Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 7 Collusion (Thanks to the leader of "Chief Genius Gargamel")

After listening to his subordinate repeating word for word what Gu Jingnian said to Lu Yanning, Pei Nian's expression gradually became solemn.

"Lu Laowu, arrange for someone to follow Lu Yanning and report back wherever he goes."

"Yes."

As soon as Lu Laowu left, his subordinates came hurriedly and reported: "Investigation, Gu Si Niang's carriage went to Fukangfang."

Since Pei Nian was investigating the case, he knew the addresses of the key figures very well. He immediately realized that Gu Caiwei was going to the Wuding Marquis Mansion and wondered why she was so anxious.

A pregnant woman was running back and forth non-stop, either begging for mercy or colluding with others to give false testimony.

"Ready your horse."

At dawn, there were few pedestrians on the straight and wide streets of the capital city, and horses were galloping along. When Pei Nian arrived, Gu Caiwei had not seen Shen Lingshu yet and was sitting in the flower hall to rest.

"The girl is still unconscious. Miss Pei, please go to the inner hall and wait for her. I will comfort her when she wakes up."

Zheng Sanniang, the female steward of the Shen residence, was Shen Lingshu's wet nurse. She had also helped raise Pei Nian for a period of time and was quite close to her.

Pei Nian took off his dirty boots, walked through the spotless corridor, and stopped in front of a bead curtain.

Through the beaded curtain, one could see Gu Caiwei resting with her eyes closed in the flower hall from afar.

"That was Gu Jingnian's elder sister, who came to apologize." Zheng Sanniang said, "Not only did they cancel the engagement, but they also frightened the girl. I didn't want to let someone from the Gu family in, but she was pregnant and had a good attitude."

Pei Nian noticed that Gu Caiwei was rubbing her temples with her fingers, looking a little uneasy.

She was more and more certain that Gu Caiwei was in a hurry to collude with the testimony, so she said, "Let me see Lingshu first."

"Of course."

On the other side, Gu Caiwei raised her eyelids and vaguely saw two figures on the corridor in the distance.

Perhaps because of her uneasiness, she intuitively felt that Pei Nian was coming.

But she didn't get up. She continued to rub her temples and think about countermeasures.

After a while, she called a maid over and said, "Go to the palace gate and see if your husband has left the palace..."

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"Gu Jingnian!"

Shen Lingshu cried out softly and woke up from a nightmare. Her body was trembling slightly and the hair on her forehead was wet with sweat.

"Girl, what's wrong?"

Two maids hurried forward to serve her and finally managed to calm her down from her fright.

It was already bright in the sky. The warm sunlight filtered through the window screens. The breeze blew the hibiscus on the windowsill, causing the branches to sway gently.

When Shen Lingshu found herself in the familiar boudoir, she finally stopped trembling, but tears as big as beans burst out of her eyes and she couldn't hold them back.

"Girl, stop crying."

The two maids were at a loss as to what to do and couldn't coax her into submission. Then, Xue Wanwan, Marquis Wuding's favorite concubine, heard the noise and came over.

"Alright, alright. You are the Marquis' daughter after all. Why are you crying?" Xue Wanwan took light steps and said leisurely, "The Marquis has not come back yet. No matter how much you cry, I am the only one who can comfort you."

Shen Jichi was urgently summoned to the Western Suburbs Palace three days ago. Shen Lingshu took this opportunity to run out and make some trouble, but ended up getting frightened.

Xue Wanwan had never been qualified to manage her and did not have to take any responsibility, so her tone was relaxed.

Under normal circumstances, Shen Lingshu would inevitably scold this vixen, but today she just kept crying.

"Woo woo, Gu Jingnian is dead..."

"You killed her?" Xue Wanwan clapped her hands and said, "It's a pleasure to avenge your enemies. Even though she's a daughter, she won't bring shame to the Marquis' reputation."

Hearing this, Shen Lingshu cried even more sadly.

"Okay, don't worry, you won't be convicted."

"I am sad because he died."

"Why? Isn't it just right that he's dead? That ungrateful lunatic has embarrassed you. This is retribution."

"No, wow... He had no choice but to break off the engagement. In fact, he loved me very much in his heart. He died to save me..."

"What's so strange about that? He's not the only man willing to die for you."

"but I……"

"You're just scared." Xue Wanwan comforted her, "Think positively, it's a good thing he broke off the engagement, otherwise your fiancé would have died before you even got married, and people would have been gossiping about it."

Shen Lingshu had just recovered a little, but after hearing these words, she couldn't help sobbing uncontrollably again.

"Don't cry." Xue Wanwan said, "I heard that a female guest came to see you at dawn. I had just finished dressing up and was about to go over when you woke up."

At this moment, Zheng Sanniang came to the corridor and said, "Miss, Miss Pei Qi is here."

Although Shen Lingshu knew that Pei Nian was an indifferent person, she still thought that she came to comfort her because she heard that she was frightened. She was very moved and with tears in her eyes, she asked someone to take Pei Nian to her boudoir to talk. She also told Pei Nian that she didn't like sweet things and should prepare some warm tea.

Xue Wanwan also understood what was going on and stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go make the arrangements for you."

After a while, Pei Nian arrived. When Shen Lingshu saw her, she showed an aggrieved expression, reached out to hug her, and muttered to herself.

"Woo woo, you still remember to come and see me, you know? I'm in this state, but that vixen still wants to make me angry."

"I'm dirty."

"Whatever, I almost died."

Pei Nian didn't like this kind of physical contact. She was not used to Shen Lingshu's soft body, warm quilt, and faint fragrance.

But this time she just turned her face away helplessly and didn't push him away like she did in the past.

"If an alien appears in the capital, the authorities will deal with it. You must not tell anyone about what happened to you last night."

"Ah."

Pei Nian said: "Tell me, what happened?"

"I saw the monster and it killed a lot of people."

"Why did you go there? Did you go there with Gu Jingnian?"

"Gu...Gu Jingnian..."

It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned it. As soon as this name was mentioned, Shen Lingshu's lips trembled a few times and he burst into tears again.

"He died trying to save me, wuwuwu..."

"What did you say?" Pei Nian was surprised and asked, "You said Gu Jingnian is dead?"

"Ah."

Shen Lingshu held back tears and said, "I thought he hated me. He broke off the engagement and was angry with me. He asked me to send him to see his sweetheart and scolded me for being noisy. But I didn't expect that he regarded me as more important than his own life..."

Pei Nian listened patiently for a long time.

After a really long time, because Shen Lingshu was still talking about those irrelevant emotions, she finally interrupted him.

"How did he die?"

"He blocked the monster's attack for me."

"What exactly? How did the monster kill him?"

Shen Lingshu's lips trembled, and he said, "I saw..."

"girl!"

It was Ayuan who came outside.

The little girl was also very frightened last night. Her face was pale, and her eyes, which used to be black and bright, had lost their luster and looked timid.

After entering the house, A Yuan first covered Shen Lingshu with a blanket, then went to prop up the window and said something casually.

"Girl, Master Gu is not dead."

"What did you say?" Shen Lingshu was stunned, "But he..."

"It's so dark in the pharmacy, young lady, you were so scared that you covered your eyes, how could you see clearly?" A Yuan said, "Young lady, the Marquis is back and wants to see you, but he's worried that it's inconvenient for Miss Pei."

As he spoke, A Yuan glanced at Pei Nian.

Pei Nian stood up tactfully and said, "The Marquis must be very worried. You go see him first and we'll talk later."

"Aren't you leaving?" Shen Lingshu said, "Then I'll ask the kitchen to prepare breakfast for you."

When she heard that Gu Jingnian was not dead, she was obviously very confused, but her emotions finally calmed down.

The chef of the Marquis' Mansion was famous for his skills in cooking. Although he just made a simple bowl of wontons, it smelled very delicious.

Pei Nian ate slowly. When the servant brought her some tea to rinse her mouth, she asked, "Is Gu Si Niang still here?"

"Mrs. Lu? She's gone." "Oh? Didn't she see Lingshu?"

The servants in the Marquis's mansion were still tight-lipped. They were tricked just now. Now they realized what was going on and said hurriedly, "I don't know."

Pei Nian waited for a while and went to see Shen Lingshu again. He found that she had completely calmed down and had washed her face, looking beautiful.

Obviously, Gu Caiwei has successfully colluded with the Marquis's family.

It is very likely that someone was sent to the palace to temporarily invite Marquis Wuding back.

"I haven't told you yet, how did Gu Jingnian die?"

"He's not dead. I was mistaken." Shen Lingshu said, "He saved me twice and was injured by the monster. He looked seriously injured. I thought he was dead."

Pei Nian asked: "How did you encounter that monster?"

"He was rummaging around in that room, and the monster in the kitchen started snoring..."

Pei Nian knew very well that Shen Lingshu must be hiding something from her, but she didn't know what it was.

After asking about the whole matter in detail, she found that she could not find out more, so she stood up and said goodbye.

Shen Lingshu looked at Pei Nian's back and whispered to himself, "You knew that Gu Jingnian was not dead, but you still detained him and didn't tell me... You are so disloyal."

After saying this, she ran to see her father again without stopping.

"father!"

Wuding Hou Shen Jichi was just about to go back to his room to catch up on some sleep when he stopped when he heard his daughter calling him.

He was only wearing a simple white robe, with his hair and beard uncombed and casually scattered, but as soon as he turned around, he had a sense of authority and murderous aura, and even the sound of swords seemed to be brought by the wind.

Fortunately, the next moment, Shen Jichi smiled kindly, like a spring breeze and rain.

"how?"

"Dad, you are not lying to me, are you? I saw Gu Jingnian die with my own eyes."

"What you see with your own eyes doesn't count, what I say counts."

This is unreasonable, but Shen Jichi is a domineering and unreasonable person.

Shen Lingshu has believed in her father since she was a child, but she couldn't understand this matter, so she asked, "Then you haven't told me why he didn't die?"

"That is his unique skill, and your father is not in a position to reveal it to others."

Shen Lingshu was a curious person who wanted to know everything. She said, "Then I'll go ask him."

"Don't ask, the engagement has been cancelled."

"Why did he break off the engagement?"

"Anyway, it's not because you dislike our Shen family."

Shen Jichi is quite open-minded.

He looked over and saw that his daughter looked very pale, and was obviously very sleepy and tired, but her eyes were wide open, and she looked tired yet energetic, and he didn't know how many things she was curious about.

"But he said I was noisy."

"Ah."

"Dad? What are you saying..."

Shen Jichi knocked his daughter unconscious with a casual knock, then he took her in his arms, patted her back gently, and signaled with his eyes for the servants to come and take her.

Soon, a subtle and even snoring sound began to sound from Shen Lingshu's nose...

--------

When Gu Jingnian woke up, the courtyard was still quiet.

Only a few sparrows stood on the branches, chirping and being very talkative.

He was used to being alone like this, lying there watching the autumn wind outside the window blowing the treetops, waiting for the yellowing leaves to fall.

It's like waiting for the General's Mansion to fall.

Someone pushed the door open and walked in. It was Pei Nian.

"I've met Shen Lingshu. I heard that you almost died trying to save her. I didn't realize you were so badly injured."

"She misunderstood." Gu Jingnian said casually.

Pei Nian said, "There is one thing I don't understand. Why would the daughter of the Marquis's Mansion be engaged to you?"

"Because Marquis Wuding has a very good personal relationship with my father."

"There are many sons in the general's mansion, why did you choose a bastard like you?"

"Most of the Gu family's sons died fighting for their country, didn't they?"

"Gu Jiye is only one year older than you. He is Madam Zong's legitimate son and is unmarried. Wouldn't he be a better match for the Marquis' daughter?"

"Since you are investigating the Gu family, you must understand his character. Marquis Wu Ding doesn't like him."

"Marquis Wu Ding only likes you?" Pei Nian walked closer and looked at Gu Jingnian carefully. "What's so special about you? Why don't you let me see it?"

Gu Jingnian didn't look at her and turned his head away.

"If you have any doubts, Pei Ji, please speak up."

"Okay." Pei Nian said, "I heard that your mother was a female prisoner from South Vietnam. Does she hate the Swiss country?"

"I haven't seen her."

"It is said that after the fall of the Kingdom of Yue, the seventh daughter of the King of Yue fled to the Kingdom of Yong. Is that your mother?"

When asking this question, Pei Nian kept staring into Gu Jingnian's eyes.

She thought this sentence would arouse the boy's curiosity about his life experience, but unexpectedly, Gu Jingnian just sneered subconsciously.

"How silly."

"You're talking about me?" Pei Nian was surprised.

"My mother was captured, but the daughter of the King of Yue escaped, of course not alone."

"Didn't General Gu capture her first and then release her? Otherwise, with General Gu's determination, why would he occupy a female prisoner? Only the stunning beauty of the King of Yue's daughter may impress him."

"It's completely fabricated and full of mistakes." Gu Jingnian said calmly, "There's no need to test me with these."

"But this is why the Kaiping Division is following you. If Gu Beiming wants to assassinate His Majesty, there must be someone in the capital who is responsible for this matter. This person must be deeply trusted by him and is determined to be an enemy of the Rui Kingdom."

Gu Jingnian disagreed and said, "I have no official position, no job, and no talent. What can I do?"

"Be the central contact and pass on the message."

"I am alone, who can I pass the message to?"

"You try not to attract attention, but the people you interact with are all important figures." Pei Nian said slowly: "For example, Shen Jichi and Lu Yanning."

Gu Jingnian said sarcastically: "You are really good at framing loyal and honest people."

"No, I'm just reminding you that someone will definitely make a fuss about this. You and Shen Lingshu found the leech together, and you colluded with each other to conceal the details from Kaipingsi. You are being too clever. What you did will only increase suspicion. When the time comes, the evidence of the conspiracy between the Gu, Shen, and Lu families will be..."

"Good!" Gu Jingnian clapped his hands and clapped his hands. "Then please ask Pei Ji to report this to the Emperor Da Rui and have these three generals executed to put an end to this great threat and achieve an unprecedented feat."

"Don't you understand? I'm telling you the consequences."

"I do not care."

Pei Nian sighed and said seriously, "I'll tell you the truth. I absolutely do not want to frame General Gu. On the contrary, I respect him very much and want to prove his innocence."

She took out her badge and handed it to Gu Jingnian.

There were eight small characters carved under the sign: "Unification of Zhongzhou, Eternal Peace".

"This is the mission of the Kaiping Division, and it is also my ambition." Pei Nian said frankly, "This ambition is the same as General Gu's."

"I admire you." Gu Jingnian nodded casually.

"This is a big case. To save General Gu, we must find out the truth. I can help you. If you trust me, you should be open and honest with me."

"Okay, let's be frank. I've told my brother-in-law everything I know, and you've all heard it."

"Tell me your secret." Pei Nian said, "What are you hiding by colluding with the Marquis's family?"

"I have nothing to say."

"It's worth it to exchange a secret that I will discover sooner or later for my trust and help... or the opportunity to use me."

Pei Nian stood up and said gently, "Take your time to think about it."

　I posted a single chapter in "Man Tang" today and lifted the ban on all the banned posts.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)