Dog bite dog
“Hey, Lord Guan, this kind of thing happens repeatedly. If anyone is at fault, it’s those who did wrong. How can it be Lord Guan’s problem?” An elderly man with white hair and beard shook his head and said, “The world is going to the dogs…”
"Since that's the case, and the author of this poem has remained silent, to prevent any trouble from those with ulterior motives, let's remove it from the top spot... Young Master Shen..."
Shen Changqing frowned slightly, "I believe that Young Master Wei's poems are the best, and my poems are inferior to Young Master Wei's."
Guan Yiyun nodded slightly. Although he knew that the poetry gathering had been a disaster, it had eliminated the potential threat of Su Bicheng. After today's incident, Su Bicheng's reputation was sure to be ruined among all the examiners.
His ruined career in the imperial examinations was entirely his own fault; he had no one else to blame but himself. Who told him to be so greedy? He didn't even understand the principle of a snake trying to swallow an elephant.
Moreover, his involvement with Gu Yu has caused Miss Gu to resent him, rendering Su Bicheng utterly worthless.
Su Bicheng's face was ashen. He had just left Zuixinlou when he received a letter of divorce from a servant of the Liu family. Suddenly, his bloodless face turned red. Today was truly humiliating. He had lost everything.
His wealth, his future, his fame...
He tried hard to think of what was wrong with today.
Yes, it seems that Gu Yu's attitude has changed, not just changed, but as if she has become a different person.
Why could a person change so much in just a few days? Or was she just using this as an excuse to get him to divorce Liu Qingqing so she could be with him again? He remembered Gu Yu's suggestion this morning and felt that Gu Yu still had feelings for him...
Shen Changqing went upstairs again and saw Gu Yu still looking heartbroken. "Miss Gu, are you crying for Su Bicheng?"
He suppressed his anger. He had never been so humiliated in his life, yet now his fiancée was repeatedly cheating on him.
"No, no." Gu Yu wiped the wetness off her face with a handkerchief. "I just don't understand why he would ruin my reputation like that in public today. We are completely innocent. He's the one who wrote letters to my residence and kept harassing me."
“I was deceived by him for a while and wrote back a few letters to him. But later he married Liu Qingqing and I stopped contacting him. I didn’t expect him to keep bothering me after his marriage. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I had to meet up with a friend and talk to him to clear things up.”
“Young Master Wei and Young Master Dongfang are both upright people. Fortunately, they stood up for me today, otherwise I would not have been able to explain myself even if I had a hundred mouths to speak…” Gu Yu’s eyelashes were still wet. She tilted her head slightly and looked at him with misty eyes.
Shen Changqing felt a pang of panic. It turned out that Gu Yu had already broken up with Su Bicheng, and he had been overthinking things.
"These two young masters have only been in Shengjing City for a short time. How did you get to know them?"
"It's quite a coincidence. My elder brother helped them when he took me out of the city to admire the plum blossoms, and they helped me again when we returned to the city. Over time, we became friends."
Gu Yu asked doubtfully, "But why are you asking these questions, Young Master Shen? Do you think I'm the kind of woman who's fickle and unfaithful, having an ambiguous relationship with Su Bicheng and even provoking two talented men?"
"No, that's not what I meant." Shen Changqing had never coaxed anyone before, let alone a woman. "I just think these two are very talented and I'd like to get to know them. If they are both friends of Miss Gu, why don't you introduce them to me..."
“Of course.” Gu Yu rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry to have made you laugh, Young Master Shen. I’ve been a crybaby since I was little, and I’m used to crying. Sometimes I can’t control my emotions.”
"Now that we are engaged, why don't you call me A-Yu, Young Master Shen? Calling me Young Master or Miss is too formal."
"No, Miss Gu is wronged and naturally has reason to cry. I call Miss Gu Ayu, and Ayu can just call me by my name."
Gu Yu shyly wanted to call out his name, but couldn't bring herself to do it. After thinking for a moment, she could only call out "Chen Lang".
“Shen Lang, I’m exhausted after all that has happened today. I’ll introduce you to those two gentlemen in a couple of days.”
How could you possibly get her to hand over the pieces she had her eye on to the enemy? There was no way she could be recommended. She could just pretend to be sick when she got back to the mansion.
As soon as Gu Yu turned around, the gentle and considerate look on her face vanished without a trace.
Qiuju had been waiting for her at the door. Seeing her come out, she quickly asked, "Miss, Su Bicheng has gone too far! He's twisting the truth! If it weren't for Young Master Wei and Young Master Dongfang, you would have been dragged down with him..."
"Ha, I've seen this man for who he really is today. He's a sycophant who clings to power. Now that he has no hope of becoming an official and has been kicked out of the Liu family, I reckon no good family in Shengjing will marry him."
"We'll see whether he stays in Shengjing City or not," Gu Yu said with a sneer.
She originally didn't want to deal with this person and left everything to Liu Qingqing, but unexpectedly, Liu Qingqing, out of consideration for their past as husband and wife, only gave her a letter of divorce.
"We'll go out the back door."
When she arrived at the back door, she indeed ran into Su Bicheng, who had come specifically to ambush her.
"Ayu, I truly have no other choice today. I only hope you can save me. I don't mean to ruin your reputation..."
“Young Master Su, why do you think I would come back? We are already even, I don’t owe you anything… What I said before was just to fool you. Since you lied to me once, why can’t I get my revenge?”
Gu Yu calmly observed his disheveled appearance.
She didn't understand why the original owner of this body had fallen for this pretty face, "On the contrary, you owe me a life..."
“I am the daughter of the Marquis of Wu’an. My father and brothers are heroes who defended our country. How dare you set your sights on me? I have no feelings for a heartless person like you. Instead of begging me, you should go and beg your ex-wife to see if she would be willing to take you as her gigolo... Otherwise, you will not be able to survive in Shengjing City at all.”
"That's not how it is, A-Yu. My feelings for you are genuine. It's just that Lord Guan wanted to arrange your marriage with Shen Changqing for the Shen family. He threatened me to leave you, so I had no choice but to marry into the Liu family to save my life..."
Guan Yiyun's involvement in this matter is truly a good dog of Shen Xiuwen. If that's the case, why not use Guan Yiyun's hand to get rid of this trouble?
"I don't believe what you're saying. Lord Guan hasn't left yet. I'll go ask him." Gu Yu's expression softened slightly.
She led Qiuju toward the front door. Qiuju looked slightly anxious, afraid that her young mistress would be fooled by that scoundrel again. "Miss, Su Bicheng is full of tricks. How can you believe anything he says..."
"No matter what, I want to know the truth."
As far as she knew, the Gu family had indeed formed a marriage alliance with the Shen family after Su Bicheng's marriage, so what Su Bicheng said was probably half true and half false.
The threat from Guan Yiyun was false, but why didn't she make Su Bicheng's words the truth?
Guan Yiyun was still exchanging pleasantries with his colleagues in front of Zuixinlou when Gu Yu suddenly emerged from the alley leading to the back door, causing the people in front of the door to pause for a moment.
"Lord Guan, my young lady has a few questions she would like to ask you. Would you be so kind as to step aside?" Qiuju asked softly as she stepped forward.
Guan Yiyun was taken aback, but immediately bid farewell to his colleagues. Given the Marquis of Wu'an's protective nature, he dared not disrespect the people of the Marquis of Wu'an's residence.
"Miss Gu, may I ask what business you have with me?"
Guan Yiyun was only fifty years old, but he was thin, with sharp eyes, a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks. He was originally not good enough to catch the emperor's eye, but it was Shen Xiuwen who strongly recommended him, which is why he has his current status.
Gu Yu dug her nails into her palm, the excruciating pain allowing her to maintain her expression of doubt.
"Lord Guan, Su Bicheng just came to bother me. Not only that, he also said that it was because of your interference that he married into the Liu family. Is that true?"
"Nonsense!" Guan Yiyun said righteously. "Absolutely impossible. How would I know about Miss Gu... Miss Gu and Su Bicheng's affairs, let alone interfere?"
"I, Guan, guarantee with my reputation that this is absolutely not true. That Su Bicheng dares to impersonate you today and even slander you, Miss. You must not listen to what this person says."
He continued, "I have some official business to attend to later. Miss, you should return to your residence as soon as possible. Su Bicheng knows he has nowhere else to turn and is trying to drag you down with him. He dares to slander me; I will certainly punish him."
Gu Yu got the answer she wanted and boarded the Gu family's carriage. The sky was clear today, and she peeked out to see the blue sky she hadn't seen in a long time.
Sitting in the carriage, she could still faintly hear screams coming from the back alley. She scoffed, "What a dog-eat-dog show!"
*
The Zuixinlou Poetry Gathering had just ended, and Wei Cong and Dongfang Hongyao's reputations had spread throughout the literary circles of Shengjing City.
Gu Yu played with the chess pieces in her hand, gazing at the plum tree in the courtyard. Since returning, she had been staying in her boudoir, claiming illness and refusing Shen Changqing's invitations many times.
"Chunyue, what have you been busy with these past few days, brother?"
Gu Yu rarely thought of Gu Jin, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and realized that although they lived under the same roof, Gu Jin was so busy that they rarely saw each other.
She needed to learn about the current situation in the court through him, but as a young lady still unmarried, it was inconvenient for her to inquire about anything.
She needs people who can be used by her; otherwise, without any pieces in her hand, she wouldn't be qualified to play the game based solely on the information she gathered from Yunxian Pavilion.
“Miss, you haven’t been out for a long time, so you probably don’t know that many refugees have poured into the capital. This summer, the north suffered a severe drought, and the people there had no harvest and could only rely on the imperial court’s disaster relief funds.”
"But the disaster relief funds allocated by the imperial court were stripped away and deducted at each level, so in reality, less than one-tenth of them reached the disaster victims. That's why they all came to Shengjing and are now huddled at the city gate."
"Fortunately, the heavens have been kind and it hasn't snowed in the past few days, so no one has frozen to death. But if it snows, I'm afraid these disaster victims won't survive. Young Master is trying to find a way to resettle these refugees."
Most of the officials in the north are probably Sun Yat-sen's cronies. They're really audacious. Now that the refugees have entered the city, we should make a big fuss about it.
Gu Yu threw the chess piece back into the chess basket. "I want to go and see if my brother has been back for a few days. I'll bring him some clean clothes."
"Alright, I'll have the young master's servants prepare it."
After thinking for a moment, Gu Yu decided not to put on the conspicuous white fox fur cloak, but instead chose a gray woolen cape.
Five miles outside the city.
"Young General, the soldiers have received their extra winter clothing, but it's still far from enough..."
"The soup kitchens have been set up today, but I am worried that the food will not last more than five days, and people may starve to death then."
The lieutenant looked worriedly at the nearly 10,000 refugees outside the city, then at the gloomy weather, and said, "I'm afraid it's going to snow again."
"The camps we've set up now are too few to accommodate so many people."
After a long silence, Gu Jin asked Yuan Jing, "Has the memorial submitted not yet been presented to the Emperor by the Directorate of Ceremonial?"
"His Majesty has not attended court for several days. The north is full of Sun's faction, and the cabinet only follows Sun Gu. I'm afraid the message will not reach His Majesty."
Yuan Jing sounded dejected. He had a friend in the Imperial Guard in Shengjing City, which was how he learned about the news from the capital. Otherwise, he would have been waiting here like a headless fly.
The emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty, Emperor Shengyuan, has not attended court for three months. According to news from the palace, Emperor Shengyuan is cultivating himself and seeking enlightenment.
"Is there any news from Father? Tell me immediately as soon as you do."
With the war in the north at a stalemate, he was only leading his troops back to the capital to reorganize, procure some provisions and collect military pay, and transport them to the northern battlefield. He could not enter the palace to meet the emperor unless news came from the northern battlefield.
Not long after his return, an imperial decree was issued appointing him concurrently as the Commander of the Beijing Garrison, overseeing the three major camps of the capital. The Five City Garrison Commands, which managed the city gates, were also placed under his supervision.
Originally, this position was also managed by the Grand Eunuch Xu Shanhai, but the cabinet was worried about the growing power of the eunuchs and wanted to take back this power early on.
However, after Gu Jin accepted the assignment, the imperial decree to distribute military pay was delayed, so he could only wait. Without the pay, the morale of the soldiers at the front was low, making it impossible to fight.
The northern prefectures suffered from severe summer drought and locust plagues, leading to continuous famine and an empty treasury. It is likely that the army will not receive its pay for a while, but the northern battlefield may not be able to drag on for that long.
"Without news and without paying the soldiers, how can they fight with peace of mind? I'm afraid the general won't dare to start the war..."
Gu Jin sat in his tent without saying a word, and could only wait. The war in the north could not be delayed, and he should not be confronting the cabinet led by Sun Yat-sen's faction now.
"Brother!" A clear, soft voice interrupted Gu Jin's thoughts. "Since you haven't returned to the manor for a few days, I brought you a few changes of clothes and some of your favorite snacks."
"I heard from those soldiers that you often don't eat. You're such a grown-up, and I, your younger sister, still have to worry about you..." She handed the bundle to Gu Jin, looking quite troubled.
"Ayu? What brings you here?"
“Today…” Gu Yu looked at the gloomy sky outside, “The weather is nice today, I wanted to come and see you.”
"I saw those refugees on my way here. I asked them where they came from, and they said Cheng County, Yaozhou, Yijun, Fushi, and Anse—all counties in the north..."
"But hasn't the imperial court already allocated funds for the drought in the north?"
"The character for 'official' has two mouths, one above the other; how can one not be corrupt?" Gu Jin frowned and sighed.
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