Twenty strokes of the cane
Gu Jinghong felt a surge of power rising from the bottom of her heart, supporting her weak body.
She must get up.
Her slender fingers gripped the edge of the bed as she propped herself up, her dark hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall.
Her eyes, which had been misty with moisture, were now clear as cold stars as she looked straight at Xuan Ru.
She spoke, her voice still hoarse from illness, "Serve the meal."
Xuan Ru was slightly taken aback: "What did you say?"
"Serve the meal," Gu Jinghong repeated, raising his voice slightly so that it could be clearly heard outside the door.
Upon hearing the noise, Gongsun Cheyuan, who had been waiting outside the door, personally carried in a mahogany food table.
With a relieved smile on his face, his gaze was fixed on Gu Jinghong, but he spoke to Xuan Ru: "Master Xuan's medical skills are truly superb! With just a few acupuncture treatments, Jinghong was able to get up and eat. Even the Imperial Physician in the palace might not have such skills."
A hint of unease flashed across Xuan Ru's face. She forced a smile and looked at Gu Jinghong with a questioning gaze.
But Gu Jinghong gave her a purely polite smile.
Xuan Ru immediately understood—Ah Hong was using this method to express her silent protest against her standing with Xiao Chengyan. Even though everything they did was initially intended to protect her.
Watching Gu Jinghong calmly and elegantly ate her congee and side dishes, Xuan Ru was momentarily dazed.
She had known Gu Jinghong for many years, and had never seen her need someone to carefully protect her under their wings. Putting aside everything else, the position of Pavilion Master of Qianyuan Pavilion was something she earned herself. She was a phoenix soaring through the nine heavens; even if she encountered the greatest storms, at most she would drink a few jars of strong liquor, get drunk, and then regroup. When had she ever... truly been defeated?
Is Your Highness being... too cautious?
Just as Xuan Ru was lost in thought, Gu Jinghong finished his simple meal and instructed the maid to help her change her clothes.
A sharp, fitted outfit replaced her loose nightgown, outlining her slender yet powerful figure.
Gongsun Cheyuan gazed at the radiant lady before him, his heart skipping a beat. He cautiously probed, "Jinghong, your father and mother... are actually quite worried about you. We haven't formally offered tea to each other since our marriage. What do you think..."
Gu Jinghong was fastening the sleeve arrow on his wrist when he heard this. His gaze swept lightly over Gongsun Cheyuan's expectant face, and his tone was calm and unwavering: "I still have important matters to attend to. I will trouble Young Master Gongsun to handle the tea ceremony."
She refused to serve him tea, did not call him "husband," or even "Cheyuan," but only addressed him distantly as "Young Master Gongsun."
Gongsun Cheyuan suppressed his disappointment and couldn't help but say again, "Jinghong, we are husband and wife after all. Father and Mother truly love you..."
Gu Jinghong tucked a dagger, its gleam concealed, into the side of her boot, straightened her sleeves, and raised an eyebrow at the question, the small mole at the corner of her eye seeming to take on a sharp edge: "Do you like me? Or do you like the title of 'the adopted sister of King Jin'? Or something else I can bring you? The Duke is far-sighted and has his own considerations, doesn't he?"
Gongsun Cheyuan was speechless for a moment.
She actually used the words he had answered her that night when he was drunk to retaliate against him.
At that moment, Gongsun Cheyuan felt a strange, indescribable feeling well up inside him.
It was as if a crack had suddenly appeared in the woman before him, a woman so perfect that he was willing to submit to her. What shone through the crack was a light that was even more attractive to him—she seemed to have become better, more to his liking, but also… somewhat at a loss.
Much later, Gongsun Cheyuan finally understood why he felt this way. It was because his admiration for Gu Jinghong stemmed entirely from her dazzling brilliance, but that brilliance was the result of her suppressing her sharpness and controlling her, not the real Gu Jinghong.
Now Gu Jinghong has revealed her "sharp perfection." She is like the blazing sun, like a prairie fire, sincere, passionate, and dazzling. Her temperament is naturally very different from that of ordinary women.
These outward displays of brilliance suddenly stirred up a hidden worry that Gongsun Cheyuan himself had not been aware of—he subconsciously worried that such a dazzling woman was not someone he, Gongsun Cheyuan, could win over with just a few gentle words.
A woman like her could only be willingly subdued by a man like King Jin, who possesses both ruthless methods and a heart as vast as the four seas.
However, Gongsun Cheyuan was unaware of the key to this at the moment.
He simply nodded blankly, letting Gu Jinghong and Xuan Ru disappear through the gates of the Duke's mansion.
Horse hooves pounded the mist as Gu Jinghong and Xuan Ru rode side by side toward Qianyuan Pavilion, their robes fluttering in the wind.
Since Gu Jinghong took over the reins, Qianyuan Pavilion has undergone a complete transformation.
She eradicated those businesses that used to operate on the fringes of the law, or even those stained with blood and tears, such as human trafficking, one by one with an iron fist.
This move naturally affected the interests of some people, and for a time, undercurrents surged, with both open and covert attacks taking her considerable effort to quell.
However, Gu Jinghong, relying on the natural advantage of Qianyuan Pavilion as the intelligence hub of the world, also harbored a secret motive—to use his own strength to accumulate unseen blessings and popular support for Xiao Chengyan, who was fighting in the southwest.
She led the Qianyuan Pavilion and did many practical things that benefited the common people.
The sharing of agricultural information during spring planting and autumn harvest, the covert supervision of officials in prefectures and counties, and even the allocation of supplies during famines... one thing after another, like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain, quietly changed the original appearance of Qianyuan Pavilion.
However, changing people's perceptions always takes time.
Even though Qianyuan Pavilion has tried its best to wash away the shadows of the past and is gradually showing signs of clearing the clouds and joining the ranks of the pure stream, it still cannot escape the opinions of the masses and the suspicious eyes.
After all, it doesn't establish itself in the world through martial arts masters or prestigious sects; its foundation still rests on its all-encompassing intelligence network and its unpredictable methods for solving all the world's mysteries. The old reputation of "taking money to do things without asking right or wrong" cannot be completely erased overnight.
But Gu Jinghong had no time to think about these things. Dressed in her martial attire, she entered the pavilion and casually tossed her riding whip to a maid who came to greet her: "Go and call Vice Pavilion Master Xie over."
Looking at Xuan Ru, who was following behind her with a wandering mind, Gu Jinghong became even more certain that Xie Yan understood the matter.
"Aru?" Gu Jinghong asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Xuanru was brought back to her senses by her voice and shook her head: "...It's nothing."
Gu Jinghong raised an eyebrow, nodded, and sat down in the head seat.
In just a moment, a figure in a crimson robe appeared, tall and elegant.
Xie Yan had just stepped into the room when he saw Xuan Ru sitting to one side. A look of surprise flashed across his face, and then he looked at Xuan Ru with considerable doubt.
Xuanru's eyes were watery, as if they held a lot to say, but in the end she just blinked at Xie Yan and then lowered her eyes.
Xie Yan immediately sensed something was off about Xuan Ru's gaze. After a moment's thought, he understood why Jing Hong was in such a hurry to find him today.
Sitting in the first seat, Gu Jinghong naturally noticed this unintentional interaction between the two. Their relationship... seemed even better than she had anticipated?
"Sect Master," Xie Yan bowed, "what brings you here?"
Gu Jinghong narrowed her eyes, instantly sensing something amiss in Xie Yan's words.
He addressed her as "Pavilion Master," but did not refer to himself as "subordinate." Under normal circumstances, Gu Jinghong would not have paid any attention to such a trivial matter, but today was different. Xie Yan's opening remarks seemed to confirm his behavior.
Perhaps Gu Jinghong's handling of affairs over the past year made him realize that she did indeed possess some of the authority of a pavilion master. But from Xie Yan's heart, he was not completely subservient to Gu Jinghong; in his eyes, she was more like a "very capable younger sister who still needed his protection."
This is very likely why Xie Yan withheld the secret letter from the Southwest.
These thoughts flashed through Gu Jinghong's mind in an instant. She looked at Xie Yan, then at Xuan Ru: "When did this happen between you two?"
This was a truly unexpected turn of events.
As soon as the question left her lips, Xuanru's face flushed red, and even Xie Yan coughed instinctively.
"Ah Hong, we..."
Xuan Ru was the first to speak, her beautiful eyes blinking as she looked at Gu Jinghong and then at Xie Yan.
Gu Jinghong raised her hand: "Aru, let him speak. Shouldn't he be the one to talk to me about this?"
Her emotions were strange; she was neither angry that Xuanru hadn't told her, nor happy that the two of them could be together, but rather felt a faint sense of detachment.
Xie Yan looked at Xuan Ru and said, "We...we've been together for three months."
“Three months…” Gu Jinghong murmured, “which coincides with the time he lost contact.”
he.
Xuan Ru and Xie Yan exchanged a glance. They both knew who she was talking about, but neither of them could figure out what Gu Jinghong was thinking.
A moment later, the other two Grand Secretaries and the Grand Secretary arrived. Gu Jinghong turned his gaze to Xie Yan again: "So, Vice Grand Secretary Xie, are you hiding something from me?"
Xie Yan froze, then looked up. The word "surprised" was still stuck in his throat. He suddenly changed his tone, "What makes you say that, Pavilion Master?"
Gu Jinghong's lips curled into a smile. "Over the past year, I specifically instructed you to be vigilant about intelligence from the Southwest. Could it be that Vice Pavilion Master Xie... was overly vigilant and sifted through the information that should have been presented to me in detail?"
"All information has been compiled and submitted to the Pavilion Master for review in accordance with usual practice, and there has been no case of self-selection."
"You gave it all?" Gu Jinghong's voice remained calm, but the coldness in it only increased. "He disappeared for three months, and all he sent back was one sentence about such important news? You're telling me he gave it all?"
"There were indeed some obstacles when the information came back from the southwest..."
Gu Jinghong abruptly stood up: "Obstacles are a form of information in themselves, so why are you suppressing something so important?!"
Xie Yan: "..."
Looking at the silent Xie Yan, Gu Jinghong's last trace of warmth in her eyes vanished completely.
"Someone come here!"
Two guards dressed in black tight-fitting clothes entered in response and stood at attention, awaiting orders.
"According to the rules of the Pavilion, Vice Pavilion Master Xie Yan has concealed important intelligence and acted arbitrarily, which constitutes dereliction of duty and overstepping his authority. Effective immediately, Xie Yan is removed from his position as Vice Pavilion Master, his jurisdiction over the Pavilion is revoked, he is given twenty strokes of the cane, and confined to the Pavilion's Reflection Room for one month to reflect on his mistakes. Without my order, he is not allowed to step out of the Pavilion!"
The order was given, and everyone in the room was shocked.
Twenty strokes of the cane... that would be enough to leave someone half-dead, even if they didn't die.
Xuan Ru's face turned pale. She stepped forward to plead for mercy, but was stopped by a look from Gu Jinghong.
"The actions of the Hidden Abyss Pavilion need not involve other sects in the martial world. If anyone pleads for leniency, they will be punished with forty strokes of the cane."
Xuan Ru's heart immediately went blank, and she stared at Gu Jinghong in a daze. She saw that Gu Jinghong's expression was calm and her voice was extremely steady, without the slightest hint of disorder or indiscretion. She was as aloof as a pine tree on a solitary mountaintop, and no one should risk falling off a cliff to care for it!
Xie Yan frowned, shook his head at Xuan Ru, and then knelt down again.
Bang--
The rod was raised high and then brought down heavily.
Xie Yan trembled, feeling a metallic taste rise in his throat, which he forcefully suppressed.
Bang--
Before he could catch his breath, the second blow came fiercely. Xie Yan's mouth was tightly closed, and the color in his originally fair face began to fade.
Xuan Ru covered her mouth and turned her back, not daring to look. Only Gu Jinghong stared intently at Xie Yan, her hands gripping the armrests of the chair tightly.
The third, the fourth... the tenth blow, the sounds of the caning continued incessantly. Xie Yan could no longer kneel upright; his limp body could no longer support him as the blood in his mouth flowed from the corner of his lips.
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