Chapter 46 Chapter 46 is the only authentic version...
Xie Yingchen grabbed her wrist.
His hands were still cold, but the skin he touched was warm, warming his heart.
He was reluctant to give up this warmth and couldn't help but let his fingertips linger on it for a few more breaths before letting go.
"Young Master!"
Joy easily crept up the corners of Gu Zhizhuo's eyes and eyebrows.
"You're fine now." She smiled cheerfully, "but you'll need to nurse for at least another three to five years."
This is a strong medicine, which means it will damage the foundation. But as long as the remaining poison is cleared, you can still recover slowly.
In this life, the young master has not suffered any serious injuries, and his physical condition is much better than in his previous life.
This round, we won.
She would not let the young master die as early as in his previous life.
"Sir, would you like some water?"
"good."
Xie Yingchen's voice was hoarse and his throat felt like it was burning.
Huai Jingzhi hurriedly brought some warm water, and Gu Zhizhuo naturally reached out to take it. She used a small silver spoon to dip a little bit of water and fed it to his lips. There were only a few drops, which slightly moistened his dry lips.
After a while, I fed it some more.
She placed the tea bowl on a round stool beside her and warned, "You can only drink this much. You can only drink water after another six hours."
Every move she made was so frank, without any shyness or awkwardness caused by the difference between men and women, which made Qin Chen think of the way she had just taken off her clothes.
Well, never mind. I can’t think about this too much.
A bit more color appeared on Xie Yingchen's pale cheeks.
"I remember that."
He smiled at her.
It was exactly the same dream she had had countless nights after the young master's death.
Carrying the hope that she could not reach in her previous life even if she stretched out her arms desperately.
She quickly turned her head away to hide the bitterness in her eyes.
Qin Chen helped Xie Yingchen sit up and placed a large soft pillow behind him.
Xie Yingchen looked around.
In the past, whenever he had a day off, he would stay at this house with his parents for a few days. They would go out together, go shopping, visit restaurants and teahouses, and go for outings in the suburbs of Beijing, just like ordinary people. He would also change into coarse clothes and follow his father, pretending to be a commoner looking for relatives, talking to the farmers and even helping with the work in the fields.
His father helped him understand people's livelihood and the world, and told him that no matter how much the tutors taught him, it would not be as good as him coming out of the palace and seeing Daqi with his own eyes.
So familiar.
Even the table lamp, screen, gauze curtain, and incense burner were the same as those that appeared repeatedly in my memories.
He is finally back.
The injustice suffered by his parents and the lives of tens of thousands of people who died in the Donggong case have sustained him through all these years.
Finally, back here again.
"Sir." Huai Jingzhi stood aside and said slowly, "The guards outside have all been replaced by Jinyiwei."
Xie Yingchen was not surprised.
He knew it the moment he saw Gu Zhizhuo, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get in. "Lord Shen..." His throat was a little hoarse from thirst, and he spoke incoherently, "It seems that he is quite satisfied with Yongzhou Zhi."
Chen Xu is not an easy person to deal with.
Since returning to the palace, the only face-to-face contact he had with Shen Xu was just yesterday.
The transaction is mutual.
He took out the chips that Shen Xu wanted.
But now it seems that his bargaining chip is far more valuable than he thought.
Therefore, Shen Xu replaced the Jinwu Guards with the Jinyi Guards, giving them freedom to a certain extent.
"Yongzhou Yin family."
Xie Yingchen finally confirmed: "His last name is Yin."
"Jingzhi, give the list I compiled not long ago to Governor Shen."
"Lord Shen gave us this great gift, we must repay it."
"yes."
Huai Jingzhi accepted the order expressionlessly, and continued, "Sir, the lights in the imperial study are still on. The emperor summoned Prince Jin, and the two of them have been alone in the imperial study for two hours. The other officials are in the waiting room. Because of your sudden illness and departure from the palace..."
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Gu Zhizhuo's brows furrowed even more tightly: "You're going too far."
ah?
"Get out, get out."
Without saying a word, she stood up and chased them away. Her face was tense and she looked very unhappy.
This guy named Huai has no sense at all!
No wonder in this life, even though the young master had not fallen into Chen Xu's ambush, his health did not improve at all. It was just that people like them simply could not understand how to write the four words "know when to stop"!
Young master, you just opened your eyes. It hasn’t been more than an incense stick of time, right?
All these things are coming at me. There's no need to rush! The sky isn't falling.
Even if the sky falls, there is still the child of destiny to support it.
"Young Master needs to rest."
"You," Gu Zhizhuo instructed Huai Jingzhi, "go prepare some rice soup. Young Master can only drink rice soup for the next three days and cannot eat anything else."
"And you." This was said to Chongjiu, "Go and boil the medicine. I'll write a prescription for you later."
"besides……"
She gave the orders calmly, as if she had done this countless times before.
"What about me?"
Qin Chen pointed at himself and found that Gu Zhizhuo had completely ignored his existence.
Gu Zhizhuo was stunned for a moment. Oh, that’s right, Qin Chen had died in his previous life, and she had forgotten that he was still alive.
"you……"
Gu Zhizhuo couldn't think of anything for a moment, so Huai Jingzhi grabbed his arm and walked out: "Go and see those Jinyiwei."
It's finally quiet.
Gu Zhizhuo turned to Xie Yingchen and said as a matter of course, "Don't overthink it."
"At least five days... Never mind, at least three days. Don't worry about anything, don't think about anything. Is that okay?"
Her phoenix eyes stared at him without blinking, and her clear pupils could see through him at a glance, like a cat's.
Still a cat that can stretch its claws.
Xie Yingchen replied obediently with a gentle look in his eyes: "Okay."
"That's right."
Gu Zhizhuo smiled with his eyes curved. She calculated the time and leaned over to pull out the last silver needle from his body.
Her breath suddenly approached, covering Xie Yingchen like a shadow. A few strands of her hair fell on his cheeks, and a faint fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose.
"alright!"
She picked up the needle and was about to stand up when her hair was suddenly pulled and her scalp suddenly felt numb with pain.
Gu Zhizhuo touched over and found that it was the hook on the bed curtain that caught her hair.
No matter how well this house is preserved, it is still the house of the deposed prince. The things inside are all old things. The young master came suddenly, and they, a group of rough guys, must have picked up things without checking them carefully and just used whatever they could from the warehouse.
Why.
Gu Zhizhuo pursed his lips and pulled his hair.
I pulled it twice but couldn't get it off. Could it be that it got caught on the hairpin?
"I'll do it."
Just as Xie Yingchen was about to speak, she had already pulled out the hairpin from her hair, and her jet-black hair spread out softly and fell on her shoulders.
Gu Zhizhuo tilted her head to look at him, and a small dimple appeared on her cheek.
Xie Yingchen's breathing paused for a moment, and he gently hooked his fingers in the quilt, wanting to grab the dimple.
Can't.
Now everything is unclear and the sky is still dark.
Xie Yingchen slowly bent his fingers and suppressed all the throbbing in his palms.
He looked at her with a smile, and saw her lower her head to take out a hairband from her purse, and skillfully tied her long hair into a high ponytail, neat and tidy.
She thought about it, then took out a clean handkerchief, covered the exposed hooks, and tied a beautiful bow.
nice!
She looked around and sat down on the round stool beside the couch with satisfaction.
Xie Yingchen, as usual, perfectly restrained all his emotions.
Wait a little longer.
Until he won't drag her down, until he can hold up the sky.
"Miss Gu."
"Um?"
"Your medicine is really effective."
"Right!" Gu Zhizhuo raised his face and smiled happily: "I'm very powerful! Sir, you..."
"you."
Gu Zhizhuo was stunned, looking confused.
"you."
Gu Zhizhuo opened his lips slightly and repeated subconsciously: "You?"
Xie Yingchen nodded gently, his smiling eyes always fixed on her face, and said again: "It's you, not you."
He didn't want to hear her use honorifics all the time, as it would make him feel very distant from her.
"Say 'you', okay?"
Gu Zhizhuo's eyelashes trembled slightly, and there was a faint sound of movement behind him. Qin Chen poked his head in, but was pulled out in just a moment, and the door closed again.
"What's wrong?"
Qin Chen was puzzled: "I have something to report to you, Master. Those Jinyiwei..."
"I just got the news." Huai Jingzhi interrupted him directly, rubbing his brow and said, "Yesterday at the flower show, the emperor said in person at the West Water Pavilion that the engagement between Miss Gu and the Third Prince was invalid."
"That's great!" Qin Chen clapped his hands and said with genuine joy, "The Third Prince's character is not worthy of Miss Gu."
Huai Jingzhi's tone was slightly strange: "The Emperor even said in person that he would marry Miss Gu to our young master."
"Tsk, why does the emperor love to be a matchmaker so much? Even if he is addicted to arranged marriages, he shouldn't always pick on Miss Gu alone. You say... wait a minute!" Qin Chen's brain was slow to react.
When he looked up, he saw Huai Jingzhi looking at him as if he were an idiot.
"You mean..."
Qin Chen really couldn't understand the logic behind this.
Why did the emperor suddenly think of the young master?!
Miss Gu and Mr. Gu?! His brain was not working well.
"That's it."
Huai Jingzhi said affirmatively.
For more than a day, the young master's coma occupied all of Huai Jingzhi's energy and attention. Apart from some important news, he didn't read much of the news from the palace. Until now that the young master woke up, he sorted it out a little.
Unexpected!
"However, just as the emperor finished speaking, the news of the young master vomiting blood spread. So..."
There is no imperial edict yet.
Also, it is still unknown whether the emperor will really issue an order to confirm this marriage.
"Maybe he was so happy that the young master was about to die that he forgot to issue an edict." Huai Jingzhi said coldly. He had no respect for the one sitting on the dragon throne from body to heart.
Qin Chen: “…”
He spoke with a beast-like instinct, "The Emperor wouldn't want Miss Gu to bring him down, would he? That's hilarious!" He lowered his voice a bit, "If you ask me, it would be fantastic if Miss Gu were willing to marry him."
"Oh right. Master, you don't know yet, right?"
affim.
Not only the young master doesn't know, but looking at Miss Gu's appearance, she has probably forgotten too.
After all, there was chaos and war at that time.
"Do you want to tell me?"
Huai Jingzhi did not respond.
The door was not closed tightly. Through the narrow gap, Huai Jingzhi saw that his son seemed to be listening to what Miss Gu said. He leaned back on the pillow, and the relaxation between his brows was something Huai Jingzhi had not seen in many years.
The more you value it.
The more cautious you will be.
If the young master knew about this now, he would definitely try to refuse the marriage immediately.
In those days, except for them, almost everyone in the Eastern Palace died, even the Crown Princess.
The young master's future is uncertain now, so he certainly doesn't want to implicate Miss Gu.
"Wait a minute."
Huai Jingzhi finally spoke.
Qin Chen stared at him for a long time, then suddenly said, "You're done."
He even dared to hide this from the young master. If he knew about it, Huai Jingzhi would definitely be finished.
Huai Jingzhi glanced at him and said with his eyes: If you want to say something, then go ahead.
No way! Qin Chen is not stupid.
The two of them fell silent in unison, in perfect tacit understanding.
Anyway, the most he would get is a military punishment and kneel for a day...right?
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of chairs colliding was heard from inside. After a while, Gu Zhizhuo came out with Qingmei and made a gesture to silence them.
"The young master has fallen asleep."
Qin Chen immediately covered his mouth with his hands and remained silent.
Gu Zhizhuo closed the door carefully. "I should sleep for more than twelve hours this time. Don't worry, I will wake up when I should. Just prepare some rice soup. When I wake up, drink some rice soup and then take the medicine. I can't eat anything else for three days, no matter how hungry I am."
She reminded them of the points that needed attention one by one, and after making sure they had taken note, she bowed and said goodbye.
Qin Chen walked her all the way to the door and talked a lot about this and that.
It's almost June, and the early mornings are a little chilly and the weather is a little gloomy.
Gu Zhizhuo left the mansion "quietly" (openly) just like when he came.
She walked briskly, the corners of her mouth rose unconsciously, and her bright eyes sparkled like stars.
Anyone could see that she was in a good mood.
"Dongdong, wonton, dongdong."
A series of muffled "dong dong" sounds interrupted her thoughts.
Not far away on the street, there was a wonton stall. An elderly woman was beating a bamboo board, then hung the board on the stall and went to move a chair.
Gu Zhizhuo looked hungry, and finally remembered that he had not eaten anything since returning from the palace yesterday.
"Would you like some wontons?" she asked Qingmei with a smile, "My lady, it's my treat!"
“Yes, yes!”
Qingmei responded loudly and happily followed her to the wonton stall.
The old woman, limping on one leg, put the chairs in place one by one. She also brought a little granddaughter of seven or eight years old. The tables and chairs were really heavy for the child, and her little face turned red from carrying them.
Gu Zhizhuo and Qingmei helped and put the chairs in place. Gu Zhizhuo said loudly, "Give us two bowls of wontons, big ones!"
"Hey! Wait a minute, girl."
The old woman smiled kindly. The water was already boiling. She quickly cooked two bowls of wontons and served them to Gu Zhizhuo together with her granddaughter.
The wontons are beautifully wrapped, warm in the mouth, fragrant and delicious. After finishing a bowl, it seems to drive away the cold and fatigue in the body.
"Grandma, it looks like it's going to rain," the little granddaughter asked obediently while sitting on a bench. "Should we put up the umbrella?"
The old woman came out from behind the stall and looked at the sky with a frown.
"It won't rain today." Gu Zhizhuo finished his last wonton and put down his spoon contentedly. "There will be a big thunderstorm around the time of Xu the day after tomorrow. If you guys are setting up a stall tonight, please close it early."
"Really, sister?" The little girl looked at her with shining eyes.
Yes. Gu Zhizhuo nodded: "It will definitely not rain today."
She was bored and anxious waiting for dark yesterday. She calculated the celestial phenomena in the past few days and found that they were at least 80% accurate.
Gu Zhizhuo put down a few copper coins and stood up to leave. The sound of hurried horse hooves accompanied by a strong wind came towards him. Dozens of people dressed in brown clothes and pointed hats galloped past on horseback on the street, as fast as a gust of wind. Gu Zhizhuo only saw that they were people from the East Factory.
What happened? Gu Zhizhuo looked back and shook her head. She didn't know either.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't ask any more questions and immediately got up and left. When he was walking across the street ahead, the East Factory blocked the road, so he had to take a detour. When he returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, it was already past noon.
"girl."
When Qiongfang saw her coming back, she hurried over to greet her, tears welling in her eyes: "You are finally back."
She was almost anxious to death that night.
This is the first time the girl has stayed out all night.
She didn't dare to rest or light a lamp, for fear of being discovered by someone with ulterior motives.
Fortunately, only she and Qingmei could enter and leave the girl's room freely, so nothing went wrong.
“I’m back!”
"I'm going to take a nap." Gu Zhizhuo yawned and walked inside. "You two should also rest for a while. Let Qingwei come over."
Not to mention Qingmei, Gu Zhizhuo saw that Qiongfang had dark circles under her eyes, and she must have not slept all night.
"Go to bed quickly."
After she sent the two of them out, she threw herself on the couch, intending to close her eyes before getting up to wash up. However, as soon as her head touched the quilt, she fell asleep and slept soundly.
When I woke up, it was already past noon.
She felt dizzy and dazed. She washed up with her eyes wide open, ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup, and finally came back to life.
My physical strength is still not enough. I'm so tired after just one injection. Gu Zhizhuo yawned and wondered if he should go back to sleep.
Qingmei came in from outside: "Miss, Manager Zheng wants to see you. There are some clues about the Ji family's affairs."
Gu Zhizhuo's eyebrows moved, now he was completely awakened from his sleep.
"Tell him to wait a moment, I'll be right there."
"By the way, remember to remind me to clean up another yard in the front yard. It's not nice to always use Big Brother's study."
The inner house and the outer courtyard are separated by an inner ceremonial gate.
Zheng Qi could not enter and leave the inner house at will, so Gu Zhizhuo borrowed Gu Yican's study to meet him.
Zheng Qi waited cautiously outside the study. When she arrived, he greeted her and went in with her.
Gu Zhizhuo sat down behind the desk and raised his hand: "You go ahead."
Zheng Qi bowed and said bluntly, "Miss, someone in the Ji family did make a fortune six years ago, and now, they have built up a considerable family business."
Gu Zhizhuo raised his eyebrows: "Who?"
"Ji Huacheng, the third son of the second branch of the Ji family."
That day, Gu Zhizhuo did not ignore the words "six years ago" from the Bai Chang family.
It was obvious that the Bai Chang family had caught some evidence against Ji, but even though he heard it, Gu Zhizhuo did not take any action to stop Ji from beating her to death.
Bai Chang's family deserved to die. More importantly, Bai Chang's death could tear a hole in the inner house that was firmly controlled by the Ji family, allowing her to replace them in a very short time.
For the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion, controlling this leaky mansion is far more important than knowing what leverage Ji has.
As for the rest.
Gu Zhizhuo checked the roster. Six years ago, the maid in charge of Bai Chang's family was a maid next to Ji, who was mainly responsible for the gift list, that is, the registration of gifts given and received.
At least six years ago, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion had not been so leaked. Everyone in the mansion had their own responsibilities, and the Bai Chang family had no access to other people's tasks. The reason she was able to discover and use it as a handle, making her become Ji's right-hand man in just six years, was most likely related to the person who came to give gifts that year.
This investigation made Gu Zhizhuo pay attention to the Ji family.
Six years ago, the Ji family came to the capital in the name of delivering festival gifts, with a total of twenty to thirty people coming.
She said, "Go on."
"The Ji family came to Beijing this time and stayed at the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion for about a month. For some reason, the eldest son of the Ji family, the madam's biological brother, had a huge argument with the madam, and the Ji family left Beijing that same day and returned to Jiangnan. The eldest son of the Ji family fell seriously ill on the way and passed away."
Gu Zhizhuo was slightly thoughtful.
"Since then, the Ji family's annual festival gifts have only been delivered to the capital by servants, and no one from the Ji family has come to the capital anymore. Besides cousin Ji, the madam has not had much contact with the Ji family."
The Ji family has three branches in this generation, and they have long since split up. Ji is from the eldest branch, and Ji Nanke is from the third branch.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't stop him, so Zheng Qi continued, "Ji Huacheng made a fortune that year. He told others that he invested a lot of money in a merchant ship in Minzhou. The merchant ship returned intact and brought back a large amount of goods. He received a large share of the profits. But..."
"However, the Ji family has been a family of nobles for generations in the previous dynasty. These scholars look down upon merchants the most. How could Ji Huacheng have access to maritime trade?" Gu Zhizhuo rubbed his fingers and continued, "These merchants are very shrewd. They won't just invest money just because someone asks them to."
"yes."
Therefore, the source of the money that Ji Huacheng used to make his fortune was wrong.
"Even if Ji Huacheng really found a ship willing to accept his money, where would he get the capital? From his wife's dowry, we can see that the Ji family has been suppressed and forbidden from entering the officialdom for three generations, and has also experienced the destruction of the country, so the foundation is empty."
The young lady is really perceptive. Zheng Qi's face was filled with joy as he nodded in agreement.
Gu Zhizhuo bent his fingers and tapped lightly on the desk.
One, two, three...
She raised her head slightly and asked, "Since Madam got married, how many times have the Ji family come here?"
"Twice."
Zheng Qi answered affirmatively.
"Madam married into the mansion eight years ago. She was brought in by the eldest son of the Ji family's eldest branch, her deceased brother."
He sent his wife all the way to the capital, where she stayed for another half a month before returning to Jiangnan.
"This is the first time the Ji family has come to the capital."
Since the fall of the previous dynasty, the Ji family moved back to their hometown and still live in Jiangnan today.
"At the time, the Duke was still the Crown Prince, and he should have gone to Jiangnan in person to pick up the bride, as a gesture of solemnity. However, at that time, the border was in crisis, so the Duke returned to the Northern Frontier with the old Duke, and he had no time to spare.
"This marriage was arranged urgently, and the late emperor didn't want to be too disrespectful, so he specifically ordered the Ministry of Rites to be in charge of the wedding arrangements. The Second Prince was in charge of the Ministry of Rites at the time, so the late emperor ordered him to bring the officials from the Ministry of Rites to Jiangnan, giving the Ji family enough face."
The second prince at that time is the one sitting on the throne today.
"No one is available at the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, so I have no choice but to lead the wedding procession."
Gu Zhizhuo didn't know this.
She was still young at that time, and she thought about her mother every day and cried herself to sleep.
It turned out that it was the emperor who was responsible for welcoming the bride.
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