Chapter 43 Chapter 43

Jiang Jingchun was finally taken back by Gu Huaisheng.

After all, if she had not been sold into a brothel, she could have come up with a thousand reasons to refute Gu Huaisheng. She could have refuted his statement that the outside world was terrible. However, her situation... the red palm marks on her face... and the stupid things she had done made her too embarrassed to argue with Gu Huaisheng about this matter.

Everything about her now proves how correct Gu Huaisheng's words are.

Gu Huaisheng is too powerful. If he doesn't find us, everything will be fine. But if he does, what can we do?

No matter how fiercely she argued with him, he just glanced at her and took her home.

Gu Huaisheng always likes to use the calmest tone to say the most irresistible words.

Talking to him would do no good except make me angrier.

So in the end, she just shut up, too lazy to waste any more time talking.

Hua Yun and Xue Zhao were so anxious that they were running around in circles. Finally, they were found by Shu Liang. When the master and servants met, Hua Yun burst into tears again.

When Hua Yun woke up this morning, she saw that Jiang Jingchun's room was empty. She was so frightened that she kept crying while looking for her. Now her eyes were red as peaches. When Shu Liang found Xue Zhao, she also had a rare look of anxiety on her face. Seeing that someone was missing, her face turned pale. Finally, she returned to her normal state when she knew that the person was safe.

After lunch, the group boarded the carriage back to the capital.

Gu Huaisheng and Jiang Jingchun were riding in a carriage.

Because he had not slept well the previous day, Jiang Jingchun lay down on a chair after getting on the carriage, facing the carriage, closed his eyes and began to make up for his sleep as if no one was around.

Gu Huaisheng didn't say anything. While she was sleeping, he sat beside her and dealt with the official business that had accumulated over the past few days.

The carriage drove slowly towards the capital. The expensive carriage made it impossible to feel the bumps on the road. Jiang Jingchun lay on the chair, with the sound of the wheels rolling in his ears. The "gurgling" sound of the wheels rolling on the stone ground made him fall asleep.

A breeze blew into the carriage through the window, the cool breeze carrying with it a hint of the unique bleakness of autumn. She could feel the wind blowing past her ears, caressing the side of her face.

After a while, Jiang Jingchun's eyelids became heavy and she fell asleep.

Gu Huaisheng put down what he was holding when he heard the long breathing sound.

Plasters are always kept in the carriage in case of emergency.

He took out the ointment from the cabinet of the carriage, stood up and went to Jiang Jingchun. He carefully pushed the person over from the wall of the carriage.

However, no matter how light the movement was, it still startled the sleeping person. She frowned slightly and murmured something.

But fortunately, he just frowned and showed no signs of waking up.

Gu Huaisheng picked up the ointment in his hand* and applied it on her face.

The big red palm print on her jade-like skin was too obvious. It seemed that the madam had beaten her very hard. Now most of her face was swollen. She frowned, and no one knew what disturbing dream she had had.

Gu Huaisheng pushed aside the loose hair on the side of her head and carefully applied medicine to her.

Perhaps it was because her face was so swollen that the slightest touch was unbearable pain. No matter how gentle Gu Huaisheng's movements were, the pain still woke her up from her light sleep.

Her eyes slowly opened, still hazy.

The first thing that came into view was Gu Huaisheng's cold eyes. The carriage was still moving, and the curtain was occasionally blown up by the wind. The warm afternoon light fell on his face, making his eyebrows and eyes look a little softer.

There was a light breath coming from her nose, and his cool fingertips were still on her face.

The two of them looked at each other unexpectedly.

Jiang Jingchun felt a little dizzy and was unable to react for a while.

To be honest, Jiang Jingchun was not really wary of Gu Huaisheng. After all, from childhood to adulthood, except for the incident in Gongyuan last time, Gu Huaisheng had never done anything excessive. He was a cold and aloof person with a serious and solemn look. After she understood that he did not do anything out of line in the brothel just now, she gradually let down her guard when she got on the carriage.

So when I woke up and saw it was him, my confused mind didn't have much of a subconscious reaction.

After all, Gu Huaisheng is not the kind of person who would do anything bad while someone is sleeping.

She was so sleepy that she didn't have the energy to make any more noise. She just frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"

What are you doing next to her?

She had sleepy eyes and seemed to be not fully awake yet. Her voice was a little lazy and sticky.

He was afraid that she would make a noise when she was awake, so he sneaked over to apply medicine to her while she was sleeping. Unexpectedly, he woke her up again. He was afraid that she would make a noise again, but when he saw that she didn't have any violent reaction, Gu Huaisheng felt relieved.

He explained in a gentle voice: "Go to sleep, I'll apply some medicine on you, and it won't hurt in a while."

Seeing that she was not making trouble, his voice unconsciously became softer, a tone he never used in normal times.

Jiang Jingchun was extremely sleepy and didn't want to wake up. The plaster felt cool and her face did not hurt as much.

The rush of traveling around in the past three days had almost drained her body, and she had slept uneasily yesterday. Now, listening to Gu Huai's gentle voice, sleepiness came over her again. She let him apply the ointment, and before she knew it, she fell asleep again.

After wiping her face, Gu Huaisheng lifted up the sleeve of her hand.

Her wrists were very slender, and the red marks on her fair wrists were particularly conspicuous. She had not let him touch them just now, but now, upon closer inspection, he discovered that they had been torn and bleeding by the thick rope.

Doesn't she suffer during this trip?

You're suffering so much, why are you still thinking about running away?

She must have thought that after this lesson, she would learn her lesson and would not be so stupid next time she encountered such a thing...

Maybe.

After all, people will never learn something no matter how hard you try, but things will teach people once they are taught.

But, with so many dangers, who knows what will happen next time.

Gu Huaisheng sighed softly and stroked the red mark with his fingers. The red mark entwined on the lotus-green forearm actually had a different kind of beauty. The pulse seemed to be beating between his fingers, and Gu Huaisheng couldn't stop stroking it.

He looked serious, but he couldn't help but think of what happened in the tribute courtyard that day.

It took him a long time to come back to his senses.

He chuckled, and his cool peach blossom eyes finally showed some emotion.

She said she would make him regret marrying her.

No, I won’t. I won’t regret it even if I die.

*

Several people hurried back to the capital, and fortunately they finally arrived before curfew.

The three-day trip really tired Jiang Jingchun. She woke up and fell asleep all the way, and was still asleep when she returned to the capital.

Gu Huaisheng carried her directly into the guest room and settled her down. She was now soundly asleep, and Gu Huaisheng held her steadily without waking her up.

Along the way, many servants saw this scene. Although they found it strange, they kept silent.

Mrs. Gu naturally heard about this.

Then she thought that he had just come out of Gongyuan yesterday and should have had three days off, but he left in a hurry this morning and didn't know where he went. It was very strange. She didn't take it to heart at first, after all, Gu Huaisheng was old, and she didn't have time to worry about his affairs.

But after he went out for a day, he suddenly brought Jiang Jingchun back for unknown reasons.

She heard the old lady looked depressed two days ago, so she went to visit her and found out that Jiang Jingchun had gone out of town to play. She couldn't help but be worried at home, and with something on her mind, her stomach started to suffer from her old problems again.

When Mrs. Gu heard that Jiang Jingchun was brought back, she couldn't help feeling strange.

Didn't they say she went out of town? Then why did Gu Huaisheng bring her back today?

He went out at dawn and brought her back home at dusk. Did he go out today just to look for her? But what was the purpose of looking for her? Even if she was going on a long trip, it had nothing to do with him.

How strange.

Finally, Mrs. Gu could not hold back any longer and wanted to send someone to find Gu Huaisheng to question him. But just as she was about to open her mouth, she heard a servant’s message coming from the door.

"Greetings to the young marquis."

Gu Huaisheng took the initiative to look for her first.

Mrs. Gu felt even more puzzled. Seeing Gu Huaisheng coming into the room, she was afraid that he wanted to say something important.

It was already dark and the lights in the house had been lit. The dim candlelight made Gu Huaisheng's figure look even taller.

He bowed to her and Mrs. Gu asked him to sit down and talk.

Just when she was about to ask him why he came, she heard him speak first.

Gu Huaisheng lowered his eyes and went straight to the point: "Mother, I came here today to discuss something important."

It was rare to see him so serious, and Li straightened her face. She said, "Just tell me straight."

She could guess that perhaps what Gu Huaisheng wanted to talk about today was about Jiang Jingchun, but she didn't know what he wanted to say.

Gu Huaisheng spoke up and said, "I want to marry my cousin."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell into dead silence.

Mrs. Gu's mind went blank when she heard this. Her expression was mixed for a moment. She even wondered if she had heard it wrongly. What did Gu Huaisheng just say? Did he say he wanted to marry his cousin?!

These words were said a little too suddenly, and Mrs. Gu was really unable to react.

If she was not mistaken, didn't he dislike Jiang Jingchun before? When did things go wrong, and why didn't she notice it at all?

Mrs. Gu really couldn't believe that such a cold person on weekdays would suddenly come up to her and ask for marriage from her cousin.

She tried hard to recall the past until she remembered the time in July when they went to Miao'en Temple together and met the Jiang family.

She remembered that day in the meditation room, Gu Huaisheng looked at Jiang Jingchun with eyes that carried emotions that she could not understand... Later, also on that night, Gu Huaisheng took Jiang Jingchun down the mountain and went home overnight...

In the past, he was not known to be so kind to anyone except Jiang Jingchun.

Mrs. Gu hesitated to speak, and she asked tentatively, "Do you feel sorry for your cousin and want to give her a home because she is so pitiful..."

After Mrs. Gu said this, the place became even quieter, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Gu Huaisheng couldn't help but twitching the corners of his mouth. What kind of person does she think he is? Is he a strange person? She gives a home to anyone who is pitiful.

Gu Huaisheng would not feel pity for anyone for no reason. He was not a very kind person. Except for Jiang Jingchun, her wrinkled brows, red eyes... all of them looked pitiful in his eyes.

Gu Huaisheng shook his head, "I just want to marry her, not because she's pitiful."

When Mrs. Gu heard what Gu Huaisheng said, she knew that he was serious. After all, Gu Huaisheng was not a man who would joke around.

Although she didn't know when he came up with the idea, Mrs. Gu knew that since he had spoken, he had made up his mind.

She thought for a moment and then asked, "What does your cousin think?"

She could see that Jiang Jingchun no longer cared much about him. Even if he wanted to marry her, would she be willing?

Moreover, a few days ago, she clearly heard from her mother that after Song Xuan'an finished the autumn examination, he might go to the Jiang family to ask for Jiang Jingchun's marriage. Why is Gu Huaisheng like this now?

As soon as Mrs. Gu finished speaking, she heard Gu Huai say, "She promised me."

A promise is a promise...but it doesn't say whether it is willing or not.

Mrs. Gu couldn't help but think more, "You...did you force her?"

At first, Mrs. Gu didn't think that Gu Huaisheng could do such a thing, but who knew that after she said this, he actually fell into silence for a while.

Mrs. Gu couldn't help but said, "You...you really forced her?!"

Gu Huaisheng shook his head without changing his expression, "No."

Exchange, he just had an exchange with her.

It can't be considered forced.

Mrs. Gu no longer believed him, because his first reaction was not to lie.

He actually went so far as to force others to do such a thing.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Gu couldn't help but get furious for a moment, and the finger she was pointing at him was shaking.

She scolded him, "You...you are such a fool! You still say no, do you think I am a fool? Your cousin doesn't like you at all now, how could she be willing to marry you?! Gu Huaisheng, I never knew that you are so...so mean...When she liked you, you refused to like her, and now that she doesn't like you anymore, you insist on marrying her. Hmm? What can I say to you!"

She said, no wonder he was not willing to get married, it turned out that he had fallen in love with his cousin.

The words she used were indeed a bit harsh, but Gu Huaisheng acted as if he didn't hear her and let her curse.

Mrs. Gu looked at him with a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

He insisted on marrying his cousin, wasn't that force, wasn't that plunder? Wasn't that something a young man from a noble family would do? She had never seen any decent family do such an ugly thing.

If he likes a concubine or a maid, that's all. If he likes her, he can just take her in.

But he just wants to get married.

Or forced marriage.

Gu Huaisheng was too upright. He had been law-abiding for twenty-one years. Although he didn't listen to her much, he had never done anything out of line or ugly. But now he insisted on doing something so unreasonable that she naturally found it hard to accept.

It's like a towering tree with good roots that suddenly grows into a crooked tree.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Madam Gu immediately said, "Don't make me angry. Marrying a wife is a big deal. What matters is that both parties love each other. You are not doing this right. Besides, your grandmother values ​​Jingchun the most. If she knew, you would want to anger her to death."

But even though Mrs. Gu said so much, Gu Huaisheng didn't even frown.

After a moment, he finally spoke, "There are very few things in the world where two people can be happy with each other."

"I feel that today is right and yesterday was wrong. All the things in the past were my fault, but people should always have some chance to repent. As for my grandmother, I will talk to her."

After all, if you want to get married, you have to go through the three matchmakers and six betrothal gifts clearly. If you want to hide it, you can't.

Mrs. Gu knew that Gu Huai had made up his mind. No matter how much she tried, she was afraid that she would not be able to persuade him. She stopped looking at him and just said, "You will not get any good results if you do this."

It won't end well.

In the silent night, Gu Huaisheng's voice was as faint as the cold moon. He smiled and said, "That's better than no result."

I don’t know when my cousin’s scar turned into a red mark lingering on my heart. The red mark on my hand can be healed by applying ointment, but what about the one on my heart?

Maybe it won’t get better, Gu Huaisheng thought.

But he would rather let her scratch red marks on his body than let the red marks in his heart grow deeper and deeper to the point where he could not extricate himself.

After Gu Huaisheng left, Mrs. Gu was still upset about this matter. It was not until Lord Gu came back that he discovered that something was wrong with her.

Lord Gu saw that she had not washed up until midnight, and she had been lying on the imperial concubine couch with a sullen look on her face, and no one knew what she was thinking about.

The servant said that Gu Huaisheng had just come and she had been like this since he left.

Lord Gu walked forward and sat down next to the imperial concubine's couch.

Mrs. Gu still didn't move.

Lord Gu went over to see her and saw that she was clearly awake, but she ignored him. He couldn't help but ask, "I heard that Fu Yan came. What happened to you? Did you have a quarrel with him?"

Madam Gu was angry with Gu Huaisheng, and even implicated Lord Gu. She still faced the wall and said angrily, "It's all your fault. You just sit by the river and fish all day long, and you don't even take care of your own son. Now the servants have become assholes. Let's see what you can do."

Lord Gu was inexplicably scolded but he was not angry. However, after hearing what she said, it seemed that it was indeed Gu Huaisheng who made her angry.

He asked, "What happened to him?"

Gu Huaisheng has become a mess? That's not the case.

Who wouldn't envy them for having such a son? How could he become a bad guy?

Mrs. Gu was furious when she heard this. "Do you know what he wants to do? He wants to marry his cousin!"

Gu Huaisheng married Jiang Jingchun? Lord Gu was also surprised, but after thinking about it, he felt that there was no problem. Why couldn't the two of them be together?

Why is she so angry?

"I said you only care about your few fish, and I was right! You really don't care about him at all. Look at Jingchun these days, there is no sign that she wants to marry him. I went back to visit my mother a few days ago, and I heard that she wanted to marry the boy from the Song family. How come he wants to marry her now? Jingchun didn't agree, so he forced her to marry him. Don't you think this is ridiculous?"

Unexpectedly, Lord Gu did not agree with her words, "There is nothing we can do about it. His cousin used to like to pester him. If you ignore him and I ignore him, then he will naturally like people who are willing to pay attention to him... If you really want to blame someone, don't just blame me, you have to blame yourself."

Neither of them could control Gu Huaisheng, so they simply ignored him. Although it was abnormal for Gu Huaisheng to be so obsessed with his cousin, it seemed reasonable when he thought about it carefully.

Although Lord Gu usually looks nonchalant and indifferent about everything he does, he actually knows everything in his heart.

Mrs. Gu didn't expect him to say that and was stunned for a long time.

"If it is destined to happen, it will happen. If it is not destined to happen, don't force it. It will not happen. Well, you and I didn't care about him before, but now we can't care about him anymore."

Even if we want to intervene, will it be useful?

In the past, he was willing to listen to his teacher, but after his teacher had a quarrel with him, he no longer listened to anyone else.

Lord Gu could only comfort Madam Gu in this way now. Even if she was reluctant, there was nothing she could do.

Seeing that she was still depressed, Lord Gu was silent for a moment and then said, "Why don't you go fishing with me in the suburbs of Beijing some other day to relax..."

"Will you die? You are deliberately trying to piss me off every day......!"

This made Mrs. Gu angry, and Marquis Gu started to appease her again. Fortunately, he was so busy making her angry that he had no time to make Huai Sheng angry.

After the two of them were quiet for a while, Lord Gu also lay down on the couch. Madam Gu pushed him away and said in disdain, "You have to squeeze in to do something in such a small space. Aren't you annoying?"

"It's crowded, not crowded."

After saying this, Lord Gu suddenly called out Madam Gu's name.

"A Ruo."

His sudden words made Mrs. Gu stunned for a moment. After reacting, she still said unhappily, "What?"

"Do you still remember the fight between Fu Yan and others when he was a child?"

The two of them lay side by side, facing the beams. After hearing what Lord Gu said, Mrs. Gu recalled the past.

What Lord Gu was talking about was an incident when Gu Huaisheng was about five or six years old and had a fight with someone else.

Gu Huaisheng has been a stable child since he was young. He didn't like to talk, laugh, or play when he was young. Maybe the things he liked were different from others, so he couldn't play with other children.

Except for the Jiang family's cousins.

Jiang Runchu has liked smart people since he was a child, so naturally he also likes this cousin from the Marquis's Mansion.

Gu Huaisheng didn't like to talk to him at first, but Jiang Runchu was really difficult to deal with. After all, he was one year older than him. In the end, he coaxed Gu Huaisheng into playing with him.

Seeing that Gu Huaisheng was a loner, Jiang Runchu wanted to encourage him to play with other children, so he took Gu Huaisheng to play with others in the crowd.

But no one knew what happened that day, when Jiang Runchu left for a while, Gu Huaisheng started fighting with others. He fought alone with a group of people and was covered with wounds. But even so, he alone made things difficult for the other group of people. One of the children was in the process of changing teeth and lost two teeth.

Naturally, the matter was eventually brought to the attention of the adults, and all the children said in unison that it was Gu Huaisheng who started it. Gu Huaisheng did not make any excuses and simply acknowledged it all.

In the end, the matter was not settled until Lord Gu and those people apologized and compensated them. After returning, Gu Huaisheng was punished by being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days.

No one knew why Gu Huaisheng went to fight with those people. Who would have known that a kid who usually didn't even like to talk would suddenly go crazy.

Mrs. Gu naturally remembered this incident. Over the years, Gu Huaisheng had always been trustworthy, except for the time when he had a fight with someone when he was a child.

Lord Gu turned his head and looked at her, saying, "Do you know why he fought with others?"

Mrs. Gu naturally didn't know. When she first found out that Gu Huaisheng had beaten someone, she was extremely angry. She didn't even care that he still had injuries on his body and she insisted on hitting him a few times to make him suffer.

She asked him why he hurt people.

But he refused to say anything, no matter how she beat him.

“Why?” she asked.

Lord Gu told her the whole story.

"I asked him when he was kneeling on his knees. He must have been only six years old at the time. He was so deceiving. He told me everything after just a little bluff."

"He said that he couldn't help but do it because those people said bad things about you."

When Jiang Ruo married into the Gu family, the Jiang family had not yet regained its glory. Compared with the Gu family, it was a poor family. After she followed the marriage arranged by her parents and married into the Gu family, many people were jealous. They always liked to talk about her family background. Even after Jiang Nan gradually gained some fame in the court, there were still many people who liked to talk about the past.

The more adults talk about it, the more children will hear it.

Lord Gu explained, "Children always treat people with introverted personalities as different from others. When Xiaosheng was young, he didn't like to talk and didn't like to pay attention to them, so they naturally couldn't stand it. They talked nonsense and learned everything the adults said at home."

Mrs. Gu naturally knew what those people would say. She had heard a lot of those unpleasant words in the past.

But she never knew that Gu Huaisheng fought with those people because of her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mrs. Gu's eyes turned red when she thought of the past.

That day she was so angry that she hit Gu Huaisheng several times with a stick.

"He won't let me tell you. He said if I tell you, he'll never talk to me again."

Didn't he fight with those people just because he didn't want them to say bad things about his mother? He also didn't want his mother to hear such ugly words.

Little Gu Huaisheng didn't understand what love was, he just didn't want those people to say bad things about his mother.

That's all.

Seeing her crying, Lord Gu quickly pulled her into his arms and said, "I told you long ago that being quiet just means that you don't like to talk much, but you didn't believe me. Later, you insisted on having Xiao Lang, so you never took care of him again."

When Mrs. Gu was pregnant with their second child, Gu Huaisheng said nothing. He respected his mother's choice, and what she couldn't get from him, she could get from others.

But he would no longer expect to gain anything from them.

His closest parents also gave up on him to some extent, but he didn't care much. He thought that no one in the world would give unconditional love and affection, including his parents.

Even the teacher, the once most beloved teacher who loved him as his favorite student, eventually drove him away easily.

No one can stand him, Gu Huaisheng thought.

So, when Jiang Jingchun was so persistent in the past, his first reaction was to question. He thought, no one would like him to that extent. All her girlish thoughts were actually moved by him.

However, it seemed that he underestimated her friendship.

She was like a little butterfly, flying around him for almost two years. His eyes gradually fell on the butterfly, and he was attracted by it. But later, the butterfly couldn't stand him anymore...

Lord Gu said: "Now even if I want to control it, I can't do it anymore. Now I can only let everything take its course."

Mrs. Gu shed tears silently, her heart ached so much that she finally stopped talking.

*

The next morning, Jiang Jingchun woke up from her room. She looked at the unfamiliar environment and furnishings and felt a little strange. Fortunately, Hua Yun came over to explain when she saw her wake up, "The young lady fell asleep yesterday, so she asked the young marquis to take her directly back to the marquis' mansion to rest."

Jiang Jingchun didn't expect that he had slept for so long that he even felt dizzy and uncomfortable.

Huayun asked her if she wanted to have breakfast.

After all, I have slept since yesterday and didn't even have dinner yesterday. I am probably still hungry now.

Just as Hua Yun finished speaking, Jiang Jingchun's stomach growled.

From the sound, I can tell he is really hungry.

Hua Yun was about to bring breakfast, but was stopped by Jiang Jingchun.

She said, "No hurry, go outside and use it."

She wanted to go to Chen's house first. She didn't know how Song Xuan'an did in the autumn exam, and whether that incident would affect him in the end. Moreover, she had said that she would pick him up after the autumn exam, but she left without saying goodbye. She didn't know if Chen Muqing had told him about her situation.

I have to explain it to him clearly, otherwise it doesn't make sense to keep silent like this...

Let’s go to Chen’s house first. Then let Song Xuan’an go to Chen’s house to make things clear.

Thinking of this, Jiang Jingchun got up and went outside. She used to come to this place often. After passing the corridor and leaving the courtyard, she knew where she was. When she turned around, she saw Gu Huaisheng's courtyard next to her.

As soon as Jiang Jingchun was about to go out, the people in his yard saw him and ran in to report to him.

After a while, Gu Huai's voice came out.

He took big steps and quickly caught up with Jiang Jingchun who was about to go out.

He didn't stop her, but followed her and asked, "You woke up so early and didn't even have breakfast, where did you go?"

I didn't have dinner yesterday, aren't you hungry now? Where are you going in such a hurry?

Jiang Jingchun didn't want to pay attention to him at first, but suddenly thought of something else and replied to him.

She turned her head to look at him and said calmly, "Oh, I'll go find Song Xuan'an."

Jiang Jingchun is in good spirits now and has returned to the capital. Could it be that she is still afraid of him?

Gu Huaisheng's eyelids twitched when he heard these three words, but at least his expression didn't change. He pretended not to care and asked, "Why are you looking for him so early in the morning? Let's have breakfast first..."

Jiang Jingchun just laughed when she heard this. She interrupted him and said sarcastically, "Why? We haven't even gotten married yet, and you want to control me. But what status do you have to control me now? Cousin? Or what? If it's my cousin, I might listen to him, but I never listen to my husband."

The expression on Gu Huaisheng's face finally faded, and he pursed his lips in silence.

Jiang Jingchun was not afraid of his expression, and even continued to provoke him, "Why don't you just be my cousin? Don't marry me, and I promise to treat you like a guest of honor, and I will listen to whatever you say."