Chapter 39 [VIP]
"Girl, he's gone."
Qiongfang looked out the window and said:
"In that case, Miss Ji will definitely come back, right?"
Qiongfang didn't quite understand; the young lady didn't seem to care about these things at all.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't even raise an eyebrow, only saying, "Ten days ago, Ji Nanke met a grandmother and granddaughter at the Women's Temple and had a very pleasant conversation with them. Not long after, the grandmother and granddaughter went to the Women's Temple again, and a statue enshrined in one of the main halls of the Women's Temple fell down, almost hitting them. It was Ji Nanke who risked her life to save them."
"They are the Empress Dowager and the eldest princess, Zhaoyang."
ah!
Qiongfang covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide open.
If Miss Ji really saves the Empress Dowager and the eldest princess, the Empress Dowager will surely bring her out of the nunnery in a grand and glorious manner! At that time, it will be the Gu family and the eldest princess who will be ashamed.
Qiongfang could even imagine that by then, outsiders wouldn't think that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was acting on the Empress's orders; they would only say that the eldest daughter had bullied and mistreated Miss Ji, and had driven Miss Ji to the nunnery.
Gu Zhizhuo spread his hands.
There's nothing she can do; Ji Nanke's luck is just that good! Even if she intervenes to stop her, Ji Nanke will have a second, a third, and countless more opportunities.
Instead of being on guard day and night, I should make good use of this opportunity to extricate myself from this rotten engagement.
Gu Zhizhuo took a bite of the rose pastry and said with a smile, "My cheap senior brother is quite capable."
She spoke these words sincerely. Master Qingping was extremely proficient in various arts, especially divination and astrology. Half a month had passed, enough time for him to have the emperor completely obedient to him.
"As for the Third Prince, he can only rely on his senior brother now."
The Third Prince has neither established his own residence nor has any subordinate officials. Although he holds the title of the Empress's legitimate son, in this life, without himself and his elder brother as stepping stones, he has not even been able to truly step into the court yet.
The situation is incomparable to that of my previous life.
He could only rely on Master Qingping, which meant he had no choice but to go all the way down the path of self-inflicted injury.
Gu Zhizhuo rested his chin on his hand and said, without any sincerity, but entirely insincerely, "Oh dear, how pitiful."
She looked like a charlatan no matter how you looked at her! Qingmei couldn't help but ask, "Miss, are you really Master Qingping's junior sister?"
Gu Zhizhuo turned her face towards her, smiling like a flower: "Does it look like me?"
"Doesn't look like it!"
She chuckled softly: "Absolutely genuine!"
Hmm, Qingmei tilted her head. What to do? She looks even more like a charlatan!
Gu Zhizhu finished the rose pastry in one go, then drank the tea. He patted the crumbs off his hands, stood up, and said, "Let's go. Let's buy some good food and then go back to the manor."
"Delicious?" Qingmei chuckled and pointed to the elm seed cakes downstairs: "These?"
No way! "Xi Lai Ge's oven is about to open, let's buy some Red Beauty Pastries and eat them together!"
"That's good!" Both maids agreed.
Each person was limited to buying two packs of the Red Beauty Pastry from Xilai Pavilion. Gu Zhizhuo asked Qingmei and Qiongfang to queue up together, and they brought back a total of six packs. She squinted her eyes with satisfaction.
Not only the Red Beauty Pastry, but she also ordered a new horsewhip a few days ago. The shop happened to be on Zhuque Street, so she went to pick it up together.
The whip was jet black, and the cowhide, which had been repeatedly rubbed, was exceptionally soft and light to the touch. Gu Zhizhuo had specially asked the craftsman to inlay a ring of small gemstones around the top of the handle, which sparkled beautifully in the sunlight.
Gu Zhizhuo ordered two in total, one set with rubies and the other with sapphires. The sapphire one was for Xie Danling.
She happily played with the new riding whip and even showed it to the jade lion.
The jade lion skipped and hopped as it turned a corner. Ahead lay the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and Gu Zhizhuo's smile vanished.
It's Qin Su.
He wasn't there when she left, and now he's back. What bad luck!
He stood in front of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, looking thin and haggard, lacking his former vigor and composure.
His eyes were dark, and his beard was unkempt.
As far as Gu Zhizhuo knew, these past few days, he would come every day as soon as he finished his errands, and on his days off, he would stand from morning till night, looking miserable.
That's fine, as long as she doesn't go out, it won't bother her.
That's right. Ji always goes to her aunt and says some inexplicable things, like that Qin Su was sincere to her and now knows he was wrong, and that she should think about their eight years of marriage. She also says that Aman can't live without her father and so on.
"Yaoyao..."
Upon seeing Gu Zhizhuo, Qin Su was overjoyed and eagerly asked, "How are your aunt and Aman...?"
Gu Zhizhuo was initially too lazy to pay attention, but upon hearing this, she pulled on the reins, turned around to look, and simultaneously lashed out with the whip, interrupting him before he could finish speaking.
Qin Su didn't expect her to move so quickly, and hurriedly raised his arm to block. The whip tore through his sleeve, causing a burning pain.
Where were you when Ah Man had her heart's blood taken?
Where were you when Ah Man almost drowned?
Where were you when your aunt was in unbearable pain?
"You weren't there then. Now that Aman and your aunt don't need you anymore, you're all over again. What, now that you know you're going to die out, you've finally remembered you have a daughter?"
"roll."
After she finished speaking, another lash came out.
Qin Su stood frozen in place as the whip struck his face, leaving a deep welt.
Gu Zhizhuo glanced at him sideways and went straight into the door.
The side gate closed behind Gu Zhizhuo. Qin Su covered her face with her hands, squatted down, and let out a suppressed sob.
After Gu Zhizhuo settled the jade lion, he entered the ceremonial gate and casually said, "I'll send Sishi to Madam in a bit."
Qiongfang smiled and replied, "Miss, are you still going to Duanfutang...?"
Her voice stopped abruptly. Gu Zhizhuo turned his head, curtsied, and smiled, "Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Nannan, are you going out? Or were you waiting for me?"
"I brought back some of Xi Lai Ge's 'Red Beauty Pastries,' they're absolutely delicious."
The third daughter, Gu Zhinan, happily and obediently greeted them. She was only ten years old, with chubby cheeks and crescent-shaped eyes when she smiled.
Gu Baibai's gaze fell on her hands holding the riding whip. Her fair and delicate hands were covered with tiny wounds and newly grown calluses.
"Have you been practicing archery lately?"
Gu Baibai smiled, and although he was a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for many years, his words and actions were not aggressive at all.
Gu Zhizhuo nodded brightly: "Third Uncle, would you like to go and see how my training is going!"
Gu Baibai agreed, and Gu Zhizhuo took the initiative to push his wheelchair. Gu Zhinan carefully took Lu Shi's arm and followed beside them.
Gu Baibai was injured last year.
Last year was a harsh winter, which froze tens of thousands of cattle and sheep belonging to the Northern Barbarians to death. The Northern Barbarians then invaded the border again, plundering grain.
At that time, Gu Baibai and Gu Yican were guarding the northern frontier.
As early as when the first cold wave arrived, Gu Baibai, based on his experience, deduced that last year would be extremely cold, with blizzards blocking the borders, and submitted a memorial requesting supplies. The imperial court delayed in granting his request.
The northern frontier is bitterly cold and unsuitable for planting. In addition, the army has been short of military pay for many years, so the northern frontier army has always only stockpiled enough food for one season.
Later, just as Gu Baibai had predicted, a blizzard struck.
Not only the army, but the common people have also run out of food.
The Northern Frontier Army held out for three months and almost lost the position.
Gu Baibai used himself as bait, leading Gu Yican to set up an ambush. After a fierce battle, he ultimately traded his own legs for the life of the Northern Di King. The death of the Northern Di King severely weakened the Northern Di, forcing them to retreat. This retreat meant that the Northern Di would find it difficult to launch a full-scale invasion for the next three to five years.
After the battle, Gu Baibai returned to the capital and took Lu Shi to a hot spring resort on the outskirts of the capital to recuperate.
If A-Man hadn't gotten into trouble, Gu Baibai wouldn't have returned from the hot spring resort. Now that she's back, seeing that Gu Zhizhuo handled things properly and without any panic, she hasn't interfered with anything in the mansion these past few days, simply observing.
Upon closer inspection, the changes in his eldest niece were nothing short of earth-shattering.
Even he couldn't quite figure out this approach.
My niece went to all this trouble just to manage the household affairs? It can't be that simple...
Gu Zhizhuo pushed him along, the wheelchair making a creaking sound as it moved along the road, causing a bumpy ride.
She asked with a smile, "Third Uncle, do you think the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion will be wiped out?"
Gu Baibai's pupils contracted, and she slowly rubbed her thumb.
Gu Zhizhuo only brought Qiongfang and Qingmei with him, and Gu Baibai was only accompanied by Madam Lu and Gu Zhinan. Therefore, Gu Zhizhuo's words were undisguised and to the point.
Gu Zhinan covered his lips with one hand, suppressing a soft gasp that escaped from his lips.
"meeting."
Gu Baibai said.
As expected. My third uncle wasn't completely oblivious.
Gu Zhizhuo said slowly, "Third Uncle, I've recently discovered that it's too easy to find something to hold against the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
"Bai Chang's family owns a hundred-acre estate in the suburbs of Beijing, three shops in Yizhou, and tens of thousands of taels of silver. They couldn't have embezzled that much just by buying and selling."
“The old lady’s nanny, Qian, has a grandson who is currently studying at Zhanghua Academy. I checked, but I couldn’t find any record of this grandson being a slave.”
"Also, there's Granny Zhou in the Madam's courtyard. Her youngest daughter married the eldest grandson of Steward Zheng in the front courtyard."
Steward Zheng was in charge of the correspondence in the front yard.
Even Gu Baibai was unaware of this matter, and he couldn't help but ponder.
Gu Zhizhu smiled helplessly. Most of these were things the old women said when they came to recommend themselves. When the stewards came to report on their duties, she would either guide or coerce them, slowly piecing together some seemingly insignificant information.
She's been busy with this these past few days, and she hasn't even met all the people yet.
Gu Zhizhuo sighed, "The people in the mansion have different intentions."
“You and Father are in the northern frontier and have no time to look after anything else. As for me, I was not very sensible before, but now I realize that our mansion is like a broken sieve.”
"Recently, Aman was brazenly taken away by the Qin family from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
"Furthermore, aren't our every word and action being watched by others?"
As Gu Zhizhuo pushed him forward, he said, "The Duke's mansion is too lax these days. Since the madam can't manage this household well, then I'll take over."
External difficulties.
Internal factors.
All of these things led to the complete annihilation of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in his previous life.
Gu Zhizhuo was never fighting for control of the central administration.
Firstly, it forced the Ji family to seek help from Ji Nanke, which in turn made Xie Jing anxious; secondly, and most importantly, she wanted a Zhenguo Duke's Mansion as solid as an iron barrel, so that at least they wouldn't be facing the enemy at the front only to be stabbed in the back.
Gu Baibai's eyes showed relief.
He only said two words: "Very good."
After saying that, he paused for a moment, then became even more serious: "Do whatever you want to do."
Gu Zhizhu smiled radiantly, revealing two deep dimples on her cheeks.
"Yaoyao," Madam Lu asked excitedly, "Tell your aunt quickly, did you really figure out what happened to the Bai Chang family?"
Gu Zhinan also turned his head to look at her, his almond-shaped eyes sparkling.
“Yes!” Gu Zhizhuo tilted her head slightly. “I’m amazing.”
Gu Zhinan clapped and said, "Big sister is amazing!"
"Big sister, count one more!"
Gu Zhizhuo pushed Gu Baibai and continued smugly, "Before I came back, I met the Third Prince. I calculated that he would definitely fall off his horse today."
Lu and Gu Zhinan exclaimed in unison, "Really?"
Madam Lu tugged at Gu Baibai's sleeve: "Quickly find someone to inquire whether it's true!"
Her eyes lit up with excitement.
Gu Zhinan nodded repeatedly, then tugged at her father's sleeve and shook it playfully, "Daddy, go, go! Hurry up and go!"
Gu Baibai: "..."
Who could stand this?!
So, as soon as they arrived at the training ground, Gu Baibai sent someone to summon the head steward, Zheng Qi. After giving him instructions, he asked, "Yaoyao, what weight bow are you using now?"
"Five bushels."
Gu Zhizhuo picked up a bow from the stand and weighed it in his hand.
She has been practicing with the Five-Stroke Bow recently, and the 300 times she draws the string and shoots the arrow every day has been quite effective. Gu Zhizhuo easily drew the string to its full length.
She faced the target, deftly released the arrow, and before the bowstring had even trembled slightly, the arrow whistled through the air and struck the bullseye.
Gu Zhizhuo turned around: "Third Uncle, what do you think?"
She was a hundred paces away from the target, and she still managed to hit the bullseye from that distance, which clearly shows she had practiced a lot.
Gu Baibai clapped her hands lightly without hesitation and asked, "Can you shoot arrows in rapid succession?"
In the previous life.
No, that won't work; her arm strength is far from sufficient.
As Gu Zhizhuo thought this, her right hand skillfully hooked three feathered arrows. Her movements were extremely fluid, as if she had done this countless times before.
All three arrows were nocked on the string. She pulled the string three times in a row with her right hand. On the third time, she clearly felt something was wrong. Her arm strength couldn't keep up, and she couldn't pull the string fully for the third arrow. Her arm trembled uncontrollably, and the arrow flew off the string.
The first arrow hit the bullseye, the second arrow followed steadily on the tail feathers of the first, and the third arrow fell off before it even reached the target.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Mrs. Lu clapped her hands enthusiastically. "I'll give it a try too."
Gu Zhizhu rubbed his aching arms and hid the bow behind his back: "Don't even think about it!"
Lu laughed so hard she almost fell over, which startled Gu Zhizhuo, who quickly went over to help her up.
"I'm not that delicate." Madam Lu didn't care at all, holding her belly and laughing happily, her eyebrows and mouth full of joy.
"Big sister." Gu Zhinan looked at her with wide, adorable eyes. "Can you teach me? Please?"
Ugh, I can't.
"good!"
Gu Zhizhuo happily pulled her to try out the bow, when Zheng Qi rushed over and reported to Gu Baibai, "Third Master, we just received news that His Highness the Third Prince has fallen from his horse."
Gu Zhizhu spread his hands and smiled at Gu Baibai.
See, I told you so.
She raised her chin slightly and said with a smug look, "I am the fortune teller!"
Wow! Gu Zhinan was extremely impressed.
"I'm just kidding you." Gu Zhizhuo pinched her chubby cheeks. "Nannan, your father was also known for his brilliant strategies on the battlefield."
Gu Zhinan turned to look at Gu Baibai. Gu Baibai had a gentle expression and smiled as she beckoned to her daughter, calling her over. She then said, "Any perfect plan is merely the skillful use of everything available, including a thorough understanding of the other party's character."
Gu Zhizhuo said frankly, "I don't want to be tied to the Third Prince anymore, so I want the Emperor to believe that if this marriage is not continued, the Third Prince will suffer many misfortunes. As for the Third Prince, he is determined to rescue Ji Nanke from the nunnery, and the marriage is the biggest obstacle for him. He has no other choice but to listen to me."
“I said he would fall off his horse, and he did fall off his horse.”
"This is just like your flawless strategy."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Gu Zhinan's eyes lit up. "Father is so amazing, and so is Big Sister!"
Gu Baibai seemed to be deep in thought. He could tell that Yaoyao was hiding many things from him, but since she was unwilling to tell him, he wouldn't insist on digging into it.
He only asked, "Will the Emperor believe it?"
"meeting."
Gu Zhizhuo spoke with certainty.
She had witnessed firsthand the emperor's deep affection and love for his son Xie Jing in her previous life.
"Where did His Highness the Third Prince fall from his horse?" Gu Zhizhuo asked.
“Near the city gate,” Zheng Qi said respectfully. “His Highness the Third Prince was returning to the capital from the direction of the Women’s Temple. Just as he was about to enter the city, his horse was tripped by a porter’s load and fell off.”
"He was seriously injured."
He calculated the time and added, "By now, the person should have been sent back to the palace."
Gu Zhizhuo smiled happily. Last time she jumped into the lake, the pond wasn't deep, and Qin Su rescued her in time. Apart from swallowing a few mouthfuls of water, she was fine.
But this time, it was a fall from the horse.
Even though he controlled the horse's speed and reduced the force when he fell, Xie Jing still fell quite hard. His elbow hit the ground heavily and dislocated, and he was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely.
As soon as he returned to the palace, the emperor was informed. It was simply unbelievable.
"Jing'er fell?" The emperor suddenly stood up from behind his desk, asking in one breath, "How badly is he injured? Where is he? Have you called the imperial physician?"
"Yes, he has," Li Deshun said quickly. "His Highness the Third Prince's arm was dislocated, but the imperial physician has already set the bone. Please don't worry."
Fearing that the emperor might panic and do something rash, he added, "There are still some scratches."
"That's good."
The emperor nodded repeatedly: "I will go and take a look."
As he spoke, he started walking, and Li Deshun quickly followed behind.
As soon as he stepped out of the imperial study, the sunlight hit him in the face, and the emperor felt a little dazzled. Thinking of his son, he couldn't help but sigh, and finally said, "Tell me, is it because I insisted on this marriage that Jing'er has suffered so many misfortunes, big and small?"
His face betrayed no emotion, as if he were merely saying it casually.
Having served in the imperial court for many years, Li Deshun naturally knew what to say and what he could say.
"Your Majesty is thinking about the bigger picture. Moreover, the Third Prince suffered this ordeal for the sake of the Great Qi dynasty."
Li Deshun could actually tell that the emperor was wavering.
It must be said that Master Qingping is indeed quite skilled.
Last time at Taiqing Temple, the Emperor only believed about 50-60% of what he said. However, when they left, Master Qingping also told the Emperor to be careful with fire after returning to the palace. As a result, the next day, a spark from a glass lamp suddenly flew up and burned the lampshade. The spark also splashed onto the pages of a book, almost causing a fire.
Later, the emperor summoned Master Qingping to the palace several times to listen to him preach and talk about Taoist methods of health preservation.
Now, he has become the emperor's new favorite.
Now, the Third Prince has fallen from his horse without any apparent reason, only about half a month after he fell into the lake last time. The Emperor will inevitably recall what Master Qingping said last time, and this time, he will probably believe at least eight or nine parts of it.
Sigh. The Third Prince, how could he be so unlucky!
The emperor frowned, his face expressionless.
He strode around like a dragon, muttering to himself or to Li Deshun, "Gu Yican has done a great service this time. Gu Zhizhuo's marriage contract still has to be tied to the royal family."
"Otherwise, I won't feel at ease."
"However, I cannot let her harm Jing'er."
We can't let Jing'er get hurt, and likewise, we can't let the eldest and second eldest get hurt.
Members of the royal family?
The imperial family's influence was insufficient, and changing the marriage agreement from Jing'er to a member of the imperial family would be difficult for him to convince the old conservatives in the court.
The emperor rubbed his temples, and suddenly a thought struck him. He squinted against the light, and Li Deshun followed his gaze, thinking: "Hmm, this direction, is it Xiyunwu?"
A thought suddenly occurred to Li Deshun.
No way!?
Before he could think it through, the emperor asked, "When is the Empress's flower festival?"
He said, "May 20th."
Will Miss Gu come?
Li Deshun had no idea. The emperor obviously didn't expect him to answer and said directly, "Go and tell the empress to send someone to deliver an oral message."
Soon after the emperor gave the order, Aunt Zheng from Fengluan Palace arrived at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to deliver the imperial edict.
Gu Zhizhu blinked, somewhat puzzled.
The flower festival is the day after tomorrow, and they're only announcing her today?
They act on a whim.
This flower festival also existed in the previous life. The Empress would hold it every May, and she would invite mostly unmarried noble ladies to come to the palace to admire the flowers. Each household would bring one or two pots of the best-looking peonies. If someone won the title of "King of Flowers," the Empress would reward them handsomely.
Sometimes, the empress would even bestow a marriage upon someone on a whim.
In her previous life, Gu Zhizhuo went with a terrible-looking face. At that time, the Empress wanted to choose a princess and a concubine for the eldest and second princes. Thinking of those unpleasant memories, she scratched the stray hairs by her ear.
In this life, the Empress did not summon her. She thought that after her last outburst, the Empress was unwilling to see her!
Gu Zhizhuo gestured to Qiongfang to give the red envelope and send Aunt Zheng away. A short while later, Qiongfang returned and said, "I inquired and found out that it was the Emperor's will."
Okay, this is even more inexplicable.
But that's alright.
Gu Zhizhuo closed the half-finished flower roster on the table and instructed, "Have Chunxin go to the flower room and pick out a few pots of peonies."
"Take out that new butterfly-patterned dress we made this season."
"Please also put the things I brought for Cousin Danling on the table. I won't bring the whip though..."
Bringing a whip into the palace is taboo; we'll give it to Xie Danling next time she comes out to play.
Gu Zhizhu gave a series of scattered instructions, walked to the medicine cabinet, opened one of the locked drawers, took out a delicate porcelain bottle with a blue and white background, uncorked it, and poured out a dark brown pill.
The pill was as big as a thumbnail.
This medicine was made for the young master. Several batches were ruined before this one pill was finally produced.
She was originally waiting for Qin Chen to give it to her during his day off, but now, she's taking it into the palace herself.
She took the pills to the desk, first wrapped them in silk paper she had prepared beforehand, then wrapped them in oil paper, and finally sealed them with wax.
On the day he was to leave, Gu Zhizhuo hid the pills in a hidden pocket in his sleeve, got into the carriage, and went to the palace.
She arrived at the perfect time; the palace gates were already packed with carriages.
Gu Zhizhu got off the carriage; from here on, it was time to walk.
Stepping through the vermilion palace gates, Gu Zhizhuo walked forward under the guidance of a young eunuch. Suddenly, she stopped and looked at an artificial lake not far away. In the center of the lake, pavilions and towers were connected by paths, and from a distance, they seemed to float on the lake.
"This is……"
“Miss Gu, this is Xiyunwu.”
Yes! Gu Zhizhuo knew that the young master was currently living in Xiyunwu.
She smiled, her phoenix eyes filled with joy and anticipation.
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com