As the old man spoke, the expressions on Liu Ziqi and Gu Yun's faces changed suddenly and their hearts began to lift.
"I went to Meng Qingyun's house for a drink. The little girl was actually his daughter..." The old man closed his eyes and said with trembling lips, "The child was later mistaken for a little princess by those people and suffered a disaster."
Meng Qingyun hid in the stable with the little princess and heard those people shouting, "Found it!"
Hearing his little girl's crying suddenly stop, he took advantage of the chaos to take the little princess through the dog hole and left the princess's mansion.
It was difficult for Xu Si to forget the expression on Meng Qingyun's face at that time. He admired Meng Qingyun.
Using one's own child's life to exchange for the little princess's life sounds noble, but in fact it is tantamount to heart-wrenching pain.
After escaping from the capital all these years, Xu Si originally planned to take these things into his coffin until his death, but he was not as good as Meng Qingyun after all. Now for the sake of his young grandson, he had to bow down for a few pieces of silver.
From Xu Si's words, it was confirmed that the little girl Meng Qingyun took away from the princess's mansion was Su Jian. Liu Ziqi felt mixed emotions and was grateful to Meng Qingyun for exchanging his daughter's life for Su Jian's.
Liu Ziqi gave Xu Si a banknote and told his servants to take the grandfather and grandson downstairs to eat and then send them out of the house.
Gu Yun looked at the expression on Liu Ziqi's face and said carefully, "According to what Xu Si said, Liu Sanniang must have lied. Yu Jiao is undoubtedly Xiao Sujian."
The sound of autumn insects chirping came from an unknown corner of the hall, the candle wick on the table swayed slightly, and the nights grew colder as autumn approached. Liu Ziqi sat quietly for a long time, and the childish face of Xiao Sujian and the face of Yu Jiao slowly merged in his mind.
"Are you going back to Qingzhou?" Gu Yun asked after a long silence.
Liu Ziqi shook his head. "No, it's enough to know that Su Jian is still alive."
It's safer to stay in a small place.
He and Gu Yun are too conspicuous. If they are targeted by someone with ulterior motives, it would harm Yu Jiao.
"She no longer remembers those things from the past, and living like this now is... pretty good." Liu Ziqi said again.
Gu Yun understood what he meant. Forgetting the hatred and pain was like taking off the shackles, and he could live a relaxed and carefree life.
It's just that Yu Jiao, with such a noble status, should have been pampered and loved, but she was toiling away every day in a small village in the countryside.
It's not a bad thing to be an ordinary person. If you get too deeply involved with them, you will be fraught with danger.
"Even if we can't recognize each other, I won't let her be bullied again." Gu Yun thought of the matter reported by Manager Zhou that the Shao family wanted to force the purchase of grain, and said in a deep voice, "With my status, I can openly protect her. At most, I will cause a few criticisms. As long as she doesn't return to the capital, it doesn't matter even if she makes a big fuss in Qingzhou."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ziqi curled up a bitter smile. She was Su Jian, his sister. He wanted to pamper her openly and give her the best things in the world, but his status was inconvenient. Gu Yun, an outsider, could say such words, but he couldn't.
"Someone in the court has impeached you for abusing your power in Tanzhou, obstructing the Ministry of Works' Dushuiqingli Division from building dams and dikes, robbing official silver, and privately executing and detaining Zhou Fang. We will set off for Beijing tomorrow." Liu Ziqi put away his chaotic thoughts and said to Gu Yun, "The flood discharge in Danzhou has been effective. You and I cannot interfere in disaster relief anymore. As for the embezzlement of official silver for dredging and dike construction, we will have to deal with it again when we return to Beijing."
Gu Yun snorted coldly, "Let them bite, I want to see who is so impatient to jump out!"
Zhou Fang's embezzlement of official funds must not have been done by one person. The jackals and tigers involved behind the scenes wanted to display his crimes in front of Emperor Mingzheng and convict him in one fell swoop before he returned to the capital.
Gu Yun didn't care too much about these things. Although Emperor Mingzheng had become increasingly incompetent and ignored state affairs in recent years, he had always taken steps to maintain a delicate balance between the various forces in the court.
The Gu family holds the military power and has the merit of following the emperor in the past. This is why Emperor Mingzheng favors him so much on the surface. The more incompetent he is, the more he does things in a messy and high-profile manner, and the more he does not know how to live or die, the more he suits Emperor Mingzheng's wishes.
Gu Yun had figured this out a long time ago. Although he was a playboy and arrogant, he was not really simple-minded, stupid or dull.
Liu Ziqi stood up and reminded, "The emperor originally wanted to use the silver from the dredging to build a Taoist temple, but Cheng Ying persuaded him to allocate it. The emperor must be somewhat unwilling to do so, but the silver was embezzled. This case may change the situation in the court, so we should return to Beijing as soon as possible to make preparations."
Gu Yun stood up with him, "Then let's go back to Beijing tomorrow?"
Liu Ziqi nodded, "Go and rest early."
Seeing him walking outside, Gu Yun couldn't help but ask again, "Do you want to take a detour to Qingzhou and go see Xiao Sujian?"
Liu Ziqi paused for a moment, "No, don't mention the name Su Jian anymore. Su Jian is no longer in this world."
Let her use the name Yu Jiao and live a stable life with this identity, safe and healthy.
Watching Liu Ziqi leave, Gu Yun sighed softly, thinking of when Su Jian tugged at his clothes and called him brother Huaiyi in a soft voice when they were little, and also of how he treated her in the Yang family in Qingzhou.
Gu Yun slowly clenched his fists, his starry eyes were particularly firm under the dim candlelight. No matter what, he would never let Xiao Sujian...Yu Jiao suffer again.
Even if she was willing, he could marry her as he said in his childhood, make her a marquis's wife, and give her the honor and favor she deserved.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
