sister in law
This address really surprised Ji Zhifei, and he subconsciously turned to look at Jing Li. The latter did not show any surprise at this uninvited guest, as if he had expected all this.
Jing Li just smiled and said, "Master Ji asked me to come and play."
"Oh?" Gu Heng turned his head and glanced at Ji Zhifei, pretending to be surprised, "How come I didn't know that my sister-in-law also knew Master Ji."
Gu Heng should be the youngest among the rich young men present, but he happened to be of the highest birth. Many elders in the families here respected Master Gu as the most respected, so no one dared to cross him.
But everyone in the city knows that Gu Heng is the only son of Mr. Gu.
Where did his sister-in-law come from
"I don't know him." Jing Li said, "Mr. Ji and I have some misunderstandings, so we specially negotiated here and used the winning or losing of the gambling game as a witness."
"I see."
Gu Heng nodded, but did not ask about the content of the gambling game. He just walked to the gambling table and glanced at it casually, and said in surprise: "The left side lost so badly? Sister-in-law, are you on this side?"
Without waiting for Jing Li to answer, he continued, "It doesn't matter if I lose. Master Ji and I have known each other for many years, so I still have some face. Master Ji, I will pay for what my sister-in-law lost to you."
After he finished speaking, people in the room began to discuss in low voices.
From the moment Gu Heng walked in, they had already guessed that they might have hit a wall this time.
How could they not understand Gu Heng's personality? This young master was spoiled at home and was lawless, and he didn't obey anyone. How could he be so humble to others so easily
Being able to be called sister-in-law by Gu Heng means that even if they are not really related by blood, at least she can be connected to the Gu family.
And his performance after leaving the house further confirmed everyone's speculation.
What Gu Heng meant was that he didn't care about the whole story, but he would definitely protect this person. Going against him was going against Gu Heng, and that was going against the Gu family.
Thinking of this, everyone looked at Jing Li with changed eyes.
Who is this person
The others in the private room could still watch the fire from the other side, but Ji Zhifei was in a difficult situation. After the bet was made yesterday, Ji Zhifei sent someone to investigate the young man's background, but found nothing.
Ji Zhifei sent someone to follow the young man out of the bookstore, but he lost him soon.
But at that time Ji Zhifei didn't take it too seriously, thinking that his subordinates were incompetent.
Now that I think about it, there must have been someone involved.
Ji Zhifei's face looked extremely ugly, but because of Gu Heng's words, everyone in the room looked at him.
What does he say about this
He said that the boy cheated when gambling with him, so he didn't recognize the result? Not to mention that this was a deliberate frame-up by him, even if it was true, he didn't dare to say it in front of Gu Heng.
You know, although this gambling house is nominally managed by the Ji family, secretly, all the funds are provided by the Gu family.
Ji Zhifei believed that he was fearless in the capital city, and the only person he dared not offend was the Gu family.
What bad luck has he had today? !
Ji Zhifei didn't say anything, but Jing Li said calmly: "I'm on the right."
"Oh!" Gu Heng suddenly realized, "Sister-in-law is so lucky!"
"Since I've already won, I can leave now, right?" Gu Heng said, "I'm going to take part in the county exam soon, and my mother has asked me to host a banquet for you at Linjiang Pavilion at noon today!"
Jing Li nodded: "Okay."
After saying that, Gu Heng took the initiative to step aside and let Jing Li and Boss Chang go out first.
"By the way, Master Ji." Before stepping out of the door, Gu Heng suddenly turned back, "I lost the bet to my sister-in-law. I hope you can send it to my house as soon as possible. Don't forget it."
After saying that, he smiled at Ji Zhifei and led his people out of the private room.
Gu Heng came and went in a hurry. After the door was closed, the private room was silent for a while.
After a long while, someone in the crowd asked, "...Where did Gu Heng get his sister-in-law?"
"I haven't heard of it. Has any of you heard of it?"
Everyone was talking at once, and Ji Zhifei's expression became increasingly ugly. He shouted, "Everyone, shut up!"
On the other side, Jing Li and Gu Heng left the gambling house and turned back to Boss Chang and said, "Boss Chang, you go back first. Leave the rest to me. Don't worry, I will help you get the bookstore back."
Boss Chang has not yet recovered from what has just happened.
He looked at Gu Heng, as if he wanted to ask something, but didn't dare to ask more. He bowed to the man and turned to leave.
Gu Heng smiled and said, "How was my performance?"
"Thank you." Jing Li said.
He had expected that Ji Zhifei would not give in so easily, so before leaving, he sent a letter to Gu Heng, asking Gu Heng to come to the gambling house to help him.
It was originally just a precaution, but I didn't expect it to actually be used.
Jing Li asked: "How do you know which room I am in?"
"I asked."
Gu Heng's carriage stopped outside the gambling house. Gu Heng led Jing Li to get out of the carriage and said, "Sister-in-law, you don't know that this is not the first time that Ji Zhifei and his gang have done such a thing. Fortunately, you called me. If I hadn't come today, you might not have been able to get away so easily."
Jing Li frowned: "They bully the people, and the government doesn't care?"
Gu Heng touched his nose embarrassedly and did not answer.
Jing Li remembered that when he first met Gu Heng, this man seemed to be bullying the people.
This may be a common problem in this era. The powerful have people protecting them behind the scenes. As long as they don't go too far, even the incorruptible Jiangling prefect will turn a blind eye.
This is not something that can be reversed by the power of one person alone.
Jing Li felt helpless when he thought of this.
The atmosphere in the car was a little awkward for a moment. Gu Heng cleared his throat and said, "Sister-in-law, I will take you home first, and then send a carriage to pick you up at noon."
"Hmm?" Jing Li came back to his senses and asked, "Where are we going?"
"Linjiang Pavilion." Gu Heng said, "My mother invited you and the master to dinner at noon. You don't think I'm talking nonsense, do you?"
Jing Li said "Oh" and then remembered something: "By the way, don't tell Qin Zhao about what happened today."
"I understand." Gu Heng patted his chest and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'll send it to you tomorrow when Ji Zhifei returns the things."
Jing Li: "Okay."
The carriage was moving slowly through the streets, and no one in the carriage noticed that a black shadow flashed between the roofs and ran away into the distance.
"Gu Heng is gone?"
Qin Zhao was sitting under the eaves reading a book. Ah Qi stood beside him and told him what he had just seen and heard. He pondered for a moment and nodded: "I understand."
Ah Qi asked again, "I heard that the one who made things difficult for Madam was the son of the owner of the silk shop, Ji. Should we let Gu Changzhou intervene?"
"Let's not do that for now." Qin Zhao turned the page and said calmly, "As long as the other party does not threaten Madam's safety, we don't need to care about other things."
The little fish boy came over staggeringly with the doll in his arms, and pulled Ah Qi's sleeve, wanting to go play in the yard.
He is very sensible now and knows that his father cannot be exposed to cold wind, so when his father is alone at home, he never asks to go out to play.
But things are different now that Uncle Qi is back.
Qin Zhao said: "Go ahead."
Ah Qi picked up the little fish, but did not rush out. Instead, he looked at Qin Zhao again.
Qin Zhao asked: "What?"
"It's okay." Ah Qi lowered his head and whispered, "I just feel that the master is very different from before."
Qin Zhao: "What was I like before?"
“There is very little room for maneuver.”
In the past, Qin Zhao was ruthless, merciless, and could not tolerate any injustice.
But now...
"No, you misunderstood." Qin Zhao raised his head and looked out the window. "I just don't want to interfere with his decision-making."
His husband never hides himself, and even if Qin Zhao doesn't check, he can roughly guess it. For example, today, he knew that Jing Li sneaked out and something might have happened, but he didn't ask much, just asked Ah Qi to follow him to prevent any accidents.
He didn't care what it was specifically about.
What's more, the guy knew to bring up Gu Heng, which means that the matter has most likely been resolved.
There is no need for him to intervene.
At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the courtyard. Looking out the window, a bright red skirt flashed in front of the door with hanging flowers. A head popped out and looked into the courtyard.
Qin Zhao naturally withdrew his gaze and pretended that he saw nothing, but the smile on the corner of his lips could no longer be hidden: "You don't have a wife, you don't understand."
Ah Qi: “…”
Okay.
The truth was revealed with the help of Gu Heng.
Two or three days later, the Dream Talk Notes, Volume 6, was officially sold in various bookstores in the city, which set off a big wave of enthusiasm.
Two days later, the county examination began.
There were four examinations in total, one every other day, which took seven days in total. Gu Heng was busy taking the exams during these days, so Jing Li did not bother him. When Gu Heng came to visit again, it was already the day after the county exams.
The young master of the Gu family was beaming with joy when he saw Qin Zhao and Jing Li.
Seeing him so proud, Qin Zhao felt relieved: "Did you do well in the exam?"
"I can't compare with you, sir, but I should be in the inner circle." Gu Heng asked the servants to move the gifts into the house, and said, "Thank you for your teachings these days, sir. These are small gifts of thanks. After the results are announced, my father will come to visit in person."
The Gu family was very generous, so Qin Zhao didn't bother to be polite and accepted all the money.
Gu Heng had been preparing for the county exam for several months, and now that he had finally gotten his mind off, he naturally wanted to invite his friends out for some fun. Young Master Gu even wanted to invite Qin Zhao to go with him, but Jing Li sternly rejected him.
Gu Heng had already fully understood that Mr. Qin was afraid of her husband, so he did not force it.
After the things were delivered, Gu Heng did not stay any longer and Jing Li sent him out of the house.
"By the way, sister-in-law, I have something else to tell you." Before leaving, Gu Heng pulled Jing Li aside and whispered, "It's about Ji Zhifei."
Jing Li asked, "What's wrong?"
"He hasn't sent the bookstore's property deed yet." Gu Heng said, "I was busy with the county exam a few days ago, and my father was keeping a close eye on me, so I didn't dare to ask about it. I sent someone to ask after the exam today."
Gu Heng paused and said, "I heard that Mr. Chang's younger brother, Mr. Chang, was found dead in the suburbs a few days ago. The government found out that it was Mr. Chang who did it."
"The government arrested the man yesterday."