Chapter 600 Pampering Her (First Update)
"Jiaojiao!"
On the carriage ride back, Xiao Jingkong excitedly swung his short legs beside Gu Jiao, "You play the zither so beautifully! Even better than Master!"
Gu Jiao asked, "Does your master also play the zither?"
Xiao Jingkong said disdainfully, "He can play, but he plays terribly!"
Gu Jiao imagined an old monk with a white beard clumsily plucking the strings of a zither, producing tuneless sounds.
She said, "Your master has quite a wide range of hobbies."
Xiao Jingkong waved his hand: "It's nothing special. My master loves to drink!"
"Monks can drink alcohol?"
Is your master a monk?
Gu Jiao wiped the violin case on her lap with a handkerchief and said, "I'm getting old, it's better not to drink alcohol."
Little Jingkong nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "That's right, that's right!"
The carriage arrived at the city gate, which was already closed. However, Gu Jiao had a token in her hand, so the guards on duty did not dare to delay and opened the gate for her.
As they passed through the city gate, Xiao Jingkong suddenly asked, "Jiaojiao, why did we come all this way to play the zither?"
Gu Jiao said, "I'm seeing off a friend; he's about to embark on a long journey."
Little Jingkong tilted his head and asked, "Is it that friend who plays the flute? He plays the flute very well!"
Love me, love my dog!
Gu Jiao smiled and said, "Yes, I think it sounds nice too."
Children have different focuses than adults. If Xiao Heng were here, he would definitely ask him which friend he was, a man or a woman.
Xiao Jingkong said earnestly, "That must be Jiaojiao's very, very good friend. Will he come back?"
"I don't know." Gu Jiao really didn't know. In the dream of returning to the Marquis's mansion, Liu Yisheng had returned, but now everything was different from the dream. No one could guarantee whether they would meet again in the future.
The city gates slowly closed.
Gu Jiao parted the curtains and turned back for one last look at the official road outside the city.
Farewell, Minister Liu.
...
Liu Yisheng was a poor man. All his possessions consisted of a suitcase and a basket of books that Gu Jiao had given him. He took Xiao Shi with him, which was ultimately a way of remembering her.
The house was left empty; it was neither taken care of nor sold.
The capital city will not change because of Liu Yisheng's disappearance. Few people in the capital care about him, so no one else will notice that he is gone.
Perhaps many years later, on a sunny afternoon in a bustling teahouse, someone might suddenly remark, "Hey? I haven't seen Liu Yisheng lately."
"Could he be dead?"
"The descendants of the Liu family are gone, so be it!"
However, none of this mattered to Liu Yisheng anymore.
He set sail on a long journey, carrying with him his little ten, and her trust and expectations of him, as he battled against fate.
Farewell, Miss Gu.
...
When Gu Jiao returned to Bishui Hutong, Xiao Jingkong was already asleep in her arms.
It was already late when she left home. She hadn't planned to bring the little guy along, but he clung to her, so she took him with her.
The carriage stopped.
Gu Jiao lifted the curtain, about to lift Xiao Jingkong off the carriage, when a strong arm reached out and took Xiao Jingkong from Gu Jiao's arms.
Gu Jiao looked at the familiar deerskin handguard, blinked, and said, "Gu Changqing?"
"Call me Big Brother," Gu Changqing said.
Gu Jiao jumped off the carriage.
Gu Changqing carried the sleeping Xiao Jingkong into the house with his sister.
It was past midnight, and everyone in the family had gone to bed, but Xiao Heng had not returned.
Too many things have happened recently, first Qin Fengyan, then Grand Tutor Zhuang. There are so many official documents that Xiao Heng can't keep up with them all, so he has to stay at the Ministry of Justice again tonight.
After entering the main room, Gu Jiao took Xiao Jingkong and placed him on the bed in the west room.
"Jiaojiao...that sounds so beautiful..."
Little Jingkong must have dreamt of Gu Jiao's zither music, because he was muttering to himself.
Gu Jiao pulled the blanket over him, tucked the corners of the blanket in, and then returned to the main room, where she sat down with Gu Changqing on a chair.
"When did you get back?" she asked.
"I just arrived. I was passing by on my way back to the manor, so I thought I'd come and take a look," Gu Changqing said. "Actually, I should have come back a long time ago, but I ran into a few of your old friends on the way, so I stayed a few more days."
"My old friend?" Does she have any old friends in the north?
Gu Changqing went to the county town in the north to visit the families of martyrs and, incidentally, to investigate Qin Fengyan's background.
She came from Youzhou, which is in the opposite direction.
Gu Changqing viewed Gu Jiao through a sisterly lens; even though Gu Jiao had no expression, he still found her aloofness endearing.
He chuckled and said, "I should say you and Xiao Jingkong are old acquaintances."
Why is Jingkong being dragged into this again?
Gu Changqing coaxed, "Call me brother, and I'll tell you."
What kind of tone is this when you're teasing a three-year-old?
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow: "Did you run into a monk from a temple in our area?"
Gu Changqing: "..."
My younger sister is too smart, that's not good.
Gu Changqing smiled helplessly. Now that they'd guessed it, there was no way to deny it.
“When I passed through Lihua Town, I met the monks from the temple near your village. I was feeding the horses at the post station when a few young monks, about the same age as Jingkong, ran over to ask me for alms. I noticed that their accents sounded similar to yours when you and Xiaoshun first came to the capital, so I asked them where they were from.”
"They said they were from Pingcheng Prefecture in Youzhou. When I heard that, I thought, 'Isn't that where you grew up?' So I asked them if they had heard of Qingquan Village. They said that Qingquan Village was located at the foot of the mountain behind their temple, and that a young monk in their temple who was nauseous had been adopted by a family in Qingquan Village."
"They also said that the person who adopted him was a fairy with hair on her face."
Fafa.
Gu Jiao couldn't help but laugh.
It was definitely the accent of those young monks.
Gu Jiao said one by one: "It is purifying the mind, purifying the mundane, and purifying the good."
Gu Changqing asked in surprise, "You remember them?"
Gu Jiao said, "We have spoken."
Jingkong's three plastic toy friends eagerly await his descent from the mountain, yet they don't tell him that he can't eat meat even after he comes down, fearing he might not leave.
However, Jingkong is quite ruthless, snatching food from the three little friends every day.
Gu Jiao asked curiously, "How did you end up running into them?"
Gu Changqing said, "They followed the abbot of the temple to attend the Buddhist conference and traveled through half of Zhao Kingdom. They were in Ye City when the border war was going on. However, they did not know that you had a relationship with the Gu family army, let alone that you were there."
Gu Jiao hummed in agreement: "I really did miss it."
Gu Changqing continued, "They took me to see the abbot. The abbot asked me a lot about Xiao Jingkong. He was very surprised to learn that Xiao Jingkong had not been sent back by you."
Gu Jiao asked curiously, "Why should I send Jingkong back?"
Gu Changqing: Probably because... he's a little troublemaker?
Gu Changqing seemed to realize something and instructed, "The abbot said he will be returning to the temple soon, so please make sure you treat Jingkong well." Do not send him back to the temple.
Gu Jiao asked, "Did you see a very old monk? The kind with a white beard, a slightly hunched back, a somewhat unsteady gait, and who was also hard of hearing, had shaky hands, and poor eyesight?"
After all, he couldn't even play the piano anymore.
Gu Changqing shook his head decisively: "No. Oh, right, the abbot asked me to bring you something, saying it's for Jingkong."
"Oh." Gu Jiao looked at him.
Gu Changqing took a bundle from the saddle outside, took out a small box from inside, and handed it back to Gu Jiao: "I haven't opened this before, so I don't know what's inside."
The box wasn't locked; it was simply fastened.
It's clear that the abbot trusts Gu Changqing, the young master of the Gu family army.
Gu Jiao didn't open it, but instead went into the room and placed it on Xiao Jingkong's bedside table.
The little guy would be very happy if he knew that the abbot had sent him a gift.
Gu Jiao came out of the west room, and Gu Changqing stood at the door, looking at her with deep eyes: "I have something else I want to tell you today."
"What is it?" Gu Jiao asked.
“I may have to leave Zhao Kingdom for a while,” Gu Changqing said.
"Why do you want to leave?" Gu Jiao was confused.
Did you plan this? One or two of you are leaving.
Gu Changqing raised his hand and affectionately stroked the hair at her temple: "Go find a way to cure you."
You are my sister.
I don't want to see you lose control in your bloodlust and murderous intent anymore, nor do I want to see you hurt yourself in order to control your killing urges.
So even if it means going through fire and water, I will definitely heal you.
“I inadvertently mentioned your situation when I was talking to the abbot,” Gu Changqing said. “The abbot said that there might be a way to treat you in the Yan Kingdom.”
Gu Jiao was slightly taken aback: "Yan Kingdom?"
Gu Changqing said, "Actually, the medical skills of Chen are also very famous, but I think you are already the most skilled doctor in the world. If you can't even heal yourself, it may not be a problem with your medical skills. Yan has the most talented people and experts. I want to go there and try my luck."
Gu Jiao looked at him and said, "You can't go to Yan."
As the young master of the Gu family army, he needed to request permission to leave the capital, let alone go abroad.
Obviously, the emperor would not agree to let him go to the Yan state, because it was impossible for him to go.
Gu Changqing smiled and said, "I can go. At worst, I'll just have to give up being the young master of the Gu family army."
Gu Jiao withdrew her gaze: "The Yan Kingdom is not a place you can just go to whenever you want."
Gu Changqing gently rubbed the top of her head and smiled indulgently: "Don't worry, I have my own way."
My older brother has such a commanding presence!
He moved Gu Jiao just like Xiao Heng moved Xiao Jingkong.
Gu Jiao's face darkened. She couldn't be moved like that!
"Alright, I'm about to leave. Call me 'Big Brother' now." He wanted to be the first brother she would acknowledge.
Gu Jiao looked at him with a serious expression, her whole face saying, "How dare you talk to your great-uncle like that?"
Gu Changqing: "..."
Gu Changqing was serious about going to the State of Yan to treat his sister's illness.
Given his current status, there is only one way for him to go to the Yan Kingdom—to go to the underground martial arts arena.
The underground martial arts arena was built by the people of the superior country. They used the arena to recruit talents and gather information in various countries, and even the imperial court could not interfere.
He only needs to make it into the top three of the expert list to qualify for entry into the Yan Kingdom.
Gu Jiao went to bed late, and when she woke up it was already dawn. Xiao Jingkong in the backyard was already practicing his boxing.
"Eliminate!"
He threw a punch, and a whole row of chickens fell down!
...and they were all quite cooperative.
Gu Jiao dressed neatly and went to the backyard to wash up, while Xiao Heng was also washing his face.
This person is so good-looking that everything they do is pleasing to the eye; even wringing out a cloth creates a scene reminiscent of a traditional Chinese ink painting.
"Did you just come back from the government office?" Gu Jiao greeted him.
He was still wearing the official robes of the Ministry of Justice.
To her surprise, Xiao Heng ignored her.
Didn't you hear me?
Gu Jiao's eyes flickered, and she came to his left: "Husband."
Xiao Heng turned right to hang the cloths to dry.
Gu Jiao blinked strangely, then walked around to his right: "Husband?"
Xiao Heng turned left to empty the water from the wooden basin.
It would be a miracle if Gu Jiao couldn't tell he was throwing a tantrum now; she figured she hadn't done anything wrong.
Xiao Heng only came back to change his clothes; he still had to go to the Hanlin Academy in a little while. Working in two departments was such a busy job.
After he left, Gu Jiao called over Xiao Jingkong, who was practicing his boxing, and asked, "What happened to your brother-in-law?"
Xiao Jingkong scratched his head: "Nothing's wrong, everything's fine, isn't it?"
Gu Jiao stared at the empty doorway: "Didn't you notice he's angry? Is he angry at you or at me?"
"Angry?" Little Jingkong grabbed his little mushroom-shaped haircut, his eyes lighting up. "Ah! I know, my bad brother-in-law must be jealous of me!"
"Jealous of you?" Gu Jiao looked at the little guy suspiciously.
Little Jingkong proudly shook his head: "That's right! I went out of town with Jiaojiao yesterday, and I even heard Jiaojiao play the piano! My bad brother-in-law didn't! He's never heard Jiaojiao play the piano before! I was the first one to hear her play! Jiaojiao's favorite person really is me!"
Gu Jiao didn't bother to correct him about his "bad brother-in-law": "What...what did you say to your brother-in-law?"
Xiao Jingkong said earnestly, "I knew it... Jiaojiao and I went to the outskirts of the city to see Jiaojiao's friend off. Jiaojiao played a tune on the zither to bid farewell to her friend. Jiaojiao and her friend played in perfect harmony, a match made in heaven!"
That's not how you use the phrase "琴瑟和鸣" (qín sè hé míng)... Also, he was playing a flute!
Gu Jiao closed her eyes and slapped her forehead.
It crashed!
(End of this chapter)
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