Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 52 Careful
After finishing a task, Gu Jingnian got three days off.

He first returned to Chongjing Academy.

The entire Frost Maple Mountain was covered in red, the moss beneath the Deer Singing Terrace was slightly yellow, and on the path, a boy and a girl were pulling each other, and when they saw someone coming, they quickly moved away.

After returning half a month later, Gu Jingnian realized that his previous student life had been a rare period of peace and tranquility.

After showing his disciple certificate at the mountain gate, he was not able to enter as smoothly as usual.

"Are you Gu Jingnian?"

"Yes."

"Now that you have been granted an official title, you are no longer a student of the academy."

Gu Jingnian felt a little disappointed and asked, "Can I meet Mr. Song?"

After the message was passed, he was led by someone through the familiar path and entered Song Zhang's Bowentang.

"gentlemen."

"I heard that you have been promoted to a military officer. You have a promising future. When you serve the people as an official in the future, don't forget the principles of being a human being."

Song Zhang had said this countless times, just reciting it verbatim without really putting his heart into it. He was holding a book in his hand and reading it with great interest.

"The disciple will remember the master's teachings."

"very good."

Gu Jingnian said: "I came here this time to ask you, sir, do you know about pig people?"

"Oh?" Song Zhang put down the book in his hand and asked, "Did you encounter him while investigating a case?"

"Yes."

"When you are on duty at Kaiping, it is inevitable that you will encounter some strange people."

Song Zhang nodded and casually said a few words about the characteristics of the pig people, which were similar to what Shen Jichi said.

At last, he stroked his beard and said, "It is difficult for the pig people to reproduce, and they have been hunted many times. They are rarely seen now."

Gu Jingnian asked: "The child born from an ordinary person and a pig-man..."

Song Zhang knew what he wanted to ask, and before he could finish, he said, "It can only give birth to ordinary people with weak constitutions."

"But I saw a person born from an ordinary person and a pig-man. He was quite strong. He killed several people and was able to heal himself quickly no matter how serious his injuries were."

"Really? This is rare." Song Zhang frowned and thought, then slowly said, "No ordinary pig can give birth to such a child. If I were to guess, they must have used some method."

Gu Jingnian thought of what Feng Niang said about "dregs of medicine" and asked, "Sir, are you saying that he might have made it from refining medicine?"

"It is possible that some characteristics of the aliens can be acquired by ordinary people."

"How can it be done?"

"For example, edible, medicinal, grafting, etc., these are not what I know." Song Zhang said, "Fifty or sixty years ago, there were a few disciples in the academy who liked to delve into this kind of research. They first tried what the ancient books said, and then gradually went off the beaten track, violating the teachings of 'the orthodox path of heaven', so they were expelled from the academy. Later, the classics related to this and their notes and experiences were all confiscated by the court."

Gu Jingnian wondered if those people were related to the great pharmacist, and asked, "Who are they?"

Song Zhang asked back: "How old do you think I am?"

He is not even forty years old yet, so naturally he doesn't understand those old stories.

Gu Jingnian couldn't ask anything else, so he had to say goodbye and leave.

After leaving the academy, he stood on the Luming Terrace and looked again at the place where he once lived. Suddenly, a clear voice called him from behind.

"Gu Jingnian."

Turning back, he saw Shen Lingshu and A Yuan, dressed like students from an academy, coming out of the mountain gate.

Shen Lingshu walked to the foot of the Luming Stage, looked up and asked, "Why are you here? I heard that you entered the Kaiping Division and are no longer a student of the Academy."

"Just came back to take a look." Gu Jingnian replied casually, without mentioning that he came to ask about the pig man.

Shen Lingshu looked at him with a meaningful look, thinking, this guy is famous for being a loner in Chongjing Academy, he has no friends, and he doesn't talk to his teachers, what's the point of coming back to see him? He just came to see her because he knew she was here recently.

Humph, he may look indifferent and rude on the surface, but he is quite infatuated deep down.

Thinking of this, Shen Lingshu felt amused and helpless, and said: "I think the lectures at Chongjing Academy are interesting, so I come here to sit in occasionally... Well, you know it anyway."

Gu Jingnian actually didn’t know, and was too lazy to ask Shen Lingshu what this meant, so he just said "Oh".

"fool."

Shen Lingshu spat softly, then turned and left.

A Yuan hurriedly followed, walked a few steps, looked back, and saw that Gu Jingnian had not followed him, so he waved.

"Mr. Gu, come quickly."

Gu Jingnian thought they had something to say, so he left with them.

Before, when he went down Frost Maple Mountain with Shen Lingshu, he was being watched by Hook. Now he has become Hook. It can be said that it is fate that plays tricks on him.

Shen Lingshu asked the guards to follow behind and did not sit in the sedan chair. She walked like an ordinary disciple. Occasionally, she turned her head and saw Gu Jingnian's handsome profile in serious thought, and the "disdain" in her heart faded a little.

Since the taciturn man didn't say anything, she had to speak first.

“You’re quite attentive.”

"what?"

Gu Jingnian didn't know what he was doing. He often didn't understand what the daughter of the marquis's family said, and he didn't find it strange.

"You're really surprised." Shen Lingshu said, "I really didn't expect you to make such a change and get yourself a ninth-rank official position, which is... pretty good."

She had hoped that her husband would be a hero who served the country and the people, but she didn't expect that Gu Jingnian would even find out this and do it quietly. Although Kaiping Division had a bad reputation, his intentions were still sincere.

Gu Jingnian said: "It's not an easy job."

"The job is not important, as long as you have this heart."

"Heart?" Gu Jingnian turned his head and looked at Shen Lingshu's beautiful face. He saw that her eyes were like autumn water, revealing a lively look.

Is she talking about the viper heart?

Shen Jichi is likely to know Zheng Kuangfu's plan just like Gu Beiming, and it is common for him to look for the Viper Heart.

Thinking in his heart, Gu Jingnian pondered and said, "Does the Marquis also know this heart?"

"You don't have to worry about my father. Some things, well, I can make the decision too."

Shen Lingshu felt that although this marriage was originally arranged by her parents and the matchmaker, it would be better if Gu Jingnian could win her heart with his sincerity. Then she would convince her father to agree.

Gu Jingnian said: "But I don't know where this heart has gone."

Shen Lingshu's cheeks turned slightly red and she glared at him in embarrassment.

It turned out that he was thinking about her all day long, and his heart was lost and he didn't know where it went. No wonder he followed her to Chongjing Academy.

This person, who used to be indifferent and rude, suddenly said such sweet words.

lecher.

Well, but it's still tactful...

Just as she was thinking, Shen Lingshu turned her head and saw Gu Jingnian staring at her eyes seriously, observing her reaction.

Their eyes met, she turned away and spat, "What are you looking at!"

Gu Jingnian heard her reproachful tone and thought that she was unhappy because she couldn't find Kuixin. This was too narrow-minded. It might not be enough in this situation where many forces were involved.

For the rest of the journey, Shen Lingshu no longer paid attention to Gu Jingnian.

After descending Frost Maple Mountain, the servants from the Marquis' Mansion who were guarding the carriage at the foot of the mountain came to greet them.

"Miss, Princess Yushu and the Third Prince are hunting in the western suburbs today. Her followers saw the mark on our carriage just now and knew that Miss was here, so they invited Miss to come over."

"Well."

Princess Yushu was Shen Lingshu's best friend, so since she had met her, she naturally went to see her. After agreeing, she thought about how Yushu often said that she would help her find her fiancé, and today was a good opportunity.

"Hey, Gu Jingnian, are you going too?"

When Gu Jingnian heard that the Third Prince Wei Xie was also there, he wondered if it was a coincidence or if he was invited here for him. Sure enough, he was invited.

No wonder Shen Lingshu, who is so naive, could get involved in this matter. It turns out that the Marquis' Mansion and Wei Xie are cooperating.

In that case, he nodded and said, "Okay."

Shen Lingshu originally thought that she would have to persuade him a little more, but she didn't expect that such a lonely person would agree so easily.

"You don't like this kind of occasion, do you?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Then, let's go together."

Seeing this, A Yuan couldn't help but smile secretly, thinking that Mr. Gu really just wanted to be with the girl.

Although this marriage has had many twists and turns, it now seems like a match made in heaven.

Led by the princess's entourage, the team entered the royal hunting ground. After walking for nearly half an hour in the huge hunting ground, they finally saw a camp.

The camp was heavily guarded. When we entered, someone came out to greet us.

"Ashu!"

Princess Yushu's name was Wei Chan. She wore a red martial robe and rode a tall red horse. She saw Shen Lingshu's carriage from afar and galloped towards them.

Her hair was tied up high with a red ribbon, and it and the ponytail flew in the wind, making her look very heroic.

But when she got closer, he could see that her boldness was just an appearance, and that she was actually a delicate person like Shen Lingshu.

Her skin was whiter than snow. When she dismounted from the horse, she stood carefully on the back of her escort. She took the last small step, ran forward and held Shen Lingshu's hand.

"Finally you're here. Hunting is not fun at all, and there's no one to talk to me."

"But you look really good in this outfit, it matches your skin tone."

"Really? I came here just to wear this. Your deep gown looks good on you, too."

"All students of Chongjing Academy dress like this."

"I will go with you some other day, without these guards, to listen to what Mr. Song has to say."

The two girls were chattering away with no intention of stopping. It was only then that Wei Chan caught sight of a conspicuous handsome young man behind Shen Lingshu from the corner of her eye, and she understood and pulled her aside.

"Well, who is that?"

"That's the one I told you about."

"Which one?"

"Gu Jingnian, who else could it be?"

"He does have a nice complexion. How can his skin be so good? He doesn't even have any pimples on his face."

"That's what I mean. It's infuriating."

"Mo is someone who only knows how to dress up. There is a woman named Mei in Kaipingsi who behaves in a charming and seductive manner every time she enters the palace.

"That's not the case with Gu Jingnian. He's like a stone, stinky and hard." Shen Lingshu cursed but then changed the subject and said, "He really cares about me."

"Really? I asked around, and I heard that he got involved with your 'good friend since childhood'."

"Pei Nian? That's definitely not possible."

"How do you know that you can't? Maybe Pei Nian deliberately snatched it from you. You treat her as a friend, maybe she is jealous of you in private." Wei Chan glanced at Gu Jingnian over there and said, "We will know whether the rumor is true or not after we try it."

(End of this chapter)