Chapter 123 Repaying Kindness (Second Update)
After taking Xiao Jingkong home, the man turned and left, and Gu Jiao didn't even have a chance to thank him.
Gu Jiao asked Xiao Jingkong about what happened and learned that he had risked his life to save a chicken. Gu Jiao also felt that he shouldn't have done that.
However, Gu Jiao didn't rush to express her opinion.
Xiao Jingkong frowned deeply and said, "Big brother said I shouldn't have done that, and does Jiaojiao also think I did something wrong?"
Gu Jiao asked him, "What do you think?"
Little Jingkong puffed out his little chest and said, "I think I did the right thing! If I were in danger, Jiaojiao would also risk her life to save me!"
Well, even idioms have popped up.
Gu Jiao said, "But have you considered that perhaps Xiao Qi doesn't need you to save her?"
"Huh?" Xiao Jingkong asked, puzzled.
Gu Jiao patiently explained, "Xiao Qi is very agile and small, so the horse's hooves can't easily step on it, but they can easily step on you."
Xiao Jingkong suddenly realized something: he wasn't as agile as a chicken!
Xiao Jingkong secretly vowed that he would practice his skills more diligently and become very agile in order to protect his chickens!
A few days later, Lord Gu and his entourage also arrived in the capital.
More than a month of bumpy travel had worn the three of them out. Gu Jinyu had never ridden in such a terrible carriage before, and her whole body ached so much that she felt like it didn't even belong to her anymore.
Madam Yao had no complaints. She was glad she had taken the carriage; otherwise, she would have felt sorry for Jiao Jiao and Yan'er if they had suffered the same hardship.
"You've suffered so much," Yao said apologetically, taking Gu Jinyu's hand.
Gu Jinyu said gently, "I'm fine. My brother isn't well, and he definitely can't handle such a bumpy ride. I'm so glad that Mother gave the carriage to my sister and brother."
Madam Yao patted Gu Jinyu's hand: "You're so sensible."
Lord Gu helped Yao Shi and Gu Jinyu down from the carriage.
The servants in the manor were delighted to see the Marquis and Gu Jinyu, but they were surprised to see Yao Shi beside the Marquis.
Yao had lived in the villa for ten years without ever returning to her residence. The guards at the gate didn't even recognize her.
Lord Gu said coldly, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and greet the madam!"
The men exchanged bewildered glances, then stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Madam?"
What lady?
Could it be that the Marquis is keeping a woman outside?
Ms. Yao is long past the age of feeling embarrassed by such minor offenses. Besides, she has been taking the antidepressants prescribed by Jiao Jiao for the past six months, and her mood and physical condition are both very good.
Lord Gu led Madam Yao and Gu Jinyu into the mansion.
The servants had already spread the news to Madam Gu's Songhe Courtyard.
Madam Gu had not seen her son for more than half a year and was quite worried about him, so she sent someone to summon Lord Gu to Songhe Courtyard immediately.
Lord Gu originally planned to take Madam Yao to pay his respects to the old lady the next day, but the old lady was urging him, so he had to change his route halfway to Songhe Courtyard.
Madam Gu was overjoyed to see her son, but when she saw Yao Shi beside him, her smile froze.
"Why is she back?" Old Madam Gu asked indifferently.
Gu Jinyu felt embarrassed on behalf of her mother.
"Mother!" Lord Gu glanced at Old Madam Gu, signaling her not to embarrass Yao Shi like that.
Old Mrs. Gu pretended not to see human rights.
Madam Yao gave a proper bow: "Greetings, Mother."
Gu Jinyu also bowed: "Greetings, Grandmother."
Madam Gu used to find Gu Jinyu somewhat agreeable, but now that Madam Yao has arrived, she has come to dislike Gu Jinyu as well.
Madam Yao was staying at the hot spring resort with Gu Yan. Now that Madam Yao has returned, Gu Yan is nowhere to be seen, and even the old lady of the house didn't think to ask about him.
Lord Gu smoothed things over, saying, "Mother, I'm exhausted from my journey. I'll come to pay my respects to you again tomorrow."
He didn't say that Yao Shi and Gu Jinyu were tired, he only said that he was tired. Would Old Madam Gu not let her own son rest?
This is why Madam Gu dislikes Yao. It's not entirely because Yao came from a bad family, but more because whenever Yao is around, her son seems to be possessed and doesn't care about anyone else!
Lord Gu pretended not to understand Madam Gu's displeasure, and said with a smile, "Son is leaving first," before leading Madam Yao and Gu Jinyu out of Songhe Courtyard.
The three had just crossed the threshold when they unexpectedly encountered a woman dressed in fine clothes and adorned with jewels.
The woman glanced at the three of them, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, but she quickly curtsied and greeted them: "Master! Madam! Miss!"
Lord Gu frowned: "What are you doing here, Consort Ling?"
The woman, addressed as Aunt Ling, smiled and said, "I've come to bring my mother ginseng soup."
Does she need to dress up like this to deliver ginseng soup to the old lady? Gu Jinyu could tell she was here to ambush Lord Gu.
Madam Gu's surname is Ling. The late Marquis's wife was Madam Gu's direct niece, and Aunt Ling was the late Marquis's half-sister, so she could also be considered Madam Gu's niece.
When Lady Ling passed away, Lord Gu married Lady Yao. Old Madam Gu worried that Lord Gu would not love his three sons from his previous marriage if he had a new lover, so she decided to take Lady Ling as a concubine.
Lord Gu did not like Consort Ling, but with Old Madam Gu backing her up, Consort Ling's life in the mansion was quite comfortable.
Especially after Madam Yao moved to the villa with Gu Yan, Aunt Ling was practically becoming the legitimate wife of the Marquis's household.
In addition, she was the aunt of the three young masters, and the three young masters were much closer to her than to Madam Yao.
"Then go and deliver it," Lord Gu said calmly, then helped Madam Yao away.
The following day, Madam Yao made an excuse that she was ill and did not go to pay her respects to Old Madam Gu.
The old nanny advised Madam Yao, "Why do you do this, Madam? If you observe proper etiquette, you'll avoid giving others something to gossip about."
Madam Yao smiled wryly: "No matter how well I do, there will always be someone who will find fault with me. If I don't go, I can avoid seeing and worrying about it."
Lord Gu and Gu Jinyu went to Songhe Courtyard.
Upon hearing that Madam Yao was ill, Old Madam Gu coldly snorted, "She simply doesn't want to see me!"
Lord Gu hurriedly said, "Look at what you're saying, how could Yao'er not want to see you? Look, these gifts were all prepared for you by her own hands! She respects you the most!"
The gift was indeed chosen by Madam Yao, and she put thought into it. However, Madam Yao did not do it for herself, but to prevent Old Madam Gu from taking her anger out on Gu Jinyu.
Madam Gu pursed her lips. She disliked Yao Shi, so it was better that Yao Shi didn't come, saving her from being annoyed by seeing her.
"Where is Yan'er?" Old Madam Gu finally asked about Gu Yan. "Why didn't he come with you?"
Lord Gu dared not say that Gu Yan had arrived in the capital long ago. He smiled and said, "Yan'er is not well, so I told him to come slowly. A doctor will accompany him to take care of him."
"Hmm." Old Madam Gu didn't ask any further questions.
Lord Gu said, "I will take Jinyu to the palace in a little while to pay my respects to the Empress."
When Consort Shu was mentioned, Old Madam Gu looked at Gu Jinyu with a more amiable gaze: "That's good. Your aunt has been thinking about you for a long time and has sent people to the mansion to ask about you several times."
Gu Jinyu smiled with relief: "Jinyu also misses Auntie very much."
As they were talking, a servant came to report that the second and third young masters had arrived.
Madam Gu's face immediately revealed an undisguised doting expression.
If we were to say who Madam Gu loved the most, it would undoubtedly be her three beloved grandsons. Even her own son, Marquis Gu, didn't hold the same weight in her heart as her grandsons.
Gu Chengfeng and Gu Chenglin lifted the curtain and entered.
"grandmother."
"Father."
The two bowed with their hands clasped in greeting.
Gu Jinyu stood up and bowed to his two elder brothers: "Second brother, third brother."
Gu Chenglin glanced at her indifferently.
Gu Chengfeng said, "No need for formalities."
He spoke politely, but his tone was distant.
Gu Jinyu was used to it. Her brothers weren't targeting her; they were targeting their mother. Her brothers wouldn't like any of their mother's children.
"Where is your eldest brother? Why can't I see him?" asked Madam Gu.
Gu Chengfeng said, "My elder brother came back very late last night and went to the military camp early this morning."
Being the eldest grandson of the Marquis of Ding'an's family is not an easy job. As the heir to the family, he bears the weight of the family's rise and fall, making his life more difficult than that of other children.
Madam Gu felt sorry for her grandson, but she couldn't really drag him back from the military camp.
Seeing that the time was right and it was time to get down to business, Lord Gu cleared his throat and said to Madam Gu, "Mother, I have something to tell you."
"What is it?" Old Madam Gu looked at him in confusion.
Lord Gu glanced at Gu Jinyu beside him, took a deep breath, and solemnly said, "It concerns the background of the two children."
...
Gu Jiao spent several days tidying up the house and finally finished repairing both courtyards. She planted scallions, rapeseed, and lettuce in the small vegetable garden, and at Xiao Jingkong's request, she also planted some peas.
The small vegetable garden only occupied half of the yard on the left side. Gu Jiao was thinking of building a grape trellis and planting some gourds on the right side, and then planting some grapes and loofahs next spring.
Xiao Liulang has already retrieved the Imperial Academy's waist token and also registered Xiao Jingkong for the program.
The Imperial College's elementary education also uses a class system, dividing students into four classes: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, based on their academic performance and age. In addition to these four classes, there is a very special class that specifically recruits children with exceptional talents, somewhat similar to the prodigy class in Gu Jiao's previous life.
These classes were only introduced in recent years; Xiao Liulang never attended them when he was a child.
Gu Jiao paused in her chopping motion: "Huh? Wasn't the Imperial Academy closed for several years? The elementary schools weren't closed?"
Xiao Liulang added firewood to the stove: "Strictly speaking, the elementary school of the Imperial Academy is not entirely part of the Imperial Academy. When His Majesty closed the Imperial Academy, he did not deliberately mention the elementary school, so the elementary school took advantage of the loophole and has been running ever since."
Having been in business for several years, they should have considerable experience in teaching child prodigies.
Gu Jiao asked, "What's on the entrance exam?"
Xiao Liulang said, "Judging from the past years' examinations, the examiners will test literacy, knowledge of classical texts, and arithmetic."
Gu Jiao hummed in agreement: "These small air purifications are all fine."
"Yes." Xiao Liulang nodded.
However, just to be on the safe side, the two spent a lot of money to buy back the past exam questions and let Xiao Jingkong do them. Xiao Jingkong's accuracy rate was very high, but his handwriting was slow and ugly, extremely ugly!
Xiao Jingkong's daily routine thus included an additional activity: practicing calligraphy.
Xiao Jingkong was unhappy; he suspected that his bad brother-in-law was robbing him of the joy of being a child!
Xiao Liulang said to him, "Jiaojiao practices calligraphy every day, so you two can practice together."
Thinking about being able to spend time alone with Jiaojiao, Xiao Jingkong happily agreed!
Gu Jiao hadn't dreamed in a long time.
The last time I had a dream was before Xiao Liulang went to the provincial and municipal examinations, and four months have passed since then.
She had almost forgotten that she could dream.
However, that night, after she and Xiao Jingkong finished practicing calligraphy and returned to their room, she soon fell into an unfamiliar dream.
The reason it felt unfamiliar was that the person appearing in her dream was neither Xiao Liulang nor herself.
It was the man she had almost forgotten who had saved Xiao Jingkong.
The man, dressed in blue armor and wearing a blood-red cloak, sat astride a majestic warhorse.
As the man passed through a secluded alley, he was ambushed. The assassins were all top-notch, but even so, they were no match for him.
Just as the man was about to win, one of the assassins suddenly threw a child and stabbed the child with his sword.
The man was slashed in the right arm by the assassin while trying to save the child.
The assassin's sword was poisoned; the man survived, but his right arm was rendered useless.
Strictly speaking, this assassination attempt was also somewhat related to Xiao Jingkong.
The assassins had been secretly watching the man for a long time but hadn't dared to make a move. They accidentally witnessed the man saving an unarmed child, and decided to do the same, which led to the assassination attempt.
When Gu Jiao woke up, her expression was somewhat puzzling.
She was increasingly confused about her dreams. Could it be that she could dream about people she had no connection with at all these days?
However, no matter what, he had saved Xiao Jingkong's life, and the inspiration for this assassination attempt came from his saving Xiao Jingkong.
She couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
The assassination will take place tomorrow evening. As for the location, she remembers there is a Xiangyun Inn near where the man was assassinated.
(End of this chapter)
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