Soon someone brought a chair, and Gu Yaoniang was helped to sit down. After a moment, she felt that the white light in front of her was not so dazzling, and then she opened her eyes.
Before her was a wide-open space. She looked up at the concerned man in front of her and was startled: "Uncle Wang?"
Seeing that she looked rather listless and her face was still pale with weakness, Wang Chengxian asked worriedly, "Yaoniang! How are you feeling? Should we find a doctor?"
He stepped back slightly, maintaining a distance between them. Gu Yaoniang could see the worry on his face more clearly, and a strange feeling arose in her heart.
She shook her head slightly, then looked behind Wang Chengxian, but saw no one else.
"Thank you, Uncle. I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy from not seeing the light for so long. I'll be fine after resting for a while."
Wang Chengxian was still somewhat worried, but he didn't say anything more.
He looked at Gu Yaoniang's somewhat haggard face, his expression twitched slightly, and finally he said softly, "Good child. If you can bear it, I will take you to see the Emperor, okay?"
Gu Yaoniang was somewhat taken aback.
She was brought out, and she considered many possibilities. Since only she was brought out, it shouldn't be a punishment.
She had considered that Princess Ruining might have intervened to get her out, or that Lu Zhaoan might have come to pick her up, but she never imagined that it would be Wang Chengxian who would bring her out of prison.
"Uncle Wang, did...Ah Han ask you to take me out?"
Wang Chengxian was taken aback, his steps faltering as he walked out. Instead of answering her question, he asked, "Are you still able to walk?"
Gu Yaoniang and the others were imprisoned in the Jingzhao Prefecture jail, where people were not allowed to enter or leave at will. Even Wang Chengxian came alone without any companions.
Wang Chengxian did not answer, which Gu Yaoniang took as tacit agreement. Her face was still unusually pale, but she was able to walk on her own and nodded to him.
Wang Chengxian felt somewhat relieved and led Gu Yaoniang outside. However, he intentionally or unintentionally wanted to lag behind Gu Yaoniang. Gu Yaoniang also noticed this. Although she didn't know why, how could she, a junior, walk in front while Wang Chengxian, an elder, followed behind? So her pace slowed down.
As they walked further, the two moved outwards almost at the same level.
Although Wang Chengxian didn't approach Gu Yaoniang, his hands were always ready to support her should she falter again. Seeing that Gu Yaoniang was walking slower and slower, he asked with some concern, "Are you still feeling unwell?"
Gu Yaoniang propped herself up and shook her head: "I'm fine. Uncle Wang, do you know why His Majesty summoned me?"
The two had already left the government office and walked slowly to the carriage that Wang Chengxian had brought.
The Wang family servants lifted the carriage curtain, knelt down to serve as human footstools, and silently invited Gu Yaoniang to get into the carriage.
Gu Yaoniang had only heard of noblemen making their servants kneel on the ground as footstools, stepping on their backs to get onto carriages and horses. But she had only heard of such things before, and had rarely even seen them. How could she have ever stepped on someone herself?
Gu Yaoniang looked somewhat helpless, turning to Wang Chengxian with a pleading expression. Wang Chengxian quickly took a few steps forward, raised his arm, and straightened his elbow: "Hold my hand, child."
He struck a good balance, neither reaching out to help Gu Yaoniang to avoid gossip, but raising his arm so that Gu Yaoniang could support herself as she got into the carriage through the wide sleeves of her robe.
Seeing that Gu Yaoniang still hadn't moved, he assumed that she was too weak to continue and whispered, "It was my oversight that I forgot you're feeling unwell and didn't bring a maid with you. Can you still make it up? Come, hold onto my arm."
He waved his elbow at Gu Yaoniang again, and seeing that Gu Yaoniang's gaze was fixed on the little servant kneeling on the ground, he comforted her, "Don't be afraid, he's been doing this for over ten years, he's very reliable."
Having already lingered at the entrance for too long, Gu Yaoniang, despite her discomfort, had no choice but to board the carriage with Wang Chengxian's help. She stepped carefully; the servant's muscles were bulging and hard, quite different from the soft touch she had imagined—they were incredibly strong and taut muscles.
Gu Yaoniang entered the carriage, and Wang Chengxian followed her onto the carriage.
Then, he looked closely at Gu Yaoniang's appearance, and his eyes welled up with tears: "Child, you've suffered so much. How did you become so thin?"
Gu Yaoniang was deeply moved. Compared to Princess Ruining and Xie Danqiu, her relationship with Wang Zhilan was much more ordinary. And now, Wang Zhilan's father personally came to pick her up from prison and showed her great concern; how could she not be touched?
Wang Chengxian earnestly instructed: "Come with me to your home first to wash and tidy your appearance. Then I will send you to the palace to meet the Emperor. The Emperor knows that you and your family are innocent, but the world is in chaos now, all because of the flying silver. Sending you to prison is both a wake-up call and a protection."
"Whatever the sage says today, you should agree to it, do you understand? I will not make things difficult for you; even if there are difficulties, I will take care of them for you."
Even if Gu Xingzhi hadn't sought him out, he wouldn't have stood by and watched the Gu family suffer. And since Gu Xingzhi had brought him such a wonderful surprise, he naturally felt even more obligated to help.
While Gu Yaoniang was moved by Wang Chengxian's dedication, she also harbored suspicions. If it was merely for the sake of her daughter's friend, then Lord Wang's actions seemed excessive.
A sense of unease rose in Gu Yaoniang's heart—could Wang Chengxian have ulterior motives?
Her cultivation was still insufficient, and although she tried her best to conceal it, Wang Chengxian still saw through her disguise. Seeing her intelligence and alertness, Wang Chengxian was pleased and asked with a smile, "Do you think I have ill intentions?"
Gu Yaoniang felt somewhat embarrassed. Although her suspicions were not surprising, and were even reasonable, it was one thing if Wang Chengxian truly had ulterior motives, but if he simply wanted to help her and the Gu family, her current vigilance and defensiveness were truly rude.
But since Wang Chengxian had already seen through it, denying it further would seem hypocritical. Gu Yaoniang nodded hesitantly: "Uncle Wang, please forgive me. I just feel that the friendship between Ah Han and me, between our children, is not worth you going to such lengths for the Gu family."
Did it take a lot of effort?
Yes, some.
The Emperor had no intention of seeing Gu Yaoniang again. In his heart, the Gu family was nothing more than an insignificant pawn; what did it matter if they were wronged? The matter of Fei Yin involved his two children, so he naturally wouldn't touch Rui Ning. However, Prince Qing, a prince of the first rank, could make mistakes, but he couldn't be the instigator of chaos in the country. Therefore, the instigator of the current situation could only be someone else.
Gu Jiazi was the best pawn.
But Wang Chengxian would not allow the Gu family to be sacrificed like that.
When Gu Xingzhi arrived at the Wang family, he had just changed into his official robes and was about to enter the palace to meet the emperor. Since Gu Xingzhi happened to be there, he didn't mind giving Gu Xingzhi some reassurance.
Wang Chengxian went to the palace to plead with the emperor, and after spending many days writing a memorial on behalf of the Gu family, explaining how the Gu family had used their business to alleviate the plight of the displaced people. The emperor finally relented and agreed to meet with the Gu family again.
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