Chapter 325 Slap in the Face (Two Updates)
As Beijing gradually enters the height of summer, it becomes hot and humid early in the morning.
Today, there were classes at the Imperial College and Qinghe Academy. Xiao Jingkong and Gu Xiaoshun got up early, while Gu Yan, as always, stayed in bed.
He has a habit of sleeping in late and is extremely grumpy when he wakes up; he's only happy when Gu Jiao wakes him up.
But today, Gu Jiao didn't call him!
He woke up on his own!
I woke up because of the heat.
That's not the point. The point is that after he woke up, he lay sprawled on the bed waiting for Gu Jiao to call him, but he waited and waited, until the flowers withered, and only Gu Xiaoshun came.
Gu Xiaoshun pushed open the door and said strangely, "Aren't you getting up yet? It's time for breakfast, or you'll be late!"
Yanbao is unhappy.
Yanbao rolled over with a look of deep resentment and muttered, "Where's my sister? Did she go on a house call?"
Gu Xiaoshun pointed to the yard and said, "Oh no, she's over there!"
"Hmm?" Gu Yan sat up abruptly, got out of bed, slipped on his shoes, went to the door, and looked in the direction Gu Xiaoshun pointed.
But what did he see?
Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang were talking in the courtyard. She tilted her head slightly, and in the dim morning light, her eyes were bright and her lips were slightly curved. It was unclear what they were talking about, but her eyes were also curved into two crescent moons.
So, so she forgot to wake her brother-in-law up because she was talking to him?
Gu Yan felt a pang of jealousy!
But the worst was yet to come.
Gu Jiao was in a good mood today, so she personally cooked a large table of delicious dishes, all of which were Xiao Liulang's favorites!
Xiao Liulang has recently developed a preference for spicy food. In fact, Xiao Jingkong and the other two also love spicy food, but they prefer spicy and sour spicy.
The three of them were so numb that they felt utterly hopeless and slumped back in their chairs, devoid of any spirit.
Gu Yan is angry, and the consequences will be severe!
He grumbled, "I want tofu pudding! The salty kind!"
We don't have tofu pudding at home, but we can find it at the market.
It's still early, and the market isn't far away.
Fifteen minutes later, Gu Jiao returned with the savory tofu pudding.
Then Gu Yan watched expectantly as Gu Jiao walked past him with a bowl of savory tofu pudding...
Gu Jiao brought the tofu pudding into Xiao Liulang's study, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him: "Your tofu pudding."
Xiao Liulang: "Uh..."
I didn't order tofu pudding.
Gu Yan stood outside the study, completely enraged!
It's me! It's me! It's the tofu pudding I wanted!!!
ah!
I'm so annoyed!
The room was dimly lit, with doors and windows tightly closed and all curtains drawn, except for a thin ray of light shining through the gap in the curtains.
A small figure stood in the endless darkness, with sharp eyes and a powerful and imposing aura.
"As you can see, the situation has become very serious. The enemy is powerful and has already seized half of our territory. Do you still want to fight me?"
The small figure spoke in a deep voice.
Opposite him stood a tall, jade-like figure against the light.
His aura was also formidable; the small space seemed to be filled with endless coldness and a chilling atmosphere.
"What do you want to do?" he asked.
The small figure said, "Naturally, it's up to us to put aside our differences for now, join forces, and fight off the enemy together. Otherwise, in just a few days, she will have no place for either of us in her heart."
He nodded: "Okay, I promise you."
"Words are no proof, let's put it in writing." After saying that, the little figure took out paper and pen, quickly wrote down the contract, and took out the inkpad that had been prepared in advance. "Sign and put your fingerprint on it."
The other party signed it.
The little figure looked at his signature, became extremely agitated, and suddenly raised her voice: "Why is your handwriting still so ugly!"
Gu Yan coughed lightly and said, "So what if my handwriting is ugly? Do you want to form an alliance?"
Xiao Jingkong thought for a moment and nodded seriously: "Yes!"
Two rivals who fought their way from the countryside to the capital finally put aside their differences and formed a righteous alliance against Xiao Liulang after repeated provocations!
After breakfast, Gu Jiao took Xiao Jingkong to the Imperial Academy, Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun went to Qinghe Academy, and Xiao Liulang went to the Hanlin Academy.
After finishing the morning court session, Grand Tutor Zhuang met Prince An on his way and offered him a ride to the Hanlin Academy.
Coincidentally, Grand Tutor Zhuang's carriage and Xiao Liulang's carriage met unexpectedly outside the gate of the Hanlin Academy.
Although Grand Tutor Zhuang did not dismount from his carriage, Prince An did. The curtain was opened by the coachman, and Xiao Liulang and the officials who were about to enter the Hanlin Academy all saw him.
Everyone bowed to him, and Xiao Liulang also bowed in return.
Yang Shidu had been recuperating at home for a long time, and today he finally came to his post. Hearing the noise at the door, he hurriedly put down his official duties and came to pay his respects to Grand Tutor Zhuang.
Grand Tutor Zhuang was a pillar of the civil officials, whose influence in the court was immense, and officials of similar status as Attendant Reader Yang rarely saw him.
Today is truly an honor, and Yang Shidu does not want to miss such an opportunity to curry favor with Grand Tutor Zhuang.
"Grand Tutor Zhuang!" He bowed deeply, glancing at Xiao Liulang to the side. He felt a surge of joy; it seemed even the heavens were on his side!
Yang Shidu straightened up and said to Xiao Liulang in a condescending manner, "The library of the Hanlin Academy has not been inventoried for some time. You shall go and inventory the books in there today. The list is with me. Go and get it in a while. After you have finished, you can go back to work."
Everyone knows that the library of the Hanlin Academy is even larger than that of the Imperial Examination Hall. It would take several Hanlin officials a day to finish organizing it. This is just picking a fight with Xiao Liulang.
Yang Shidu thought that Xiao Liulang would let him make things difficult for him as before, but to his surprise, Xiao Liulang didn't even raise his eyelids and said indifferently, "I have a class at the Hanlin Academy today, so why don't you find someone else to organize the library?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Shidu was immediately taken aback: "What do you mean by that?"
What's this kid thinking? Openly disobeying my orders in front of so many people, isn't he?
Yang Shidu's eyes flashed: "The classes at the academy... will be taught by others!"
Xiao Liulang asked casually, "Oh? Who's free to cover for me?"
“It would be better to leave the teaching to a truly capable Hanlin scholar,” said Yang Shidu, then looked at Prince An. “I wonder if Compiler Zhuang is free today?”
Prince An thought for a moment and said, "I have nothing else to do today."
Yang Shidu smiled: "Then..."
Xiao Liulang interrupted Yang Shidu and looked at Prince An, saying, "Since Compiler Zhuang is available, why don't you let him tidy up the library? Yang Shidu said that he can't leave work until he finishes tidying up, so Compiler Zhuang needs to be quick."
"You!" Yang Shidu was so angry he choked.
This kid must have a death wish!
How dare he order Prince An around in front of Grand Tutor Zhuang?
Xiao Liulang looked confidently at Grand Tutor Zhuang in the carriage: "Grand Tutor Zhuang has no objections, does he?"
Yang Shidu was so scared he almost peed his pants!
Has Xiao Liulang eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard? How dare he speak to Grand Tutor Zhuang like that? Who does he think he is? Just because His Majesty is backing him up, he thinks he's got a big head on the roof!
Did he not know that Grand Tutor Zhuang was the Empress Dowager's man?
Yang Shidu broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that Grand Tutor Zhuang would take his anger out on him!
A cold glint flashed in Grand Tutor Zhuang's eyes.
Xiao Liulang raised an eyebrow and said, "If you have any objections, go and speak to the Empress Dowager. This humble official will take his leave now!"
After saying that, he entered the Hanlin Academy without looking back.
No one knew what had gotten into Xiao Liulang today, why he was being so arrogant.
Only Grand Tutor Zhuang understood where Xiao Liulang's confidence came from. Xiao Liulang was practically saying, "I may not be able to beat you, but my master can!"
Grand Tutor Zhuang was so angry he suffered internal injuries!
“Grandfather…” Prince An looked at Grand Tutor Zhuang strangely, he also felt that Xiao Liulang was acting very strangely today.
Suppressing his surging anger, Grand Tutor Zhuang said, word by word, "Go and organize the library."
Prince An was taken aback: "Grandfather?"
Grand Tutor Zhuang did not respond. He lowered the curtain and let the carriage leave coldly.
Grand Tutor Zhuang was furious with Xiao Liulang, and his anger did not lessen at all when he returned to his residence.
"Master." The steward brought over a pot of tea. He had already learned what had happened from the coachman. He advised, "Please calm down. You are the Empress Dowager's relative. That Xiao Liulang is just taking advantage of the Empress Dowager's life-saving grace. He will eventually fall into your hands."
Unless Xiao Liulang never enters the cabinet, he will fall into the hands of Grand Tutor Zhuang.
Grand Tutor Zhuang gritted his teeth and said, "If it were truly a case of a fox borrowing the tiger's power, that would be one thing..."
But the Empress Dowager really came to support that boy.
The steward, unaware of the details, still thought the Empress Dowager was merely being misled. He continued to persuade her, "Don't be angry. Didn't you have an appointment with Chief Minister Yuan later? The betrothal letters have already been checked. The Prince and the Yuan family's daughter are a match made in heaven!"
Upon hearing this, Grand Tutor Zhuang's expression finally softened somewhat.
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was all-powerful and did not interfere with who Heng'er married.
With this marriage to the Yuan family, the Zhuang family's position in the court will become even more secure!
Grand Tutor Zhuang took a sip of tea and said, "I remember that Chief Minister Yuan asked me to bring Heng'er along so that he could meet with you. In a little while, go to the Hanlin Academy and tell Heng'er that after his shift, he doesn't need to go back to his residence, but can go directly to Qingfeng Tower."
The butler replied, "Yes!"
In Zhao Kingdom, matching birth dates is the first step in marriage proposals. Only when the birth dates and times of the deceased are compatible can a formal marriage proposal begin. However, Chief Minister Yuan, feeling sorry for his granddaughter, agreed to let her take a look at the man. If he was handsome, he would immediately agree to the marriage.
Grand Tutor Zhuang was confident in his grandson's appearance and was not worried that the Yuan family would look down on him.
Moreover, this marriage was mainly based on the opinion of Chief Minister Yuan. Letting his granddaughter go to see it was just his final compromise as her grandfather. Whether she liked Chief Minister Yuan or not, he would still make the marriage happen.
But what no one expected was that in the evening, the steward who was serving at Qingfeng Tower sent a message through the coachman, saying that Chief Minister Yuan had terminated the marriage proposal!
"What? How could this be?" Grand Tutor Zhuang suddenly stood up from his chair.
The driver said tremblingly, "I...I don't understand either! The steward didn't say much, but it seems...it seems...quite serious...why don't you go there yourself..."
The butler didn't say much, obviously because it was inconvenient for him to say. Could something serious have happened?
Grand Tutor Zhuang rushed to Qingfeng Tower, just as Chief Minister Yuan emerged from the tower with a cold expression.
Grand Tutor Zhuang made a polite bow, as colleagues would, and greeted him: "Chief Minister Yuan."
"Hmph!" Chief Minister Yuan glared coldly at Grand Tutor Zhuang. "I truly never expected that the Zhuang family, a family of noble birth, would raise such a despicable person! I misjudged them before! Grand Tutor Zhuang, you'd better watch yourself!"
Grand Tutor Zhuang was completely bewildered.
What is all this about?
How did it get associated with filth and misjudging?
Grand Secretary Yuan, however, ignored him and took a step forward, getting into his carriage and leaving.
"Where is the Prince?" Grand Tutor Zhuang asked with a stern face.
"Yes, upstairs!" The coachman hurriedly led Grand Tutor Zhuang upstairs.
The second floor has been cleared out by the housekeeper, leaving only relevant personnel.
When Grand Tutor Zhuang arrived at the agreed-upon room, he unexpectedly encountered someone he never expected.
"Lord Gu?" Grand Tutor Zhuang frowned.
The old Marquis also arrived just then; he came up the stairs from the other side.
The two met unexpectedly, and the old marquis's expression was not very pleasant.
Just as Grand Tutor Zhuang was about to enter the room, the old Marquis beat him to it.
Grand Tutor Zhuang frowned even more deeply.
Not only did Chief Minister Yuan give him the cold shoulder, but even a resigned marquis treated him with disdain.
Was he given his powerful position as Grand Tutor for nothing?
Soon, Grand Tutor Zhuang understood why the old Marquis was acting this way.
Inside the chaotic room, Prince An knelt on the ground, his clothes disheveled, blood staining his thigh, and a blood-stained dagger lying forlornly on the floor.
Beside him, Gu Jinyu huddled up, trembling, wrapped in blankets, sobbing uncontrollably.
"brute!"
The old Marquis stepped forward and lashed out with his whip, striking Prince An squarely.
Prince An did not dodge and took the whip head-on, his clothes were torn and his chest was ripped open!
"Stop!" Grand Tutor Zhuang shouted sternly!
However, he did not stop and gave Prince An another lash. Prince An had some skill, but he was not a master. The old marquis lashed him to the bone, and in a few strokes he was beaten to the ground and coughed up blood!
"Gu Chao, stop!" Grand Tutor Zhuang rushed forward, blocking Prince An's path, and glared angrily at the old Marquis. "Under the Emperor's nose, are you trying to kill someone?! Let's talk this out!"
The old Marquis trembled and said, "Speak properly? Your good grandson has tarnished the reputation of my Marquis's daughter. If I were to have someone treat your Zhuang family's daughter like this, would you speak properly to me?"
Grand Tutor Zhuang looked at Prince An, who was barely alive, and then at the woman wrapped tightly in a quilt, crying silently. He clenched his fists and asked the steward, "What exactly happened?"
This story begins with Prince An going to keep his appointment.
After finishing his duties, Prince An went to Qingfeng Tower with the steward of the Zhuang family and waited for the Yuan family in the reserved room.
While downstairs at Qingfeng Tower, Grand Secretary Yuan encountered a cabinet official. After exchanging a few words with the official, Yuan Baolin went upstairs first.
But who would have thought that Prince An would send his servants away to drug Yuan Baolin? Yuan Baolin opened the window and escaped. Before the effects of the drug wore off, the Gu family's daughter happened to pass by the door, and Prince An grabbed her and brought her in... and took liberties with her.
It was just frivolous behavior, not possession, but it was enough to ruin a young woman's reputation and chastity.
This is what they mean by misfortunes never coming singly.
Grand Tutor Zhuang seriously suspected that he had forgotten to check the almanac before going out today, otherwise how could he have had such bad luck all day?
"There must be something fishy about this!" Grand Tutor Zhuang believed in his grandson's character. "Heng'er wouldn't do such a thing!"
The old Marquis roared, "He's your grandson, of course you're on his side! But seeing is believing, my precious daughter has been ruined by your Zhuang family's little beast!"
Whether the old Marquis loves Gu Jinyu or not is one thing, but it's another thing if someone bullies the Ding'an Marquis's mansion. Besides, even if it wasn't Gu Jinyu who suffered today, but some other respectable young lady, he would still whip the Prince of An.
That's utterly despicable!
The old Marquis couldn't swallow this insult.
Even Grand Tutor Zhuang couldn't swallow it.
A perfectly good marriage was ruined just like that. Not only did they offend Chief Minister Yuan, but they also got tangled up with the Marquis of Ding'an's family.
He suppressed his anger, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the old Marquis, and said with a heavy heart, "Please, Marquis Gu, calm down and give me some time to find out the truth. No matter what the truth is, I will give the Marquis of Ding'an's mansion an explanation!"
After the old Marquis took Gu Jinyu away, the steward helped Prince An sit down in a chair and tore off a piece of his robe to wrap around Prince An's injured leg.
Grand Tutor Zhuang's eyes were practically spitting fire. His fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and veins bulged on his forehead. "Steward, where were you when the Prince had his accident? How could you allow Heng'er to be alone in a room with the Yuan family's daughter?"
The butler shuddered.
Prince An's face was pale, and his bloodless lips parted slightly: "It was I who asked the steward to go to the kitchen to urge the preparation of the dishes. It has nothing to do with the steward."
"Is that so?" Grand Tutor Zhuang's sharp gaze fell on the steward's face.
The butler lowered his head guiltily.
He was not sent away by Prince An, but by someone else.
But he couldn't tell that person.
He agreed to Prince An's request.
He glanced at Prince An without changing his expression. Prince An had lost too much blood and was swaying precariously. With his last bit of strength, he said, "It is my fault. I saw that Miss Yuan had no feelings for me, so I resorted to this drastic measure, intending to force Miss Yuan to marry me."
Grand Tutor Zhuang didn't believe him: "Then where did you get your medicine? Don't tell me Qingfeng Tower sells it!" He couldn't possibly discover her feelings for him and then go to buy medicine; there simply wasn't enough time!
Prince An said weakly, "I bought it in advance, just in case."
Grand Tutor Zhuang flew into a rage: "Zhuang Yuheng!"
(End of this chapter)
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