Chapter 58 Chapter 58 is the only genuine version...
Gu Zhizhuo stepped over the threshold.
After bowing gracefully, she said bluntly, "Your Highness, please speak directly. Don't waste time. I'm very busy."
For some reason, Xie Jing always felt a little numb when facing Gu Zhizhuo.
The wound on my forehead, which had long since healed, seemed to hurt again.
Xie Jing subconsciously covered his forehead and asked, "Where's Third Master Gu?"
"I am the master of the Gu family now." Gu Zhizhuo stroked the hem of her skirt and sat down at the head of the table. Seeing that he remained silent for a while, she said, "If your Highness has nothing else to do, then I will send you away."
Gu Zhizhuo clapped his hands lightly, and two guards came in from the door and made a "please" gesture to Xie Jing.
Xie Jing knew too well how cruel she was to him, and he really would chase her away if he said so.
"Wait. I'm not finished yet."
Gu Zhizhuo gestured, and the guards retreated again. She played with the forbidden step between her fingers and said with a smile, "Please speak."
"Ke'er..."
Xie Jing observed her expression and said, "She has nowhere to go now and has suffered such a great blow. As her younger sister, you should take good care of her."
He spoke more and more as if it was a matter of course: "After all, you grew up together, right?"
"so what?"
"Just treat her well. Tell everyone in the mansion not to neglect her because of Ji's matter. Also, don't skimp on her food, clothing, and other expenses. Ke'er is kind and will definitely remember your kindness in the future."
Gu Zhizhuo spread her hands towards him. Seeing Xie Jing's confused expression, she kindly reminded him, "Silver."
ah?
"It costs money to raise your Ke'er, Your Highness the Third Prince."
"You won't spend a penny, but you will give generously to others."
Xie Jing stared at her intently, as if trying to see through the veil to see how dark her heart was that she could even say such words.
He said, "Father has instructed..."
Gu Zhizhuo raised a finger, shook it gently, and said coldly, "The emperor only instructed her to live in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
"I didn't drive her away."
"As for the rest," Gu Zhizhuo said slowly, "it's none of your business."
A fierce look flashed in Xie Jing's eyes: "Miss Gu, don't go too far..."
He looked at Gu Zhizhuo with a threatening look.
Bang!
Gu Zhizhuo slammed the table, frightening Xie Jing so much that he almost jumped up from his armchair.
"see a visitor out."
The guards came in again.
Xie Jing was so angry that he was gasping for breath, but he was really worried about Ke'er.
Ke'er has never suffered any hardship since she was a child. Now that Ji has been demoted to a concubine, how will the servants in the mansion look at her? Will the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion vent their anger on her because of the Ji family's affairs? Will they withhold her food, clothing and other expenses? Will she be bullied... Whenever he thinks of these things, he can't sleep all night.
He originally wanted to find Gu Baibai and ask her to promise not to mistreat Ke'er...
Xie Jing's eyes deepened, and he asked coldly, "How much do you want?"
Gu Zhizhuo raised a finger.
"one thousand?"
"Your beloved is so worthless? Do you know how much Yunyanluo's dress cost?"
How could he possibly know! "Ten thousand?"
"Okay." Before Xie Jing could breathe a sigh of relief, Gu Zhizhuo added, "Ten thousand taels of silver a month."
Xie Jing also slammed the table and stood up: "You are grabbing the silver!"
"see a visitor out."
She was so abominable that she sent the guests away without saying anything. Xie Jing made up his mind: "Okay, I'll give it to you!"
He actually took out a silver note worth ten thousand taels from his purse and slammed it on the coffee table with a bang.
Yo. God of Wealth?
Gu Zhizhuo gestured for Qiongfang to accept it. With the silver coming into his account, his attitude immediately improved: "Remember to send ten thousand taels of silver every first day of the month."
Xie Jing stared at her, almost laughing out of anger.
He hadn't yet established his own household, and with a monthly salary of one hundred taels, at most he received a small subsidy from his mother. This was all the cash he had on him, and he had taken it all out before leaving the palace, intending to secretly give it to Ke'er. If Ke'er was wronged, he could still help her, or if all else failed, he could go out and buy her a house or something.
As a result, it disappeared in an instant.
It costs 10,000 taels every month.
It's really an exorbitant price.
Gu Zhizhuo said innocently, "You gave it to me on your own initiative. If you don't want to, then..."
Before Gu Zhizhuo could even utter the word "show up", Xie Jing quickly compromised: "I'll give it to you, I'll give it to you. But today is already the middle of the month..." What he meant was, can he return half of it?
"Your Highness." Gu Zhizhuo brushed the embroidery on his sleeve and said earnestly, "What's the point of you arguing with me here? If you had persuaded the Emperor to grant you a marriage earlier, wouldn't that have solved the problem once and for all? Don't you agree?"
Listening to her earnest request for him to marry Ke'er as soon as possible, Xie Jing felt an indescribable irritation in his heart.
Mingming was able to marry Ke'er and it had been his long-cherished wish.
"I will ask my father to grant us the marriage as soon as possible." Xie Jing said, staring into her eyes.
Gu Zhizhuo smiled in a teachable way: "Oh, there's one more thing."
Somehow, a sense of anticipation welled up in Xie Jing's heart, but the next moment, the anticipation shattered into pieces.
"Remember to prepare your daughter Ke'er's dowry and send it to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. This ten thousand taels does not include her dowry!"
Xie Jing:!
He was so angry that he was shaking, the corners of his mouth twitched again and again, and finally he flicked his sleeves hard and left in a rage.
Gu Zhizhuo shrugged: "What a bad temper."
It’s hard to describe Qingmei in a few words. It should be said that the young lady is really good at making people angry.
"Let's go, Third Uncle is waiting anxiously."
Qiongfang followed and asked, "What about Miss Ji's expenses?"
"Instruct them." Gu Zhizhuo said without hesitation, "Auntie's niece is not a proper relative, so there's no need to call her a cousin. Just follow Auntie Ji's share. She's a junior, and one level lower than Auntie Ji."
Qiongfang agreed.
In the past, because of the Ji family, Miss Ji’s share was no different from that of the eldest daughter.
However, my concubine's relatives cannot be considered relatives.
"Also, please don't neglect my cousin from the Xu family."
Gu Zhizhuo didn't have a deep impression of Xu Ying'er. In her previous life, Xu Ying'er was also a timid person with almost no sense of existence. However, she protected Wei Wei, so she was a good child.
Hearing her daughter call Xu Ying'er a "good kid", Qiongfang smiled and said, "Girl, you forgot that your cousin Xu is only one year younger than you."
"is that so?"
"Yes!" Qiongfang has a good memory.
Gu Zhizhuo counted on his fingers, but couldn't figure it out.
"Anyway, the allowance is the same as Weiwei's."
She said lazily, "As for Ji Nanke, if she lives here, we can earn 10,000 taels a month. If we can't afford it, someone will ask the emperor to grant us a marriage."
"We won't lose anything."
The way of heaven only wants Ji Nan Ke to become the consort of the Third Prince, but it doesn't say that she cannot accept money.
"Right?"
Yes, yes, yes!
Qingmei looked at the Third Prince and almost cried.
"Who's about to cry?"
Gu Liuliao waited for her for a long time but she didn't come. Fearing that she would suffer a loss, she came out to pick her up.
Gu Zhizhuo affectionately took her arm and told her in a very good mood about how he had earned 10,000 taels of silver for nothing. He talked all the way until they entered Gu Baibai's study.
Gu Yiqun was also there, and Gu Zhizhuo also met a strange young man.
He was about twenty years old, with an upright figure, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.
Seeing Gu Zhizhuo come in, he turned around and looked at her.
"This is Qi Fu. Captain of the Thousand Machines Camp."
Qi Fu clasped his fists and saluted: "Young lady."
Gu Zhizhuo dodged to the side and returned the greeting: "Captain Qi."
Gu Baibai said: "Captain Qi will go to Western Xinjiang with you."
ah?
"I will transfer three hundred men from the Thousand Machines Camp to you, and bring one hundred guards from the palace, for a total of four hundred men."
When Gu Zhizhuo heard that his third uncle had gone to the military camp, he guessed that he was going to transfer the Thousand Machine Battalion to her. It was true!
"Then I won't bring any guards."
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion has only two hundred guards in the capital, who take turns on duty, so one hundred people is only half of the manpower.
"Just one hundred." Gu Baibai said decisively, "One hundred people will be enough to stay in the mansion. Be obedient."
"You've never been to the border. People from Liang often come to plunder the western border. It's not safe for a girl like you to go out without others." Gu Baibai added, "The Thousand Machine Battalion can't be mobilized too much. It could easily cause trouble for the boss."
"The Three Hundred Thousand Machine Battalion will be led by Qi Fu. They will go to Youzhou first and meet you there."
Not to mention three hundred, even if Gu Zhizhuo brought the entire battalion, Gu Baibai would still be worried.
However, the palace was heavily guarded, and Gu Baibai estimated that only three hundred people at most could be mobilized without anyone noticing.
"yes. "
Gu Zhizhuo did not argue anymore, nor did he say that he had actually been to the border.
In her previous life, the young master had taken her across the vast land of Daqi.
"Also, take Yinyin with you."
Gu Yiqun was twelve years old. He was born to his second aunt, Mrs. Lu, and was the third boy in the mansion.
"Big sister."
Gu Yiqun smiled brightly, her black hair tied into a high ponytail, looking as sunny as the sun.
"Second Aunt, you'll be worried, right?"
Gu Zhizhuo was a little hesitant.
Lu gave birth to four children, two of whom died young. The eldest son died at the age of eight, and the eldest daughter died at birth.
Later, her second uncle also died in the war. She kept a close eye on her only remaining son and daughter. Gu Yiqun had never been to the northern border until she was twelve years old.
"My mother agreed." Gu Yiqun blinked at her. If Gu Baibai hadn't been watching, she would have almost started to act like a spoiled child. "Big sister, just take me with you. Even Ah Cheng has been to the border, but I haven't."
"Your second aunt agreed." Gu Liaoliao sighed, "Yinqin has never left the capital. This trip is not dangerous, so just treat it as an experience. It's better than going directly to the military camp in the future without knowing anything."
It’s not that they are cruel to their children, but in the military camp, the more spoiled they are, the more likely they are to die.
"Oh well."
Gu Zhizhuo nodded.
Wow! Gu Yiqun was so excited that she almost jumped up.
"About the city of Aur..."
Gu Baibai wanted to ask them to leave two days later because he needed to check the latest situation in Aul City. However, his niece directly handed him a piece of silk paper.
After Gu Baibai unfolded it, he was slightly startled. He quickly read it and gave it to Gu Liaoliao.
"Given by Gongzi Chen?"
"Uh-huh."
Gu Baibai pondered for a moment. Xie Yingchen had only just returned to China, so he knew everything about even these insignificant personnel matters.
It turns out that he has great ambitions and does not want to be confined to a small space.
He must have some plans for this country.
Gu Baibai bent his fingers and tapped lightly on the desk. After Yaoyao left, he had to meet Gongzi Chen, for Yaoyao's marriage and the future of the Gu family.
My grandfather once swore a solemn oath to the Emperor Taizu that the Gu family would never betray Daqi or the Xie family.
The Gu family has kept their promise until now. Some died, some were disabled, and some were even buried alive, but they still defended the northern border of Daqi and never retreated a single step.
However, the one sitting on the dragon throne was named Xie.
Xie Yingchen’s surname is also Xie!
Gu Baibai frowned slightly, and her originally gentle face became a little more stern.
Changing to someone with the surname Xie shouldn't be considered a violation of the oath, right?
The only thing that Gu Baibai cares about now is whether Xie Yingchen’s purpose in getting close to Yaoyao is pure or not.
Let’s take a look first.
Hey, who made Xie Yingchen look so pleasing to Yaoyao!
"Yaoyao," Gu Baibai said without showing any expression, and gestured for her to push herself against the wall.
There was a map rolled up on the wall. When the string was pulled, the map unfolded with a snap, revealing the great rivers and mountains of Daqi.
"This is the capital."
"The city of Aul is here."
He pointed at them one by one, then pointed to the area further west and said, "This is Liang Country."
"After you leave the capital..."
Gu Baibai explained in detail how to get there and where bandits might be lurking. He spoke for over an hour. Seeing that Gu Zhizhuo had memorized everything, he said, "You leave in three days. I'll take care of everything else."
Gu Zhizhuo nodded in agreement and took Gu Yiqun out first.
As soon as she left the house, Gu Yichen couldn't wait to ask, "Big sister, what should I bring with me when I go out?"
Gu Zhizhuo pondered for a moment and said, "We'll travel light. Just prepare two changes of clothes and your usual bows and horseback weapons."
"Big sister, please go talk to my mother for me," Gu Yiqun said exaggeratedly. "I took a quick look at the list she made for me. It's so long! I'm afraid it will take two or three carriages."
He didn't dare to say it just now, for fear that his third uncle would simply not let him go.
In this generation of the Gu family, there are only two men, him and his eldest brother. His eldest brother has been to the northern border and the western border, but he has never even left the capital. He has learned archery, horse riding and shooting seriously and is definitely not just a show-off.
Gu Zhizhuo smiled and said, "I'll go with you."
Gu Yichen was delighted and spoke very sweetly: "I like big sisters the most! Archer said that his sister would think he was stupid."
His own sister has never disliked him!
He kept calling her "big sister" and coaxed Gu Zhizhuo into almost agreeing to wait for him to come back. He persuaded his third uncle to let him go to the Qianji Camp to train with the soldiers.
Fortunately I held back!
The second house's Hanhui Courtyard is located west of the central axis of the Zhenguo Mansion. The moment before stepping into the courtyard, Gu Yiqun, who was still acting coquettishly, immediately stood up straight, straightened her lapels and hems, properly pulled the purse around her waist straight, and hung the jade pendant. Her movements were as smooth as flowing water, and it was obvious that she had done this countless times.
He put away his playful smile, looked like a handsome and elegant gentleman, and followed Gu Zhizhuo obediently.
Completely different from his previous chattering, he didn't say a word from the moment he entered the hanging flower gate to the corridor of the main hall. Even every step he took seemed to be measured with a ruler.
How could a military commander's wife not know what to bring when traveling?
Gu Zhizhuo said this in a tactful way. Xu was silent for a while, took out the prepared travel list, and crossed out the items on it one by one. Each stroke carried the mother's worry for her son.
In the end, he only had two or three sets of clothes, some common medicines and a small bag of dried meat left.
Gu Zhizhuo promised: "Don't worry, I will bring him back to you the same way I took him out."
"Yaoyao."
Xu moved her lips and said with difficulty, "Be careful on your journey."
"If you really encounter danger, you must not make any mistakes as a girl."
If something happens to a girl, it would be more terrifying than death.
She beckoned her son over.
"Yinyin, when you go out, you must protect your elder sister. Mother knows that you are very good at riding and shooting."
She handed Gu Yiqun over to Gu Zhizhuo personally without giving any other instructions, and even did not come out to see her off on the day of her departure.
Gu Zhizhuo brought a hundred guards and left the capital in a simple and light manner.
In Youzhou, we will meet the Qianji Camp dressed as ordinary guards.
Before setting off, Qi Fu was also worried that the girl might be too delicate and unable to withstand the long journey, and might throw a tantrum along the way.
To his surprise, the young lady never once uttered the word "tired." She rested when needed, continued on her journey, stayed in post stations if available, and slept in the wild if not. She accepted everything, even the second young master, who had never set foot in a military camp, never complained.
Gu Yiqun gritted her teeth all the way.
Now he finally understood why his father always said that being good at riding and shooting wasn't enough. He'd be ruined if he'd just been on the road all day. And, he'd really be ruined...
On the first day, when they finally got to rest, he practically rolled off his horse, walking with a hunched back, almost wanting to crawl. Gu Zhizhuo wasn't much better. Not only was her body aching, but her hands and feet were stiff. Not only did she walk with her hands and feet in sync, but she couldn't even bend her knees and elbows.
The two siblings looked at each other and laughed together.
Old Dan settled the horse and came over to say, "Third Young Master, anyone who rides for such a long time for the first time will feel the same."
Gu Zhizhuo threw a bottle of medicated oil to him: "Please rub it on Yunyun. It should be fine after a night's rest."
"And tell him how to adjust his posture when sprinting."
Gu Zhizhuo actually understood all of this, but now that he had lost some of his physical memories, he was a little slow to react.
This medicinal oil was made by her herself and it is really effective. After waking up from a good sleep, she felt almost fully recovered.
As their bodies began to adapt to such an intense run, their rest time became shorter and shorter day by day, and it took less than ten days to get from the capital to Luoxia Pass.
There are thirteen cities on the western border. Aul City is one of the cities closest to the border line. It takes at least one day to get there from Luoxia Pass.
In his previous life, Gu Zhizhuo had come to Western Xinjiang with Xie Yingchen and still had some memories of some cities.
She looked at the sky and said, "Rest for one night first, then we'll go to Aur City."
Despite the imperial edict, there were several hundred of them in their group, and the border cities would be on high alert when they saw them. Qi Fu suggested that they set up camp on the spot and go to the city to buy some supplies.
"Alright. Linlin, do you want to come with me to take a look?"
“Yes, yes!”
Gu Yiqun's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.
Gu Zhizhuo took Qingmei, Chongjiu and A'dan with him and went to the nearest city of Balehai.
The city of Balehai has never suffered a massacre. It is the most prosperous and prosperous of the thirteen cities in Western Xinjiang. It is close to Luoxia Pass, and there are many traveling merchants coming and going. People are always coming in and out of the city gate.
"The city walls are so high."
Gu Yiqun looked up at the city wall.
The wall was gray, speckled with countless spots, as if splashed with ink. Some were large, others were small, with no apparent pattern. At first glance, these spots appeared pitch black, but upon closer inspection, they revealed subtle hints of dark red. Did the people of Western Xinjiang paint on the city walls?
He was about to go over and touch it when Gu Zhizhuo said coldly from behind him, "That's blood."
ah? !
Gu Yiqun jumped three feet high, her eyes wide open, with a look that said: Big sister, don’t scare me.
"Western Xinjiang's population was nearly halved back then." Gu Zhizhuo led his horse and followed the people entering the city. "This land is soaked in human blood."
Gu Yiqun was silent for a while. After a while, he muttered to himself, "This entire territory was taken back by my great uncle..."
It was their turn. Lao Dan handed over the pass and the city guards checked it carefully.
"Master Liu, you've finally come down the mountain. How is Master Changfeng?"
A fat middle-aged man with a flattering look on his face led a Taoist priest past Gu Zhizhuo and the others and headed into the city first.
"Who wouldn't recognize you? No need to check."
As expected, the city guards did not check and even greeted the Taoist priest with a smile.
"Master Liu, where have you been? You've been traveling for so long and just come back."
Gu Zhizhuo glanced at the Taoist priest, then waved his hand, appearing quite approachable and calm. "I haven't been anywhere. I'm helping my senior brother with a ritual at the temple."
"What ritual takes so long?"
"I don't know who gave my senior brother's remains, saying he'd killed too many people in his lifetime and was filled with evil spirits. They asked me to perform a ritual to suppress them. They've been in our temple for two or three years, and they just took them away not long ago."
"It must be a bad guy from somewhere."
Gu Zhizhuo's heart seemed to be pulled by something, and it suddenly twitched for no reason, with a pain like a knife stabbing.
He recovered quickly, leaving only dense cold sweat on his forehead.
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