Gu Jiu hurried to the back alley of the Marquis' Mansion.
She got off the carriage, walked into the courtyard, and asked Erzhuang: "What's going on? Didn't you say that your condition has improved?"
Er Zhuang said, "Princess Fu Ya came to visit Mr. Luo the day before yesterday. After that, Mr. Luo's condition worsened and he even insisted on leaving the capital."
Gu Jiu frowned and walked into the bedroom.
The bedroom was filled with a strong medicinal smell. Just by smelling it, Gu Jiu knew that the herbs used were of the highest quality.
Mr. Luo was lying on the bed, unconscious.
After these days of recuperation, she didn't gain weight and was still too thin and frail.
Gu Jiu said nothing and started taking the patient's pulse.
For a moment, she looked solemn.
This is no longer the doctor's problem; Mr. Luo himself doesn't want to live.
He was fine before, why did he want to stop living after seeing Princess Fuya?
Gu Jiu asked Er Zhuang, "Do you know what Mr. Luo talked about with Princess Fu Ya? Mr. Luo insisted on leaving the capital. Did he say why?"
Er Zhuang shook his head. "When Her Royal Highness the Princess was talking to Mr. Luo, she kicked everyone out of the room. No one knows what they talked about. Mr. Luo just insisted on leaving the capital, but he didn't say why."
Gu Jiu was in a heavy mood.
She still picked up the pen and wrote a new prescription.
After that, I started giving Mr. Luo acupuncture.
Mr. Luo woke up slowly, his eyes unfocused.
It took him a while to recognize Gu Jiu, "It's you!"
"Master, you should take good care of yourself and get well soon."
Mr. Luo slowly shook his head. "Life is so boring. I might as well die."
"Even ants try to survive, so why would you give up your own life, Master?"
"Everything is gone, leaving me alone. What's the point of living?"
Everything is gone?
Gu Jiu didn't understand.
"Master, if you have a problem, tell me and I will help you."
"I can't do it. My father, mother, and brothers are all dead. What's the point of me being the only one left in this world?"
Gu Jiu then remembered that Master Luo's family had been exiled to a smoky and malaria-ridden land. She was the only one who was saved by Princess Fuya and was able to stay in the capital and teach in the Marquis's mansion.
Does this mean that all of Mr. Luo’s family members are dead?
Princess Fu Ya came to visit Mr. Luo, but she brought him such bad news.
Gu Jiu said in a deep voice, "The dead cannot be resurrected. Master, please accept my condolences. If you need someone to collect the body, I can do it for you."
Mr. Luo shook his head. "No, they've all been dead for years, and nothing remains. My family is all dead, and I'm the only one left. There's no point in living anymore."
Xiaojiu, thank you for taking care of me these days. I'll have to trouble you again in the future. When I die, just cremate me.
The ashes will be scattered in the Wei River, where they will flow into the sea. Perhaps one day, I will be able to meet my father and mother and ask how they are doing.
Gu Jiu's eyes moistened, and he said solemnly: "Master, cheer up. As long as I am here, you will not die. Are you really willing to give up your students?"
Mr. Luo held Gu Jiu's hand and said, "Xiao Jiu, I'm sorry for putting so much trouble on you. I made you worry when I was alive, and now I'm dead, I'm bothering you again. Don't tell her about my death, okay?"
Gu Jiu shook his head repeatedly, "Master, why do you want to give up on yourself? You can still live."
Mr. Luo shook his head. "Life is too tiring. Death is the only way to be free."
Gu Jiu burst into tears, "Master, I won't let you die. You must live forever."
Mr. Luo closed his eyes and fell silent. She fell into a coma again.
Gu Jiu wiped the corners of her eyes. She didn't understand how Master Luo could give up his life so easily.
Some people struggle to survive, no matter how hard it is, while others can easily give up their lives.
Is life really that difficult?
Gu Jiu couldn't understand.
Because she is the kind of person who will survive no matter how difficult it is.
If you can live, you will never die.
In order to survive, sometimes it is better to make do temporarily.
But Mr. Luo chose death.
She had lost her home and family, and she had no attachments in this world, so she believed that death was the only way to be free. Death was a better choice than living.
Gu Jiu wiped away her tears. She respected Mr. Luo's decision and wanted to make a final effort.
Even though her efforts were just to do her best and leave the rest to fate, she didn't want to give up so easily.
If she really gave up like this, she would definitely regret it.
Because everyone has his or her own persistence.
Gu Jiu stayed with Mr. Luo until the evening before leaving to return to the palace.
After getting off the carriage at the second gate of the palace, she did not go to pay her respects to Mrs. Pei, but went straight back to the east courtyard.
I met Xiao Qin'er on the way.
Xiao Qin'er called out to her, "Where did you come from, sister-in-law? Look at your face. Could it be that someone has offended you?"
Gu Jiu nodded slightly as a greeting. She didn't say a word and just walked past him.
Xiao Qin'er was stunned, and then became angry.
"Are you impatient with me now, sister-in-law? You have such a bad temper, do you look down on me?"
However, Gu Jiu did not stop at all and walked away.
Xiao Qin'er stamped her feet in anger.
"This is really too much. If you are so rude, how can you be qualified to be the eldest sister-in-law?"
She snorted and wanted to go to her mother to complain.
Gu Jiu was in a bad mood. She soaked herself in the bathtub for a long time and refused to get up.
Qingmei and Qingzhu had to add hot water repeatedly to prevent Gu Jiu from catching a cold.
It was already dark, the second gate was locked, and everyone in the courtyard had finished their dinner and was getting ready for bed.
Gu Jiu finally got up from the bathtub, bringing up a large amount of water.
Qingmei quickly wrapped Gu Jiu with a bath towel.
"Madam, please take care of yourself. I know you are sad for Mr. Luo, but now that things have come to this, Madam, you should think more open-mindedly. At least it was Mr. Luo's own choice. Mr. Luo has no relatives and his life is too miserable."
"Is it really so miserable for a person to live in this world?" Gu Jiu asked softly.
Qingmei nodded repeatedly. "It's really not easy for a woman, especially, to live alone in the world. When you're young, you can still work and earn money to support yourself. But when you're old and can't work anymore, and you have no children or grandchildren to support you in your old age, and no brothers or nephews to see you off, that's really miserable. Living like that is really worse than dying."
Qingmei felt sympathetic.
Gu Jiu nodded, "I understand."
It is no wonder that people at that time favored boys over girls. Boys not only meant the continuation of the family line and the inheritance of blood, but also meant support in old age, inheritance of property, and legal basis.
If an elderly person is left alone and has no descendants, she will not even be able to keep her family property. Her family members will divide up her property completely, which is recognized by the law.
This is not the future, where lonely elderly people can make their own wills and leave their property to a dog, a cat, or even a stranger.
In this era, property could only be inherited by descendants. If there were no descendants, it would be left to brothers and nephews. If there were no brothers and nephews, it would be divided among the clan members.
If the old man has only one daughter, it is impossible for the daughter to inherit all of the old man's inheritance.
Kind-hearted clan members would show mercy by allowing their daughters to inherit one-third of the estate, and the rest would be divided among the clan members.
A crueler member of the tribe would say that a daughter once married is like water spilled, and the married girl would not get a penny.
Mr. Luo learned that his parents were both dead, as were his brothers and nephews. The Luo family had no descendants, and only a few relatives who had not been in contact for decades and were already five generations apart were left.
To Mr. Luo, she no longer has a home, not even a clan.
She was all alone in the world. The motivation that kept her going was gone, and she no longer had any meaning in living.
She could neither continue the Luo family's bloodline nor overturn the case for the Luo family.
Feeling disheartened, she decisively chose death to follow her parents and brothers.
Mr. Luo's choice once again made Gu Jiu realize the cruel side of this era.
This era has never been kind to women.
Gu Jiu gently wiped his wet hair.
She is not Mr. Luo.
Precisely because this era is too cruel to women, she has to work harder and fight harder.
She wants to fight for a smooth road where she has no man to rely on and no one dares to touch her.
She wants to make countless men in the world surrender to her feet.
In order to achieve this goal, she first had to have money, enough money to last her a lifetime.
Secondly, she must have power, so much power that no one dares to take her money.
Gu Jiu smiled and lowered his head, threw away the bath towel, and put on pure cotton underwear.
She called Rong Xin over and asked, "How are those four eunuchs being trained? Can they be of any use?"
Rong Xin bowed and said, "Madam, he has been trained almost to be of use."
"Starting tomorrow, have them serve me. After that, you will lead the troops south of the Yangtze River. Do you have any objection?"
It was already very late at this time, and the entire capital city had fallen into deep sleep.
Rong Xin pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know anything about jewelry, maritime trade, or shipbuilding. I'm afraid I'll disappoint Madam."
Gu Jiu said: "It's okay, you have a year to learn slowly. This time we went to Jiangnan, there were 20 people accompanying us.
Among them were craftsmen and shopkeepers who had been dealing with jewelry for years, as well as pirates who were familiar with maritime trade and ships.
You will travel south with them and learn all kinds of knowledge from them. But your most important task is to supervise and take charge of everything. When it comes to major issues, you must make the final decision."
Yes, among the people Er Zhuang recruited for Gu Jiu, there was a pirate who was missing a hand.
Without hands, pirates would not be able to make a living on the sea.
I don’t know where Er Zhuang found this person from, but after half a year of investigation, he was found to be reliable, so Gu Jiu decided to keep him.
This pirate served as a guide on this journey south.
If they want to break through the situation in Jiangnan, they still need this former pirate to lead the way.
Rong Xin still felt a little guilty, "I'm afraid I won't be able to do my job well and will delay Madam's plans."
"Are you worried that you won't be able to make a decision when something big happens, if you're alone?"
Rong Xin nodded, not hiding his guilty conscience and fear. Before this, he was just a waiter, a eunuch, and had never been responsible for any major tasks.
Now that Gu Jiu has placed such a heavy burden on his shoulders, he feels tremendous pressure.
I was trembling with fear all day long, afraid that I might not do it well.
Gu Jiu smiled softly, "How about this, I'll arrange someone for you, and you can go to Jiangnan with him."
Rong Xin was curious about who the lady had arranged.
Gu Jiu didn't keep the secret, "In a few days, Huang Zhuo will come back from the northwest. Then, he will go to the south of the Yangtze River with you."
When Rong Xin heard that Huang Zhuo would go to the south of the Yangtze River with him, he instantly felt confident.
Gu Jiu continued, "You will live outside the mansion tomorrow and get acquainted with those twenty people first, so as to better understand the situation you will face. I hope that after you arrive in Jiangnan, you can make a breakthrough as soon as possible. As for the money, don't worry, I will have a large amount of money coming into my account soon."
Although Rong Xin didn't know where the large amount of money that Gu Jiu mentioned came from, it did not prevent him from believing in Gu Jiu's words.
Gu Jiu always kept his word and was extremely trustworthy. If he said a large sum of money had come into the account, then it definitely had. This was definitely not just a promise.
It's late at night.
Rong Xin received the errand and went back to his room to rest.
It’s time for Gu Jiu to go to sleep too.
But this night, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
She was still thinking about Mr. Luo in her heart.
When a person doesn't want to live, even if a god comes down to earth, it will be of no use.
Gu Jiu's premonition came true.
Early in the morning, Erzhuang sent someone to deliver the news that Mr. Luo was gone.
Mr. Luo passed away in his sleep and was very peaceful when he left.
Even though he was prepared, Gu Jiu still sat there for a long time before reacting when he heard the news.
She wiped her face. For some reason, she felt very sad and heartbroken, and had the urge to cry.
She tried hard to hold back her tears.
What made her sad was not Mr. Luo’s death, but Mr. Luo’s fate.
Damn fate, it takes great pleasure in playing with people.
Do you have to push people into a desperate situation before you stop?
Gu Jiu wiped his eyes and said, "Send someone to prepare for the funeral. Also send someone to notify the Marquis' Mansion and the Gu Mansion."
Qingmei asked cautiously, "Should we notify Princess Fuya?"
Gu Jiu looked towards Nanny Fang and asked, "Madam, do you think we should notify them?"
Nanny Fang shook her head slightly, "I think it's better not to notify her."
"Princess Fu Ya will know about Mr. Luo's death sooner or later. There is no way to hide this matter." Qingmei retorted.
Nanny Fang said, "It's hard to say what happened between Princess Fuya and Mr. Luo. I don't know how Princess Fuya will react when she learns of Mr. Luo's death. I'm worried that if something goes wrong, it might implicate Madam."
Gu Jiu was very straightforward and made a decision directly. "We won't take the initiative to inform Princess Fuya, but we won't hide it either. If others want to inform, don't stop them. Come on, follow me to see Mr. Luo off for the last time."
Gu Jiu left the mansion in a carriage, feeling upset.
Mr. Luo's desire to die was so strong that no medicine could cure him in just a few days and he passed away in his sleep.
She felt bad.
No matter what, she couldn't end up like Mr. Luo and die alone.
Therefore, even if one day the mansion is about to collapse and the Ning Palace cannot be saved, she must save herself and her child. If she has a child by then.
Arriving at the familiar courtyard, the Marquis' Mansion learned of Mr. Luo's death and had sent people to handle the funeral.
Gu Jiu looked at the servants of the Marquis' Mansion and asked Er Zhuang, "Hasn't anyone else come?"
"Madam, are you asking about the girls?"
Gu Jiu nodded, "Mr. Luo taught us all, and we have the relationship of master and disciple. Mr. Luo has passed away, and as his disciple, it is my duty to come and bid him farewell."
Er Zhuang said, "The girls haven't come over yet, so I guess they haven't received the news yet."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and said to Qingmei, "Take your men back to the Gu Mansion and call Gu Shan and Gu Lin. Tell them that Mr. Luo is gone."
Qingmei agreed and asked, "Do you want to invite Third Aunt over?"
The third aunt Qingmei mentioned refers to Gu Yue.
Gu Yue is a widow now, so it's not appropriate to call her "young lady" or "young lady". It's still more appropriate to call her "auntie", the proper title after marriage.
Gu Jiu said, "It doesn't matter whether she comes or not. We won't force her. Gu Shan and Gu Lin must come. They have been taught by Mr. Luo for over two years and they can't leave without seeing him off."
"I understand."
Qingmei took people to Gu's house to call for help.
Gu Jiu ignored the Marquis' Mansion.
It is not her turn to take care of the girls in the Marquis' Mansion.
Mr. Luo's body was buried and the mourning hall was set up.
As a student, Gu Jiu was the first to step forward to burn incense and offer sacrifices.
Gu Shan, Gu Lin is here.
When they saw the mourning hall that had been set up, they were both shocked.
"Is Mr. Luo really gone? Didn't he say his condition was improving? How could he die so suddenly?"
Gu Shan couldn't accept it and looked at the arranged mourning hall in disbelief.
Gu Jiu was burning paper and gently reminded, "Burn incense for Mr. and send him off for the last time."
Gu Shan's eyes were red as she burned incense and offered sacrifices, then knelt down to burn paper.
Gu Lin was a little at a loss, and followed Gu Shan and did the same thing.
Gu Shan said sadly, "I was hoping that Master would continue to teach us after he recovered. I didn't expect that the time we met when she left the mansion would be our last. If I had known earlier, I should have come to visit Master earlier."
"The dead cannot be resurrected. I just hope that you will no longer suffer in the other world." Gu Jiu said calmly while looking at the coffin.
A scream of pain was heard at the gate of the courtyard.
"Is she really gone?"
Gu Jiu looked in the direction of the voice and saw Princess Fuya. She had arrived so quickly.
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