My spirit appeared on the road to exile, and I was treated as an ancestor.

Chapter 86 Asking Xu Shisan
Gu Xingzhao's gaze was intense; clearly, this was the first time she had met someone so generous, and she was starting to like Xu Shisan.

It's not about the money. It's mainly because she's young, good-looking, and has a sweet tongue. Who wouldn't like her?

But Xu Shisan lacked that confidence. "Tell me, how much do you want?"

Gu Xingzhao coughed lightly. Although that was what he thought, he still had to save face. He couldn't lose his integrity for a little bit.

She cleared her throat and quoted a price: "Thirty."

As she spoke, she picked up the freshly brewed tea on the table, thinking to herself: Xu Shisan has suddenly become so generous that I feel embarrassed to ask for too high a price.

Xu Shisan frowned slightly. Gu Xingzhao wanted so little; it probably wouldn't even be enough for him.
"Thirty is too little, I'll give you fifty."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xingzhao almost spat out the tea in his mouth.

A shop assistant standing nearby said, "..." Who in business would rush to give money away to customers?
He thought it was all over; he felt that the Xu family's business would be ruined by the young boss sooner or later.

Gu Xingzhao waved his hands repeatedly, "No need, no need, I want thirty."

Xu Shisan said, "Your stuff this time is pretty good, I'll give you fifty."

Gu Xingzhao bluntly exposed him, "You didn't even look."

From the moment she entered until now, she hadn't seen Xu Shisan glance at the jade porcelain vase on the table even once; it was incredibly perfunctory.

The shop assistants kept agreeing in their hearts: That's right! The young boss is such a spendthrift! He should at least take a look at the item; it might not even be worth the price. He can't do business at a loss!
However, after hearing Gu Xingzhao's words, Xu Shisan did glance at the jade porcelain bottle on the table and confirmed that it was a good item, without blushing or skipping a beat.

I'll give you sixty.

Gu Xingzhao: "." A money-spreading boy?

If I actually accepted sixty today, I probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight; my conscience wouldn't allow it.

After thinking for a moment, she said in a deep voice, "Forty, I'll take forty. I won't accept any more, and I won't come here again."

Upon hearing this, Xu Shisan immediately became obedient, "Alright, I'll give you forty. We're regular customers, so you'll have to come back to my place in the future."

As he spoke, he stared intently at the red string around Gu Xingzhao's neck, his mind filled with thoughts of the jade pendant.

After receiving the money, Gu Xingzhao began to inquire about other matters.

"Mr. Xu, has your family always been in the business of antiques and calligraphy?"

He was somewhat surprised when Gu Xingzhao asked about his family affairs, since Gu Xingzhao didn't seem like someone who would be curious about other people's family matters, let alone someone who would be interested in him.

But since he'd already been asked, Xu Shisan was happy to answer.

“My family has been in business for generations. At first, we dealt in ordinary treasures, but we also had restaurants. However, later on, we only dealt in antiques and calligraphy.”

The more Gu Xingzhao listened, the more it sounded like the Xu family he knew. "Do you know when it started?"

Xu Shisan stroked his chin. "My family genealogy records that we've been doing business since the Southern Jin Dynasty."

Thinking of the dozens of thick genealogies in his ancestral hall, which were impossible to finish flipping through, he laughed, "It's quite a coincidence that the things you sent all look like they were fashionable during the Southern Jin Dynasty, and they've all been preserved so well." Although Gu Xingzhao didn't say where these things came from, Xu Shisan guessed that they were probably passed down from his ancestors, just like his own family's.

Gu Xingzhao's heart pounded. She only knew about modern history. The Southern Jin Dynasty that Xu Shisan mentioned should be at least one or two thousand years ago. Perhaps it really was during Lu Qing's time.

"I have to go now, I'll come again next time."

In a good mood, Xu Shisan watched her leave with a smile.

After leaving the antique street, Gu Xingzhao directly searched for "Southern Jin" online. Many results came up, confirming that it was indeed a dynasty from more than a thousand years ago, and that the royal family at that time was surnamed Xiao.

Xiao. She suddenly remembered that Shunyu's surname was Xiao, Xiao Jingli!

Gu Xingzhao immediately added another entry, "Lu Qing", but no results were found.

She immediately drove to the city's largest library, found historical books related to the Southern Jin Dynasty by year, borrowed several, and read them at home.

She wasn't actually interested in history, but now she suddenly realized that the people she met after being bound to the system might actually have existed in history. She felt inexplicably excited and wanted to confirm her guess.

That afternoon, Gu Xingzhao sat on the floor of the living room, flipping through the borrowed books, some official histories and some unofficial ones.

The Southern Jin Dynasty had three emperors. During the reign of the last emperor, a civil war broke out, and a rebellious minister established the Northern Jin Dynasty. After the Southern Jin Dynasty was destroyed, the Northern Jin emperor became tyrannical and ruthlessly exploited the people. The new dynasty was unstable and faced with foreign enemies, so it quickly collapsed.

Gu Xingzhao looked through the documents for a long time, but still couldn't find anything related to the Lu family. Logically speaking, Lu Qing was a Grand Secretary of two dynasties with a far-reaching reputation, so how could there be no trace of him?

Could it be that someone is wary of Lu Qing and has deliberately erased all traces of him?
This is the kind of thing that dog emperor would do.

Since there wasn't much to see in official history, Gu Xingzhao picked up a book of unofficial history to read. He didn't know who wrote it, but it described all the dirty deeds in the court, and all sorts of sarcastic and wicked emperors. It was so satisfying to read.

She simply hugged the book, nestled on the sofa, and started reading until a familiar name appeared—Liu Chengye.

Isn't that Imperial Censor Liu, who was flogged to death in court?!

Gu Xingzhao was excited and continued reading. According to unofficial historical records, Liu Chengye was a rare honest official. He was flogged to death in court for repeatedly remonstrating with the emperor, which angered the emperor.

His only son, Liu Xiangbai, wandered to the north to seek justice for his father. He sought refuge with Xiao Lan, who had declared himself King of Northern Jin, and became his advisor, helping him to succeed. He repeatedly advised Xiao Lan to love the people like his own children. In the end, like his father Liu Chengye, he was flogged to death in court.

Gu Xingzhao's fingers trembled slightly. Liu Xiangbai actually ended up siding with Prince Su?!

In the end, he died in the same way as his father, Liu Chengye?
She swallowed nervously, her fingers stiff as she turned the pages. Soon, she found something related to Lu Qing.
Emperor Xiao Yun of the Southern Jin Dynasty left a minister to assist his son Xiao Zhan. The minister's name was Lu Qing, courtesy name Zide, and he served as Grand Secretary.

Lu Qing was an upright man who cared deeply for the people and did his best to assist the emperor. He was one of the few loyal ministers who dared to point out the emperor's faults.

Gu Xingzhao was almost certain that this was the old man he knew. If he hadn't been too upright, he wouldn't have been exiled by the dog emperor and his entire clan!

She continued reading. According to unofficial historical records, Emperor Xiao Zhan of Jin was lustful and pleasure-seeking, filling his harem with women, lavishly constructing palaces, and increasing taxes. He was greatly displeased because Lu Qing had repeatedly hindered his efforts, so he dismissed Lu Qing from his post and exiled his entire clan.
Gu Xingzhao gripped the book tightly, so tightly that the veins on her hands bulged, and her eyes were fixed on the last line of words!
Lu Qing died on his way to exile. His clansmen were repeatedly robbed and killed by bandits, and few remained.

Second update delivered!!!

(Bear Two puts his hands on his hips) Where are my tickets?
(End of this chapter)