Chapter 313 It's a Little Girl
Half a month has passed.
Gu Jingxi resumed his daily duties at the Dali Temple. Because he had been punished for his lax management of his household and failure to properly educate his children, he went to the palace to apologize to the emperor as soon as he was able to leave the house.
Emperor Jingwen, Zhao Shuo, greatly admired Gu Jingxi, a loyal and capable minister. He was reluctant to punish him last time, as it would have caused discontent among other court officials.
Emperor Jingwen also felt indebted to Gu Jingxi, after all, he had injured his body to save him back then. If Gu Jingxi could have his own children, he would not have had to adopt other people's children and would have had both a son and a daughter long ago.
Emperor Jingwen looked at his trusted minister. Initially, Gu Jingxi was forced into marriage, and the woman he married was his son's fiancée. Such an absurd act was laughed at by the entire capital for a long time, and he didn't dare to bring it up back then. But now he asked out of curiosity, "Yaoling and the lady seem to have a good relationship?"
Gu Jingxi's expression froze slightly, as if he hadn't expected the Emperor to ask such a question, but he answered truthfully, "Feelings grow over time, and now we are in perfect harmony."
Emperor Jingwen asked curiously, "To be able to catch Yaoling's eye, Madam Gu must have some extraordinary qualities, right?"
Gu Jingxi didn't elaborate on this, as saying too much wouldn't be good for A Yao, since it was A Yao who made the shocking request to marry him in the first place. He only said, "She's just a little girl, but she's gentle and virtuous, has a clear sense of right and wrong, and respects her elders and is kind to her juniors."
At first glance, it doesn't seem particularly special; this is how an ordinary young lady from a respectable family would look.
Emperor Jingwen said, "When choosing a wife, choose a virtuous one. A woman who can be like this is a good wife."
Gu Jingxi said gently, "That's what I thought too, so I didn't think too much about it at the time. I just treated each other with a normal attitude, and as we got to know each other, we developed feelings for each other. This marriage can be considered to have a good outcome."
After a brief conversation between the emperor and his ministers, Gu Jingxi took his leave to go to the Dali Temple for his duties.
The officials of the Court of Judicial Review had not seen the Minister of Justice for half a month. Now that he had returned, they all came forward to greet him and cast inquiring glances at him.
The incident at the Marquis of Changxing's residence, which occurred half a month ago, had already become a hot topic in the capital the day after the imperial edict was issued. From the imperial palace and nobles to the lowest beggars, everyone had heard about this scandal.
It's common for the inner quarters of wealthy families to be filled with scandals, but for a son to scheme against and frame his mother—such an act of disobedience and filial impiety is almost unheard of, occurring only once in ten years. Gu Xiuming was already the heir apparent; even if he was angry that Meng Jinyao had become his mother, he shouldn't have done something so self-destructive, ruining his future and being sentenced to exile. In the end, he was even expelled from the clan. He truly deserved it.
Even their Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices has lost face this time. In the past year, all the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices' embarrassment has been related to Gu Xiuming. It's truly a sin to have raised such a son.
Qi Yunwen glared at him with deep resentment and said, "Yaoling, you're really something. In the past two weeks, I've come to you three times, and you've turned me away every time."
Gu Jingxi said in a serious tone, "His Majesty has ordered me to reflect on my mistakes behind closed doors. During this period, I should seriously reflect on my faults and not receive guests. Do you expect me to disobey the imperial decree?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Yunwen rolled her eyes at him and lowered her voice: "Gu Yaoling, don't try that on me. Do you think I don't know you? You're definitely not reflecting on your mistakes, but spending time with your little wife and having a great time."
Gu Jingxi looked up at him, offered no explanation, and simply acquiesced.
Qi Yunwen said, both amused and annoyed, "You really value romance over friendship. I told you I had something urgent to discuss with you, but you were so engrossed in your sweetheart that you wouldn't even see me."
Gu Jingxi asked without changing his expression, "So, did you manage to resolve the matter in the end?"
Qi Yunwen snorted twice and said, "So many days have passed, it must have been resolved by now. What would happen if it wasn't resolved?"
Gu Jingxi glanced at him indifferently and replied, "You see, you can still solve problems without me, which proves that you don't need me. It's just that you rely on me too much."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yunwen was so angry that she wanted to punch him. She said irritably, "Who depends on you? You have no idea how miserable I was that day. I was chased for miles by several vicious dogs."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi replied matter-of-factly, "Does that mean if I sneak out to help you, I won't get chased by dogs? If I'm going to get chased, I'll still get chased, unless I don't go through that area. It's better for one person to be chased than for two people to be chased by dogs, don't you think?"
Qi Yunwen: "..."
He felt uneasy; no one was there to share his misery, and he just didn't feel right.
Qi Yunwen didn't dwell on the matter any further. He simply told him about the cases Dali Temple had received in the past two weeks, as well as the cases that had been solved. After finishing, during a casual chat, he suddenly said, "Yaoling, you care about your sister-in-law more than I thought. This time, you were so angry for your lover, weren't you?"
Gu Jingxi did not deny that he cared about his young wife, and replied, "Xiu Ming's previous actions made him an unqualified heir. This time, the evidence is conclusive, with witnesses and physical evidence, which is why I petitioned the Emperor to depose him. He deserves his fate. Even if A Yao had not been the one framed, I would have done the same."
Qi Yunwen was taken aback when he heard this. This was indeed in line with his friend's personality. He was fair and just, and he would only take the right side. Even if the unreasonable party was his son, he would not show any favoritism. That was why the emperor transferred him from the Hanlin Academy to the Dali Temple. The Dali Temple needed an official like him.
After a moment, Qi Yunwen asked curiously, "Now that Xiu Ming has been sentenced to exile and I heard he has also been expelled from the clan, you and your siblings are childless. Are you planning to adopt another child?"
Gu Jingxi gently shook her head: "No, I'm not considering adoption for the time being."
Qi Yunwen was taken aback, thinking that he was heartbroken by Gu Xiuming's matter and was utterly disappointed in the adopted child, so he dared not adopt another child for fear that the child would be an ungrateful wretch. So he asked again, "What about the title? We have to find an heir."
Gu Jingxi smiled gently: "I haven't thought too much about the long term. I just want to live well in the present. I'm quite satisfied with my life now. We can talk about having children later. Ayao is still young and should be playing. Why would I need to take care of a child?"
Qi Yunwen was taken aback by these words, but seeing his carefree expression, she realized that he was not sad or disappointed because of Gu Xiuming, but simply took it easy.
Gu Jingxi added, "Let me take a look at the files. You can do as you please."
At Shenshi (3-5 PM), when officials were off duty, Gu Jingxi had nothing to do and left on time.
He remembered that his wife had mentioned wanting to eat wontons last night, so he went to Old Xu's Wonton Shop, which he used to frequent, and bought a serving of wontons to take home.
Back home, as soon as he entered the courtyard, before he had taken more than a few steps, Gu Jingxi saw that beautiful figure running towards him. The corners of his mouth slowly turned up, he handed the wontons to the maid beside him, and opened his arms to hug her.
A moment later, Meng Jinyao threw herself into his arms, looked up at him with a bright smile, and said in a clear voice, "Husband, I've solved last night's chess game!"
Gu Jingxi praised without reservation: "Ayao is really amazing."
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