The talisman in the purse was drawn by Gu Yanfei yesterday. He instructed Lu Si to hand it over to the young master of the Hua family personally and make the other party admit in person that he was Hua Xi.
As the saying goes, "Words come true."
Wei Jiaoniang's eyes sparkled. She poured tea for Gu Yanfei herself and silently toasted him.
The two smiled in tacit understanding.
People on the street came into the teahouse one after another, talking about what had just happened: "It seems that the person who just fell off the horse was sent to the medical clinic in front."
"That young man seems to have a high fever, and his body is still twitching, like he's having a seizure... They say he's dying. How pitiful! He's so young, and I heard he just got engaged today."
The tea drinkers sighed incessantly, and the conversation became more and more lively.
"Yes, yes." A plump middle-aged woman came in from behind and chatted with the tea drinkers in front with great interest. "Doctor Wan said that the young man was not ill, but was cast under a spell."
"And..."
At this point, the middle-aged woman showed a strange and complicated expression, wanting to say something but stopping herself, as if she didn't know whether to say it or not.
Immediately, another young woman pulled her sleeve curiously and asked, "Sister, what else did Doctor Wan say?"
The middle-aged woman was still a little hesitant, and another old man who had just entered the teahouse spoke for her: "The people at Wancaotang said that it was Miss Gu who did it."
There was silence in the teahouse.
All the tea drinkers around heard it and were dumbfounded, some of them could not believe their ears.
"How is it possible?" The young woman subconsciously raised her voice, "Second Miss Gu is a kind-hearted fairy who has saved many children."
"What I said is true!" The old man was angry and said unhappily, "I just heard it with my own ears. It was said by the second Miss Gu. If you don't believe me, you can go to Wancao Hall and ask her."
These words naturally also reached the ears of Gu Yanfei and Wei Jiaoniang.
The two looked at each other in astonishment, and the teacups in their hands stopped in mid-air.
"..." A rare look of astonishment appeared on Gu Yanfei's little face, and she raised her eyebrows.
Now this is interesting.
Nonsense! Wei Jiaoniang was so angry that her face turned blue. She almost slammed the table, but Gu Yanfei quickly grabbed her wrist.
Wei Jiaoniang could not help but turn her head to look at Gu Yanfei. Her black and white eyes seemed to be able to speak as she said indignantly: Who is talking nonsense!
Gu Yanfei shook his head, curled his lips and smiled, revealing a pair of shallow dimples on his lips. His eyes were as calm as water, signaling Wei Jiaoniang to be patient.
The tea drinkers in the teahouse became more and more lively and excited as they talked.
"It doesn't make sense." The young woman still didn't believe it. "How could the people in Wancaotang know that it was Miss Gu who cast a spell on that young master?"
Several tea drinkers nearby also thought it made sense, saying, "Yes, it's just empty talk, without any basis or evidence."
"It's impossible that just because someone is sick, we can say that it was caused by Miss Gu."
"Everyone knows that Miss Gu is kind-hearted and has saved countless lives. She is like the reincarnation of Guanyin!" The middle-aged woman's eyes sparkled with admiration as she praised Gu Yanfei again and again, "She will definitely not harm anyone!"
"I don't know what the owner of Wancaotang is up to. He insists that the second Miss Gu is using evil magic to harm people!"
"Humph!" The old man sneered and stroked his beard, "If we talk about saving countless lives, the owner of Wancaotang has also saved countless lives. Wancaotang's magic medicine Qingmengsan was developed by the owner himself."
"My grandson fell and broke his arm. He had a high fever and he went to several clinics but none of them could cure him. He was finally cured by the magic medicine from Wancaotang."
"The owner of Wancaotang has such ability, so he must have some experience, and it must not be nonsense!"
Speaking of the owner of Wancaotang, the old man's wrinkled face was full of gratitude.
"Boss?" Wei Jiaoniang caught the key words, picked up the teapot, and asked Gu Yanfei in a low voice, "Yanfei, do you know who the boss of Wancaotang is? Why is he talking nonsense!"
"Gu Yunmeng." Gu Yanfei uttered three words with certainty.
What?! Wei Jiaoniang was stunned again, blinked slowly, and her hand slipped, almost dropping the teapot.
Gu Yanfei took the teapot from Wei Jiaoniang's hand very smoothly and added barley tea to both of them. The unique burnt aroma of barley tea wafted with wisps of hot steam.
Gu Yanfei drank tea leisurely, looking in the direction of Wancaotang.
The so-called "Penicillin Powder" sold in this clinic is clearly penicillin which is only recorded in "Taizu's Notes". The emperor had long ago asked the Jinyiwei to turn the clinic upside down and find out the owner behind the scenes.
Gu Yanfei naturally learned these things from Chu Yi.
Wei Jiaoniang was still immersed in the shock of this news, muttering, "It turned out to be Gu Yunmeng."
While the two were whispering, the tea drinkers in the teahouse were still arguing. Some felt that what the owner of Wancaotang said was true, and more people felt that the second Miss Gu was kind-hearted and would never hurt anyone.
Neither side could convince the other.
"Whether this matter has anything to do with the second Miss Gu, we'll just have to wait and see." Another old woman came in from outside the teahouse and interrupted with interest, "I just came from Wancao Hall. The young man who fell off his horse is in critical condition. His parents said they want to go to the Gu Mansion to ask for justice from the second Miss Gu."
"That's great!" A scholar dressed in a simple blue shirt next to him echoed, "Let's face off and discuss right and wrong!"
"Do they still have the nerve to confront you?" Wei Jiaoniang lowered her voice and said to Gu Yanfei, looking at the gate of Wancaotang, she almost laughed, her eyes were cold.
She finally realized how shameless this shameless man was.
Their son's life is life, but Ah Qin's life is not life? ! Ah Qin has been spoiled since she was a child, and grew up in the pampering of her parents and brothers. She has lived a smooth life in the past fifteen years and has never suffered such a serious crime! Wei Jiaoniang's heart seemed to be burning with fire. Whenever she thought of Lu Qin lying weak and unconscious on the bed, she hated it so much that she hated the Hua family for being despicable and resented Mrs. Lu for being so confused.
The teahouse became even noisier.
Several tea drinkers around also thought that what the scholar said made sense, and they nodded, believing that he should be confronted face to face.
The blue-clothed scholar wanted to say something else, but happened to see a young scholar following the old woman, so he quickly changed his words and shouted, "Brother Han, you're here! We've been waiting for you for a while."
Han Shusheng walked quickly to the table where the blue-clothed scholar and his friends were sitting, bowed, gave a forced smile, and said, "I'm late."
The blue-clothed scholar looked him up and down and couldn't help asking, "Brother Han, why do you look so distraught?"
After Han Shusheng sat down, he drank a sip of tea and said with a complicated expression: "I just went to Wancaotang..."
Several scholars sitting at the same table looked at each other in surprise: their classmate usually turned a deaf ear to the world outside and focused on reading sage books, but today he actually ran to Wancaotang to watch the fun.
Han Shusheng took another sip of tea and continued with a difficult tone, "I just heard the owner of Wancaotang say that this second Miss Gu is the daughter of the former Dingyuan Marquis Gu Ce."
Just like a stone causing a thousand ripples, the teahouse was instantly in an uproar.
Not only the scholars at the same table were shocked, but also the other tea drinkers around were shocked.
For a while, words like "Gu Ce", "Yangzhou", "Nanyue", "surrender to the enemy" and so on were heard one after another in the teahouse.
Han Shusheng drank several cups of tea in a row. His eyes gradually darkened and a heavy shadow flashed across them.
After the emperor ascended the throne last year, he issued an edict to open an imperial examination. Both the autumn examination last autumn and the spring examination this spring were imperial examinations.
The imperial examination was held once every three years, and it was a rare opportunity. His family was poor, so in order to take the imperial examination, he came to the capital before the New Year and temporarily lived in a temple. He had heard a lot of rumors about Miss Gu Er before, and he admired her righteous deeds.
It was not until today that he found out that the second Miss Gu, praised by everyone, was actually the daughter of Gu Ce!
"Brother Han, did you hear anything else in Wancao Hall?" The scholar in blue calmed himself and asked.
Han Shusheng, who was a little distracted, finally came to his senses and betrothed the young master Hua who fell off his horse to the third daughter of the Lu family, but the third daughter of the Lu family did not want to marry. In order to help her friend, the second daughter Gu roughly explained the whole story of the curse on young master Hua.
"How ridiculous!" The blue-clothed scholar slammed his palm on the table, and said indignantly, "This second Miss Gu is openly harming others just because her best friend doesn't want to marry. This is under the feet of the emperor, it's too lawless."
"Lawless, really lawless!"
The gentle face of the blue-clothed scholar turned red with anger, and several blue veins popped out on his forehead.
The other two scholars at the same table were also filled with indignation.
They are all scholars, and they hate bullying of men and women the most.
Han Shusheng sneered and said sarcastically, "Like father, like daughter. Gu Ce's daughter is indeed worthy of being his daughter. She is so cruel and ruthless!"
The young woman who had just praised the Second Miss Gu was a little bit unbelievable, and asked Han Shusheng directly: "Are you serious? Is the Second Miss Gu really the daughter of Gu Ce..."
"It's true!" Han Shusheng's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. His expression was solemn and his eyes were full of bloodshot.
He sat upright on the bench, one hand on the table clenched into a fist, his thin body as taut as a fully drawn bowstring.
"By the way, Miss Gu must be the daughter of Gu Ce." The old man next to him said angrily, "Not long ago, I heard that the daughter of the Gu family wanted to overturn Gu Ce's case, and I thought it was just a rumor. Now it seems that there is no smoke without fire!"
"What?!" Han Shusheng cried out in disbelief, "You want to vindicate Gu Ce?!"
"Because of Gu Ce's mistake, tens of thousands of innocent people died in Yangzhou. For this, Dajing not only paid compensation, but also ceded the Yellow River Ocean to South Vietnam in exchange for peace talks between the two countries."
"Gu Ce is the sinner of Da Jing!"
Several classmates exchanged glances, and the blue-clothed scholar said kindly, "Brother Han, I am sorry for your loss."
A middle-aged tea drinker next to him seemed to understand something and asked casually, "From the accent of this young man Han, does he sound like he is from Yangzhou?"
"I'm from Tailing City, Yangzhou." Han Shusheng's voice became more hoarse and his eyes were bloodshot.
Several classmates at the same table looked sympathetic.
They all knew that Han Shusheng's home was in Tailing City. Nine years ago, when the Nanyue army raided Yangzhou, Han Shusheng was studying at Bailu Academy and thus escaped the disaster, but all his family members died in Tailing City, without a single survivor.
Han Shusheng's eyes became even redder, as red as blood and fire. He raised his head and drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, revealing a grief and indignation that was difficult to describe in words.
Nine years ago, before he left home for the academy in the first month of the year, his parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, and younger brothers and sisters were still talking and laughing happily, and the whole family was happy.
However, within just three months, nine out of ten houses in Tailing City and even the surrounding villages and towns were deserted. His parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, and younger siblings were all dead. He became a rootless duckweed, and has been alone ever since... His younger siblings were not even five years old when they died!
That year, after the Nanyue troops withdrew, he returned to Tailing City once, and the entire village was empty.
Everyone was dead! Everyone he knew was dead!
A surge of emotion like a surging ocean wave suddenly covered him and drowned him...
He was filled with anger and grief, and his teeth were chattering.
If Gu Ce was still alive, he would really want to eat his flesh and drink his blood, but Gu Ce was dead, he had died nine years ago, and his body was incomplete...
When they heard that Han Shusheng's home was in Tailing City, everyone suddenly realized and immediately guessed that this scholar's relatives were most likely killed in the war nine years ago.
Everyone looked at Han Shusheng with sympathy.
The blue-clothed scholar patted Han Shusheng on the shoulder and said, "This Second Miss Gu is just a little girl. It's not like she can overturn the verdict just because she wants to. The most important thing is to see what the court thinks."
Others also echoed.
Until a sarcastic voice suddenly sounded: "It is said that it is easier to get things done if you have connections in the court. Miss Gu has connections in the court."
Everyone couldn't help but look at the owner of the voice, a middle-aged tea drinker with a square face.
"Who?" someone asked, "Could it be the Duke of Wei? I heard that Miss Gu saved the Duke of Wei's life!"
"Wrong, wrong!" The middle-aged tea drinker shook his head with a sneer.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, he said, "It's the eldest prince."
"The eldest prince?! How is that possible!" The blue-clothed scholar thought it was unlikely. "Back then, the eldest prince went to Nanyue as a hostage because of Gu Ce's fault. He stayed there for eight years!"
The person who hates Gu Ce the most should be the eldest prince.
"Then you don't know." The middle-aged tea drinker took a sip of tea and said slowly, "This daughter of the Gu family is very capable. She has bewitched the eldest prince to the point of bewilderment. She is the eldest prince's sweetheart and the apple of his eye!"
"In order to please her, the eldest prince went to Wuliang Temple to pay homage to Gu Ce's tablet a while ago!"
Everyone was shocked again.
The tea shop suddenly became quiet and a depressing atmosphere filled the air.
"..." Gu Yanfei looked quietly at the scholars at the table, his pupils becoming deeper and deeper.
When the wind blew, the strands of black hair on her cheeks were blown up by the wind, and a few strands of hair scatteredly brushed her snow-white and flawless cheeks, making her whole body covered with a layer of faint sadness.
Gu Ce's bad reputation has lasted for two lifetimes. Everyone calls him a sinner of the Da Jing Dynasty and wishes that he would never be reborn.
In her previous life, she could not protect herself and was powerless. She could only listen to others scolding him, blaming him, and belittling him...
“Bang!”
Wei Jiaoniang slammed the table, pointed at the scholars and scolded, "Nerds, what nonsense are you talking about!"
"You have read so many books, but you only know how to repeat what others say. I think the more you read, the more confused you become!"
"People like you, even if you pass the imperial examination and become officials in the future, you will only create false cases and harm others and yourself!"
Wei Jiaoniang heard her grandfather, Duke Weiguo, talk about the battle nine years ago.
My grandfather said that there were actually many doubts about Gu Ce's surrender to the enemy. The late emperor was wary of the nobles and could have used this incident with Gu Ce to demonstrate to other nobles, but he did not do so. Instead, he lightly covered it up and did not even give Gu Ce a clear charge.
When something is out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on.
In his opinion, the late emperor was most likely guilty.
All the scholars at that table looked towards Wei Jiaoniang.
The blue-clothed scholar frowned tightly, first angry, then disdainful, and snorted coldly, "I don't know what's going on. There are actually people who want to protect Gu Ce, a criminal who surrendered to the enemy!"
"As men, we should not argue with a woman who doesn't know right from wrong," another scholar said.
Several classmates wanted to comfort Han Shusheng, but they saw Han Shusheng suddenly stand up, his eyes slightly fixed, and his firm and resolute expression seemed to indicate that he had made some decision.
"Brother Han!" The scholar in blue looked at Han Shusheng worriedly, fearing that he had been stimulated by something.
"I'm going to file a complaint with the emperor!" Han Shusheng took a deep breath and said word by word, "For my dead family members!"
Gu Ce was dead, so he could neither question him nor watch him being tortured with his own eyes.
But there is one thing he can do now! He can't watch Gu Ce, a criminal who deserves to go to the eighteenth level of hell, being vindicated! Otherwise, what's the point of him reading so many books? ! "Wait!" The blue-clothed scholar also stood up quickly, looking into Han Shusheng's determined eyes and said, "I'll go with you!"
"Let's go and file a complaint together!"
"His Royal Highness the First Prince is willing to risk the wrath of the world to redress Gu Ce's injustice. How can we just sit back and watch!"
Several other scholars at the same table also stood up indignantly and echoed the call. Even several scholars at the next table said they wanted to go together. Some even said they wanted to call their classmates to join them. It seemed like a one-man show of support.
These scholars seemed to have not seen Wei Jiaoniang. They surrounded Han Shusheng and left, their blood boiling and their eyes shining.
The other tea drinkers in the teahouse were stunned. They never expected that things would develop in this direction. Then, there was an uproar in the teahouse again, and an unusually excited mood filled the air.
What's going on?! Wei Jiaoniang frowned, her eyes dark.
She stood up suddenly and said anxiously, "Yan Fei, I'm going back to find my grandfather!"
Wei Jiaoniang also knew the importance of the matter. Scholars are very ambitious. If these scholars get together, things will get out of hand and there might be a stir in the court.
This matter had nothing to do with Gu Yanfei. I dragged her into this just to help Lu Qin, so I cannot escape the responsibility.
Besides, it was clearly the Hua family that wanted to harm people, but now the bad guys are the first to file a complaint!
She had to find her grandfather quickly and couldn't just sit there and wait for death, putting herself and Gu Yanfei in a passive situation!
The more Wei Jiaoniang thought about it, the more anxious she became. She got on the horse swiftly and lightly. Gu Yanfei looked at her, thought for a moment, and finally did not stop her.
"Yan Fei, see you later." Wei Jiaoniang rode away hurriedly.
Gu Yanfei slowly finished the barley tea in the cup, paid for the tea, and then led her Ferghana horse towards Wancaotang.
Outside Wancaotang, the onlookers dispersed a little, but there were still a dozen people peeking around.
On the street, passers-by saw the hustle and bustle here and gathered around curiously, asking what was going on.
These noisy noises did not reach Gu Yanfei's ears at all.
Gu Yanfei stopped outside the gate and turned to look into Wancao Hall. At a glance, he caught sight of Gu Yunmeng, who stood out from the crowd in the front hall. Gu Yunmeng was comforting Madam Hua and Master Hua with a serious face.
"..." Gu Yun'er's brows twitched, as if he had realized something. He turned his head and looked accurately in the direction of Gu Yanfei. The two people's eyes met quietly in mid-air.
The looks in both of their eyes were very calm, like a pool of still water. They just looked at each other quietly, as if they were measuring each other, in a silent stalemate.
Gu Yanfei raised the corner of his lips and smiled at Gu Yunyan.
The sunlight filtered through the layers of branches and leaves above and fell on her face. When the wind blew, the light and shadows on her little face swayed and danced, making her smile look even more vivid.
This smile was too bright and too vivid, but in Gu Yunmeng's eyes, it was not very comfortable.
It was that look again! The look that seemed to be looking at her, yet not looking at her at all.
The smile on Gu Yanfei's lips deepened. She didn't care about Gu Yunman's reaction at all. She was looking at the luck around Gu Yunman.
It has only been twenty days since we last saw it, and the black air mixed with the golden air has become more abundant. They are entangled with each other, and the strands of black air have wrapped around the golden air like a spider web.
(End of this chapter)
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