Huanbi closed the door and turned to see Lin Zhen waiting for her under the moon gate.
She walked up to him, “Young Master.”
“Send some sharp-eyed maids to keep an eye on Liu Shuyao. Report immediately if there’s anything unusual.”
“Yes.”
“Be discreet. If we’re discovered, it won’t be any fun.”
“Understood.”
Lin Zhen nodded and headed to the front courtyard.
The reason he trusted Huanbi so much was that in the original book, she was the only one who truly liked Lin Zhen. After the Lin family fell, Lin Zhen was mutilated and turned into a human swine, and Huanbi was taken to the Pleasure Bureau, where she killed herself the next day. Before her death, she pressed scissors against her neck and tearfully shouted at the Pleasure Bureau’s attendants, “In life, I belong to the Young Master. In death, I am his ghost! You filthy scum, don’t even think about touching me!” She then stabbed her artery.
If it weren’t for her status as a slave, Lin Zhen would have wanted to take her as his official wife. Of course, even as a concubine, there was no issue. It’s just that the girl was still too young right now; he couldn’t bring himself to do anything.
…
Capital city, the backyard of Drunken Immortal Restaurant.
The restaurant wasn’t large, but the backyard was quite spacious. The heavy cover of the cellar was opened, and the servants and retainers were busy moving boxes.
Every box was heavy and filled with treasures accumulated by the Gu family over many years.
Gu Yunting’s legal wife, Madam Gu Han, had already fainted twice from crying. After being revived with difficulty, she clung to a box and started crying again.
“Don’t take it away!”
“Wuwuwu, that’s my dowry! Put it down!”
When she saw a servant stuffing a fallen agate necklace back into the box like it was garbage, Madam Gu Han almost passed out again.
“Wuwuwu, my lord, I can’t live anymore!”
Gu Yunting watched his property being carried away and was already furious. Seeing his wife cry only made him more annoyed, “Cry, cry, cry! You’ve been crying all morning and you’re still crying! What are you crying for, your damn uncle?”
Madam Gu Han wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, “You heartless man! They’re taking my things and you’re yelling at me?”
“As a dignified first-rank titled lady, lying on the ground throwing a tantrum—what a disgrace!”
After speaking, Gu Yunting raised his hand to slap her, but the steward quickly stopped him, “Master! Calm down, don’t harm your health.”
Several officials from the Gu family faction at the scene also spoke up.
“That’s right, Prime Minister Gu, money can be earned again, but if you collapse, then everything is over.”
“You know nothing. These treasures are the life’s work of Prime Minister Gu! And now it’s all gone just like that!”
“Yes, it’ll be incredibly hard to earn it back!”
“It might take thirty or fifty years, if it’s even possible!”
Everyone was speaking one after another. It sounded like they were comforting him, but it was more like adding fuel to the fire.
Instead of calming down, Gu Yunting became even more furious.
“Shut up! Victory and defeat are common affairs in a soldier’s life. This time Lin Zhenxian won, but next time, he won’t be so lucky!”
“I will avenge the humiliation of my ruined family!”
“Prime Minister Gu!” The Minister of Justice, Tan Wu, rushed over from the restaurant, looking flustered, “Prime Minister Gu, Lord Gu Zhongman has been kneeling outside the palace gate all night, and now it’s noon and His Majesty still has no intention to summon him. If this continues, his body won’t be able to take it!”
Several officials said anxiously.
“This is bad, His Majesty wants to make an example of Lord Gu Zhongman!”
“What should we do? We can’t just let him come back, can we?”
Gu Yunting clenched his fists tightly, “Lin Zhenxian! Gu Zhongman is a key official whom the Gu family poured all their strength into supporting. He’s also the Gu family’s money bag! And now, just because of a few words from your son, he’s being humiliated!”
Tan Wu asked, “Prime Minister Gu, does His Majesty really want to take this opportunity to replace him?”
“Hmph, he’s not that foolish.”
Gu Yunting sneered, “Lin Zhenxian controls the Six City Garrisons and the four Iron-Blood Battalions. Almost all of Great Qian Nation’s military forces are under his command. As long as he’s alive, His Majesty has no choice but to rely on me! And the Ministry of Revenue is full of my people. Even if His Majesty is furious, he wouldn’t dare to do anything to Gu Zhongman.”
Tan Wu asked, “Then what does His Majesty mean by this?”
“What’s the meaning? Hmph, he’s warning me. Once these treasures are delivered, he’ll summon Gu Zhongman.”
Gu Yunting sighed, “Sigh, still so young yet already this calculating. Worthy of royal blood.”
The steward leaned over and said, “Master, this old servant thinks our top priority now is to find the traitor. Otherwise, we’ll never sleep peacefully.”
“Hmph, for Lin Zhen to know the location of the Gu family’s treasure vault, the one who leaked the information must be someone from the family’s core. Do you have any suspects?”
“No.” The steward shook his head, then showed a vicious expression, “But the people in the restaurant must be involved. How about we replace them all?”
“Fine, make it clean.”
For those who aim to achieve great things, small matters like dozens of lives meant nothing. In Gu Yunting’s eyes, it was no different from cutting some leeks.
“Yes. Master, this servant has one more thing, not sure if it’s appropriate to say.”
At this point, nothing could be worse for Gu Yunting.
“There’s nothing you can’t say. Speak.”
“Yes, Master. Since yesterday, Young Master has been depressed. He’s still in his room, not eating or drinking.”
“Useless. For a woman like Liu Shuyao, is it worth it? It’s good that he’s feeling down. Let him calm down. Don’t let him be so arrogant and complacent every day. He should focus on His Majesty. Only then can our Gu family advance further!”
Gu Yunting scolded, “What’s with all this panic? Such disgraceful behavior!”
“Master, Young Master has been beaten up!”
“What?”
The steward was also stunned, “Nonsense, isn’t Young Master in his room?”
“Yes, Young Master was in his room, but just now he suddenly said he wanted to take a walk. It was only about half an hour, but when he came back, his face was covered in bruises!”
“Go see him quickly!”
…
So how did Gu Beichen get beaten up?
This had to be traced back to half an hour earlier.
Lin Zhen arrived at the front courtyard’s guest hall and saw Lu Dehao lazily sitting on a chair.
He didn’t like tea, only honey water, so his whole appearance looked dark and chubby. Plus, he wasn’t tall, so sitting in the chair, he looked like a big-eyed thief.
Seeing Lin Zhen enter, he was delighted.
“Big Brother!”
“Hmm, here so early today?”
“Heh, isn’t it because we plan to mess with the proprietress of Yanlai Restaurant? Without you around, us brothers don’t feel at ease!”
Lin Zhen casually took his morning tea from the steward Lin An, sipped it, and said to Lu Dehao, “If you like her so much, why don’t you just snatch her and bring her home?”
“Big Brother, you’re joking again. Snatch a woman like that, who sleeps around, and Father would beat me to death!”
“As long as you know she sleeps around, stay away from her in the future. Don’t catch syphilis at your young age; it’s hard to treat.”
In the original book, as the youngest son of Duke Xunguo, Lu Dehao had no hope of inheriting the title. His life was rather aimless, and his happiest times were spent discussing women with Lin Zhen.
After Lin Zhen was mutilated and turned into a human swine, Lu Dehao lived by the Yellow River for three months, feeding Lin Zhen food and water, and even committing adultery in front of him.
After Lin Zhen died, he completely gave up on himself, indulging in women until he contracted syphilis and died miserably.
Upon hearing about such a disgusting disease, Lu Dehao shivered, “Pah pah pah, Big Brother, can’t you wish me well for once?”
“At this rate, you can’t possibly be well!” Lin Zhen said impatiently, “From now on, cancel such activities. I’m not going, and neither are you!”
“Huh?”
Lin Zhen was about to explain more when Huanbi walked out from behind the screen and whispered in his ear, “Young Master, Madam has changed into plain clothes and went out through the back door.”