Chapter 52: Third Young General’s Calculations
After leaving an unsurpassed legend at the big stone bridge, Yu Xiaoxiao followed Gu Xinglang into the carriage and went home. She didn’t bother asking after the fates of the four strong men. By the time their ride passed through the Gu Estate gates, Yu Xiaoxiao had already polished off her last sesame tangyuan in the bowl.
Gu Xinglang stared at Yu Xiaoxiao’s stomach and said, “Aren’t you stuffed?” He was genuinely worried that she’d eat herself sick.
“Here,” Yu Xiaoxiao offered him a mouthful of leftover tangyuan soup. “They added sugar, try some.”
Gu Xinglang opened his mouth to sip the pleasantly sweet soup. “You like street food?”
Yu Xiaoxiao nodded. As long as it was food, she liked it all. It was better to eat as much as she can while she could in case she woke up to another apocalypse one day! (Author: Hey, thinking too much is a disease! You need to treat it!)
“Third brother,” Gu Xingyan’s head poked in from the window. He scanned the two nervously before asking, “Princess, you two aren’t hurt, right?”
“We only went to a banquet,” Gu Xinglang replied, “What are you so worried about, second brother?”
“You guys don’t know?” Gu Xingyan asked, “A section of Complacent Winery collapsed. My God, even a building that tall could fall over!”
“Ooohhhh~” Yu Xiaoxiao stretched out her word.
Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei’s heart shook. Gods in Heaven, that building really did fall down!
Gu Xinglang was surprised. “It collapsed? When did that happen? I had no idea.”
“Just now,” Gu Xingyan replied.
“Did anyone get hurt?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked.
Second Young Master Gu instantly turned vexed. “Don’t bring that up. Not a single Zhuri countryman was injured.”
Since no lives were hurt, Yu Xiaoxiao had nothing to worry about. She didn’t wait for Gu Xingyan to help her, but jumped off the carriage herself and quickly finished off the half remaining bowl of tangyuan soup. Gu Xingyan gestured for the servants of the gates to help Gu Xinglang off the carriage.
While they were busying themselves, Xiao Zhuang scooted next to Yu Xiaoxiao and muttered, “Princess, so that building really did collapse!”
Yu Xiaoxiao’s expression was wooden. “Yeah, who knows who did it? They went way too far!”
Xiao Zhuang nearly bit his tongue. I see, so that’s how you deny until death.
As two servants carried Gu Xinglang off the carriage, he spotted Yu Xiaoxiao standing there yawning with an empty bowl in her hands and said, “Princess should return and rest first. I’ll go meet with grandfather.”
“Are you going to eat with grandpa?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked. “I’ll come too.”
“No need!” Gu Xinglang yelled. At this rate, will she eat herself to death?!
Gu Xingyan had a fright and stared first at this third brother, then at his third sister-in-law. “Princess, did you not eat your fill at the banquet?” He found this understandable. The princess and third brother must have discussed His Seventh Highness with Jing Mo, so how could they be in the mood to eat?
Yu Xiaoxiao replied, “The plates were too small. It’s no wonder that winery’s about to go bankrupt.”
“What?” Gu Xingyan looked to his third brother for help. What’s she saying??
Gu Xinglang didn’t understand why his wife was so convinced that Complacent Winery was going bankrupt, either. He waved a hand at Gu Xingyan, then told Yu Xiaoxiao sincerely, “Grandfather should have finished his dinner by now. Princess, I’m only telling him that we’ve returned. You go rest first, I’ll go back very soon. You–” He hesitated, then promised, “We can go to the big stone bridge again tomorrow.”
Yu Xiaoxiao had already lost interest when she heard there wasn’t food to be had. She replied with a simple “oh,” and left with Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei in tow. Gu Xingyan waited until she was out of sight before asking, “Did something happen?”
Logically speaking, husband and wife should meet their elders in the family together. If Gu Xinglang had sent Yu Xiaoxiao away, then something must have gone wrong.
Gu Xinglang shook his head and muttered, “Second brother, let’s find grandfather first. Call over big brother too.”
Gu Xingyan followed Gu Xinglang in his wheelchair as far as the courtyard gates before he asked, “Just what happened?”
Gu Xinglang replied, “The one that left.”
Gu Xingyan fell silent. “The one that left” in the Gu Clan meant their granduncle Gu Li. 17 years had passed in the blink of an eye, but he was enjoying riches and honor in Zhuri while the Gu Clan in Fengtian had been demoted to mere commoners.
—
Gu Chen had been waiting in his study for Gu Xinglang’s return. He held on until Gu Xingyan carried his brother into a chair before asking, “How did you and the princess’s talk with Jing Mo about His Seventh Highness go?”
Gu Xingnuo hurried in just then to sit opposite his two brothers. “A pillar fell over at Complacent Winery, what happened?”
Gu Xinglang was in no mood to pursue the matter of the pillar. He said in a low voice, “Gu Li had Jing Mo send greetings to us. He even said he was uneasy after hearing of our downfall.”
Gu Xingyan snorted before he cursed, “That’s like a cat crying over a dead mouse–hypocrite! He still has the face to let Jing Mo pass on messages for him? Well, true enough. If he had any shame, he wouldn’t have killed my father first, then ran off to be a grandson of Zhuri Country.”
“Ol’ Second!” Gu Xingnuo cut in. “Let Xinglang finish.”
Gu Xinglang told them all about Jing Mo’s goals to have the Gu Clan surrender a map of Wangxiang Pass, how he’d bought off Qingyu and used her to sow discord between husband and wife, etc. Gu Xingyan was angry enough to curse again, but fell silent after seeing the seething faces of his grandfather and eldest brother.
The lanterns in the study sputtered multiple times before Gu Chen broke the silence with a sigh. “Those born with unlucky lives have difficulty walking a righteous way.”
Gu Xinglang said, “If we don’t submit, Jing Mo will definitely take His Seventh Highness away. Grandfather, are we going to just sit and watch the seventh prince become a hostage?”
Silence fell upon the study.
Gu Xingyan furiously scratched his head and looked at Gu Xinglang. “Have you explained Qingyu’s matters to the princess? What did she have to say about it?”
Gu Xinglang fell mute. He had wanted to explain, but what happened instead? Oh, that’s right. Princess wanted to eat street food at the big stone bridge so we stopped talking.
“You didn’t tell her?” Gu Xingyan asked.
Can I tell you the princess was more interested in food than Qingyu? Gu Xinglang thought. Ah, my heart feels stifled again.
“Forget it,” Gu Chen said. “I’ll have your grandmother tell the princess personally tomorrow.”
Gu Xingnuo said, “So grandmother will explain to the princess about Qingyu, now what about His Seventh Highness?”
Gu Xinglang saw his grandfather and two brothers fall silent again and gritted his teeth. “Leaving aside the fact that the princess and I are husband and wife, she’s already saved me twice. I have to repay the favor.”
“What are you going to do?” Grandfather Gu asked.
Gu Xinglang said, “Grandfather, I want to take His Seventh Highness out of the capital city.”
“You want to flee with His Seventh Highness?” Gu Xingyan cried out. “Can you ride a horse or fight? How are you going to pull it off?”
“Just say I’ve left the city to seek a doctor,” Gu Xinglang had already thought things through. “I’ll escape with His Seventh Highness first. Jing Mo can’t stay here indefinitely, so if His Seventh Highness is missing, His Majesty will definitely send another prince in his place to Zhuri. Once everything passes over, I’ll return with His Seventh Highness and let His Majesty deal with me as he sees fit.”
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