The tightly closed door was suddenly opened, and the daylight shone in. Several people in the courtyard immediately stood up and saluted: "Your Highness!"
Gu Jinke nodded and looked at the doctor: "Come in and treat your injuries."
She then looked at the others who couldn't hide their worries and said, "You guys go back and rest first, it's nothing serious."
Sang Yi didn't know what happened inside, but he thought that Master Jiang must have listened to His Highness's consolation. He felt relieved and bowed: "Yes, Your Highness."
Xue Luan also responded and retreated with Sang Yi.
Li Yuxin did not move. Even though he was wrapped tightly in a black cloak, it did not hinder his vision. He soon discovered that Gu Jinke was different.
Gu Jinke's clothes have always been expensive, but they can't stand rubbing. Now, the usually smooth collar has tiny wrinkles.
Moreover, he looked at Gu Jinke's lips.
It was moist and slightly swollen there. There was no special expression on Gu Jinke's face, but Li Yuxin could see it clearly, and she did not show any resistance or disgust.
He clenched his fists, pursed his lips, and felt his legs and feet suddenly stiffen.
So, are they together?
He propped up the stone table behind him with his hands hidden under his wide sleeves, preventing him from falling down. Li Yuxin calmed down and curled his lips before hearing his own voice: "Yes! Your Highness."
He told Xue Luan that he was free and easy, but now that he saw with his own eyes that Gu Jinke had someone else, he realized that his free and easy attitude was powerless here. He didn't know how he got back to the house.
Gu Jinke didn't notice anything unusual about him. She led the doctor into Jiang Mo's bedroom. Jiang Mo had already tidied himself up again. He was afraid that he would look too disheveled, so he even let down the curtain to cover up the dishevelment on his face, leaving only his feet exposed for the doctor to examine.
The doctor looked around, felt relieved, and nodded to Gu Jinke: "Your Highness, just use some medicated oil."
Gu Jinke nodded, and the doctor took out the medicated oil, rubbed it in his palm to warm it up, then applied it to Jiang Mo's ankle and started massaging it.
Gu Jinke took the first step and held Jiang Mo's hand on his knee. Sure enough, the next moment, he felt the hand in his palm tremble slightly, and then Jiang Mo let out a suppressed groan behind the curtain.
Gu Jinke frowned and looked at the doctor. The doctor was an old lady. She gave Gu Jinke a wry smile and said, "Your Highness, don't use too much force. Young Master Jiang will suffer even longer."
Gu Jinke pursed his lips. It was indeed the case. Jiang Mo's voice, which was suppressed by pain, could be heard through the curtain: "Your Highness, I'm fine."
Gu Jinke could only hold his hand silently and accompany him here quietly. Jiang Mo originally thought that the pain was unbearable, but when Gu Jinke held his hand, he felt uncontrollable joy in his heart, and the pain didn't seem so unbearable anymore.
The two of them sat quietly, waiting for the doctor to finish massaging them, but this quiet moment did not last long, as Xun Ji hurried over and said, "Your Highness, urgent news!"
Gu Jinke's expression changed, and Jiang Mo had already let go of her hand: "Your Highness, official business is more important."
He had been taught by Tutor Jiang since he was young, and had always been clear about the distinction between personal affairs and official business, with official business being more important, especially when the person was Gu Jinke.
Gu Jinke nodded, and went out to see Xun Ji. He went to a secluded place and asked, "What's going on?"
Xun Ji frowned and said, "Your Highness, a group of roaming bandits slaughtered a village! And then they robbed the food and houses that were distributed today!"
Gu Jinke looked up suddenly: "What did you say?"
After the second and third batches of grain arrived, Gu Jinke gave priority to distributing them to other remote villages that were short of grain to make up for the shortage. He did not expect to hear such news on the second day.
Xun Ji nodded and said, "Your Highness, most of the people killed in the massacred villages were old and weak men, and according to the survivors, the women seemed to have been tied up and taken away. Prefect Wu has already led his men to that village to appease the local people and hunt down the perpetrators, but this matter has become a serious matter. If Prefect Wu wants to mobilize soldiers to recover the food as soon as possible, it may be delayed. So I want to ask you...?"
Gu Jinke understood that Prefect Wu could only mobilize a limited number of soldiers, and she would be held accountable if such an incident occurred within her jurisdiction. If she wrote a letter requesting troops to suppress the bandits, the bandits would probably have disappeared after several rounds of circulation, not to mention consumable food supplies. She nodded: "Go prepare the horses, gather the troops, and suppress the bandits!"
Xun Ji responded and retreated.
Gu Jinke returned to the room with a frown on his face. Jiang Mo could vaguely sense through the curtain that she was in a bad mood, even very bad. He tilted his head: "Your Highness?"
Gu Jinke came back to her senses, and suddenly it was difficult for her to speak to Jiang Mo: "Gu..."
Her tone was so awkward that the doctors all looked up at her. Jiang Mo was even more perceptive: "There's an emergency outside. Your Highness, are you going out?"
Every time Master Jiang couldn't accompany him due to official business, he would use this embarrassed and apologetic tone.
Gu Jinke nodded. She was going to go out immediately, so the promise she made to Jiang Mo to have a good talk would naturally go down the drain. However, she had just done such a bastard thing to someone, and if she didn't explain it clearly, Gu Jinke herself would feel guilty. But Gu Jinke was very sober and put work first, so he inevitably felt sorry for Jiang Mo.
When Jiang Mo saw her nod, his eyes dimmed for a moment, but he quickly said, "Since there is an urgent matter that needs your Highness's attention, please go quickly."
Jiang Mo was so sensible, Gu Jinke felt even more guilty. She opened the curtain, rubbed Jiang Mo's head, and whispered, "Wait for me to come back."
Jiang Mo's face suddenly turned red, and he nodded with trembling eyelashes. Gu Jinke pinched his red cheeks, no longer reluctant to linger, and strode out. Xun Ji had already prepared a horse, and the two of them rode one horse each, whipped their horses, and left quickly.
Their quick departure soon alarmed the other people in the yard. Sang Yi frowned, Xue Luan breathed a sigh of relief, but Li Yuxin was a little puzzled. What happened that made Gu Jinke rush out in such a hurry?
His eyebrows moved and he left the yard.
Gu Jinke and Xun Ji walked all the way to the outside of the city, where more than a thousand people that Gu Jinke had brought with him had already gathered. Xun Ji said that Magistrate Wu had already sent a team of people to gather information, and another team was dealing with the aftermath of the massacred villages.
Gu Jinke nodded and glanced at the thousand soldiers behind him: "Leave the aftermath to Magistrate Wu. Contact the team that Magistrate Wu sent out before and see if they have any news. If not, we can go and join them directly."
Then catch these bandits who came out of nowhere as soon as possible!
Xun Ji nodded. The two men took a thousand soldiers and immediately went to chase the people that Governor Wu had sent out earlier.
Qiao Xi, who returned to the Qiao family, is a local, a local boss, and well-informed. He naturally knew that Magistrate Wu and Gu Jinke were hastily selecting their troops and leaving the city, as his subordinates had already come to inform him.
Qiao Xi frowned upon hearing this: "Bandits? Massacre of the village? When His Highness was delivering the first batch of food, he killed bandits twice. Didn't that already frighten those nearby who were ready to make trouble? Who would have the guts to run into this danger?"
The messenger below said, "They are not from around Qingcheng Prefecture. They must have come from far away. According to the people in our village, they are very ruthless. Not only do they cut off the roots, but the weapons they have seem to be official ones."
Officially made! ?
Qiao Xi was shocked. This person either had a backer or had dealt with officers and soldiers before. He waved his hand and asked everyone to leave, ready to think about it. When he looked up, he saw a person standing in the yard. Qiao Xi immediately looked nonchalant: "Why are you still here?"
Qiao Chen clenched his fist, naturally because he had just heard the new news about Gu Jinke. But what does this have to do with him? He and she are separated by hatred, and Gu Jinke also agreed to give it a try with Qiao Xi...
Qiao Xi felt refreshed when he saw the constantly changing expressions on his face.
Qiao Chen insisted on provoking him yesterday, so he not only had to expose Qiao Chen's thoughts, but also had to let him see the scene between him and Gu Jinke today when Qiao Chen just came to his senses, so as to completely cut off his thoughts.
Let Qiao Chen be unable to get the love he wants and live in pain. Of course, he must also be unable to harm Gu Jinke at all, eliminating a safety hazard for Gu Jinke.
Now it seems that the effect is really good. He is smiling and in a very good mood.
Such a smile made Qiao Chen's face change. He suddenly smiled maliciously: "Who do you think you are? Do you think you have a sure win just because His Highness agreed to give it a try? I don't think so!"
Josh paused, "What do you mean?"
Qiao Xi's smile was really annoying. Qiao Chen himself could see clearly his intentions towards Qiao Chen, but he was deeply in love and was controlled by his own emotions.
He admitted this.
But Qiao Chen is not a soft persimmon. If Qiao Xi dares to bully him, he will naturally fight back and let Qiao Xi feel his taste. So he curved his lips and said, "You know, I am not the only one outside the door today. Young Master Jiang, your highness's childhood sweetheart, is also here."
He paused, appreciating Qiao Xi's stunned expression, and then he said slowly, "Young Master Jiang has feelings for Your Highness. You must have seen it clearly when we met yesterday. What do you think he will do when he sees what you said to Your Highness?"
Qiao Xi's expression changed constantly. At this stage, he felt that he did not have as much weight as Jiang Mo in Gu Jinke's heart, so he attacked quickly after Jiang Mo and Xue Luan arrived, not wanting to miss the opportunity.
But Jiang Mo was also outside the door today. What would a jealous and envious young man do?
When Qiao Chen saw his expression, he breathed a sigh of relief and burst into laughter.
But Qiao Xi is not an ordinary person after all. He quickly calmed down his emotions and glanced at Qiao Chen with a smile: "Even if I lose now, he and I are still competitors. I am confident that I can catch up. What about you, Mr. Chen?"
Qiao Chen's face froze. Now it was Qiao Xi who laughed happily. He strode out and said, "Someone, prepare the horses!"
He has advantages that no one else in Qingcheng Prefecture has. He is the local boss here and can give Gu Jinke the greatest help!
So, he has to play to his strengths!
Gu Jinke and his men caught up with the people sent by Prefect Wu in the mountains and dense forests. It was already late at night. The torches were lit, and their faces were very grim: "Your Highness, we have lost them. This group of people are very familiar with hiding in the mountains and forests. In addition, it is dark at night, which makes it even more difficult to track them."
The dense forest here is rarely visited by local people because there are many birds of prey and beasts and there are no roads.
This group of bandits seemed to know the situation and were roaming around in this dense forest. In the early stages, they carried supplies with them and the traces they left behind were very obvious. The police officers and soldiers had been tracking them along the traces and it was not difficult. But as night fell, the forest became more dangerous and the tracking became more difficult. Instead, this group of bandits became more comfortable and even waited for reinforcements. They began to lure the tiger out of the mountain and transport supplies. After fooling a group of officers and soldiers, they finally disappeared in the dense forest.
Gu Jinke frowned after listening to what the people below said. The local officials were not familiar with the situation in this forest, and it was even more unrealistic to rely on the people she brought from the capital. In addition, it was late at night, and the dangers of this forest were unknown. It would be even more unwise to act rashly to avoid casualties.
She could only decisively let the main force rest and send out capable scouts to explore the situation first. After the scouts came back, the rested troops would catch up based on the news.
They set up camp here. Gu Jinke stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the moonlight and sighing softly. She had a premonition that she would have to spend the next few days in this forest.
As expected, Gu Jinke was completely trapped in the mountains while tracking this cunning group of bandits.
During the days she was dealing with bandits in the mountains, the memorials she had previously sent to the capital also returned safely and were presented to the Empress' pile of memorials.
When Fang Rui handed the Empress another memorial, she picked out the memorial from Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess first: "Your Majesty, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess has returned with the memorial."
The Queen's expression changed slightly: "Bring it here, let me see it."
Fang Rui hurriedly presented it. Due to the unchanged communication, the memorial was a bit thick. The Empress felt it was thick in her hand. She weighed it and her expression was a little ambiguous. Then he unfolded the letter and began to read it.
In this memorial, Gu Jinke sorted out everything she had done in detail, which could be regarded as a summary report. Including everything that was done after arriving at Qingcheng Prefecture, from control to rescue and then to the specific casualties and losses in the later period. It even included the losses and casualties caused by two waves of bandits encountered while escorting supplies, as well as how the bandits were dealt with.
The empress read it carefully. After a while, she thought of something and told Fang Rui, "Didn't the prefect of Qingcheng Prefecture, Wu Aiqing, submit a summary last time? Go and get it."
Fang Rui was a little surprised, but still went to get it. The memorial from Magistrate Wu also gave a detailed account of the disaster. The empress took a look at it and had an idea of what was happening.
After writing the post, Magistrate Wu praised Gu Jinke highly. Although he had genuine admiration for Gu Jinke, the empress had always known that when the princess went to work in the localities, the local officials would be knowledgeable and would praise her in their memorials. This would not only please the princess, but also make the empress happy as a parent.
For example, when Gu Jinxiu was raising funds, local officials praised Gu Jinxiu highly in their reports. Therefore, when Magistrate Wu's boastful memorial was sent to her, she only took it 30% seriously and always maintained a critical attitude. Now that she had seen Gu Jinke's memorial with her own eyes, she realized that the magistrate's boasting was sincere.
The Queen finally showed a genuine smile on her face: "You did a good job this time, Princess."
Whether it was volunteering in advance, resolutely going to Qingcheng Prefecture, or all his actions in Qingcheng Prefecture, he avoided the losses of Qingcheng Prefecture to a large extent. Or they did a very good job in escorting the grain and successfully protecting the grain.
Speaking of escorting grain, the empress inevitably thought of the Third Princess and the Fifth Princess, and she frowned. Feeling a little annoyed, he didn't want to think about it anymore, so he turned his attention back to Gu Jinke's memorial.
The second thing in Gu Jinke's memorial was to request credit for some officials of Qingcheng Prefecture and the local noble families who cooperated. The empress took a look at it, her brows relaxed a little, and she showed some appreciation.
As a person in a higher position, not hoarding all the credit and knowing how to commend those below you and being fair and just has already surpassed most people. Gu Jinke's post demonstrates this point. She listed the contributions of everyone one by one, including those of noble status like the prefect and those of humble status like peddlers who actively saved people, without any bias.
She looked at Gu Jinke's list and arrangement and thought it was reasonable. She marked it with a red pen and continued reading. But soon, her good mood disappeared. His expression became silent, and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry.
Gu Jinke later wrote about the third princess, and she praised Gu Jinxiu in the tone of a good sister.
From the moment Gu Jinxiu took Li Qi to escort the grain, she was the first to praise Gu Jinxiu for coming to Qingcheng Prefecture, praising her for not fearing hardship, going deep into the disaster area, and caring about the people.
He expressed regret for Gu Jinxiu's attack on the road and anger towards the bandits, and then expressed his high respect and admiration for Gu Jinxiu and Li Qi's behavior of risking their lives to protect the food supplies.
She also listed that not only she, but also the people along the way, all expressed their recognition and admiration for Gu Jinxiu and Li Qi's behavior. Then he took the opportunity to talk about how Gu Jinxiu and Li Qi and his team arrived with the second and third batches of supplies. He also told them that Gu Jinxiu and Li Qishi had been suffering from recurrent injuries, had high fever, and were unconscious. He also described in a fluent and heartfelt manner the shock he felt when he received the two people who were unconscious and had a high fever, and his inner admiration for the Third Princess.
It is written in a way that makes people sad and cry when they hear it. When the Queen saw the situation of the Third Princess, she couldn't help but frown, with worry flashing in her eyes.
But when the empress continued to read on, she saw a list attached to the text, which was the remaining supplies that the third princess and Li Qi had "risked their lives" to protect.
The list is short and empty.
Thinking of the thick list booklet she had to deal with when leaving the city, the Queen's expression suddenly became strange and uncertain.
She even had a flash of inspiration in her mind and turned to the previous text, where Gu Jinke described his encounter with two waves of bandits.
There were only cold and ruthless data recording her battle damage, and concisely describing her process and disposal results.
So, what does Gu Jinke mean?
The Queen put the memorial aside for the time being. He also suppressed his worries about the Third Princess's injuries. However, the news that the Third Princess's injury had relapsed and she had arrived at Qingcheng Prefecture with a high fever had spread, and Xian Guijun hurriedly asked for a meeting.
"Your Majesty, please call Jinxiu back. She has suffered a lot this time. Qingcheng Mansion has just been rebuilt. Where can we find good conditions for Jinxiu to recover?"
"Jinxiu has been injured for a long time. Please ask Jinxiu to return to the capital and have the imperial physician examine her to prevent her from developing a chronic illness. Alternatively, you can send an imperial physician to Qingcheng Prefecture to examine Jinxiu's injuries."
"The Crown Princess is also there, she'll be fine. Sending someone to pick her up will be a waste of money and manpower." The Queen frowned and did not agree to him. She naturally had her own thoughts in her heart. No matter what the Crown Princess meant, she would not let anything happen to Gu Jinxiu at this stage. That's why the Queen was worried but could suppress her worries.
However, Xian Guijun didn't think so. Ever since Gu Jinxiu's thoughts were exposed, Gu Jinke has automatically become an enemy. How can he trust his enemy? Moreover, Gu Jinke had a bad reputation before, and he was not necessarily very polite to Gu Jinxiu.
But the Queen refused to agree, and Xian Guijun became a little anxious. He couldn't help but blame the second batch of supplies in his heart. Supplies, supplies, it was all these supplies that caused the trouble...
As he was thinking, an idea suddenly occurred to him, and he asked the people around him, "The news said that Jinxiu arrived with the third batch of supplies?"
The people around him nodded.
Xian Guijun's expression changed: "I vaguely remember that the young master of the Jiang family also went with the third batch of supplies?"
In fact, he always remembered that because Gu Jinxiu liked him, he inevitably paid more attention to him. At that time, he also felt that Jiang Mo seemed cold and aloof on the surface, but was actually wild and unruly, without any manly rules and would not show up in public.
The people around him answered, "Yes, not only Master Jiang, but also Xue Luan, the young master of the Xue family, secretly followed."
"Jiang Mo, Xue Luan." Xian Guijun's expression changed, and he asked to see the empress again: "Your Majesty, I heard that the young master of the Jiang family, the young master of the Xue family and Jinxiu came together. Now the Qingcheng Mansion must be busy and chaotic. Their young master is pampered and may not be used to it. His family also misses him. Why not let them come back with Jinxiu? They can also bring back Minister Li, so we don't have to mobilize a large army."
He paused for a moment, and seeing that the Queen's expression had eased, he continued, "And as I mentioned to you before, regarding Young Master Jiang, they have been together all the way back, day and night, and they may develop some feelings for each other. By then, Master Jiang may not refuse."
Master Jiang refused on the grounds that he wanted to find someone he liked for Jiang Mo.
"Moreover, I feel that Young Master Jiang may have feelings for Jinxiu. They grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Over the years, Young Master Jiang and Jinxiu have been the closest in the royal family. When he heard that the supplies were robbed, Young Master Jiang was worried and immediately went to collect donations. He even caught up with Jinxiu and went to Qingcheng Mansion with Jinxiu."
The Queen's expression changed slightly, and she did not firmly refuse, but she did not agree immediately either. She just let Xian Guijun leave first.
The Empress had already softened her stance, so naturally, Lord Xian Guijun would understand her intention and withdrew.
The empress thought about her vague tests on Tutor Jiang and Li Qi, as well as the tests made by Gu Jinke in today's memorial, and she had a vague idea in her mind.
She went to the queen's palace.
The queen was a little surprised, but warmly received her frowning wife. He is the Queen, and he knows very well why the Noble Lord has been to see the Queen again and again recently.
Although he hated Gu Jinke, he never wanted to replace the princess, but because of this he particularly liked to control Gu Jinke. And he had no good feelings towards the ambitious Third Princess.
After all, Gu Jinke was the princess who was trained and controlled by him, and who would succeed his biological daughter. What was Gu Jinxiu? He hoped that he would die on the road, so he deliberately twisted the sadness on the Queen's brows and said, "Your Majesty, are you worried about the recent events in the court?"
If he asked this question on normal days, the Queen would not mention other princesses to him and would change the subject. But today, the Queen acted out of character.
"As I mentioned before, the children are getting older, and I want to arrange marriages for them so that they can settle down as soon as possible. Especially since the princess did a good job this time, it would be a good thing to arrange marriages for them now and wait for them to come back and get married, which would be double the happiness."
The Queen's expression moved. Indeed, Gu Jinke had a bad reputation in the past two years, but he did an unexpectedly good job on this official business. If she could arrange a marriage with a supporter, her position as the Crown Princess would be more stable, and the covetousness of the Third Princess would no longer be a big deal.
So she looked at the Queen with a smile: "Your Majesty, do you have any ideas?"
"Marriage should be based on age. Mr. Xiangui has already told me his thoughts a few days ago."
The Queen narrowed her eyes and asked, "What does the virtuous Lord think, Master Jiang?"
He didn't say anything, and listened to the Queen continue: "So I want to hear your thoughts on the Crown Princess' marriage."
The Queen naturally had her own ideas about the Crown Princess' marriage. The family had to be able to bring help to Gu Jinxiu, but the person had to be someone he could control. It would be best if she is someone who cannot develop any feelings for Gu Jinxiu, or someone who is not within the range of people that Gu Jinke likes.
He looked for two of them himself and had a choice in mind.
"Your Majesty, what do you think of the son of Minister Xue? Or the son of Gongzhong? Or the son of Minister Li?"
The author has something to say:
Today I am not short anymore, haha! !
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2022-06-06 22:52:22~2022-06-07 23:43:48~
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Jewel 20 bottles; Ershiguli and Tongyanwuji 5 bottles; Jun 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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