Chapter 264 Exposure (Third Update)
Gu Yan kicked off the covers during the night and had a slight cough in the morning. Yao was worried about him, so she didn't let him go to school, and naturally, he didn't go to Master Lu and Nan Xiang's place to learn their craft after school.
Gu Xiaoshun still went; Liu Quan took him there.
In the first few months, Master Lu didn't teach Gu Xiaoshun much about techniques. He just had Gu Xiaoshun whittle wood over and over again. Gu Xiaoshun was not impatient at all and never asked when whittling wood would end.
Master Lu felt that the boy was very calm and composed.
Gu Xiaoshun: It's mainly because studying is too boring. In comparison, whittling wood is simple and easy, and you don't have to use your brain.
After whittling the wood, Gu Xiaoshun ate at his master and mistress's house as usual.
Nan Xiang usually cooks the meals, but her cooking skills aren't very good. She herself finds the food unpalatable, but Gu Xiaoshun seems to have no complaints at all. He eats whatever Nan Xiang cooks, without wasting a single drop of soup.
Therefore, Nanxiang also thought Gu Xiaoshun was excellent.
Gu Xiaoshun: It's mainly because my brother-in-law's cooking is terrible. After tasting his cooking, I realized that my teacher's wife's cooking is already at the chef level.
After finishing his apprenticeship for the day, Gu Xiaoshun bid farewell to his master and mistress and boarded the carriage to go home.
It was already late, and unlike the previous days when there were beautiful sunsets, today the sky was overcast, as if a huge dark curtain had been drawn over it.
"It's going to rain!" Liu Quan said.
Gu Xiaoshun didn't like sitting inside the carriage; he preferred to sit outside. Hearing Liu Quan's words, he lifted the curtain and sat down, saying to Liu Quan, "Master said that if it rains, we won't come. The mountain road is difficult to travel, and there might be an accident."
Liu Quan sensed his regret and comforted him with a smile, "It'll only be a day or two, no problem, you'll be back soon."
"Mm." Gu Xiaoshun nodded.
The two talked for a while longer, the air was stuffy and hot, it looked like a heavy rain was about to fall.
Gu Xiaoshun was calculating how many days it would take to get here when he suddenly heard Liu Quan beside him exclaim "Oh dear!" Immediately afterward, Liu Quan tightened the reins and stopped the carriage.
"What's wrong?" Gu Xiaoshun asked as he looked ahead and saw a person lying on the mountain road in front of the carriage, hugging his knees and looking like he was in great pain.
The man screamed, "Ouch! My leg...you broke it...you broke it..."
"This..." Liu Quan was about to go down and take a look when Gu Xiaoshun stopped him.
This guy is just trying to scam people. Gu Xiaoshun had seen plenty of this kind of trick when he was a local bully in the countryside. He could fool others, but he couldn't fool him.
Seeing that Gu Xiaoshun and the other man didn't react, the man's eyes flickered, and he continued to wail, "Ouch, my leg..."
Liu Quan whispered, "It's not good for him to just lie there."
Gu Xiaoshun shouted, "Run over it!"
The man was startled and looked at Gu Xiaoshun. He saw Gu Xiaoshun take the horsewhip from Liu Quan's hand and lash the horse with it. The horse, in pain, neighed twice and galloped forward.
Seeing that things were going badly, the man no longer cared about staging an accident and quickly got up and ran away.
Liu Quan was dumbfounded. Could this really be done?
The matter was far from over. When the attempt to stage an accident failed, the man's eyes turned cold, and he actually used his light footwork to leap towards the carriage.
He simply climbed over the roof of the carriage and lifted Gu Xiaoshun down from it.
"Xiao Shun!" Liu Quan was shocked and hurriedly reached out to pull the reins. However, the man seemed to have expected Liu Quan to do this. Before getting off the carriage, he slapped the horse with his backhand. This was a slap with internal force, which hurt the horse terribly. No matter how Liu Quan pulled the reins, he couldn't stop it.
After being kidnapped, Gu Xiaoshun angrily pulled away the other man's hand that was grabbing his collar: "What are you doing? What kind of behavior is this, two grown men pulling and tugging at each other? Don't you have any shame?"
The man's lips twitched: "You call yourself a grown man? Have you even grown your pubic hair yet?"
Gu Xiaoshun said irritably, "You want to see it?"
The person: "..."
The man said, "If you listen to me, I'll make your life easier."
Gu Xiaoshun retorted, "Why shouldn't you be more obedient, and I'll let you suffer less?"
The person: "..."
Is that what he meant? How old is this kid? How can he talk so rudely?
Also, how did he figure out that he was the bottom one?
Sigh! Well then, this is an important hostage. The hostage must be safe and sound before the Empress Dowager returns to the Zhuang family.
The man decided to hold back, grabbed Gu Xiaoshun's shoulder, and was about to take Gu Xiaoshun away, but Gu Xiaoshun twisted his arm and broke free from his grasp.
Gu Xiaoshun took off running!
"Trying to run? Not so easy!" The man sneered coldly, then leaped away and gave chase.
However, just as he used his lightness skill to leap into the air, a silver needle suddenly flew from behind him and pierced through his thigh!
He groaned and fell from mid-air. He looked incredulously at his bleeding thigh, then at the silver needle stuck in the ground, his expression changing drastically: "The Tanghua Needle?"
People from the Tang Clan?
How could there be members of the Tang Clan in Zhao Kingdom? And why are they secretly protecting that kid?
Isn't he just a simple-minded country bumpkin? How did he get involved with the Tang Clan, a powerful family outside the Six Kingdoms?
The man dared not chase Gu Xiaoshun any longer and left through gritted teeth.
A moment later, Master Lu and Nan Xiang slowly emerged from behind the big tree.
Master Lu walked over, wrapped his handkerchief around his hand, picked up the crabapple needle from the ground, and said to Nan Xiang, "Does my wife like that child that much? She even used the crabapple needle. I haven't seen you use the crabapple needle in ten years."
Nan Xiang extended her hand, clad in silver silk gloves, and took the crabapple blossom needle, putting it away carefully: "Not bad, quite interesting."
Gu Xiaoshun ran forward as if he were being reincarnated, finally catching up with the carriage parked at the foot of the mountain. He glanced back and, seeing that the other party hadn't caught up, couldn't help but put his hands on his hips and laugh three times: "Hahaha! I'm still the fastest runner, aren't I! Go ahead and chase me if you dare! Chase me!"
He spoke arrogantly, but his body trembled with fear as he leaped onto the carriage: "Uncle Liu! Let's go!"
"Alright!" Liu Quan pushed the carriage to its maximum speed and sped back to Biyue Hutong.
The assassin who came to capture Gu Xiaoshun didn't even make it back to report to Grand Tutor Zhuang. Don't underestimate the power of a small silver needle; Tang Clan's hidden weapons are deadly.
This is a mistake in decision-making. They thought they had picked the softest persimmon, but they didn't expect there to be a durian next to it that could kill someone.
Grand Tutor Zhuang waited for a long time without receiving a reply from his subordinates. He roughly guessed that the mission had failed. He frowned deeply: "This won't work, that won't work, are we really going to kidnap the Empress Dowager directly?"
While Grand Tutor Zhuang was racking his brains to get close to Empress Dowager Zhuang, someone else saw her effortlessly.
Marquis Xuanping came to see Xiao Liulang again.
He had thought it over. Testing him in a frightening way was not a good idea, but he could try to stay with him first. Today, he wouldn't look for Xiao Liulang; he would look for his daughter-in-law, whom he had never met before.
Yes, he's really smart!
"Chang Jing, knock on the door," he instructed.
Chang Jing said "Oh," walked forward, and raised his hand to knock on the door. Before he could knock, the door creaked open from the inside.
The old chief priest and the old lady came out. The two were going to play cards next door. As soon as they reached the door, the old chief priest stopped—he saw Marquis Xuanping.
Marquis Xuanping naturally saw him as well.
When he saw him come out of Xiao Liulang's courtyard, Marquis Xuanping was not too surprised. After all, he knew that Xiao Liulang lived next door, and whether or not Xiao Liulang was the old libationer Aheng, they were neighbors.
But the person next to him—
Marquis Xuanping looked at the old lady, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
The old priest wanted to close the door, but it was too late. He could only quickly move to the side and shield the old lady behind him!
Unfortunately, Marquis Xuanping had already seen it.
Marquis Xuanping narrowed his eyes dangerously, and his aura turned cold in an instant.
Old lady: Why are you blocking my way?
The old chief priest: "Don't speak!"
Marquis Xuanping clenched his fist little by little, making a cracking sound.
The old chief priest thought to himself, "Oh no, oh no, what I feared most has come to pass. This guy has discovered Zhuang Jinse. One Grand Tutor Zhuang has left, but another Marquis Xuanping has appeared. This is going to be a disaster!"
Grand Tutor Zhuang only wanted to use Zhuang Jinse, but Marquis Xuanping had an irreconcilable hatred for her!
"Brother Huo! Sister-in-law Huo! Why aren't you here yet? We've been waiting for you two!"
From the house next door, came Aunt Zhang's shouts.
Marquis Xuanping's gaze, which held a half-smile, swept over the faces of the old chief priest and the old lady, and he smiled faintly: "Brother Huo, Sister-in-law Huo? It seems I have mistaken you for someone else. Indeed, the Empress Dowager is at the temporary palace, so why would she come here?"
The old chief priest breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt something was amiss.
Is Marquis Xuanping really that easygoing?
Marquis Xuanping gave a cold laugh, his voice as cold as a deep pool, and said, "Someone has disguised themselves as the Empress Dowager. Chang Jing, kill her!"
Empress Dowager: This is so hard! o(╥﹏╥)o
It's past midnight, are you surprised?
(End of this chapter)
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