Chapter 31 [VIP]
After Gu Zhizhuo returned, he handed the divorce papers that had been registered with the Prefect of the Capital to Gu Liaoliao.
It was past midnight, but Gu Liaoliao was still awake. She picked up the document and carefully read every word on it, as if she wanted to imprint it deeply in her heart.
“Aman…” Gu Liaoliao was quite surprised, “The Qin family is willing to give up Aman?”
The document clearly states that Qin Guirou was raised by the Gu family and entered the Gu family ancestral hall, and from then on had no further connection with the Qin family.
Qin Guirou is Aman's real name.
Gu Liaoliao thought it would take a lot of effort to win Aman over, but she didn't expect Gu Zhizhuo to do it so efficiently.
Gu Zhizhuo sneered repeatedly: "The Lady of Jing'an thought that A'man had drowned, so she was too lazy to make a fuss about it."
When Lady Jing'an signed and sealed the document, Gu Zhizhuo was right beside her. When Lady Jing'an saw this clause, a clear sneer appeared on her face, and she signed it without any hesitation.
Gu Liaoliao sneered. Yes, in the heart of Lady Jing'an, Aman was already a dead person. What did it matter who a dead person belonged to? It would save on a coffin.
She put down the documents and asked, "Yaoyao, how did you know she was going to...she was going to drown Aman?"
At first, Gu Liaoliao's mind was in a mess, her only thought was to find her daughter. It wasn't until she held her daughter in her arms again and thought back that she realized Yaoyao seemed to know something beforehand.
“I went to Taiqing Temple early this morning and drew a fortune stick for Aman. It was a very bad one. The abbot said that Aman’s life was in danger.”
Gu Zhizhuo had said this before, and in order to avoid explaining some reasons, she deliberately borrowed the name of the abbot.
"Later, perhaps out of pity from the patriarch, when I went to the ancient cypress to hang a peace talisman, I overheard two pilgrims from Liangzhou talking. They were saying that their relative had cruelly taken their daughter's heart blood and drowned her in order to have a son. Now they had not gotten a son, they were seriously ill, and their vast wealth had been swindled away. This was all retribution."
She rephrased what Huai Jingzhi had said, adding, "I was thinking that A-Man is afraid of needles."
"The Lady of the Marquis of Jing'an was also from Liangzhou."
She stopped there and didn't say anything more.
Heart's blood?
At that moment, countless sharp needles pierced Gu Liaoliao's heart, causing her to bleed profusely from the pain.
Ah Man had her heart's blood taken and almost died.
At that moment, she fully understood why Ah Man couldn't remember what had happened that day.
She was only two years old at the time. If she couldn't forget that painful memory, how terrified she must have been living.
"Yaoyao, thank goodness I have you."
Thank goodness you were here!
Gu Liaoliao's lips turned white as waves of intense hatred surged through her, almost overwhelming her.
Gu Zhizhuo pinched her thumb and forefinger to divert her attention, saying, "From now on, Aman will be a girl of the Gu family. Tomorrow we'll go to the Jingzhao Prefecture to change Aman's household registration. I think we should call her Gu Zhiman, okay?"
She abandoned her original name and followed the generational naming convention of the Gu family, thus severing all ties with the Qin family.
"good……"
"Great-aunt!"
Aman's wet nurse, Fangniang, rushed out from inside, exclaiming in alarm, "Grandma, the girl has had a seizure!"
Gu Liaoliao suddenly stood up, lifted her skirt, and rushed inside without thinking. Gu Zhizhuo quickly followed.
Ah Man was in the inner room. She lifted the curtain, went around the screen, and immediately saw the little child lying on the couch with purple lips. Her eyes were half-open and half-closed, and her limbs were twitching. Even the two strong maids couldn't hold her down.
"Ah Man!"
Gu Liaoliao rushed over and ordered, "Quickly, go and get the jade tablet."
The jade tablet was for her to bite on, so that she wouldn't bite her tongue if she had convulsions.
Aman's face was flushed, and she was groaning in discomfort. Gu Zhizhuo sat beside her, took her small hand, and checked her pulse.
It was fear.
High fever caused by fear.
The situation is very dangerous.
Gu Zhizhuo then asked, "When did the heat start?"
“Just now,” Fangniang said in a trembling voice. “After the young lady came back, she had been sleeping. The doctor said that the sleeping potion hadn’t worn off yet and she would be fine after waking up. About an incense stick ago, the young lady seemed to have a nightmare and slept very restlessly. Then she suddenly developed a fever.”
Gu Zhizhuo withdrew his finger and said decisively, "Aunt, use the needle."
I was hesitant to use needles at first because I was afraid it would frighten Aman and cause her to have a high fever and convulsions. But now that she's already having convulsions, what's there to worry about?
"Well, that makes perfect sense!" Gu Liaoliao was speechless. If any other doctor had said that, Gu Liaoliao would have kicked them out long ago, but since her niece said it, she must have her reasons.
"good."
Gu Liaoliao nodded.
Yao Yao is A Man's cousin, she would never harm her.
She believed her.
Gu Liaoliao silently made way for her, told the maids to move away, walked to the side, turned on the wick of the table lamp, and asked someone to bring a few more lamps.
Actually, whether the light is on or off doesn't make much difference. Even in the dark, Gu Zhizhuo can accurately locate the acupoint. But Gu Zhizhuo knew she was panicking, so he didn't say anything and let her keep busy to distract herself.
Gu Zhizhuo first inserted silver needles into Aman's philtrum and Yongquan point to relieve her convulsions, then removed her clothes and took acupuncture points along the Heart Meridian and Pericardium Meridian.
Her movements were extremely fast and her needlework was very steady. Gu Liaoliao had just lit and arranged the lamps one by one when she turned around, and Gu Zhizhuo had already stopped.
Gu Liaoliao's heart pounded, and she walked over nervously. She saw that Aman's upper body was almost covered with needles. These needles were extremely fine, much finer than any silver needles she had ever seen before.
Ah Man remained motionless, no longer convulsing, sleeping soundly. The flush on her face had faded, leaving only a slight pallor.
The candlelight flickered, illuminating the room brightly.
"The fever has subsided." Gu Zhizhuo saw what she was thinking and reassured her before saying, "It will take at least another hour to remove the needles."
Seeing that her eyes were red from staying up all night, Gu Liaoliao said with heartache, "Yaoyao, why don't you go and get some sleep?"
"Stop fooling around."
Gu Liaoliao: "..."
She pulled Gu Zhizhuo down to sit, gave her a glass of warm water, and then went out to ask the maid to cook a bowl of noodles.
Chicken soup was simmering in the small kitchen, so it was quick to cook a bowl of noodles. The noodles were made with chicken soup as the base, and the thin, white noodles were topped with just a handful of bright green scallions, making them look incredibly refreshing.
Gu Zhizhuo was indeed hungry, and the smell made her even hungrier. She finished the noodles, even drinking all the soup, and finally felt better, licking her lips contentedly.
I'm full!
Feeling a bit languid after eating, Gu Zhizhuo perked up and sat beside Aman's couch, checking her pulse every now and then. It wasn't until the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) that she began removing the needles.
The movements were equally swift and decisive.
She placed the needles she had pulled out on the needle case. Gu Liaoliao carefully picked one up. Indeed, the needle was extremely thin, even thinner than a strand of her hair, yet extremely long. Such a tiny silver needle was so small that she could barely hold it if she wasn't careful, but in Yaoyao's hands, it was as flexible as a part of her body.
"Her niece is amazing!" Gu Liaoliao thought with a smug look. She didn't say anything, afraid of disturbing her and getting distracted. After gently putting the silver needles back, she suddenly noticed out of the corner of her eye that Aman's eyelids twitched.
"Ah." Gu Liaoliao immediately covered her mouth with her hand, trying her best to control her voice, and said, "Yaoyao, Aman seems to be waking up."
Gu Zhizhuo was pulling out the last silver needle when he heard this and looked up. Sure enough, Aman's eyelids twitched violently a few times. Then, without warning, she opened her eyes, her gaze empty, staring intently at the silver needle in Gu Zhizhuo's hand.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't dare to move an inch.
"ah--"
Aman suddenly screamed loudly, a sound that came from deep in her throat, full of fear and helplessness.
Gu Liaoliao exclaimed in surprise, "Aman..."
Gu Zhizhuo stopped her and shook his head.
"Waaaaahh ...
Ah Man continued to scream, louder and louder, until she was almost out of breath but still didn't stop, her cheeks turning bright red.
Gu Liaoliao's heart was in turmoil, but she held back and didn't go over.
She covered her lips with her hands to keep herself from making a sound.
Gu Zhizhuo held Aman's wrist with one hand, monitoring her pulse, while his other hand steadily held the silver needle.
This is the longest silver needle pulled from Tianchi Lake, as long as her palm.
The silver needles emitted a chilling light in the candlelight, reflected in Aman's dark pupils.
Her pupils contracted sharply, filled with horror.
Gu Zhizhuo pursed his lips tightly; Aman was still missing an opportunity to speak.
Taking risks is like facing death to live. Ah Man has already walked between life and death once, and Heaven has even given her her life back, so it should also give her her life back.
Gu Zhizhuo raised the silver needle high, as if to plunge it downwards fiercely.
"ah!"
"mother--"
Gu Zhizhuo's hand, holding the silver needle, stopped just above her heart.
Aman curled up into a ball, crying out in terror, "Mother, Mother!"
Her voice was hoarse and indistinct, but both Gu Liaoliao and Gu Zhizhuo could clearly hear that she was crying out, "Mother, I'm in pain."
Gu Zhizhuo moved his index finger away from the needle tip, loosely clenched his fist to hide the bleeding finger, then used his other hand to feel his pulse. A faint smile appeared on his face as he nodded to Gu Liaoliao.
Gu Liaoliao could no longer contain herself and rushed over, crying, "Aman, Mother's here! Mother's here!"
"Mother, it hurts, it hurts."
Ah Man sobbed and cried loudly.
"Ouch, there's a needle, Mom, it hurts so much."
"Mother is here, Mother is here, Mother will give Aman a good night's sleep..." Gu Liaoliao hugged her tightly, repeating the same sentence over and over, her face a mixture of crying and laughing.
"Aman, my Aman. Don't be afraid. Mother is here."
Gu Zhizhuo put the silver needles back into his sleeve pocket, quietly walked out, wrote a prescription with the charcoal pencil he always carried, and handed it to Qingmei.
"I should have all these medicines in the small storeroom in my yard. Go get a dose and brew it."
Without a word, Qingmei pulled her right hand away; her index finger was still bleeding profusely, staining her palm red.
Qingmei wrapped her handkerchief with a clean cloth, then took the prescription and left.
Gu Zhizhu tied a pretty bow on her finger, bent her finger, and happily walked around the screen back.
Aman calmed down completely and fell into a deep sleep in Gu Liaoliao's arms. Gu Liaoliao still had tear stains on her face. She gently sang a nursery rhyme. When she saw Aman coming over, she looked up and smiled.
"Your finger..."
"It's nothing. Just a prick from a needle." Gu Zhizhuo sat on the edge of the couch nonchalantly and laughed, "Aman is all better now, a blessing in disguise."
Gu Liaoliao's spirited eyebrows slowly relaxed, revealing a long-unseen, contented smile.
"Let her fall asleep, and I'll have someone prepare the medicine. She can take it after she wakes up."
"Keep the calming incense burning, and don't let the jade pendant out of your sight."
"After a few more days of care, he will be just like any other child."
"He might not speak very fluently, so I'll have to teach him again."
Gu Liaoliao agreed to all of them.
She looked at her daughter's chubby face with a smile, her heart and eyes filled with joy, feeling that she could never get enough of looking at her.
Her daughter, her life.
Gu Liaoliao didn't dare blink once all night, until Aman woke up and sweetly called out "Mother," and she finally confirmed that she wasn't dreaming.
For several days in a row, she was anxious and preoccupied with Ah Man, not wanting to let her out of her sight for even a moment.
Gu Zhizhuo specifically instructed Madam Gu not to disturb her. Actually, she had been thinking that it would be best to stay at the estate for a while, but Aman was unwilling. After Aman woke up, she forgot about some things and happily followed behind her all day watching her treat the bird's wings, and even secretly fed it pine nuts.
Just as the birds were finally willing to pluck pine nuts from her hand, an invitation was delivered to Gu Zhizhuo.
It's an invitation from the Jing'an Earl's Mansion to host a baby's third-day celebration.
Finally, it's here.
The Ji family originally intended to send this invitation to Gu Liaoliao.
However, now that everyone in the mansion knows that Gu Zhizhuo is forcing Ji Shi to hand over the power of managing the household, some shrewd wives have begun to outwardly comply but inwardly defy him, and have given this invitation to Gu Zhizhuo.
"Qiongfang, please enjoy."
The daughter-in-law happily took the reward money and went downstairs.
Gu Zhizhuo opened the letter and said without looking up, "Send Sishi to Mother's place and ask her if the accounts are sorted out yet."
Qiongfang agreed with a smile. These past few days, Sishi had been jumping around in the courtyard, delivering a lot of messages to the madam. Although the young lady was busy, she had seen everything.
Gu Zhizhuo could read ten lines at a glance.
Aunt Sun gave birth to this child several days earlier than in her previous life, but it was still a boy.
My aunt signed the divorce papers and even moved her dowry in a grand manner. The Jing'an Marquis's family was probably trying to save face, so they brazenly sent an invitation to the Gu family.
I'm dying of laughter.
In the previous life, the Qin family's baby shower was extremely extravagant. Now that Lady Jing'an is so smug, it would probably take more than half of the capital to invite her.
Gu Zhizhuo casually tossed the invitation aside, stood up, and said, "Prepare the horses."
She rode the jade lion out the door.
She initially intended to go to Taiqing Temple, but unexpectedly, she met the person she wanted to see while passing through Xuanwu Street. Her luck was so good that even she was a little surprised.
"Senior brother!"
Gu Zhizhuo happily stopped the jade lion, calling out in a way that was incredibly familiar and affectionate.
Qingping, who was turning into the alley, didn't even stop walking and had no idea that he was being called.
"Third Senior Brother!"
Qingping was the third in his sect. He paused for a moment, wondering, "Who is it?"
Turning her head, Qingping immediately saw that incredibly unlucky Miss Gu, who was cursed with bad luck and whose friends were doomed, standing not far behind her, smiling at her.
"Senior brother!"
"Who's your senior brother? Don't call me that!" Qingping looked at her with disdain. Her fate was truly... so tragic that he didn't even want to look at her.
Getting too close to her would do no good. Qingping took several steps back, his mustache twitching, practically saying "Don't come any closer."
Gu Zhizhu pretended not to notice his disdain, dismounted, and leisurely walked towards him, greeting him with a smile: "Senior brother, where is Master now?"
"Don't shout nonsense, who is your master?"
"What master or senior brother?" Qingping looked wary, not understanding what she was up to.
“Master’s Taoist name is Wuweizi, and he is eighty-one years old this year…” Gu Zhizhuo counted on his fingers. “Our sect is called Tianxin Sect. Besides you, I have seven senior brothers. You are the third one.”
She said this with complete confidence and without the slightest guilt.
In this life, she has not yet become an apprentice, but in the previous life, Qingping was indeed her senior brother.
Qingping was stunned.
He never told anyone about his teachers except the abbot.
She, she, she...
When he left Tianxin Temple, his master was still in seclusion. He had only been gone for a little over a year. Why would his master, at his age, have another junior sister?!
Especially since she's an incredibly unlucky junior sister!
Qingping was feeling rather unwell.
"Junior Sister?"
Qingping rubbed his forehead; this was something he found hard to accept.
He needs to take a break, a good rest.
Am I dreaming? This is a terrible dream!
Qingping closed her eyes, silently counted to one hundred in her mind, then suddenly opened her eyes and looked left and right.
Nobody's here!
He stroked his mustache and sighed, "Thank goodness it was just a dream."
Gu Zhizhuo gently patted him on the back: "Senior brother."
He jumped up in fright, his hand holding the mustache trembled, and he pulled out several black hairs, making him wince in pain.
"Senior brother," Gu Zhizhuo said with a smile, "you're not dreaming."
Qingping, on the verge of tears, rebuked, "What are you doing standing behind me?!"
"Just kidding." Gu Zhizhuo said matter-of-factly.
Qingping stared at her.
Gu Zhizhuo's smile remained unchanged as he let him look at him. After a while, Qingping seemed to have resigned himself to his fate and asked dejectedly, "When did Master take you in?"
“When you see your master, you can ask him,” Gu Zhizhuo said nonchalantly. “I can’t run away. Besides, you’re so poor you can’t even afford a gift, so there’s no benefit for me to make up an excuse.”
Those words really hit home!
Qingping was skeptical, his fingers constantly calculating inside his sleeve.
Gu Zhizhuo noticed his subtle movements, but she pretended not to notice and asked, "Senior brother, did you go to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence around June or July last year?"
Qingping stopped calculating. If he remembered correctly, the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion and the Gu family were related by marriage, right? He pondered what Gu Zhizhuo meant by asking this question, and after recalling for a while, he nodded.
He did go there.
"I've been there."
"Senior brother set up a feng shui formation for the Jing'an Marquis's mansion to bring prosperity to its offspring, is that right?"
"right……"
"What did you divine that day, Senior Brother?"
This time, Qingping fell silent. Although he hadn't been in the capital for long, he spent his days mingling with those high-ranking and wealthy families, and he knew very well what he could and couldn't say.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't need his answer and said to himself, "You calculated that the descendants of Qin Su, the heir of the Marquis of Jing'an, are cursed by an inauspicious star and will have no offspring."
Qingping was stunned.
How did she know?! I have absolutely not told anyone about this except for the Lady of Jing'an!
"I calculated it." Gu Zhizhuo made a finger-counting gesture and said, half-jokingly, "My master said that I was blessed by the ancestral master."
Qingping scoffed: Master says that to everyone.
"Master..." He almost called out "Junior Sister" without thinking.
He cleared his throat and said, "It is destined that the heir of the Marquis of Jing'an will be childless. This is the will of Heaven and cannot be defied. As for the Marquis of Jing'an's wife asking me to set up a feng shui formation to bring offspring, she did not say that it would only benefit her heir."
“Look, his family has had several new children in the past year.”
Indeed, quite a few. Gu Zhizhuo had specifically inquired about it. The Earl of Jing'an had seven or eight sons and daughters born out of wedlock. Qin Su had no sons, but all of Qin Su's younger brothers had many children.
He gripped his sleeve and said solemnly, "This silver of mine was absolutely not obtained through deception!"
Gu Zhizhuo suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Senior brother, I know you mean well and want to tell Lady Jing'an that the young master is destined to have no children and should not force it. But do you know that Lady Jing'an only understood 'inauspicious star incurs taboo' and has decided that Aman is an inauspicious star?"
“Aman is the only daughter of my aunt and the heir of the Marquis of Jing’an.”
Huh? Qingping was dumbfounded.
"I reminded Lady Jing'an that the heir should have died without an heir. Fortunately, the heir's wife has a strong aura of malevolence and was able to give birth to a daughter. It is important to be content with what you have in order to ensure the safety of your family."
Gu Zhizhuo sighed.
Sure enough! Her senior brother was a bit greedy and avaricious, but he wouldn't take ill-gotten gains, and he would remind her of things that needed to be reminded.
However, as the saying goes, heavenly secrets cannot be revealed.
Even those who cultivate the Tao and see through the secrets of heaven can only speak to others in a veiled manner, lest they bear the karmic consequences of revealing heavenly secrets.
Gu Zhizhu spread his hands and said, "Because of what you said, Lady Jing'an was convinced that it was Aman who caused Qin Su to lose his lineage. So, she first used a needle to draw Aman's heart blood to pray for a child, and later she even tried to drown her."
Fortunately, they did not succeed.
Qingping's face turned pale, and he fell silent for a moment.
Gu Zhizhuo continued, "Senior brother, this was not your intention, but it was caused by you."
Indeed. Qingping nodded silently. If this child really died, it would be because of him. Not only would his merits from half a lifetime of hard work be greatly diminished, but he would also have to bear this heavy karmic burden.
Ugh! Qingping scratched his head in frustration, dandruff flying everywhere, showing no sign of being a wise and virtuous person.
He had been very cautious in the year he had been in the capital, so who would have thought that he would be brought down at the Jing'an Marquis's residence!
Gu Zhizhu patted his shoulder reassuringly, then changed the subject: "The heir of the Marquis of Jing'an has a new son, and the baby's third-day celebration is in a couple of days. The birth of this son is all thanks to you, Senior Brother. Now, you should go and celebrate, shouldn't you?"
That's so true. Qingping felt that every word was mocking him.
etc!
"Has the Marquis of Jing'an changed his heir?" Qingping asked.
"without."
"Don't speak, let me sort this out." For the first time, Qingping realized that her mind wasn't quite working properly.
The heir of the Marquis of Jing'an was destined to have no sons, but he had a son and was about to celebrate his third-day birthday, so...
"Understood!"
"The Marquis of Jing'an's mansion will definitely send you an invitation." Gu Zhizhuo's lips curved into a smile, looking completely innocent. "Senior brother, please go to the baby's third-day celebration and explain to those members of the Qin family, word by word, what they didn't understand. Just make sure they don't misunderstand again and do something foolish that could implicate you."
Qingping: !
That girl is truly wicked! Her intention is clearly to make me go to the baby's third-day celebration banquet and, in front of all the guests in the capital, expose the fact that the heir of the Marquis of Jing'an has been cuckolded and is infertile, thus facing the extinction of his lineage. And she keeps saying it's for his own good.
Look at this heart, tsk tsk, it's definitely black.
What must Master have been thinking to take her as his disciple!
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