Chapter 437: Chapter 412, Don’t Be Estranged_1
Grandma Gu watched the Fifth Master with no desire or demand in her eyes.
What good would it do to acknowledge her status?
She was merely a dying person with not more than two years to live. The Gu Family had only her and her brother left, and her brother had no offspring. Acknowledging her status would only announce to the world that there was still one imperial consort of the former emperor. It bore no benefits but might instead taint her son’s reputation. Why bother?
Afterward, the three individuals in the room fell into a contemplative silence.
It couldn’t be helped; after being separated for twenty or thirty years, their sudden reunion brought shock and surprise. Though there were feelings of joy and happiness, they just couldn’t warm up to each other.
After a while, Grandma Gu took the initiative to break the silence, “Why have you appeared in Zhongzhou?”
Gu Jian also quickly looked over, his eyes filled with doubt and disdain.
The dignity of the Emperor was compromised by a few children; to speak of it would be rather embarrassing.
The Fifth Master showed a look of embarrassment. Indeed, the disdain in Gu Jian’s eyes was too evident, and being caught by children also frustrated him tremendously.
“Not long ago, the Jinling Guard captured several spies of Prince Duan. From their mouths, it was pried out that Prince Duan might have control of a gold mine. After extensive investigation, it should be within Ningmen Prefecture.”
“Prince Duan?!”
Grandma Gu and Gu Jian’s expressions darkened at the same time.
Gu Jian spoke coldly, “You have ascended the throne for many years now. Is he still not content to behave?”
The Fifth Master replied indifferently, “On the surface, he is well-behaved, but he has never stopped scheming in private. It was manageable in the past years, but the northern borders have been unstable recently. They might feel there are opportunities to capitalize on and couldn’t help but become restless again.”
Gu Jian frowned, “The Imperial Consort in the palace despises the Wan Family to the bone. Could the Jiang Family allow him to be so troublesome?”
The Fifth Master sneered, “Father’s favorite was always the Eighth Brother. After Consort Wan died, to placate the Eighth Brother, he granted him a Death Exemption Token. Unless he commits treason, he is untouchable.”
“Moreover, since I started consolidating power after ruling in my own right, the Jiang Family has been very wary of me. Keeping the Eighth Brother also serves to check and balance me, which allows them to seek bigger benefits. They wouldn’t bother with the Eighth Brother.”
Grandma Gu showed disapproval, “Even if you wanted to find the gold mine, you could have sent your trusted aides. Why did you need to leave Beijing personally?”
The Fifth Master hesitated for a moment, “Besides searching for the gold mine, I also had the intention of finding you two. A few years ago, the Jinling Guard found traces of you in the HEDONG Fengbai region. I’ve wanted to come and see for myself.”
He had come this time with a stroke of luck, and unexpectedly, he had indeed found them.
Grandma Gu: “…Don’t kneel anymore, get up and sit down to talk.”
The Fifth Master glanced at Gu Jian and, seeing that he had said nothing, rubbed his legs and stood up.
It had to be said that being tied up with ropes and transported in a box for so long, and kneeling for a while, his legs were somewhat stiff and numb.
“By the way, who is that young girl?”
Grandma Gu’s face revealed a smile, “She is the disciple taken in by your uncle, the legitimate eldest daughter from the household of Magistrate Yan of Ningmen Prefecture.”
Seeing his mother and uncle’s expressions soften suddenly, the Fifth Master felt a flicker of movement in his heart and smiled, “Yan Zhigao is quite capable and capable of getting things done, and the children he raises are all very…”
Thinking of how the Yan Family girl carried sleeping powder and a slingshot, and how the Yan Family boy would stuff a handkerchief into his mouth at the drop of a hat, he had some difficulty continuing the praise.
The Imperial Guard who had shot the falcon couldn’t hide the fact, and Wu Jingyi, curious to check out the situation, came to Taohua Temple with the falcon pierced through by an arrow.
Standing at the entrance to the courtyard and craning his neck to see inside, unfortunately, he saw nothing, so he had no choice but to hand over the falcon to Wei Qi.
Wei Qi hesitated for a moment and, after some thought, braved it out and walked in anyway.
In the hall, Gu Jian’s face turned cold upon seeing the dead hawk in Wei Qi’s hands, “That hawk was placed here by Yangyang, you shot his hawk, now deal with it yourselves.”
Master Five’s face showed surprise, “Have you two already met Yangyang?”
Old Lady Gu’s eyes lit up with a smile, “Yangyang is a filial and good child, the path up the mountain was built by him and Daohua together.”
Master Five was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly asked, “Then does he know about you two…”
Gu Jian interrupted irritably, “Although we are old, we still know what should or should not be said.”
Master Five said awkwardly, “Uncle, I didn’t mean that. My main concern is for your safety, after all, Yangyang is still too young. If he lets slip any information in front of outsiders and the Jiang Family finds out, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
Gu Jian huffed, “We never planned on telling him.”
The room fell silent once again.
After some thought, Master Five asked with a smile, “Is Yangyang… very close to the siblings of the Yan Family?”
Gu Jian gave Master Five a sidelong glance, “What, do you have an objection?”
Master Five shook his head with a smile, “What objection could I have? I’m just curious, that lad Yangyang was hardly agreeable in Beijing, but it seems he has made quite some progress in Zhongzhou.”
Gu Jian instantly scoffed, “Beijing is full of all kinds of messy people and affairs, and with Yangyang lacking the protection of parents who would care for him, what else could you expect from him?”
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Gu couldn’t resist asking, “What exactly is going on in Xiaojiu’s back yard?”
Master Five’s gaze became stern, and he sighed, “Xiaojiu was raised alongside her, growing up spoiled and rash, easily influenced, and with a soft spot for persuasion. Fortunately, he still holds a respectful attitude toward me as his elder brother.”
Upon hearing this, a shock went through the hearts of Old Lady Gu and Gu Jian.
Old Lady Gu asked, “Does Xiaojiu have a close relationship with the Jiang Family?”
Master Five nodded, his eyes gleaming coldly.
If it had not been for Uncle saving a move, without poisoning our father, the Jiang Family would have supported him against the eighth brother, and the position of Crown Prince would not have fallen on his head.
He was well aware that it was Xiaojiu, then only a few years old and easily controlled, who the Jiang Family had truly intended for the imperial succession.
Thinking of the Jiang Family’s private search for gold mines, the coldness in Master Five’s eyes grew more intense.
Old Lady Gu and Gu Jian were both somewhat silent.
After a while, Gu Jian broke the silence, “I have no offspring, the Gu Family only has you and Xiaojiu left; if he does anything wrong, make sure you discipline him well.”
Master Five understood Gu Jian’s meaning and immediately laughed, “Of course, both of you rest assured, although Xiaojiu is close to the Jiang Family, he harbors no ill will towards me.”
Hearing this, the hearts of Old Lady Gu and Gu Jian finally relaxed.
The lure of imperial power is irresistible, but the last thing they wanted to see was brothers turning against each other over that position.
Master Five continued, “That girl from the Yan Family…”
Old Lady Gu cut in, “Daohua, just call her Daohua. We’re all family, no need to be so formal.”
Surprised, Master Five quickly recovered; as Uncle’s disciple, it made sense to call her family, “Daohua knows Jing Cao, has she seen her somewhere?”
Thinking of his unconscious disciple, Gu Jian’s expression turned sour again, “How would we know, she’s still unconscious.”
Master Five felt somewhat embarrassed; Uncle was still so protective.