Chapter 126 [VIP]
Li Deshun forced a smile.
Miss Gu's attitude was excellent. Besides her, who else would dare to negotiate terms and settle accounts with the emperor?! She even brought out the account books.
Other things are fine, but when it comes to iron ore mines and such, Li Deshun really has no idea what to do.
"Eunuch Li,"
Gu Zhizhuo spoke in a friendly manner, saying slowly, "His Majesty dotes on Lady Ji so much, he won't be reluctant to let her go."
Li Deshun seemed to be deep in thought. He flicked his whisk and said, "I will go and inform the Emperor right away. Please wait a moment, Madam."
"please."
Gu Zhizhuo and his sister saw him off. As soon as he stepped out, Ji Nanke immediately stepped forward and asked, "Eunuch Li, has the Gu family received the imperial decree?"
Li Deshun ignored her.
Ha, even Miss Gu treats him with utmost courtesy, but this Miss Ji has been giving him orders ever since she left the palace, saying that the Gu family will definitely defy the imperial decree and that he should be firm in his attitude.
He brushed past Ji Nanke, hurriedly returned to the palace, and returned in a hurry less than an hour later.
The Dowager Lady was still in her formal attire, waiting for him in the main hall.
He stepped over the high threshold and said to the Dowager Lady, "His Majesty has agreed."
They all agreed?
The old lady was startled.
The terms and conditions proposed by Zhuo Yatou are incredibly malicious. She thought it was an attempt to make the emperor back down, but he actually agreed to them? Has he gone mad?
Li Deshun was secretly astonished. Miss Gu was right. The emperor was initially angry that the Gu family was ungrateful, but after Ji Shi shed tears and said a few words in a wronged tone, he agreed to everything. The emperor even paid back the money that Miss Ji Shi owed.
Li Deshun stood outside the layers of gauze curtains and heard the emperor lamenting to Lady Ji that he owed her a large sum of silver, mines, and gunpowder for him; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to seize the throne so easily. He said that he owed her all of this.
Why.
He sighed inwardly and handed over a small rosewood box inlaid with gold.
Gu Zhizhuo bowed slightly and took the box.
Inside the box were several contracts, the most important of which were for two ocean-going vessels and two iron mines. After confirming the contracts, Gu Zhizhuo finally showed a satisfied smile.
She nudged Gu Yican with her elbow, holding the mining deed in front of his eyes.
Two pairs of similar phoenix eyes smiled at each other.
Clap clap. Li Deshun clapped his hands, and the powerful eunuch laboriously carried in several heavy boxes, each filled with gold and silver bricks, glittering and piled together, so bright they could blind anyone.
"Miss Gu, please count them."
Gu Zhizhuo thanked him in a very good mood.
It's quite worthwhile that the Ji family could "sell" themselves for such a good price by associating with Ji Nanke.
Li Deshun smiled and agreed a few times.
After Gu Zhizhuo finished counting, he was even more satisfied. He waved his hand and said readily, "Grandmother, write the letter of divorce."
Madam Gu snapped out of her daze with an "Ah!" and silently got up.
The servants set up the long table and served the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
The letter of release from the concubine was made in duplicate. The Dowager Lady first took out a piece of silk paper with the letter written on it and spread it out to the side. She copied it from the paper and then handed it to Li Deshun.
Li Deshun happily accepted it, but after just one glance, his smile froze on his face.
"Madam, this...this isn't quite right, is it?"
The document on releasing the concubine states that, because Lady Ji had committed adultery, she was to be redeemed by the adulterer according to the law, and from then on, her life, death, honor, and disgrace would have nothing to do with the Gu family.
Madam: "Isn't it good?"
This is what Zhuo Yatou made her copy after she finished writing it.
When the Dowager Lady had a stern face, she exuded a similar sense of intimidation as the old Duke, as if she were questioning him.
Li Deshun quickly replied, "No, no."
Since it wasn't him who signed the agreement, why should he care so much?
He had a young eunuch take the decree of releasing the concubine to Lady Ji. The contents of the decree filled Lady Ji with shame and anger, but she was also afraid that the Gu family was deliberately delaying and manipulating her, so she finally pressed her fingerprint on it. The young eunuch brought it back for the Grand Madam to sign and affix her seal, and Li Deshun personally accompanied Chen Jin to the Jingzhao Prefecture to file it and have it stamped.
From then on, the Ji family had no further connection with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
Two divorce papers were made; one was left with the Gu family, and the other was given to Li Deshun.
Li Deshun breathed a sigh of relief. After leaving, he said to Ji Nanke, who was still outside, "Miss Ji, go and pack your things. We will send someone to fetch you to the palace tomorrow."
Ji Nanke waited from afternoon until dark, and finally received this result. Her brows relaxed, and she replied, "Okay."
She no longer had to live a life of dependence, no longer had to be mindful of Gu Zhizhuo's mood, and no longer had to listen to her repeated reminders that she was raised by the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
She can finally leave this awful place.
Ji Nanke turned to look at the main hall, raised an eyebrow, and revealed a victorious smile.
Gu Zhizhuo had no time to pay attention to her. He had several boxes of gold and silver carried into the warehouse. She happily picked up the iron ore contract and looked at it again and again before solemnly slapping it into Gu Yican's hand.
"for you."
"Now we have iron arrows."
Iron is a vital national asset, and it has been controlled by the imperial court in every dynasty. Therefore, in the past, as long as the imperial court withheld iron, the Zhenbei Army could not be equipped with enough arrows. These two iron mines are enough to fill nearly half of the Northern Frontier Army's arrow needs, and may even be enough to form a repeating crossbow battalion.
Gu Yican's high ponytail swayed as she excitedly said, "Third Uncle, I want to go to the capital to check out the mines."
Logically, he shouldn't leave the capital without an imperial edict, but the emperor is currently in a state of madness, constantly arguing with the court officials who are against him taking Ji Shi into the palace, adopting an attitude of "I won't attend court unless you agree to my demands." Xie Yingchen has been in control of the court for several days now, and the emperor hasn't paid any attention to him, so he probably doesn't have the energy to keep an eye on him. It wouldn't be a problem for him to sneak out of the capital.
"After inspecting the mines, I will return to the northern frontier. Third Uncle, I plan to secretly transfer 30,000 men to the capital."
Gu Baibai pondered for a moment: "Okay."
The timing is perfect.
The Thousand Machine Battalion has acquired a new batch of arrows, enough for their use.
With these 30,000 well-trained Northern Frontier troops, we can advance or retreat as needed.
“The Thousand Machine Camp’s camp is too small,” Gu Baibai pondered. “Let’s split the camp. Can Can, you give the Thousand Machine Camp to Yao Yao. You two can come to my place later and see how to expand the camp.”
Before, Can Can had no help, and Que Que was too small.
Now that Yaoyao has grown up, she's ready to take over the Thousand Machine Battalion. Cancan will have to focus her energy on the Northern Frontier and the Zhenbei Army from now on.
Gu Yican and his sister gave each other a high five: "Okay!"
Madam Gu never interfered in these matters. After they finished speaking, she asked, "Where is Gu Yan?"
Zhuo Yatou made so many demands of Li Deshun, even including Ji Nanke in the deal, but didn't mention Gu Yan at all.
Could it be that you forgot?
She frowned in disgust: "Are you suggesting we support you for nothing?"
For six years before Xuge'er was born, Gu Yan was the youngest child in the mansion. He was pampered and spoiled by the Grand Madam, who never said a harsh word to him and loved him to the core. However, this affection was replaced by an unyielding hatred after he learned the disgusting truth.
His existence was like a filthy stain on the plaque of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
Gu Zhizhuo smiled reassuringly, "Since the emperor hasn't mentioned it, let's not bring it up ourselves, otherwise we won't get a good price."
Madam Gu: "..."
Her ruthless business acumen is quite reminiscent of her great-grandfather; I guarantee my myna bird would love to see her!
Gu Zhizhu smiled and offered his speculation: "Prince Li is ill."
She carefully put the other deeds into the small box, and without looking up, casually said, "Prince Li is in charge of the ancestral hall. If the emperor wants Gu Yan to be included in the imperial genealogy, he has to wait until Prince Li recovers from his illness and change his surname and lineage in a grand manner. Bringing him into the palace now would be improper, and the emperor is afraid that he will wrong his precious son."
"Anyway, if he stays in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, we wouldn't dare to mistreat him."
"Grandmother, don't worry about it. Let him stay in the front yard for now." Gu Zhizhuo said calmly, as if she were talking about a rare commodity. "Let me think about how to price him so that we don't lose money."
She told her not to worry about it, and the old lady listened and didn't ask any more questions.
In just a few days, Madam Gu seemed to have aged several years, and her whole body showed obvious signs of fatigue. Even though Gu Zhizhuo kept a close eye on her and gave her acupuncture and a nourishing soup, her condition only improved slightly.
Now, after sitting all afternoon, she was much more tired than usual, so Gu Liaoliao helped her back to Ronghetang to take her medicine.
Gu Zhizhuo pushed Gu Baibai's wheelchair out. The night was getting darker, and even the wind felt a bit stuffy on this hot summer night.
"Yaoyao, the Thousand Machine Battalion is currently short of a captain. What do you think of Qin Chen?"
"Qin Chen?"
Gu Zhizhuo understood immediately.
Qin Chen is the young master's man, and the third uncle wants to put Qin Chen in the Thousand Machine Camp to make the relationship between the Gu family and the young master even closer.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't seem to care: "Let me ask the young master." She turned to Gu Yican and smiled, "Brother, I tried out the repeating crossbow, and it's very easy to use while running. It's especially light..." She gestured as she spoke, "It didn't get in the way when I was running and chasing people on the mountain. However, it would be even more convenient if a hand rest could be made to hold it in place. I chased that guy surnamed Ji so fast he was running around like crazy."
Gu Yican was extremely envious: "I want to try it too!"
"When you come back, my second sister and I will pack the handbags and go hunting."
"Great idea!"
The brother and sister leaned their heads together, chatting animatedly.
They stayed in Gu Baibai's study until nearly dawn. Gu Yican and Gu Zhizhuo then quietly slipped out of the capital. They first went to the Qianji Camp, where Gu Yican spent a day handing over all the official duties of the Qianji Camp to Gu Zhizhuo, including the command of the troops, and had Qi Fu and Jiang Zizhou assist him.
Gu Yican spent two more days showing her around the military camp, familiarizing her with her duties as the commander-in-chief of an army, before leaving with peace of mind.
After escorting him to Sanliting, Gu Zhizhuo returned to the capital.
Ji Nanke is no longer here.
"The palace sent people to pick you up on the day you and the young master left the capital," said Qiongfang, who came out to greet you. "Even the Grand Madam and Miss Ji did not go to say goodbye."
Qiongfang was indignant. Ji Nanke had been in the Gu family for several years, and the matriarch had treated her like her own granddaughter.
“Miss, I’ve noticed that Miss Ji never remembers any kindness shown to her.”
“She can hold a grudge over the smallest things, but she can never remember the kindness others have shown her.”
Gu Zhizhuo disagreed. She had been like that in her previous life, enjoying the Gu family's wealth and status with a clear conscience while righteously denouncing the Gu family for profiting from war.
"Anything else?" Gu Zhizhuo led the horse to the stable.
"Everything is fine at the manor," Qiongfang said unhurriedly. "Except for the Fifth Princess, who has been staying at the manor for two days now."
ah?
Xie Danling often sneaks out of the palace to play, but she rarely stays overnight outside the palace.
I was away from my residence for three days, and something happened in the palace?
Gu Zhizhu threw the horse reins to the servant, promised to come and brush the Jade Lion's fur later, and ran excitedly to Lingxiao Courtyard.
As soon as I arrived at the gate, I could hear a constant commotion inside.
Gu Zhizhuo glanced at Qiongfang, who shook her head blankly: "Eldest Miss, I was fine when I came out. The Fifth Princess and Fifth Miss were watching birds together in the courtyard."
"Ah Man is here too?"
"Ouch!" This cry came from Xie Danling. "It's going to fall!"
"Princess!!"
Gu Zhizhuo pushed open the courtyard gate: "Danling Biao..." Her voice paused, then rose, "How did you get up there?"
"Cousin Zhuo, you're back!" Xie Danling greeted her cheerfully. "I didn't fall!"
Xie Danling climbed the tree until she was as tall as a person, holding onto the trunk with one hand, while Aman stood below, anxiously pacing back and forth.
A group of rough-looking old women surrounded her, their hands clasped together, ready to catch her at any moment.
Qingmei watched with a smile.
When she saw her return, Xiao Aman's eyes lit up, and she ran over with her short legs.
"Quick, quick!" she said anxiously. "The little bird has fallen down. Cousin, please help the little bird get home."
There was a small bird's nest on the top of the sycamore tree, with several fluffy little heads peeking out. Xie Danling was holding a baby bird in her hands. She couldn't hug the trunk with both hands at the same time, and her body swayed precariously, looking like she might fall at any moment.
When the personal maid A'wu saw Gu Zhizhuo, she looked at her as if she had seen a god, and cried out with tears in her eyes, "Young lady, the princess has gone upstairs again."
The word "again" is used so vividly; her princess has climbed trees and roofs since she was little, and has done all sorts of things.
"Awu, stop fooling around." Xie Danling said, forcing a smile, "This princess can go up..."
Gu Zhizhuo walked to the tree and looked up at her.
Xie Danling felt a little uneasy under her gaze and asked, "What?"
"Watch you climb."
Xie Danling looked up and down, and finally exclaimed, "...Cousin, cousin, dear cousin! The bird is about to fall!"
"Get down, I'll catch you."
Xie Danling had no doubt that the tree trunk could catch her, so she readily let go of it and fell downwards, feeling weightless.
Gu Zhizhuo opened his arms and hugged her tightly. The lingering force of the impact made Gu Zhizhuo stumble back several steps, almost falling flat on his face. Xie Danling wasn't afraid at all, and just hugged her shoulders, giggling.
Xie Danling pinched Gu Zhizhuo's arm in disbelief. It was as slender and soft as her own, and it could actually catch her.
Gu Zhizhuo said proudly, "Of course, I can now use a bow with a stone weight!"
Wow.
Xie Danling was very supportive.
She wanted to clap, but remembering she still had baby birds in her hands, she cheered instead.
Ah Man ran over and hugged her waist.
When Xie Danling jumped down, she carefully held the fledgling in her palm. The bird chirped and sang, completely unharmed.
"It fell from above."
Ah Man nodded in agreement.
"We want to put it back."
Aman: "Yes, yes."
“Awu said that I am a princess and cannot climb trees.”
Aman: "That's right."
The two cousins grew up together, and Gu Zhizhuo could guess what she was thinking with her eyes closed. When A-Wu wouldn't let her climb the tree, she sent A-Wu up secretly, and then couldn't get down.
"If I didn't have to hold it, I'm sure I could climb up there."
Ah Man nodded vigorously, like a little yes-man.
"You'll never make it up there," Gu Zhizhuo bluntly told her.
The two of them climbed trees many times, but Cousin Danling could never make it to the top, and their aunt was too lazy to care about her.
Xie Danling wasn't discouraged at all, and cheerfully handed the baby bird to her: "Here you go."
“We can’t put it back,” Gu Zhizhuo said regretfully. “Young Master said that if a fledgling gets the scent of a stranger, its parents will abandon it. Even if we put it back in the nest, it will be pushed off.”
She and the young master had once picked up a fledgling eagle.
"Oh, is that so? How pitiful. I'll take care of you."
Xie Danling happily made her decision: "Awu, find a box." She then took Awu's arm and walked inside happily, saying, "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for two days."
"Military camp."
Gu Zhizhuo, holding Aman's hand, asked, "Cousin Danling, is Aunt alright?"
“It’s nothing. My mother started pretending to be sick when the Empress said she would remove her hairpin to remonstrate with the Emperor.” Xie Danling deliberately sighed loudly. “The day before yesterday, my father went to the Empress Dowager to ask her to make Lady Ji an Imperial Noble Consort.”
Judging by the timing, she couldn't wait to do it as soon as she got the decree to release her from her concubine position. Gu Zhizhuo nodded: "And then?"
Xie Danling carefully placed the baby bird into the cardboard box that Awu had brought, which was already thoughtfully lined with grass clippings.
"The Empress Dowager was furious and wanted to have Ji Shi beaten to death. She argued with the Emperor."
Aman didn't understand, and frowned in distress, mimicking her expression.
Xie Danling chuckled, pinched her rosy cheeks, and continued, "Anyway, things aren't peaceful in the palace, so my mother asked me to come out and stay with you for a few days. She said that Cousin Xing is already in Yanzhou and will be arriving soon. I'm just killing time anyway, so I'll visit the Wang family more often and see if I need to buy anything. That's why I came out to play with you, since you're not at home. But it's good that A-Man is here to keep me company."
"The canopy has been set up and enough ice has been purchased. I'm keeping an eye on it. During the hottest days of summer, I had them clean up the Shuangshui Courtyard, which is close to the pond."
"Alright, alright." Xie Danling leaned back comfortably on the cool pillows of the chaise lounge. "It's so much more comfortable outside the palace. After I get married and establish my own residence, I hope I can bring my mother to live with me in the princess's residence. I'm going to stay here with you; no one will bother me anyway."
“Princess,” Awu announced from the corridor, “Adele has arrived.”
Ah? Ade was Xie Danling's head maid in the palace. As soon as she came in, she said, "The Emperor has sent someone to look for you."
"You jinx!" Xie Danling slapped her mouth, saying weakly, "What is it now?"
"Lady Ji suddenly fell seriously ill and even vomited blood. The Emperor said that all the princesses should go and pray for her."
Xie Danling rolled her eyes: "I'm not going."
"It doesn't matter if Father doesn't name names, or if I'm not one of them."
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