hid the bow behind his back: "Don't even think about it!"
Lu laughed so hard that she fell forward and backward, and Gu Zhizhuo was so scared that he hurried over to help her.
"How can you be so delicate?" Mrs. Lu didn't care at all. She held her stomach and laughed happily, with her eyebrows and mouth corners full of joy.
"Big sister." Gu Zhinan looked at her with his big eyes, so cute, "Can you teach me, please?"
Well, no.
"good!"
Gu Zhizhuo happily dragged her to try out the bow. Zheng Qi hurried over and reported to Gu Baibai, "Third Master, we just received news that the Third Prince has fallen off his horse."
Gu Zhizhuo spread his hands and smiled at Gu Baibai.
"See, I'm right."
She raised her chin slightly and said happily, "I, the Divine Calculator!"
Wow! Gu Zhinan admired him so much.
"I'm just kidding you." Gu Zhizhuo pinched her chubby cheeks. "Nannan, your father was also known for his meticulous planning on the battlefield."
Gu Zhinan turned to look at Gu Baibai. Gu Baibai's eyes were gentle, and he waved to his daughter with a smile. After calling her over, he said, "Any perfect plan is simply the skillful use of everything available, including a thorough understanding of the other party's character."
Gu Zhizhuo said frankly, "As for me, I don't want to be tied to the Third Prince anymore, so I want to convince the Emperor that if this engagement continues, the Third Prince will suffer a tragic fate. And the Third Prince is determined to rescue Ji Nanke from the Nuguan, and the engagement is the biggest obstacle for him. He has no other choice but to listen to me."
"I said, he's going to fall off his horse, and he's going to fall off his horse."
"This is just like your meticulous planning."
Still so amazing! Gu Zhinan’s eyes lit up, Daddy is so amazing, and so is Big Sister!
Gu Baibai seemed to be lost in thought. He could tell that Yaoyao was hiding a lot of things from him, but since she was unwilling to talk, he would not insist on asking her about it.
He only asked: "Will the Emperor believe it?"
"meeting."
Gu Zhizhuo said it with certainty.
In her previous life, she had witnessed with her own eyes how much the emperor cherished and loved his son Xie Jing.
"Where did His Royal Highness the Third Prince fall off his horse?" asked Gu Zhizhuo.
"Near the city gate," Zheng Qi said respectfully. "His Royal Highness the Third Prince was returning to the capital from the direction of the Nuguan Temple. As he was about to enter the city, his horse was tripped by a porter's load and he fell off."
"He's seriously injured."
He calculated the time and added, "By now, the person should have been sent back to the palace."
Gu Zhizhuo curled his lips in pleasure. The last time he jumped into the lake, the pond was not deep after all, and Qin Su rescued him in time, so apart from choking on a few mouthfuls of water, he was fine.
But this time, he fell off a horse.
Even though he controlled the horse's speed and reduced the force when he fell, Xie Jing still fell hard. His elbow hit the ground hard and was dislocated. He was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat.
As soon as he returned to the palace, the emperor was informed. It was unbelievable.
"Jing'er fell?" The emperor suddenly stood up from behind the imperial desk and asked in a breath, "How badly is he injured? Where is he? Have you called the imperial physician?"
"Yes," Li Deshun said quickly, "His Royal Highness the Third Prince's arm is dislocated. The imperial physician has already set the bone. Don't worry."
He was afraid that the emperor would get hurt, so he added, "It's just that there are some scratches."
"That's good."
The emperor nodded repeatedly: "I'll go and take a look."
As he spoke, he started walking away, and Li Deshun quickly followed behind him.
As soon as he left the imperial study, the sun shone on him, and the emperor felt a little blinded. Thinking of his son, he couldn't help but sigh, and finally said, "Tell me, is it because I insisted on this marriage that Jing'er has been plagued by disasters and troubles?"
There was no emotion on his face, as if he was just saying it casually.
Li Deshun had been in the imperial court for many years, so he naturally knew what to say and what he could say.
"Your Majesty, you are thinking of the greater good. Moreover, His Royal Highness the Third Prince suffered this crime for the sake of Daqi's country and people."
Li Deshun could actually see that the emperor had wavered.
I have to say that Master Qingping does have some skills.
The last time they were at Taiqing Temple, the emperor only believed his words to about half or six points. However, when they left, Qingping Zhenren told the emperor to be careful with fire and candles after returning to the palace. As a result, the next day, a spark from a glass lamp somehow burst out, burning the lampshade, and the sparks also splashed onto the pages of the book, almost causing a fire.
Later, the emperor summoned Qingping Zhenren into the palace several times to listen to his lectures and talk about Taoist health-preserving methods.
Now, he has become the emperor's new favorite.
Now, the Third Prince had fallen from his horse out of the blue, only half a month after his last fall into the lake. The Emperor was bound to recall what Master Qingping had said last time, and this time, he probably believed it to the very least.
Oh. The Third Prince is also like this, how could he be so unlucky!
The emperor frowned and had a blank expression on his face.
He walked with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, and it was unclear whether he was talking to himself or to Li Deshun: "Gu Yican has made a great contribution this time. Gu Zhizhuo's engagement must be tied to the royal family.
"Otherwise I won't be at ease."
"But I can't let her harm Jing'er."
We can’t harm Jing’er, and similarly, we can’t harm the eldest and second oldest brothers.
A royal family member?
The royal family's weight was not enough, and it was difficult for him to convince the old stubborn people in the court to change the engagement from Jing'er to a royal family member.
The emperor rubbed his brows, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. He squinted his eyes against the light. Li Deshun looked over and thought to himself: Hey, this direction is Xiyunwu?
Li Deshun's mind moved, and an idea came to his mind.
No way! ?
Before he could think about it, he heard the emperor ask, "When will the Queen's flower party be held?"
He said, "May 20th."
"Will Miss Gu come?"
How could Li Deshun know? The emperor obviously didn't want him to answer, and said directly: "Go and tell the queen, and ask her to send someone to pass on the oral order."
Soon after the emperor gave the order, Aunt Zheng from Fengluan Palace arrived at the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to deliver the oral order.
Gu Zhizhuo blinked in confusion.
The flower show will be held the day after tomorrow, but you only come to announce her today?
Whatever you think comes true.
This flower fair also existed in the previous life. The Empress would hold it every May. Most of the guests invited were unmarried noble ladies who would come to the palace to enjoy the flowers. Each mansion would bring one or two pots of the best quality peonies. If they won the title of Flower King or something like that, the Empress would give them a generous reward.
Sometimes, the queen would grant a marriage on a whim.
In the previous life, Gu Zhizhuo also went there with a rotten face. At that time, the queen wanted to choose the princess and concubine for the eldest prince and the second prince. Thinking of those not-so-pleasant memories, she scratched the hair by her ears.
In this life, the Queen did not summon her, and she thought that after she had caused such a big fuss last time, the Queen was no longer willing to see her!
Gu Zhizhuo signaled Qiongfang to give the red envelope and send Aunt Zheng away. After a while, Qiongfang came back and said, "I asked around and it was the Emperor's intention."
Well, it's even more confusing.
But that's okay.
Gu Zhizhuo closed the half-read roster on the table and instructed, "Tell Chunxin to go to the greenhouse and pick out a few pots of peonies."
"And bring out the new butterfly-emblazoned dress you made this season."
"Please put the things you brought for cousin Danling on the table for me. Don't bring the whip..."
It is taboo to bring a whip into the palace, so I will give it to Xie Danling next time she comes out to play.
Gu Zhizhuo gave a series of scattered instructions, walked to the medicine cabinet, opened one of the locked drawers, took out a fine porcelain bottle with a blue and white bottom, opened the stopper, and poured out a dark brown pill.
This pill is as big as the nail of your thumb.
This is the medicine I made for you, the young master. It took me several batches of time to make this one.
She was originally waiting to give it to Qin Chen during his rest period, but now, she just happened to bring it into the palace herself.
She took the pill to the desk, wrapped it in the silk paper she had prepared in advance, then wrapped it in a layer of oil paper, and finally sealed it with wax with her own hands.
On the day of going out, Gu Zhizhuo hid the pills in a secret pocket in his sleeve, got on a carriage, and entered the palace.
She arrived neither too early nor too late, and the palace gate was already full of carriages.
Gu Zhizhuo got off the carriage and had to walk from here.
Stepping into the vermilion palace gate, Gu Zhizhuo walked forward under the guidance of a young eunuch. Suddenly, she stopped and looked at an artificial lake not far away. In the center of the lake, pavilions and towers were connected by paths. From a distance, they seemed to be floating on the lake.
"This is……"
"Miss Gu, this is Xiyunwu."
Yes! Gu Zhizhuo knew that the young master was currently living in Xiyunwu.
She curved her lips into a smile, her eyes filled with joy and anticipation.
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