The sky was covered with gloomy haze and the wind was bitterly cold. The first snow of the year that the people of Chang'an had been looking forward to had yet to arrive. However, the weather was cold enough to make passers-by on the street shrink their necks and stamp their feet, wishing they could take out all their winter clothes to wrap themselves up to keep out the cold.
At a dock by the Caohe River in Xishi, Gu Shier, leading dozens of strong men, was busy transporting a dozen shiploads of timber that had just arrived for their master to shore and piling them into the warehouse.
Guo Guoer is here today too.
The Luwu Division where he worked was originally a temporary government office set up to celebrate the saint's longevity. But now that the longevity celebration was cancelled and Pei Xiaoyuan had other matters to attend to, the government office existed in name only. Li Hui seldom came out in recent days, and it was not convenient for him to continue looking for Pei Xiaoyuan to learn skills at this time. Without his company, he returned here.
Everyone was holding back some anger, and they worked to vent it out. They carried old wood from the mountains that was thicker than their waists, and walked briskly. Soon, everyone was sweating. Some people simply followed Gu Twelve's example, took off their shirts, and worked shirtless.
Gu Twelve stopped to drink some water, and saw Guo Guoer was also sweating, and refused to take off clothes like others, so he asked him to come over to rest. Guo Guoer shook her head and said she was not tired, so Gu Twelve gave up and turned to shout at everyone: "Work harder! Finish the work as soon as possible! I'll treat you tonight, let's have a drink!"
Everyone knew that he had been in love with a widow for a long time, but they kept it a secret. No one knew where the widow was from. Upon hearing this, they thanked him loudly. Some of them even dared to joke, asking him when he would be the groom and whether the food he was treating was a wedding banquet. Gu Twelve glared and splashed the remaining water in the bowl at the person who was making fun of him. The other person could not dodge and was splashed all over his head and face. He looked very embarrassed. The people around him laughed and the atmosphere became lively.
"Aren't you and the young master from Prince Ning's Mansion often together? Is there any news about Mr. Pei and the court recently?" Gu Twelve thought of the scene when he went to look for Pei Xiaoyuan yesterday. He was still a little worried in his heart, so he asked Guo Guoer in a low voice.
Guo Guoer shook her head in silence, and Gu Twelve had no choice but to give up. Suddenly, there was a commotion ahead, and a team of fully armed men and horses with imperial army symbols were galloping along the river bank towards this side, all of them looked ferocious, and it seemed that they were carrying out a mission.
Pedestrians and business travelers on the street were afraid of being bumped into and having nowhere to complain, so they all dodged. The originally bustling and orderly street suddenly became chaotic.
Gu Twelve recognized the leader, named Jiang Zhao, who was the deputy of Lu Jingchen, the general of the Northern Yamen Imperial Army. Needless to say, Lu Jingchen's background was almost the same as Han Kerang. Jiang Zhao usually relied on his status to be arrogant and looked down on others.
Gu Twelve was somewhat dissatisfied when he saw this situation, but he also knew that this was an extraordinary period and the other party was indeed powerful and could not be stopped by a small figure like him. So he pretended not to see it and was about to turn around and continue his own business, but he did not expect Jiang Zhao to stop his horse, look over here, and then raise his arm. The team of dozens of imperial guards immediately dismounted and galloped towards this side, surrounding him in an instant.
"Are you Gu Twelve?" Jiang Zhao rode up to him, took a look and asked.
Gu Twelve nodded in agreement.
"Catch him!" Jiang Zhao said coldly. Several imperial guards at the front rushed forward with chains in hand.