The butler acknowledged and withdrew, returning a moment later with a wooden box, which he placed on the table.
Yun Shuyue opened the box, counted the items, and nodded.
"Twenty-three taels and six mace, no more, no less."
She closed the box, held it to her chest, and clasped her hands in greeting.
" Master Gan is very generous."
After saying that, she turned around and followed Uncle Fu outside.
Gan Lingmu sat in the hall, his face ashen, his fingers gripping the rim of the teacup tightly.
The butler stood to the side and spoke cautiously.
"Sir, this matter..."
"Shut up."
Gan Lingmu slammed the teacup onto the table, splashing tea all over it.
"Pass down the order: from now on, the Gan Family family must stay away from Ten-Li Slope."
He paused, his eyes turning cold.
"That Prince Yi is no simple character."
The backyard of the old prince's mansion.
Gu Moran had just stepped into the courtyard and hadn't even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai standing side by side under the eaves.
Murong Xue crossed her arms, a smile on her face, but her eyes held a hostile glint.
Lin Qingdai placed her hand on the hilt of the knife; the blade was already half an inch out of its sheath, its cold light faintly visible.
Gu Moran paused, glanced at the two of them, and felt a sense of foreboding.
Murong Xue spoke first, her voice sweet but chilling.
"You went to Ten-Li Slope for two days, how come your outer robe ran away on its own?"
Lin Qingdai replied, her tone icy.
"Yes, Your Highness, aren't you afraid of freezing outside?"
Gu Moran looked up at the two of them, her mind racing.
There was no explanation, no rebuttal, just a light cough and a sneeze.
Achoo--
The sneeze was loud and had a slightly nasal tone.
Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai were both taken aback.
Gu Moran took two steps forward and squeezed next to Murong Xue, leaning half of his body against her.
"Cold."
His voice was low and slightly nasal, and he did sound like he was frozen.
Murong Xue's prepared sarcastic remarks were all stuck in her throat.
She looked down and saw Gu Moran leaning against her shoulder; her ears instantly turned red.
"You, you..."
Gu Moran didn't give her time to react. He reached out with his other hand and accurately hooked the tassel on Lin Qingdai's knife hilt. With a little force, he pulled her closer as well.
Caught off guard, Lin Qingdai leaned forward and bumped into him.
Gu Moran whispered in her ear.
" Guard Lin's blade was cold, but his body was warm."
Lin Qingdai's face instantly turned red. She placed her hand on the hilt of the knife, trying to push him away, but found that she couldn't muster any strength at all.
She bit her lip, her voice lowering.
" Gu Moran, you... what are you doing...?"
Gu Moran smiled.
"I lent the outer robe to Yun Shuyue; she stayed up all night at Ten-Li Slope and was cold."
Murong Xue was taken aback.
"Miss Yun?"
Gu Moran nodded and turned to walk into the house.
"Yes, she's good at light footwork and runs fast, making her suitable for keeping watch outside."
He took two steps, then turned back to look at Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai.
"What's wrong, ladies? Why are you spacing out? Aren't you coming back inside to warm up?"
Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai exchanged a glance, and the atmosphere instantly shifted from tense to ambiguous.
Murong Xue turned her face away and lowered her voice.
"Who wants to go back to your room with you...?"
West of the city, the stables.
Chen Qing sat in the corner of the stable, holding a pen in his hand, writing furiously.
A piece of paper was spread out in front of him, covered with dense writing.
After writing the last line, he put down his pen, picked up the paper, looked at it carefully, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Okay, this is detailed enough."
He folded the paper, took out a small bamboo tube from his pocket, stuffed the paper inside, and tightened the lid.
A gray homing pigeon was tied outside the stable.
Chen Qing walked over, tied the bamboo tube to the pigeon's leg, and patted its head.
"Go and deliver the letter to Anyang. Make sure His Highness sees it."
The carrier pigeons fluttered into the air and disappeared into the night.
Chen Qing stood still, watching the direction the carrier pigeon flew away, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.
He firmly believed that he had seen through everything.
Prince Yi Gu Moran, recklessly undertook a massive construction project at Ten-Li Slope so that his six wives could take warm baths every day.
They even forcibly conscripted the people of the city into hard labor, and last night the pit echoed with cries of agony all night long. It was a scene of debauchery and unbearable suffering for the people.
His Chen Qing, due to its outstanding performance, has been entrusted with an important task, and he has successfully taken control of the custody of these laborers.
First they managed the horses, now they manage the people.
This brings us one step closer to completely sidelining Prince Yi.
Chen Qing became increasingly agitated as he thought about it, clenching his fists.
"My lord, I will certainly not fail in my duty."
"My lord, once this is accomplished, you must grant me and Brother Ba..."
He smiled shyly.
He turned back to the stable and stared at the group of the Gan Family servants who had been escorted back from Ten-Li Slope.
Those thirty-five men were squatting in the corner of the stable, their eyes glazed over.
Chen Qing walked over and looked down at them.
"From today onwards, you are members of the Yi Prefecture City Urban Management Water Affairs Brigade."
He paused, then raised his voice.
"Get up at dawn, start work at 7 AM, and finish at 3 PM every day. No slacking off is allowed. Anyone who dares to cheat or shirk their duties will be thrown back into the compost pit to soak."
All thirty-five people shuddered.
Chen Qing turned and walked out of the stable to find Batuer.
He should tell him that he is now more favored by Prince Yi.
Anyang City, Martial Arts Training Ground.
On the high platform, Gu Mochen sat on a folding chair, holding a booklet in his hand, flipping through it over and over.
The booklet's cover had been turned yellowed from repeated use, and the corners were curled up.
The aide stood beside him, holding a teacup, his gaze fixed on the training ground below the high platform.
In the arena, dozens of soldiers were surrounding an even stronger black horse, attempting to re-enact the "human pyramid formation" of riding one horse together.
But as soon as the third person was stacked on the horse, the horse began to sway, its front hooves pawing the ground, its hind legs straightening, and its whole body shaking.
As soon as the fourth person climbed up, the entire pile collapsed.
With a whoosh, the four of them rolled into a heap and fell to the ground.
The horse shook its head, took off running, and headed straight for the stables next to the training ground.
The aide placed the teacup on the table and frowned.
"Your Highness, this formation may not be suitable for our Anyang."
Gu Mochen looked up at the pile of fallen soldiers in the field and frowned.
Why?
The aide remained silent for a moment before carefully choosing his words.
"Your Highness, the soldiers of Yi Prefecture are generally lighter and more agile, making them suitable for training in human pyramid formations, while the soldiers of Anyang are relatively stronger and less suited to this kind of... juggling formation."
Gu Mochen slammed the booklet on the table.
"Acrobatics? This is called 'military and civilian entertainment,' don't you understand?"
"Putting aside the facts, are these soldiers completely without fault? They lack understanding and can't endure hardship!"
[Thanks to Yutong for the inspiration capsule, Duanmu, Deming, Yuhuashi, materials, Sister-in-law for the praise, Yanya for the praise and flowers, Maizi for the inspiration capsule x2, Xiaoyang for the flowers, Haoyue for the bonus update, Fengyi for the milk tea, Jiumeng for the update reminder and milk tea, Chen Qing for the update reminder, Age for the update reminder and the knife, and all the babies for their love and support~~~ That's all, I'll have to owe you extra chapters again~]
[You can check out my profile and add me on WeChat. I missed posting on Thursday, so I wanted to give away some bags as a thank you to my darlings. I'm so touched by your support, muah muah~]