Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

"What a trivial skill! This old man has truly broadened his horizons!"

Mu Qiufeng had considered that Zhou Ning might use special skills such as throwing darts or hidden weapons, but he never expected it to be so simple and brutal!

Killing a chicken with a wave of the hand? Unheard of!

Zhou Ning bowed and said, "Your Excellency! I'll trouble you with this matter of explanation, but it needs to be reasonable and justifiable."

Mu Qiufeng waved his hand and said, "If it truly reaches the ears of the emperor, I will personally submit a memorial to defend you. This time, your Tianchang County's disaster relief efforts were effective, and I will also truthfully report that to the emperor."

He planned to delay the matter as long as possible and needed to come up with a good reason.

It's not fair to say that the magistrate of Tianchang County was a master of martial arts, capable of killing a chicken from a few steps away without anyone noticing. There's no need to kill someone with a cold arrow; that would be too horrifying!

"Your Excellency understands! Please, Your Excellency, do me the honor of having a meal before you leave!"

Prefect Mu stayed for a simple meal and had a conversation with Zhou Ning, his eyes full of admiration, before leaving.

"My lord, is this matter considered closed?" Yu Yanran asked.

Zhou Ning patted her hand reassuringly, "Don't worry, it's all over now. Is Second Brother Gu still staying indoors all day?"

Looks like I need to have a serious talk with him. He's such a good guy, why doesn't he go out and have fun? He's always freeloading off me. Isn't that a bit much?

"Yes, the servant delivers meals three times a day. He eats well, but he doesn't like to go out," Yu Yanran said.

Zhou Ning said, "We mustn't delay. I'll go check on him later. Although we're not short of money, if the Marquis's eldest son were to die of boredom in my Tianchang County, that would be quite a spectacle!"

That evening, Zhou Ning personally delivered the meal to the guest room!

"Second Brother Gu! It's me!" Zhou Ning said.

"Go in!" Gu Tingye said.

"You shot that arrow that night, didn't you? The arrow had internal energy in it; there's no archer like that in the entire Tianchang County," Zhou Ning said as he arranged the plates.

Gu Tingye said, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you. If I hadn't done this, the consequences would have been unpredictable. Would you blame me for causing you trouble?"

"Of course not. That scoundrel tried to incite a riot. Even if you didn't intervene, I would have secretly buried him. Today, Prefect Mu came to question me, and I have already proven my innocence. But you, Second Brother Gu, you've been cooped up in your room all day. Haven't you figured things out yet? If you keep going like this, I'll hardly recognize you anymore." Zhou Ning handed him chopsticks.

Gu Tingye took the chopsticks and sighed, "Changge'er was my son. Despite my precautions, I still lost his life. The more I think about it, the more guilty I feel, and I can't sleep at night!"

"But you still have Rong'er. She didn't come with you, so she's in Bianjing. Aren't you worried about her safety? What if the old Marquis can't tolerate her? What if Zhu Manniang comes back?" Zhou Ning asked.

Just a few casual questions startled Gu Tingye so much that he got up and left. He was really frightened by Zhou Ning's words. He dared not gamble!

"I'm heading back to Bianjing now. I'll come to see you in Tianchang County another day!"

"Don't rush!" Zhou Ning pulled him back, thought for a moment and said, "Actually, you don't need to be so sad. Chang Ge'er isn't your biological son."

A white lie.

Gu Tingye asked incredulously, "You... what did you say?"

"Rong'er has a spirited look, so she's naturally your son, Gu Tingye. But Chang'er has been weak and timid since childhood, more like Zhu Manniang's lover and older brother. The two of them conspired to steal your money, and that's how Chang'er came to be. He's not your biological son, so cheer up!" Zhou Ning said.

Gu Tingye's face darkened, and he slammed his hand on the table, asking, "Then why didn't you tell me sooner? Were you deliberately trying to make a fool of me?"

He had never hidden the fact that he had a son born out of wedlock from Zhou Ning and Changbai, but Zhou Ning was reluctant to tell him, which made him very angry.

"This is ultimately your family matter, and besides, the child is innocent. And do you really think there's no consequence for revealing secrets?" Zhou Ning used his internal energy to make his face turn pale, his pulse become weak and erratic, and then he collapsed backward!

"Pengqi! What's wrong with you?" Gu Tingye quickly helped Zhou Ning up and called for Li Tou outside to fetch a doctor!

Zhou Ning said weakly, "It's nothing, just a little dirty. Help me up, I'll tell you something else!" With that, he used his internal energy to directly injure his own internal organs, spitting out a mouthful of blood!

"Enough! Stop talking! I'm already incredibly grateful that you told me this! I have 30,000 taels of silver notes and some loose silver on me. I'll leave all 30,000 taels to you. You must take good care of yourself and recover soon!" Gu Tingye stopped him.

He knew that Zhou Ning possessed profound internal strength, and that unless he was severely injured, his pulse would not be so disordered and he would not be spitting out blood.

"I can't accept this money. It was all given voluntarily!" Zhou Ning refused.

Lying that your son isn't your biological child is just a white lie.

It's true that my internal organs are injured, but with such internal strength, I will recover in just a few days.

"Just take it. It's not safe for me to travel alone with so many silver notes. After I return to the capital and pick up Rong'er, I'll head to Yuzhou to find Zhao Zongquan. Consider this money as payment for Qingyun Road. We'll meet again, brother!" Gu Tingye took out a stack of small silver notes from his pocket and placed them on the table.

After Zhou Ning heard him say this, he declined three times before finally accepting the offer.

"Second Brother Gu, I have another request!" Zhou Ning said.

"What is it? Just tell me! As long as it's within my power, I will not refuse!" Gu Tingye said guiltily.

"Grand Tutor Yu and his entourage just left this morning, heading back to Bianjing. There are refugees everywhere, and bandits are causing trouble quite a bit. Could you help me escort the two elders for a while?" Zhou Ning asked.

Gu Tingye nodded and said, "What's so difficult about that? I'll borrow the imperial horse and chase after them tonight. The horse racing club will then return to your Bianjing residence!"

"Of course! Take care on your journey! Remember to give my regards to Brother Changbai. I'll see you off." Zhou Ning stood up and bowed.

Gu Tingye returned the greeting and said, "No need to see me off. Just wait here for the doctor to make a diagnosis and see how to treat me. I'll be going now!" He slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder and left without a word.

Soon, the best doctor in the county was invited by Li Tou, who diagnosed Zhou Ning with damaged internal organs and extreme weakness, requiring slow recuperation.

Yu Yanran learned of this and rushed to the guest room with two maids.

"My lord, I heard the doctor diagnosed you with internal organ damage. How are you? Is it very painful?" Yu Yanran asked with concern.

Zhou Ning handed her 20,000 silver notes, saying, "It's a small matter, it'll be fine in a few days. Keep this money safe and use it for public purposes."

Yu Yanran took the bills and looked at a few. Seeing that the total value was over ten thousand, she said worriedly, "So much money? Where did it come from? My lord, you can't embezzle or accept bribes!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Where in the entire Tianchang County is there such a wealthy and extravagant household? This is what I gave to Brother Gu out of gratitude for helping him," Zhou Ning explained.

"What favor do you need to repay with so much silver? It's not necessary to do this to save a life. Sir, you can't do something foolish." Yu Yanran was still worried.

Zhou Ning hugged her and comforted her, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"No, you have to explain to me clearly why Gu Erlang would give you so much money," Yu Yanran insisted.

She didn't care whether or not she could be granted an imperial title, but she was genuinely afraid that Zhou Ning would embark on a dark path from then on.

"Ouch, it hurts so much, please help me to rest..." Zhou Ning groaned.

"My lord..." Yu Yanran's eyes welled up with tears.

"Don't cry. Actually, I temporarily sold my house in Bianjing to him. This is the money for the house!"

......