Changshou scratched his head, still not understanding. Gu Jinghan continued, “Though the storm might be terrifying, it’s not something that just comes out of nowhere. We have plenty of time to prepare, so it’s not that scary.”
Changshou was even more confused; it seemed like his master was speaking in riddles now. How could he not understand what he was saying?
“Did you handle the matter I asked you to?” Gu Jinghan suddenly inquired.
Changshou quickly responded, “I’ve done everything as you instructed, Master.”
Gu Jinghan nodded; the bait was set, now they just had to wait for the big fish to bite.
Author’s Note: Join the new series “The Supporting Male Lead Doesn’t Want to Die (Quick Transmigration)” for collection. Synopsis: Supporting male leads are born to support the main couple, to be stepping stones, to be cannon fodder; their fates are invariably tragic. One day, Chu Han transmigrated into them. Chu Han declares: I don’t want to die.
- World 1: The cannon fodder supporting male lead becomes the world’s richest man.
- World 2: The spare tire supporting male lead turns into a top movie star.
- World 3: The villainous supporting male lead becomes a great philanthropist.
- World 4: The short-lived supporting male lead lives a long life. The entire story is sweet and satisfying!
11. Tragic Death, Fulfilled Life
“Is this a local specialty of Yun City, the Gu Lu String Meat? Isn’t it super delicious?” Gu Mingsheng held two skewers of grilled meat, eating and asking the Zhong siblings.
The siblings nodded continuously while eating, “Yes, yes, it’s super delicious.”
Over the past few days, Gu Mingsheng had taken the siblings to explore the streets and alleys of Yun City, tasting everything from spicy soup, fried cheese pancakes, fragrant tofu, sticky rice dumplings, drunken chicken, to sweet tea. They had gained quite a bit of weight.
Eating wasn’t enough; they also had plenty of fun. Gu Mingsheng took them on a boat ride on the lake, picking lotus pods, stealing bird eggs from trees, catching wild chickens in the mountains, playing ring toss and archery in the streets, watching acrobatics and martial arts at the end of the street, and even seeing monkeys, horses jumping through fire hoops, and pigs carrying people. If it was available in Yun City, they did it all.
“Hey, Young Master Gu, haven’t seen you out for a while. Come, come, we’ve got many new girls at the Yihong House. You must come in today, and Madam Hong is available to keep you company,” said the madam of the Yihong House as she saw Gu Mingsheng passing by and immediately came out to pull him in.
Gu Mingsheng had already turned over a new leaf. Although he had been having fun with the Zhong siblings, he did so within limits, just eating, playing, and watching, without doing anything outrageous. He always remembered his father’s stick and dagger, so how could he dare to misbehave? Moreover, the Zhong siblings were relatives of Li Shi, his sister-in-law. If he led them astray, what if Li Shi held a grudge and made life difficult for his sister?
Seeing the madam trying to pull him, he dodged her hand and said sternly, “Go away, I’m not interested.”
Although Gu Mingsheng used to be a playboy, he was known for his fighting skills. When he was playful, no one was afraid of him, but when he got serious, no one dared to mess with him. The madam knew his temper well, so seeing him serious, she didn’t dare to pull anymore, just awkwardly said, “Come back when you’re free,” and retreated into the Yihong House.
“Mingsheng, what kind of place is that? It looks so lively,” Zhong Li asked curiously.
He was the son of a high-ranking official, and his father was a man of integrity, strictly guiding his children. Zhong Li, although he moved around outside often, had never been to such a place of debauchery. Usually, servants would steer clear of these areas. It was a joke; who would dare take the son of an official to a brothel?
Thus, the good young man Zhong Li didn’t know what the Yihong House was, only seeing the colorful decorations and the crowd of men and women, thinking it must be a fun place.
“It’s not a good place; you shouldn’t go in, especially not you, Miss Ling,” Gu Mingsheng said.
“Oh,” Zhong Ling nodded. Gu Mingsheng knew this place best, and having had so much fun with him these days, she trusted him completely when he said a place was off-limits.
However, Zhong Li kept looking back at the Yihong House, saying “okay” but not feeling entirely convinced.
The three quickly left the street where the Yihong House was located.
Not far away, Wang Shuo leered at Zhong Ling’s figure and said to his attendant, “Wang Fu, go and find out who that woman is.”
Wang Fu immediately understood and left. Soon, he returned and reported, “Young Master, this lady is the cousin of the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xie family, known as Miss Ling. She’s here to attend the wedding of the second young master of the Xie family.”
“Who is the other man besides Gu Mingsheng?” Wang Shuo asked. He was quite handsome with narrow phoenix eyes that seemed to exude a natural charm. He was none other than the notorious playboy son of the local magistrate.
“He is Miss Ling’s brother, Young Master Li,” Wang Fu replied.
“Her brother, that’s great,” Wang Shuo smiled, his phoenix eyes filled with a playful glint.
Dropping the siblings off at the Xie family’s gate, Gu Mingsheng said, “Tomorrow is my sister’s wedding day, I’ll be very busy, and the Xie family will be busy too. You should stay at home and not go out. Once things calm down, I’ll take you out again.”
“Okay,” Zhong Li smiled and agreed.
Gu Mingsheng bowed respectfully and turned to leave. After a few steps, he suddenly remembered something, turned back, and took something out from his sleeve, handing it to Zhong Ling, “Miss Ling, your hairpin is fixed, here you go.”
“Fixed?” Zhong Ling took it, unwrapped the silk cloth, and saw that the hairpin was indeed repaired without a trace of damage, overjoyed, “How did you fix it, Young Master Gu?”
This hairpin was specially made by her mother for her coming-of-age ceremony, and she cherished it. It had accidentally fallen and broken during yesterday’s outing, leaving her quite upset. Gu Mingsheng had said he would fix it for her, but she hadn’t held much hope. Such delicate hairpins were hard to repair once broken.
She hadn’t expected Gu Mingsheng to truly fix it, and without any visible damage.
“It’s a secret,” Gu Mingsheng said with a smile, winking at her before turning to leave with a flourish.
Watching his tall, handsome figure, Zhong Ling felt her heart inexplicably warm.
“Ling’er, your face is so red,” Zhong Li teased, opening his fan with a flourish.
Zhong Ling touched her face, defending herself, “It’s from the sun.”
“The sun in Yun City is as gentle as candlelight; it wouldn’t make your face red. I bet someone else is responsible for that blush,” Zhong Li said. Zhong Ling blushed and said, “Who can make me blush?”
“Master Gu’s son, Gu Mingsheng,” someone replied.
Zhong Ling’s face turned even redder. “Brother, don’t talk nonsense.”
“Ling’er, you know well whether it’s nonsense or not. I just want to remind you, the Gu family are merely merchants from a small town. Gu Mingsheng’s status doesn’t match yours as the daughter of a prominent family. Don’t be foolish,” Zhong Li said, closing his fan.
Zhong Ling was slightly stunned. After a moment, she retorted, “What does status matter? He and I are just friends. If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll go tell father.” With that, she quickly ran into the Xie family’s residence.
