Chapter 56 Chapter 56

Gu Huaisheng was being stared at by them, so he had no choice but to take out the candied haws and hand them to Jiang Jingchun.

He said, "I bought this on my way home. Try it."

He knew that Jiang Jingchun liked to eat sweets, so when the wind blew up the car curtains, he thought of buying her a string of candied haws to take home.

Jiang Jingchun saw what Gu Huaisheng was holding, then looked at Gu Huaisheng, with a strange look in his eyes.

What is he doing?

It was a bit incongruous to see Gu Huaisheng holding the candied haws. Everyone understood what was going on and waited for Jiang Jingchun's reaction.

Jiang Jingchun didn't seem to have any emotional changes. After a moment of surprise, she quickly reacted.

She took the candied haws and handed it to Gu Huailang who was looking at her with sharp eyes.

From the moment he saw the Tanghulu, his eyes began to light up.

Jiang Jingchun naturally wouldn't snatch it from Gu Huailang. As an adult, she could control her appetite. But Gu Huailang was just a child. When he saw the candied haws, he stared at them without any concealment.

Gu Huailang looked at the candied haws that Jiang Jingchun handed him, but did not move. Instead, he glanced at Gu Huaisheng's expression. He knew that the candied haws were bought by his brother for his sister-in-law, so he did not dare to take it...

He shook his head and said to Jiang Jingchun, "Sister-in-law, I'm a boy. I don't like eating these sweet things. You eat it."

After hearing this, Jiang Jingchun smiled and still stuffed the candied haws into his hand.

"There's nothing a boy can't eat. Besides, you're still a child."

When Gu Huailang heard this, he was still blinking and looking at Gu Huaisheng's eyes.

Seeing this, Gu Huaisheng could only say to Gu Huailang: "Your sister-in-law gives it to you, just eat it and watch what I do."

It makes him seem so stingy...he even hides a candied haws.

Gu Huailang did not continue to talk, and finally took the candied haws from Jiang Jingchun's hand. He opened the outer sugar coating, handed the candied haws to Jiang Jingchun's mouth, and said, "Sister-in-law, you eat first."

Jiang Jingchun was not polite either, and was quite pleased that Gu Huailang thought of her first.

She said, "Thank you, Xiaolang, for thinking of my sister-in-law first."

Gu Huailang also laughed when he heard this and ate the candied haws with satisfaction.

Not long after, the card game here was over, and Jiang Jingchun finally won the game as he wished. After the cards were settled, the maid went to bring back dinner, and Gu Huailang was also taken back to Cangzhuoyuan.

Gu Huaisheng and Jiang Jingchun walked side by side to the main room.

The autumn hunt will arrive in two days. Gu Huaisheng said to Jiang Jingchun, "We will have to set out early in the morning. I guess we will have to go through some procedures early in the morning. Go to bed early tomorrow. I'm afraid the autumn hunt will be a bit tiring."

The last autumn hunt was two years ago, and Jiang Jingchun vaguely remembered the process. After recalling it, she thought that day was indeed very tiring.

The emperor led all the officials to the royal enclosure in order to improve the relationship between the emperor and his subjects. The royal nobles gathered together and had to think twice before speaking. In the previous autumn hunt, she was watched by Jiang Nan for several days, and she was always nervous, fearing that something would go wrong.

After hearing Gu Huaisheng's reminder, Jiang Jingchun didn't say anything more.

He said "hmm" and ended the conversation.

Gu Huaisheng said again: "Cousin, you have to follow me closely."

Under such circumstances, Gu Huaisheng's words could be said to be sudden.

Jiang Jingchun didn't understand what he wanted to do, and frowned at him. Gu Huaisheng lowered his eyes and continued what Jiang Jingchun said last time. He said: "After all, Wang Shunting and I don't get along. If you don't pull his beard, he might go and make trouble for you. You have to follow me. I'm afraid others will bully you if you are somewhere else."

*

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for autumn hunting.

At the end of October, the wind was already biting cold.

Early in the morning of that day, everyone in the Gu family got up.

Jiang Jingchun didn't want to sleep in that day, but she got up too early. Before she could react, she was pulled up by Gu Huaisheng. Hua Yun took the clothes she was going to wear today and put them aside.

Gu Huaisheng didn't wake her up, leaving her half asleep and half awake, then he pulled her hand and started to put clothes on her.

Fortunately, she didn't resist much. Although she couldn't wake up, Shang was honest and didn't get impatient after being forcibly pulled out of bed. Gu Huaisheng was strong and he put it on her in just a few seconds.

Women's clothes were complicated, but he knew how to put them on after just looking at them in his hands, and Hua Yun couldn't make any mistakes just by watching from the side.

After putting on her clothes, Jiang Jingchun finally came to her senses.

She stood up and sat at the table to let Huayun do her makeup.

After finishing their makeup, the group went out and met Madam Gu and Lord Gu at the gate, and then went to the Meridian Gate together.

It was still early in the morning, and the sky was about to get light, but many officials were already standing at the Meridian Gate, bringing their families with them. The vermilion palace walls surrounded the sky and earth, and the yellow glazed tiles glowed faintly in the morning light. The bluestone and red walls were solemn and dignified.

The Jiang family members were nearby; they had arrived earlier and went to greet the Gu family members when they saw them coming.

The old lady is old, so it is not convenient for her to go out for autumn hunting. She did not come with us today. People from the second branch of the Jiang family also came with us today. The Jiang and Gu families got together and did not separate anymore. They stood in the same place.

Jiang Jingchun listened to their greetings and stood aside without saying anything.

At this time, Jiang Jingfang, who had never gotten along well with Jiang Jingchun in the past, came over. Seeing Jiang Jingchun standing alone and not saying a word, she wanted to provoke her.

"Jiang Jingchun, what do you think I should call you now? Should I call you cousin? Or should I call you Madam Young Marquis?"

When Jiang Jingchun chased Gu Huaisheng, she thought he was delusional. Who knew he would succeed? Was her cousin so easy to chase? If she had known this, she would have tried it.

Maybe now she can become the wife of a young marquis.

Hearing Jiang Jingfang's sour words, Jiang Jingchun couldn't help but retort to her: "What's wrong with you? Call me whatever you want."

Why does she always come here to bother me? She was annoying even when she was in the Jiang family before she got married. Why does she still come here to bother me now that she's married?

Jiang Jingfang, however, refused to give in. She whispered ridicules to her. The people around her were busy chatting with each other and no one noticed what was happening there.

She said, "You are amazing. Your cousin didn't treat you well in the past. What did you do in the end? After Jiang Jinghui came back, you thought about getting married. You felt uncomfortable because she took your place, didn't you?"

She turned the topic to Jiang Jinghui, and from the tone of her voice, she wanted to drag her into saying bad things about Jiang Jinghui.

Actually...compared to Jiang Jingchun, Jiang Jingfang still dislikes the later Jiang Jinghui more.

Not to mention that once she came back, Jiang Jingfang went from being the Second Miss Jiang to the Third Miss Jiang, a whole lower status. Besides, this Jiang Jinghui was a double-faced person, and was much smarter than Jiang Jingchun...

Jiang Jingfang didn't like the people in the first wife's house, and after Jiang Jinghui came back, she deliberately tried to stir up trouble.

Jiang Jingfang shuddered when she thought of what happened last time.

That day she went to find Jiang Jinghui and deliberately said some words to sow discord in front of her. She said how good Li Wanning was to Jiang Jingchun, and said that it would be useless even if Jiang Jinghui came back, because they treated Jiang Jingchun the same way before, and even if she came back, they would still love Jiang Jingchun the most.

Jiang Jingfang now deeply regrets what she said to Jiang Jinghui that day.

Jiang Jinghui didn't react at first after hearing what she said, and even laughed. Just that laugh made Jiang Jingfang feel creepy. Later, Jiang Jinghui found an opportunity to trick her to the backyard, where she sent everyone away and pushed her into the water...

She couldn't swim and was drowned, almost losing her life. Just when she was about to sink to the bottom of the lake, Jiang Jinghui started shouting for help.

When Jiang Jingfang was rescued, she was barely breathing and almost died.

She pointed out Jiang Jinghui to others, but the person who viciously pushed her into the water was now crying...

Later, she was recuperating in her room. Jiang Jinghui came to see her twice. Each time, she was so scared that she couldn't eat.

This person is really too scary, but she is so good at pretending that no one believes what she says.

Since then, Jiang Jingfang never dared to provoke her again.

Even avoid it.

She was afraid of Jiang Jinghui, but not Jiang Jingchun.

Now she was talking to Jiang Jingchun about all this just because she wanted to hear her say bad things about Jiang Jinghui. She thought, she couldn't let her dislike her alone.

Jiang Jinghui is back, so Jiang Jingchun must be upset, right? So upset that she immediately married herself off.

Jiang Jingchun felt confused when she heard her say these words. She thought Jiang Jingfang was a little annoyed, but just as she was about to speak, Gu Huaisheng reached out his hand and quietly pulled her to his side.

He was still talking to Jiang Runchu about something, and he just pulled her over. He continued talking, but glanced coldly in Jiang Jingfang's direction.

The look in his eyes was so cold and indifferent that Jiang Jingfang felt inexplicably frightened. She saw everything he did. Although he didn't say anything, she guessed what he meant.

It’s so cold... Jiang Jingfang felt chilled all over by this glance.

Each of them was difficult to deal with. After this incident, Jiang Jingfang didn't dare to provoke Jiang Jingchun again and returned to her mother with her neck shrunk.

Most of the ministers and officials had arrived, and then around the hour of noon, the Meridian Gate opened, and the Emperor and Empress finally appeared.

The sound of the crowd's conversation faded away in an instant, and silence fell immediately.

Wang Shun also came out with Emperor Taihe and the others.

In the past, when the emperor was still young, Wang Shun would always stay by his side to take care of him. This lasted for twenty years, and until now, Wang Shun would naturally follow the emperor to any important occasions.

The most treacherous person is the one who takes advantage of his position to seize power.

Following the emperor and empress, they were all blessed by the emperor's* divine light.

But Emperor Taihe himself doesn't care.

When the ministers saw the emperor coming out, they shouted in salute.

Finally, at the Emperor Taihe's command, "My dear ministers, please stand up," he stood up straight.

Emperor Taihe was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a golden crown. Compared with the young emperor a dozen years ago, the current emperor looked much more grown up, with a majestic demeanor and every move he made exuded the aura of an emperor.

When all the ministers met, the Empress Dowager also came out, and now Wang Shun followed her.

If the relationship between the emperor and Wang Shun was so good, it was closely related to the empress dowager.

The late emperor entrusted his son to Wang Shun, and even the Empress Dowager and Wang Shun had a very good relationship. The two of them raised Emperor Taihe together. When he was a teenager, Wang Shun would often go in and out of the Empress Dowager's palace to discuss important cabinet affairs with her.

In many matters, including the education of the emperor, the empress dowager followed Wang Shun's arrangements.

Therefore, many people speculated whether there was something unknown between the two.

When Wang Shun was a newly crowned top scholar, he was even known as "Pine Wind, Water Moon".

When the Queen Mother was still the Queen, I heard that there was an old story between the two of them.

But not many people know about these past events, and even fewer people mention them. Until now, except for some elderly people, no one knows about the past events between them.

All I know is that now, Wang Shun and the Empress Dowager have a good relationship.

The Empress Dowager was over fifty years old, but because she took good care of herself, she looked much younger than her age. There were only a few silver hairs on her hair, and even her skin had few wrinkles, and her youthful appearance could still be vaguely seen.

Filial piety was highly valued in this dynasty, and Emperor Taihe was very respectful to the Empress Dowager. He first escorted the Empress Dowager to the phoenix sedan chair in front of all the ministers, and then he and the Empress boarded the throne together.

The emperor and his ministers met here, and after setting off, they dispersed and went to their own carriages. The ministers prepared to set off for the royal enclosure, escorted by the Guards and the Imperial Guard.

Jinyiwei envoy Xiao Lun was now following Wang Shun.

He reported to him a long-standing incident, saying, "Sir, someone really saw the young master being drowned."

Wang Shun's eyelids twitched when he heard this.

There was no one around them, only the two of them talking.

Wang Yu was killed in Jiangnan and drowned. He stayed in the water for a whole night and was pulled out the next day. After being in the water all night, his body was swollen and almost unrecognizable.

Wang Shun had thought that Wang Yu would not be able to attend the ceremony this year, so he would make it up to him after Wang Yu returned. But how come Wang Yu died the day before the ceremony? Wang Shun rushed to Jiangnan overnight and retrieved his body.

There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart, and the pain of an old person seeing a young person die is especially severe.

They said Wang Yu fell into the water and died.

But he didn't believe it.

He wanted to investigate, but Jiangnan is such a big place with so many people, how could he investigate it all at once? In addition, he was also dealing with Wang Yu's funeral, so he didn't have time to take care of it for a while.

When I wanted to look for it again, it was even more difficult.

His son must have been murdered.

His eyes naturally fell on Jiang Nan, who was also in the south.

He heard that before Wang Yu died, Jiang Nan had a lot of contact with him, and the day he fell into the water was the day Jiang Nan invited him out.

It’s Jiang Nan.

There will be no one else but him.

At the beginning, both of them were fighting for that piece of land. Jiang Nan was ambitious and unscrupulous in order to revive his family.

He must have used some dirty tricks to kill Wang Yu.

But he has been unable to find any clues over the years.

He is powerful, but he is far from being all-powerful.

He is just a more powerful official.

An official is an official. No matter how much imperial power he seizes, he is still just an official.

Jiangnan is too big and too far away. After searching for so long, he finally found something. It was worth his support for Xiao Lun.

At the beginning, he supported Xiao Lun in order to make it easier to use the power of the Imperial Guard to investigate what happened back then.

Wang Shun asked him, "How did the young master die?"

Xiao Lun leaned over to his ear and whispered what happened that year.

Wang Shun couldn't help but tremble when he heard this.

The sky was bright, but he could hear everything going dark before his eyes.

He knew that Wang Yu would not have drowned by himself. When he was a child, he accidentally fell into the water once. Since then, he has been extremely afraid of water and usually wants to stay away from water as far as possible.

It was fine, how could it fall into the water?

Even though he knew there was a conspiracy behind what happened back then, he still couldn't help but have a heart attack after hearing what Xiao Lun said.

He said...Wang Yu was drowned to death by a group of people.

Someone got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and happened to see that scene. Years later, when he recalled the incident, he still shivered with cold.

It was a dark and windy night. The pitch-black night was endless, without even a single star.

Wang Yu was at the riverside, surrounded by a group of people.

They said he was a corrupt official from the capital.

They said he was an evil spirit who had come to steal their land.

They said he would die a miserable death.

Wang Yu went out alone at night to meet Jiang Nan, but was intercepted by the group of people halfway.

They called him the worst names in the world.

They said he deserved to die.

Wang Yu was a little scared at that moment.

It was not until that day that Wang Yu realized how dark this world was.

He had never imagined that there would be such a scene.

They looked at him, wishing they could tear the flesh off his body. Wang Yu explained something to them, but they didn't listen at all. After all, it is said that destroying a person's wealth is like taking his life. He really came here to change rice cultivation to mulberry cultivation...

He wanted to take away their job of making a living, so naturally no one gave him a good look.

The day he came to Jiangnan, many people saw the face of this "dog official".

They all knew him.

So he went out in the dark, and he was caught by them, and they wanted to kill him.

Wang Yu doesn't want to die.

Cen Yin was still waiting for him in the capital.

Wang Yu wanted to marry Cen Yin, but he was afraid that his father would not agree. He thought of coming to Jiangnan to settle the matter and then bringing Cen Yin to see his father.

His daughter is still waiting for him.

His little daughter is only one year old and cannot be without a father.

He had never heard her call him dad.

He explained to those people that he would not harm them. He said that even if the rice fields were converted into mulberry fields, he would never annex their land. He would also transfer food from other provinces to them and would not let them go hungry.

This was indeed what Wang Yu thought in his heart, but at that time he had no idea that this was almost impossible, so his willing explanation naturally became an empty excuse in the ears of those rice farmers.

Those people said he was lying! After the rice fields were turned into mulberry fields, no one would care about their lives anymore! They said he was deceiving them! None of the dog officials from the capital would care about their lives!

In the dead of night, he was drowned in a river in a remote area. Who could know that it was they who did it?

They thought that if they killed him, no one would steal their land anymore.

Wang Yu was really scared when he saw the vicious eyes of those people. He really couldn't die.

He promised Ayin that he would go home and take her home to meet his father.

In the end, Wang Yu did not kneel down before them with dignity. She used to be a person of wealth and status...but now she knelt down and kowtowed to them.

He said, let him go, his wife is still waiting for him to come home, and his daughter is only one year old.

Without him, they would not be able to survive and they would die.

After all, Wang Yu was young and naive, and he thought his tears and his pleading would move them.

But those people said, he has a wife and children, what about them?

Don't they?

No matter how much Wang Yu begged, it was of no use.

So in the end he was pushed into the water and drowned by that group of people.

Wang Yu is dead.

Those who killed him threw him into the water and then got away as if nothing had happened.

The cold river water washed over Wang Yu's body. He died quietly that night.

He wanted to live so badly, but he died after using all his strength and means.

This is really horrible...

Perhaps the man's desperate pleas before his death were so poignant at night that the witness could not forget it after all these years.

He has kept this matter to himself for more than ten years. He is not stupid enough to betray those people. He is not a crooked person, so why should he stand on the side of the corrupt officials?

I just didn't expect that after so many years, someone would still find him.

After Wang Shun heard what Xiao Lun said, he was unable to react for a long time and even almost lost his breath.

Wang Fu quickly fed him a pill into his mouth. This time one pill was not enough, two pills were needed.

It took a long time before Wang Shun caught his breath.

He was lost in thought for a long time, and finally asked after a while: "Wife, daughter...?"

He thought of what Xiao Lun had just said: before Wang Yu died, he said that his wife and daughter were waiting for him.

But why didn't he know at all when his Ah Yu had his own wife and children?

His brows were tightly knitted together and his breathing became a little rapid.

So...Ayu still has children alive?

He could never have imagined that his usually obedient son actually hid the fact that he had a wife and daughter.

The Empress Dowager noticed the commotion here and sent someone to call Wang Shun over for questioning.

The group was already on their way to the hunting ground. The Queen Mother lifted the curtain, looked at Wang Shun outside, and asked, "What happened? You looked so bad just now, and you took so many medicines."

Wang Shun has recovered his previous mood, but his face still looks a little ugly.

He said: "I just remembered some old things..."

When the Queen Mother heard this, her eyelids twitched slightly.

"But you're thinking about Qiong Zhang again?"

He usually keeps a low profile, and the only person who could cause Wang Shun to have such emotional fluctuations is Wang Yu.

The Empress Dowager had loved Wang Yu since she was a child.

Wang Yu's mother died when she gave birth to him, so he lost his mother very early. When he grew up, he often followed Wang Shun into the palace. Perhaps because of Wang Shun, the empress dowager loved Wang Yu more than her own royal son.

When Wang Shun scolded Wang Yu, she still spoke up for him.

She had always treated him as half a child.

When Wang Yu wanted to go to Jiangnan, the Empress Dowager was not very supportive. Jiangnan at that time was a place full of tigers and wolves. Even for a battle-hardened person to handle such matters would be a bit strenuous. However, Wang Shun and his son simply did not listen to her.

Each one is more stubborn than the other.

Wang Shun thought that his son needed to be tempered in order to grow up. Otherwise, how could he grow up if he stayed under protection all day long?

This time I was really too hasty.

The Queen Mother sighed and said, "It's been so many years, and Qiong Zhang doesn't want to see you like this, so let it go."

Wang Yu was such a kind-hearted child that she couldn't bear to see her father like this.

lay down?

How can I let it go?

The reason why he has been alone till now is not just to avenge his son.

He can't let it go.

Especially after hearing the information Xiao Lun had just brought, he couldn't let it go.

He seemed to see from Xiao Lun's words the process of Wang Yu's desperate death.

He knew he was killed by someone, but he never thought it would be like this.

Moreover, he had never known about his wife and children.

Yes...

He has always been very harsh and strict with Wang Yu, and he will definitely not be happy to tell him this.

He didn't expect that he could keep it a secret for so long. It was because he, as a father, didn't care about him enough that he didn't even know about it.

Wang Shun then ordered Xiao Lun to investigate the matter.

Seeing him like this, the Queen Mother stopped talking.

The two were silent. Wang Shun was lost in his own emotions, his heart beating wildly.

Qiong Zhang still has children... He seems to have a granddaughter.

Are they, mother and daughter, still alive?