Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 128 Helping Each Other
Even after moving into Prince Xin's Mansion, Gu Jingnian still slept in.

When the sunlight climbed onto the bed through the window screen, Pei Nian touched his forehead with his fingertips and pushed him.

"Can you still sleep well?"

Gu Jingnian was sleeping soundly. When she moved, he turned to the side and hugged her casually.

Pei Nian hurriedly kicked him away.

"Hmm." Gu Jingnian hummed and finally became a little more sober.

"Have you forgotten where this is?"

"You have to sleep everywhere, don't you?"

In Pei Nian's opinion, Gu Jingnian was ordered by the court to capture Gu Beiming, but now he was kept as a hostage in Yongjing, and it was a long way to go before he could complete his mission. As for his intention to find Feng Niang, Ying Yao and others, she also knew that she was afraid that Yin Yucheng would discover his purpose before he found them.

The reason why things couldn't be done was that Gu Jingnian always did things his own way and made his own decisions. Even in today's crisis situation, he still refused to discuss it with her.

Pei Nian couldn't help but give a few more reminders about this matter, and Gu Jingnian indeed no longer respected Pei Nian as his superior.

The two then began to quarrel in the secret language.

Pei Nian had just started learning and was not very experienced, so of course he could not win an argument with Gu Jingnian. He had a lot of ideas stuck in his throat, and finally he punched him in hatred.

"Young Master, Young Lady, the princess is here." Zhang Xiaofang's voice came from outside the door.

Early this morning, Yin Yucheng went to see Feng Niang again. Yin Shu stayed in the mansion but was not bored. She planned to find out some things.

Unfortunately, she got up early to prepare, took away breakfast, and prepared lunch. Finally, she couldn't wait any longer and sent someone to invite Gu Jingnian and Pei Nian to have dinner with her.

During the meal, Yin Shu had many things to test, but unfortunately the atmosphere was not right. Gu Jingnian and Pei Nian didn't talk to each other at all, and they answered her questions carelessly.

"Uncle Gu, I heard that you will be meeting His Majesty in a few days. Shall I take you to get some clothes made?"

After the meal, Yin Shu held the teacup and asked casually.

"Thank you for your help, Princess." Gu Jingnian declined politely.

"Don't bother. It's my father who was too rude. When he's not here, I'm the master of this house. I should entertain my uncle well."

"It would be disrespectful to refuse."

"You're welcome, uncle."

Although they are uncle and nephew, they are of similar age after all, and it is not appropriate for men and women to be close to each other. Yin Shu deliberately found an excuse to be alone with Gu Jingnian, which was not proper at all. But she had something to ask, so she did it capriciously.

Looking at Pei Nian, Yin Shu couldn't help feeling a little proud when she saw that Pei Nian looked reluctant but helpless.

Prince Xin's mansion had its own tailor, so they did not go out but went to a small hall in the front yard. An embroiderer came over and asked Gu Jingnian to take off his outer robe and measure his body.

Yin Shu sat down in the main seat and looked at the young man. She found that the young man's figure was really pleasing to the eye.

She had a liking for him at first sight, but when she found out he had a lover, she no longer had that feeling. Then when she discovered he seemed to have a secret, her feelings toward him became complicated.

"Uncle Gu, did you have a quarrel with Miss Pei?"

"Some small things." Gu Jingnian replied, "The princess actually saw through it."

"Why?" Yin Shu asked in a joking tone, "Is it because Uncle Gu is so romantic that she is angry?"

Gu Jingnian shook his head and did not answer directly, saying: "It's just a little thing."

Yin Shu knew that he would not speak directly, so she changed the subject and asked, "Uncle Gu is from Ruiguo. What a coincidence that the beautiful bride my father wanted to marry was also from Ruiguo."

Gu Jingnian said: "The two countries are adjacent to each other, so there must be many Rui people in Yong State."

If it were someone else, perhaps they would be able to keep trying like this and see if they could get some results.

But Yin Shu's temperament was different from others. She became a little impatient after just two rounds. After the embroiderer measured Gu Jingnian's body, she waved her hand and sent everyone else away.

Soon, there were only two people in the hall. Yin Shu said simply, "Uncle Gu, what's going on? I asked my father this morning. Could it be that you and Feng Niang are old lovers, and you came to Beijing to steal her away?"

Gu Jingnian had never expected her to be so direct. Upon hearing her, his first reaction was to pretend not to understand and asked back a question.

"what?"

Yin Shu gathered her strength for an attack, intending to scare Gu Jingnian into death, but unexpectedly he dodged it, and she felt like she had missed.

"I mean, you and that Feng Niang are old lovers, right?"

To add to the momentum, she added in a majestic tone.

"Don't try to quibble. I can smell her scent on you. When my father went there last night, she avoided him. She must be going to see you."

Yin Shu's questioning skills were not very good. She was impatient and so her questions were very sloppy. She was just like a 16-year-old unruly girl and could not trick anyone into believing anything.

Gu Jingnian bought a moment to react and thought quickly. If this was an interrogation in the lobby, he would never let Yin Shu get hold of evidence and would always find an excuse, but this was not the case. No matter how reasonable he said, the young woman in front of him might still get stuck in a dead end and continue to explore out of curiosity, which could easily lead to problems.

Instead of hiding it from her, it is better to control her.

"The princess actually found out." Gu Jingnian sighed slightly with a bitter smile on his face.

"Sure enough!" Yin Shu was quite surprised.

She knew she was very smart and had seen through the clues, but she didn't expect Gu Jingnian to admit it so quickly. This caught her off guard and she didn't know what to do.

In Gu Jingnian's eyes, it was obvious that she was happier than angry at this moment.

This meant that he had made the right bet, guessing that Yin Shu didn't care about her father's love being taken away by someone else, and that she was even against her father marrying Feng Niang. Gu Jingnian lowered his head, seemingly ashamed, but in fact he was thinking about how to guide Yin Shu's behavior next.

"You and Feng Niang had an old relationship, so why did you elope with Pei Nian?" Yin Shu finally asked the first question, but it was not very clever.

Gu Jingnian said: "I have a predestined relationship with Feng Niang."

Yin Shu was still waiting for the next words. Seeing that he stopped talking, she said "Oh" and said, "So, you originally planned to elope with Feng Niang, but she escaped first and went to Ruiguo, and you were caught by Ruiting, right?"

"Correct."

"Then Pei Nian saved you, and you abandoned your family and country. You can't let her down, right?"

"My princess, you will understand."

Seeing that everything was as she expected, Yin Shu became more and more pleased and said, "No wonder, I thought you and Pei Nian were not close, so that's why."

Gu Jingnian said: "Pei Nian and I are friends and confidants, but being lovers is always a little bit short."

After he said this, Yin Shu agreed deeply and thought he was very sincere.

"Then, when you heard in Jusai City that my father was going to marry Feng Niang, you deliberately tricked him into swearing brotherhood with the intention of coming to Yongjing to find Feng Niang, right?"

"I have betrayed Prince Xin's trust."

"What a thief's heart!"

Yin Shu cursed first, then looked over and saw a hint of sadness on Gu Jingnian's handsome face, as well as a kind of aloof temperament that she had never seen in her life, so her heart softened.

Thinking about it again, Gu Jingnian is Gu Beiming's son after all. It would be inappropriate for her father to turn against him for a woman.

From her point of view, it would be best for Yin Yucheng to give up Feng Niang, make friends with the Gu family, and then focus on his career in the future.

"As the saying goes, a gentleman does not take away what others like. Since you and Feng Niang are destined to be together first, it is my father who is stealing her love."

Yin Shu's attitude changed quickly, and she soon began to sympathize with Gu Jingnian, and said, "I will persuade my father to give up Feng Niang..."

"No." Gu Jingnian hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Prince Xin is deeply in love with Feng Niang and will not let her go easily. Once he knows, he will be angry. If he creates a rift with the Gu family, it will only ruin our personal friendship, but it will also affect state affairs."

Yin Shu had always thought that she held the initiative, but had never thought about it in this way. When she heard this, she was stunned.

She didn't realize that from this moment on, the rhythm of the conversation was gradually controlled by Gu Jingnian.

"So what are you going to do?" Yin Shu asked.

Gu Jingnian did not answer, but just sighed slightly.

Seeing this attitude, Yin Shu became a little anxious and asked, "You don't want to give up Feng Niang, do you?"

Gu Jingnian said: "I can't bear to hurt Pei Nian's heart, nor can I bear to disappoint Prince Xin. Please keep it a secret, Princess, and don't ruin Prince Xin's future."

Yin Shu uncovered such a secret today, and ended up with such a depressing result. She felt so unhappy having kept the secret in her heart.

Seeing Gu Jingnian was about to leave, she finally said something.

"no!"

"The princess?"

"Prince Xin's Mansion cannot marry Feng Niang!" Yin Shu said, "She is a lucky woman, and the person she has in her heart is you. She is definitely not a good match for my father."

Gu Jingnian stopped and hesitated for a long time, then suddenly said, "Then I'll take her away."

Unlike his indecisiveness just now, once he made up his mind, his tone was decisive, as if even thousands of troops could not stop him from taking Feng Niang away.

Yin Shu asked, "Aren't you afraid of hurting Pei Nian's feelings?"

"When a man acts, he should follow his heart."

"Aren't you afraid of disappointing my father?"

"I'm doing this for his own good. I don't care if he knows it or not."

Yin Shu could sense Gu Jingnian's sharpness from his indifferent tone and extremely self-centered attitude, and couldn't help but praise him with a "good!"

"A real man should be brave enough to take responsibility for his actions. I support you in this matter!"

Gu Jingnian said, "The princess is not trying to help me, she is trying to help herself."

If he asked Yin Shu for help from the beginning, Yin Shu would definitely become suspicious, hesitant, and wary.

It was precisely his calm and indifferent attitude that made Yin Shu trust him particularly and believe that cooperating with him was a way of helping each other.

She stood up and slammed the table, saying, "Yes, I am just helping myself. I just want to ask if you will cooperate with me?"

"it is good."

Gu Jingnian also responded straightforwardly, but then he changed the subject and said, "But Princess, don't act rashly. You must discuss everything with me first."

"Why?"

"I am a hostage now and cannot leave the capital easily, otherwise the Gu family will be implicated." Gu Jingnian said: "I will solve this matter before they get married, but I may need the princess's help."

"Don't worry, I won't refuse." Yin Shu was quite straightforward. She stepped forward and shook hands with Gu Jingnian as an oath. "Then it's a deal."

(End of this chapter)