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Eunuch Qin had someone arrange a carriage while he personally sent Xiao Liulang to the gate of the palace, and also instructed the two dark guards to follow along the way.
In a nearby forest, several figures flashed by.
A quarter of an hour later, in the dimly lit room, a figure hidden by darkness could be seen holding out their hand in front of them.
One of the black-clad people said, "Master, there were dark guards from the Renshou Palace following along the way, and we were unable to act."
The figure in the darkness waved their hand lightly and said, "Retreat."
The next day, Xiao Liulang had a day off, and there were no classes at the Imperial Academy.
Xiao Liulang slept late in the night and woke up slightly later in the morning. Little Jing Kong had already gotten up and went to the backyard to wash and water the small vegetable field.
When Xiao Liulang arrived at the backyard, he unexpectedly found two marquises standing there—— Marquis Xuanping and Marquis Ding'an.
Marquis Xuanping had come to take Little Jing Kong as his disciple. He had thought it through. Once he took him as his disciple, he could openly enter the alley, then he could investigate Xiao Liulang's background as well as please his daughter-in-law without any problem.
But coincidentally, Marquis Ding'an had also come to take Little Jing Kong as his disciple.
In fact, he didn't leave last night because he fainted from fear and stayed overnight in Bishui Alley.
After he woke up, he already knew that the child was his own and had nothing to do with Marquis Xuanping. The reason why Marquis Xuanping was here was simply because he had taken a liking to the little monk and wanted to take him as his disciple.
In the past, Marquis Gu wouldn’t dare to compete with Marquis Xuanping, but this was related to whether he could stay in Bishui Alley.
That’s right, he had thought about it. Yao Shi was pregnant and her situation was special. She did not want to return to the Marquis Estate, so he decided to temporarily stay with her.
Everything would be reconsidered after the child was born.
For the sake of his wife and child, Marquis Gu was willing to fight!
Even if the other party was a first-rank Military Marquis and his status was several levels higher than him, he couldn’t back down!
Marquis Xuanping had his hands in his sleeves, even though the weather was so hot. It was truly admirable. He casually said, "In that case, let's compete fairly and see who has the ability. Little monk, what do you think?"
Little Jing Kong thought carefully, "Okay, okay!"
He took out two small cards and wrote a few words on them. Then he brought a small stool and sat cutely on it, starting to watch.
Marquis Gu snorted coldly and asked, "I wonder what Marquis Xuanping wants to compare with me?"
Marquis Xuanping raised his eyebrows and said, "Face."
Marquis Gu who almost choked to death: "...!!"
Was it fine to be so shameless?
Little Jing Kong raised the small card in his right hand, saying, "Marquis Xiao wins!"
Obviously, bad brother-in-law's dad looked better than JiaoJiao's dad.
But JiaoJiao was the most beautiful, no rebuttal accepted!
Marquis Gu hadn't reacted yet when it already began and he lost. Where could he go to argue?
He gritted his teeth and came up with a killer move, "Let's compete with poetry!"
Marquis Xuanping: "..."
Damn it!
Although Marquis Gu's calligraphy and painting were not very good, he still *had a little more ink in his belly than Marquis Xuanping. [T/N: *has more literary knowledge]
Little Jing Kong tested them with five poems. Marquis Gu recited two, while Marquis Xuanping couldn't even recite a single line.
Little Jing Kong raised the card in his left hand, "Marquis Gu wins!"
However, Marquis Gu wasn’t so lucky afterwards. Marquis Xuanping, despite being weak in scholarly pursuits, was skilled in everything else, and he crushed Marquis Gu mercilessly.
Even in martial arts, although Marquis Xuanping had a waist injury, he still beat Marquis Gu effortlessly.
Marquis Gu refused to lose miserably!
Hours later, the ambitious Marquis Gu was finally exhausted and laid himself out on the steps in despair, with his limbs splayed out and his eyes rolled back and tongue sticking out.
"Great, great!" Little Jing Kong sat on the small stool, straightened his small back, and clapped his hands.
Marquis Xuanping's lips curled up in satisfaction as he said, "Alright, I won. You can now acknowledge me as your master."
Little Jing Kong tilted his head and said seriously, "But I already have a master! I can't acknowledge you as my master anymore. A good disciple doesn’t serve a second master!"
Wasn't it supposed to be "a good wife doesn’t serve a second husband"?
Marquis Xuanping furrowed his handsome brows, beginning to doubt life.
It could be that he just misremembered due to his poor education. Maybe the original saying was indeed "a good disciple doesn’t serve a second master."
But that wasn’t the point. The point was that this little brat had played him again!
Marquis Xuanping gritted his teeth and asked, "If you didn’t intend to acknowledge me as your master, why did you get so excited earlier?"
Little Jing Kong spread out his hands innocently and said, "I only said that I wanted to watch you two compete. I never said that I would acknowledge the winner as my master after the competition. It was you guys who said that, I never agreed to it!"
Marquis Xuanping's tooth ached!
This darn little monk was too much!
Marquis Xuanping couldn't keep making a fool of himself in one place. If the little monk wanted to challenge him, he could do it in another five hundred years! He snorted and said imposingly, "This Marquis doesn't care. Whether you agree or not, you have to acknowledge me as your master. Chang Jing!"
Chang Jing swiftly entered and lifted Little Jing Kong onto his shoulders.
Little Jing Kong's arms and legs flailed about, and he exclaimed, "Yi! What are you doing?!"
Marquis Xuanping elegantly flicked his wide sleeves and said, "Take him away!"
They were going to pay respects to their ancestors!
"Ah! No, no, I don't want to!"
Despite some resistance from a certain little monk, he was still taken away by the bad monkey!
……
Today, there was a class at Qinghe Academy, and Gu Yan didn't know what was happening at home. Liu Quan came to send Gu Xiaoshun to Master Lu and Nan Xiang’s place for the craftsmanship lesson, but he didn't go.
He was being lazy again.
On one hand, he didn't have much interest or ambition, and on the other hand, his body was weaker than usual. Sitting in a carriage in the scorching summer heat was unbearable for him.
As he leisurely made his way back, he was met by an old but still sharp and spirited man.
"What a coincidence." The old man said with a smile.
"Mm, what a coincidence." Gu Yan knew who he was—— his grandfather, Gu Chao.
He recognized him the first time he came to see him outside the academy.
He had left the capital at four years old and hadn't seen his grandfather for eleven years. Old Marquis thought he wouldn't remember him.
In fact, Gu Yan didn't remember him, but Old Marquis's face was very distinctive. They looked very similar, spanning three generations.
Furthermore, Gu Yan noticed that whenever Old Marquis approached him, his dark guards would keep their distance.
Gu Yan might not be good at studying, but he was also a shrewd character.
Old Marquis wanted to see his grandson, but couldn't let go of his pride, so he had to arrange a few "chance encounters" with Gu Yan.
He thought Gu Yan didn't recognize him.
"Aren't you going to your craftsmanship class today?" Old Maquis asked.
"It's too hot." Gu Yan said. "Are you here to see your grandson again?"
Old Maquis looked embarrassed. "Ah, yes."
Gu Yan knowingly asked, "Did you see him?"
Old Marquis looked at Gu Yan and forced a laugh, "Yes, I did."
"Oh." Gu Yan raised his eyebrows. "Then do you want to go eat cold noodles again today?"
Old Marquis was initially taken aback, but quickly nodded, "Yes, yes!"
The two had eaten cold noodles before, and Gu Yan found that Old Marquis liked it very much.
Gu Yan’s impression of his grandfather wasn't too bad.
In his memory, his grandfather treated him and his mother quite well. When he and his mother moved to the villa, his grandfather even sent two dark guards to protect them.
He had several episodes of illness in the middle of the night, and if the dark guards hadn't detected anything unusual in time, he might have died long ago.
After eating the cold noodles with mint, Gu Yan felt refreshed and satisfied. He rubbed his belly and said, "Last time you treated me, so this time, I'll treat you! It's only fair!"
"No need." Gu Chao said.
Gu Yan waved his hand. "It's fine. Although I don't have much money, I do odd jobs every day and earn some pocket money. I can afford to treat you to cold noodles."
When he heard this, Old Marquis’s eyebrows furrowed tightly. His own grandson had fallen to the point of doing odd jobs to earn money?
How could Gu Chong be such a bastard father!
Didn't he even give his son any monthly allowance?!
"What about your father?" Old Marquis asked.
Gu Yan sighed, "My father forces me to move back every day. When I refuse, he cuts off my monthly allowance. As I told you before, I was born prematurely, I’m weak-bodied, and suffering from heart disease. My sister had a hard time taking care of me."
Was that girl working as a medical woman to take care of her younger brother?
Then he had misunderstood her.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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