Old Madam Wei was speechless.
But she was trying to make a sound.
Gu Jiu held her hand tightly and said, "Grandma, you don't have to say anything. I understand everything."
Old Madam Wei's expression relaxed, and a warm smile appeared in her cloudy eyes.
She used her fingers to slowly write on Gu Jiu's palm.
"You have to be well."
Gu Jiu suppressed her tears and nodded heavily, "Don't worry, Grandma, I will take good care of myself. The Gu family will be fine too."
Old Madam Wei smiled with relief.
His eyes were full of love.
Gu Jiu was talking alone.
There were no outsiders in the room. Not only were Gu's family members driven out, but the palace maids were also driven out.
In front of the old lady Wei, Gu Jiu spoke freely.
She told the old lady that Ruyang was young and had his own ideas.
She could hardly control Ruyang anymore, which made her very distressed.
Heng Ge'er is obsessed with going out to sea and traveling across the ocean.
If he were not a prince, he might have become a pirate.
"...Brother Xun is a reserved person. He has a lot of thoughts in his mind, but he never fails to express them. He likes to do things quietly."
Gu Jiu said a lot in bits and pieces.
Old Madam Wei had a smile on her face, she was very relieved.
She tried to tell Gu Jiu, "The children are growing up, and parents should learn to let go and not interfere too much."
Gu Jiu nodded heavily, "I listened to my grandmother and have been learning to let go."
The result of controlling too much is that you can't let go when you need to let go.
Gu Jiu said, and the old lady listened, the grandfather and grandson chatted for nearly half an hour.
She didn't want to cry, but in the end she couldn't control her tears.
The old lady patted her hands and told her not to be sad.
“Life is unpredictable!”
Gu Jiu said this vaguely.
Old Madam Wei has lived for decades and has seen through everything.
Cherish the present moment, it is better than anything else.
Gu Jiu wiped away her tears and said, "I'm going back to the palace."
Go back!
Don't worry about me, and don't be sad.
Birth, old age, sickness and death are normal things.
One look was enough to understand everything.
Gu Jiu stood up, straightened her collar, and tried to smile.
Old Madam Wei watched her leave.
When Gu Jiu walked out of the bedroom, there was a slight commotion among the crowd.
Gu Jiu glanced at everyone and headed straight back to the palace.
The Marquis and his eldest grandson Gu Rui personally escorted her to the second gate.
She stepped on the footstool. Gu Jiu suddenly turned around and said something without any context, "I'll live in a thatched cottage and observe mourning accompanied by the sound of reading. Who can say anything?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Jiu got on the carriage and set off back to the palace.
The father and son did not look away until the carriage disappeared around the corner of the street.
"What did the Queen mean when she left?"
The Marquis looked at his son Gu Rui.
Gu Rui was silent for a long time before he said, "If anything happens to Grandmother, the whole family will observe mourning. As the heir apparent, I must resign from my official position and observe the mourning period. The Military Academy is about to open, and this delay will cost several years. However, I can live in a thatched cottage at the academy to observe the mourning period and indirectly participate in the academy's work."
Lord Gu Zhiwen suddenly understood.
"The Queen is giving you a heads up."
"Exactly!"
The Marquis patted Gu Rui's shoulder and said, "The Queen has treated you well. Don't let her down."
Gu Rui said solemnly: "Don't worry, father, your son will not dare to slack off."
…
Two days later, the old lady Wei passed away.
White lanterns were hung in the Marquis's Mansion, and everyone was in mourning.
The Queen's father, Gu Zhili, got drunk at a banquet to entertain guests and embarrassed himself.
When he sobered up, he felt upset for a moment and then continued drinking.
Gu Yan couldn't bear to watch it anymore and ordered his servants to confiscate his drinks.
Gu Zhili kicked over the footstool and flew into a rage.
"What do you mean? What do you mean? You locked me up in the yard and forbade me to go out. What's wrong with me drinking a little? The Queen didn't even ask about my drinking. Get out of here."
Gu Cheng's face was gloomy. "Originally, I should have been in mourning this month. But unexpectedly, the old lady passed away. As your nephew, your son has decided to observe five months of mourning for her. The mourning period will be postponed to autumn. As your nephew, your father should set an example. How can you drink alcohol during the mourning period?"
Gu Zhili laughed heartily, "We split up a long time ago, why are you still observing mourning? Get out of here and bring me some wine."
"The family lineage has been divided, but the clan has not been divided. As the old lady's nephew, father should at least keep watch for a year."
"I told you to get out, don't you understand? I won't observe filial piety, I won't observe filial piety!"
Gu Zhili started to make a big fuss like a naughty child.
Gu Yan had no idea what to do.
Gu Gong appeared out of nowhere, holding a machete, rushed into the yard, and hacked at the doors and windows.
The good courtyard was chopped to pieces by Gu Gong.
His face was gloomy, like a devil from hell, but no one dared to stop him.
Even Gu Zhili turned pale with fright.
Years ago, Gu Rui brought the first batch of students from the Military Academy back to Beijing, and Gu Gong was also in the team.
Gu Gong, who had originally refused to return to Beijing, had to come back this time.
Because Gu Gong broke one of his hands and became disabled, he was forced to retire from the army.
He was ordered to attack the grassland tribe, but was ambushed and had his hand chopped off by the enemy.
There was a lack of medical care and medicine on the prairie, and Gu Gong's wound became inflamed and festered, and he almost died.
When he was rescued by military doctors, his military career had to end.
However, even after retiring from the army, he still held a fourth-rank military rank and had a sinecure in the Ministry of War, receiving two salaries and a disability relief fund.
Gu Gong, who originally had a somewhat eccentric personality, became even more gloomy and weird after becoming disabled.
Fortunately, he is a man of few words. Others don't provoke him, and he is too lazy to provoke others.
Everyone lives in peace.
No one expected that Gu Gong would suddenly explode because Gu Zhili was making a fuss about drinking.
The way he was chopping down the houses with a machete, no one doubted that he was an evil ghost that had crawled up from the eighteen levels of hell.
There were some timid servants who were so frightened that they peed and shit, and there was a foul smell.
The maids and old women were so scared that they burst into tears.
Gu Gong turned around, glared, and swallowed all his cries.
Gu Yan was standing by, his face also pale.
Gu Zhili was even more unbearable, trembling with fear and shaking all over.
He stammered, trying to hold on, "Gu, Gu Gong, you, what are you doing? You, you, you can't do anything rash."
Gu Gong looked towards Gu Zhili.
The father and son's eyes met, and Gu Zhili screamed in fright.
Gu Yan was cured instead.
It takes another evildoer to deal with an evildoer.
Father Gu Zhili is a bad man, and Gu Gong is also a bad man.
But Gu Gong was one step ahead. With just one look, he scared his father Gu Zhili out of his wits.
Gu Gong almost destroyed the house before he spoke: "Stop making noise! You're disturbing my rest."
As soon as he finished speaking, he dropped the machete and turned away.
I watched his back as he left until he disappeared. Only then did the people in the yard come alive.
Gu Zhili felt deeply ashamed and became angry out of shame.
He roared, "Unfilial sons, all of them are unfilial sons."
"Father, please speak softly. If you disturb Gu Gong, he will go crazy again." Gu Yan reminded.
Gu Zhili made a strange sound, as if someone was strangling his throat.
His face flushed red, and he was filled with rage.
But he lowered his voice when he spoke, "He is extremely unfilial. Playing with a knife in front of me, he is clearly threatening me."
Gu Cheng sighed, "Even if Gu Gong threatens father, is there any way for father to deal with him?"
Gu Zhili was speechless.
Gu Gong made great achievements but became disabled.
It's understandable that he has a weird temper.
Even if you go to the government office to accuse Gu Gong of being unfilial, the officials will try to smooth things over in this situation.
Gu Zhili was furious and started clamoring for drinking again.
Gu Yan was helpless and was too lazy to argue with him.
Drink, drink, drink until you die.
Whether or not you observe mourning is no longer important.
However, Gu Yan himself still insisted on observing mourning.
He was pursuing a career as a civil servant, so reputation was particularly important. Filial piety was even more important.
After finishing his housework, he hesitated for a moment and decided to go see Gu Gong.
After all, they are brothers.
The courtyard where Gu Gong lived was very close.
No wonder Gu Zhili disturbed him when he was making a fuss.
"Fifth brother, I'm coming in!"
Gu Cheng walked into the room and smelled a faint smell of alcohol.
"Fifth brother, are you drinking?" He frowned slightly.
Gu Gong said nothing and silently asked him to sit down.
A table of food and wine has just been served.
After Gu Gong returned to Beijing, although he lived in the mansion, he did not eat with his family.
Three meals a day are all eaten in your room.
The only thing he could be thankful for was that his broken hand was his left.
Gu Cheng sighed, "We are still in mourning. I will drink a couple of cups of tea with you instead of wine."
"Whatever!" Gu Gong didn't care.
Gu Cheng drank tea and ate food with a heavy heart.
He looked at Gu Gong's empty left sleeve and sighed, "If you had come back two years earlier, this wouldn't have happened."
Gu Gong glanced at his own severed arm and sneered, "I'm the one with the broken arm, I don't care, why are you sighing? Besides, do you think it's fun to come back and watch the old man act crazy when he's drunk?"
Gu Cheng was heartbroken, "It was your hand that was broken, how could you not care?"
Gu Gong ate his food and wine, "If I were as stubborn as you, I would be suffocated to death."
Gu Yan was speechless. These words made him want to quit drinking.
He gulped down a cup of tea. "Let's not talk about that. What are your plans?"
Gu Gong said casually, "I just got a sinecure in the Ministry of War, so I'll just hang around like this."
Gu Cheng asked him, "Do you want to go to the military academy? Being an instructor would definitely be a possibility."
Gu Gong was silent.
Gu Cheng could see that Gu Gong was somewhat moved.
"If you want to go, I'll try to ask the Queen to arrange for you to be an instructor at the Military Academy."
Gu Gong sneered, "The Queen hates us, yet you still go to beg her? Aren't you afraid of being beaten out?"
"The Queen may hate my father and mother, but she doesn't hate us. We have no grudge against her."
"How can there be no hatred?! Her mother killed her biological mother, she..."
"Mother did nothing. It was father who killed Madam."
"The Xie family is also the culprit. We have the Xie family's blood flowing through our veins. Do you think she can promote me without any qualms?"
"You're so petty, you think the Queen is petty too. You've been in the army in the northwest for many years. Has she ever given you any hardship?"
Gu Gong was speechless.
The Queen certainly didn't make things difficult for him.
Gu Cheng continued, "Wait for good news from me. When you go to the Military Academy, you must cheer up and strive to achieve some results. Don't lose face for the Empress."
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