By the time they had prepared everything, the sun was setting and the donkey cart loaded with supplies drove out of the West Market. Xu Jiang had no place to sit, so she walked with Lou Yunchun. Although it was chilly and the wind was blowing in her face, she didn't feel cold.
"Are you tired?" Lou Yunchun asked.
"Not tired." Xu Jiang shook her head, then asked him, "Will this delay your return home? Do you want to go back to the stables and rent a horse from Brother Zhao?"
Before Lou Yunchun could answer, the donkey behind them stopped moving. Xu Jiang turned around and scolded it, "I didn't ask you to go, you foodie!"
Lou Yunchun smiled, took the reins from her, and the donkey started walking again.
Xu Jiang laughed and scolded, "You're a bully who only cares about the strong."
Lou Yunchun replied to her earlier question, "There's no need to rent a horse. Just hurry back before dinner."
It was still early.
Xu Jiang's lips never closed. From last night till now, the two of them had never taken their eyes off each other, as if they couldn't see each other enough and couldn't bear to be apart.
The donkey cart stopped in front of the corner door of Qianjin Hall's back alley. Xu Jiang asked the medicine boy to help look after the donkey, and then took Lou Yunchun to find Jiang Gu.
After treatment, Jiang Gu's face looked much rosier, no longer dark and blue, and he was in good spirits. He had been staring at Lou Yunchun since he entered the room.
Xu Jiang brought two stools and asked Lou Yunchun to sit down and rest. He must be tired after walking around with her from morning to night.
After sitting down, he saw Jiang Gu still staring at Lou Yunchun, so he asked, "Are you born in the Year of the Ox? Why are you staring so wide-eyed?"
Jiang Gu pointed at Lou Yunchun. What was he doing here?
Before Xu Jiang could answer, Lou Yunchun asked, as if he were investigating a case, "Has anyone suspicious come here today?"
Jiang Gu rolled his eyes and didn't answer.
Xu Jiang reminded: "His throat is damaged and he can't speak. I'll go borrow some paper and pen." After that, she went to the lobby to ask Doctor Chen to borrow paper and pen.
Lou Yunchun got straight to the point and asked, "Do you know why Feng Miao poisoned you?"
Jiang Gu looked up at him.
"He's been by your side these past few years, using the excuse of publishing a collection for you to win over many of the Jiang family's old followers to work for him."
Jiang Gu was shocked and looked a little flustered.
"You must be aware of what happened to the officials who helped you out of old friendship."
Because Jiang Gu understood this, he never took Feng Miao's offer to help him publish his collection seriously. Even though he occasionally harbored hopes, he knew it was impossible. So, he ignored Feng Miao's words and let him take his collection to the emperor. He never expected anyone would actually help him. At this moment, Jiang Gu couldn't describe the feeling in his heart.
"He had intended to follow suit, using Ajahn to pin your collection on Masters Du and Yuan of the Imperial Academy, thus controlling them as he had controlled the court officials."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Gu broke out in a cold sweat, feeling fortunate that Xu Jiang hadn't agreed, otherwise he would have been guilty of yet another crime. He also understood why Feng Miao had poisoned him; he had wanted to silence him.
Thinking that he had kept a poisonous snake by his side for all these years, Jiang Gu felt a chill all over his body.
He was filled with fear and shock when he heard Lou Yunchun say coldly, "Over the years, he has petitioned the court officials in your name. I'm sure you know more or less. I want you to make a list for me."
Hearing this, Jiang Gu suddenly looked up and stared at Lou Yunchun.
Xu Jiang came in with a pen, ink, paper and inkstone. Seeing the two men facing each other in silence, with swords and sabers in their eyes, she was a little confused for a moment.
One is taciturn and the other has a sore throat, can they start a quarrel?
She handed the paper and pen to Jiang Gu, but Jiang Gu threw it to the ground.
He doesn't write!
Those officials were all old acquaintances of the Jiang family. They had wanted to help him, so Feng Miao had the evidence against them. Now he was asking them to betray him. Wouldn't that make him ungrateful? Furthermore, a case that could be investigated by the Dali Temple was no ordinary case. If they were implicated, there was no telling if they would suffer the same fate as the Jiang family.
How could he bear this?
Jiang Gu has already fallen into the mud. The court will settle accounts with him in the future. Apart from his life, he has nothing to lose and nothing to regret.
But these people are different. They have parents above them and children below them. If their families are destroyed and people die because of him, it would be better for him to die.
Xu Jiang then realized something was wrong. She picked up the paper and pen, glanced at Jiang Gu, who was breathing heavily with anger, and turned to Lou Yunchun and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Lou Yunchun shook his head at her, then stood up and said to Jiang Gu, "You have five days to consider. After five days, I will send someone to escort you out of the capital and to Furong City."
Then he called Xu Jiang and left.
The two said goodbye to Doctor Chen and returned to the bookstore. Xu Jiang held back for a while, but couldn't help asking, "What did you say to Jiang Gu? Why is he so angry?"
Lou Yunchun said, "I can't tell you about this for now."
Since he said so, Xu Jiang stopped asking and guessing.
"Are you angry?" Lou Yunchun tugged at her sleeve.
Seeing his slightly anxious expression, Xu Jiang couldn't help but laugh. "How could you be so easily annoyed? You don't say anything, but you have your reasons. If I were to ask you about it, wouldn't that make things difficult for you?"
Lou Yunchun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'll tell you later."
"good."
The two returned to the bookshop, only to find that there were customers there, and Zeng Zhui was still there. Lou Yunchun led the donkey into the backyard. Lin Hongchu saw Xu Jiang returning and hurried to greet her.
"Boss, these two claimed to be the owners of Songchuang Bookstore and Zhenxi Bookstore. They came here not long after you left and insisted on waiting for you to come back. No matter how much I persuaded them, they wouldn't leave."
"I see. Why is Zeng Zhui still here? Wasn't he going to look for Zhu Chun?"
Lin Hongchu glanced at Zeng Zhui, who was chatting happily with the two bookstore owners, and whispered, "He suspects they have ulterior motives and is afraid I'll suffer, so he won't leave."
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