Chapter 372

The Gu family's notice of selling their residence had been posted for a whole day; there were onlookers, but very few genuine inquiries.

Gu Shijie, in desperation, kept lowering the price, all the way down to fifty-five thousand silver taels, which is really too low.

In the capital Shang Jing, where every inch of land is precious, and moreover the most prosperous area in the eastern part of the city, adjacent to Chongwen Street and not far from the imperial city.

This location was still, back then, Old Master Du from Long Yougong, who, relying on the emperor's prestige, took charge of selling the abandoned former dynasty's Wangfu to Old Master Du.

Old Master Du, wanting the best for his daughter, gave this residence to his daughter and son-in-law to live in, and also invested a large sum of silver to rebuild it.

Back then it was worth over ten thousand taels of silver; the pavilions, terraces, towers, and even the stones on the artificial hill in the estate were all transported from Jiangnan.

Now Gu Shijie has directly reduced it to over fifty thousand taels of silver, which is simply a sin.

Gu Shijie actually does not want to sell, but he really has no choice.

His beloved little concubine Xin Yuxiu stole all of his property and valuables, and this time no one knows where she went.

If he were still Minister Gu, even the Ministry of Justice would have to give him some face; arresting a woman would be no problem.

But now, although he still holds some official posts, he is effectively exiled by Emperor Longqing; people abandon him, tea grows cold, trees fall and foxes scatter, things are not what they used to be…

In the eyes of those nobles in Shang Jing, he is nothing at all.

At this moment, Steward Hu stood before him, cautiously saying: "Sir, I don't know which villain spread the rumor that our residence is haunted, causing the population to dwindle, the family wealth to be squandered, and the family to be destroyed."

"They also say our residence has bad feng shui; earlier the Du family bought it, Old Master Du's entire clan was wiped out, his daughter died in difficult childbirth in this residence, and now look how many people have died…"

"Nonsense!" Gu Shijie cursed angrily, even discarding the decorum of a scholar.

He was so furious his whole body trembled; he never expected that at this critical juncture so many troubles would arise.

Now he has no silver on hand for the journey; you know that the place in Minxi where not even a bird would defecate is far away with high mountains and long roads—how could he go?

Would all the Gu family members on the road have to go without food or drink?

At this moment he wishes he could kill that slut Xin Yuxiu, who actually took all his silver.

Steward Hu cautiously said: "Sir, why not not sell it, look for former colleagues in the capital Jing Cheng, see if we can borrow some travel funds…"

As he went on, he himself could not continue; after all, they are people who have understood their destiny, they understand worldly affairs, there is no reason to be so childish.

Gu Shijie suddenly froze; after all these years in office, he actually has not a single confidant friend.

Recalling that back then those people associated with him only because of the face of his father-in-law Du Yushan.

Gu Shijie for a moment felt at a loss, realizing how vast heaven and earth are, yet a family's downfall can happen in an instant.

Back then he did not know what he was thinking; why did he feel that relying on his father-in-law's name was embarrassing? Actually, without the Du family these years, he truly has been going downhill.

Suddenly a little servant hurried in, his face showing delight.

"Reporting to sir, someone has torn down our posted notice of selling the residence, saying the owner will come shortly to discuss the price."

"What? That's wonderful! Steward Hu, go prepare tea, you two go to the gate to welcome them, wonderful, wonderful…"

As the saying goes, a single coin can stymie a hero; at this moment Gu Shijie has lost his fortune, been abandoned by relatives, and now being able to sell the residence left by the Du family is a great joy.

Gu Shijie happily spun around, a flash of abnormal excitement flickering in his eyes, completely forgetting his eldest son's corpse lying in the front hall and this shattered family.

In the end, it's still too selfish.

He paced back and forth, then suddenly clenched his right fist and struck it into his left palm, walking toward the front gate.

"Forget it, I'll go greet them myself, but let the person who tore down the notice know I'm selling urgently and need cash or banknotes."

The servant who brought good news laughed and said: "The person who posted the notice said it's all cash, and soon it will be carried over together with the master's household."

"Well then..." Gu Shijie hurried toward the door; at that moment, two servants were taking down the plaque above the Gu Prime Minister's residence.

He is no longer the Prime Minister of Southern Qi, so naturally the court regulations forbid him from having the Prime Minister's residence plaque.

Gu Shijie drew a deep breath, averted his gaze, and felt his steps as if they had turned to water in an instant, extremely heavy.

He composed himself and stood at the entrance; just as he steadied his footing, the buyer had already arrived in a carriage heading for the Gu Prime Minister's residence.

Behind it followed an ox cart loaded with several boxes, looking heavy as well, the oxen panting heavily.

Soon the carriage stopped at the Gu residence's gate, and Gu Shijie smiled as he walked down the steps to meet the carriage.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a person stepped down from the carriage.

Gu Shijie's smile froze instantly, and he stared fixedly at the person who had stepped down from the carriage.

Gu Kang was dressed very elegantly today, even with a touch of small luxury.

He wore a silver-gray brocade robe embroidered with plum blossom patterns, red plum blossoms adorning the collar, and the cuffs flashed a splash of vivid color.

On his head he wore a white jade crown, which set off half of his face that was as white as jade, utterly beautiful and radiant, while the other half of his face looked like a ghost returned from hell.

He stepped toward Gu Shijie step by step, and Gu Shijie instinctively retreated backward.

He really is... afraid of this person now.

After all, he has been immersed in the Southern Qi bureaucracy for many years; if he still can't see what's going on now, then he is truly blind.

The death of the eldest son, the decline of the Gu family, his demotion—everything began with that fire at Chongwen Tower.

But this kid's scheme is too clever, with interlocking traps; even if you know it's him, not a speck of the mud can stick to him.

At this moment, seeing him calm and composed, bringing silver to buy the Gu residence, Gu Shijie could no longer restrain himself; he rushed forward, raised his hand, and was about to slap Gu Kang.

Gu Kang raised his hand to block his wrist, and Gu Shijie was immediately held there.

He looked at his son in terror, not knowing when this little brat had grown so tall that he now formed a faint, oppressive presence before him.

He stared fixedly at his son Gu Kang, gritted his teeth, and said: "You are truly ruthless!"

Gu Kang gave a light laugh, slowly shook his head, and said: "No, I have been merciful to my father; otherwise, do you think you could still be alive and standing here?"

"I only hate myself for still having half of your blood in me, which truly hinders my performance."

"You..." Gu Shijie's face turned deathly pale.

He never expected his own son to utter such heartless, unjust words.

He kept stepping back, but Gu Kang gradually approached, leaned close to his ear, and whispered softly: "Father, you have lost this game completely. The emperor orders you to set out for Minxi in three days."

"Look at yourself now—you've wasted more than a day, and little time remains for you."

Gu Shijie shuddered, staring in terror at his own son: "Well, it's you…"

"You're the one who went around saying this house is haunted, aren't you?"

Gu Kang chuckled softly: "So what if it's me? Nowadays, who else in all of Shang Jing could come up with that much money in such a short time and buy this inauspicious house besides me, Gu Kang?"