Free Web NovelChapter 665: Chapter 665: When You Get Cocky, You’re Bound to Mess Up
In the previous life, Gu Dashu took advantage of Gu Jingzhe to ascend in power. After arriving in Shengjing, he relied even more on his connections with Gu Jingzhe, which led him down the path of corruption and decadence.
As a rising star in the court, many wanted to bring Gu Jingzhe into their fold as a son-in-law.
Unfortunately, he already had a wife, and the Commandery Princess had already made her move, so many families turned their attention to Gu Dashu.
After all, Liu Yueer was just a farm girl; divorcing her was incredibly easy.
Thus, one day, Gu Dashu saved a minor daughter of the Lin Family when she was startled by a horse carriage; this minor daughter fell in love with Gu Dashu at first sight.
The admiration of an official’s daughter is notable, especially when she’s a young girl raised like a delicate flower. It’s inevitable that bumpkin Gu Dashu was moved.
With Tong Dajiao’s urging and pressure, Gu Dashu divorced Liu Yueer and married this minor daughter from the Lin Family.
After all, Gu Dashu had a youthful romance with Liu Yueer, and the little conscience he retained prevented him from discarding her like an old shoe; instead, he provided her with a yard and servants.
Changed from the original wife to a concubine, Liu Yueer couldn’t swallow this humiliation, refused to leave the Gu Family, and after several disputes was sent by Gu Dashu’s new wife to a convent to become a nun.
Naturally unwilling, Liu Yueer escaped from the convent and hid around the Gu Family residence in Shengjing, eventually colliding head-on with the new wife’s carriage.
The horse carriage became startled, dragging the new wife into a frantic rush.
Eventually, the child in the new wife’s womb was lost, and she herself was ruined.
Liu Yueer took advantage of the chaos, grabbed a knife, and charged into the Gu Family, slashing at anyone she encountered until reaching Tong Dajiao.
Tong Dajiao fainted in shock, and one of his legs was injured.
Liu Yueer was restrained and beaten with thirty strikes, losing half her life before being thrown outside Shengjing City.
And as the instigator, Gu Dashu didn’t face any consequences beyond shedding a few crocodile tears.
Despite having enjoyed the blessings of numerous people, discarding the original wife and ruining the new wife, he remained a sought-after target for family alliances in Shengjing.
Although Tong Huaqiong promised her mother-in-law, Mrs. Zhao, that she would never allow Gu Dashu to have devious intentions.
That was as long as Gu Dashu was within her presence.
Now Gu Dashu was at the border, and would soon go to Shengjing for a reward.
His achievements would be reported nationwide; it’s not just Gu Dashu, even she would become arrogant.
Once people become arrogant, they easily develop improper thoughts and fall into traps set by others.
It’s not that she doesn’t trust Gu Dashu, but rather, she doesn’t trust human nature.
Gu Dashu has always been lively and articulate, combined with his handsome face and tall stature, he can indeed captivate girls in their chambers.
Arriving in Shengjing, should he be dazzled by the flamboyant world, she would be too far away to intervene.
This daughter-in-law Liu Yueer is less obedient compared to Chen Sufen and far less forthright than Lu Zhaozhao; she’s petty and manipulative, and if not for Tong Huaqiong keeping her in check, she’d have caused chaos long ago.
Even so, Tong Huaqiong doesn’t want her to face the same fate as in the previous life.
After all, Liu Yueer has contributed significantly to the family’s business now.
It’s not only for Liu Yueer, but for the whole family that Tong Huaqiong would not allow Gu Dashu to marry the minor daughter of the Lin Family as he did in the previous life.
She is not Tong Dajiao, who would think that an official’s young lady being interested in her son proves his capability, as if the family grave emitted green smoke.
Using her intuition, it’s clear why the Lin Family’s daughter was rescued on the street by Gu Dashu and why she fell in love at first sight with a married man with a son who hadn’t even cleaned off the mud stains on him; it was certainly a scheme of the entire Lin Family.
Gu Dashu isn’t the tasty treat; Gu Jingzhe is the prize.
It’s extremely worthwhile to sacrifice a minor daughter for marrying into the Gu Family as Gu Jingzhe’s second sister-in-law to gain that connection.
Tong Huaqiong, after careful consideration, took out pen and paper to write a letter to Lu Zhaoyang.
Asking Lu Zhaoyang to keep an eye on Gu Dashu.
Primarily to prevent Gu Dashu from falling into the schemes like those by the Lin Family.
She doesn’t want, before Gu Jingzhe has even participated in the court examination, for someone to drag Gu Dashu down just to win over Gu Jingzhe, then backstab him.
Last time during the discussions at the Lu Family about Lu Zhaozhao and Gu Jingzhe’s marriage, Mr. Lu revealed that due to the victory in the border war, Lu Zhaoyang regained the Emperor’s trust because of his merit in coordinating supplies and distributing coal in the winter, making him an unshakeable figure.
With Lu Zhaoyang keeping watch, presumably Gu Dashu could avoid being schemed.
But it could only be avoiding the scheme; should Gu Dashu truly become conceited and change his heart, Tong Huaqiong would have no better way.
After all, matters of the heart are beyond her interference.
She can only deny this son and ensure to protect Liu Yueer’s interests to the utmost.
...
Currently, Gu Dashu is recuperating at the border.
The wind at the border is cold and piercing, as if spring breezes never pass through.
The sky is gloomy, with a snowstorm looming on the horizon.
Gu Dashu’s injury wasn’t caused by enemies, but rather occurred when Mobei Capital City was breached; he rushed toward Nie Xiaofeng without halting and hit a horse’s leg, fainting on the spot and getting two ribs broken.
The incident scared Nie Xiaofeng almost to tears, half of his merits were granted by this uncle, and if anything happened to him, how would he respond to the Gu Family?
Nie Xiaofeng commanded his subordinates to carry Gu Dashu back to the barracks, and the military doctors treated him with utmost dedication; though his life was safe, he remained in a coma.
It’s said that healing bones and muscles takes a hundred days, but thanks to the care from Manager He and others, Gu Dashu finally regained consciousness.
Manager He and Nie Xiaofeng breathed a sigh of relief, nearly bursting into tears.
"...Why are you crying? Am I not alive and well?" After being examined by the medical officer, Gu Dashu said to Manager He and Nie Xiaofeng.
Upon learning that his accomplishments had been reported to the nation, Gu Dashu was eager to return to Qinghe Bay.
Having been away from home for so long, he missed his mother, wife, and son.
He was even more eager to return and boast about his experiences in Mobei to the villagers.
After all, in this life, who else could live as thrillingly as he did.
Reflecting now, Gu Dashu is filled with admiration for his own courage; those secret missions weren’t tasks for ordinary people.
If given another chance, he might not willingly take on such responsibilities.
Although currently everyone praises him as a ’hero,’ only he knows how those days had him tense all the time, nearly fearful enough to wet himself at any sudden movement.
Several times he thought his life would end, yet fortunately each time danger was turned into safety.
When the city was breached, Gu Dashu cried bitterly as if surviving a disaster; had the Royal Army not arrived a day earlier, Liu Yueer would have ended up a widow like his mother.
Of course, these things aren’t necessary to tell the villagers and family.
Not telling the villagers avoids compromising his heroic image.
Not telling the family avoids them worrying afterward.
Anyway, he’s alive and has achieved merits.
More exciting than his accomplishments is the business he opened at the border, thus proving he’s no longer his mother’s least successful son.
Regarding business, he holds even greater ambitions.
This Dasheng battle should ensure fifty years of border stability; now Mobei submits as a vassal to Dasheng, and the trade halted due to Mobei’s antics will undoubtedly reopen; he plans to control Mobei’s market for silk, salt, fur, and other essential goods.
With his contributions to the war, the emperor ought to agree, right?
In a few days, he will follow the army to Shengjing to receive his reward, and the thought of seeing the emperor fills Gu Dashu with excitement.
He’s unsure if the emperor will be easy to talk to; perhaps he should ask a Shengjing General who has seen the emperor for advice.
While pondering how to approach the emperor, suddenly the curtain lifted and Su Chengmin entered, swept in by the cold wind.
Su Chengmin wasn’t alone; there was another person entering with him.
