Chapter 48 Abandoning Ganzhou
When the guard invited people in, he had already asked someone to notify the housekeeper and Madam Yan.
At this moment, they were inviting people in. As soon as they passed through the outer courtyard, they heard Madam Yan's joyful laughter inside.
"Finally, my adopted daughter is here. Your godfather and I have been looking forward to it these past few days..."
As they were talking, the two groups met.
Madam Yan and Gu Xiyue stopped at the same time. The people on both sides looked at each other, and the people behind them also looked at each other.
Just as she was stunned, Mrs. Yan opened her arms towards Gu Xiyue and walked quickly towards her. Gu Xiyue smiled and lifted up her skirt with one hand and ran forward.
The two of them successfully got together, hugged each other and patted each other's backs.
"Mom, how are you doing recently?"
"Xiyue, you've lost weight!"
They both spoke at the same time, their concern evident in their words.
Originally, when they met last time, Mrs. Yan's attitude could only be considered kind. After not seeing her for more than a month, she suddenly became so affectionate. Gu Xiyue was also very confused.
But the other person has already made his attitude clear, and if she still doesn't show any tact, she'll be in trouble.
Mrs. Yan was also a straightforward person. After hugging her twice, she let go and held her arm to look her up and down.
"Before, thanks to you, you helped your godfather solve the salt problem. Later, you gave us advice on how to allocate grain, which helped your godfather solve the problem at that time. When your godfather was able to eat and sleep well, your godmother was so happy. This is all thanks to you!"
When Gu Xiyue heard this, she realized that this was the reason why he was so affectionate with her this time.
In addition, she had previously rescued Yan's mother and helped punish the concubine Sun Shui'er.
Mrs. Yan is such a down-to-earth person. If she is good, she is good; if she is bad, she is bad. Gu Xiyue likes her from the bottom of her heart.
"It's all my duty. My godfather has also helped me a lot. Don't take it to heart, godmother."
Although she said so, Gu Xiyue clearly saw dark circles under Mrs. Yan's eyes. She must not have slept well in the past few days. However, Mrs. Yan didn't say anything now, and she didn't feel like it either. She could only exchange pleasantries with each other first.
After Mrs. Yan said a few words, she remembered the people behind Gu Xiyue and hurriedly greeted them. She found that in addition to Wei Lin and Gu Xiyue who she brought last time, there was also a tall man with handsome eyebrows and eyes.
The last time he came, Gu Xiyue didn’t bring him with him.
Mrs. Yan didn't think much about it and thought it was Gu Xiyue's accountant or something like that. Because she saw that the man looked elegant and refined, she thought he was someone hired by Gu Xiyue.
Anyone brought by Gu Xiyue was a guest. She warmly invited them in and pulled Gu Xiyue to introduce the two young men and women behind her.
"This is my good-for-nothing son, Yan Song."
Mrs. Yan dragged over a young man who looked like a teenager. He was about seventeen years old, one year younger than Gu Xiyue. Just now, when he was standing at the back, he looked nonchalant. This time, he was dragged by his mother to the opposite side of Gu Xiyue. Looking at her pretty face, he instantly became serious.
"She is one year older than you, call her sister!" Mrs. Yan said, patting Yan Song and ordering him.
Gu Xiyue looked at her brother, who was half a head taller than her, with a kind face and smiled sweetly, "Hello, brother!"
Yan Song was dazzled by her smile and said embarrassedly, "Hello, Sister Gu!"
Madam Yan smiled and patted her son again, asking him to move away. She then gently pulled her daughter over and said softly, "This is my daughter Yan Tingting. She's just fifteen years old and needs to be married off."
Gu Xiyue looked at the girl in front of him with a peaceful face, smiled and nodded, "Hello, sister!"
Seeing that the adopted daughter her mother mentioned was prettier than herself, Yan Tingting couldn't help but feel a little envious, but more of it was joy. She smiled and pulled Gu Xiyue's sleeve, her eyes sparkling, "Hello, Sister Gu, Sister Gu is so pretty. It would be great if I had a sister."
After that, she said to her mother coquettishly: "Mom, it would be great if Sister Gu was my sister-in-law, but..." She glanced at her brother who was not in good shape next to her, and said with a look of disgust: "Forget it, if Sister Gu became my sister-in-law like this, it would be too unfair to her."
This sentence made Gu Xiyue and Madam Yan laugh. Yan Song folded his arms in anger and said unhappily, "How do you feel sorry for me? How do you know I won't treat me well?"
Gu Xiyue suppressed her laughter and said, "From now on, I will be your sister Gu. We are all family."
After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look behind her. Xiao Heng, whose face was already dark, seemed to remember something and waved to him. When he came over, she said sweetly, "Mom, brother and sister, this is my husband. His surname is Xiao."
After Xiao Heng was introduced openly, his previous dissatisfaction had long disappeared. His face was calm and he was extremely happy in his heart. He immediately saluted Madam Yan, and after that he looked at Yan Song and Yan Tingting with a smile on his face, as a greeting to them.
After hearing this, Madam Yan was horrified. She pulled Gu Xiyue over and asked carefully, "Are you married?"
There was surprise and delight in his tone.
She looked Xiao Heng up and down and nodded frequently. This man looked upright and had a good attitude. The person chosen by her adopted daughter must be right.
But when she thought of his last name, she felt confused for a moment, but it was only a momentary confusion and then it passed.
There are many people with the same surname in the world, but it may not be that person.
After introducing each other, Mrs. Yan took Gu Xiyue to the guest room to settle her down, talking as they walked.
When they were almost at the guest room, Aunt He, who was beside Yan's mother, hurried over and said with a happy face, "When the old lady heard that Madam Gu was coming, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep. She wanted to see Madam Gu and asked me to come and see when Madam Gu was free."
Madam Yan nodded and said with a smile, "Madam Gu must be exhausted from the journey. Once I have settled everything here, I will take her to see the old lady when I have time. Go back and let her have a good sleep first so that she will be refreshed enough to talk to Madam Gu when she wakes up."
After getting the promise, Aunt He left happily.
Under Madam Yan's command, the servants worked busily and quickly changed the things in their rooms and set tea, fruits and snacks on the table.
Yan Song and Yan Tingting were also sent away, and there were no outsiders in the room.
Mrs. Yan asked Gu Xiyue and the others to eat something and drink some tea, and she also ate a little with them.
Xiao Heng observed for a few seconds, then made an excuse that he had something to say and called Wei Lin and Mei Xiang outside.
After they left, Madam Yan looked at their backs with approval and said to Gu Xiyue, "Xiyue, you have a good husband. You have good judgment!"
After saying this, he dismissed the maids and servants in the room.
Seeing Madam Yan like this, Gu Xiyue knew that she must have something important to say. She quickly stood up and closed the door. She moved over and pulled a stool to sit next to her. She lowered her voice and said, "Mom, has something happened? Tell me, I see dark circles under your eyes. Have you not slept well these past few nights?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Yan's eyes turned red. She tried hard to control her emotions, holding a handkerchief against her nose, suppressing her feelings.
"Not long ago, the Hu people came to harass us again, killing innocent people and kidnapping many girls. It made it impossible for the common people to live a good life. Your adoptive father submitted a memorial to the court, requesting that they send troops to suppress them. Guess what happened..."
Even though she was nearly forty years old, Mrs. Yan could not control her sadness. Her eyes were filled with tears and her face was full of despair.
"The court rejected his memorial. Not only did they not agree to send troops, they also transferred the troops from Ganzhou to the neighboring Longzhou and heavily guarded it. I will let your adoptive father figure it out on his own."
Gu Xiyue was heartbroken, how could this happen?
This is clearly a plot that will happen three years later, how come it’s brought forward so much?
If it really was the butterfly effect caused by my traveling through time, that would be too outrageous.
They really thought she was an indestructible cockroach, and used wave after wave of events to lead to her demise.
You really think highly of her!
Gu Xiyue said angrily: "This is outrageous!"
"By doing this, the imperial court has clearly abandoned Ganzhou, allowing the Hu people to run rampant here so that they can have some peace. As the emperor, instead of thinking about protecting his own people, he treats them like prey and uses them as shields. How despicable!"
As Gu Xiyue spoke, his fists hardened and he pounded the table in anger.
Mrs. Yan has been keeping this matter in her heart for the past few days. Seeing that her husband couldn't sleep well, she couldn't sleep either. She thought about these things all night long. When she thought about the tragic situation she might face in the future, she felt uncomfortable.
I know that the master has been running around trying to find a solution these days. Ganzhou is the master's hometown, where he was born and raised, and he is also the parent official of Ganzhou. The entire Ganzhou, including tens of thousands of men, women, young and old, is under his governance.
He couldn't bear to see the people in his own state suffer.
When encountering such a thing, we naturally cannot just stand by and watch the people become prey and be slaughtered at will.
He's trying to figure it out.
In his distress, he thought of Madam Gu, his adopted daughter. She was resourceful and might be able to help him come up with some ideas.
Mrs. Yan saw it and was worried.
Now that I had a chance to talk to Gu Xiyue, I felt much better.
Seeing Gu Xiyue's indignant look, she realized that she was indeed different from her own children. Compared to Gu Xiyue, her children asked her with sullen faces what to do, and they really had no idea at all.
"Xiyue, what do you think we should do about this kind of thing?"
After asking this question, Mrs. Yan looked at Gu Xiyue eagerly.
Originally, Gu Xiyue was just a woman, and she shouldn't have such expectations of her, but seeing that the master sighed every time he came back these days, she became even more anxious.
Thinking of Gu Xiyue, there was nothing I could do.
What if...
Gu Xiyue pondered for a moment, and just as she was about to speak, heavy footsteps were heard outside the door. Madam Yan quickly wiped away her tears and whispered, "It's your adoptive father."
After saying that, he put on a tactful look. Gu Xiyue was stunned. Just as she calmed down, Lord Yan outside the door knocked on the door with a smile.
Gu Xiyue quickly opened the door and saluted with a smile, "Godfather!"
The moment he saw Lord Yan, Gu Xiyue was extremely surprised. It had only been over a month since they last met, but Lord Yan seemed like a completely different person. His eye sockets were sunken, his cheeks were thin, and his entire mental state was very depressed.
I wanted to ask, but I didn't know how to say it, so I could only turn around and go to the table to pour a glass of water for Master Yan, "Godfather, have a drink first."
Lord Yan took the water cup, raised his head and drank it all. When he put the cup down, his expression looked better. He smiled and looked at Gu Xiyue.
"You're here just in time! Thanks to my adopted daughter's help, the people of Ganzhou no longer have to worry about salt."
"Godfather, you are too kind!"
"You..." Lord Yan said this and turned to look at his wife. His eyes swept across her face and he realized something was wrong.
No matter how well Mrs. Yan concealed it, in the eyes of Lord Yan, she had lived for nearly twenty years after all, and any abnormality of hers could not be hidden from Lord Yan.
Lord Yan swallowed what he was about to say to Gu Xiyue. He originally wanted to talk about something light-hearted and praise her, but now it seems that Gu Xiyue probably already knows what has happened recently.
"Have you told our adopted daughter?"
Lord Yan sat down on the stool beside him with a dejected look on his face. Mrs. Yan, who was standing beside him, saw that he had not come up with a solution this time.
Lord Yan sighed, and Madam Yan's face also drooped. The atmosphere in the room instantly became gloomy.
After going back and forth for a while, Gu Xiyue already had a rough idea in her mind, but seeing that both of them were in a bad mental state, she thought about it and smiled knowingly.
"Foster father and mother, it has already happened. Being sad now will not help. Foster father has been running around outside these days trying to find a solution. He is very tired. Why don't you all go back and have a good rest? We will discuss it together tomorrow. There will definitely be a solution."
After listening to this, Lord Yan was grateful for his adopted daughter's thoughtfulness, but he didn't take her words too seriously. After all, he was a prefect and couldn't think of a solution, so what could she, a salt merchant, come up with?
But he nodded anyway.
Things have come to this, and thinking more about it will not help. She is right, he has been really exhausted these days, and if he doesn't have a good rest, he really can't bear it anymore.
Thinking about this, he stood up with a tired look on his face. Seeing this, Madam Yan hurried over to support him, "Xiyue, you two should have a good rest first. Your adoptive father and I will go back first. You can go see the old lady later. She has been talking about you several times."
Gu Xiyue nodded, sent the person out, watched them leave the yard, and then turned back.
As soon as the two left, Xiao Heng brought Wei Lin and Mei Xiang over from the next room. As soon as they entered, Mei Xiang asked, "Young Madam, did you ask about the salted fish?"
When the salted fish was brought in just now, some maids and servants covered their noses with their hands and looked strange. Meixiang even explained it to them, but they didn't listen at all and thought something was smelly.
Later, Meixiang wrapped it in cloth, hid it in a jar in the house, and covered it with wooden boards, and the smell was gone.
After Meixiang asked, she saw that the young lady looked serious, so she shut up and stood aside obediently.
Xiao Heng walked over and sat next to Gu Xiyue, and asked softly, "What happened?"
Gu Xiyue's mind was dizzy for a while.
If this matter is allowed to develop as it is, then no matter how well she develops the Southern Wilderness, it will be useless. The Southern Wilderness belongs to Ganzhou. If Ganzhou falls, the Southern Wilderness will not be much better off.
In the past, her ideas were very simple. She only wanted to develop the palm-sized area of the Southern Wilderness and make hundreds of people live comfortably. She didn't want to care about the outside world, and she didn't have that much ability. At most, she did what she could, such as salt and food, which were related to everyone's survival.
But just now, she was shaken. She saw that Lord Yan was exhausted because of this matter. If he was a little selfish, even if the court gave up Ganzhou and let them fend for themselves, with his ability, he could have provided his family with a life of food and clothing. But he didn't.
He couldn't let go of the tens of thousands of people in Ganzhou, and ran around looking for a solution. In just a few days, he exhausted himself to this extent.
Even if he had been confused about the concubine before, that was his private matter, and he had no problem with the greater good.
And there is Madam Yan. She could have clearly whispered in Lord Yan's ear and asked him to give up everything and just take care of himself, but Madam Yan didn't.
She stood by Lord Yan, helping him with his problems, and even thought of discussing solutions with her.
She truly loves her husband and supports everything he does.
Just now she only had a rough idea in her mind, but now she has begun to waver.
She wanted to help Lord and Madam Yan.
Want to help the entire Ganzhou.
She wanted to expand the blueprint in her heart.
Didn’t the imperial court give up Ganzhou?
Then we should develop the entire Ganzhou and let the people of Ganzhou live a good life.
The best way to take revenge on someone is to live a better life than him.
But this raises a question.
Gu Xiyue looked at Xiao Heng. After all, Xiao Heng was the emperor's son and the former crown prince. If he wanted to go against the court, he wondered how he, the emperor's son, would feel.
Gu Xiyue had to consider this.
"You talk, I listen."
Xiao Heng encouraged her to speak out with his eyes.
Gu Xiyue did not hesitate any longer and repeated Mrs. Yan's words carefully. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xiao Heng nod calmly.
Gu Xiyue looked at him in surprise, "What do you think?"
"I knew about this matter before, but because it concerns the safety of the border, I didn't tell you because you would only worry. However, I had Wei Lin arrange people to prepare the day before yesterday. We must first organize people to protect the people."
Gu Xiyue was shocked.
I almost jumped up on the spot.
"Then what do you think about the court giving up Ganzhou? If I want to..."
"Just go for it, I support you!"
Before Gu Xiyue finished speaking, Xiao Heng gave his affirmation.
Gu Xiyue was shocked again.
Is this son going to completely break with the court?
"The Emperor is no longer the same Emperor as before. His power has long been hollowed out. Now the Second Prince is the true ruler. He wanted to kill me before, and now he wants to kill Ganzhou. From the moment he tried to kill me, we have completely broken off. I know what you want to do. Go ahead and do it. I will discuss the matter of defending against the enemy with the prefect."
"But..." Gu Xiyue didn't expect him to be so frank. The last bit of doubt in her heart disappeared, replaced by full enthusiasm.
"The prefect doesn't know our true identities yet. I think it's time we confront him."
Xiao Heng nodded. "Now is the perfect time to tell him. We'll discuss the details later."
Gu Xiyue nodded confidently.
After sitting for a while, Gu Xiyue went to the backyard to see the old lady under the guidance of Aunt He. When the old lady saw Gu Xiyue, she happily grabbed her hand and talked non-stop. Gu Xiyue stayed with her until dinner, and only returned to her room after she finished her meal.
Because the old lady's food was prepared separately and different from what the people in the mansion ate, she did not let Gu Xiyue eat it. Instead, she asked the servants to serve her normal meals. Gu Xiyue had to persuade her to stop and said that she was not hungry yet and would go back to eat later.
When Gu Xiyue returned, Xiao Heng was still waiting for her. Lord Yan was too tired tonight, so Mrs. Yan had waited for him to rest early and he didn't get up for dinner.
After dinner, Gu Xiyue chatted with Xiao Heng for a while before pushing him out and letting him sleep next to her. Xiao Heng had just slept with her in his arms last night. Although he knew that they couldn't sleep together tonight because they were at the prefect's house, he felt very uncomfortable. Before leaving, he grabbed the door frame and stared at her for a long time.
Gu Xiyue's face turned red when he looked at her, and she pushed the man out and locked him outside the door.
After breakfast the next day, Gu Xiyue took Xiao Heng directly to see Lord and Madam Yan.
When they arrived at the door, the servant went in to inform them and came out quickly, telling them to go to the main hall and wait, as Lord and Madam Yan would be here soon.
Gu Xiyue went over as she was told, sat down, calmed herself down, and waited for Lord and Madam Yan to arrive.
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