mtl008 Chapter 241 Love Token
Chapter 241 Love Token
He had seen how the siblings got along when he was with the old Duke. He could only watch from afar and he was very envious. Although he also had an older brother, their environment did not allow for such a warm way of getting along.
It's not just a matter of envy anymore; there's also a hint of jealousy.
Seeing this, Gu Qingwan decided to stop teasing the person in front of her.
She pulled on his sleeve and led him to the stone table and benches in the courtyard, where they sat down.
“I know my cousin’s thoughts, but I am not a good match for him. He needs a lady from a respectable family like my aunt to help him uphold the reputation of the Ning family. Obviously, I am not that kind of person. Besides, I only have brotherly feelings for him and no romantic feelings for him.”
“Obviously, that’s not what he thinks.” Xiao Jingchen raised his eyebrows, seemingly in a better mood.
"Originally, I thought that if I didn't expose it, I could just pretend it didn't exist. But now it seems that my cousin hasn't gotten over it, so it's better to make some things clear so that he can start over."
"Hmph, you do care about him."
"Oh well, there's nothing I can do. He's my brother from my maternal family, I can't just ignore him. If you ever bully me in the future, at least I'll have someone from my maternal family to stand up for me."
After a long while, Xiao Jingchen frowned and said, "That day will never come."
"What?" Gu Qingwan didn't react for a while, and then she realized that he was saying that he wouldn't bully her.
"I know, it's just..."
"I understand, you don't need to explain, I was being petty."
“No way! Our Prince is always so magnanimous, how could he be petty?” Gu Qingwan said cheerfully, tugging at his sleeve.
Clearly, Gu Qingwan's actions pleased our proud King Chu.
Xiao Jingchen took a box out of his sleeve.
"what is this?"
At his prompting, Gu Qingwan opened the box, inside which lay two jade stones.
"This is a token of our affection. It could have been given to you along with the betrothal gifts, but I want to give it to you personally. Tell me what you like, and I'll have it carved."
Gu Qingwan picked it up and examined it against the light for a long time. It was a very fine piece of mutton fat jade, extremely warm and smooth to the touch, and its luster was as crystal clear as moonlight.
Gu Qingwan was overjoyed as she held it in her hand.
"That's fine. Such good jade will look beautiful even if it's not carved. Just do whatever you want with it."
Xiao Jingchen frowned. "Don't you have anyone you like?"
Gu Qingwan tilted her head and thought for a while, then stared at Xiao Jingchen for quite some time.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me?"
"I hope you will be safe and sound. Let's carve two jade plaques. Carve the words 'Peace' on yours. I've heard that Your Highness has excellent calligraphy skills, so I'll trouble Your Highness to write it yourself."
"And what about yours?"
"You can't expect me to think of everything, so naturally you should come up with a suitable one for me."
Xiao Jingchen actually thought about it for a long time, then nodded, "Then let's do it this way. I'll send someone to do it later."
"Hmm? What calligraphy are you going to give me?"
"You'll see when the time comes." Xiao Jingchen's lips curled into a doting smile.
"You're being so mysterious, I'm waiting to see what you're up to. You can't just brush me off."
"I have never been perfunctory with you." Xiao Jingchen's eyes were full of seriousness.
Gu Qingwan felt a warmth in her heart. Who would have thought that the King of Chu, a man who was not good with words, was actually a straight man in private?
"By the way, it's almost time for the poison to take effect again. How is Uncle Chun doing?" Gu Qingwan said as she felt his pulse.
"It's still under research, but there hasn't been much progress."
"Judging from your pulse, Uncle Chun has given you a lot of tonics. That's a good thing, though. Only when your body is strong can you have the strength to fight off the poison. But it's only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. If you don't get rid of the poison, all your martial arts skills will be wasted."
"As long as the princess is skilled in martial arts, I think outsiders will not dare to easily harm me because of the princess."
Gu Qingwan blushed. "What are you saying? Does Your Highness intend to start living off a woman?"
“I’ve already started living off a woman. If you hadn’t forbade it, I really would have given you all my possessions today.”
"No, no, no, let's forget it. I'm afraid of arousing envy. After all, it's not the thief you should be afraid of, but the one who has his eye on you. Alright, although your poison is difficult to cure, you've unfortunately run into me, so there won't be any problems."
Xiao Jingchen nodded, behaving extremely obediently.
"Aren't you even a little bit surprised? I actually managed to detect the poison in your body."
Xiao Jingchen chuckled softly, then took Gu Qingwan's hand and said, "The princess is omnipotent, so what's so surprising about that?"
"Tch, aren't you ashamed? How can you praise your own family like that..."
"Ok?"
"Alright, alright, take the pills I made back with you later. You need to take them for the next few days, once tomorrow morning and once in the evening. I will come to your residence to treat you in a few days."
"Is there anything I need to prepare?"
Gu Qingwan thought for a moment, "I need a bath tub. I'll write a prescription for you to take back to Uncle Chun so he can prepare it. Tomorrow night I'm going to give you acupuncture, and then you'll need a medicinal bath. Uncle Chun knows exactly how to do it, or you can wait until I arrive tonight."
"it is good."
"By the way, Uncle Chun's tonic doesn't need to be taken tonight."
"it is good."
"After you take the pills, let Uncle Chun observe your body. If you feel unwell, you must tell me. Don't keep it to yourself."
"Okay, I will definitely tell you."
"Can't you say anything other than 'good'?"
Xiao Jingchen pulled the somewhat annoyed Gu Qingwan into his arms and hugged her, resting his chin on her head.
"With you here, I don't know what else to say but 'thank you.' Don't be nervous, I believe in you."
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingwan realized that she had actually breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out that Xiao Jingchen understood her better than she understood herself; she was actually nervous.
She had seen so many difficult and complicated cases and cured so many poisons, yet she was nervous when facing Yan Hua Yi Leng. Perhaps it wasn't because of the poison, but because she was facing someone she cared about.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingwan reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, speaking softly.
"it is good."
Since Gu Ziming was temporarily dismissed from his post and the Prime Minister's residence was confiscated, the Gu family has been living in a house outside the city.
This house is not as big as the Prime Minister's Mansion used to be. In the past, the Gu family spent money extravagantly, and Gu Ziming, who was not in charge of the household, did not know the cost of firewood and rice.
Ever since Gu Qingwan took away the late Madam's property, the Gu family has been declining day by day. Although no one would believe that a dignified prime minister had no private property, Gu Ziming, in order to be an honest and upright official, did not acquire much of his own private property. It was Wang Ruyan, who was obsessed with saving face and suffered for it, who kept the family afloat in the backyard.
Now that the matriarch is gone, the Gu family is having an even harder time.
At first, Gu Ziming didn't take the matter seriously. He thought that he was the top scholar in the imperial examination back then, so how could a small household management problem be difficult for him? But later, he became mentally exhausted, his health was poor, and there was an old mother in the backyard who had suffered a stroke, which gave him a lot of headaches.
In the past, for the sake of face, he let Gu Qingwan take away all his mother's things. He thought that even if he didn't embezzle, he would still have a lot of wealth since he was now the prime minister. But now that he has looked at the account books, he realizes that he has not accumulated much over the years.
The accounts clearly showed how every penny was spent. Apart from the money he used for entertainment, the household expenses were also quite large.
In the old lady's courtyard, everything she ate and used was of the finest quality. She never used ordinary bird's nest; it was either blood bird's nest or golden bird's nest. If you looked through the kitchen's purchasing records, you could see that almost every meal consisted of delicacies from land and sea.
Furthermore, the clothes in each courtyard, especially Gu Hanjiao's clothes and jewelry, were all very valuable. Gu Ziming couldn't understand why the clothes Jiao'er usually wore were worth so much money.
What infuriated him even more was that bastard Gu Changfeng, who had squandered most of his fortune and indulged in all sorts of vices, from eating and drinking to gambling and whoring.
"Asshole! Asshole!"
Enraged, Gu Ziming ordered his men to exhume and whip the corpses of Wang Ruyan and Gu Changfeng, and vowed that if the adulterer hadn't been taken away by the King of Chu, he would make him wish he were dead.
After calming down, Gu Ziming dismissed all the unnecessary servants in the mansion. Thinking about the severance pay he still owed them, Gu Ziming couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. It was truly a case of being too proud to admit one's mistakes and suffering for it.
Apart from Consort Li, who had children, and Consort Rou, who was six months pregnant, the rest of Gu Ziming's family had long since found other ways to make a living and ran away with their private savings.
The servants of the Gu family had other ideas, so naturally they didn't serve the family very well.
Putting aside everything else, the old lady's courtyard was often filled with cursing. If it weren't for the magpies protecting her, the old lady would have been tortured to death long ago.
At first, the servants didn't dare to treat the old lady like that, after all, she was the head of the family's mother. But later, when they found that the head of the family was turning a blind eye, they became more and more presumptuous.
The food and drink were already far worse than before, and the servants would steal food and drink. Sometimes the old lady would leave the food uneaten and reheat it for the next meal. Only when the food became too rotten to eat would it be thrown away.
If the magpie is there, it's fine; but if it's not, it's just that stinky thing. Those people still dare to stuff it into the old lady's mouth.
Aunt Rou is a good person. She occasionally advises Gu Ziming not to let the old lady be neglected like this. If word gets out, Gu Ziming's reputation as a filial son will be completely ruined. If the old lady doesn't make it and passes away, he will have to observe three years of mourning, which will completely destroy his career.
Gu Ziming would occasionally send someone to inquire about the old lady's condition, and he himself would often visit her. Only then did the old lady's life become a little easier.
Gu Ziming did not sit idly by during this period; he began working to get back into the court, and he believes that his efforts will be effective soon.
Gu Ziming sat at the stone table in the courtyard, drinking tea and admiring the flowers. This was the most relaxed moment he had had since being dismissed from office.
"Lord Gu is having a very pleasant time."
The sudden, unfamiliar voice coming from behind the tree startled Gu Ziming, causing him to spill the tea in his hand.
Gu Ziming steadied himself and looked toward the source of the sound; it was him.
"What are you doing here?"
"What, Lord Gu, are you not welcoming me?"
Gu Ziming took a deep breath and softened his tone, "Not welcome? Do you think I'm very welcoming to you?"
"I'm here on behalf of my master to ask if Lord Gu has been having any difficulties lately. My master said that if Lord Gu is having difficulties, then we are having difficulties. There's no reason not to help our own people, since we'll still need to rely on Lord Gu in the capital in the future."
Gu Ziming knew that the olive branch extended to him when he was down on his luck was a huge trap, and that working with them was like dealing with a tiger for its skin. But he had no choice back then, and he has even less choice now.
"Ha." Gu Ziming couldn't help but sneer, "Rely on me? I'm just a commoner now, what can I do for you?"
"Prime Minister, please don't underestimate yourself. There are many things you can do, such as taking advantage of the situation and secretly using Madam's help to get into the Ning family's villa..."
"Shut up!" Before the man could finish speaking, Gu Ziming's face turned pale. "Don't you dare spout nonsense just because you think you're in your master's name!"
Gu Ziming took a deep breath.
"I won't forget what I promised back then, but I haven't been reinstated yet. Everything can only be done after I'm reinstated. Why is your master so impatient?"
"Heh." The man sneered, "Lord Gu, don't try any tricks."
Gu Ziming couldn't help but feel annoyed. "I'm already like this, what tricks can I possibly pull!"
The man knew he couldn't go too far, so he softened his tone and said, "The master is already working on your reinstatement. He asked me to pass on a message to Lord Gu: besides you finding someone to speak to in court yourself, the master will find a way to help you."
How could he know my recent actions and thoughts?
Recently, he has tried every possible means, including money, threats, and incriminating evidence. In addition, he has united some of the officials who followed him to speak on his behalf, and they have even discussed how to say it.
"There's nothing our master doesn't know if he wants to know it."
He never imagined that someone so far away could know everything about his secrets, showing how deeply they had infiltrated him. He thought it would be difficult to be a loyal subject now, and Gu Ziming felt powerless at this thought.
"Since you've agreed to board your ship, even if you wanted to get off, I'm sure you wouldn't allow it. So there's no need to send you here to test us. When I was still in power, I helped you plan many benefits, so you should be content. Don't be too greedy."
The person hidden under the tree smiled, said nothing, took a package from his pocket, threw it on the stone table in front of Gu Ziming, and then left.
Gu Ziming sat there motionless for a long time. The autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves made him feel a sense of powerlessness. He opened the bundle in front of him, which contained 100,000 taels of silver notes.
It was clearly an insult to him, but he couldn't show his dissatisfaction, because he really needed money and that person's help to return to the court.