A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 79.2

With her being so candid, many people became uncertain.

Her assertive manner today made it seem like she had a hold of someone else’s weakness.

Princess Xie Wenjun also approved of her proposal.

Xie Yuan issued the command, “Then go and investigate it for me.”

He wanted to build an Imperial Retreat, but everyone had advised him that the national treasury was empty and large-scale construction was inappropriate. So, he also wanted to understand where the court’s money had been spent.

As soon as the decree for self-audit was issued, the attention of many people immediately shifted away from the Gu family.

An iron mine of considerable scale in Bo Gongling was being concealed and not reported, with someone attempting to appropriate the iron ore as private property.

Investigating this would cause panic in more than just one household.

After the court session, Chen Liangyu handed her horse to the palace eunuch. Xie Wenjun’s carriage was already waiting for her outside the palace. She got into the carriage and first burst into a fit of laughter, shaking as she told Xie Wenjun about Zhao Xingli’s sedan chair genuinely being hit with mud that morning.

“Your Highness, who do you think should be impeached for someone throwing mud? Hahaha…” Before she finished laughing, Chen Liangyu noticed some mud-like dirt under Xie Wenjun’s fingernails.

Xie Wenjun was not wearing nail guards, so the dirt was quite noticeable.

Chen Liangyu said, “You did it?”

Xie Wenjun turned her face away, remaining silent. Nor did she deny it.

Chen Liangyu: “Was it really you?” She laughed even harder, swaying from side to side.

Xie Wenjun finally couldn’t tolerate her. “Is it that funny?”

“It is funny.” Chen Liangyu, still laughing, didn’t forget to kiss Xie Wenjun on the face. “Too funny.”

She simply couldn’t imagine a bizarre scene where the normally serious Xie Wenjun would take a handful of mud and throw it at a passing sedan chair.

No wonder Zhao Xingli’s face was longer than a donkey’s, yet he dared not express his anger.

Xie Wenjun said, “It is his fortune that I personally threw the mud.”

Chen Liangyu flattered, “Naturally, not everyone has the honor of being personally hit with mud by the Princess. Your Highness, the next time you do something like this, could you please let your subject know in advance? I would like to come and admire the Princess’s graceful demeanor while playing in the mud.”

She carefully removed the dirt from Xie Wenjun’s fingernails, wiping them with a handkerchief over and over. “Where are we going?”

Xie Wenjun said, “The Dali Temple Prison.”

“For Gu Xie?”

Xie Wenjun nodded. She had a pot of orchid grass in her hand.

The places where Gu Xie and Yao Jifeng were held were two prison cells with bright windows. There were tables and chairs, and an oil lamp. The tables were piled with papers full of writing and drawings. Gu Xie and Yao Jifeng sat side by side, separated by wooden bars, each intensely writing something.

They wrote very fast, seemingly racing against someone.

The head of Dali Temple was Chen Luan, and these two cells were chosen by him. Few people usually came to disturb the couple.

Chen Luan ordered the jailer to unlock the door. Only the sound of the chain drawing back made the Gu Xie and Yao Jifeng look up from their writing.

Gu Xie rose to salute, “Princess, General, Minister Chen.”

Yao Jifeng also saluted from the adjacent cell.

Chen Luan placed the orchid pot on Gu Xie’s desk. “Miss, the orchid you requested.”

“Thank you, Minister Chen.”

Gu Xie moved the pot of orchid to Yao Jifeng’s side. The fine leaves clustered together, adorned with two small flowers. The flowers were spike-shaped, like Jisu flowers (Salvia japonica), with tiny seeds in the middle. The orchid’s natural scent was very fragrant, but it was masked by the prison’s foul air and the strong smell of ink.

Chen Liangyu smelled the scent of ink filling the room and flipped through a couple of pages of the manuscripts.

Gu Xie said, “Your Highness once said that to enlighten the people, one must first ensure their livelihoods. Among countless books, those related to agriculture, medicine, astronomy/calendar, civil engineering, and water conservancy are the most widely applicable. Now that we are to trade with various nations, studying their languages, especially the grassland script, is a matter of great importance. My husband and I have compiled the strengths of various schools into books for the girls to study. Scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant—the Classics and Historical Records are the path to the Imperial Examination. If this path is blocked, then let the girls first learn the skills they need to earn a living.”

“Your Highness, I believe that one day, the girls will be able to embark on an official career. Life and death are fated. I will bear all the crimes of the Gu family alone. Your Highness, please do not ruin your foundation in court for the sake of my husband and me. My husband and I do not fear death.”

“If we fail at the brink of success, then let my blood and body pave the way for future generations.”

Yao Jifeng, who had been silent, finally reacted when he heard Gu Xie say, “She will bear all the crimes of the Gu family alone.”

He still looked like a scholar, just without the spirit he had when he served as the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy. With his beard drooping, he looked somewhat dejected.

Yao Jifeng suddenly knelt down and performed a deep bow to Xie Wenjun, saying, “I beg the Princess to ensure Miss’s safety. This matter started because of me, Yao. I will personally bear all the blame.”

Yao Jifeng, like the others at Han Hong Academy, had always called Gu Xie “Miss.” Even after they got married, the address never changed.

Xie Wenjun said, “I will ensure the safety of the Gu family.”

The Gu family, naturally, included Gu Xie.

But what about Yao Jifeng?

Gu Xie instantly understood, and her tears fell with a pat-da sound, staining the paper.

Yao Jifeng looked at her and showed a faint smile, asking, “My worthless life, has it helped Miss at all?”

Gu Xie nodded, tears in her eyes, nodding vigorously. “Yes, it has.”

For a long time after Yao Jifeng was brought back to Han Hong Academy by Gu Changxue, he had no desire to live. Only the thought of his younger sister, Yao Jiyue, still in the palace kept him from taking his own life. Gu Xie tried every possible method to instill some “vitality” in him, but all failed.

Yao Jifeng used to love tending to orchids and enjoyed a reputation for integrity in court, also known as the “Gentleman of the Orchid.” She planted many, but the orchids were delicate, and Yao Jifeng never cared for them, so they all withered. It wasn’t until one day she discovered that he could only find peace when immersed in the library.

On their wedding night, Gu Xie said, “Please help me one more time, Teacher.”

Since then, Yao Jifeng began collecting all beneficial books under heaven. Books were precious. Although Han Hong Academy had many books, most were Classics and Historical Records for the Imperial Examinations, with very few practical books. Gu Changxue and Gu Heng both disagreed with establishing female education and were mostly unwilling to help. Yao Jifeng’s identity after changing his name was inconvenient, and sometimes it took him half a year to seek out a single water conservancy manual.

Fortunately, at the end of his life, his lifelong learning was not wasted.

“I have ruined Miss’s marriage in this life. In the next life…” Yao Jifeng said, “I only wish that after my death, my body can be collected and buried with my wife.”

Gu Xie understood that the wife Yao Jifeng spoke of was not her, but his first wife who died in the civil disaster case.

She replied, “Alright.”

The illusion could only be used once. Once exposed, the person who slipped through the net must be publicly executed to demonstrate the severity of the law.

Chen Liangyu stayed in Yongdu for over a month to report on her duties. The last time she saw Yao Jifeng before returning to the Northern Territory was on the broadest and busiest street in Yongdu. He was wearing a cangue, his eyes closed, swaying in a prison cart as he was paraded through the streets, his head poking out, being pelted with stones, cursed at, and spat upon by the angry crowd.

He was to be taken on a tour of the cities.

He would be locked in that prison cart and paraded from one city to the next.

Those who once respectfully called him “Teacher” were now the ones who cursed the most viciously, wishing to utter every foul word in the world.

When the Yao family was executed, he divorced his wife and abandoned his son, accepting to be taken into the Gu family to survive. This action was scorned by all scholars.

Talented but without conduct; educated but disgraced.

A hypocrite.

A true villain.

The shame of scholars.

…

Yao Jifeng died on the road during the prison cart tour.

The prison cart headed north. The snow fell early that year in the north, and by early winter, the ground was covered with half a foot of snow. He was draped only in a thin prisoner’s garment, barely covering his body.

The swirling snow blinded people, making it impossible to see the road ahead or move forward. The two minor officials escorting him reluctantly abandoned the prison cart and went in two different directions, sinking into the snow with every step, to look for a way out.

When they returned, the man in the prison cart was curled up in a corner, his eyes tightly shut, and a thick layer of white frost had accumulated on his body.

The orchid-keeper, who had maintained a reputation of integrity for half his life, froze to death in the wind and snow.