Chapter 618 The Extraordinarily Rich (Second Update)
After leaving the study, Xiao Heng went to the room of the Marquis of Xuanping next door.
Although Marquis Xuanping did not need to have his cast reapplied, he still had to use a wheelchair.
He already knew about Gu Yan's condition. Although he didn't understand anything about the operating room, he knew that if even Gu Jiao was helpless, then the only hope in the world to cure Gu Yan was in the Yan Kingdom.
"Don't even think about it. I don't know, I don't have it, and even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you."
Before Xiao Heng could explain his purpose, Marquis Xuanping refused him three times in a row.
Xiao Heng frowned at him: "Do you know what I'm going to say?"
Marquis Xuanping leaned back in his chair, looking at him indifferently, raising an eyebrow: "Who exactly was the Yan slave girl who gave birth to you back then? Did she leave any tokens? If so, could I give them to you?"
Xiao Heng felt a blow to his very soul.
No wonder he's his biological father.
"What? You want to go to Yan?" Marquis Xuanping asked casually. "Do you know that someone in Yan wants to kill you?"
Xiao Heng knew, of course.
But that's not a reason for him to back down.
He said, "Only the Yan Kingdom has what Jiao Jiao needs. Only with those things can Gu Yan be cured."
It turns out that the girl could cure it, but she lacked the necessary items.
"Your wife is quite capable," said Marquis Xuanping with pride.
"Back then..." Xiao Heng seemed unsure how to address her, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Did that person really leave nothing behind?"
"No, she went to great lengths to sever all ties with you, leaving not a single hair on her head." After saying this, Marquis Xuanping realized that his words might be ambiguous, and added, "It's not what you think. She was afraid of being a burden to you."
It's not that I don't want you.
Xiao Heng remained silent.
He didn't doubt the woman's feelings for him; otherwise, he wouldn't have been willing to kill Xiao Qing to leave the antidote for him.
He sometimes wondered what kind of woman she was that could kill a newborn baby.
Will she be a villain who disregards human life, just like the Nangong clan who harmed Gu Yan?
Even if she is, he has no right to criticize her; his life was made possible by her using all her evil.
Xiao Heng ultimately failed to find a way to Yan, but Gu Jiao thought of Gu Changqing, who had said he would go to Yan to find a doctor for her.
Gu Changqing has practically lived in the underground martial arts arena these days, constantly improving his ranking. At this reckless fighting style, he's probably not far from breaking into the top three.
Once they make it into the top three, they will be sent to the Yan Kingdom by the underground martial arts arena for the next round of competition. It is called a competition, but in reality, it is a way for the Yan Kingdom to win over martial arts prodigies from various countries.
Gu Jiao summoned Guard A and ordered him to go find Gu Changqing immediately.
Unexpectedly, Guard A was a step too late.
Guard A returned and reported to Gu Jiao: "The young master has already left!"
Gu Jiao asked, "Where did you go?"
The guard said, "I heard from the Marquis's mansion that the young master has requested permission to go to Jiangnan to find a divine bird as a betrothal gift for the Yuan family's daughter."
In the Zhao Kingdom, it is customary for men to capture wild geese as a betrothal gift for their fiancées; the better the breed of the goose, the greater the sincerity.
The divine bird is not a wild goose, but the legendary phoenix.
Gu Jiao had seen pictures of phoenixes before and felt that they looked just like the flamingos from her previous life.
No one in Zhao Kingdom had ever seen this bird; it was just a legend.
Gu Changqing had no intention of getting married at all. His high-profile departure from the capital to search for birds at this critical juncture was probably to cover up the fact that he had infiltrated the Yan Kingdom.
"How long have you been gone?" Gu Jiao asked.
“Three days,” said Guard A.
Gu Changqing had said goodbye to Gu Jiao long ago, so strictly speaking, this could not be considered leaving without saying goodbye.
Gu Jiao was still a little depressed.
It's been three days already; it seems impossible to catch up now.
Xiao Heng was also trying to find a way to go to Yan. Since there were no clues from Marquis Xuanping, he went to Princess Xinyang's residence.
Upon hearing that Xiao Heng was going to the Yan Kingdom, Princess Xinyang's reaction was the same as Marquis Xuanping's: she disapproved.
However, Xiao Heng is an adult now, so they can only offer advice, not make decisions for him.
He insisted on going, and his parents could only try everything they could to help him.
Princess Xinyang thought of the Yan Kingdom's pharmacist at the underground martial arts arena: "Yu Jin, go and invite the pharmacist here. If he doesn't come, have Long Yi capture him too!"
Yu Jin took Long Yi with her, but to everyone's disappointment, the Yan Kingdom pharmacist returned to Yan Kingdom with Gu Changqing and his group.
Therefore, it can be inferred that it was the pharmacist from Yan who personally brought Gu Changqing, this martial arts prodigy, back to Yan.
After being repeatedly turned down, the young couple returned to the main room and sat blankly in their chairs, not uttering a word.
Nan Shi Niang came out of the east room. Just now, Gu Jiao had prescribed some medicine for Gu Yan, and Nan Shi Niang had fed it to him.
Seeing the two people's rather strange expressions, Madam Nan vaguely guessed what was going on and asked, "Is it not going well?"
"Madam Nan, is there any other way to get to Yan? Is it possible to cross the border illegally?"
"Smuggling?" Madam Nan was taken aback. "What is this?"
"It probably means sneaking in."
Nan Shi Niang shook her head without hesitation: "That won't do, it's too dangerous. It's difficult for you to smuggle yourself across, let alone with the seriously ill Gu Yan."
"Is there really no other way?"
Nan Shi Niang opened her mouth.
Master Lu came over just in time, grabbed her hand, and shook his head at her with a frown.
Nan Shi Niang said, "I want to save Yan'er."
Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng looked at the two of them strangely, not understanding how this sentence was related to Gu Jiao's previous sentence.
Master Lu sighed helplessly and said, "But they don't have travel permits. If you want to take them to the Yan Kingdom, there's only one way: mark them as slaves."
Slaves in the Yan state were not considered people; they were merely objects.
"Is Madam Nan... from the Yan Kingdom?" Gu Jiao asked.
She knew that Master Nan was not simple, but she did not expect her to be this extraordinary.
Nan Shi Niang said, "I am not from Yan, but I can go to Yan."
That means they are either from the Upper Kingdom or from some powerful force outside the Six Kingdoms.
Since Madam Nan didn't make it clear, neither Gu Jiao nor Xiao Heng pressed for an explanation.
To put it bluntly, everyone has secrets.
Nan Shi Niang sighed: "My husband is right. People without a travel permit cannot enter the Yan Kingdom. If I force you to go, the only thing I can do is... turn you into slaves."
Slaves were considered extremely lowly in the Yan state, and could be forcibly taken from them at any time if they caught the eye of someone in a high position of power.
Therefore, Master Lu had a reason for stopping her.
She acted impulsively just now, focusing only on Gu Yan going to Yan State, forgetting that if Gu Yan became a slave, he wouldn't be qualified to enter the clinic for treatment.
"Jiaojiao, I'm scared."
Little Jingkong, clutching a small pillow, stumbled out of the west room, still half asleep.
He fell asleep, only to be woken up by a nightmare.
Gu Jiao took his little hand and led him over: "Don't be afraid."
Xiao Jingkong yawned and snuggled into Gu Jiao's arms: "What were you talking about just now?"
"Let's talk about the travel permit," Gu Jiao said.
Xiao Heng handed over a garment, which Gu Jiao took and wrapped around Xiao Jingkong's body.
"What is a travel permit?" he asked vaguely.
"It's a kind of travel document that allows you to go to other places. We had travel permits when we first came to the capital, don't you remember?"
"Oh." Xiao Jingkong sat on Gu Jiao's lap and nestled his little head into Gu Jiao's arms.
Given that Gu Yan's incident had a significant impact on the little guy, Xiao Heng resisted the urge to pull him off Gu Jiao's arms.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Xiao Heng asked, "Jingkong, do you have a travel permit to the Yan Kingdom?"
Upon hearing this, both Master Nan and Master Lu were stunned.
What kind of question is that? How could a child possibly have a travel permit from the State of Yan?
Gu Jiao blinked.
Yes, I almost forgot this little guy is a little tycoon.
He even has property deeds for houses in Liang Kingdom!
Xiao Jingkong rubbed his sleepy eyes, thought for a moment, and shook his head: "No."
Xiao Heng said seriously, "Is it true that you don't have it, or are you pretending not to? Think about it again?"
Little Jingkong was almost asleep in Gu Jiao's arms, murmuring, "No... I don't have a travel permit to Yan... Master didn't give it to me."
Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao sighed in unison.
"Only that thing." Xiao Jingkong murmured in his sleep.
Gu Jiao's eyes flickered: "What is that?"
"Um... um..." Little Jingkong drooled, trying hard to keep his eyes open and stay awake, but it was so hard not to fall asleep in Jiao Jiao's arms. "He... he..."
"What did he say?" Xiao Heng asked.
Gu Jiao listened intently, and after a while said to Xiao Heng, "It seems to be about a box... Last time Gu Changqing returned to the capital, he brought a box for Xiao Jingkong! It was this big, and there was a lotus flower engraved on it."
Xiao Heng entered the west room and rummaged through a pile of small, broken items belonging to Xiao Jingkong, finding a small lotus-shaped box.
"Is this it?" Gu Jiao asked Xiao Jingkong, taking the box with her.
Xiao Jingkong is really dying; his eyelids are drooping and it hurts.
"Hmm..." he nodded dazedly.
"Can I open it and take a look?" Gu Jiao asked.
"Give it to Jiao Jiao." He was half asleep, but he still remembered that anything Jiao Jiao liked belonged to her, and he belonged to Jiao Jiao too.
Gu Jiao handed the box to Xiao Heng, gesturing for him to open it.
When Xiao Heng opened it, everyone present was stunned.
Nan Shi Niang trembled, seriously doubting that she was dreaming.
From which mountain did they adopt this little monk?
Why would there be an admission document from the Royal Academy of Yan?
Tianqiong Academy, one of the four ancient academies of Yan Kingdom, is known as the royal academy because it has produced three empresses and two kings.
There are four men in the family, and a total of four school admission documents.
Even Nan Shi's wife is smitten. Is Tianqiong Academy your family's business?
Having been startled so many times, Gu Jiao quickly calmed down and asked the little one in her arms, "Jingkong, you had this, why didn't you say so earlier?"
Jingkong was almost asleep when he mumbled in his sleep, "I...I don't want to go to school...No, no..."
It seems that the gift that time was not from the abbot, but from Xiao Jingkong's master.
Gu Jiao became increasingly curious about the white-bearded old monk and really wanted to pay him a visit sometime.
The documents from Tianqiong Academy were the best travel guides; with them, their plan to go to Yan was more than half successful.
Gu Jiao was tidying up her things in the east room when Xiao Heng pushed the door open and entered. He was holding his enrollment form with his name on it: "I looked around, but I couldn't find yours."
Gu Jiao was a woman who had never been to school. It is likely that Master Jingkong knew this, which is why he did not prepare anything for her.
Gu Jiao stopped packing and poured him a cup of hot tea: "Have some tea."
Xiao Heng took the drink and drank a couple of sips, feeling a warm sensation in his stomach: "But I asked Madam Nan, and she said that I can bring my wife along."
Gu Jiao continued folding clothes, but upon hearing this, she suddenly said, "No need."
Xiao Heng was taken aback, even stopping his tea-drinking motion: "Weren't you going?"
Gu Jiao turned around and looked at him calmly: "I'll go, but you don't need to take me."
Xiao Heng frowned in confusion: "Then what do you plan to do—"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Heng suddenly felt dizzy, the cup in his hand fell to the ground, and he fell to the ground as well.
Gu Jiao caught the cup firmly with one hand and held him steadily with the other.
Xiao Heng looked at her with a dazed expression: "You..."
“It’s too dangerous for you to go to Yan, so I’ve decided—” Gu Jiao put down her teacup, took the document from his hand, “to go by yourself.”
Xiao Heng gritted his teeth weakly, "Gu, Jiao!"
Xiao Heng completely fainted in Gu Jiao's arms.
...
Gu Jiao's medicine was too strong, and Xiao Heng didn't wake up until three days later. When he opened his eyes, he saw a little dumpling dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Academy squatting on the floor by the bed drawing circles.
"Uh..." Xiao Heng struggled to sit up.
Hearing the noise, the little dumpling looked up, dropped the branch in its hand, and looked at him with a resentful expression: "You're finally awake?"
Xiao Heng glanced at Xiao Jingkong, then at the doorway: "Where's Jiaojiao?"
Xiao Jingkong stomped his foot and snorted, "Let's go! It's all your fault! You didn't leave Jiaojiao behind! I was left behind by Jiaojiao because I had to take care of you!"
Jiaojiao simply doesn't want to take you along, okay?
You're just a little kid getting in the way, and Gu Jiao has to take care of the sick person, so she doesn't have time to look after you.
Xiao Heng, moved by a sudden pang of conscience, did not reveal the cruel truth.
In addition, he felt that Gu Jiao might still want to avenge Gu Yan, so he couldn't bring Jingkong along, as it would be too dangerous.
"Did she take Gu Yan with her alone?" Xiao Heng actually wanted to ask if Nan Shi Niang had gone along.
Xiao Jingkong didn't understand his meaning and said sourly according to his own understanding, "Brother Xiao Shun went too!"
What!
They brought Gu Xiaoshun but not him!
He's really angry!
"Do you...do you want to go find Jiaojiao?" Xiao Jingkong asked, pouting.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Heng's anger faltered: "What do you mean? Oh, you also have an admission document, but only spouses and blood relatives can attend."
Xiao Jingkong puffed out his little chest: "As long as you agree to take me with you, I'll find a way to get you there."
Xiao Heng looked incredulous.
Xiao Jingkong asked, "Do you agree or not?"
Xiao Heng looked at him with some skepticism: "Okay, I agree."
Little Jingkong is not easily fooled: "You have to swear that if you lie to me, you'll make Jiaojiao find me a new brother-in-law in Yan!"
Little thing, that's too poisonous!
But the temptation to go see Gu Jiao was too great, so Xiao Heng gave in to him for now.
Xiao Jingkong then ran to the box and rummaged through his pile of small junk. Finally, he took out a small gold-inlaid box and handed it to Xiao Heng: "Here."
Xiao Heng opened the small box and saw that it contained another letter of admission from the State of Yan.
After so much bad luck, his luck has finally turned around!
Xiao Heng's eyes lit up, but his expression suddenly darkened as he read on.
The document read in black and white: Canglan Women's Academy.
Xiao Heng: "..."
(End of this chapter)
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