Gu Shiba was startled, clearly not expecting this.
Gu Jinghui's narrow, sharp eyes were filled with coldness as he said, "Zhao Shi and the two old women were in cahoots. One died, one escaped, and whatever the remaining one says is true. There's no way to verify anything. If it weren't for Madam's vigilance, what would my Dingbei Marquis's mansion have become in the end?"
Gu Shiba shivered.
With no one left to testify, this matter becomes difficult to handle.
They are in the open, while others are in the shadows.
Putting everything else aside, once the smallpox news got out, the Dingbei Marquis's family would become criminals in the future.
Gu Shiba immediately replied, "I'll go right away."
Gu Jinghui thought for a moment but was still worried, and said, "You go with Sixteen; he'll be more lively."
Gu Shiba quickly agreed and left.
Gu Jinghui paced around the room with his hands behind his back, his handsome brows furrowed.
At this moment, he felt that he was surrounded by a thick fog, and he could not be too careful.
Unlike his third brother, who was also in the outer courtyard, Sixth Master Gu was preoccupied. As soon as he returned to the mansion, he instructed his servant: "Go and bring me the 'Li Weng's Rhyming Dictionary' and 'Primer of Prosody' that are in my courtyard. If you don't have them, have someone go to the bookstore to buy them tomorrow."
The servant was greatly shocked and asked, "Sixth Master, is Sixth Master going to study?"
Sixth Master Gu nodded, tapped his palm with his folding fan, and said, "Since I have invited the Goddess of Smallpox to make offerings, I should keep myself pure and upright. I should study hard and make Brother Qin look at me with new eyes at the next poetry gathering."
The servant could hardly believe his ears.
If it were the old Master Gu, he would definitely have invited his concubines and geishas to come and have fun.
The servant had taken out all the books and was about to deliver them to the outer courtyard when a maid sent by Aunt Zheng blocked the door and asked, "Young master, did Sixth Master say he wanted someone to serve him when he moved to the outer courtyard?"
The servant shook his head blankly.
The maidservant quickly stuffed a purse into the servant's arms and tilted her head, saying, "This is a gift from our aunt. You must mention our aunt to Sixth Master often. He will never forget you when he gets something in return."
The servant took it with a grin, squeezed her little hand, and said, "Sixth Master went out to compose poetry with Young Master Qin and had a great time. He'll probably have to study hard these next few days."
The maid asked in shock, "Are you telling the truth?"
The servant said, "It's absolutely true. Although Aunt Zheng hasn't been here long, you are a servant born into a family. As for Sixth Master's temperament... I guarantee that if Sixth Master gets tired of studying, I will definitely mention Aunt Zheng."
The maid was extremely grateful and said, "Most of the concubines in the mansion have children, and Sixth Master lives alone in the outer courtyard. This is a good opportunity for our concubines. If we can help our concubines regain favor, our concubines will definitely thank you very much, young master."
The servant nodded and said, "I'll bring it up again after Sixth Master's excitement has subsided. You can rest assured."
The maid thanked her profusely and went back to tell Aunt Zheng. Aunt Zheng laughed and said, "Sixth Master is studying? That's a joke. In a couple of days he'll be clamoring for a beautiful woman to keep him company. I'll start making preparations now."
When Madam Gu heard this, she chuckled and said, "The Qin family is really something. They even managed to change our Sixth Master's temperament. Heaven knows, our Sixth Master used to buy books but never read them, pretending to be cultured. Whenever he had free time, he would read those plays about talented scholars and beautiful women, like 'The Romance of the Western Chamber' and 'The Peach Blossom Fan.' When he had nothing to do, he would make up a few bad poems. He would get together with those romantic scholars and scold his sons for not studying properly, unlike their father. Ha."
Granny Zhao replied perfunctorily, "At least Sixth Master wants to improve himself for a while, but I don't know how long he can keep it up."
"How long can he last?" Madam Gu scoffed lightly. "Putting everything else aside, he would never read for more than three days."
Granny Zhao nodded absentmindedly.
Seeing her like that, Madam Gu sighed and said, "The imperial physician has already diagnosed it as smallpox. These days, let's not worry about Sixth Master or anything like that. Let's take care of our own lives first."
When the two girls fell ill, they thought it was just chickenpox and didn't take any precautions. They simply called a doctor as usual, separated the children from the people who were taking care of them, and made offerings to the Goddess of Smallpox. They never imagined it was smallpox.
Smallpox can be fatal.
It's all that damned bitch's fault, she's so vicious.
Madam Gu gritted her teeth.
Zhao Mama said with a bitter face, "I just don't know if the medicine sent by the Third Madam will work."
He was no longer as arrogant as usual.
At this point, Madam Gu had a change of heart and said, "Let's try it as a last resort. She said she only had a 50-60% chance of success. If we do get infected, we still have the imperial physician, don't we?"
Zhao Mama breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that the Third Madam was blessed and that the prescription from Renhetang would work.
Looking at the dim flame of the incense burner outside the window, Madam Gu said with lingering fear, "This time, we are so grateful to Third Sister-in-law for insisting on reporting to the authorities. If the magistrate hadn't questioned and investigated us one by one, we really wouldn't have known that that bitch could be so ruthless... But who could have imagined that she would do such a thing?"
Granny Zhao asked in confusion, "Who exactly is she?"
Madam Gu said angrily, "No matter who she is, the Marquis will not let her go. Even if her husband has done him a great favor, it will not be enough."
If the Marquis were to follow his usual practice, he would probably cover up the matter for the sake of the two children's future, only to discover it when smallpox spread throughout the mansion.
Zhao Mama said, "That's right. With the Third Madam around, the Marquis will no longer be sentimental about the past."
Suddenly, Madam Gu stopped talking and said, "Let's go see the child."
Sixth Master Gu got up early in the morning and read for a while. He then asked his servant to ask Lord Gu if he wanted to have dinner with him. After being refused, he finished eating by himself and sat at the stone table in the pavilion. He asked the servant in a disgruntled tone, "I wonder what Third Brother has been so busy with?"
The servant scratched his head and said, "I heard that the Marquis sent a message to the two princesses at the Jokhang Temple, saying that they cannot accompany the emperor and that he will submit a memorial to the emperor, requesting that someone be reassigned to guard the princesses at the Jokhang Temple."
Sixth Master Gu sighed, "Third Brother has a job, unlike me who's just sitting around doing nothing."
He rested his chin on his left hand and listlessly flipped through the pages of the book with his right, looking rather sullen.
The servant hurriedly asked, "Doesn't Sixth Master often say that it's hard to have both good things and that he just wants to be a rich and leisurely man? Is Sixth Master tired of studying? Would you like to listen to Aunt Zheng sing a little tune to relieve your boredom?"
Sixth Master Gu waved his hand and said, "It's annoying, I don't want to listen. How can it be more interesting than composing poetry?"
The servant didn't know what to say.
The master's enthusiasm for composing poetry hasn't waned yet.
Sixth Master Gu added, "Being a rich and idle person for too long is boring. I wish I had Brother Qin's talent."
servant: "..."
That would be too difficult.
Sixth Master Gu continued, "Once Brother Qin passes the imperial examination, he'll be appointed to an official post. If he stays in the capital, that's fine. But if he's sent to a post elsewhere, I don't know how long it will be before we see each other again. Of all the scholars I associate with, none are as talented, virtuous, elegant, and handsome as him. What does it mean to wish we'd met sooner? This is it… If I were…"
Before he could finish speaking, an old woman rushed into the outer courtyard, ignoring any attempts to stop her. She was wearing an apron and asked in a panic, "Sixth Master, did you see Miss Zhen while you were visiting Yuyuantan Park?"
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