Chapter 84 From now on, everything I do is in your hands.
Today, when Gu Nanxiao came out of the palace, he looked radiant. He didn't even wait for Prince Yong, who had left the court with him, before riding his horse and taking Mo Yu back to his residence ahead of him.
After he returned, he went into his study and dismissed everyone. Then, he slowly took out the imperial edict from his sleeve. It was the Empress Dowager's decree bestowing marriage upon him and Yunxi.
The document above lists the names of the two people and Yunxi's status as the principal wife.
The Empress Dowager was very dissatisfied with this marriage and naturally had no intention of offering her blessings. Therefore, the imperial edict contained only a dozen or so words.
He simply stated that Yunxi was the legal wife and instructed them to choose a date for their wedding, making it a formal and businesslike affair. But Gu Nanxiao didn't care at all; he just looked at those few words over and over again, his face flushed with excitement.
Just then, Yunxi's voice suddenly came from outside the study: "Is the Marquis in the study?"
Mo Yu replied, "Miss Zhao, the master has just returned from the palace and is currently in his study."
Upon hearing Yunxi's words, Gu Nanxiao immediately slipped the imperial edict into a compartment under his desk. Yunxi couldn't know about this yet.
Because of the incident with the child-rearing soup, Yunxi had not yet forgiven him. He did not want Yunxi to feel that he was abusing his power and forcing the little girl to marry him by invoking an imperial decree. What he wanted was Yunxi's willingness.
After hiding her belongings, Yunxi pushed open the door and entered. Gu Nanxiao had already given orders to Moyu and the others that Yunxi was not in Songzhu Courtyard and could enter directly wherever she went without needing to announce her arrival.
As soon as Yunxi entered the house, Gu Nanxiao picked her up and carried her around. He spun her around twice and then kissed her with a touch of excitement.
Yunxi was startled by this sudden action and instinctively wrapped her arms around Gu Nanxiao's neck. When she saw the undisguised joy in the man's eyes, she was also somewhat infected by it. She smiled and asked:
"You seem to be having so much fun ransacking my house; it looks like you've embezzled quite a bit."
Gu Nanxiao thought this was a good reason, so he nodded and said, "I'll take you to see some things." Then he ordered Mo Yu to bring a horse, and the two of them rode off to the manor on the outskirts of the city.
As soon as they approached the estate, guards appeared. Upon recognizing their master, they immediately stepped forward to pay their respects. Then they opened the gate and welcomed them inside.
Gu Nanxiao carried the person, dismounted, handed the reins to the guard, and led Yunxi deeper into the mansion.
Looking at the overgrown weeds and dilapidated houses in the manor, Yunxi realized it was indeed a good place to hide things.
What Yunxi didn't know was that this place not only concealed items, but also many secret guards. This was one of Gu Nanxiao's three major secret guard bases.
However, to avoid arousing suspicion, Zhuangzi was not his real name, but rather Mo Yu's real name in the martial arts world before he came to know him.
After walking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two arrived at a dilapidated stable. The guard stepped forward and turned a switch, and a square entrance slowly appeared below the stable.
The entrance was on the ground, with only a winding staircase leading downwards visible. At this moment, Gu Nanxiao took the lantern handed to him by the guard and led Yunxi inside.
The staircase wasn't wide, just enough for two people to walk side by side, but after a few breaths, a turn led to a spacious, dark underground room.
Gu Nanxiao took out the key, opened the door to the dark room, and took out a tinderbox to light the two wall lamps at the entrance of the dark room, making the room immediately dazzling.
The ground was piled high with countless gold and silver jewelry, antiques, jade artifacts, agate ornaments, and pearl hairpins.
This was the first time Yunxi had ever faced so much real money. After all, in modern times, everyone's assets are digital; you can hardly see the physical assets, you only need to check how many zeros are on the card.
Seeing that Yunxi did not show any signs of ecstasy, Gu Nanxiao couldn't help but sigh. Among all the women in the world, Yunxi was probably the only one who could be so indifferent to fame and fortune, and she was not tempted at all by seeing so much gold and silver jewelry.
But whether she was tempted or not, this was something he had earned for his wife. So, Gu Nanxiao took Yunxi's hand, placed the key he had used to open the door in her grasp, and said:
"From now on, everything I have is in your hands. My body is yours, my heart is yours, and my money is yours."
Yunxi held the key in her hand, feeling its weight as if it carried Gu Nanxiao's entire heart. She looked into the man's eyes, which were filled with joy, and in that moment of eye contact, she truly saw the boundless emotions surging within them.
As Yunxi listened to his vow-like confession, the love buried deep within her seemed to want to break free of its seal and respond to him.
Gu Nanxiao, a man so passionate and straightforward, is simply the nemesis of a woman like her who is aloof and indifferent.
It was at this moment that a thought that Yunxi had never had before arose in her mind. She began to compare in her mind whether to stay and marry Gu Nanxiao or return to the future alone. She was unsure of what to choose.
She believes in true love, but she also understands that love can fade and may shift. When love is at its peak, one naturally wishes for it to last forever, but no one can guarantee that they won't fall for someone else in the future, or grow tired of each other.
Yunxi knew that her assumptions about Gu Nanxiao were unfair to him. Therefore, she shouldn't make any judgments at this moment, because she was no longer able to think objectively and rationally.
Since there's still some time before she leaves to seek revenge, she might as well observe the situation further. But until then, she still wants to adhere to the principle of owing each other nothing.
Since Gu Nanxiao has entrusted so much of his wealth to her for safekeeping, she should make reasonable arrangements for this money so that it can ultimately become Gu Nanxiao's lifeline.
She has acquired a lot of land in the Northwest and hired many tenant farmers, most of whom are young and strong laborers. She might as well develop that area into a military settlement.
Let those tenant farmers be civilians in peacetime and soldiers in wartime; raising an army of several hundred thousand from there shouldn't be a problem.
Yunxi waved the key in her hand and asked, "Let's use this money to secretly raise an army in the Northwest. Do you have any capable subordinates? Try to transfer them to a prefecture in the Northwest. This will make it easier for us to hide our plans."
Upon hearing Yunxi's words, Gu Nanxiao's bright smile crumbled, his wounded expression seeming to silently question Yunxi: "I'm talking to you about romance and poetry, and you're telling me about national and familial conflicts—is that appropriate?"
Yunxi ruthlessly ignored all his accusations and began to roughly take stock of the treasure in the dark room.
Gold and silver can be used directly; if they bear an official seal, they can be melted down and recast. But antiques and paintings, especially unique pieces, can only be sold anonymously on the black market.
As for these jewelry pieces, they need to be inventoried one by one to see if they bear any family heirloom marks. This is to prevent these items from circulating in the market and causing trouble for Gu Nanxiao, or exposing what they haven't yet accomplished.
Looking at Yunxi, who was acting like a busybody, Gu Nanxiao's pent-up frustration dissipated. He was now only thinking about how to make some more money off those corrupt officials.
She walked over, hugged Yunxi from behind, and rested her head on Yunxi's shoulder. Watching the little girl take stock of her belongings while muttering to herself, she felt that as long as she was with Yunxi, everything she did would make her happy.
Half an hour later, Yunxi had roughly estimated the total value of the items. Gu Nanxiao then said he would take her to the street to buy jewelry, because there was a palace banquet that evening that he would take her to attend.
Yunxi asked in surprise, "With my status, am I allowed to attend a public banquet in the palace?"
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were aware of Yunxi's arranged marriage by imperial decree, so she was naturally allowed to attend today's palace banquet. However, Gu Nanxiao couldn't say so at the moment, so he gave a vague answer:
“If I say you can go, then you can go. Yunxi, you have to believe me. I have the ability to bring you everything you want.”
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