However, it was not unexpected that Ji Moqiu would lie.
If people knew that the couple had both died, who would Xun Ding make a mortal enemy of in the future? Their enemies wouldn't be able to do anything to Xun Ding, who had martial arts skills, let alone deal with Gong Xilai. Even though she had two older brothers, they couldn't always be there for her.
If you're a thief for a thousand days, how can you guard against thieves for a thousand days?
If her enemies find an opportunity, she will surely die.
Rather than leaving a loophole for others to exploit in public, it's better to lie from the start and eliminate any potential problems. It's just unclear whether this agreement binds both parties or only one.
After the ceremony, Gong Xilai did not enter the backyard.
Instead, he stood beside Xun Ding and toasted the guests.
Xun Ding asked worriedly, "Can your body handle it?"
Ah Lai's magnificent attire, especially the ceremonial crown on her head that looked like it would strain her neck, must have been quite heavy. Given her special circumstances, how could she possibly bear it? Gong Xilai replied, "I'm fine."
"Ah Lai, if you can't hold on, don't force yourself. Your father and I will take care of the guests." Despite his concern, Gong Xilai refused to go to the backyard, and Xun Ding didn't insist. The wedding guests were mostly officials from the court, and they knew their place.
Yes, there is a sense of proportion, but not too much.
They didn't make things difficult for Gong Xilai, but they didn't let him off the hook either.
One toast after another, one person after another.
The Kang Kingdom's court has special regulations.
Officials were only allowed to drink on holidays, vacations, and occasions like weddings and funerals. Drinking secretly wasn't forbidden, but one had to avoid being caught by the Censorate. Those Censors had noses sharper than dogs and ears sharper than cats; they were elusive and impossible to guard against! For an official to evade the Censorate was far more difficult than quitting drinking altogether; they preferred to suppress their cravings!
Having finally broken their abstinence from alcohol, nobody wants to be reserved.
Most importantly—
Today's banquet is served entirely with spirit wine.
One sip and you're all money!
Drink a few more glasses, and you'll recoup your cost of the gift.
You can't take advantage of Minister Xun all the time. If we don't take advantage of him today, are we going to wait until his child's one-month celebration or first birthday banquet? With this complicated feeling, his colleagues kept making the atmosphere lively and toasting Xun Ding.
"General Xun, this cup is a toast to you both having a son soon!"
"May you grow old together in this toast!"
It looked decent at first, but the style quickly changed.
He racked his brains for a reason to offer a toast: "This toast is to thank General Xun for greeting me when he passed by my house last time!"
His colleagues all turned to look at the acquaintance with a slight lisp.
Is this the kind of reason you can give to encourage someone to drink?
Humans are best at imitating others.
"Thank you for your awe-inspiring presence and for quelling the rat infestation in the government office!"
"Thank you for your awe-inspiring presence and for quelling the infestation of government officials!"
"Thank you for your power to deter all sides and quell the plague of corrupt officials!"
Xun Ding's face turned green upon hearing this.
The others, however, were not intimidated at all.
Lin Feng brought over two jars of wine. Seeing that Xun Ding's cup was empty, he gave his colleague a wink and immediately refilled it.
Yang Ying and the others kept egging them on.
"Drink up! Are you raising fish with this little bit?"
"We're going to drink straight tonight; we can't cheat with martial arts."
"That's right, Yong'an has a really high alcohol tolerance. He even said he could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. How long will it take you to get him drunk with just one or two cups? Listen to me, go straight for the wine jar!"
Xun Ding's face turned from green to black.
When did I ever say I could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk?
But as the groom, he couldn't easily refuse the guests' requests, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, let's drink! Let's see who can't get up to report for duty at the government office tomorrow. Someone, bring the wine jar!"
If he could withstand the jeers from his colleagues, the next move made Xun Ding want to kneel down. Gong Xichou stacked the wine jars into a pyramid shape. He sat with his legs spread wide, forcing a gentle smile at Xun Ding: "Now that you're my brother-in-law, you're truly family. There's no need to bring up past grievances and conflicts. If you agree, let's get drunk and forget about it, how about it?"
Xun Ding: "..."
He was internally cursing Gong Xichou at the top of his lungs!
Gu Chi can testify to this.
Gong Xilai couldn't help but speak up: "Second Brother..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xun Ding raised his hand to stop him.
He took a deep breath, revealing a heroic and tragic expression of facing death, and sat opposite Gong Xichou: "Let's get drunk and forget our grudges."
My brother-in-law is a real handful.
Xun Ding thought for a moment and made up his mind to find a matchmaker from all over Kang Kingdom to arrange a marriage for Gong Xi Chou. He refused to believe that they couldn't be brought together! At that time, he would set out a hundred times more wine jars at Gong Xi Chou's wedding banquet and pickle him to perfection!
Guests who weren't afraid of making a scene gathered around.
The high-ranking officials, who prided themselves on their composure, disdained such behavior.
However, secretly they also wanted to listen to the battle situation and the final outcome. Those with a little conscience would ask Xun Zhen, who was getting angry, "It's a rare opportunity to relax, so it's normal to have some fun. Don't worry, Minister. The General is a highly skilled and courageous martial artist, and he can certainly handle this much alcohol."
But in his heart he thought: [Drink more, drink more, don't stop! The best thing would be to drink that miserly fellow surnamed Xun into bankruptcy!]
"Yes, yes, I don't know if I'll be interested in that again. Before the war is over, such opportunities are rare."
The Northern Desert has extended its reach into Kunzhou, stirring up trouble. With so many conspiracies and schemes, even a fool knows that the illusion of peace with the Northern Desert won't last long. Those days when I used to complain about having to be on duty before dawn, now I feel like they're never enough…
Xun Zhen was furious with them.
But then he overheard someone from the Censorate, who was eating and drinking at his expense, muttering about whether or not to investigate him. He was grumbling about how much a jar of spirit wine cost, estimating the quantity of spirit wine for the wedding banquet, the amount of spirit wine provided by Xun Zhen and his son's monthly stipends, how much it would cost to buy spirit wine exceeding their stipends, and whether the rewards and stipends Xun Zhen and his son had received for fighting in recent years were enough to balance their accounts.
To put it more bluntly, they suspected Xun Zhen of embezzlement.
Xun Zhen: "..."
He glared fiercely at Gu Chi, who acted as if nothing had happened. As the Imperial Censor, wasn't he supposed to keep an eye on these censors who were always making baseless accusations? What was he doing? Where did all this spirit wine come from? Didn't Gu Chi have any idea? Infuriating! It was absolutely infuriating!
Gu Chi said leisurely, "A person with an upright character has nothing to fear."
Xun Zhen really couldn't possibly have embezzled.
Even the censors have a tough job; they also have their own KPIs.
On this joyous occasion, Xun Zhen, being magnanimous, helped his colleague boost his performance. After all, he hadn't embezzled or been corrupt; no investigation would uncover anything, and it would only highlight his integrity and incorruptibility. Gu Chi's attitude, on the other hand, made one want to punch him.
Xun Zhenqi said angrily, "If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too."
The censorate is now plagued by these corrupt practices, and Gu Chi, the censor-in-chief who set an example for others, should bear an inescapable responsibility for this.
Gu Chi gave him a shy smile: "You flatter me."
Xun Zhen: "..."
He took a deep breath and lowered his voice: "Gu Wangchao, you better pray that your luck doesn't change, otherwise you'll pay double."
If few of Gu Chi's colleagues initially noticed his private affairs, over the years, he was bound to slip up eventually. Aside from the emperor's perpetually obliviousness, who in the entire court didn't know about Gu Chi and Bai Su's affair? However, whether out of mutual unwillingness to go public or consideration for their positions in court, the two had maintained a clandestine relationship all these years.
No one dared to break the silence first.
However, considering their backgrounds, it's somewhat understandable.
A Grand General of the Tianquan Guard, the leader of all female generals.
A Grand Censor, the head of the Censorate.
If such a couple were to openly marry and live together, not to mention what the emperor would think, the court officials would certainly cause a ruckus.
If the ruler is not wary, the subjects will be.
Who would dare to offend Bai Su or Gu Chi in the future?
Aren't you afraid that the Tianquan Guard/Censorate will make things difficult for you?
Gu Chi leisurely swirled his wine cup.
He chuckled and said, "Then you'll have to wait."
She glanced back, a slight smirk in her eyes: "I'm afraid Hanzhang can't wait."
Being anonymous makes colleagues feel more at ease than having a title or position. Or, one of them might step down from a key post. A husband and wife are different from a father and son; the latter is a natural, unbreakable blood relationship, while the former is an acquired, controllable one.
Shen Tang leaned closer curiously and asked, "What do you mean you can't wait?"
The king is a worker, but also a qualified firefighter.
Mediation among her ministers was also part of her job.
She had just witnessed lightning and thunder between the two, a raging inferno that seemed about to ignite a fire, and she hurriedly found an excuse to come and put it out. However, Gu Chi and Xun Zhen were unwilling to say much, only discussing private matters. And as the ruler of the kingdom, she could not interfere in such matters.
When Gongxi Chou's side finally decided the winner, one hand had already turned the clock to the middle of the night, and the guests gradually dispersed.
Those who were drunk and lived far away were arranged to stay overnight. Those who were still conscious or lived nearby were sent home by the Xun family.
Some people were picked up by their family members.
For example, praying for good deeds.
Before Qi Miao even got close, she could smell the strong smell of alcohol on him and asked worriedly, "Father, why did you drink so much today?"
Qi Shan's cheeks flushed with alcohol: "My colleagues are urging me to drink."
Qi Miao took out a hangover pill from the carriage drawer.
While literary scholars can use their literary talent to alleviate the effects of alcohol, this process is not pleasant and can also put a certain burden on the body.
Qi Shan swallowed it with warm water.
He pressed his throbbing temples to ease the discomfort of being drunk, and listening to the sound of the carriage wheels turning beside him, he suddenly remembered something: "Junqiao, Zheng Xiuchi is gone."
Zheng Xiuchi was none other than Zheng Yu, the supervising censor.
Qi Miao suddenly opened her eyes wide, shocked and incredulous.
"Father—"
"In a few days, news will come down from the court."
Zheng Yu died for the public good, so his treatment naturally cannot be meager. Not only can it not be meager, but he should also be richly rewarded, his family treated well, and posthumous honors are not out of the question. However, these things have little meaning for a dead man. Qi Shan understood this all too well.
Qi Miao seemed to be still in shock from the news.
Her lips moved slightly: "But my daughter had met him before, how could it be so quick—who harmed him?"
Qi Shan exhaled a breath of stale air and adjusted his posture by supporting himself on the cushion with both hands: "The Northern Desert's spies, there to kill and silence witnesses."
Qi Miao tried her best to process the news.
The carriage was dimly lit; the candlelight illuminated half of her beautiful face, while the other half remained hidden in darkness: "But he's a good man."
Qi Shan: "Good people don't live long in this world."
Qi Miao struggled to control her emotions, her voice suppressed and restrained, like a dam about to burst, or perhaps a camel about to collapse under the weight of its weight. Her voice trembled as she said, "But that was before! Before—"
"The 'past' you're referring to is only five years ago. Whether it's the past or the present, as long as there isn't a single voice in this world, there's no difference. Different voices will inevitably lead to conflict and contradictions, from verbal battles to life-or-death struggles. People always repeat the same lessons over and over again. The Northern Desert's wolfish ambitions have been brewing for more than just a year or two, so their rebellion was to be expected."
"Your 'present' situation is only because you are in Kangguo. If you go outside, you will find hell all around you."
"Junqiao, good people don't live long in this world."
"The real evil lives on for a thousand years."
He's alive now because he's abandoned his conscience.
On the way home, Qi Miao remained silent the entire time.
But as she helped Qishan out of the car, she suddenly asked, "Why did Father suddenly bring these things up with his daughter?"
Qi Shan joked, "I'm getting old, and I tend to nag."
If he could, he would also like Qi Miao to remain pure and innocent, clean and white as snow, untouched by any stain. But he didn't have that ability, and Kangguo didn't have the means.
They can only win this battle against the Northern Desert; they cannot afford to lose.
Once you win, it's hard to stop.
Because the neighbors will be afraid, they may surrender in exchange for living space, or they may unite to take the initiative, strike first, and forcibly cut off Kang's progress.
Regardless of the type, control does not lie with Kangguo.
Similarly, the initiative in war is also crucial.
To what extent?
When will it stop?
Even prayers for good cannot predict the future.
Upon returning to the mansion, Qi Shan saw more than a dozen pairs of bright green eyes shining on the roof. The owner of one of the pairs jumped from the eaves to the artificial hill before landing on the ground and gently rubbing against Qi Shan's feet. He bent down and picked up the elderly cat.
My low mood has improved a lot.
"Su Shang seems to be in a good mood today."
From Xiaocheng to Fengluo, Su Shang has grown from a newborn kitten into an old cat. Since getting older, it has become increasingly sedentary, preferring to stay on the rooftop basking in the sun all day, only eating when it's hungry. It can still catch mice now, but it misses three to five times out of ten, and its teeth are quite worn, so Qi Shan forbids it from catching mice anymore.
Have the kitchen prepare tender, mushy meat for it every day.
In addition, there are its favorite snacks.
As she gets older, she clings to Qishan less and less, and it's rare for her to take the initiative to be affectionate like she did today.
"Sigh, I can't be so lazy, I need to move around more."
Qi Shan scratched its chin.
Su Shang relaxed comfortably in his arms, making sounds of enjoyment. Some of the cats on the eaves gathered around, some chased and played, while others remained motionless. Qi Shan asked the kitchen staff about Su Shang's food intake for the day, and his heart sank.
"Stay with me for a few more years."
Qi Shan held Su Shang and whispered softly.
Su Shang stretched and yawned, his cat paws blossoming into flowers.
Qi Shan slept unusually restlessly that night, his dreams a jumbled mess of images, with familiar and unfamiliar faces flashing before his eyes. When he woke up exhausted, he found a kitten lying on his pillow, its eyes still glowing blue, its eyes just opened.
How did you get here?
Su Shang meowed, grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck, climbed onto Qi Shan's bed, and placed it on the pile of bedding.
It seems to be saying—
Look, this is the child who looks most like me.
|ω`)
Sigh, don't worry, 960 is under review, and the review content is quite bizarre. Let's wait for the manual review to go live during the day. I'm going crazy; I just don't know what I did wrong to get myself locked up in this little black room, waaaaaah.
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