Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 534 - 370: Old Acquaintance of the Gu Family

Prince Jing squinted at the bright sunlight outside the window, "Let’s go! It’s good to bask in the sun!"

Last time, he didn’t heed the doctor’s advice and took that pill again, which damaged his health. Now he still looked pale and would probably need a long time to recover.

Xiao Chengzi helped Prince Jing to the garden, where the scenery was simply breathtaking during this period. Xiao Chengzi also hoped to lift Prince Jing’s spirits.

"My lord! Mr. Lu hasn’t been here for several days. I wonder what he’s been busy with lately." Xiao Chengzi was a bit puzzled. Mr. Lu used to visit every two or three days, but now he hadn’t shown up since the last parade day when Gu Chengyu won first place.

"Everyone has their own matters to attend to; how can they keep coming to my place?" Prince Jing recalled the grand parade Mr. Lu had mentioned the last time. He actually knew early on that Gu Chengyu would become the top scorer.

The Emperor had already taken notice of Gu Chengyu, and his official career should be smoother in the future.

"My lord! You think so highly of that Gu Chengyu, yet he is unaware. Can we still use him in our favor?" Xiao Chengzi remembered how Miss Xi failed to seduce Gu Chengyu last time. Gu Chengyu seemed uninterested in women.

Besides, my lord doesn’t show off; how would anyone know he helped him?

"How do you know he is unaware? Even if he doesn’t know now, he will find out later. The things done always leave traces; he is very clever." Prince Jing sat in the pavilion, gazing at the distant flower clusters.

When the Eldest Prince was here last time, Gu Chengyu and he performed a duet, and they got along quite well. He could see that Gu Chengyu was fond of that Lu Qi, but the qin had a past for him. He was unwilling to give the qin to others, so he pretended not to see it, though the Lu fit Gu Chengyu perfectly.

Looking at the pondering Prince Jing, Xiao Chengzi only felt that his master’s thoughts were unfathomable. However, Miss Xi still needed to be arranged, not knowing what his master planned.

"My lord! How is Miss Xi to be arranged?" Speaking of Miss Xi, she was indeed a distant cousin of Prince Jing.

The birth mother of Prince Jing was a palace maid, who was originally from Yingnan Mansion before entering the palace. Miss Xi was the daughter of his birth mother’s cousin. Her father passed away early, and her mother followed two months ago. After Prince Jing had contact with his maternal family, he brought her to the mansion.

Seeing that the girl was beautiful, Prince Jing brought her back to the mansion. As for her use, he had his own plans.

"Find a governess for her and let her learn the ways of the aristocratic families, she’s too petty for the stage, and I’ll have arrangements for her in the future."

Xiao Chengzi understood from these words that his master didn’t want to bring Miss Xi into the inner courtyard. His master was extremely controlled about women, and to this day, there was only one concubine and one kept woman in the mansion. Compared to the number of main wives, concubines, and concubines in other Prince Mansions, it was incomparable.

Suddenly, a pigeon flew into the Prince Mansion from outside, landing under the eaves of the main house in the inner courtyard. A eunuch, hearing the sound, went to the porch to remove the bamboo tube from the pigeon and released the bird.

Then, carrying the bamboo tube, he ran towards the garden.

"My lord! A message has come." Xiao Chengzi handed the bamboo tube to Prince Jing.

Prince Jing opened it and was somewhat surprised, "This is quite a coincidence."

He handed the note to Xiao Chengzi and then instructed, "Order someone to bring her parents over and settle them properly."

Hua Lian was a girl from the Tianxiang Pavilion. He originally thought Gu Chengyu liked someone as delicate as Hua Lian, so he wanted Xi’er to try, but it failed. Thus, he planned to make Hua Lian a scout in the Gu Mansion, but Hua Lian believed she redeemed her freedom and was no longer under the control of Tianxiang Pavilion, so she refused to obey orders.

Although Gu Chengyu was temporarily only a secondary sixth rank official, his abilities were significant. Therefore, placing a scout in the Gu Mansion was particularly crucial.

It turned out that Hua Lian was sold into a brothel by a child trafficker when she was young. He just asked someone to find that child trafficker, followed the trail, and found a small county in Yingnan Mansion. That year, two girls were lost in the small county, and one of them was naturally Hua Lian.

And coincidentally, Hua Lian’s parents happened to be old friends of the Gu Family, which made things much easier for Prince Jing.

Xiao Chengzi took the note, and after a glance, couldn’t help but marvel at how the world, being big, could also be small, as such coincidences could happen. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

One day later, Gu Chengyu and Ye Zhiqiu went to report to the Hanlin Academy. Speaking of Ye Zhiqiu, he originally intended to seek an official post elsewhere, but obtaining an external post was challenging; he had to wait for a vacancy. After Gu Chengyu’s persuasion, he decided to take the scholar examination.

Gu Chengyu recalled the Q-version characters and animals from his past life; these cute things were definitely favored by women and children. So, he drew some designs and gave them to Gu Wan to take this work to Ye’s mother, and only to Ye’s mother.

These were easier than those intricate embroideries and were not very straining on the eyes. By giving more money, it helped alleviate the urgent needs of the Ye Family. Gu Chengyu did this because he saw Ye Zhiqiu worried about money, and Ye Zhiqiu leaned towards joining the Hanlin, only constrained by the pressures of life.

"Jinyu! How come it feels like a dream? We’re becoming officials just like that?" Ye Zhiqiu lifted the curtain, watching the receding scenery outside the window, still quite unbelieving that he actually became an official.

Ye Zhiqiu truly counted as one who studied diligently for ten years. He felt somewhat sentimental. When his father went to take the provincial exam, he caught a cold and passed away. His mother, to fulfill his father’s wish, pleaded with Mr. Wen to let him study from the age of over six.

No matter how hard life was at home, his mother and sisters endured. He remembered the several times he mentioned to his family that he didn’t want to study anymore, and was even beaten with a rattan by his mother. He still clearly remembered his mother in tears while hitting him.

From then on, no matter how difficult life was at home, he never raised the issue again. Fortunately, he passed the Advanced Scholar exam, otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to face his mother and two sisters. At the same time, he was extremely grateful to Gu Chengyu. If it weren’t for Gu Chengyu’s frequent help to his family, how could he have studied with peace of mind?

Not to mention all of this, even in official pursuits, Gu Chengyu often explained difficult problems to him and frequently lent him books to read. Since knowing Gu Chengyu, he benefited from him a lot, even including the carriage he was on. Ye Zhiqiu gave a bitter smile.

"Jinyu! Thank you so much for your help over the years, I’ve kept it in my heart." Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes were sincere as he cupped his hands toward Gu Chengyu.

"There you go again. I’ve told you it’s just a little effort; you shouldn’t keep it in mind. We’ve been old friends for years; why be so distant?" Gu Chengyu was somewhat helpless. He knew Ye Zhiqiu had a strong sense of pride; aside from official matters, he never accepted money without offering something in return.

He always found ways through Gu Wan to give more work to the Ye Family for more money or find easy and quick-earning jobs for Ye’s mother and them, all to protect Ye Zhiqiu’s pride. He never mentioned helping to Ye Zhiqiu, but over time, Ye Zhiqiu could guess, and he thanked him several times for it.