Chapter 527: Long-term Planning
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtan immediately sat up straight and said, "Brother Changsheng, what do you want to tell me?"
Gu Changsheng looked at Shen Qingtan, who was sitting upright with a serious expression, and couldn't help but laugh. "It's not a big deal, you don't have to be so nervous." He put down the teacup in his hand and said slowly, "My master asked me to go to the capital of Northern Qi to treat an old friend of his."
"Old friend?" Shen Qingtan murmured, and suddenly a person appeared in his mind, and he blurted out: "Imperial Master?"
Gu Changsheng was slightly surprised, as if he didn't expect Shen Qingtan to guess it right at once.
He didn't hide it: "It's him."
"You can't go to the capital." Shen Qingtan stopped him and explained anxiously, "The Emperor of Northern Qi values the Imperial Preceptor very much. He will definitely send people to investigate the background of anyone who appears around the Imperial Preceptor. If the Emperor of Northern Qi finds out that you are my cousin, I'm afraid it will be disadvantageous to you."
"Don't worry. Master forged an identity for me." Gu Changsheng pulled a travel pass from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Shen Qingtan. "I once lived in Suizhou, Northern Qi, and I understand the local accent. Master found the identity of a deceased person of my age, with no relatives. He asked someone at the government office to replace the person's identity information, and thus 'resurrected' him. Even if the Northern Qi Emperor sent people to investigate, they wouldn't find anything wrong."
Shen Qingtan looked at the pass in his hand, feeling mixed emotions.
This information wasn't gathered overnight; it had clearly been prepared long before. After going through so much trouble to prepare all these regulations, how could she simply say a few words to dissuade him from going to the capital?
Seeing that the situation was already settled, Shen Qingtan could only warn, "Make sure you ensure your own safety when you go to the capital." After a pause, she expressed her worries, "I'm afraid that if you cure the Imperial Tutor, the Emperor of Northern Qi will order you to treat him."
Shen Qingtan knew that even if the Northern Qi Emperor ordered Gu Changsheng to treat him, he would not be able to cure him. She was worried that the Northern Qi Emperor would be angry and chop off Gu Changsheng's head.
"I know what's going on." Gu Changsheng looked at the worry in Shen Qingtan's eyes, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart: "I'm not alone. I have an old father above me, a child below me, and relatives like you who care about me. I won't put myself in danger again."
These words made Shen Qingtan completely relieved. As long as Gu Changsheng had any concerns in his heart, he would put his own safety first when doing anything.
Shen Qingtan asked, "When will you set off?"
"This matter should be dealt with as soon as possible. I will leave early tomorrow morning." Gu Changsheng looked towards the door and saw a robe fluttering back and forth by the door. From the material of the robe, he could guess who was standing there. He looked away and said softly, "It's getting late. You've been running around all day. You should rest early."
"Good." Shen Qingtan saw with her own eyes that Gu Changsheng's eyes had been healed and that he was full of life. The heart that had always been worried about him was completely relieved. She watched Gu Changsheng close the ancient book on the curved table, then stood up with him and personally escorted him out of the study. "Brother Changsheng, is that child in the doctor's room?"
Gu Changsheng hummed softly, "I'm going to the capital, so it's inconvenient for me to take the child with me."
Shen Qingtan nodded in understanding: "Is Elder Zhong taking care of the children? How is his health?"
Gu Changsheng smiled and said, "Master is in very good health. If he hadn't stayed in the medical hut to look after the children, he would have come with me to Northern Qi."
"Is that so? Next time there's a chance, let him come to Northern Qi and I'll definitely treat him well." Shen Qingtan escorted Gu Changsheng to the door and saw Zhao Yi standing at the door of the study, holding a gift she had prepared for Gu Changsheng. She took the gift from Zhao Yi and handed it to Gu Changsheng: "Brother Changsheng, this is the Mid-Autumn Festival gift I prepared for you. I wish you happiness, health, and a peaceful and worry-free life."
"Thank you, Manman." Gu Changsheng took the gift with both hands and motioned her to stay: "You don't have to take me to the courtyard, just let the servants in the mansion take me there."
"Okay." Shen Qingtan ordered Jiang Chao to send Gu Changsheng to the yard.
Jiang Chao took Gu Changsheng to the yard.
Shen Qingtan watched Gu Changsheng leave, then turned to look at Zhao Yi beside him, stretched out a finger, pretended to be fierce, and poked his chest: "You clearly knew that my cousin would come to meet me, but you didn't say a word."
Zhao Yi held Shen Qingtan's index finger and pulled her into the study, closing the door behind him. He explained, "I really didn't know beforehand. Seeing that you were eagerly awaiting a reply from your cousin, I sent someone to look for him as fast as possible. He happened to be preparing to come to Northern Qi, so I secretly brought him to Yuncheng."
"I also learned last night that my cousin was coming to Cloud City today. I thought that since he didn't reply to your letter, I probably told you that he was coming to Cloud City to give you a surprise, so I didn't give you the letter I received."
In addition to wanting to create a surprise for Shen Qingtan on behalf of Gu Changsheng, he was also worried that when Shen Qingtan reunited with the Zhenbei King's family, she would still be thinking about Gu Changsheng who was waiting for her in Yuncheng, so he concealed the news that Gu Changsheng would come to the appointment.
Zhao Yi reached out and hugged Shen Qingtan's waist: "Cousin should have told you that he came to Northern Qi not only to see you, but also to attend to important matters. It is inconvenient for him to reveal his identity. That's why we didn't have a reunion dinner together at the border between the two countries."
Shen Qingtan knew the seriousness of the matter and would not dwell on it too much, but she was worried about something else.
"Brother Changsheng is lying to me again." Shen Qingtan's face was filled with sorrow as he slowly said, "He said that the Imperial Preceptor was an old friend of Elder Zhong, and that Elder Zhong asked him to go to the capital to treat the Imperial Preceptor. But the Imperial Preceptor has been ill for less than two months."
"When news of the Imperial Tutor's serious illness reached Elder Zhong, he had to first arrange a new identity for him in Suizhou, Northern Qi. Then he had to bring the travel pass associated with the new identity to the doctor's house and hand it over to him. He then used the pass to travel to Yuncheng. Not to mention anything else, the journey alone took more than two months."
She guessed, "I think this matter has something to do with the Imperial Master."
Zhao Yi's eyes were serious, waiting for Shen Qingtan to continue.
Shen Qingtan continued, "More than twenty years ago, the Imperial Tutor collaborated with the Duke to send you to the Great Zhou. When the time came, he informed the Northern Qi Emperor of your existence. This shows how far-sighted he was, having already mapped out the outcome of the entire game from the moment he made his first move."
"You are a chess piece placed by the Imperial Master in the Great Zhou. He knows everything about you. And as your wife, he will certainly find out my background and naturally know about Brother Changsheng's existence."
"Judging from the methods of the Imperial Master, his illness was probably part of his plan, intended to achieve some purpose. So, before he fell ill, he arranged a new identity for Brother Changsheng and sent someone to deliver the pass to Brother Changsheng, asking him to treat him. This makes sense."
"However, Brother Changsheng, knowing our situation in Northern Qi, is still willing to go to the capital of Northern Qi to treat the Imperial Tutor. The reason behind this is probably because of me."
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