Chapter 87 Chapter 87 is the only authentic version...
"I'll have the accountant calculate the amount, including principal and interest, and send it to you, Miss Ji."
"If you don't pay it back, I'll sell you my body for money. The Gu family wouldn't dare claim this 'favor of raising me,' so let's settle the account."
Ji Nanke tilted her head slightly, not daring to bend her weak back.
"I'll return it!"
Xie Jing stood in front of her and said, "I'll pay it back on her behalf."
Gu Zhizhuo casually threw the dagger back to Xie Jing.
Xie Jing subconsciously caught it with both hands, and saw the blade of the waist knife bend into a small arc. It was conceivable how much force she had used just now.
Xie Yingchen walked up to her and said, "Let's go."
Gu Zhizhuo nodded slightly to the Prime Minister who was not far away, handed her hand to him, and let him hold it in his palm. His body warmth enveloped her.
In the past, the young master's body was always cold, but now what Gu Zhizhuo likes most is his warm palm.
She hooked her finger with his, trying to say that she knew her limits and wouldn't do anything rash.
Their little fingers intertwined, it felt as if a feather tickled her heart, like a gentle breeze brushing against her heartstrings. Xie Yingchen watched her earlobes, gradually turning pink, with a smile on his face. He took the opportunity to weave his knuckles between her fingers until they were intertwined.
Gu Zhizhuo's earlobes turned even redder, and he moved his fingers but didn't break free.
Huh?
Gu Zhizhuo felt a callus forming on his palms, and curiously, he rubbed them with his fingertips. Her movements, light at first, then heavier, carried a sense of exploration, sending a tingling sensation through Xie Yingchen. He breathed a little harder, tightened his grip on her restless hand, and led her in the direction of Prime Minister Song.
Ji Nanke stared at Gu Zhizhuo's bare face. There was a blush on her cheek, and her beauty was flamboyant.
Her eyes were dark, and even Xie Jing's voice made her irritated.
"Ke'er, don't provoke her."
"Ke'er, I will ask my father to grant me marriage as soon as possible and take you away."
As soon as possible, what else could he say besides this? A prince actually retreated again and again in front of Gu Zhizhuo, and he didn't even have the ability to protect her. Besides being a prince, what else did he have?
Ji Nan Ke bit her back teeth, her slightly lowered face was slightly wet, and her thin back made people feel distressed.
Xie Jing would even give his life to her.
"Ke'er, wait for me..."
"Ke'er."
Prime Minister Song shook his head secretly, thinking that one is willing to fight and the other is willing to be beaten.
It wasn't like his eyes were blurry due to old age; he could see clearly that every expression and even every little movement of Miss Ji seemed to have been calculated. However, the Third Prince couldn't see it and was immersed in it.
If the Third Prince were to sit on the throne, could he truly manage all the affairs of the world and shoulder the responsibility of the Great Qi?!
Prime Minister Song felt a heavy feeling in his heart. A voice told him that the Third Prince was still young and he should not make hasty judgments. However, his rationality was already shaky.
"Prime Minister."
Gu Zhizhuo knelt down and greeted him.
"You."
Prime Minister Song withdrew his gaze, not knowing what to say. He was almost scared to death just now.
This girl always does unexpected things.
His eyes rested for a moment on her uncovered face.
Gu Zhizhuo smiled cheerfully and said, "Don't worry, I'm not stupid... The wound on my face was 'healed' just this month." Then she changed the subject, "Have you still had any abdominal pain these past few days?"
“No, no.”
When he said this, Prime Minister Song smiled widely.
In all these years, he has never lived as easily and happily as he has in the past few days.
The pain in his lower abdomen was gone, and he could even sleep through the night instead of being woken up by constant dull pain in the middle of the night. He could eat and sleep well, and suddenly felt that his old bones could last a few more years.
He looked at Gu Zhizhuo eagerly and raised his sleeve to feel her pulse.
"Just continue to take the health-preserving prescriptions prescribed by the imperial physician. After three to five years of recuperation, you'll be able to be like a normal person."
Judging from his pulse, he will have no problem serving as Prime Minister for another ten years.
"only……"
Gu Zhizhuo deliberately prolonged the ending of her words, startling Prime Minister Song. He thought he had some hidden illness again, but she actually asked, "Prime Minister, do you still remember the thunder in broad daylight that day?"
"Thunder in broad daylight?"
Prime Minister Song remembered that when he was leaving the Xiangxi Opera House, a bolt of lightning struck his head, scaring him so much that he almost thought that his survival was against God's will and he would be struck by lightning.
Gu Zhizhuo: "Thunder in broad daylight is an ominous sign. Prime Minister, there will be a strong earthquake in Qingzhou in August."
As soon as these words were spoken, the Prime Minister immediately suppressed the smile on his face.
The earthquake really happened in the previous life.
The earthquake, coupled with poor subsequent disaster relief efforts, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
Earthquakes cannot be changed by human power. The only thing Gu Zhizhuo can do is to regard the "thunder in broad daylight" as a sign of an earthquake and take the opportunity to tell Prime Minister Song.
The secret of heaven cannot be revealed.
The earthquake involved the life and death and cause and effect of too many people. She couldn't tell the exact time, nor could she say which towns would be affected.
Qingzhou, August, this was the limit of what she could say.
"You..." Prime Minister Song was skeptical. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory hadn't reported any earthquake. To claim there was an earthquake in Qingzhou based solely on a thunderclap in broad daylight was simply ridiculous.
"I calculated it." Gu Zhizhuo made a finger-snatching motion and said in an enigmatic manner, "I also calculated that in seven days, hail will fall in the capital."
"If I can calculate it correctly, how about you trust me?"
Seven days from now it will be July. How could hail fall in the summer? If it did, it would mean this wasn't just a random guess. Prime Minister Song nodded carefully.
As they were talking, they escorted Prime Minister Song to the ceremonial gate. After waiting for a while, the Prime Minister's wife also arrived. Gu Zhizhuo bowed and said goodbye, watching the Song family carriage drive away, and the two of them walked back.
It was time to end the banquet. They walked slowly hand in hand, and while taking the opportunity to slack off, Gu Zhizhuo told him everything that had just happened.
Said she had a new cousin.
She said that the Xu family stole the child and didn't treat her well.
It is said that Ji Nan Ke instigated Nanny Sun to do bad things.
"How could she be so mean?"
Gu Zhizhuo said angrily, "Jiaojiao has never provoked her."
"She won't remember a single bit of the kindness others show her."
"If she hadn't been raised by the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, I don't know where she would be now."
Gu Zhizhuo grew increasingly angry as he spoke, stamping his feet. His master had said that the Son of Destiny, chosen by Heaven, was the most beneficial to the human world, and so he could manipulate the world's fortune to his advantage.
I don’t know if Tiandao is blind this time, what on earth does he see in her!
"Do you think she is very bad?"
"yes."
"Should I hit her?"
"You deserve to hit anyone. I didn't try hard enough, which made you hesitate. I was wrong."
Gu Zhizhuo was laughing so hard that his body was shaking, and he felt very comfortable having his fur quilt stroked.
Xie Yingchen stroked her back, fearing that she would choke herself.
Gu Zhizhuo simply leaned on his hand, looked up at him with an intoxicating smile, and his light breath hit his neck, causing Xie Yingchen's Adam's apple to roll slightly.
He brushed his fingers along her cheek, pushing the stray hair behind her ear.
The slightly cool fingertips touched her cheek, and her fingertips subconsciously curled slightly, and she quickly stood up straight.
Her eyes were erratic, and she casually asked, "Sir, have you cooperated with Governor Shen?"
Xie Yingchen smiled softly and followed her words, "Yes."
Xie Yingchen didn't hide anything and told the whole story, smiling and saying, "When our interests align, he would never stab you in the back. He's a very reliable partner."
People say that he is unscrupulous, has no bottom line, and is cruel and vicious.
After getting to know him for these days, Xie Yingchen felt that this person was not difficult to get along with.
So what if the means are unjust?
His unscrupulous means are clearly laid out in the open, but there are too many people in this world whose unscrupulous means are like poisonous snakes hiding in the dark, suddenly jumping out to bite and injecting venom into your internal organs.
“Yaoyao…”
"What are you talking about? Don't be so affectionate."
A handsome young man climbed over the railing of the corridor, threw himself on Xie Yingchen's shoulder, and squeezed in between them. Gu Yican said with a playful smile but a hint of threat, "Master Xie, my third uncle has a map. How about we use it to play a game of sand table?"
"No, I don't have time." Gu Zhizhuo refused for him and said, "Gu Cancan, you have another sister."
ah?
Gu Zhizhuo pulled him aside and told him what had happened again. He was stunned and kept rubbing his ears.
"No wonder Third Uncle had such a strange expression at the table!" Gu Yican clenched his right fist and punched his left palm hard, "I'll go take a look first..."
Gu Zhizhuo directly pulled the collar of his neck: "Don't be lazy." The guest hadn't left yet.
Gu Yican pointed at Xie Yingchen and said, "He's also lazy."
"Young Master is a guest!"
"Guest?" Gu Yican raised his eyebrows, as if asking: Do you want to be a guest?
"I'll go."
Gu Yican was happy: "That's pretty good."
He was a guest, but being a son-in-law meant being a son-in-law. When Daddy accompanied Mom back to my grandparents' house, he had to please everyone, from grandparents to nieces and nephews! He even had to take the initiative in doing things. He even built the ceiling in Grandpa's yard himself.
My third uncle said that my sister was very happy about this marriage, but there was nothing I could do even if I was not happy.
"Let's go!" Gu Yican thought to himself, gritting his teeth.
As soon as they left, Gu Zhizhuo also returned to the inner courtyard.
After seeing off all the guests, it was already 3:00 PM when Gu Zhizhuo hurried back to Ronghe Hall. Xie Danling didn't want to go back to the palace so early, so she followed her like a little tail. On the way, Gu Zhizhuo also told his two sisters what had happened. Gu Zhiwei was stunned to hear that the cousin she had been close to since childhood was actually her biological sister. She asked "Really?" several times in a row, and couldn't wait to run into Ronghe Hall, dragging Gu Zhijiao around the room, so happy that she didn't know what to do.
It was obvious that Xu had been crying. The corners of her eyes were red and her cheeks were still wet. She looked at her two daughters with a smile on her face.
Xie Danling nudged her with her elbow and said softly, "I think the Gu family is pretty miserable."
She held the face bag in her hands and sighed, "If I were to be stolen, my mother would cut that person into pieces."
Gu Zhizhuo agreed. It was quite tragic.
After Ji Nan Ke came, the Gu family's fortune was taken away by her, and everything went wrong.
But why was I so unlucky before?
In just a few years, first Jiaojiao was replaced, then Lielie died young, then her second uncle died in battle, her mother died of illness, her grandfather died in battle, and her father died in battle... If she hadn't been reborn, now A'man would have drowned, her aunt would have gone crazy, and the Gu family would have been exiled until no one in the family was spared.
Thirteen years ago, the Gu family’s bad luck started thirteen years ago?
Gu Zhizhuo's ears were buzzing and his head was aching, as if it was some kind of warning from heaven.
She rubbed her ears gently, with a smug cunning look in her eyes.
She seemed to have discovered something very interesting, and perhaps she could understand why Heaven chose Ji Nan Ke.
"Zhuo girl, your face?" The lady looked at her fair and flawless face in astonishment and was shocked.
The lady never dared to ask about her injuries, fearing that she would get upset. She wasn't injured at all, was she?
Gu Zhizhuo touched his face and said with a smile, "It's okay."
"Then why do you wear a veil all day?"
"nice."
Xie Danling gave her more than a hundred veils, and her mother's dowry also included several hundred.
Different veils look great with different clothes and jewelry. She took the veil out of her sleeve pocket and tied it on. Her pearl flowers today were butterfly perches, and two purple butterflies were on the veil, as if butterflies had flown down from the pearl flowers.
"You girl!"
The lady chased after him nimbly. Seeing this, Gu Zhizhuo ran away and bumped into Gu Baibai who had just entered without noticing.
Gu Baibai supported her arm and said with a gentle smile, "Mom, it's getting late. We still have to go to the family tree."
This is a big deal.
Gu Zhizhuo took the initiative to go over and helped the lady to sit at the head of the table. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Aunt Ji was still here at the time. This must not be known to anyone."
It takes time for the wound to heal. Ji was the head of the family, and my grandmother was easily influenced and simple-minded. Instead of telling her not to let the secret slip, the whole family simply kept it a secret.
The lady tapped her forehead and was no longer angry.
Nanny Zhu asked someone to bring a futon and tea. Gu Zhijiao kowtowed and offered tea to the elders including the Dowager Lady, Xu, Gu Baibai, and Gu Liaoliao, and acknowledged their relationship.
Gu Baibai went to Jingzhao Prefecture in person and watched closely that they had changed their household registration immediately. By the time he hurried back to the mansion, it was already dusk.
The Gu family has few members and even the ancestral hall is directly set up in the Duke's Mansion. Opening the ancestral hall and keeping the family tree only requires a word from the Lady Dowager.
Gu Zhijiao kowtowed to the scattered tablets in the ancestral hall, lit incense, and Gu Baibai started writing. Everything was done in less than an incense stick of time.
"come over."
Gu Baibai handed him the family tree. It was only four pages long, and Gu Zhijiao's name was written below Gu Weiwei and Xu.
She is their eldest daughter.
She covered her lips to hide her sobs.
Her only impression of Dad was the few times she occasionally caught his eye when he accompanied her mother to the Xu family. His eyes were fiery and heroic. If only she could grow up by his side.
Xu hugged her shoulders and said in a hoarse voice, "Your father has been looking forward to your birth. He will be very happy to know that you are still here."
Gu Yiqun and Gu Zhiwei happily circled around them.
When we came out of the ancestral hall, it was already dark.
The Madam said that today's business was done today, and she called all the housekeepers, housemaids, and servants to the main hall. She sat on the uppermost armchair, took Gu Zhijiao's hand, and announced to the whole house, "This is the second young lady of the mansion."
Gu Zhiwei and Gu Zhinan also became the third and fourth girls.
As early as the banquet, many people had vaguely heard some rumors. All afternoon, all kinds of private discussions in the mansion had not stopped, and the master did not stop them at all. Now, their guesses in their hearts were undoubtedly confirmed.
From the steward, attendant, and boy in the front yard to the steward nanny, maids, and old women in the back yard, they came in row by row to pay their respects.
Gu Zhijiao was a little nervous at first, but the lady held her hand all the time, which made her feel at ease.
Her grandmother was there, her mother was there, her aunts and uncles were there, her sisters, brothers and sisters were all there.
They are all her blood relatives.
Without Xu Ying'er, her name was no longer meant to "attract" a younger brother.
In this world, there is only Gu Zhijiao.
She is the child that her father and mother have been looking forward to having.
"well!"
After everyone in the mansion had greeted them, the old lady said happily, "Let's go see your grandfather and father tomorrow."
"It's a great joy to have two more people in our house."
The lady-in-waiting was very generous, and when she was happy, she waved her hand and rewarded the whole family with three months' wages, and gave each person two silver ingots weighing one or two taels each.
The whole house was filled with joy, even happier than during Chinese New Year. "Let's set off the fireworks."
Gu Zhizhuo clapped his hands and said, "I remember there are still some fireworks and firecrackers in the warehouse. Take them out and let's set them off."
When they talked about setting off fireworks, the children's eyes lit up.
The servants carried the fireworks and firecrackers left over from the New Year to the door.
The crackling sound of firecrackers resounded throughout the street where the Zhenguo Mansion was located, and the brilliant fireworks illuminated half of the capital city as bright as the early morning.
With such fanfare, within just one day, everyone in the capital knew about it.
The Gu family has a second daughter.
It was stolen by my uncle's family when I was a child, and now it's back.
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion did not hesitate at all and clearly announced Gu Zhijiao's identity.
That night, Gu Zhijiao was afraid to sleep, fearing that once she opened her eyes, she would realize it was all a dream and she would be Xu Ying'er again. She had originally intended to wait until dawn, but she fell asleep while smelling the sachet given by her elder sister.
As soon as she woke up, the servants all called her "Second Miss" with a smile, and Gu Zhijiao's uneasiness completely disappeared.
After breakfast, the entire family, save for Third Madam Lu and Xu'er, who was still in confinement after childbirth, went to the ancestral tomb early. Gu Zhijiao kowtowed and offered incense to each of them. Xu had the tombstone originally dedicated to Gu Zhijiao removed, leaving the infant's remains untouched. She and her mother-in-law had discussed making the child a member of the Gu family, replacing the tombstone with one in her and her husband's names.
The lady talked with my grandfather for a while and told him that he had a granddaughter and a grandson.
"Third Uncle, my sister and I are leaving first," Gu Yican whispered. "I plan to check out the secret passage on the map with my sister. Third Uncle, if it's feasible, we can slowly transfer troops from the northern border to the capital. Three thousand Qianji Battalion troops are still too few. If something goes wrong, they won't be able to protect our entire family. Today is the day we're leaving the capital openly, and the timing is perfect."
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