âRegardless of whether itâs the same group of people,â Gu Xinglang pointed at the table, then glanced at his buddies and said softly, âWeâll find out when we go to the mountain.â
Li Yuanle nodded. âI passed by Ruyun Mountain on my way here. There were a lot of visitors and businessmen on the roads at the foot of the mountain, and everything seemed normal. Itâs evident that this group of bandits are only hiding in the mountains, and they donât dare to stir trouble outside. Iâm guessing that there arenât many of them.â
âThereâs no need to be afraid even if there are many.â One buddy said, âThere should be quite a large number if we gather the soldiers under us, would be fail to take down a bunch of pirates? What I donât understand is, why would they come near the capital? And those soldiers around here â are they all blind? How could they allow these people near the capital?â
Li Yuanle looked at Gu Xinglang and asked, âWho gave this token to the Princess? What is his intention?â
Could he tell them that his wife gave half a pigâs head to a purported pirate, and this purported pirate gave her the token in return and invited her to Ruyun Mountain? Gu Xinglang knew that his wife wouldnât lie. But if he were to tell this to them, this group of brothers probably wouldnât believe him.
âYou canât say?â A buddy asked Gu Xinglang.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âThereâs nothing much to say anyway.â Gu Xinglang replied, âThe Princess got it by chance. I was just about to discuss this with my Eldest Brother. Now that the few of you are here, I wonât have to trouble my Eldest Brother anymore.â
His buddies all nodded their heads. All of them were people who licked blood from army swords. To enter a mountain to raid a bandit stronghold was a small issue.
âPerhaps Iâm just overthinking things.â Gu Xinglang toasted his brothers with tea, in place of wine. âIf there arenât bandits in the mountains, then we can just have a good day of fun.â
âAlright!â
The brothers all agreed in unison. Clinking their glasses, they started to drink their fill of the alcohol.
At this time, in the side room, Yu Xiaoxiao told Wang momo, âMomo, if itâs not raining tomorrow, you should join Xiao Gu and I on our trip to Ruyun Mountain.â
Wang momoâs face was sullen as she said, âWhy do you want to go to the mountains again?â Had this Princess of hers finally had enough of her craziness in the capital, and was going to start her craziness in the mountains outside the city?
Yu Xiaoxiao said, âThe deputy boss and his underling said that thereâll be plenty of fat rabbits if we go to Ruyun Mountain now. Fat rabbits!â
Yu Xiaoxiaoâs focus was on the fat rabbits, but Wang momoâs was on the words âdeputy boss and his underlingâ. âYour Highness, wait a moment,â Wang momo asked Yu Xiaoxiao, âWhen you went out today, not only did you get to know a Brother Niu, you even met a deputy boss and another man? Please tell your servant about these two men.â
âOh, I went to buy a pigâs headâ¦â
âStop telling me about this pigâs head. Talk about the men.â
Yu Xiaoxiao felt that Wang momoâs menopause wasnât simply torturing Wang momo herself. She was also being tortured at the same time. She had gotten acquainted with the deputy boss precisely because of the pigâs head. If she didnât talk about it, how was she going to tell the story? âHow about we start talking about your menopause first?â Yu Xiaoxiao tried communicating with Wang momo, âItâs important to be cheerful. Actually, itâs not important who I meet. More importantly, Wang momo, right now, you should probably find aâ¦.â
Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei shouted in unison, âYour Highness!â They couldnât allow the Princess to continue, otherwise, they were certain that Wang momo would immediately, at this moment, seek death.
Wang momo looked at the Princess that she nursed from young, and suddenly wiped tears from her eyes. She had let the Queen down. Look at how the Princess had turned out to be?
Xu Xiaoxiao shut her mouth. She hadnât even gotten to the main point and she had already made Wang momo cry. Actually, she understood the pain of singlehood; after all sheâd been in the same situation before, having been single for more than ten years. She silently handed a handkerchief to Wang momo, as she added another goal to her life â apart from not walking down the path of becoming an Empress, she was going to help Wang momo find a partner!
âYour Highness,â Just as Yu Xiaoxiao was adding this to her life goal, the voice of the Gu family butler travelled in from outside.
âWhatâs the matter?â Yu Xiaoxiao asked.
Xiao Wei walked to the door and opened it.
The butler didnât enter the room. He simply stood at the door and reported to Yu Xiaoxiao, âYour Highness, the Eldest Young Master instructed this servant to pass a message to Your Highness. He will be going with the Marshal to the palace to thank His Majesty for his grace, so they will be back slightly later.â
âAlright, I got it.â Yu Xiaoxiao said, âTell Eldest Brother, Iâll leave the pigâ¦.â
âThe Princess has received the message, you may retreat.â Wang momo spoke five times faster than her Princess, as she shot the instructions at the butler.
The butler was startled by Wang momo, and he snuck a look at Yu Xiaoxiao. Was it really alright for a servant to cut a Princessâ words like that?
Yu Xiaoxiao could only shrug apologetically at the butler. Helping Wang momo find a partner was a matter that couldnât be delayed any longer.
==============
An hour later, in the palace, Cuiyu hobbled into Chuqing Palace. After Xianzong had ordered for her to be sent to the Shenxing Department to be punished, Cuiyu was inflicted with wounds all over her body. Her hands were swollen and her legs were in a limp. However, Consort Zhao was still sick in bed, so she didnât dare to rest in bed to recover. She would force herself to serve Consort Zhao everyday.
Consort Zhao was lying in bed when she heard footsteps. When she opened her eyes and saw that it was Cuiyu standing by her bed, her gaze was hopeful.
Cuiyuâs face was sullen as she whispered to Consort Zhao, âYour Highness, after His Majesty returned to the palace, he played chess with the Grand Advisor in Lanshu Pavillion. Head Eunuch Jing said that His Majesty doesnât want to meet anyone now.â
âSo you didnât get to see His Majesty?â Consort Zhao didnât look at Cuiyu anymore, as her gaze shifted to the top of her bed, her tone chilly.
Cuiyu replied, âYour Highness, Head Eunuch Jing told this servant to go again after two hours.â
Consort Zhao didnât reply. If she was going to continue losing favour, the eunuch Jing Zhong would certainly find another master for himself. A bitch could be heartless, an actress could be immoral, but an eunuch wasnât any better than any of these two types of people.
Cuiyu hesitated for a moment, but told Consort Zhao anyway, âYour Highness, this servant has heard that His Majesty had already decreed for Gu Chen and the Prince Consortâs two brothers to be reinstated to their positions.â
Consort Zhao had already heard about this from Zhao Qiuming. She didnât expect someone as forgetful as Xianzong to actually have such a good memory with regard to the Gu familyâs matters. âThis is what Yu Linglong is capable of,â Consort Zhao said coldly, âHas Gu Chen brought his two grandsons to the palace to give their thanks?â
Cuiyu answered, âNot yet.â
Consort Zhao lightly rubbed her flat belly, her heart shot with pain. That bitch Yu Linglong not only caused her to lose favour, she even caused her to not be able to bear children anymore. She had gone into hell, how could she let this bitch still stand on earth? âGo and tell Jing Zhong,â Consort Zhao ordered Cuiyu, âWhen the Gu grandfather and grandson enter the palace to give their thanks, let him ask Gu Chen where Gu Xingyan went.â
Cuiyu was stunned for a moment, âYour Highness, isnât the Second Young Master Gu coming to the palace to thank His Majesty?â
âWhy are you asking so much? Consort Zhao replied coldly, âGo and look for Jing Zhong. If he refuses, tell him this â there are certain things that I didnât say, but it doesnât mean that Iâve forgotten about them. Everyone would have times when they stumble. Let him think over my words carefully.â
âYes, Your Highness.â Cuiyu didnât dare to ask any further. Noting the instructions, she retreated from the palace and headed towards Lanshu Pavillion again.