Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 40 Wooden Box

In the hazy dream, the beautiful memories came to mind.

The woman with peerless beauty opened her red lips and swayed her waist slightly. At first, she was a little unfamiliar, but gradually she felt a certain desire.

A damp rainy night, a swelling impulse.

But when the body in the quilt came close to him again, Gu Jingnian suddenly realized that it was not Miao Chunniang this time.

The person in his arms was thin and small, like a wild little animal. She just wanted to stick to his heart regardless of anything else. After that, there was no more movement, and their two hearts beat at the same frequency.

It's Ying Yao.

It’s hard to say why, but Gu Jingnian relaxed.

Distracting thoughts gradually faded, his breathing became slower, and the beauty in his mind faded. What emerged was a pure and clean picture, which seemed to be the sky.

He soared among the clouds and vaguely saw two high mountains in the distance. Although he couldn't see them clearly, they gave him a sense of closeness to his "hometown".

This was the first time in his life that he had experienced such a feeling, and he was so attached to it that he didn't want to wake up.

It was a peaceful sleep.

When Gu Jingnian woke up again, there was still a little warmth in his arms, but Yingyao was gone.

He thought that perhaps what he dreamed of last night was the hometown in his heart. The two treasure mountains in the fertile fields appeared in his memory through some connection.

It’s nice to have a hometown to miss.

Through the window paper, you can see that the weather is clear and the afternoon sun is just right.

There was a wooden box on the low table beside the couch. The wood was special and it felt very heavy in the hands.

This was stolen by Master Ma from Feng Niang's house. Perhaps it contains the answer that Gu Jingnian has been looking for.

He opened the wooden box and what came into view was a piece of red silk.

When I picked it up and took a look, I found that the texture was silky and smooth, but not cold. Instead, it felt warm in the chilly autumn weather. When I unfolded it, I realized that it was a set of women's undergarments, which seemed to still carry the owner's body temperature, although this was obviously impossible.

There was a big bird embroidered on the bellyband. It had beautiful feathers, a proud temperament, and was lifelike. Gu Jingnian had never seen such a bird before and could not tell its name, but he could only clearly feel that it was Feng Niang's thing.

He put it aside and looked at the other things in the box.

There was a sewn booklet, and when it was opened, there was beautiful handwriting on it.

"On June 3, I moved to Taipei City and tried to learn how to live like an ordinary person. The old woman in the wine shop across the street was very hateful. She pretended to be a helper and stole a gong. I sent Gao Changgan to retrieve it, and then drowned her in wine as a punishment."

Gu Jingnian turned a page and saw that on June 4th, Feng Niang had written very little, just one sentence.

"Damn it, Gao Changgan refuses to hand over the gong, nor does he want to perform acrobatics. He only wants to take money. Let him do whatever he wants."

It seems that this is Feng Niang's diary.

She was in charge of intelligence for the caged man, so there must be many secrets in her diary. Gu Jingnian then turned the pages one by one.

"June 9th, today I'll pay ten coins. Yan Da Yan Er burned down the stage and paid seven hundred coins. Lao Hei burned someone and paid one thousand coins. The rest of the bills will not be counted. It's very troublesome."

"On June 18th, why should we live like ordinary people? We should send tall poles to steal ten thousand coins from the rich families in the south of the city."

"Hook is nosy, damn it, pay 10,000."

"On July 3, I will lend you 100,000 yuan. From now on, you will be left to fend for yourself like the dregs of medicine. You are all stupid and hopeless. You will learn the zither from Madam Xu to cultivate your character. I will pay you 8,000 yuan."

"..."

Gu Jingnian read it for a long time and roughly understood that Feng Niang's diary did not record any information at all, but was just a place to vent her feelings. The words that appeared most frequently were "hateful" and "very annoying", which was completely different from her usual smiling appearance.

He lost his patience and simply skipped over several years of trivial matters, flipped back to the end, and went straight to the day when he went to meet Feng Niang.

"On September 7, the old man in the tree introduced a business, and he paid 30,000 coins. He saw a child born from the mating of a human and a pig, and the appearance was very good."

"On September 8, the old thief's raccoon bit a bird. How despicable."

"September 9th. Recently, I have been assigned more and more trivial tasks, which is very annoying. In addition, I didn't learn the piano in March, and Mrs. Xu didn't return the money."

I turned the page again and it was gone.

It seems that Feng Niang has no mood to write a diary when she is busy.

Gu Jingnian frowned slightly and muttered a word.

"swine?"

This was the only clue he got from Feng Niang's diary, but he had never heard of any alien race in Yi Hai named "Zhi".

Continue looking through the box.

There was a white porcelain bottle. Gu Jingnian poured the contents of the bottle into his palm. It was a few fruit cores that had been eaten clean. I don't know why they were preserved so carefully.

The rest were the three pearls he gave her, a few pieces of valuable jewelry, and a jewelry box made of something that looked like wood but not wood, and like iron but not iron, locked with a small black padlock.

Gu Jingnian took out a dagger and tried to pry it open, but the dagger failed to leave a scratch.

He went to find a big axe for chopping wood and smashed it down with great force. With a "crack", the axe handle broke, but the jewelry box was not damaged at all.

I tried various methods, but I still couldn't do anything with this small box. It seemed that the only way to open it was to find the key.

Gu Jingnian then packed up all the items and wanted to go back to Chongjing Academy immediately to ask Song Zhang about the pig man.

But he still remembered that he had promised Marquis Wu Ding that he would visit him today.

When I opened the door, I heard a woman's voice outside the yard.

It was another maidservant named Li'er beside Gu Caiwei who was arguing with the two beautiful maids sent by the Zong family.

"You are the ones who scolded Xing'er and made her cry? Even Si Niang never said anything harsh to you, you are so bold." "How did we scold Xing'er? It was clearly she who drove us out. We have not been able to get in until now... Sir."

Gu Jingnian walked out of the courtyard and said, "I'm going to Wudinghou Mansion. Please prepare some gifts and get me some clothes."

He seldom gave orders to his servants before, but today he acted like a master. The two beautiful maids hurried to ask for instructions on the preparation of gifts from the Zong family, while Li'er went to get clothes for him to change into, and took the old clothes back to Lu's house to wash.

A few sparrows stayed on the ginkgo tree, chirping.

Gu Jingnian wore a white robe, brought a few gifts, and went to the Wuding Marquis' Mansion as agreed.

It was almost dusk. Zheng Sanniang had just arrived outside the side door to wait when she saw a young man coming on horseback. He had an extraordinary demeanor. She nodded involuntarily, then sighed in her heart. It was a pity that he was an illegitimate child. Even if he was called a bastard, it would be an injustice to her own daughter.

"Mr. Gu is here. The Marquis has just left the government office and is changing his clothes. Please sit in the second hall for a while. Wine and food have been prepared."

"I heard that Marquis Wu Ding has been retired for many years, and he still wants to go to the government office?"

"Your Majesty has been temporarily in charge of the Imperial Left Army."

Gu Jingnian had an idea and wanted to ask again, but Zheng Sanniang stopped talking and led the way.

When they arrived at the inner hall, they saw the host and the guest sitting at separate tables, which were already filled with exquisite dishes. Marquis Wu Ding loved to enjoy himself, and there was a good chef in his mansion, and delicious food was often available. He was famous in the capital.

Gu Jingnian sat down, and soon after, Shen Jichi arrived.

"Don't get up."

He walked into the inner hall with the gait of a dragon and a tiger. Seeing Gu Jingnian preparing to stand up and salute, Shen Jichi waved his hand casually and said, "Just sit down. There is no point in talking about empty formalities. Let's just talk about the real things today.

"My Lord is my elder, I should show my respect."

Shen Jichi first waved away the servants, and without speaking in a hurry, he took a few bites of food and ate slowly, looking relaxed.

"The okra is a little salty today, but the crystal pork elbow is pretty good... Since you consider me an elder, tell me the truth, why do you want to cancel the engagement?"

Gu Jingnian said, "My Lord and my father are both famous military figures. I am worried that the marriage between our two families will be suspected."

"Yes, Kaiping Division investigated your father. I had the same concerns at first, so I agreed to cancel the engagement." Shen Jichi took over the conversation without waiting for him to finish, saying, "But I have met His Majesty. His Majesty is a wise and enlightened monarch. He will never have such suspicions. You don't have to worry."

"Then Wanchun Palace..."

"The case is closed." Shen Jichi said, "The file submitted by the Southern Court stated it very clearly. Today, His Majesty has issued an edict to close it accordingly. You don't have to worry anymore. Your father will return to the capital in a while, be granted a title of nobility, and be appointed Minister of War."

In Gu Jingnian's opinion, it would be hasty to close the case at this point.

However, the court was unwilling to make any unauthorized moves against the border generals, which showed that it wanted stability and would not allow any further disturbances.

Shen Jichi didn't want to talk more about this case, and waved his hand to indicate that the topic was over.

"Since this is your reason for breaking off the engagement, now that the matter is settled, when your father returns to Beijing, we can renew the engagement."

Gu Jingnian said: "I'm afraid it's not appropriate. It will damage the reputation of the Marquisate..."

"The last thing I lack is reputation!"

Shen Jichi didn't like to listen to any empty talk, and once again forcefully interrupted Gu Jingnian's euphemisms.

"Just tell me straight away, do you not want to marry my daughter? And what is your reason?"

He was so straightforward that it was a bit embarrassing.

Gu Jingnian pondered and said, "My Lord, can you tell me why you want to marry your daughter to me?"

Shen Jichi smiled, pointed at Gu Jingnian and then at himself, and said, "We both know it."

He didn't play dumb and said, "I plan to have a grandson soon. After looking around, I think it's not bad if my grandson looks a bit like you."

"My Lord, do you know what kind of person I am?"

"Otherwise do I see you as a bastard?"

Gu Jingnian said: "Does the Marquis know my mother's family..."

"Don't keep asking me." Shen Jichi said, "Answer my question first."

His frankness finally influenced Gu Jingnian.

"Okay, I'll tell you the truth, sir. I don't want to marry your daughter. I want to find my mother's family and live a normal life."

Shen Jichi held the wine glass and shook his head, "Where do you have a mother clan?"

"I don't have a mother clan?"

"Your father was under my command when he captured your biological mother. How could I not know? Your biological mother has no relatives." Shen Jichi drank the wine in the cup in one gulp. "Besides, what is a normal life? I will teach you to live a good life and stop thinking about useless things."

If he had heard these words a day earlier, Gu Jingnian might have believed it.

He didn't want to give up the opportunity to ask Shen Jichi in person, so after thinking it over, he spoke.

"In that case, may I ask, sir, have you ever heard of '彘'?"

Shen Jichi was pouring wine. He paused when he heard the words. He looked up at Gu Jingnian, surprised that he had even found out this.

Then he chuckled, as if mocking someone.

"You want to live a 'normal life' like the pig people? Do you know why there are few records of the pig people except in the Fengwuzhi?"

"I dare to ask for your advice, my Lord."

"Because," Shen Jichi paused and sighed slightly, "Zhu people have always been used for eating."

(End of this chapter)