Chapter 151 [VIP]
The Prince of Jin was filled with turbulent emotions.
Ultimately, his wish for his son to live outweighed the factional strife and the struggle for power, and he began to hope that Gu Zhizhuo could really save the Duke of Wei.
He didn't know how long he stood there. The Five Cities Garrison finished their work and took Jiang Chao's body back home. Even the Water Dragon Bureau put out the fire.
Finally, the words "It's done" came like heavenly music.
"Uncle Wang, I'll go take a look."
The Prince of Jin couldn't wait to say something, and without waiting for the Prince of Li to respond, he ran over first.
Xiangyang stopped him ten steps away, but this time, no one was blocking his way, and he could clearly see what was happening inside.
Gu Zhizhuo half-squatted in front of the Duke of Wei and focused on taking his pulse.
A strip of white cloth was tied around the Duke of Wei's neck, its edges rough, as if it had been hastily torn from somewhere. A section of jade tube was faintly visible where his throat had been cut. At first glance, it looked somewhat terrifying, but even so, there was an astonishing amount of blood on his body, as if no blood had flowed even after his throat had been cut open.
And he is really alive!
Prince Jin swallowed hard. That day, Master Changfeng had said that Miss Gu possessed some Daoist skills and her medical abilities were quite remarkable, but he had been skeptical. Now, seeing this, could it be some kind of Daoist art of bringing the dead back to life?
"The Duke of Wei?"
Gu Zhizhuo released his hand from taking her pulse and called out softly.
This method was taught by my master. In the last month of his previous life, the young master couldn't catch his breath and was on the verge of death.
The young master had struggled for so long, becoming emaciated. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she knew there was no way to save him.
The young master asked her if she could hold on for another month, as he still had things to finish.
She asked her master.
Gu Zhizhuo closed her eyes. At that moment, she picked up the knife and made that cut, extending the young master's life by forty days.
She composed herself and focused all her attention on the Duke of Wei.
His pulse has stabilized, and he is not in immediate danger of losing his life.
As for whether he can survive, we'll have to wait and see in a few more days.
Duke Wei forced a weak smile.
"I... can't breathe."
The near-death experience he had just felt terrified the Duke of Wei.
Is there anything else that's bothering you?
No, no.
Duke Wei shook his head. Perhaps he had been holding his breath for too long and his mind was muddled. He didn't even feel the pain in his throat.
If he hadn't seen Miss Gu pick up the knife with his own eyes, he would have thought she was just trying to scare him.
He said weakly, "Thank you."
His "thank you" came from the bottom of his heart.
Duke Wei knew perfectly well that they could have simply stood by and watched.
"Thanks……"
Duke Wei was unable to say much; he didn't even dare to touch his own neck.
As he spoke, Gu Zhizhuo finally stood up from his half-squatting position.
She had been squatting for quite a while, and her hands and feet were numb. Fortunately, Xie Yingchen helped her up, and she was finally able to stand up.
She held his warm hand tenderly, thinking how wonderful it was to be reborn.
Gu Zhizhuo turned to him with a sweet smile and then asked, "Lord Duke, do you have a physician in your household?"
"have……"
That's good.
"I'll go back to the manor with you, and I'll need to talk to the Duchess about how to take care of him."
Xie Yingchen ordered a carriage to be prepared and drove it directly into Tianxi Tower, instructing the Duke of Wei's attendant to carry the person onto the carriage.
"Grand Uncle, Yao Yao and I are seeing the Duke of Wei off."
"Hey hey."
Prince Li responded repeatedly, looking at the jade tube around the neck of the Duke of Wei from left to right, his heart pounding.
"Will he stay like this forever?" Prince Li asked.
"No need. If it's taken good care of, it can be removed in three to five days, and it will be just like before."
Prince Li was relieved. After Gu Zhizhuo got into the carriage, Prince Li remembered something and quickly pulled the carriage window shut, saying, "By the way, girl, don't be angry. Can you give me a few days?"
Gu Zhizhuo turned her head away and ignored him.
Prince Li, his beard bristling and eyes wide, demanded, "Five days... how about three days?"
Xie Yingchen said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle."
"It's not bitter, it's not bitter."
Gu Zhizhu smiled innocently: "Your Highness, when I visit your residence in a few days, I will take your pulse again."
This girl has a kind heart. Prince Li happily bid them farewell. Originally, he had planned to invite Gu Zhizhuo to go to Hanzhang Palace with him, but now, well, the Duke of Wei is more important. Now that he's out here with a jade tube around his neck, the girl will definitely have to explain a lot to the Wei family.
The carriage soon departed.
Prince Li also went out, and Prince Jin hurriedly called out to him: "Uncle Li, are you going to the palace?"
Before Prince Li could answer, he said with a smile, "I will go with you. It has been quite a while since I paid my respects to the Emperor."
As he spoke, he glanced back casually. The courtesans were led away, and his gaze fell on a slender, graceful figure.
Prince Li raised an eyebrow at him, and Prince Jin quickly smiled and said, "Uncle Li, that is Lady Gui. Her pipa skills are unparalleled among the courtesans in the capital. I think she is in no way inferior to the former Master Qiu."
"You want to take a concubine?"
Prince Li looked at him suspiciously.
“Uncle Wang, you jest. I was just praising you casually.” He chuckled dryly twice. “Alas, Yun’er is so ill now, how could I possibly be in the mood to take a concubine? Uncle Wang, could you please do me a favor? Chen’er has always listened to you since he was little…”
Prince Li immediately knew that he wanted the Gu family girl to treat Xie Qiyun. No, no, that girl's idea was very righteous. If he tried to act superior in front of her, she would definitely slam the table and scare him.
"Ouch."
Prince Li interrupted him loudly, "My old back hurts so much after standing for a while. What are you standing there for? Come and help your prince."
The guards quickly came over to support him. As he rambled on about needing someone to massage his back when they got back, the Prince of Jin's expression turned cold for a moment, but he followed along as if nothing had happened.
The Tianxi Tower was unusually empty; all the guests had left, and the soldiers from the Water Dragon Bureau had also departed. The waiters and helpers were cleaning up the mess left by the fire.
As dusk fell, a steward from the Prince of Jin's residence came to find the shopkeeper.
A short while later, the shopkeeper personally led him to the back courtyard.
This courtyard is specially prepared for the courtesans to rest, and they can even stay here if they wish.
For example, Gui Niangzi would come to Tianxi Tower on occasions, and this small courtyard would serve as her temporary rest area.
When the shopkeeper and his party arrived, Lady Gui had just put down her pipa. Hearing the knock, she got up and opened the door.
"Gui Niang," the shopkeeper introduced politely, "this is Steward Zheng from the Prince of Jin's residence."
"Manager Zheng."
Lady Gui bowed slightly, her attitude humble.
“Miss Gui. Our Prince will be celebrating his fiftieth birthday next month, and he says he would like to invite you to our palace to play the zither.”
Manager Zheng's tone was relatively polite, but his attitude carried an air of arrogance, showing no regard for her willingness or unwillingness. After all, a lowly courtesan had no right to say "no."
Lady Gui smiled, her clear eyes seemingly holding a pool of water: "Yes."
"Where is Lady Gui from?" Steward Zheng asked.
"Yongzhou".
"Where in Yongzhou?"
Gui Niangzi's eyes flickered, and she looked hesitantly at the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper stood up for her and asked, "I wonder what Manager Zheng means by asking this question?"
Remembering his master's instructions, Steward Zheng said amiably, "My master invited Lord Qi, the recently retired General of Yongzhou. Lady Gui is from Yongzhou, so she should be able to speak the Yongzhou dialect, right?"
"Are they trying to get Gui Niang to entertain guests? Tianxi Tower isn't a brothel!" The manager frowned. Tianxi Tower was owned by the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, so he wasn't too afraid of these powerful people. He refused, saying, "Gui Niang doesn't entertain guests. If Your Highness has invited someone for more than just playing music at the banquet, then let's call it a day."
"You!" Manager Zheng was somewhat annoyed.
He thought for a moment, then realized that the prince would invite singers and musicians to his birthday banquet every year, and the princess would always take care of everything. Why would the prince personally give instructions, and even specifically ask him to inquire about where Lady Gui was from, and instruct him not to neglect her? Look at these words, the prince must have taken a fancy to her, and might even want to take her back as a concubine.
Courtesans are always eager to compete for favor. If they were to gain favor for a time, it would be a great loss if they were to accuse me of disrespect.
So he said in a friendly tone, "I just wanted to ask Lady Gui what the customs are in Yongzhou. If you have time, you can have the maids from the Prince's mansion come and learn some things from them. Oh, shopkeeper, you don't know, General Qi has been very kind to my Prince, and the Prince doesn't want to be neglectful."
"That's all that matters." The shopkeeper felt somewhat relieved and looked at Madam Gui.
Lady Gui said gently, "Blackwater Fortress."
The events of that year were like a nightmare. Gui Niangzi had an excellent memory, so she remembered everything that happened after she was captured by those people, and she especially remembered that they pushed her off the cliff.
She thought she was going to die, but after being unconscious for an unknown period of time, she was awakened by a downpour.
She was in pain all over her body, so much so that she wanted to die, but she couldn't die. She had to find her younger brother; they were going to the capital together to appeal to the emperor. The Yin family wasn't bandits; her parents couldn't die with the stigma of being bandits.
She slowly climbed down the cliff, her fingernails broke, and her hands were covered in blood. She finally made it down the cliff, but she was exhausted. When she woke up again, several days had passed, and she was sold into a brothel.
Gui Niangzi's hands, hidden in her sleeves, were taut with her fingers.
She wanted to live.
She and her brother had agreed that they both had to survive, because only by living could they take revenge; if they died, they would have nothing left.
She survived.
My younger brother will definitely survive too.
Steward Zheng: "Does Madam have any other relatives?"
“My parents died young, and my younger brother died prematurely.” Her eyes were filled with tears as she shook her head. “I have been wandering and have no relatives left.”
"I apologize for saying too much." Manager Zheng eagerly handed over a purse. "This is the deposit."
Inside the purse was a silver note, containing a full one hundred taels.
"The Prince said that he would also like to trouble you, Madam, to teach the palace maids some customs. This will take up a lot of your time, but it is all you deserve."
Lady Gui accepted it with a smile.
After finishing his errand, Steward Zheng said politely, "Then I'll take my leave now. Don't forget, Madam Gui, that the Prince's Mansion will send a carriage to pick you up on the day of your departure."
Lady Gui rose to see him off.
After the shopkeeper led him out, Madam Gui immediately closed the door tightly, and the smile in her eyes vanished completely in an instant.
She went back to her room, sat down on the chaise lounge, and raised her hand to lower the curtains around her.
Layers of gauze curtains enveloped her. Gui Niangzi hugged her knees and curled up into a ball, as if only in this way could she feel a little safe.
She rested her chin on her knees, and the movement accidentally pulled on her veil.
The scarlet veil slipped onto the chaise lounge.
Gui Niangzi's silky black hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, with unadorned red lips and skin as white as jade. Her beauty was captivating... if one ignored the scar on her left cheek that had been burned beyond recognition.
The burn scars stretched from her cheek to her chin, leaving her skin pitted and grayish-white, while the right side of her face was as beautiful as a lotus flower, delicate and luscious.
The scar made her smile look unnatural, but she didn't care at all.
She gently stroked the scar on her cheek, her soft fingertips touching her face. It no longer hurt; that pain was etched into her heart long ago.
If she hadn't held onto a sliver of faith, she would never have been able to survive in that place.
Lady Gui covered her face with her hands, tears sliding down her cheeks through her fingers.
It took her two whole years to escape and return to Blackwater Fortress.
At that time, the entire city had nothing left.
On the way, she heard that after the bandits occupied Blackwater Fortress, they massacred the city's inhabitants.
The city was covered in blood, which drew strange patterns on the ground and walls. Even though some time had passed and the blood had long since dried, the smell of blood still seemed to linger in the air.
It's terrifying.
Walking through Blackwater Fortress, the city where she grew up, she felt a bone-chilling cold, as if with each step, her strength was gradually draining away.
She returned home along that dried-up path of blood.
Gui Niangzi's eyes glazed over for a moment, and she murmured to herself, "Father, Mother."
She walked along without seeing any corpses, but inside the house, it was exactly the same as when they escaped. Her father and mother's bodies, now just bones, lay at the entrance of the secret passage. The two of them had blocked the passage with their backs to avoid being discovered, and they had died there as well.
She held their skeletal hands and said many, many things to them.
It was springtime, but she was freezing. She had never felt this cold, not even when she was in the snow.
It was a chilling cold that pierced to the bone, as if an ice blade was slowly cutting through her flesh and soul.
As she was about to leave, she heard unfamiliar footsteps outside. Instinctively, she hid in the secret passage behind her parents. It was on that day that she heard something she would never forget.
Sacrifice.
Change your fate.
Blackwater Fortress was filled with dead.
The entire Yin family, numbering over one hundred, were sacrificed.
She also heard them say that she was the key to the formation.
She recognized the voice; it was the guerrilla general her younger brother had brought back.
The guerrilla general who ordered the massacre of the entire Yin family.
He came here looking for her portrait, and he also took away the portrait that her father had painted for her.
After they left, she burned half of her face.
Lady Gui lay back on the chaise longue, tears soaking her cheeks.
She took out half of a jade pendant from her bosom and held it tightly in her palm.
Lady Gui moved her lips, her eyes filled with intense hatred: "I've finally found you!"
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Gui Niang. Are you there?"
Lady Gui wiped the tears from her cheeks with her palm and replied nonchalantly, "I'm here."
She lifted the veil with her fingertips, put it on, and then got up from the chaise longue, casually opening the door. Standing outside was Tinglian, who lived in the adjacent room, and said with a smile, "Granny Zhang came to ask us to go to the front."
"What's wrong?"
"It seems like the government has come to register courtesans." Ting Lian was also puzzled. "Could it be that the government's brothel, the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution), is short of staff?"
Ting Lian had strikingly beautiful features and a delicate voice: "The Jiaofangsi (a type of entertainment venue) isn't a good place either. The best way to live is to sing wherever we want, like we do now."
She took out a clean handkerchief and a small porcelain bottle about the size of a finger joint.
After shaking the small porcelain bottle, he poured the medicine inside onto a handkerchief.
"Here you go." Tinglian handed over a handkerchief and said sweetly, "Cover your eyes, and they won't be red in a little while."
She didn't ask her why she was crying.
"If we arrive late, it will anger the officers and soldiers, which would be bad."
Lady Gui covered her face with a handkerchief, and she pulled her along, leading the way for her.
After walking through the still somewhat messy small garden, the officers and soldiers were waiting in the main hall of Tianxi Building.
When Gui Niangzi put down the handkerchief, her eyes were no longer bloodshot or showing any signs of crying.
"Flying fish robes," Ting Lian whispered in her ear, "...the Embroidered Uniform Guard?!"
Her soft voice trembled slightly: "...Why did you summon the Embroidered Uniform Guard as well? The one sitting at the table looks like an eunuch."
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