Don't hold your breath, don't suffer
The next day, Songbai Village was overcast, a rare sight in recent days.
After Song Tiaotiao and Gu Chengjue had breakfast at home, they went to the food store together.
Unexpectedly, there was a door god standing on the doorstep of the food shop.
Jin Shulan was still holding the sword he had carried with him when they first met, but looking at his slightly stiff posture, it seemed that he had been guarding the door for who knows how long.
Although the meeting was scheduled for today, Jin Shulan came a little too early.
With such a great god in charge, I'm afraid the food shop won't be able to open today.
As Song Tiao Tiao was thinking this, Jin Shulan, seeing Song Tiao Tiao and Gu Chengjue coming, stood up straight but only bowed to Song Tiao Tiao and said, "Hello, Miss Song."
As soon as he finished speaking, his fox-like eyes lifted up, revealing a gaze that scanned Gu Chengjue up and down, and he said nonchalantly, "General Gu, how are you?"
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue glanced up and pretended not to hear.
Seeing this, Jin Shulan's pale face almost lost its color. He bit his lower lip and snorted coldly: "Gu Chengjue, don't be so arrogant. If you and Miss Song were not married now, I would definitely..."
Gu Chengjue kept thinking about the truth about marriage, but his eyes gleamed coldly. He said with a playful smile, "Jin Shulan, do you still want to use that sword of yours that is good at hurting yourself to do something to me?"
After he finished speaking, Gu Chengjue's cold phoenix eyes stared down condescendingly.
Under the heavy pressure from the veteran, even though Jin Shulan was reluctant, he still followed his instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm, and remained silent unwillingly.
Seeing this, Gu Chengjue lowered his eyes, smiled faintly, and said, "I think if Master Jin is willing to use the time he spent honing his talking skills to polish his own mediocre skills, his backbone will not be much softer than his words."
Just then, Jin Zhenjiao, who was worried, rushed to the food store to help.
When she saw Jin Shulan, she was stunned at first, but after hearing what Gu Chengjue said, she quickly realized what a tragic incident had happened here before.
Although Jin Zhenjiao had never thought that Gu Chengjue would have such a bickering moment, she couldn't bear to watch Jin Shulan, who wanted to retort like a cat with its fur standing on end, but was unable to speak due to his lack of strength, and whose lips trembled several times as he wanted to say something but stopped.
After Jin Zhenjiao greeted the two, she hurried forward and pulled the furious Jin Shulan over, whispering, "Jin Shulan, I see you really don't understand how your mind becomes empty every time you face Gu Chengjue. Can you please stop embarrassing yourself? Have you forgotten why you came here?"
Hearing this, Jin Shulan closed his eyes tightly, calmed the anger in his chest, and said hatefully, "Then come into the house."
Song Tiaotiao looked at Jin Shulan who looked defeated, and walked into the food shop with Gu Chengjue.
During this time, she raised her eyes and glanced at Gu Chengjue who was standing beside her with a calm demeanor.
At that moment, Gu Chengjue seemed to sense something and smiled at her with his eyes lowered.
The look in his eyes was warm and gentle, without any trace of the internal injuries that had previously caused Jin Shulan to suffer.
Seeing this, Song Tiaotiao chuckled softly.
This is better, I don’t have to hold my breath and I don’t suffer any loss.
After entering, Song Tiaotiao and Gu Chengjue sat behind the counter, settling the account books, while the brother and sister sat on either side of the wooden table in front of the counter.
After several conversations, the relationship between the brother and sister was already tense.
Jin Shulan hugged the sword and said coldly, "Jin Zhenjiao, I remember I told you clearly in the letter that the prerequisite for the Jin family to provide disaster relief is that you must return to the Jin family."
Jin Zhenjiao slammed the table, her teeth itching with anger. "Then I'll explain the pros and cons clearly in the letter. Why are you so stubborn?"
Jin Shulan scoffed, "I've never had any interest in business, but because of your advice, I'll do some superficial work for the family. But you also know that if you don't follow my wishes, these so-called small favors will only be perfunctory." At this point, his fox eyes raised nonchalantly and glanced at her. "Why are you angry? If you don't trust the Jin family, then go back and take over."
Jin Zhenjiao said coldly, "Jin Shulan, do you think that if you let me return to the Jin family, you can just sit back and relax and pursue your knight-errant dreams? I'm telling you, that's simply impossible. As long as I'm not in control of myself, you can't do whatever you want under the constraints of the Jin family."
Hearing this, a trace of struggle flashed in Jin Shulan's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "Jin Zhenjiao, why can't you help yourself? You have been interested in this matter since you were young. As you grow older, you become proficient in it. In the family, you are valued by your father. As long as you are willing to promise your father to stay away from that annoying Zhao Huaian. Then, with a single order from your father, you will be able to become the head of the Jin family. Whatever you want to do can't be achieved? And what about me? I have gradually passed the age of youthful travel. If I can no longer extricate myself, I will have to get married and have children under the arrangement of my father, and end my life." At this point, Jin Shulan tightly grasped the scabbard, his eyes dimmed.
When Song Tiaotiao heard this, her brows furrowed slightly.
Hearing this, Jin Zhenjiao's eyes flickered, her fingertips clasped tightly around the corner of the table. After a long pause, she muttered, "But, as a knight-errant, the greatest duty of a knight is to uphold justice. Now, with the drought upon us, the people are suffering, and yet you're using this as a threat to me. You have absolutely no regard for the suffering of the people. You're clearly just playing house like before."
Jin Shulan was silent for a moment, then said in a sarcastic tone: "Of course I am not as good as your brother Zhao. If he had not been so wise and recommended me to join the army, I would have been on the battlefield long ago. Now, I wouldn't even be unable to be a ranger, depressed and doing nothing, and still have to endure his bullying." After speaking, he glared secretly at Gu Chengjue who was standing aside.
Hearing the voice, Gu Chengjue, who was lingering with Song Tiaotiao, raised his eyes and glanced at him coldly.
Seeing Jin Shulan looking dejected again and thinking of Song Tiaotiao's deep thought, Gu Chengjue was too lazy to look at Jin Shulan and turned his gaze back to Song Tiaotiao.
Over there, Jin Zhenjiao's eyes flushed slightly as she heard Jin Shulan's words: "Jin Shulan, you know how critical that border war was. Huai'an was sent to the front lines by Jinrong because of you, and he narrowly escaped death. When he returned, he was covered in blood and only had his last breath. And you, who clamored to go to the battlefield, have been weak since childhood, and you became ill after catching a cold. Don't you really know how many servants you need to take care of you after you fall ill? Jinrong allowed you to learn martial arts, but there are some things you can't do. In this state, are you really going to go to the battlefield and be a quiver for others as Jinrong said?"
Jin Shulan remained silent, tears welling in his eyes. "I know that Zhao Huaian saved my life in this matter. But why is it that he was born with such a good physique and became a master of martial arts just by stealing the skills? And I practice martial arts every day, but I can only watch him surpass me, swallowing my resentment..."
Song Tiaotiao looked at the tears in the eyes of the brother and sister, hesitated for a moment, then lowered his eyes and said, "Mr. Jin, have you ever thought about this? If Brother Zhao's family hadn't fallen on hard times, would he have been able to follow the marriage contract and stay with Sister Zhenjiao forever without the Jin family's obstruction? You feel unwilling, and so does he. Everyone has their own strengths and their own pains. If you only focus on the good things that others have, you will be imprisoned by the pain of unwillingness for the rest of your life."
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue nodded in agreement, his eyes deep as he spoke, "Reluctant? Well, there are so many unwilling things in this world. Miss Jin and Brother Zhao are unwilling, you are unwilling, and the people are unwilling. But for each other, Miss Jin and Brother Zhao gave up their luxurious lives to work as a shop assistant, while the other worked day and night to rebuild the family business. They were both striving to stay together forever. And you, in your efforts to become a ranger, first helped bring Miss Jin back to the Jin family on behalf of your father. But even if Miss Jin didn't return to the Jin family, your family head is still here. If you truly have no interest in family affairs, as you said, you could still become a ranger and give it a try. But have you ever considered what your first step should be? Will you help the people first? Or refine your kung fu? And have you ever considered that becoming a ranger means running around for three meals a day, potentially sleeping in the open at any time, and living in fear of death? Your heart is prepared, but can your body endure such suffering?"
Hearing this, Jin Shulan's eyes flickered, and he lowered his head silently. After a while, he raised his eyes to look at Jin Zhenjiao and whispered, "Has Zhao Huaian really started to revive the family business and prepare to marry you?"
Jin Zhenjiao's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded: "You know, Huai'an always keeps his word."
Hearing this, Jin Shulan's eyes narrowed. After a moment, he took a deep breath and said firmly, "The Jin family can help us this time."
Having said this, under the complicated gazes of everyone, he raised his eyes to Gu Chengjue and said softly: "Gu Chengjue, I have a small condition. I want you to teach me martial arts."
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue raised his sword-like eyebrows and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Jin Shulan, I think you should know that I am the arrogant person you call me. I will make you angry. I will not treat you like the young master of the Jin family like the people around you do."
Jin Shulan's eyes darkened, but he nodded and said, "Seriously...as long as you are willing to teach me real kung fu."
Gu Chengjue's eyes were indifferent: "But I don't have any extra free time now..."
Jin Shulan clutched the sword and whispered, "I can send someone to help you and Miss Song with household chores. I also know that you are back in the army now and rarely stay in Songbai Village. But as long as you promise me, I will do my best to be there whenever I need you."
Gu Chengjue lowered his eyes and whispered, "Then let's first take a look at the person you're looking for, and then we can discuss it."
Hearing this, Jin Shulan's eyes flickered and he nodded. "Has the County Magistrate Bai mentioned in Zhenjiao's letter given you a reply? If he seeks instructions from his superiors... the person he will ultimately meet is probably Fang Jue."
Jin Zhenjiao frowned slightly and exclaimed, "It's that bastard official Fang Jue?"
Seeing the puzzled expressions on Song Tiaotiao and Gu Chengjue's faces, Jin Zhenjiao explained, "This scoundrel official is ridiculous. When someone's causing trouble on the street, a brave man comes to the aid of the weak, only to be convicted of the same crime as the perpetrator and beaten to the point of paralysis. Often, the victim's family background is worse than the perpetrator's, and they're convicted. He uses his position to bully others in the northern border, often extorting money and grain from merchants, both openly and covertly, to pay it forward to his official master. When my father encountered this scoundrel official, he was happy to raise poisonous insects, simply to facilitate their actions and allow them to acquiesce. Now, he's encountered this man..."
The conversation ended here, and everyone else looked solemn except Jin Shulan, who remained silent and held his sword.
Inside Fang Mansion.
The master's courtyard is exquisitely decorated and filled with the scent of sandalwood.
Bai Qingxu looked at the disheveled man half-sitting on the beauty couch in front of him, his brows furrowed slightly, but he still bowed and said, "After the drought, we must guard against possible floods and insect plagues. These disasters are often accompanied by famine. If we fail to deal with them in time, the people will flee to other places in search of survival. They will be weak from hunger and cold along the way, making them susceptible to illness. Then, perhaps, epidemics will spread. If we don't stockpile food and make adequate preparations, I'm afraid we won't be able to survive in the future."
The man tilted his head and said lazily, "The word 'clear', but how can one get such a clear promise?"
It had been an unknown amount of time since the self-introduction at the beginning of the journey. Now that it was suddenly brought up, Bai Qingxu's eyes flickered slightly and he responded, "Yes, sir."
The man's eyes were deep, and he smiled softly, "Since you've been given such a good name, you should think about being like the source of living water and be more active. But don't be like before, just focusing on your own reflection and feeling sorry for yourself. This way of being an official will not bring you any benefits."
Hearing this, Bai Qingxu clenched his fists hidden under his sleeves and said, "Thank you for your guidance, sir."
The man nodded, picked up the teacup and took a sip. "I'm a little sleepy, so you go back first. I'll tell you my answer later."
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