After my soul traveled to ancient times, I don't want to be cannon fodder

Chapter 477: The Conflicted Gu Mingzhe

Let’s talk about Gu Mingzhe and Chong Jingxiu.

Gu Mingzhe also wanted to participate in the reform, but Zhong Ning did not intend to assign him to a place too far away. It happened that the three cities of Xiyan, adjacent to Kyoto, were in a critical period of post-disaster reconstruction.

Because of the failure to provide timely disaster relief, the court punished two of the county magistrates, namely Zhang Yu, the magistrate of Dingyuancheng County, and Zheng Xian, the magistrate of Xiyancheng County.

Such a vacancy is just right for the two of them to fill.

Chong Jingxiu went to Xiyan and Gu Mingzhe went to Dingyuan.

At the same time, Zhong Ning also sent two secret guards to guard Gu Mingzhe and Chong Jingxiu. Gu Mingzhe was protected by the Prime Minister's Mansion. Even if the local wealthy families in Xiyan City had any objections, they had to act according to Prime Minister Gu's mood.

So Gu Mingzhe won't have too many concerns.

Chong Jingxiu originally served under the Minister of Personnel Li Chuping, hoping to have the opportunity to be transferred to a distant place in the future.

Although there are some differences now, fortunately Li Chuping has a very high political awareness and knows that reform is inevitable, so he can only hold his nose and accept this disciple.

Therefore, Chong Jingxiu was very satisfied with Princess Zhaohua assigning him to the vicinity of the capital, especially when Her Highness the Princess also assigned him two secret guards for personal protection, which made him extremely moved.

He was almost kneeling on the ground, pointing to the sky and gazing at the moon, swearing that he would do his best and live up to the expectations of Princess Zhaohua and His Majesty!

Because the two of them lived close to each other, Zhong Ning did not come to see him off specially.

The last time they had a quarrel, more than half a month had passed and he had not come to her house again, let alone spoken a word to her.

Zhong Ning knew that if he didn't resolve this issue, he would probably always remember it. Zhong Ning originally planned to maintain the stalemate, but then he thought that even though Gu Mingzhe was angry, he did not forget to support his reform cause.

Now he is taking action himself, disobeying his father's orders and joining the reform front. Zhong Ning feels very guilty.

It's okay to look back occasionally. It was his fault in the first place. What's more, he was about to leave for Dingyuan to take up his post.

See you next time, I don’t know when.

Although it is not far away, once the reform is carried out, it will inevitably be much busier, and officials are not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict.

If the conflict is not resolved, it will probably affect his mood fighting on the front line.

The most important thing is that one year later, Gu Mingzhe will have to take over as the pioneer in urging reform, so it is extremely important to appease him now.

So, the night before Gu Mingzhe was about to leave, Zhong Ning sneaked into the Gu Mansion and the yard where Gu Mingzhe was.

But when he saw his figure, Zhong Ning stopped in his tracks again.

No, since she has decided to leave, she shouldn't drag it out any longer.

Indecisiveness leads to disaster.

Zhong Ning looked deeply at Gu Mingzhe's figure through the window, then turned around and left resolutely.

In the study, Gu Mingzhe sat there looking through the specific matters that needed to be paid attention to in the reform. This was a document that Emperor Yong specially asked Liu Ben to compile for everyone's reference.

For the new scholars who are about to go to the front line of reform, it is undoubtedly a guiding light, but tonight, Gu Mingzhe has no mind to look at these.

Even though he had studied this thing three times and received profound instruction from his father, he still felt uneasy and could not feel happy.

During the day, his mother, Mrs. Du, came to help him pack his luggage. While packing, she scolded him for not living up to his expectations. He clearly passed the exam and was among the top students, so he could have stayed in the Hanlin Academy, but he chose to go to the countryside to participate in some reform pilot project.

Mrs. Du knew that this so-called reform pilot was promoted by Princess Zhaohua, but now, her son had lost his heart, and he was going to ruin his future for that cold-hearted woman.

Can being an official in the local area be better than being in the capital?

Some local officials were unable to return to the capital to take up their posts throughout their entire lives.

But her son, who clearly has the prerequisites, insists on making things difficult for her. What a fool!

Gu Mingzhe did not refute. He also knew that it was not a good thing for him to leave at this time. Her Highness was about to leave, so he should stay with her, spend some more time with her, and cherish the last time they had together.

But whenever he thought about her leaving so abruptly, not even planning to stay, or even secretly looking for a good partner for him, he felt very heartbroken.

How could he not know that His Highness wanted to draw a line between them?

He shouldn't have put her in a difficult position.

What's more, this reform is a regret in her heart. What Wen Renye can do for her, he can do too.

Gu Mingzhe's eyes were empty, and no one knew what he was thinking. After a long time, he closed the book and turned back to the bedroom.

Today is his last night in Kyoto.

He will go to Dingyuan to take up his post tomorrow.

But he was stubborn and didn't even go to the princess's mansion to take a look.

See you again, no, if His Highness has already left when I come back next time, then the last unpleasant parting would be the last time we see each other, right?

Thinking of this, Gu Mingzhe's eyes turned slightly red, and he pinched his fingers into his palms. The urge to rush over became stronger, but reason told him that since they were destined to separate, it would be better not to be sentimental anymore.

After all, he has always seen His Highness's cold-heartedness.

She had never liked herself at all.

All along, he was the one who was being sentimental and rushed to hold her heart, but it was broken into pieces.

She was leaving, wanting to disconnect herself.

How could I not take advantage of her feelings?

He took advantage of this time to calm himself down, forget about her, and forget that he had ever loved such a heartless person.

The night grew increasingly quiet, but Gu Mingzhe still had no desire to sleep.

He was wearing a white nightgown, half holding a book, leaning on the bed, but his eyes were always wandering in the air, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The next morning.

Gu Mingzhe woke up from his sleep and looked a little tired. The reason was simple: His Highness had been with him in his dream all night long. The two of them had been fooling around for a long time, and it was only when the sky was slightly bright that it ended.

After waking up, I realized that it was just a dream.

Gu Mingzhe stood up with some regret, ordered his servants to bring water, and took a good hot bath. Only then did the anger in his heart slowly dissipate.

Today was the day for him to leave, but it was still early. Gu Mingzhe recalled what happened last night and went straight to the study to draw the scene in his dream.

In the picture, Zhong Ning is wearing various clothes. One is wearing a red cloak and standing in the snow, picking up snow with one hand. Another is wearing a champagne-colored dress with pigtails, looking bright and flamboyant. Another is sitting by the window with his chin in his hand, admiring the beautiful scenery outside.

There was also the feeling of being held in his arms, full of affection and a shy smile.

Or look at him and smile, and play the zither and the harp in harmony.

Gu Mingzhe painted several pictures in succession, including portraits of Zhong Ning alone and portraits of him with others.

It was not until near noon that Prime Minister Gu sent someone to ask when they would set off, and only then did Gu Mingzhe put down his brush.

In fact, there are still some popular scenes that he has not had time to paint, but it doesn’t matter, there is still plenty of time.

He has plenty of time to paint slowly!