Chapter 624: Farewell

Gu Defa said, "I’ll be going next year."

Then he added, "I’m rather slow, I won’t pass the exam, my mom can’t possibly become Madam Imperial Decree."

Because his brother was even slower than him.

Gu Jinli laughed and said, "You are not slow, the smartest one in your family is you. If you study with dedication, you’ll surely pass and attain an official position."

Gu Defa looked up at Gu Jinli and took a bite of the crystal cake: "Really? But I don’t want to go to school... I wouldn’t mind being an official though, I’d do it if someone recommended me, and if not, that’s fine too, working in the workshop is also good."

If Mrs. Chen heard this, she would definitely pick up a stick and beat him fiercely, scolding him for being unambitious and only knowing how to toil in the workshop.

Gu Jinli was surprised: "You even know about being recommended for an official position?"

Gu Defa nodded: "Yes. I heard it from the old folks on the road while fleeing the famine. One old man even bragged that his grandfather had been recommended as an Assistant in the county government in the former dynasty."

Then he asked Gu Jinli: "Sister Xiao Yu, what kind of official is an Assistant?"

"An Assistant is an official like the assistant to the County Magistrate or County Constable," Gu Jinli said with a smile to Gu Defa: "Brother Fa could go study, perhaps in the future, you could indeed become an official."

Gu Defa said: "If I can become an official without taking any exams, then I would do it."

Gu Jinli: "You wish."

Munching on pastries, Gu Defa said in a very ’Buddhist’ manner: "Then I won’t wish for it, one must be content and happy with what one has."

Gu Jinli: "..."

Child, what on earth have you been through?!

Gu Dewang slapped Gu Defa’s head and cursed him as a fool, then said to Gu Jinli: "Don’t mind him Sister Xiao Yu, he’s always been odd since he was a child."

After scavenging a batch of pastries and a plate of fried meatballs at Gu Jinli’s house, the three of them linked hands and left.

In the days that followed, the weather got colder and colder, cotton prices soared, and there were reports of worsened conditions in the Northwest and Northeast, many people froze to death.

Third Grandpa and Third Grandma were very worried, they prayed to God every day at home, hoping for the well-being and safety of Gu Fuya’s family.

Old Zhu and He Sanlai had taken the registration book given by the Jiang Family to look for people from Changping Town, but there was no news of Gu Fuya’s family, thus it could be assumed that either Gu Fuya’s family had died or fled to Yangji Prefecture to the east.

Everyone tacitly chose not to talk about the possibility of Gu Fuya’s family being dead but instead unanimously believed that they had gone to the northeast side. Therefore, Third Grandpa and Third Grandma began to pray whenever they heard bad news from that region.

Gu Dashan consoled them: "You elders need not worry, my sister Fuya and her family are blessed with good fortune, they will be okay."

Third Grandpa and Third Grandma are now living with Gu Dashan’s family and felt that it was inauspicious to constantly cry and wail over Fuya’s family. With a few words of encouragement from Gu Dashan, they picked up their spirits to live through the days.

By mid-December, finally, some good news came from the Capital. The Water Bandit Case, which lasted for several months, was concluded at last, with Zou Jiang, Gao Tong, and all the culprits having their heads chopped off!

The nobles involved in the Water Bandit Case numbered seven families. Among them, three were Marquis Mansions, and four were Bo Residences. Marquis Ruyang and Marquis Ankang Mansion were the principal villains, not only were their properties confiscated, but all three generations were beheaded.

The remaining five noble families had their assets confiscated and were exiled.

Besides that, more than a dozen official families involved in the case had their homes raided. Those who were lucky could go back to their hometowns, while the less fortunate were exiled.

Due to the water bandit case, the entire Capital was in a state of panic, fearing that one could be implicated overnight and end up with their household being raided and exiled.

Emperor Chu was very pleased with the outcome of the water bandit case. The main reason being that the raids netted him over a million taels of silver and countless antique paintings and calligraphy. Consequently, Emperor Chu was overjoyed and issued an imperial decree to commend the officials who handled the case, also instructing the eunuchs that this year’s New Year celebration must be grand, and the palace banquet must be as prestigious as possible.

The Northwest of Great Chu had been experiencing drought for two years, compounded by military disasters, and had not yet recovered when the Northeast was hit by a snow disaster. The court should have practiced frugality, but everyone was too scared of Emperor Chu to offend him at such a time.

Now that Emperor Chu had money, he was quite generous in handing out silver. Even County Magistrate Xu received a reward of a hundred taels of gold and a mansion in the Capital. When the imperial decree arrived, County Magistrate Xu was so shocked that he fainted.

Zou Jiang, knowing his character, had already asked Doctor Zhou to wait on standby, so as soon as County Magistrate Xu fainted, Doctor Zhou’s needles were promptly applied.

The eunuch who came to deliver the decree saw this and joked, "Lord Xu really is as Junior Minister Ming described; loyal to Emperor Chu with all his heart. Just look – he’s so happy to be commended by the Emperor that he fainted."

Such people are desirable; the Emperor would love it if all the officials in the court were as timid as County Magistrate Xu, so he could do as he pleased without being swayed by the ministers.

After the eunuch finished delivering the decree, he conveyed another oral message from the Emperor: "The Emperor wishes to meet Lord Xu and orders Lord Xu to accompany me to the Capital and attend the New Year’s Day grand court assembly to have an audience with the Emperor."

This oral message seemed like a favor but was quite a hassle. Here, far from the Capital, and with the canal now frozen, traveling to the Capital at this time meant braving snowstorms. It would take just about half a month to arrive, making it impossible for County Magistrate Xu’s family to have a good year.

But this was an order from the Emperor, so if County Magistrate Xu did not want to die, he had to comply, and he quickly knelt to express his gratitude: "I, your humble official, thank Your Majesty for the immense grace."

The eunuch said, "Please get up, Lord Xu."

He also said, "Lord Xu need not arrange too nice a dwelling place for me, as we will be heading to the Capital in a few days. Besides, we share the same surname, so we are practically family. There’s no need for such formalities."

County Magistrate Xu felt like crying. You’re a eunuch, and one that speaks with a delicate feminine lisp and keeps male prostitutes at that. Since when are we family?

No, he must hide his Brother Xian, who was so handsome and well-featured; that beautiful child must be kept out of sight, lest this old monster sees him and covets him.

However, Zou Jiang was very reliable, forewarned by a letter from Junior Minister Ming about Chief Steward Xu’s preferences, he had made appropriate arrangements, ensuring that Chief Steward Xu wouldn’t get any ideas about Brother Xian.

Zou Jiang stepped forward, bowed to Chief Steward Xu and said, "Please follow me, My Lord. I have arranged a separate yard for you. Though it may not be as splendid as those in the Capital, it does hold some items beloved by My Lord."

Who was Chief Steward Xu? He understood immediately: "Oh, then I must go and take a look."

Zou Jiang led Chief Steward Xu to a separate yard in the county, and as expected, Chief Steward Xu was very pleased and stayed happily for three days without causing any trouble for County Magistrate Xu.

During those three days, County Magistrate Xu and his household packed their belongings and took care of things at the county government.

The day before leave, Zou Jiang sent several invitation cards to Gu Jinli’s house, which were given to him by Junior Minister Ming. Since he had no use for them, they could be left with Gu Jinli’s house. If Gu Jinli’s family encountered any difficulties, they could use these cards to travel unimpeded to the Capital to seek his or Junior Minister Ming’s assistance.

Upon receiving the cards, Gu Jinli’s house was grateful to Zou Jiang, and also to County Magistrate Xu.

County Magistrate Xu had been good to their family. Before leaving, he spoke highly of them to County Magistrate Zheng and even recommended Gu Jin’an to County Magistrate Zheng, with whom Gu Jin’an now had a good relationship.

Village Chief He was even more grateful than Gu Jinli’s house to County Magistrate Xu. Learning that County Magistrate Xu was leaving, he cried bitterly, taking his entire family, young and old, to see County Magistrate Xu off.

All along the way, he cried out, "Lord County Magistrate, why are you leaving so soon? Why not stay for a few more days?"

Gu Jinli twitched at the corner of his mouth, seeing all this. Those in the know would think Village Chief He was seeing off County Magistrate Xu, and those who didn’t would think he was attending a funeral, given how heart-wrenchingly he wailed.