Chapter 626 Secrets (First Update)
At this moment, Gu Jiao and Mu Qingchen had already boarded the departing carriage and were unaware of the Duke's movements.
The young man addressed as Lord Shao also left the Duke's mansion with them. Before leaving, he made a few sarcastic remarks to Mu Qingchen, but ultimately failed to catch Mu Qingchen in any way and rode away.
"Do you two have a grudge?" Gu Jiao asked.
"Family conflict," Mu Qingchen said casually.
He didn't elaborate on the specifics of the conflict.
Gu Jiao was too lazy to delve into the matter; she wasn't really that interested in his affairs anyway.
"One thousand taels?" Mu Qingchen looked at Gu Jiao indifferently.
Gu Jiao waved her hand: "If you don't want to give it, that's fine. We were classmates, so just consider it as helping you out."
"Ha." Mu Qingchen laughed in anger, "Where did you learn to lie so blatantly?"
"Then who did you learn it from?" Gu Jiao asked back.
When it comes to blatantly lying, you're just as good, aren't you?
Mu Qingchen decisively looked away, no longer wanting to delve into the topic.
Gu Jiao asked, "Can I go to the clinic?"
Mu Qingchen glanced at her and said, "It's over. There's no need to pretend to be a doctor anymore."
Gu Jiao: Would you believe me if I said I'm a real doctor?
"Speaking of which, you were quite convincing just now." If it weren't for her magical talking technique, Mu Qingchen would have almost believed her. "Don't do that next time, or I can't protect you if you give yourself away."
Gu Jiao: "Oh. Can I go to the clinic? I'd like to buy some medicine."
Mu Qingchen looked at her: "Are you sick?"
“My younger brother,” Gu Jiao said.
It wasn't a secret that Gu Yan had taken sick leave. Although it wasn't made public, it wouldn't be difficult for Mu Qingchen to find out if she wanted to.
Mu Qingchen seemed to be thinking of something and stopped talking, instructing the coachman to drive the carriage to a clinic.
"I'll be waiting for you in the carriage," Mu Qingchen said.
"Mmm." Gu Jiao did not refuse.
The clinic that Mu Qingchen found for Gu Jiao was naturally not a bad one. It had many patients, many doctors, and all kinds of rare medicinal herbs. If she really came to buy herbs, she probably wouldn't leave empty-handed.
It's a pity she came to ask about the operating room.
"Do you have these things here?" Gu Jiao handed over the blueprint for the operating room.
The doctor at the clinic shook his head repeatedly: "I've never even seen one before."
Gu Jiao put away the blueprints and got into the carriage.
"Didn't you find the medicinal herbs you wanted?" Mu Qingchen asked Gu Jiao, who had returned empty-handed.
"Mm," Gu Jiao replied indifferently.
“There are two more clinics ahead,” Mu Qingchen said.
"Thank you for your trouble," Gu Jiao said.
This was the most sincere sentence Mu Qingchen had ever heard, even though it consisted of only two words.
Mu Qingchen instructed the driver to go to the two clinics, but to their disappointment, they did not see the operating room shown on the blueprints.
So, was the operating room never built, or was it simply not widely available to the general public?
Mu Qingchen said, "What kind of medicine do you want to buy? Tell me the name of the medicine, and I'll ask about it for you later."
"No need," Gu Jiao said. She wanted to find out the truth herself; she wasn't comfortable letting her secrets be in the hands of a stranger.
Seeing that Gu Jiao was unwilling to talk, Mu Qingchen did not force her.
Soon, the two left the inner city.
"Where do you live?" Mu Qingchen asked.
"Just take me back to the academy," Gu Jiao said.
Mu Qingchen gave Gu Jiao a deep look, seemingly able to sense her caution and vigilance. He still didn't say anything, and left after sending Gu Jiao back to the academy.
The academy had already finished its day's classes, but Gu Xiaoshun, still clutching his book bag, stubbornly waited for Gu Jiao at the entrance of Mingxin Hall.
"Xiao Shun." Gu Jiao walked over.
"Sister!" Gu Xiaoshun's eyes lit up as he ran over, clutching his book bag. "They just said you were taken away by the officials. What happened?"
"It's nothing, just going into the inner city to treat someone."
Hearing this, Gu Xiaoshun finally relaxed after a whole afternoon of worry and whispered, "It's to treat someone's illness. I was worried that you were secretly going to... you know, and that got discovered."
Gu Jiao smiled slightly.
"Who are you treating?" Gu Xiaoshun asked.
"Give it to a Duke." Gu Jiao entered the classroom to pack her schoolbag.
"I'll take it!" Gu Xiaoshun took Gu Jiao's book bag without saying a word. "What illness does he have? Is he cured?"
The siblings talked as they left Tianqiong Academy and headed towards their home.
After returning home, Nan's wife asked the two why they had come home so late.
Gu Xiaoshun said with pride, "My sister went into the inner city to treat people's illnesses! And she's a Duke!"
His face was filled with pride, as if to say, "My sister is so amazing, she's incredible!"
Nan Shi Niang and Lu Shi Shi looked at Gu Jiao with surprise.
They understood the State of Yan and naturally knew that a new student could not possibly be qualified to treat the Duke.
Seemingly noticing their confusion, Gu Jiao said calmly, "My deskmate seems to be from a prominent family and has close ties with the Duke's mansion. I overheard him mentioning the Duke's illness, so I offered to go and take a look at him. My deskmate is a kind person, so he took me with him."
Tianqiong Academy is known as a royal academy, so naturally many young masters from noble families come to study there. However, compared to the identity of this young master, Madam Nan is more curious about the Duke.
"Which Duke is it?" Nan Shi Niang asked.
"The Duke of Anguo." Gu Jiao remembered that the plaque read "The Duke of Anguo's Mansion."
"It's him?" Nan Shi Niang asked in surprise.
"Does Madam Nan know him?" Gu Jiao asked.
Nan Shi Niang smiled and said, "I wouldn't say I know him, but I've heard about him. This Duke was quite a figure in his youth, handsome and talented, and he must have captured the hearts of countless young ladies in the capital."
Master Lu suddenly looked a little sullen.
Is it okay for his wife to praise another man in front of him?
"What happened to him?" Nan Shi Niang had been away from Yan for too long and was unaware of the situation in Shengdu in recent years.
Gu Jiao said, "He was poisoned and fell from his horse three years ago, and has been in a vegetative state ever since."
"A person in a vegetative state?" Mrs. Nan was completely bewildered.
"He's unconscious," Gu Jiao explained.
Nan Shi Niang exclaimed, "You mean the living dead?"
So here they call people in a vegetative state "living dead." Gu Jiao hummed in agreement, "I guess so."
Madam Nan sighed regretfully, "How could such a thing happen? Duke Anguo is truly unlucky."
Gu Xiaoshun asked, puzzled, "He's the Duke of Yan, yet his fate was so tragic?"
Nan Shi Niang sighed again: "You don't know this, but this Duke of Anguo lost his mother when he was young, his wife when he was young, and then his daughter... He was a complete loneliest man."
Gu Xiaoshun clicked his tongue in astonishment: "That's terrible."
People inevitably gossip when they're at home, and when the conversation got to this point, Mrs. Nan simply told the children about the Duke's deeds.
The current Duke of Anguo is the eldest son of the old Duke. The old Duke's wife passed away early and did not leave him any younger brothers or sisters. It was only after the old Duke remarried that his second wife gave birth to a son and a daughter.
The Duke was a kind and generous man who treated his younger siblings very well, and they got along quite well.
After the old Duke passed away, he, as the eldest son, inherited the title of Duke of Anguo.
Gu Jiao said "Oh": "So the second madam I met at the manor was his brother's wife?"
Nan Shi's wife nodded: "That's right, he only married one wife in his life and never took a concubine."
Gu Jiao stroked her chin, thinking that such devoted men were rare in ancient times: "Then what about his wife..."
"Sigh." Nan Shi Niang sighed for the umpteenth time tonight when this was mentioned.
Master Lu's face turned ashen.
how?
Why are you sighing and lamenting over a man?
Don't I have any pride?!
Mrs. Nan, who usually ignored her husband, said regretfully, "This is something we can only talk about behind closed doors; no one dares to mention his wife to outsiders."
"Why?" Gu Jiao asked.
Nan Shi Niang hesitated for a moment and said, "His wife is from the Xuanyuan family."
Gu Jiao glanced at the red-tasseled spear hanging in her room: "The Xuanyuan family, that Xuanyuan Li family?"
Nan Shi Niang said, "That's right. The Xuanyuan family was once the most prestigious military family in Yan, boasting a million soldiers and unparalleled achievements. Every child in the Xuanyuan family, regardless of gender, was brave and skilled in battle. It's just a pity that the Xuanyuan family embarked on a path of rebellion. Since ancient times, rebellion has never ended well, and even a powerful family like the Xuanyuan family was no exception. The imperial army fought a decisive battle with the Xuanyuan army. All the generals of the Xuanyuan family died in battle. The wife of the Duke of Anguo, to save her father and brothers, still donned her armor and went into battle while heavily pregnant. In the end, she also died in battle, and she also lost her unborn child, leaving behind only a two-year-old daughter."
"This incident almost implicated the Duke's mansion. The King of Yan forced the Duke to hand over the remnant of the Xuanyuan family, namely that two-year-old daughter. The Duke went to great lengths, even resigning from his official post, to save his daughter's life. The children of the main branch of the Xuanyuan family were not so lucky. All the male members of the Xuanyuan family were killed, the youngest of whom was still an infant in swaddling clothes; the female members were all sent to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment brothel), and from then on, they became entertainers."
Gu Jiao said, "The Emperor of Yan is a tyrant."
Nan Shi Niang smiled bitterly: "Not everyone is as determined to be a benevolent ruler as His Majesty of Zhao."
Gu Jiao frowned and asked, "Mrs. Nan just said that the Duke lost his daughter, but wasn't the child saved?"
Madam Nan smiled and shook her head: "The King hates Xuanyuan Li to the bone, how could he really let his grandson go? After Duke Anguo resigned from his post, he handed over the Duke's Mansion to the second branch of the family, and then took his daughter and left the capital to find a secluded paradise to live in seclusion. However, not many years later, the child still passed away. Her passing was very sudden, as if she had died suddenly. At the time, many people speculated that she was assassinated by the King, but all those who said so were arrested by the King, and after that, no one dared to discuss the matter again."
Gu Jiao suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
Nan Shi Niang said, "These are all old stories from more than ten years ago. Who in Yan still remembers the Xuanyuan family now? Perhaps some do, but they no longer dare to mention it. The king despises Xuanyuan Li, and even Xuanyuan Li's divine weapon was thrown to the people of Chen as a pile of scrap metal."
...
After the meal, Master Lu went to clear the dishes. Madam Nan was still a little worried about what had happened during the day: "Jiaojiao, there are many eyes and ears in the Duke of Anguo's mansion. It's best if you go there less often to avoid exposing your identity."
"Okay," Gu Jiao replied.
Thinking of something, Madam Nan continued to advise, "And your classmate, since he has connections with the Duke of Anguo's mansion, he must be no ordinary person. Just befriend him appropriately, don't get too involved."
The capital city is a treacherous place, and Nan Shi Niang was mainly worried that a promising talent like Gu Jiao might be noticed by someone and get caught up in the troubles of the capital.
Gu Jiao understood that Nan Shi Niang was doing this for her own good, so she nodded and said, "Don't worry, Nan Shi Niang, I'll change seats tomorrow and not sit with him."
She and Mu Qingchen will have no further interaction.
The next morning, Gu Jiao went to the classroom early. She arrived early, and there weren't many people in the classroom.
She spotted Zhong Ding at a glance, hesitated between Mu Qingchen and Zhong Ding for a moment, and then took her book bag and walked over.
Zhong Ding was taken aback: "What are you doing?"
Gu Jiao said, "I'll sit with you today."
Zhong Ding thought for a moment and said, "Are you afraid those people will beat you up? Actually, this is for the best. People like Young Master Qingchen are not people we can associate with. It would only make others envious."
Gu Jiao didn't say anything: "Let me copy your homework."
She forgot to do her homework yesterday, and only remembered when she saw Zhongding reviewing it.
Zhong Ding generously gave his homework to Gu Jiao.
Mu Qingchen came to class again today, which broke her record for attending the academy.
He's the type who might not come for half a year, and he'd never come twice in a row in his entire life.
As soon as he entered the classroom, he saw Gu Jiao sitting next to Zhong Ding.
He said nothing and sat down expressionlessly in the last row of seats he had taken yesterday.
The square-faced boy who picked a fight with Gu Jiao yesterday was the first of the six to enter the classroom. As soon as he saw that the seat next to Mu Qingchen was empty, he grabbed his book bag and rushed over!
"Young Master Qingchen!"
Snap!
Mu Qingchen placed her book bag on the low stool next to her.
There was nowhere for the square-faced guy to sit.
Gu Jiao practiced with the red-tasseled spear until midnight last night and definitely didn't sleep well. She was dozing off all morning.
"Which student can explain this sentence?" the teacher asked the students during the lecture.
“Master,” Mu Qingchen said, rising to her feet, “Xiao Liulang will meet.”
Gu Jiao, who nearly pecked the table with a chick pecking at rice, exclaimed: "...!!"
(End of this chapter)
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