Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 140 Clearing up Doubts
Yin Yucheng brought Feng Niang and Yin Shu to visit Gu's house again today. After the meal, he found an opportunity to talk to Gu Jingnian alone. Taking advantage of the alcohol, he half-jokingly proposed that Gu Jingnian be his son-in-law.

"Prince Xin is drunk." Gu Jingnian did not respond.

"I'm not drunk."

Now that the words were spoken, Yin Yucheng no longer hid his feelings and said directly: "I'm serious. You and Shu'er are of similar age, and your family backgrounds are similar. You are a man of talent and a woman of beauty. You are a match made in heaven..."

"Prince Xin, I already have a lover. Pei Nian abandoned her family and betrayed her country to save me. She gave up everything and followed me to Yong State alone. How could I possibly betray her?"

"I've seen that you don't like her. You and her personality don't match." Yin Yucheng said earnestly, "I'll tell you a truth. You can't force yourself. People who are not suitable for each other will eventually part ways. Why waste your youth on them? You must know that you can never be young again."

As he spoke, he pointed at himself and added: "This is my experience. This is how I got married."

He always has a point.

Gu Jingnian was about to refuse sternly, but when he turned his eyes, he saw a maid in the distance.

He was the one who had a slightly strange expression this morning.

What was said at this time might be spread to the East Palace.

So, Gu Jingnian hesitated for a moment and said, "Prince Xin, please let me think about it."

"it is good."

Yin Yucheng had expected that Gu Jingnian would not reject him, so he said, "Don't worry, take your time to think about it."

The two of them stopped talking about the matter and returned to the hall.

Feng Niang, Pei Nian and Yin Shu were still sitting there talking.

The three women didn't have a good relationship with each other, so the atmosphere was naturally not harmonious.

When Gu Jingnian entered, he saw Feng Niang giving him an unhappy look. He didn't know what he had done to offend her again.

"Dad, look at this."

Yin Shu stood up impatiently and pulled Yin Yucheng to see the potted plants that Qin'er had just bought in the yard. In fact, she wanted to ask about Gu Jingnian's attitude.

While the father and daughter were away, Feng Niang picked up the cup, poured the last few drops of wine on the table, and said leisurely, "Mr. Gu, can you pour me another glass?"

"it is good."

Gu Jingnian went over to pour the wine, only to see Feng Niang dip her finger in the wine on the table and write a few words.

"What a spy."

Gu Jingnian’s first reaction was what Pei Nian said.

But when he looked over, Pei Nian was looking at Yin's father and daughter in the distance and had no idea about this.

He looked at Feng Niang again, asking what was going on, but Feng Niang just smiled contemptuously.

This attitude is waiting for him to give an explanation.

Gu Jingnian filled a glass of wine, reached out and patted Feng Niang on the back twice, offering comfort rather than explanation.

Then, he wrote on her back with his finger: "How do you know?"

Feng Niang took the newly filled wine glass, her hand trembled, and a few drops of wine spilled. She then wrote on the table: "Someone has sent a message to the secret."

Gu Jingnian immediately understood that it was Han Youxin who had returned to Beijing.

He nodded and was about to leave, but found that Feng Niang had grabbed his wrist.

Over there, Yin Yucheng and his daughter had finished looking at the potted plants and were walking towards this side. Yin Shu was quite happy and walked briskly.

Feng Niang still didn't let go, but instead gave Gu Jingnian a provocative look.

She didn't like Yin Yucheng at all and was not afraid of being caught. She had been hiding in Yongjing City just to find Ying Yao. But since Gu Jingnian had lied to her, she would just stop pretending.

The person who needs to hide his identity and take advantage of the opportunity to do things now is Gu Jingnian, so he should be the one who is anxious.

Facing Feng Niang's gaze, Gu Jingnian did not rush to break free from her hand. Instead, he held her hand and squeezed it gently.

He was also looking at her, his eyes firm and frank, trying to let her know that although he was hiding something from her, he would still take her to Woye.

Seeing that they were still hesitating and Yin's father and daughter were about to step into the hall, Pei Nian simply stood up and walked over to block their view.

"Prince Xin, it's getting late. Should we have someone prepare a carriage?"

When Yin's father and daughter saw Pei Nian suddenly ordering them to leave, they looked at each other and thought that she probably knew.

When he entered the hall again, Gu Jingnian and Feng Niang had already separated and were sitting opposite each other.

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At night, after seeing off the guests, Pei Nian and Gu Jingnian returned to the main room.

"What's wrong with you?" Pei Nian asked in a boss's questioning tone, "You are becoming more and more unscrupulous."

"Han Youxin returned to Beijing and told Feng Niang our identities."

As he spoke, Gu Jingnian turned the tables and asked, "Is this how you Kaipingsi people work? If I hadn't calmed her down, our identities would have been exposed today."

"Him? Why did he do that?"

"Maybe he turned against us and betrayed us." Gu Jingnian said casually.

Pei Nian asked: "Do you think you are funny now?"

"I'm serious..."

Before Gu Jingnian finished speaking, he suddenly stopped and turned around to look back unconsciously.

Because just now, a voice fell into his ears.

"I guess you guys had a lot of fun in Yongjing."

Pei Nian also heard it at the same time. He looked around the room, then exchanged a glance with Gu Jingnian. There was vigilance and fear in each other's eyes.

"Gu Jingnian, I have told Feng Niang your identity. This is to remind you that I know everything. Don't play tricks. Your mission is not to take her away, but to kill Yin Yucheng and bring Gu Beiming back."

"Where are you?" Gu Jingnian suddenly asked.

Han Youxin did not answer him, but sent another message to him.

"Think about Gu Caiwei and her daughter, and do your job well."

Gu Jingnian pushed the door open and looked at the courtyard under the moonlight. He saw that there was no one around and Han Youxin was not here at all.

He was just about to turn back when a gust of wind blew and a handkerchief fell down. He reached out to catch it, only to see that there was a picture of picking lotus embroidered on the handkerchief.

It was obvious that it was from Rui, because there were no lotus flowers in Yong. Gu Jingnian even recognized that it was embroidered by Xing'er.

Everything he used from childhood to adulthood was embroidered by Xing'er. He was very familiar with her needlework. Every pattern was very dense at the beginning, and the threads gradually became sparse later. He always liked to tie an extra knot when biting the thread.

I thought Xing'er had escaped far away, but now it seems that she has fallen into the hands of Kaipingsi.

When he turned over the handkerchief, he saw a small footprint printed in gold mud on the other side.

Obviously, this was specially left for him by the Kaiping Division to "motivate" him to do his job well.

Gu Jingnian looked for a while, put the handkerchief into his arms, and went back into the room.

Pei Nian was still standing there in a daze.

"Is he still talking to you?" Gu Jingnian asked.

"what?"

"I suddenly thought that what he said might be different from what we said."

Pei Nian said: "He said that your job is not to take Feng Niang away."

"Besides that, I didn't say anything to you alone?"

"No."

Pei Nian chuckled and realized that even after sleeping in the same bed with Gu Jingnian for so long, he still didn't believe her.

When they both lay down, she asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Kill Yin Yucheng."

Gu Jingnian answered straightforwardly and sternly, without any hesitation because of Yin Yucheng's apparent enthusiasm.

He originally thought that Han Youxin ordered him to kill Yin Yucheng so that he could find Feng Niang. Now it seems that Kaipingsi really wants Yin Yucheng to die.

Then find an opportunity to take action.

"Why must we kill a prince who indulges in sensual pleasures?"

Pei Nian was also very confused and asked softly.

"I don't know." Gu Jingnian said, "Maybe he is really as strong as he said."

"But how can we kill him under the surveillance of the Eastern Palace? How can we not arouse suspicion after killing him?"

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Han Youxin's return to Beijing disrupted Gu Jingnian's increasingly peaceful life.

Yingyao has not been found yet, and various things are mixed up, the surveillance of the Eastern Palace, the entanglement of Prince Xin's Mansion, the coercion of the Kaiping Division... In comparison, going to school seems very easy.

That morning, Gu Jingnian and Zhang Xiaofang sat in the Zhishi Hall and learned a few idioms unique to the Yong State. They thought they were something profound, but in the end they found out that they were actually northwestern dialects.

After class, he went to Mingde Hall on purpose.

Several disciples were chatting outside the hall. When they saw the Zhishitang badge hanging around his waist, they sneered.

"If you are so ignorant and unskilled, don't come here to embarrass yourself."

Gu Jingnian didn't care about the ridicule at all, and asked, "What does it mean to be unlearned and incompetent?"

At this point, the disciples couldn't help but laugh.

Inside the hall, Pei Nian and Yin Wanqing both heard the noise and turned to look outside.

Seeing that it was Gu Jingnian, Yin Wanqing thought for a moment and guessed that he was here to see her, so she stood up and said, "I'll go out for a while."

"it is good."

Pei Niansui pretended not to see Gu Jingnian coming.

Yin Wanqing left Mingde Hall and ran into Gu Jingnian by chance, so she asked, "Mr. Gu? Why are you here?"

"The school is too big and I got lost."

"I'll take you there."

"Thank you."

The two of them, each with their hands behind their backs, paced along the path in the school. Yin Wanqing asked casually, "Master Gu, are you getting used to living in Yong State?"

"Not used to it."

Gu Jingnian shook his head, and the next moment, he spoke in an unusually straightforward, even rude, manner: "There is something I would like to ask the Crown Prince to decide."

"what?"

"Prince Xin wants to separate Pei Nian and me and marry his daughter to me. I cannot agree to this, but I am afraid I cannot persuade him. After thinking it over, I think I can only marry Pei Nian as soon as possible. I don't have any elders in Yongjing. I heard that only the crown prince is good friends with my father, but the crown prince doesn't want to see me and only wants me to study hard. Therefore, I came to you today to ask for a favor."

It was as if the two were fighting, and suddenly an unusual straight punch hit Yin Wanqing in front of her.

She didn't react in time and had to improvise to counter the attack.

"Why... did you ask me?"

Gu Jingnian continued to punch straight, saying, "Because you are the daughter of the crown prince, and you are watching us, right?"

"Well, that's true." Yin Wanqing did not deny it, and said frankly: "This matter is not my responsibility, but I was curious about Pei Nian and meddled in other people's business."

"In that case, why not just leave it alone?"

Yin Wanqing was a little uncomfortable at first when she saw Gu Jingnian's behavior, but now she realized what was going on and decided to take the initiative and be more straightforward than him.

"Of course I'm afraid you have bad intentions. You came to the capital as a hostage, but you refused to live in peace. First you instigated Prince Xin, causing a serious criminal to escape from prison, and then you found all kinds of excuses to get close to the East Palace. Why? Could it be that you are a spy?"

"I am a spy? Could it be that Yongguo suspected that my father was pretending to surrender?"

“You are you, your father is your father, and Hugh is deliberately tied to him.”

Having brought the topic here, Gu Jingnian could finally open it up and said, "Okay, since you suspect me, what's your basis? Why not be frank and speak clearly."

Yin Wanqing was about to speak when she was stunned and realized that she had fallen into a trap.

Gu Jingnian is a hostage, and no matter whether he is suspicious or not, he just has to stay there honestly.

But now, she almost gave him a chance to clarify.

On second thought, as long as I can control him, what's the harm in getting him to resolve his doubts?
(End of this chapter)