Male Lead Is Always That Heartless

Chapter 43

Half an hour later, Zhao Wan once again stepped into the main hall of the Heluo Hall. Gu Yi wore a wool jacket with fine white fluff on the collar. Her black hair was smooth as silk, and she wore a light touch of lipstick. She looked gentle and seemed to have become more beautiful recently.

She bowed: “A Wan greets Lady of Fairness.”

Gu Yi raised her hand, “No need to be polite. Noble Lady Zhao has just been promoted. I haven’t congratulated you yet!” She handed Zhao Wan a palm-sized box in her hand, “This is a new object made by the Department of Treasures, a gift for you to enjoy.”

Zhao Wan held it with both hands and saw that the box’s lid had already been lifted. Inside lay a white jade hairpin with its head shaped like a jade rabbit reporting the moon.

Zhao Wan smiled and said, “I love it very much. Thank you for the gift.”

“It’s good that you like it.” Gu Yi nodded happily.

Zhao Wan closed the box, “Since A Wan joined the Heluo Hall, I have received a lot of care from you, such as at the Cuiwan Games and last night’s banquet. A Wan has nothing to repay, so I’m at your disposal in the future.”

Gu Yi’s heart rejoiced when she heard this. Did this mean she had finally improved the female lead’s favorability?

She pursed her lips and smiled faintly, “Between you and me, there’s no need to repay. As we live in the same hall, we should take care of each other.”

Zhao Wan briefly lowered her eyes, remembering her first encounter with Lady of Fairness Gu, “I previously had some disagreements with you, and now I think I misunderstood you…….”

Gu Yi felt guilty; she should be referring to the white rabbit jade pendant thing.

“Don’t mention the past again,” It’s all the plot requirements!

Zhao Wan laughed again but looked up and asked: “Are you still curious about the white rabbit jade pendant? I can tell you the reason for the jade pendant in detail.” Perhaps she could use Lady of Fairness Gu.

This is unnecessary. This kind of bitter past romance should be left for the male lead! It’s useless to tell her the main things for advancing the emotional line!

Gu Yi slowly shook her head and said, “I have long forgotten about this matter. There is no need to mention the past.”

Zhao Wan felt disappointed, but she smiled and slightly nodded. She sat for a tea time before finally leaving the main hall.

Tao Jia asked the palace maidservants to clean the teacups at the flower hall.

After the palace maids left, Gu Yi saw Tao Jia standing aside hesitantly and wanting to say something. So she said, “What do you have to say? Say it!”

Tao Jia giggled, “Lady of Fairness is wise. I have a bold request today and am asking for your grace.”

“Oh?” Gu Yi is a bit surprised. Tao Jia usually has almost no extra requests, “Tell me, if possible, I’ll fulfill you!”

Tao Jia smiled, and two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks. “I heard that the Department of Accounting is going out of the palace tomorrow to go shopping. I thought it had been a long time since I returned home, so I would like to leave the palace tomorrow with Headmaster Hu. It’s just a short day, round trip on the same day, and I can visit my home to take a look.”

When Gu Yi first heard Tao Jia talk about her family, she could not help but be curious: “Your family is from the capital? How many other people are there in your family?”

Tao Jia replied softly, “My parents have long since passed away, and there is only one younger brother at home, a few years younger than me.”

Gu Yi thought of Tao Jia’s mention of joining the palace at the age of eight and already had a mental picture of the hardships of her early childhood and the bitter experience of entering the palace for the sake of her youngest brother. She couldn’t help but softly say, “Then what is your brother doing nowadays, and has he ever studied in a school?”

Tao Jia smiled again, “My brother is stupid and has never been to school. He’s just a small apprentice doing minor things.”

Gu Yi nodded. She rose to the treasure box to fetch an ingot. She is already a person with a thousand taels of silver!

“This is a reward for you. You can exchange it for some broken silver coins or strings of copper coins and give it to your brother.”

Tao Jia bowed, “Thank you for the reward, but I have money. I don’t need it.”

Gu Yi insisted, “It’s for you!”

Only then did Tao Jia take it with both hands mutely.

Gu Yi’s eyes turned, “If you go out of the palace, can you conveniently help me exchange money? I want to exchange the silver for bills.” It’s more convenient to carry when leaving the palace!

Tao Jia frowned. “Lady of Fairness, the silver rewarded by the palace has a seal on it, and the public bank doesn’t accept it.”

“What?” Gu Yi was shocked. She could only carry this money raw?

Tao Jia, stunned for a moment, speculated: “Are you trying to subsidize the Gu family? If that is the case, silver bills are indeed convenient. The bills in the capital are tightly regulated, but perhaps not so much when out of the capital ……”

Gu Yi could only stop, “OK, I know ……” So dissapointed!

*

After Youshi (5-7 pm), dusk approached, and the sky turned black. Qi Zhuang removed his armor and left the palace door.

Qi House is less than a hundred miles from Xuanwu Gate. The Qi family is a family of officials. Qi Ruotang is a second-grade official. Thus, Qi House has high walls and a deep courtyard with five rooms. Two red lanterns hung outside the door have been lit, fluttering gently in the night.

Qi Zhuang walked to the vermillion lacquer door but had not yet stepped across the two stone steps when he heard a soft call from behind: “General Jr. Qi!”

Qi Zhuang paused. His right hand stroked the sheath on his waist, and he turned to see a tall, lean man with a gnarled beard covering his face walking out from under the shadow of the pitch-black wall. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked coldly, “Why are you here?”

The man laughed lightly and asked in return, “Why can’t I be here?” As he spoke, he took two steps closer, stopping in front of Qi Zhuang, “Could it be that General Jr. Qi wants to call for someone to catch me, or do you want to take advantage of the night to report to the one sitting in the palace?”

Qi Zhuang took a step back. “Bogu, you are my father’s disciple. There is still a sense of fellowship. I won’t hurt you this time, but you shouldn’t have come here. Since you followed Xiao Lu to the South, you shouldn’t return to the capital.”

Bogu laughed coldly, “So what if I come back? If Xiao Yan is capable, he can come and kill me.”

Qi Zhuang furrowed his brows and said impatiently, “What exactly are you here for?”

Bogu lowered his voice and said, “I heard in the South that Great General Qi Wei was going to retire. Is this true?”

Qi Zhuang snorted, “No comment.”

Bogu pondered momentarily, “Master, he …… is he in the house?”

Qi Zhuang shook his head and said sternly, “No, even if he is, he will not see you!”

Bogu lowered his head and sneered. “In that case, I’ll just leave.” He paused momentarily, gritted his teeth, and said, “But …… if master thinks that this will be able to keep the Qi family, he’s too naive! All surnamed Xiao are all crazy!”

Qi Wei discharged his armor and retired to protect the Qi family and clear suspicions about the remaining party of the Crown Prince. But how can this long-term favor and all kinds of entanglements be cleared?

Xiao Yan and Xiao Lu, one north and one South, are divided. No matter how many soldiers and horses Xiao Yan has, it is only Yu Dai’s group of rubbles. Xiao Lu is now recruiting in Qingzhoufu. Sooner or later, they are going to fight!

Bogu’s face was sarcastic, and Qi Zhuang’s face grew darker. “You don’t get to say about the Qi family! Get lost!”

Bogu looked at him with blazing eyes and provoked, “Qi Zhuang, you are now nothing more than a dog of Xiao Yan. All the friendship from the past is in vain!”

Qi Zhuang clenched his fist and headed straight for Bogu’s face.

Bogu narrowly avoided it and laughed several times. His arm moved like the wind, and his large palm fiercely captured Qi Zhuang’s vulnerable throat, flinging him under the high wall, tightly fixing his neck like an iron clamp.

Qi Zhuang’s face turned pale, and his right hand was about to pull out the long sword at his waist, but he heard Bogu’s stern voice: “Xiao Yan is now holding Xiao Luu’s mother, and once Dowager Consort Liu is dead, there is nothing for him to hold on to! Sooner or later, we will meet in battle and know who wins and who loses by then!” He loosened his hands, turned around, and left.

The quieter the alleyway, the deeper the night. Qi Zhuang caught his breath for a few moments. After seeing his back far away and disappearing, he turned into the mansion’s door. The danger of the Qi family doesn’t outsiders to remind. With Qi Huo’s deposition, the Qi family was already afraid. Powerful ministers have always been like this, walking on thin ice, facing an abyss.

*

The next day, early in the morning, Bogu left the inn and headed south. A long river called Qi flowed east into the sea at the capital’s South.

Bogu walked eastward for half a minute along the bank of the Qi River and came to a lush forest. The vegetation was all pines and cypresses. He found a lone pine tree in the forest. A rusty half-broken sword was stuck in the mud behind the pine tree, with only the head exposed outside, which had a pearl stone. But a cluster of small flowers with morning dew had been placed on the several white pebbles piled in front of the hilt.

Bogu did not recognize the flowers. The green leaves were like willow or bamboo, and the burning red flower, born at the top of the branch, with several petals clinging to each other, was like a peach blossom, but it was not a peach blossom. He didn’t understand who would come here to offer flowers.

He couldn’t figure it out, so he didn’t think about it and only took a small pot of warm wine in his arms. “This morning, I asked the store assistant to heat a pot of wine, which is still warm now, so I’ll honor Your Highness with a cup.”

Saying this, he took a sip of the wine, then lightly sprinkled it on the hilt of his sword.

Xiao Heng was not buried here; it was only a broken sword of Xiao Heng. Xiao Heng was shot by a hundred arrows and died in the water. Bogu searched for three days and nights but could not find his body. Some say the rapids washed it away, while others say Xiao Yan found the body and fed it to the hawk raised in the grassland.

Bogu could only build this sword tomb in the Qi River. In the early morning, the frosty wind swept the ground. Bogu stood silently, drank the wine, and turned away.

It was only the time of Sishi (9-11 am) at this time, and the pale sunlight on the horizon was about to rise soon. The news about the Emperor’s southern tour spread in the six palaces.

The Emperor appointed Heluo Hall’s Beauty Zhao and Lady of Fairness Gu as accompanies.

The female lead indeed accompanied the Emperor to the South in the plot, but why did he bring her too? Also, the timeline is not correct, ah!

If there are three people, must it be the male lead, the female lead, and me?

Gu Yi cried and laughed in her heart, but on her lips, she asked Eunuch Gao in the hall, “Why don’t Your Majesty wait for spring to go on this trip?”

The plot clearly says that it’s a Spring Southern Expedition! Traveling in winter, wouldn’t it be frosty? If the plot is advanced, will there be the possibility of collapsing?

Eunuch Gao smiled kindly, “I do not dare speculate. Lady of Fairness Gu should think about what to prepare for the trip. Although the South is also in winter, it can be warmer. Perhaps we will arrive at southern land in the spring.”

This time, the Emperor’s winter trip was to go to Fuzhou first, then to Qu City, and headed south. However, according to the Emperor’s intention, he wanted to tell Lady of Fairness Gu in person, so Eunuch Gao didn’t say much.

Seeing that half a month remained before the departure, Gu Yi hurriedly summoned the palace maids in Heluo Hall to prepare for the trip.

Eunuch Gao returned to the Tianlu Pavilion and reported to the Emperor. Xiao Yan nodded and said nothing more.

Land taxes based on acres have been collected in Fuzhou for several months, and it was acceptable for several state government offices. Fuzhou is a small place, and there are few people. Wang Zibo, with the Ministry of Personnel’s staff and Gu Changtong, measured the land first and only encountered minor resistance. Gu Changtong is an intelligent man. Although he has only been an official in Fuzhou for two years, the locals trust him and regard him as a talented official.

This time, he went south and headed to Fuzhou first to check the tax reform system. Bringing Gu Yi is also a commendation of the Gu family’s merit. If everything goes well by next year, after the three-year examination period, then Gu Changtong’s desire to enter the capital is not impossible.