The guard standing outside the sedan chair was a close confidant of the Crown Prince, and he immediately sensed the endless pity in the Crown Prince's heart.
He replied with a smile, "It's a pity that such a stunning beauty has to spend every night alone in an empty room; what a waste."
The crown prince laughed and cursed a couple of times, then prepared to get into his sedan chair and return to his residence.
Prince Jin got out of his sedan chair and stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, let's not go yet. There might be some excitement to see later."
The crown prince lifted the curtain and asked slowly, "What's all the commotion about?"
The Prince of Jin smiled but remained silent.
Not far away, the King of Qi sent his chief secretary to ask the crown prince if he wanted to get out of the sedan chair.
The Crown Prince then said, "Please let the Prince of Qi go first. I still have things to discuss with the Prince of Jin."
The chief secretary of the Prince of Qishan's residence also came over to inquire, saying, "Your Highness has difficulty walking, so he sent me to ask the Crown Prince if he is well these days."
"It's a wonder he thinks he won't die anytime soon," the Crown Prince laughed. "When he has time, let him go to the Eastern Palace to talk to me."
After the sedan chairs of King Qi and King Qishan had left.
The Crown Prince then asked the Prince of Jin, "Why are you keeping us in suspense? If we stay here, these officials won't dare to make a move. If Father finds out, he'll say I don't care about the officials."
The Prince of Jin smiled and said, "The Xu family."
"how?"
The crown prince was puzzled.
Prince Jin said, "Does Your Highness not know that the Xu family and Master Gu are currently in a lawsuit? Master Gu insists that Madam Gu was angered to death by the Xu family over tens of thousands of taels of silver, while the Xu family claims that Master Gu harbored ill intentions towards their eldest daughter and that she is now missing. Madam Gu feels ashamed towards her family, which is why she has fallen seriously ill. The two families are currently arguing over this. The Xu family says they will make a scene in public and humiliate the Gu family."
The prince chuckled lazily.
"That's where you're wrong. If you could help find the Xu family's missing daughter and untangle their knot, Lord Gu would be extremely grateful to you. Instead of helping to persuade them, you're just here watching the spectacle. Do you think Lord Gu doesn't know the Xu family is on your side?"
The prince slumped listlessly by the window, and after a while said, "You stay here and watch, I have to go. Look how far I've gone, if we were going to make a scene, we would have made a scene long ago."
The Prince of Jin stamped his foot and exclaimed, "Could it be that the Xu family has backed down in the face of battle?"
The Crown Prince scoffed and gestured to the guard standing beside the sedan chair: "Tell His Highness Prince Jin what you said."
The guard said, "I saw members of the Xu family mingling in the crowd, helping Master Gu entertain his guests. I guess we won't be able to see this spectacle."
Prince Jin said with a dark face, "Is he afraid to cause trouble now that Marquis Gu has gained power again? He deserves to be a down-and-out, he has no backbone at all. I don't know how his ancestors managed to get their titles."
The Crown Prince waved his hand: "Let's go. I'm exhausted. I got up so early, even earlier than court. I can get some sleep when I get back."
The Prince of Jin retreated dejectedly, saying, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will make sure you see this joke."
The crown prince gave a soft "hmm".
The sound was very soft; if you had poor hearing, you wouldn't hear it at all.
The Crown Prince's sedan chair was lifted, and Prince Jin, finding it boring to stand still, waited for a while before also having his sedan chair lifted.
After they had all left, the sedan chairs of the officials gradually dispersed, according to their rank.
The Crown Prince was still laughing as he walked down the street: "Has the Prince of Jin made an enemy of the Marquis of Dingbei? Why is he determined to cause some kind of trouble?"
The guard said, "The Prince of Jin is trying to find ways to make things difficult for the Marquis of Dingbei, while the Prince of Qi is trying to befriend the Marquis of Dingbei."
What are you trying to say?
"It is clear that the King of Jin has no interest in the throne, while the King of Qi's thoughts are unpredictable."
"The Prince of Jin has always been subservient to me. As for the Prince of Qi, what is so difficult to fathom? He is only keeping an eye on the position of Crown Prince because of my poor health. It is a pity that Father would not entrust the great cause to him."
The crown prince did not take it seriously.
The guard remained silent for a long while, then said quietly, "If we can find that daughter of the Xu family, will the Marquis of Dingbei...?"
The Crown Prince chuckled and said, "Why doesn't Prince Qi go look for him? If no one can find him, we don't even know if he's alive or dead. But you're right, we were only thinking of using the Chang family's daughter before, but we didn't expect that Marquis Gu would fall ill, so we couldn't make a move."
The guard whispered, "I've heard that the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion has been making quite a stir lately, even trying to win over beggars and storytellers, all in an effort to find that Xu family girl. They've really gone all out. With the Empress Dowager's birthday approaching, the Five Cities Garrison is checking household registrations. Should we go and have them check as well? If we can find her, it would be a great favor."
"Okay, go and do it."
The Prince of Jin stomped his feet in anger, and the sedan chair bearers, suffering greatly, dared not utter a sound.
"The Xu family actually held back a trick for me. They've really gotten bold. Summon Xu Tang to speak with me."
The guard outside said, "Xu Tang is probably in the palace right now."
What is he doing in the palace?
The King of Jin was puzzled.
"I heard that last time Prince Qi recommended him to play football in the palace, he won the emperor's favor, and Chief Steward Wang invited him to stay for a few days to play with the Empress Dowager and the emperor."
The Prince of Jin was stunned for a long time before saying, "So be it, so be it. What goes around comes around. A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise."
He stroked the black jade thumb ring on his thumb, his eyes narrowed, and a strange smile appeared on his face, as if he were plotting something.
Qin Yuan and the others walked all the way to the city gate, and they were all quite exhausted.
The generals under Lord Gu set up mourning tents at the city gate, stretching as far as the eye could see, with the Xu family's tent squeezed in the middle.
Lord Gu and his men thanked them one by one.
After finally leaving the city, the tribesmen's carriages were already waiting by the roadside.
The older men all mounted their horses.
The older woman got into the car.
The road is too far; we can't manage without doing this.
Qin Yuan took Lan Jie'er into the carriage. Halfway there, they found a house to stop at to relieve themselves. They gave some silver to borrow a stove to boil water and cooked rice porridge for Lan Jie'er.
They sent someone to deliver it to the front for Kang Ge'er and Fu Ge'er to use.
After busying themselves for a while, seeing that Lan Jie'er's small face had regained some color and she had regained her spirits, they got back into the car. By the time they arrived at the ancestral temple, Xu Shi's coffin had already been placed in its coffin.
The monks had already set up incense altars and were performing the rituals as agreed.
Xu's coffin was placed in a side room of the inner hall, while Kang Ge'er, Fu Ge'er, and Lan Jie'er sat in a small room inside to keep the coffin company.
Lord Gu, along with Sixth Master Gu and Gu Jingcheng, greeted the guests outside.
Qin Siyuan also rushed over to help for half a day, but was called back by Qin Jijiu.
Before parting, Master Gu said, "Brother Siyuan, it's kind of you to come and help. I will be staying in the temple for the next three days. If you write a poem, I will have the servant send it to you. You can then focus on your exams."
Qin Siyuan said, "Sixth Master, there's no need to work so hard. The students at the Imperial Academy know that you're determined to study poetry, and they're all saying in private that it's never too late to set your mind on something. Just keep at it slowly, and you'll eventually succeed. Staying in the temple is a hard life, and you'll have to put in so much effort to write poetry. How can you ruin your health like that? The journey is long and the mountains and rivers are far away."
These words made Master Gu sigh, "Brother Siyuan is truly my confidant. Of the thirty-three heavens, the Heaven of Separation is the highest; of the four hundred and four diseases, lovesickness is the most painful."
Lord Gu's fist hardened involuntarily.
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