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The Yuan Family's eldest daughter seemed to carry more weight than Ling Shuxian, it was just that her thoughts were a bit... um... hard to express in words.
Well, as long as his eldest brother liked her!
It was a pity that that girl left early and missed this good show.
"Aiya!" Gu Chengfeng patted his own head. "I still haven't bought the medicine from that girl!"
Gu Chengfeng displayed his qinggong skills as he headed to Bishui Alley.
Gu Jiao had already brought Little Jing Kong back from the Imperial Academy. Little Jing Kong was playing cuju in the backyard with several friends from the alley, while Gu Jiao was sun-drying herbs in the front yard.
Gu Chengfeng told Gu Jiao about the further development between Gu Changqing and the young Taoist nun, saying, "With this progress, we should have a sister-in-law soon!"
We.
He used this word for the first time.
He had always understood that the current Gu Jiao wasn’t the real Gu Jiao, so he was surprised by this word that slipped out of his mouth.
Fortunately, Gu Jiao didn't seem to notice his improper choice of words. Gu Jiao made a sound of agreement and flipped the herbs in the sieve. "They match quite well."
Gu Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief in secret. He was relieved that Gu Jiao didn't start asking him why he used "we" or whether he was eager to be her brother.
"Of course, it’s a good match!" He worried that Gu Jiao would catch on and quickly redirected the conversation to the two other people. "One is the heir of the Marquis Ding’an Estate, and the other is the daughter of the Yuan Family. It's nothing like..."
He intended to say, ‘It's nothing like you and Xiao Liulang, one being the daughter of the Marquis Ding’an Estate and the other being a poor boy from the countryside.’
But the words felt wrong when it reached the tip of his tongue.
This girl was not the daughter of the Marquis Ding’an Estate.
Who knew where she came from, what kind of background she had in that distant place, and what kind of parents she had.
This girl... seemed to have had a tough life...
Gu Jiao had no idea what he was imagining in his head and just continued to sun-dry the herbs.
"By the way, where's my brother's medicine?" Gu Chengfeng asked.
Gu Jiao had already taken it out of the medicine chest and placed it in her pouch. She easily handed it over to him.
Gu Chengfeng reached out to take it, but Gu Jiao suddenly pulled her hand back and said, "Give me the money first."
Gu Chengfeng groaned, "You just took one thousand taels from me last time!"
Gu Jiao shrugged, "That was for the previous bottle of medicine."
Gu Chengfeng was infuriated, "Go and inquire outside! Which place sells medicine as expensive as yours?"
Gu Jiao took the medicine back and patted her purse, saying, "Well, you can always buy from whichever place is cheaper."
Gu Chengfeng was completely exasperated.
Of course, he had tried medicine from other places before, but not only did it have no effect, it also made Gu Chenglin lose the hair he had painstakingly grown. Since then, he dared not casually try medicine from elsewhere.
Gu Chenglin wore a hat every day when going to school, even in hot weather. Honestly, it was quite uncomfortable.
Gu Chengfeng complained, "I don't have that much money on me today." He took out his pouch and poured the small silver bits and copper coins into his palm, "Look, it doesn't even add up to two taels. I'm really broke lately."
Gu Jiao remained silent.
Gu Chengfeng continued to lament, "Unlike you, I can't just make a living with some skills. I have to study during the day and do odd jobs at night, but there haven't been many jobs lately."
Gu Jiao nodded, "That's tough."
"Right?" Gu Chengfeng pretended to be pitiful while sneakily glancing at her.
"Here's the deal, you help me out by running an errand, and I'll give you a ten percent discount on the medicine! It means I'll charge you ten percent less!"
Gu Chengfeng's face darkened.
Shouldn't the usual routine be ‘You help me out, and I'll give you this bottle of medicine for free?’ Why is it just a ten percent discount?
……
Examination compound.
After a day of invigilation, Xiao Liulang returned to the Jingyi Pavilion with several other invigilators.
This was their resting place, and their range of activity was limited from Jingyi Pavilion to the examination hall. They were not allowed to wander anywhere else.
The examination hall was guarded by numerous guards, not only to prevent someone from colluding with the invigilators to commit cheating, but also to ensure the safety of the invigilators.
Xiao Liulang’s duty was only to invigilate the examination, not grading the exam papers, so it wasn't mentally taxing for him.
Meals were delivered to the rooms of the invigilators by designated personnel. Shortly after he returned to his room, the guards brought his meal.
Xiao Liulang opened the door and went to the entrance to receive the food box, saying, "Thank you."
In that brief moment of taking the food box, he casually glanced at the guard.
The guard withdrew his hand and turned to continue his patrol.
However, Xiao Liulang furrowed his brow in suspicion. This guard wasn't the same one who had delivered his meals in the morning and at noon. Was there a different person in charge for dinner?
Xiao Liulang brought the food box into his room.
Like at noon, there were two dishes and a soup. There was a plate of braised pork with radishes, a plate of cold tofu salad, a bowl of vegetable and egg drop soup, and two large and thick steamed buns.
Xiao Liulang took out the food one by one. When he reached the bowl of egg drop soup, his gaze paused slightly.
The daylight in the seventh month of the lunar calendar was not as long, and the sun had already set at this time. The sky was a grayish-blue, and the room was somewhat dim. But the lighting was still sufficient for a meal, and most people wouldn't bother turning on a lamp.
Xiao Liulang looked at the bowl of egg drop soup, furrowing his brow. He lit an oil lamp and adjusted the wick to the brightest. He could vaguely see that some strange powder was sticking to two or three floating green onions.
At first glance, this powder looked like seasoning, but Xiao Liulang had cooked before. While his cooking might be bad, he still recognized seasonings.
Xiao Liulang picked out the green onions. The aroma of the green onions overwhelmed the smell of the powder, but the powder itself was already suspicious enough.
If it weren't for Xiao Liulang's keen eyes and his familiarity with seasonings, he probably would have drunk this bowl of ordinary egg drop soup without suspicion.
Xiao Liulang not only didn't drink the egg drop soup but also didn't touch the other food.
Gu Jiao had packed some fruits and dried meat in his bag. Just as Xiao Liulang took them out, a figure leaped in through the window.
"Who's there?" Xiao Liulang asked cautiously.
"It's me!" Gu Chengfeng, dressed in night clothes, removed his mask.
He didn't actually want to reveal his identity, but how else could he make Xiao Liulang believe him without doing so?
A hint of surprise flashed in Xiao Liulang's eyes, but he wasn't too surprised either.
Since Gu Jiao went out with him in the middle of the night before, he couldn't be just an ordinary weak scholar.
"Here!" Gu Chengfeng threw a bag at Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang opened it and saw a box of delicately crafted and delicious snacks, still emitting a slight warmth. It was obviously freshly made.
Gu Chengfeng couldn't help but snort. It was so cheesy. He was just away for a few days. Did he really have to sneak into the examination compound in the middle of the night to deliver snacks to him?
Xiao Liulang looked at the various emoticon-shaped snacks in the box and chuckled softly.
Gu Chengfeng felt extremely sour!
He hadn’t even had his dinner, and yet he had to rush over here and bring snacks to Xiao Liulang. When he saw the food on the table, he rolled up his sleeves and reached out to pick up a bun.
Xiao Liulang hurriedly said, "Hold on! You can't eat that!"
Gu Chengfeng took a bite and asked, "I went out of my way to bring you snacks, and I can't even eat a bun?"
Xiao Liulang said, "No, it's possible that it's poisoned."
Gu Chengfeng quickly spat out the bun from his mouth and said, "Pui, pui, pui! This is the examination compound. Someone’s actually trying to poison people here?"
Indeed, how could someone poison the people in the examination compound?
Ordinary people’s hands couldn’t reach into the examination compound, and even if they were able to, it was usually for cheating. Who would poison the invigilators?
While Xiao Liulang was pondering, Gu Chengfeng suddenly said, "It’s not the white medicine is it? Could it be that old witch? Or maybe it’s the black medicine... No, wait... Drugging you with the white or black medicine doesn’t make sense..."
Xiao Liulang asked in confusion, "What is white and black medicine?"
Gu Chengfeng covered his mouth.
Oh no, he let it slip!
Xiao Liulang stared at him, his eyes neither icy or intimidating, but there was a sharpness that made it impossible to hide anything.
Gu Chengfeng scratched his head and said, "Never mind, I've already said too much. When you see that girl, she'll know I let it slip anyway!"
"What exactly is going on?" Xiao Liulang asked.
Gu Chengfeng sighed and told his story of being abducted by Gu Jiao in order to steal the white and black medicine from the nunnery, and under Xiao Liulang's skillful coaxing, he also revealed the situation of the Emperor being drugged with the white and black medicine.
Finally, everything was laid bare, including the imperial decree.
"Imperial decree?" Xiao Liulang asked.
Different people focused on different things. For Gu Chengfeng, the most astonishing thing was the Emperor being drugged, but for Xiao Liulang, the most shocking revelation was the imperial decree in Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's hands.
Because he had seen that imperial decree before.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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