Chapter 721 We have our way!
The wind was very strong, and Gu Qingchen hardly had to exert any effort. The eagle took off with the wind, soaring straight up, and soon turned into a small black dot.
Gu Qingchen tilted his head back, tightly gripping the spool in his hand, letting the thread fly rapidly through his fingers.
She looked at the kite soaring in the sky, and a little envy arose in her heart. How wonderful it would be if she could be like this kite, break free from all constraints and fly far away.
Just as she was staring in a trance, the strength in her hand suddenly disappeared. There was a crisp "snap" sound, and the taut kite string broke.
The eagle struggled and swayed a few times in the air before losing all support and falling toward a remote corner of the wall of the Duke's Mansion.
"Oh!" Gu Qingchen stomped her feet in annoyance, dropped the spool, picked up her skirt and chased after him.
That corner is extremely secluded and few people come here on weekdays.
Gu Qingchen pushed aside the half-man-high weeds and was about to pick up the kite that had fallen at the foot of the wall, but suddenly he heard two maids talking in low voices from the other side of the corner.
"Have you heard? It's that Mr. Lin who often comes to our house. He is now working in Jingzhao Prefecture and is very powerful."
"Imposing? I think it's a sin!" Another voice was filled with disdain and sympathy. "My nephew from my mother's family lives in the east of the city and saw it with his own eyes."
"In order to curry favor with the wealthy businessman Huang, Master Lin took on a case and awarded the ancestral shop and craftsmanship of the old carpenter Li to the wealthy businessman!"
"Is this really true? I heard that old carpenter Li's craftsmanship is well-known in the palace. How could this be possible?"
"Of course not! Officials are just talking nonsense. Mr. Lin quotes classics and makes his arguments so clear and logical. Who can argue with him? Poor old carpenter Li and his family. Now they have lost their shop and their livelihood. I heard they were kicked out and have nowhere else to go!"
That gentle and refined Lin Jiayou who talks about benevolence, righteousness and morality, is actually such a person who flatters the powerful and oppresses the good?
Gu Qingchen felt like his lungs were about to explode.
She no longer had time to pick up the broken kite. She turned around abruptly, picked up her skirt, and ran towards Gu Lu's study angrily.
"Brother!" She kicked the door open, startling Gu Lu who was reading the file.
"It's being said that Lin Jiayou forced an old craftsman into a desperate situation in order to curry favor with a wealthy businessman. Is that true?" Her eyes were red and her voice trembled slightly with anger.
Gu Lu put down the file in his hand and looked at her like this, his eyes calm and without any surprise.
"It's true." He nodded, confirming the rumor.
Seeing that Gu Qingchen was about to rush out to settle accounts, Gu Lu added, "That wealthy businessman is secretly connected to the Third Prince's faction that fell earlier."
"Lin Jiayou's move wasn't just a favor, it was also an attempt to find new backers and sever old ties. His methods were truly ruthless, leaving no room for maneuver."
Gu Qingchen paused.
For the first time, she felt a deep sense of powerlessness. She had always believed that most of the injustices in the world could be solved with fists.
But faced with this evil hidden behind power, she didn't know where to swing her fists.
She walked out of the study in a daze and ran into Qian Zhenyun who was carrying a lunch box in the yard.
"What's wrong with you? Who offended you again?" Qian Zhenyun looked at her pale face and asked with concern.
Gu Qingchen grabbed his arm, as if grabbing the last life-saving straw, and asked anxiously: "Qian Gun Gun, if someone is bullied and the government is deceived, what should we do?"
Qian Zhenyun looked at the anger in her eyes that was almost burning her to death, and did not answer directly.
He silently picked up the forgotten kite with a broken string from behind her and pulled her to sit on a stone bench nearby.
He didn't say anything profound, but just took out the small knife he carried with him and skillfully scraped off the rough edges of the two broken ends of the thread, then carefully reconnected them one circle at a time.
"The government has its own way," he said calmly as he tied the knot, "and we have our own way."
He raised his eyes and pulled the string tight in his hand to make sure it was secure enough.
"When Heaven's Way is not evident, humanity will make up for it."
He handed the reconnected kite string back to Gu Qingchen, but suddenly changed the subject, "Do you remember the escort agency you asked me to look into when we sent Lin Jiayou to Jinguan City?"
Gu Qingchen's heart skipped a beat.
"I found out." Qian Zhenyun lowered his voice. "The former head escort has lost one arm and is now living in the slums in the south of the city, running a noodle stall to make ends meet."
Gu Qingchen looked at him in shock, his mind going blank.
Qian Zhenyun's eyes were fixed on her. "Do you want to hear the difference between his story and the one you heard?"
"I'll take you out at three o'clock tonight."
As soon as the gong sounded at the third watch, the back corner door of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion creaked and opened a tiny crack.
Two figures in shorts, one in front and one behind, slipped out silently like civet cats.
Qian Zhenyun knew the patrol routes in the mansion very well. He took Gu Qingchen and easily avoided all the guards and servants, and soon disappeared into the dark night.
The night in the south of the city is completely different from the solemn silence of the Duke's Mansion.
As soon as you step into this slum, you are hit by noise and chaos.
Gu Qingchen had never seen this side of the capital.
"It's different, isn't it?" Qian Zhenyun walked beside her and said in a low voice.
Gu Qingchen did not answer, but silently clenched his fists.
They walked around for a long time and finally found the noodle stall deep in an alley. It was so simple that it only had a pot and a few tables and chairs.
Under the dim oil lamp, a one-armed old man was hunched over, mechanically cleaning the dishes.
His face was weather-beaten, and his other empty sleeve swayed back and forth with his movements.
"Boss, two bowls of plain noodles." Qian Zhenyun spoke familiarly and pulled Gu Qingchen to sit on a bench.
The noodles were served quickly.
Neither of them spoke, they just ate in silence. All around them was the chatter of neighbors and the crying of children—everything was noisy and real.
Gu Qingchen forced himself to finish the noodles, put down his chopsticks, and his eyes fell on the one-armed old man.
She waited for a long time, until her heartbeat completely calmed down, and then she spoke casually:
"Shopkeeper, I'd like to ask you about someone. Do you know a young man named Lin Jiayou?"
“Bang!”
The rag in the old man's hand was thrown hard on the chopping board, and shocking hatred instantly burst out of his turbid eyes, and his whole body was like dry grass that was set on fire.
"He's a devil!" The old man's voice was hoarse as if it had been sandpapered.
Gu Qingchen's heart sank suddenly...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
