Chapter 64: Don’t Provoke Her
Grandpa Ling slapped Jin An on the back of the head, “What nonsense are you spouting!”
He then smiled at Gu Changxiao, “There must be some misunderstanding. Please don’t believe the villain’s words.”
“Everything can be decided after we find Sui Sui and clarify the situation.”
Gu Changxiao cast a meaningful glance at the grandfather and granddaughter, and said in a deep voice:
“Daoist Ji, please rest assured, Gu is not someone who cannot distinguish right from wrong.”
“I also haven’t forgotten the life-saving kindness of Little Daoist Ji. When we reach Yanzhou, if Little Daoist Ji truly loves this beautiful concubine of the Zheng family, I will fulfill their wishes.”
Grandpa Ling: …
Love each other, my foot!
Grandpa Ling almost blurted out that Jin Sui was a woman, but swallowed the words back.
Putting aside whether Gu Changxiao believed it or not, Grandpa Ling himself felt that if he didn’t know it was his granddaughter.
He wouldn’t have believed it if someone told him that a woman had done all the things Jin Sui had done since impersonating the Li King!
He was even worried that his granddaughter’s reputation would be ruined and she wouldn’t be able to get married.
Since Ji Sui’s identity is fake, once Jin Sui is found, we’ll find a way to make ‘Ji Sui’ disappear.
What does Ling Jin Sui have to do with the absurd things Ji Sui did?
But Grandpa Ling still firmly told Gu Changxiao:
“There is definitely another hidden reason for this matter! If you have a way, you can investigate first. Sui Sui would never steal a beautiful concubine.”
Gu Changxiao nodded and said, “Regardless of the purpose with which the Little Daoist stole this beauty, it is certain that the Zheng family intended to ruin the Li King’s reputation.”
“I will have people investigate thoroughly. Daoist Ji need not worry that I will blame the Little Daoist.”
So, you don’t need to sneak away.
Gu Changxiao didn’t say this sentence, but Grandpa Ling understood it.
He could only give an awkward smile and silently pray, Jin Sui, please don’t do anything else!
Grandpa’s heart can’t take it!
Grandpa Ling changed the subject and asked, “Why haven’t those soldiers from Luocheng, who claimed to be sent by the Prince to find a Taoist, caught up yet?”
They had asked several people seeking medicine in Luocheng to deliver messages. By all rights, those soldiers should have received the news.
They had horses and weren’t blocked by checkpoints, so they should have caught up with them by now.
Why haven’t they caught up yet, and there’s no news at all?
Gu Changxiao heard this and said, “They won’t be coming after us, because they can’t get away themselves.”
Grandpa Ling knew he had received news from the Secret Guards and quickly asked what was going on.
Then he learned that the five soldiers were found by the Imperial Commissioner sent by the Imperial Court, who took the medicine they brought and had them lead the way to deliver an imperial decree to the ‘Li King’.
The decree was for the Li King to present the prescription for curing the plague.
Speaking of this, Gu Changxiao seriously asked Grandpa Ling, “Little Daoist Ji, is there really good medicine to cure the plague?”
If it were when they first met, Gu Changxiao wouldn’t have asked this question. He would have firmly believed that Little Ji Daoist definitely had good medicine.
But after hearing about all the audacious things Little Ji Daoist had done along the way, daring to impersonate the Li King, daring to beat a City Lord’s general, daring to besiege the city to demand pay, and now stealing a gentry’s beautiful concubine.
She was so bold that it wasn’t impossible for her to concoct a fake prescription to deceive the Imperial Court.
This question made Grandpa Ling truly unsure how to answer. The former Jin Sui definitely didn’t have this ability.
But he couldn’t guarantee the current Jin Sui!
After all, during their escape together, whether it was for internal or external injuries, Jin Sui could always produce miraculous medicine.
He could only reply:
“We’ll have a definite answer after we find Sui Sui. However, you should remember, young master, that your quick recovery was all thanks to the medicine Sui Sui left behind.”
“Perhaps she doesn’t have a prescription, but just happened to meet a skilled doctor who made some good medicine for her.”
Gu Changxiao found this guess highly probable, so he nodded and said:
“Then we must reach Yanzhou before the Imperial Commissioner.”
Grandpa Ling naturally agreed. Jin Sui had been impersonating the Li King for so long without being exposed because the people of Yandi had never seen the real Li King.
The Imperial Commissioner sent by the Imperial Court must have seen the Li King. Once he arrived in Yanzhou and discovered the Li King was fake, Jin Sui would surely lose her life!
At this moment, Grandpa Ling and Gu Changxiao did not know that someone had already exposed Jin Sui as the fake Li King.
The funny thing was, the border city soldiers didn’t believe it, and that person was tortured by Jin Sui into changing their story.
Huo Zi’an not only changed his story but almost became an accomplice to the fake Li King.
When he heard Jin Sui’s order that if Prefect Li dared to cause trouble in the border city, he would be the one to drive Prefect Li away.
Huo Zi’an almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Could the fake Li King be any more shameless?
He wanted to escape immediately, but the places bitten by ants all over his body were still hurting. The thought of the torment of Ten Thousand Ants Devouring the Heart.
His legs instantly went weak, his throat dry, and his scalp tingled.
He was in the border city, isolated and helpless. Escape was impossible. He could only pray that Prefect Li had some sense and brains.
The real Li King would definitely not harm you, but this fake Li King is a madman!
No one could guess what she would do next. She disregarded etiquette, ignored rules, and was lawless.
Don’t provoke her at all costs!
Prefect Li came prepared. He didn’t expect the Li King to apologize to the Zheng family, only to be able to take away the beautiful concubine, mediate between them, and quell the Zheng family’s anger.
In any case, he only had one year left in his term. During this year, the Li King and the Yandi gentry must not engage in major conflicts!
After one year, when I am transferred, I won’t care if you fight to the death or cripple each other!
He was previously furious about the Li King besieging the city to demand pay and had planned to report the Li King to the Emperor when he returned to the capital.
But now, seeing what the Li King had done to the Zheng family, he felt that the grievances he had suffered were nothing.
At the very least, compared to Jiang Nansheng, he hadn’t been stabbed.
Compared to Zheng Pengpeng, he hadn’t been locked in a tomb for days and nights.
Last night, the Zheng family finally pulled Zheng Pengpeng out of the tomb. This newly appointed Zheng Family Head, whether he was scared out of his wits or possessed by some evil spirit in the tomb.
In any case, the person was carried back and had been burning with fever and talking nonsense ever since.
The Zheng family members hired doctors and eminent monks and Taoists for triple treatment. They were prescribing medicine on one side and drawing talismans on the other, but the illness showed no improvement.
Even the water and land dharma assembly that Old Master Zheng should have performed was not completed. The funeral was held perfunctorily, and the Zheng family became a laughingstock among the gentry.
Prefect Li was now most afraid that Zheng Pengpeng would die. If that happened, the Li King and the Zheng family would have no hope of reconciliation.
He had to take the beautiful concubine back to appease the Zheng family’s anger before they came looking for the Li King.
Then, as Prefect Li was leaving the city, he encountered the Yan siblings who had also come to the border city.
Upon hearing that the Yan siblings had gone to see the Li King yesterday and not only had there been no conflict, but the Li King had also provided them with food.
Prefect Li gained confidence. The Li King had beaten Yan Shiyi Lang, and now that she could make peace with the Yan family, she could naturally make peace with the Zheng family.
The Yan siblings heard that Prefect Li was also going to the border city, so the two groups traveled together.
Prefect Li saw Yan Shiyi carrying a cart of green salt and curiously asked, “Did the Li King buy so much green salt from the Yan family?”
