The Grand Secretary’s Pampered Wife

Chapter 376 Mother (Part 1)

The reason for this guess is that Xiao Liulang told the old Jijiu that Princess Xinyang also had the Dragon Shadow Guard in her hands. No matter what purpose the late emperor gave Princess Xinyang to the Dragon Shadow Guard, it would at least explain one thing—Princess Xinyang was in the hands of the late emperor. The weight in mind is no small matter.

In fact, if he hadn't learned from Xiao Liulang that Princess Xinyang held the Dragon Shadow Guard, the old Jijiu probably wouldn't have known the deep relationship between father and daughter.

Princess Xinyang's biological mother was Concubine Yu. Concubine Yu died of illness when she was thirteen years old. Princess Xinyang was already grown up at that time.

The late emperor did not take special care of her because of her loss of parents, the late emperor treated her no differently from other princesses in the palace...

The old Jijiu shook his head.

It seems that there are still many things he doesn't know.

Gu Changqing and Princess Xinyang are not of the same generation, and they don't know much about the situation at that time, so they don't have such a big feeling as the old Jijiu.

He only thought that the late emperor had always loved this daughter very much, but he didn't know it.

He considered the current situation and said: "Princess Xinyang is not in the capital, but it's not too far away. It will take a few days to arrive..."

"She may not meet you." The old Jijiu said.

Gu Changqing was silent.

He understood that what the old Jijiu said was true.

Ever since the young master died in the fire at the Guozijian, Princess Xinyang was so sad that she couldn't help herself, and finally left the sad place of the capital with her confidantes.

She refused to meet anyone connected with the capital.

It's understandable when she thinks about it. Losing her son was a huge blow to her. She didn't want to get hurt, and she didn't want to get in touch with anyone who might remind her of the past in the capital.

"You have to try." Gu Changqing said.

The old Jijiu did not refute, and neither of them was stupid. On the surface, the simplest and most intuitive way was to steal back the imperial decree, but as long as the Dragon Shadow Guard was in the hands of Concubine Jing, they would not be able to get it.

Maybe even if they know the content of the imperial decree, they still can't succeed, but as the saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy is invincible, as long as they understand the content of the imperial decree, they can understand what Concubine Jing's trump card is.

Gu Changqing said: "Princess Xinyang is near Fengdu Mountain. It just so happens that I'm going there recently, and I'm going to pay a visit to Princess Xinyang."

"What are you going to Fengdu Mountain for?" the old Jijiu asked with concern.

Gu Changqing said: "Grandpa asked me to go."

Probably about the secret army, the specific grandfather didn't say much.

Strange to say, the last time my grandfather gave them all the tokens as if he was going to confess his funeral, but he took all the tokens back the next day.

The old Jijiu's mood became depressed: "If you go to Mount Fengdu, go and offer incense to an old friend for me."

"Okay." Gu Changqing didn't ask who his old friend was or what his relationship with Lao Jijiu was, but just asked for the address of the cemetery, then got up and left.

When he walked to the door, he ran into Xiao Liulang unexpectedly.

I don't know how long Xiao Liulang has been here, and how much he has heard, but after all, he is not an outsider, so there is no need to hide it from him.

Gu Changqing nodded in greeting.

Xiao Liulang also nodded in return.

After Gu Changqing left the courtyard, the old Jijiu also came out. He looked at the thin and lonely Xiao Liulang under the moonlight, and opened his mouth, but suddenly he didn't know how to speak.

After a while, he finally sighed in shame: "I went to find Princess Xinyang to ask her something...Sorry, maybe I should have informed you in advance, I shouldn't just involve Princess Xinyang in this way."

Having said that, even if it happens again, even if Xiao Liulang stops him, he will still tell Gu Changqing, hoping that Gu Changqing can ask Princess Xinyang for an answer.

Not only for bringing down Concubine Jing, but also for Xiao Liulang's safety.

Xiao Liulang is already in the game, and if Concubine Jing is not eliminated, he will not be able to eliminate the danger for a day.

"but……"

"Teacher, it's getting late, you should rest."

The voices of Lao Jijiu and Xiao Liulang sounded almost at the same time, almost implying that Lao Jijiu spoke first, but after only two words, Xiao Liulang followed up.

The kind of seamless connection, people don't feel whether he interrupted on purpose or it was really accidental.

The old Jijiu paused, then nodded: "Okay, I'm almost done here, you go to rest too. I went to the countryside to work hard today, so go to bed early."

Originally, according to the convention and the relationship between the two, the old Jijiu would care about what he did when he went to the countryside. After all, for the imperial officials, it is often these "political achievements" that really play a role in promotion.

But when the conversation got to this point, everyone knew that the topic should end.

Xiao Liulang went back to the next door.

Liu Quan came over from the corridor: "Master."

"Oh." The old Jijiu sighed, "Why do you think he is so stubborn?"

Liu Quan already knew Xiao Liulang's identity, but he still didn't quite understand the words of the old Jijiu: "Why did the master say that?"

The old Jijiu waved his hand: "Forget it, it's nothing."

...

After Xiao Liulang returned to his house, he plunged into the study room. He closed the door casually, without turning on the lamp, and stood alone in the boundless night.

He understood what the teacher was going to ask.

——Why didn't you tell Princess Xinyang that you are back?

It is justifiable not to tell Xuan Pinghou. After all, the relationship between father and son is not close, and after all, there will always be some strange rejection and friction between men. A rebellious boy and a flirtatious father become enemies. Not surprising.

What about Princess Xinyang?

What's wrong with the mother who put you on top of her heart? What is the crime? Why is this!

I used to think that you didn't go to her because you were worried that your affairs would be too involved and that you would implicate her.

But she holds the Dragon Shadow Guard in her hand, who can hurt her?

Why did you do this, Ah Heng, why!

Gu Jiao went to the stove to boil some hot water, and made some supper, planning to see if the men at home had returned.

When she passed by the study, the door was closed, and no candlelight came through, so she walked over without paying much attention.

But after taking two steps, she turned back again.

It's a gut feeling.

She didn't knock on the door as usual, but gently opened the door and walked in.

The faint candlelight from the corridor penetrated in, allowing her to see clearly the back in front of the desk that seemed to be shrouded in great sadness.

She closed the door with her backhand, and her figure was once again swallowed by darkness.

But she knew where he was, she could hear him breathing.

She walked over slowly and stopped behind him.

Xiao Liulang didn't turn around, nor did he speak.

She didn't speak either.

——It's impossible for him not to know that someone has come in. If he doesn't respond, he must be unwilling to talk.

Just because Gu Jiao can't understand too many complex emotions doesn't mean she can't feel other people's emotions.

He was sad, sad, sad.

Gu Jiao's mind flashed the image of him hugging himself in his arms and gently comforting him when he felt sad because his aunt had forgotten her.

It's a pity that she is not tall enough to hold someone in her arms like him, and let the other person's head be buried in her chest.

She thought for a while, stepped forward, stretched out her small arms, and hugged him gently from behind him.

That's okay, right?

Can you be a little less sad?

Gu Jiao hugged him lightly at first, but when she pressed her cheek against the back of his slightly stiff spine, she didn't know if she was getting closer to his heart, and the sadness she felt became stronger.

She tightened her arms.

In the darkness, Xiao Liulang resisted the pain of a sore throat, raised his hand, and covered her hand holding his waist.

...

This time was no different from any previous time. Gu Jiao comforted him considerately, but did not question him. Gu Jiao obviously felt that after he calmed down a little, when he pulled away to leave, he opened his mouth, as if he wanted to talk to him. Say it yourself.

Gu Jiao stopped for a second.

At that second, he said whether it was fast or slow. If he wanted to explain, he could stop her. If he still decided not to explain, it wouldn't be too embarrassing for the two of them.

He ended up not explaining.

The next day, Gu Jiao woke up early and helped Mother Fang make breakfast for the family.

When Xiao Liulang came out from Westinghouse, Gu Jiao was arranging the bowls and chopsticks, and she bent her lips at him: "Morning."

It was as if nothing had happened, the same as usual.

Xiao Liulang nodded and greeted: "Morning."

Soon Xiaoqingkong also got up, and he went to practice in the backyard. After practicing for a while, Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan also got up, and a lively morning began.

After breakfast, Xiao Liulang went to the Imperial Academy, Xiao Jingkong followed Lao Jijiu to the Imperial Academy, and Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun naturally went to Qinghe Academy.

Now there are two carriages in the family, Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun used a carriage, Xiao Liulang and the three sat in Liu Quan's carriage, Liu Quan first sent the old and the young to the Imperial College, and finally sent Xiao Liulang to the Imperial Academy.

Gu Jiao went to the clinic, and she received a reply from Xue Ningxiang.

It has been half a year since Xue Ningxiang sent her a letter last time, but after reading the contents of the letter, Gu Jiao understood why Xue Ningxiang came back so late.

Xue Ningxiang's mother-in-law died of illness, just three days after Zhou Zhuang returned home.

Gu Jiao once showed Xue Ningxiang's mother-in-law that she was aging, and her body organs were all exhausted, which cannot be reversed by medicine. It is not easy to hold on until her son comes back to see her for the last time.

She went there in her sleep, and walked very peacefully.

Zhaoguo has Ding You system, the elders of the family have to stay at home for at least a year and a half to three years to mourn the dead, Zhou Zhuang is just a soldier, not in the ranks of Ding You's team.

But the mother's funeral still needs to be handled easily. Zhou Zhuang asked his companions to ask for leave, and stayed in the village to bury his mother properly.

This happened in spring, and now that summer is almost over, Zhou Zhuang would have to come back, but another big event happened—Principal Li of Tianxiang Academy came to propose marriage to Xue Ningxiang.

Seeing this, Gu Jiao was really surprised.

Xue Ningxiang talked with her all the time, but she didn't mention anything about Dean Li and herself.

Of course, there is an original explanation on this letter.

It turned out that when she and Xiao Liulang were still in the country, Dean Li had met Xue Ningxiang several times, and was chased by Gou Wa and called her father.

Gouwa is a babbling child who doesn't quite understand the meaning of daddy. Seeing other children calling grown men daddy, he probably thinks that all such men are daddies.

This is Gu Jiao's own understanding.

Xue Ningxiang didn't explain in detail, but said that Gouwa was bumped into by Mrs. Li at the back. Mrs. Li was getting old and her mind was not clear, and she regarded Gouwa as her little grandson.

Dean Li is a good person, has friendship with Xiao Liulang's family, and helped Xue Ningxiang out of the siege. Xue Ningxiang couldn't bear the sadness of the old man, so she let her mistakenly admit it.

Unexpectedly, things got out of control after that time, Mrs. Li asked for her grandson every now and then, and even regarded Xue Ningxiang as her daughter-in-law...

Dean Li told Xue Ningxiang not to misunderstand, Xue Ningxiang really didn't misunderstand, who would have thought that he would come to propose marriage...

When Gu Jiao saw this, she knew that trouble was coming.

Sure enough, in the back of the letter, it was written that Zhuang on Tuesday had a conflict with Dean Li, and Zhuang on Tuesday had a fight with Dean Li.

Zhou Zhuang is a soldier, and Dean Li is a literati. One can imagine who will suffer more in this fight.

Gu Jiao had already seen Zhou Zhou Zhuang's thoughts on Xue Ningxiang, but she didn't know Dean Li's thoughts until today because she lacked the opportunity to discover them.

It is not difficult to explain why Xue Ningxiang's handwriting has improved so much, and her literary talent has also improved by leaps and bounds. She no longer needs someone else to write letters.

Now Xue Ningxiang is having a headache. She said that she wants to shave her head and become a sister-in-law, but she is reluctant to part with her son-in-law.

Gu Jiao can vaguely understand Xue Ningxiang's troubles. In this era, the tolerance for women is very low. Xue Ningxiang is a widow, and her second marriage has been criticized by others. What's more, she is going to marry Dean Li, who is not from the right family, or violates the law. Ethics are strong on Tuesday.

No matter how you look at it, it is a dead move.

Unless she could bear the gossip, which she obviously couldn't, she wouldn't want to become a monk either.

At the end of the letter, it talked about the Herb Mountain. The land reclamation of the Herb Mountain has been completed, and the medicinal materials designated by Gu Jiao have been planted by the villagers under the leadership of Luo Lizheng.

Gu Jiao tapped the table a few times with her fingertips, and took the letter to the palace.