Chapter 44 Chapter 44

Gu Huaisheng laughed instead of getting angry when he heard this, "What's the point of being a guest of honor? It's better to be your husband."

This man was fickle and shameless. Jiang Jingchun couldn't argue with Gu Huaisheng. She wanted to make him angry, but his words always made her feel annoyed. So she simply ignored him and walked out on her own.

Seeing her leaving without even looking back, Gu Huai called out to her, "Go back later. I'll bring you something."

Gu Huaisheng leaned over to whisper something to Shuliang, and then he disappeared without a trace.

Jiang Jingchun frowned and looked at him in confusion. What did he want to do? Did he need to bring something with him when he went out?

Seeing her impatience, Gu Huai said in a friendly voice: "It won't be a problem if you wait a little longer. It will be quick."

His attitude was too serious, so even if Jiang Jingchun was angry, she couldn't get angry. She turned away with a cold face to see what he was talking about.

Not long after, Shuliang came over and brought Gu Huailang with him.

Gu Huailang was half asleep and looked like he had just been woken up.

Jiang Jingchun was stunned for a moment. So this is what he was talking about? ?

Before she could react, Gu Huai's voice had already reached Gu Huailang's ear. It was unknown what they said, but Gu Huailang insisted on going out with her.

"Are you sick?" Jiang Jingchun looked at the child who insisted on following her and cursed at Gu Huaisheng angrily.

After all this time, the person he was talking about is Gu Huailang?

It was a pity that she really stayed here to wait for him. How could she invite Gu Huailang here? How could she be convenient to go out with a child?

Gu Huaisheng pretended not to hear her and looked at her with a smile, "I'll wait for you to come back for lunch."

If Gu Huailang went with him, Jiang Jingchun wouldn't have to do anything. Besides, this way she could go back to Gu's house later and wouldn't be gone forever.

Jiang Jingchun was still glaring at Gu Huaisheng. She had never known that this man could be so shameless and scheming. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she saw Gu Huailang approach her, grab her hand and say, "Cousin, don't you like me? Don't you want me to go out with you? I promise I won't bother you, just take me with you."

Gu Huailang was talking in a soft voice, his eyes were hazy, and he was clearly very sleepy, but he was still forcing himself to go out. You shouldn't hit someone who smiles at you, and why should she vent her anger on a child? She stopped looking at Gu Huailang, held his hand and went out.

Watching the two people's backs gradually disappear, Shuliang reported what happened in the brothel yesterday.

Shu Liang said, "Sir, we have already found out that the person behind the madam is just the local magistrate. They are cunning and have secret dealings with each other. On weekdays, the black-hearted magistrate covers up the madam's buying and selling of girls and turns a blind eye to everything. The madam also shares the profits from the brothel with the government."

Gu Huaisheng guessed that this would most likely be the case.

Relying on the fact that the emperor is far away, no one cares about the affairs of small places. However, a county magistrate dares to be so rampant. You know how chaotic the situation is under the county.

Shu Liang didn't know what he was thinking about, and he couldn't help but sighed and said, "If only the new policy had been pushed forward... then those people under him wouldn't be so rampant and arrogant..."

Shuliang's voice became quieter and quieter, and the two of them were silent. After a long while, Gu Huaisheng finally spoke: "When the time comes, you can send someone to take my token to see the county magistrate. He knows what to do."

Shu Liang received the order and turned around to handle the matter, but was stopped by Gu Huaisheng, "Wait, do you know who those kidnappers are?"

"I'll go call the secret guard to answer the call."

Not long after, the secret guards came to Gu Huaisheng's yard.

The male secret guard was punished when he came back and is still recovering from his injuries. The only one who spoke to him was the female secret guard.

She said, "That group of people have been following Miss Jiang since they left the capital. I'm afraid the people in the capital want to attack her."

Gu Huaisheng asked, "Just follow?"

"Yes, they seem to have martial arts skills, and they don't look like ordinary people. Apart from kidnapping the young lady to a brothel, they have never been seen before."

Those people acted cautiously, not like ordinary people.

Hearing this, Gu Huaisheng had almost made up his mind. Who else could hate her so much just for selling her to a brothel to torture her?

*

On the other side, Jiang Jingchun took Gu Huailang on the carriage and went directly to Chen's house.

In the carriage, Jiang Jingchun couldn't help but ask Gu Huaisheng what he had just said to him and why he insisted on following.

Children sleep a lot. Gu Huailang usually still sleeps at this time. Today is the first time he gets up so early. He lies on the chair in the carriage, resting his head on Jiang Jingchun's legs and still catching up on his sleep.

After hearing Jiang Jingchun's words, he still didn't get up. He told the truth in a daze. He said, "My brother asked me if I wanted my cousin to be his sister-in-law. I said yes, and then he let me come with him."

Jiang Jingchun didn't look happy. He even wanted to deceive and use a child. He really used every possible means.

She said nothing more, rubbed his head, and let him go back to sleep.

Not long after, the carriage arrived at Chen's house, and she went straight to find Chen Muqing.

When Chen Muqing saw her coming back, he couldn't help but be surprised and puzzled. What happened? It had only been less than two days since she left, so how come she came back?

Jiang Jingchun carried Gu Huailang into the room and let him continue to sleep on the bed. She replied as she moved, "He found me not even a day after he left Gongyuan. I had no choice but to come back."

Afraid that Chen Muqing would worry, Jiang Jingchun hid the matter of the brothel.

Chen Muqing found it strange. She said, "How is it possible? You left three days before him, and he caught up with you in less than a day? How strange."

Did he know which direction she would run?

It was indeed strange, and Jiang Jingchun couldn't figure it out.

Forget it. There is no point in thinking about these things now. After all, she is back. And the incident at the brothel did leave a shadow on her. Now when she thinks of that slap, her face still hurts.

Fortunately, after applying the ointment yesterday, my face doesn’t hurt much anymore. After a good night’s sleep, the redness and swelling on my face have also subsided a lot, and now there is nothing strange to be seen.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Chen Muqing wanted to say something, but then she heard Jiang Jingchun asking about Song Xuan'an.

"He came to look for you yesterday, and I didn't know how to explain it to him, so I just brushed it off. But seeing that he is a person who will get to the bottom of things, I'm afraid he will come again..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Song Xuan'an's voice came from outside.

Song Xuan'an was also a frequent visitor to the Chen family. He had been coming here quite often in recent times. Later, Chen Muqing simply let him in without saying hello.

Song Xuan'an came early this morning still wanting to bother Chen Muqing and ask her about Jiang Jingchun's whereabouts, but who knew that when he arrived he saw Jiang Jingchun sitting here just fine.

Song Xuan'an was stunned for a moment and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

When he saw that she was sitting there quietly, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Jiang Jingchun, where have you been? Didn't you say you would wait for me at the gate of Gongyuan? Why can't I see you when I come out?"

When Song Xuan'an thought of her suddenly disappearing, he couldn't help feeling anxious. His voice became a little loud, waking up Gu Huailang who was sleeping on the couch.

Seeing that he was about to wake up, Jiang Jingchun quickly touched his head twice to comfort him. She asked Chen Muqing to help coax him and wanted to pull Song Xuan'an out to talk.

But Gu Huailang stubbornly pulled Jiang Jingchun's sleeve and wouldn't let her go out. There was no other way, he could only say whatever he wanted to say here.

She first explained where she had been for the past two days. She said, "Don't worry, I just went out of town for three days."

"Is it fun outside, cousin?" Gu Huailang interrupted from the side.

Jiang Jingchun said, "Children should not interrupt when adults are talking." Then he covered his ears.

Gu Huailang pursed his lips, but at least he didn't say anything else.

Song Xuan'an noticed something was wrong and asked her, "Why did you leave suddenly?"

Jiang Jingchun didn't know how to answer him for a moment, so she changed the subject and asked him, "Why did you bring such a thing to the imperial examination that day?"

She naturally didn't believe that the gold foil with the cheat sheet was brought in by Song Xuan'an, but who gave him the pen? Did Song Xuan'an know that he had been cheated?

Song Xuan'an didn't quite understand what Jiang Jingchun meant. Was she talking about the gold foil?

He asked, "You mean the gold foil with Buddhist words written on it?"

As soon as Song Xuan'an said this, Jiang Jingchun and Chen Muqing looked at each other.

It seems that he really doesn't know about that.

The gold foil was originally inscribed with the Four Books and Five Classics, not Buddhist scriptures. I think it was later replaced by Gu Huaisheng.

They didn't know how to start talking for a moment. Seeing their reaction, Song Xuan'an became even more anxious, "Don't be silent! You're driving me crazy."

This hesitant look makes people anxious for no reason.

It was Jiang Jingchun who spoke first. She said, "Song Xuan'an... the words written on the gold foil were not Buddhist words at first."

After hearing her words, Song Xuan'an felt his head buzzing and his breathing stopped for a moment.

"What did you say?" He obviously didn't quite believe what Jiang Jingchun said.

Jiang Jingchun also knew that he was probably tricked by someone, but if he didn't tell him the truth, he might not be able to recognize the man's true face now, so Jiang Jingchun still opened his mouth and said the next words.

She looked at Song Xuan'an and said, "The first thing written on the gold foil is actually about the imperial examination."

Song Xuan'an's pupils suddenly widened.

Jiang Jingchun said that the gold foil had information about the imperial examination, so wouldn't it be considered cheating if he brought it in? This pen was given to him by Song Xuanjing, so if there was something wrong with it, could it be that he wanted to harm him?

Song Xuan'an couldn't believe what he heard.

Brother wants to harm him? But since he was a child, he is the one who has treated him the best.

Whoever harms him can't be him.

But who would put gold foil with words on it in the pen tube for the exam? Even if it was Buddhist words, it shouldn't be done. It was clearly stipulated that things with words on them could not be brought into the Gongyuan, but Gu Huaisheng was later allowed to enter.

That’s not right...why would Gu Huaisheng let him off the hook?

He felt a sharp pain in his head, and everything seemed to become clearer.

So...in the beginning, what was written on the gold foil was not actually Buddhist teachings, but evidence of his fraud, right?

Gu Huaisheng's real leniency was to replace the original gold foil with the current gold foil with Buddhist words written on it.

He said it was so strange that everyone else in the prison had been convicted that day, but he was the only one who had not been convicted yet.

He didn't understand, he really didn't understand why Song Xuanjing wanted to harm him.

He really wanted to destroy him.

But why would Gu Huaisheng help him?

Gu Huaisheng always seemed to have an inexplicable hostility towards him. He didn't understand why at first, but later, he found that Gu Huaisheng always looked at Jiang Jingchun with strange eyes, so strange that he couldn't ignore it.

He seemed to understand something gradually.

Song Xuan'an looked at Jiang Jingchun. He felt his throat was extremely dry. He asked her in a hoarse voice, "Will you still marry me?"

Jiang Jingchun didn't say anything, she lowered her head.

Song Xuanan asked again, "Did you go to ask him for help?"

This was probably the only reason he could think of.

If Jiang Jingchun didn't go to beg him, why would he let him go? He looked at Gu Huailang beside him again, thinking that they must have come out of Gu's house together just now.

Song Xuan'an's eyes were already a little red.

He almost choked up and said, "How can you ask him for help?"

Gu Huaisheng was willing to help her, not him.

He saved him, he must have asked for something from Jiang Jingchun.

He was choking up so hard that tears were about to flow out of his eyes. "Jiang Jingchun, answer me, will you still marry me?"

Not to mention Jiang Jingchun, even Chen Muqing couldn't stand it anymore. It was too unlucky. Everything was fine except for that one crucial step. But now, everything was in a mess.

Jiang Jingchun had never seen Song Xuan'an cry before, and her eyes were sore from watching him. She said, "Forget it... Song Xuan'an, why don't you just forget it..."

Song Xuan'an almost cried when he heard this, "What does it matter? How can I just let it go?"

Jiang Jingchun couldn't answer him, and she couldn't bear to see him like this anymore, so she pulled Gu Huailang up from the couch and prepared to leave.

Song Xuan'an was unwilling to do so. He grabbed her arm and insisted, "Jiang Jingchun, how could you lie?"

Jiang Jingchun didn't want this to happen, but there was nothing she could do. Things had come to this point, what else could she do?

Her eyes also turned red, and she said to Song Xuan'an: "It's okay, Song Xuan'an, you will meet other people. There is no reason in this world that you must be with someone. It's unlikely for us to be together. I'm sorry."

Her words were like a sickle, tearing away layer after layer of his flesh.

"Let go, Song Xuan'an."

Jiang Jingchun said to him.

But even though she said so, he still stubbornly refused to let go of her hand. He knew that once he let go, maybe everything would be over.

I'm sorry...it's not her who should be sorry, what can he do to make her feel sorry?

"You can't do this to me, Jiang Jingchun."

Just because her brother betrayed him, would she abandon him too?

"Are you afraid that I won't pass the exam this time? Wait for me, just wait for me..."

But before he could continue, Jiang Jingchun interrupted him and said, "I'm going to marry my cousin."

As soon as Jiang Jingchun said this, all Song Xuan'an's words were stuck in his throat.

She said she was going to marry her cousin...

All the strength in his body seemed to be drained by these words, and his hands gradually lost strength.

Jiang Jingchun couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so she pulled her hand back and pulled Gu Huailang away.

Her figure gradually disappeared.

Even after Jiang Jingchun left, Song Xuan'an did not react for a long time, his eyes fixed on the direction she left.

His eyes were extremely red. The young man who was usually full of vigor and vitality looked so miserable at this moment.

Seeing him like this, Chen Muqing couldn't help but feel a little worried. When had he ever been like this before?

She asked tentatively, "Are you okay, Song Xuanan?"

It took Song Xuan'an a long time to react. He shook his head as a response to Chen Muqing, and finally walked out with a staggering step.

Chen Muqing was scared to see him like this, but fortunately, although he was a little shaky, he didn't fall after all.

The two men left, and the matter was finally settled today.

This is indeed not fair to Song Xuan'an.

But who is this fair to? We can only blame the culprit who messed up everything.

Chen Muqing sighed and stopped thinking about it.

*

After saying this, Jiang Jingchun took Gu Huailang back to Gu's home.

On the way, thinking of Song Xuan'an's expression just now, I couldn't help but shed tears.

Gu Huailang was almost awake by now. He sat aside and watched her crying, not daring to say anything. He climbed onto a chair, knelt beside her, and kept wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

But the more she wiped, the harder she cried.

"Cousin, why are you crying?"

He just saw that the young man in the room also had red eyes, and he didn't quite understand what they were both crying about.

Jiang Jingchun didn't answer him, but just kept crying, so Gu Huailang didn't say anything else.

When they were almost at Gu's house, Jiang Jingchun had already wiped away her tears. She returned to the yard where she lived yesterday and asked Hua Yun to send Gu Huailang back.

Gu Huaisheng heard that Jiang Jingchun looked unhappy after returning, so he got up and went to look for Gu Huailang.

He asked him directly, "Did you hear what the two of them said?"

Gu Huailang looked up at him, "Are you talking to a brother?"

Gu Huaisheng sat next to him and nodded.

Gu Huailang answered him truthfully. He said, "My cousin seemed to have said something that she couldn't marry him, and then the young man grabbed her hand and wouldn't let go. Then my cousin said sorry and said she was going to marry my cousin, and then the young man let go."

Gu Huailang spoke out what he heard as if he was reciting a text. Except for the first part where his cousin was annoyed with him and covered his ears so he didn't hear anything, he recited everything the other two people said.

Gu Huaisheng understood what Gu Huailang said. He didn't show any emotion after hearing this. He even touched his head and praised him, "Yeah, that's amazing. You remember everything."

Gu Huailang did not seem happy after being praised. He asked Gu Huaisheng, "Brother, is it possible that my cousin is not willing to marry you? Otherwise, why did she cry on the way back?"

I cried.

After hearing what Gu Huailang said, Gu Huaisheng realized that she was crying.

I thought she was just in a bad mood, but I didn't expect that she actually cried for him.

Seeing that Gu Huaisheng did not answer, Gu Huailang asked him the same question again.

Gu Huaisheng lied to him casually, "Why are you crying... Maybe you're sad because you think you won't be able to play with your friends after you get married."

"Why not?"

"Because your brother is stingy."

She cried every time she saw him, how could that be tolerated.

They were two people who were almost getting married, why else would she cry for him?

Is she now regretting this relationship that ended without success?

After asking the question, Gu Huaisheng did not stay with Gu Huailang any longer, but he did not go to find Jiang Jingchun immediately after returning.

She was probably not in a good mood at the moment, and if he showed his face in front of her, he would probably be scolded by her.

But until noon, she didn't come out for lunch. He asked Shuliang to run errands to deliver the meal, but the meal was finally delivered intact.

Gu Huaisheng personally brought a bowl of porridge over.

When Hua Yun saw Gu Huaisheng coming, she was still hesitating whether to go in and say something to Jiang Jingchun, but was interrupted by Gu Huaisheng who raised his hand and pushed open the door and went into the house.

Seeing Jiang Jingchun curled up on the imperial concubine's couch, he could roughly guess that she must have cried several times after she came back.

He walked to the couch and placed the porridge on the table.

Jiang Jingchun slept almost a whole day and night yesterday, so she was naturally not sleepy now. She had cried several times while lying on the couch and was still grieving. She heard someone coming in from outside and more or less guessed that the person was Gu Huaisheng.

But she still didn't respond.

Gu Huaisheng didn't ask her why she didn't eat, nor did he ask her why she was crying. He knew all the reasons and there was really no need to ask further.

He just said, "Let's go back to Jiang's house to see grandma later."

Jiang Jingchun said nothing.

Gu Huaisheng lifted his robe and sat on the couch beside him, and began to talk to himself, "I think you are not willing to tell your aunt about this, so I will tell my grandmother. I think there is no need to ask for marriage proposal or name, and I can just directly propose marriage and get engaged..."

The marriage can be completed after six ceremonies. Their two families are familiar with each other, and Gu Huaisheng is not a person who sticks to rules. It is not a big deal if they don't need to worry about the previous proposal and name-asking. As long as they agree to the marriage proposal and make an alliance, and then have the grand ceremony, they can get married after asking for the date.

Since Jiang Jingchun is unwilling to deal with Li, then just discuss these matters with the old lady. The two families are relatives, so it doesn't matter now.

His voice was as clear and gentle as usual, but to Jiang Jingchun it was like adding fuel to the fire.

She turned around, looked at him and laughed coldly: "Oh, you are so thoughtful and considerate. People who don't know would think you are a good person."

He thought everything was so good, so why didn't he think about whether she was willing to marry him? In her opinion, he was just pretending.

Jiang Jingchun was lying on the couch, her eyes looking at him were slightly red and swollen, it looked like she had cried too much. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and there was a bit of impatience in her eyes.

But when Gu Huaisheng saw her eyes, there was no emotion in them.

It doesn't matter. She just met Song Xuan'an today, and it's normal for her to be angry with him because of him. But it doesn't matter. This friendship between them will eventually become a thing of the past. She can be upset about this matter today and cry for a while. After crying, she can't take it to heart anymore.

He said, "You said I'm not a good person, but I was the one who helped him this time."

When Jiang Jingchun heard these shameless words, his brows furrowed even more, and the anger in his eyes became harder to conceal.

Guang would only use this matter to pressure her. Apart from saying these, is there anything else he would say?

Gu Huaisheng reached out and brought the porridge from the table next to him. He scooped a spoonful and put it to her lips.

Jiang Jingchun didn't open his mouth and turned his head away.

Seeing her like this, Gu Huaisheng's smile finally faded. He said, "Didn't you say that day that you wanted to make me regret it, and torture myself to do something? Do you know why grandma has stomach problems? When she was young, she couldn't eat, so her stomach was damaged by hunger. Now you always torture yourself, I'm afraid you will also suffer from this disease when you are old."

Come and lecture her again.

Jiang Jingchun raised her eyes to look at him and asked in a neutral tone, "Do you want to be my husband or my father? Song Xuan'an never lectures me."

She knew best how to make him angry.

The more Gu Huaisheng disliked something, the more she wanted to do it. He said something right: why should she torture herself? She should torture him.

As expected, as soon as she said this, the already faint smile on Gu Huaisheng's lips completely disappeared.

Why did she always mention Song Xuan'an in front of him? He didn't want to hear this name from her.

It's too harsh.

Gu Huaisheng sighed helplessly and asked her, "You really don't want to drink?"