Shocked! The salty concubine was spoiled by the cold prince

Chapter 164 Pei Yunqing’s Gift

Pei Xu did not place all his hopes on Pei Yunqing. He might be able to defeat Pei Xu with some insidious means, but in terms of strength, Pei Xu was slightly better.

If this matter is really handed over to Pei Yunqing for investigation, I am afraid that even after the New Year, Pei Yunqing will not be able to find evidence that Pei Yunzhao has kept private soldiers.

Pei Xu didn't have much time to deal with him, and he couldn't let him turn his attention to them, so he planned to lend him a hand, otherwise who knows how long it would take.

Gu Jiaorong did not have the same plans as Pei Xu. Although she thought a lot, she could just lie down and live a comfortable and leisurely life anywhere.

After all, Pei Xu is carrying the heavy burden behind her.

Shaoyao also served her very well. She even thought that if she left the palace in the future, it would be a good idea to find a house like this to live in.

However, thinking about these things at the moment is just wishful thinking. She has to take things one step at a time and she cannot be sure what the future will be like.

"Peony, let's have a light lunch today. The prince may not be able to come back soon, so ask the kitchen to make less so there won't be any leftovers."

Gu Jiaorong yawned lazily and spoke.

Pei Xu received a secret report from Fu'an last night. Today the two brothers will meet and Eunuch Hu will also be there. This must not be a good thing. Pei Xu will be busy today.

Even if the two brothers did not dance in front of Pei Xu immediately, they would definitely have made some small movements.

Gu Jiaorong didn't expect Pei Yunqing to set his sights on her. After all, she was just a concubine with no power. Even if she had traveled through time, she couldn't do anything. Pei Yunqing should deal with Pei Xu.

But just as she finished her words, the guards who stayed in the courtyard came to report: "Master, the people around the Fifth Prince have arrived and said they brought gifts for you from the capital."

The designation was given to Gu Jiaorong, not Pei Xu.

This is a bit strange.

"Can you tell what it is?"

Gu Jiaorong raised her eyebrows and asked with a smile.

She actually had a guess in her mind that it was probably not a good thing.

If this thing was given to Pei Xu, it would probably just be thrown into a corner and gather dust, but giving it to her...

Gu Jiaorong smiled. Perhaps in Pei Yunqing's eyes, she was just a brainless woman. Otherwise, she would not have relied on Pei Xu instead of making a name for herself with her own knowledge.

She could understand Pei Yunqing. He was smart, so he had the capital to be proud of himself. His gender also brought him innate advantages, so he could make a variety of choices.

But Gu Jiaorong couldn't. She was just a maid at the beginning. Wasn't it luck that got her to where she is today?

If she had not read the original book, the grass on her grave might have been three feet high by now.

Gu Jiaorong never makes things difficult for herself. She knows very well that she is just an ordinary person. She does not have any grand ambitions to rule the world. She just wants to live a good life.

She had died once and cherished this hard-earned life.

The guard's voice brought her back to reality.

"Master, I can't tell what it is. It's in an exquisite wooden box. The box looks very valuable, and seems to be made of sandalwood."

The guard was from the royal palace after all, and had seen some good things before, so his tone when describing it was quite calm.

Gu Jiaorong blinked her eyes. The gift in the exquisite wooden box was probably not a good thing.

"Let him in. I want to see what gift the Fifth Prince can give me."

Gu Jiaorong was not afraid that Pei Yunqing would cause trouble, but was afraid that he would do something in private.

When the guard heard this, a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face.

"Master, when the prince left, he ordered that no one should be allowed into the courtyard, no matter who comes. We should wait until he comes back."

Gu Jiaorong knew what Pei Xu had said, but Pei Yunqing rarely took action. If she let the people around him go back like this, who knew what he would do tomorrow?

It just so happened that he was attending a banquet at this moment, so it didn't matter even if Gu Jiaorong did something to his servants.

"It's okay, just bring the person here. If the prince asks, I will explain to him."

Gu Jiaorong waved her hand and said with a smile.

Even with this, the guard still did not agree immediately, but looked hesitant.

"What? Even my words are useless now?"

Gu Jiaorong's face immediately turned cold. She was willing to stay in this house not because Pei Xu trapped her, but because she didn't want to make Pei Xu worry. Besides, it might not be safe outside.

"Master, calm down. I will go right away."

The guard certainly understood this. He only saw how much the prince valued his master, and he also knew the position of his master in the prince's heart.

Gu Jiaorong had no intention of making things difficult for him, so after hearing what he said, she let him go.

These guards were actually doing their duty to protect her safety.

It has to be said that Pei Xu really understood the Pei brothers. Since they couldn't find a breakthrough from Pei Xu, they turned to her.

But this is also normal. Gu Jiaorong is clearly Pei Xu's weakness, and she is a weak woman.

If you don't do something to her, you'd be a fool.

The guard moved quickly and soon came over with the person who was delivering the things.

"My humble servant, Wu Er, pays his respects to Aunt Gu."

As soon as Wu Er came up, he pointed out Gu Jiaorong's identity and was obviously not as respectful to her as the guards.

Gu Jiaorong was no longer surprised and nodded lightly.

"I heard that the Fifth Prince sent you to deliver something to me. I wonder what precious gift the Fifth Prince sent, and why he personally handed it to me."

Gu Jiaorong was actually not curious about what Pei Yunqing gave her. She mainly wanted to see if she could get something out of Wu Er's mouth.

It’s a pity that Wu Er is destined to disappoint her.

"Aunt Gu, I didn't know anything about this. I just received instructions and came to give a gift to Aunt Gu."

Wu Er lowered his head and said that he had no need to hide anything, and there was nothing to hide.

Gu Jiaorong seemed to be used to it, so she was not surprised.

"Since you don't know, then open the box and let's see it together. I think the gift from His Highness the Fifth Prince must be extremely precious."

Gu Jiaorong didn't want to open the box herself. In case there was something bad in the box, it would be better for her to stay away from it.

And Wu Er naturally didn't want to be the one to open the box.

Even though he didn't know what was in the box, the Fifth Prince had repeatedly instructed that it be delivered to Gu Jiaorong, so he definitely didn't think that there was anything good in it.

"Auntie Gu, I'm afraid this isn't appropriate. My master has warned me that this thing isn't something lowly people like me can look at. Besides, if it breaks in my hands, I won't be able to explain it to my master."

Wu Er found an excuse to shirk the responsibility.

But how could Gu Jiaorong let him escape like this? Not to mention Wu Er's attitude, which made her even more uneasy.

"What are you afraid of? If anything breaks, I'll take responsibility and explain it to the Fifth Prince. Just open the box and we'll admire it together."

Gu Jiaorong would never take the box because she was very scared of death.

"Aunt Gu, please don't embarrass me."

Wu Er was about to cry. He never thought that just sending a gift would cause trouble.

If he had known this, he would never have taken on this job.

"How did I embarrass you? I just wanted to look at something and open a box, but you insisted on making excuses. Could it be that you had already replaced the contents of the box, so you didn't dare to open it?"

Gu Jiaorong did not say anything wrong about the Fifth Prince, but instead put the blame on Wu Er.

With this said, if Wu Er does not open the box, then whatever happens, the fault will be on Wu Er.

"If you feel you can handle this responsibility, then leave it here. If you can't, then open it quickly. Now that we've both seen it, we can rest assured."

Gu Jiaorong kept putting pressure on him, and Wu Er felt cold sweat on his forehead.

He gave a smile that was uglier than crying, and the embarrassment on his face was even more difficult to hide.

"It's not that I don't want to, but the master did give instructions."

"I've already told you that if His Highness blames me, I will bear the responsibility for you, but you're making excuses and wasting your breath here. You should take this thing back and let the Fifth Prince take a look. If he thinks it's missing anything, I'll send someone to get it myself."

Gu Jiaorong just refused to take it in her own hands. She admitted that she was afraid.

But who isn't afraid?

It's better to be on guard against someone as secretive as Pei Yunqing.

Seeing that he couldn't refuse any longer, Wu Er gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and opened the box.

There was indeed no poison in the box, but there was a box of red beads inside, which looked very strange.

Gu Jiaorong didn't think this was a good thing, so she waved her hand and let the guard take it.

"It seems I misunderstood you. You really didn't touch this thing. I apologize to you. I hope you can be magnanimous and not hold it against me."

Gu Jiaorong was flexible, but Wu Er's face had turned pale.

He trembled his lips and said, "Mrs. Gu is so polite. Since the things have been delivered, I will go back first."

This thing is indeed not poisonous, but when Wu Er saw a box of bright red stuff, he always felt that something was wrong, so he didn't dare to stay any longer.

Gu Jiaorong had the same idea, so as soon as Wu Er left, she asked someone to deal with this thing.

Shaoyao kept frowning beside her.

"Auntie, I have always felt that the Fifth Prince had ill intentions. That thing looks strange and doesn't seem like a good thing. Fortunately, you were smart enough not to take it yourself. If you had opened it, you would have been terrified."

When Shaoyao thinks back on it now, she still finds that thing frightening.

"It's a pity that Divine Doctor Chu didn't come with us. Otherwise, he could have taken a look at this thing and would have known whether it was good or bad."

Gu Jiaorong sighed. She felt more and more that it would be extremely beneficial to have a doctor around.

When Shaoyao heard this, she began to give her some advice.

"If Auntie wants to see Divine Doctor Chu, just have the prince send him a pigeon and ask him to come over. I think Divine Doctor Chu wouldn't mind the trip, after all, she always likes some unique things."

Shaoyao and Chu Fenghua were familiar with his hobbies and had a clear understanding of them.

Gu Jiaorong thought about it and thought that this was a good idea.

But she didn't know when they would return to Beijing. If they had to go back not long after Chu Fenghua arrived, it would be too much trouble.

"When the prince comes back, I will ask him first. If it is convenient, I will ask Divine Doctor Chu to come over."

Gu Jiaorong did not agree immediately, but she did take the matter into consideration.

Pei Xu is so busy now that he doesn't even have time to drink some water.

Although the disaster relief grain has been distributed and the people's hearts have been reassured, this is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.

Although this locust plague only caused losses to this year's harvest, the impact it brought was far-reaching.

This is just the beginning, and there is still a long winter to go through. It doesn’t matter if you go hungry in normal times as long as you can survive, but if you still go hungry in winter, I am afraid many people will die.

Pei Xu must find a solution as soon as possible to allow these people to spend the winter safely, so that when seeds are distributed in the spring, this disaster will be completely over.

Now the common people only eat brown rice and coarse grains. It’s not that Pei Xu is reluctant to give them good food, but he is not sure whether the granary in Jinzhou City can survive this winter.

By next spring, there might still be some wild vegetables to eat, but in winter, the surroundings will be barren and there will be nothing.

"Your Highness is still worried about how to survive the winter?"

Fu'an has lived a hard life and has more ideas than Pei Xu.

Although Pei Xu suffered a lot during his marches and battles, he almost never ran out of food and fodder.

Before entering the palace, Fu'an was a child from a poor family.

Logically speaking, he was not born into a royal family and should not have been in the position he is in today, but he was loyal enough.

"I know we'll be fine as long as we can make it through the winter, but I'm afraid this winter will be tough and these people won't be able to make it."

Pei Xu sighed, it would be great if there was a solution.

"Your Highness, this isn't difficult. Although there isn't much good food in winter, they don't need to farm or work, so their physical exertion is actually lower. As long as they keep warm and eat less, it doesn't matter as long as they don't go hungry."

Fu'an often went hungry when he was young. After all, there were many brothers in his family, and it was normal for them to not have enough to eat or wear warm clothes in winter. Otherwise, his parents would not have sold him.

"Although food is scarce now, we should have enough to make cotton-padded clothes and quilts. Why not give them a quilt and some warm clothes each in winter? This will be better than starving and freezing. Besides, these quilts can be used for more than just one winter. When they see these quilts, they will be grateful for your kindness, Your Highness."

Fu'an's suggestion is very practical. If quilts are distributed, they have to be made, and making quilts requires hiring people, which motivates everyone to work.

"That's a good idea. I'll leave it to you."

Pei Xu nodded. He knew in his heart that it would be better to let Fu'an handle this matter than for him to do it.