dognovel Chapter 114 Come to the door
Chapter 114 Come to the door
The sound of the scribes from the Imperial Censorate marking the list of worshippers outside the mountain gate mingled with the soft ringing of the copper bells on the eaves. Shen Jingshu looked at the blue-robed figures moving around the mountain gate and suddenly felt that the way the censors copied the list of worshippers was just like the soldiers confiscating property.
Suddenly feeling a slight itch on her earlobe, Jiang Jin'an's fingertips were twirling a stray strand of hair that had been blown about by the wind near her temple.
"Madam, Xie's second son rummaged through a room full of files at the Ministry of Personnel today, making Chief Clerk Cheng look like a respectable person in comparison."
“Cheng Wenhao?” She paused for a moment, then chuckled, “He must have driven people crazy with his merchant-like manner.”
She should have realized that with Cheng Wenhao's unconventional personality, how could he be content to be a minor official in the Ministry of Personnel?
It's truly unbelievable that such a scandal has already erupted after only half a day in office...
“He mocked Xie’s elder brother for receiving a grade B in his performance review last month.” Jiang Jin’an took out a pine nut candy from his sleeve, pinched the wrapper, and stuffed it between her slightly parted lips. “This forced Minister Wen to take him to check the old files from seven years ago.”
Just as Shen Jingshu was about to reply, she suddenly saw a blue-robed official emerge from the mountain gate, carrying a list of worshippers and walking briskly.
The official's robe was stained with mud, yet it concealed the list of worshippers perfectly.
She pressed the sugar cube against her tongue, and the pine nut sugar melted, bringing a slightly bitter taste: "The Censorate is probably going to start its investigation with the Cheng family."
A chill ran through Shen Jingshu's heart. The Cheng family was connected to the Gu family; if they were targeted by the Censorate...
Jiang Jin'an chuckled softly, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Madam is wise."
The shadows of the trees on the bluestone slabs were scattered by the wind. Sikong climbed down from the wall, his clothes still stained with fresh blood, and shouted, "Young Master insists on returning to the Duke's mansion. I had no choice but to wrap him in a blanket and tie him to the bed."
"Nonsense!" Shen Jingshu shook off Jiang Jin'an's hand. "His whip marks on his back have just scabbed over. Can he withstand this kind of torment?"
She knew Gu Changyi's injuries all too well.
Physician Xu's words were still ringing in my ears; if I were to be further provoked, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Another muffled thud came from inside the meditation room, and a staggering figure was suddenly reflected in the window paper.
Wen Yin's voice finally drifted out, mixed with the sound of the wooden fish: "Let him go! It's going to break either way..."
"Sister, are you really so heartless?!" Shen Jingshu could no longer bear it and slammed the broken hairpin in her hand against the door.
Jiang Jin'an grabbed her wrist and shook his head at her, "The Imperial Observatory says it will rain tonight. Does Madam want to go back to the manor in the rain, or..."
A sudden mountain wind, carrying the earthy smell of pre-rain, rushed into the corridor. Shen Jingshu looked at the darkening light at the eaves and suddenly remembered the same scene of dark clouds looming over the city on the day she heard the news of Jiang Jin'an's death in her previous life.
……
Inside the ancestral hall of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, Gu Zhong slammed the bright yellow imperial edict onto the offering table, saying, "Tomorrow morning at court, those censors will curse the Gu family's ancestral graves until they emit azure smoke!"
Throughout his military career, he had never suffered such humiliation.
The Gu family, a military family spanning three generations, is about to be ruined by a few pedantic and pedantic words of advice?
He never imagined that he would be driven to such a predicament by a group of empty talkers.
Gu Changfeng kicked the prayer mat over with such force that it tumbled several times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground. "I should have locked him in the ancestral hall and broken his legs back then."
"You have the nerve to say that?!" Gu Zhong was furious. He grabbed the offering plate and threw it at Gu Changfeng. The walnuts hit Gu Changfeng and rolled onto the blue brick floor with a dull thud. "You'll be kneeling in front of the Golden Palace tomorrow morning! The mess in the Northern Border hasn't been cleaned up yet. Let's see if you can withstand the court beating!"
"Is Father truly enraged?" Gu Shile slowly stepped over the threshold, carrying a lantern. "If Second Brother is truly crippled, the Censorate should impeach Father for harming his offspring."
She bent down to pick up the walnuts, then suddenly gasped. In the candlelight, a bloodstain was clearly visible on her pale palm.
"What happened to your hand?" Gu Zhong frowned.
"I burned myself while serving medicine to my second brother at the Jiang residence." Gu Shile lowered her eyes and withdrew her hand, saying casually, "Your daughter is useless; she can't even hold a medicine pot properly."
Thunder rumbled outside again, and torrential rain pounded against the glazed tiles.
Gu Changfeng suddenly sneered: "I heard that Jiang Jin'an transferred Fu Zijin to the Commandery."
“Fu Zijin?” Gu Zhong’s pupils constricted sharply. “That Marquis of Pingyang…”
He suddenly stood up. No, he had to find Jiang Jin'an and Gu Changyi.
"Prepare the carriage, we're going to the Jiang residence!" Gu Zhong slammed his dragon-patterned staff heavily on the ground. "I want to ask Jiang Jin'an if he's even going to send his aunt to the imperial prison!"
……
The Zhuque Street was deserted in the torrential rain, and the water had flooded the carriage shafts. Gu Zhong stared at the stone lions in front of the Jiang Mansion and vaguely saw the blood splattered on his armor when Jiang Xiangxun shielded him from an arrow on the battlefield years ago, which was also just as bright red.
The carriage of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion stopped in front of the Jiang residence. The gatekeeper, holding an oil-paper umbrella, trotted over, his hands trembling: "Please forgive me, Your Excellency, but the Commandant has instructed that he must accompany the Madam to copy Buddhist scriptures tonight..."
"Copy my ass!" Gu Zhong waved his hand, knocking over the gatekeeper's umbrella. "Jiang Jin'an has killed enough people to fill ten Halls of Rebirth, and now he's pretending to be compassionate?"
The vermilion gate suddenly swung open, and Jiang Jin'an, still in his official robes with python patterns, was wearing a lotus-colored shawl draped over his shoulders by Shen Jingshu.
He leaned against the doorframe and chuckled: "Is Uncle going to put on a show of loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness in the pouring rain?"
Gu Zhong's temple veins throbbed.
Twenty years ago, when he led a light cavalry raid on the Northern Di camp, this little beast was still in his mother's womb!
"You bastard!" Gu Zhong slammed his dragon-patterned staff heavily on the bluestone slab, splashing water that soaked the hem of Jiang Jin'an's python robe. "Back then, your father..."
"If Father knew how his uncle treated his nephew, he would probably turn the coffin lid off."
Gu Zhong took a deep breath. "Take me to see Chang Yi."
As you walk through the corridor, a strong smell of medicine mixed with a faint stench of blood hits you.
Wuchen led the way, holding a glass lantern. A silhouette of someone coughing violently was projected onto the paper window of the west wing. Sikong was kneeling before the bed, holding a bowl of medicine: "Young master, please take some..."
"roll!"
When Gu Zhong stepped into the room, layers of gauze curtains hung down on the canopy bed, and Gu Changyi could be vaguely seen wrapped in a cotton quilt like a cocoon, with only half of her pale face showing.
"Is Father here to send his son on his way?" A weak laugh came from inside the gauze curtain. "Unfortunately, even turning over in bed hurts now, and he can't run anymore..."
Gu Zhong choked up, his hand trembling as he pushed open the gauze curtain. In the candlelight, blood seeping from Gu Changyi's back had soaked through her inner garment, and her wrists were marked with purplish-blue marks from the hemp rope.
Suddenly, the blood-stained floor tile in the ancestral hall came into view.
"Come home with your father." Gu Zhong reached out to grab his wrist, but was startled by the scalding heat and withdrew his hand.
A thunderclap cleaved the night sky. Gu Zhong turned around and saw himself reflected in Jiang Jin'an's eyes—the old general who had never trembled even amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, now his hand holding the staff was trembling so much that he couldn't even grasp a piece of light gauze.
"Jiang Jin'an! Do you really want to watch the Gu family's century-old foundation be destroyed in an instant?"
His response was Shen Jingshu suddenly pushing open the carved wooden door.
She held a sandalwood box in her hands: "Your Excellency, why don't you take a look at this—"
The moment the box lid was opened, the indigo ink stains on dozens of secret letters stung Gu Zhong's eyes.
"Accounts for smuggled weapons in the northern border," Jiang Jin'an's finger swept across the top of the letter, "Do you think the censors are criticizing the Second Young Master Gu for being absurd, or criticizing the Duke of Dingguo for colluding with the enemy?"
Gu Zhong staggered and grabbed the door frame. The child he used to hold on his lap and feed candy had now grown into a demon who tore apart the Gu family’s century-old glory.