Chapter 196 Jin丨Exclusive post by Jiang Wenxue

In the early morning, a pale and weak hand stretched out from the quilt, and quickly retracted after touching the cold air.

"Young Master, you are awake." Hu Sheng came in with water, "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere else?"

"Thirsty."

Hu Sheng put down the washbasin, helped him sit up, and put on his outer robe. He turned back to pour a glass of water, and wet the towel while Xie Heng was drinking water. When Xie Heng finished drinking the water, he took the cup and put it aside, and wiped his face with a warm towel. The whole set of movements was smooth and extremely smooth.

Xie Heng was still a little confused at first, but after the hot towel was taken away, his face suddenly became cold, and then he became much more sober.

He rubbed his brows: "Where's Lu Xiaofeng?"

Hu Sheng: "He hasn't gotten up yet, he's resting in the guest room."

Xue Chen: [So jealous, I don't want to get up either.]

System: [Then don't get up.]

Xue Chen: [Other people can stay in bed, but my body and Xiao Mian can't. Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, and I guess a lot of people will come to pay New Year's greetings.]

System: [Do you have many relatives in your family?]

Xue Chen: [My father is the only son in the family. His grandma died early. He has been wandering outside and has long stopped practicing with the people in the clan. How can he have any relatives

? To be honest, the person closest to our family is Zhao Ji. At least he calls my father uncle.] System: [If there are no relatives, who will come to pay New Year's greetings to you?]

Xue Chen: [There are plenty, just wait. 】

After having breakfast with Gong Jiu in the yard, the two brothers went straight to the front.

Pei Rui happened to go out at this time, and happened to meet the twins walking in the garden. He simply said hello and followed his brothers in silence.

Gong Jiu seemed to be very uncomfortable, and looked back after walking a few steps.

Xue Chen: "What's the matter?"

Gong Jiu shook his head.

He was always worried that Pei Rui would suddenly attack, and if he said this, his brother would only think that he was bullying Pei Rui, so he could only keep it in his heart.

Gong Jiu concealed his vigilance and said to Pei Rui behind him: "Come over and join us."

Xue Chen looked at him with some surprise, smiled gently, and said to the system with some excitement in his consciousness: [Tong'er, my PUA was successful! 】

System: […I see.]

Xue Chen: [But I still don’t like him.]

Pei Rui quickly stepped forward and came to Gong Jiu’s side. He raised his hand and touched it. When he touched his arm, he quickly retracted it.

Gong Jiu was instantly nervous: "What are you doing?"

System: [Why? He listened to you.]

Pei Rui said lightly: "I can’t see, I’m not sure where you are."

Gong Jiu’s eyes suddenly became sharp, and then they retracted, and he said with a smile: "Do you want me to help you?"

Pei Rui: "Thank you, second brother."

Xue Chen: [He has become so strange now, hiding his true nature in front of me. I feel that there is still a gap between him and me.]

System: [Why don’t you make him less angry a few times?]

Xue Chen: [Impossible! Pei Rui

held his brother's arm again, adjusted his pace, and followed him.

Xue Chen smiled and said, "Finally, you two can get along well."

Pei Rui: "I always wanted to get close to my second brother, but he used to dislike me and always quarreled with me."

Xue Chen took his father's words and changed them, performing perfunctorily: "He doesn't dislike you, he just doesn't understand you well enough and has some misunderstandings about you. He will change his mind about you after spending more time with you."

Gong Jiu turned his head away.

When the three of them came to the front, King Taiping had already started to receive guests.

Seeing several children coming over, he waved his hand and said to the guests, "They are here."

Xue Chen had not been in the Ministry of War for a long time, but he had seen everyone he should have seen, and recognized them at a glance: "Sun Shangshu, Xu Langzhong, long time no see." The

visitors were Sun Fu, the Minister of War, and Xu Yuan, the Langzhong of the Armory.

Sun Fu's official position was not low, but it was not as good as that of the Prince of Taiping. People of lower status would take the initiative to visit during the New Year, and his appearance in the Prince of Taiping's mansion itself represented a signal.

Sun Fu smiled and greeted Xue Chen: "It's been a long time since we last met. I wonder if the young master is feeling better?"

Xue Chen: "Still the same as always."

Sun Fu exchanged a few words with Xue Chen, and then greeted Gong Jiu and Pei Rui. The few people took their seats and continued to say polite and auspicious words.

In previous years, the Taiping Palace always welcomed everyone on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but they did not make close friends with anyone. This year, many changes have taken place. Facing his son's boss, the Taiping Prince was no longer perfunctory as before, and deliberately kept them to talk for a few more words.

However, this level of interaction was not enough for Sun Fu to be honest with him. They did not talk about business, but drank a cup of tea and left.

Xue Chen was very polite and stood up to see the guests off. Gong Jiu also followed him and accompanied him all the way to the gate. He went back only after he could no longer see Sun Fu.

At this time, a man in blue suddenly appeared in the corner. He seemed to have been waiting here for a long time. His face was blue with cold. He stepped forward impatiently: "Is this young man from the Taiping Palace?"

The guards of the palace stood in front of Xue Chen to prevent the young man from plotting something bad.

Gong Jiu said coldly: "Who are you? Tell me your name."

The man straightened his sleeves. Although he was dressed simply, his movements revealed the demeanor of a scholar and looked quite elegant.

He bowed and said: "I am Gu Xichao. I am sorry to bother you. I hope you will forgive me. It's just that I have wanted to pay a visit for a long time, but because of my humble background, I have no chance to see you. I have no choice but to do this."

Xue Chen was a little surprised: [He hasn't followed Cai Jing yet. 】

System: [This is Gu Xichao!! 】

Xue Chen looked at the other party.

Gu Xichao was very young at this time, with long eyebrows, affectionate eyes, and a firm look in his tightly pursed lips. He seemed humble, but in fact he was stubborn and didn't seem like someone who could be easily dismissed.

Xue Chen asked softly, "Who do you want to see?"

Gu Xichao said humbly, "It's enough to see you two."

Xue Chen: "Do you know us?"

Gu Xichao: "There is no other couple in the capital with your qualities and appearance, and you two are twins."

Gong Jiu snorted softly, very satisfied with such a compliment.

Xue Chen: "Come in and talk."

Before Gu Xichao could respond, someone else came from the alley and greeted Xue Chen and Gong Jiu very cordially.

Xue Chen had just taken up a post in the Ministry of War and had taken such a long leave, so he needed a chance to get closer to his colleagues. Not only him, but Pei Rui also felt the same way.

He winked at Gong Jiu and politely invited him into the mansion.

Gong Jiu said to Gu Xichao: "Come with me."

Gu Xichao finally got what he wanted and entered the Taiping Palace.

He followed behind Gong Jiu, carefully observing the surrounding environment.

The location of the Prince Taiping's Mansion is prosperous, surrounded by the market, and the nearby neighbors are all dignitaries. The prices in the capital are very high, and there are many high-ranking officials who cannot afford to buy houses with their salaries for most of their lives, and can only rent houses to live in. The Prince Taiping's Mansion looks ordinary, but compared with other places, it is much more luxurious.

What's more, the ordinary scenery in the mansion is only relative to other landscapes and gardens, and it is not really plain and plain.

The snow from the past few days has not completely melted yet. The servants cleared the roads and deliberately did not disturb the snow in the yard. The red plum blossoms were in full bloom, and the water flowed around the rockery, emitting a faint mist. The young master in the forest was wearing a white brocade robe, with a cold and indifferent expression, like a banished immortal.

Gu Xichao looked at the scenery of the palace, and his heart became more and more excited. He made up his mind that he must seize this opportunity to join King Taiping!

After walking for about half an hour, Gu Xichao calmed down and began to memorize the route to the palace.

After a while, he found something wrong. He

seemed to have seen this pavilion just now.

Gu Xichao looked at Gong Jiu.

The twins of King Taiping are equally outstanding in appearance and temperament. If they are not close to them, it would be difficult to distinguish them. Gu Xichao had never had the opportunity to meet the twins before. At most, he stood in the crowd and looked at them from a distance. At this time, he could not tell which one was in front of him.

He was unsure in his heart and dared not say much. He followed Gong Jiu quietly and circled around the garden again and again.

-

After Xue Chen received the guests, he said goodbye to King Taiping and returned to his own courtyard.

He did not see his brother here, so he called Xiao He over: "Is the prince not back yet?"

Xiao He: "I have been waiting here, but I did not see anyone coming. Hasn't the prince been with you all the time?"

Xue Chen: "Maybe Lian'er was delayed by something, I will go out and take a look."

System: [You two brothers have no tacit understanding at all! Will Gong Jiu make a deal with Gu Xichao in private while you are away? ]

[No. ] Xue Chen said affirmatively, [My brother is a smart man, he knows what to do and what not to do. He does not have the courage to continue to do bad things. He

refused Xiao He's company and went to the backyard alone. He walked from the east to the west and found the two people in the grove near the edge of the palace.

Few people come to this side of the garden. It is quiet and you can hear the sound of snow falling on the branches after the breeze blows.

Xue Chen stood high on the stone steps and looked down over the railing: "Lian'er."

Gong Jiu turned around, looked at him for a moment, and walked towards his brother.

Xue Chen complained: "These interpersonal interactions are really annoying. If there are only one or two people, it would be fine. With so many people, they all say almost the same thing, which really wears out people's patience."

Gong Jiu: "I'll go for you next time."

Xue Chen: "Okay." Gu

Xichao stood silently at the back, pretending that he heard nothing.

While chatting with his brother, Xue Chen communicated with the system in his mind: [What stage do you think he is in now?]

System: [What is the original?]

Xue Chen: [Did you delete the original again?]

System: [I didn't! It's just too long, and it's hard to locate it at once. You know, I have too much memory, and it's a bit stuck.]

Xue Chen: [You should be glad that you don't have a physical body.]

Otherwise, he would have beaten you up long ago.

In the original book, Gu Xichao did a lot of evil things, and the timeline was very long. He raped the daughter of Xing Daren, the Minister of Rites, killed the whole family of the Suzhou prefect, embezzled credit, and poisoned people in the prime minister's mansion.

Gu Xichao did not do evil things because he had to. He was a bad person in his bones, and it was natural for him to recognize Fu Zongshu as his adoptive father.

But he has a superior appearance, a handsome face, and a demeanor of a famous scholar in the Wei and Jin dynasties. It is hard to imagine that he is a despicable and vicious villain.

Xue Chen: "What do you want?"

The blue-clothed scholar below bowed and said politely, "I don't seek fame or fortune, I just want to put my knowledge into practice and live up to what I have learned in the past ten years."

Xue Chen: "Do you have any achievements?"

"No." Gu Xichao said frankly, "But I think I am as accomplished in literature and martial arts as others."

In front of young people, the way of dealing with them is naturally different from that of old foxes who have been in officialdom for a long time.

Gu Xichao can see that the eldest son of the Xue family has just entered the court and is eager to establish his own power. He lacks his own confidants and should not refuse his surrender.

The most important thing is that Gu Xichao is young and has no foundation. He deliberately acted young and aggressive, showing his edge, which made it easier to let down the opponent's defense and gain Xue Chen's recognition.

Xue Chen smiled and asked, "Do you know martial arts?"

Gu Xichao: "I know a little bit."

Gong Jiu: "Then let me test your skills."

Gu Xichao was very smart, thinking about what to do when fighting with Gong Jiu.

The prince was of noble status and must not be hurt, but he could not hold back and act too mediocre...

Gong Jiu had already attacked before he could think quickly.

The young man in white had no weapon in his hand, but his momentum was more powerful than anyone he had ever seen. Gu Xichao didn't expect his figure to be so fast. He was surrounded by murderous intent. Gu Xichao's hair stood on end. He didn't care about anything else. He subconsciously took out the five-colored small axe and chopped towards Gong Jiu.

At the moment of attack, Gu Xichao finally realized what he had done, but it was too late to stop. Gong Jiu's movements were too fast, and he was in front of him in a breath.

Gu Xichao watched the small axe approaching the prince, and almost saw the scene of the prince being chopped in half.

The five-colored small axe can break all the qi, no matter how deep the internal strength is, it can't stop this attack.

He is finished.

Not only did he fail to make friends with the two young masters, but he also forged a blood feud with the Taiping Palace. How can he get ahead in the future?

Gu Xichao was terrified.

After one move, Gu Xichao stood there expressionless, not knowing how to react.

"This axe is good." Someone said behind him.

Gu Xichao looked down at his right hand, and there was no blood as expected, and the five-colored axe also disappeared.

"Your skills are too poor. Even if you have a powerful weapon, it is difficult to exert its power." Gong Jiu threw the axe to him, "But compared to most people, it is not bad."

Gu Xichao caught the five-colored axe and was shocked.

He didn't even see how the opponent made a move!

The son of the Taiping Palace is actually a peerless master!

Xue Chen: "The Jin Kingdom has been invading frequently recently, and some people in the court are colluding with the enemy. It is really unbearable. I still lack a chess piece to monitor the movements of the pro-surrender faction. Are you willing to share my worries?"

Gu Xichao had no choice. If he refused at this time, he would have no chance to leave alive.

Gu Xichao immediately said, "I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse."

Xue Chen nodded and said, "Go to Cai Jing and let me see what you are capable of."

Gu Xichao said, "I will definitely live up to your trust."

The three of them came to the front yard. Xue Chen restrained his sharp look and looked sick, gentle and weak.

He did not let Gu Xichao leave immediately, but invited him to sit in the small yard for a while, and treated him as a guest with great courtesy.

Gu Xichao understood what he meant and did not mention what happened in the yard until other guests came to the palace.

Gong Jiu went to the front to socialize on behalf of Xue Chen. Xue Chen controlled Pei Rui to go with him, while his original body lay back on the couch, staring out the window in a daze.

System: [Aren't you afraid that Gu Xichao will forget his principles for the sake of profit, turn against

his side in battle, and become a double agent?] Xue Chen: [Don't worry, Cai Jing still has Xiaofen. People like Gu Xichao are suitable to be sent out to harm others. If you keep him by your side, you won't be able to sleep peacefully at night.]