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"JiaoJiao!"
In the returning carriage, Little Jing Kong excitedly swayed his short legs beside Gu Jiao, saying, "You play the guqin so beautifully! Even better than my master!"
Gu Jiao asked, "Your master also plays the guqin?"
Little Jing Kong disdainfully replied, "He does, but he plays terribly!"
Gu Jiao imagined a scene of a white-bearded old monk clumsily plucking the strings of a guqin, producing discordant sounds.
She remarked, "Your master seems to have diverse interests."
Little Jing Kong waved his hand dismissively. "It’s nothing special. My Master loves drinking the most!"
"Monks can drink?"
Is your master really a monk?
Gu Jiao wiped the guqin case on her leg with a handkerchief and said, "It"s better for him not to drink as he grows older."
Little Jing Kong nodded vigorously, "Exactly!"
The carriage arrived at the city gate, which was closed by now. However, Gu Jiao held a token in her hand, so the guards at the gate dared not neglect her and opened the city gate for her.
Pa.s.sing through the city gate, Little Jing Kong suddenly asked, "JiaoJiao, why did we come so far to play the guqin?"
Gu Jiao replied, "To bid farewell to a friend who is embarking on a journey."
Tilting his head, Little Jing Kong asked, "Is it the friend who plays the flute? His flute sounds so nice!"
This was exactly ‘loving the house and its crow!’
Gu Jiao smiled, "Yes, I also find the sound nice."
Children"s focus was different from that of adults. If Xiao Heng were here, he would definitely ask if the friend was male or female.
However, Little Jing Kong just said earnestly, "That must be a very good friend of JiaoJiao. Will they come back?"
"I don"t know." Gu Jiao really didn’t know.
In the dream where she returned to the Marquis Estate, Liu Yisheng came back, but now that the trajectory of things was different from that in the dream, no one could guarantee whether they would meet again in the future.
The city gate slowly closed.
Gu Jiao pulled back the curtain and took one last look at the official road outside the city.
Farewell, Prime Minister Liu.
……
Liu Yisheng was poor. All he had was a box of luggage and a basket of books that Gu Jiao had given him. He also took Little Ten with him. After all, it would remind him of her, even if just a little.
The house became empty, not tended to nor sold.
The disappearance of Liu Yisheng wouldn"t change anything in the capital. Few cared about him, so no one would notice his absence.
Perhaps many years later, on a sunny afternoon in a bustling teahouse, someone might suddenly say, "Hey, I haven"t seen Liu Yisheng recently."
"Could he be dead?"
"He’s a descendant of the Liu Family, whether he’s dead or alive, it doesn"t matter!"
However, none of this mattered to Liu Yisheng anymore.
With Little Ten by his side, along with her trust and expectations, he began his struggle and journey against fate.
Farewell, Young Miss Gu.
……
When Gu Jiao returned to Bishui Alley, Little Jing Kong was already asleep in her arms.
It wasn"t early when she left, and she hadn"t intended to bring the little guy along, but the little guy clung to her, so she took him with her in the end.
The carriage stopped.
Gu Jiao lifted the curtain and was about to take Little Jing Kong out of the carriage when a strong arm reached out and took Little Jing Kong from her arms.
Gu Jiao looked at the familiar deerskin palm guard on that hand, blinked, and said, "Gu Changqing?"
"Call me big brother." Gu Changqing said.
Gu Jiao jumped down from the carriage.
Gu Changqing carried the sleeping Little Jing Kong and entered the house with his younger sister.
As midnight approached, everyone at home had retired for the night, but Xiao Heng hadn"t returned yet.
Too many things had happened recently, first with Qin Fengyan, then with Grand Preceptor Zhuang. There were too many doc.u.ments to write, so Xiao Heng had to stay at the Ministry of Justice tonight.
After entering the main room, Gu Jiao picked up Little Jing Kong and placed him on the bed in the west room.
"JiaoJiao... so beautiful..." Little Jing Kong probably dreamt of Gu Jiao"s guqin melody, murmuring with his little mouth.
Gu Jiao pulled the quilt over him, tucked him in, then returned to the main room and sat down with Gu Changqing on the chairs.
"When did you come back?" She asked.
"Just now. I pa.s.sed by here on my way back to the estate, so I came to have a look." Gu Changqing said, "Actually, I should have come back earlier, but I ran into a few of your acquaintances on the road and stayed a few more days."
"My acquaintances?" Did she have acquaintances up north?
Gu Changqing had gone to a county town in the north to visit the families of the dead soldiers and to investigate Qin Fengyan"s background.
She came from You Province, which was in the opposite direction.
Gu Changqing saw Gu Jiao through a ‘little sister filter’. Despite Gu Jiao"s expressionless demeanor, he still found his sister"s aloofness adorable.
He chuckled and said, "I should say they"re acquaintances of you and Little Jing Kong."
Now it involves Jing Kong too?
Gu Changqing said in a coaxing voice, "Call me big brother, and I"ll tell you."
Did he just use a tone for coaxing a three-year-old?
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow, "Did you meet the monks from the temple on our side?"
Gu Changqing: "..."
His little sister was too smart, what a pity.
Gu Changqing smiled helplessly. Since she had guessed it, he could only admit it.
“While pa.s.sing through Lihua Town, I met the monks from the temple near your village. I was feeding the horses at the post station when several little monks about the same age as Jing Kong ran over to beg for alms. Their accents sounded similar to yours and Xiaoshun"s when you first arrived in the capital, so I asked them where they were from."
"They said they were from Pingcheng Prefecture in You Province. When I heard that, I realized it was where you grew up. So I asked if they had heard of Qingquan Village, and they said Qingquan Village was at the foot of the mountain behind their temple. They also mentioned that in their temple, there"s a little monk who falls ill from eating meat who has been adopted by a family from Qingquan Village."
"They even said the one who adopted him is a little fairy with a flower on her face."
Flower.
Gu Jiao couldn"t help but laugh.
It indeed sounded like those little monks.
Gu Jiao listed their names one by one: "They are Jing Xin, Jing Fan, and Jing Shan."
Gu Changqing was surprised, "You remember them?"
Gu Jiao said, "We"ve talked before."
The three of them were Jing Kong"s naughty little playmates. Raz P."s Thoughts
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