Chapter 399

Gu Jiu Ling waited in the study, waiting about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn.

She even felt a bit drowsy; Yun Duo took people out to scout the woods to see who those hidden people were, but she didn't expect this trip to take so long without returning.

She suddenly felt a bit regretful, after all, to get past the outer guards' defenses and sneak in here is no ordinary feat.

The people around Xiao Yin, regardless of their character, are top-notch in martial skill and ability.

Yun Duo is just a little maid; if she were discovered, wouldn't they silence her?

You should know that seven years ago Xiao Yin was the war god Prince of Southern Qi, commanding wind and rain, flaunting his might; even Emperor Longqing had to avoid his sharpness in his presence.

Even after Qi Sha Gu, Xiao Yin once fell into a deep slump for so long, and later in Shang Jing he secretly operated for a long time.

What is Gu Jiu Ling? Just a nouveau riche.

Only with money did she begin to slowly build her own power.

If I had known entering the capital was so dangerous, I wouldn't have left all of the Du family's influence to my brother.

Originally I left it to my brother Gu Kang because in this era males inherit more, to bring glory to the ancestors and establish a lineage.

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She, a woman of low standing, holding the Du family's possessions, may not necessarily be able to convince everyone in the future.

Actually there is another more important reason: she is merely a lonely soul from another world who has crossed over, not the real Gu Jiu Ling at all.

Gu Kang in this world actually has no relatives left; only she, this evil spirit occupying someone else's body.

She ought not to continue monopolizing what the Du family patriarch left behind.

But now she regrets it; truly, one only hates having too little when the time comes to use it.

These days she has cultivated just a tiny bit of a force absolutely loyal to her alone; she has sent it out, will it not be harmed?

Gu Jiu Ling paced back and forth in the study; each few steps she felt utterly vexed, and she could no longer bear it.

She turned and walked toward the door; at worst she would personally go confront Xiao Yin.

Your people want to kill Old Master; you handle it as you see fit!

But Gu Jiu Ling has no evidence; in Xiao Yin's eyes she is merely an affected, indecisive woman—so be it, love whoever you like!

She cannot wait any longer; if Yun Duo really meets with some mishap, she will never forgive herself for this lifetime.

She turned and walked to the doorway, just about to call Jiu Yue to prepare the carriage, when suddenly a graceful figure rushed toward her head-on, almost bumping into her.

Seeing Yun Duo's gloomy face, Gu Jiu Ling was overjoyed and grabbed her arm.

"You've come back, my grandaunt!"

Yun Duo, dusty and weary, her eyes slightly red, her body tense, shows that this errand truly exhausted her.

Her lips were a bit dry; Gu Jiu Ling directly pushed a pot of warm tea toward Yun Duo.

Yun Duo also didn't stand on ceremony, seized the cup, tipped her head back, and gulped down several big mouthfuls.

After wiping the water from the corner of her mouth, she looked at Gu Jiu Ling and said, "Master, take a look at this."

Yun Duo directly pulled out a jacket from her bosom; its style does not look like Central Plains clothing.

Central Plains people's jackets have the front overlapping in the middle; now it is slanted.

The embroidered pattern is also a totem unique to the steppe peoples; at a glance this is a small shirt worn by Bei Di men—how did it end up in Yun Duo's hands?

"Bei Di people?" Gu Jiu Ling had Jiu Yue bring tea and snacks over, personally pouring tea for Yun Duo this maid.

Yun Duo, perhaps truly exhausted, after performing her salutations and thanks, picked up the cup and drank.

It feels as if this trip has made her run through her whole life's road; she is dead tired.

"Replying to Master, I previously followed your orders and sneaked into the woods."

"To avoid being discovered, I didn't dare get too close; I had a few people stay with me outside at a key spot, waiting for them to show their tracks."

"I crouched there for half an hour; those people in the woods have extraordinarily light skills."

"I exerted all my strength and still almost couldn't catch up to them, but they were too alert, each a master, so I simply couldn't pursue."

"I also feared that getting too near would draw their attention, which would then implicate Master and cause trouble."

Yun Duo caught her breath, looked at Gu Jiu Ling, and said, "I really have no alternative; chasing them I gradually can't catch up. If I get too close, it's more loss than gain."

"Just keeping far behind, I almost lost them; those people actually went into a civilian household's courtyard to rest."

Yun Duo, speaking here, her cheeks involuntarily flushed a little; she lowered her voice and said, "I came up with a nasty trick, spent silver to hire a few street‑playing kids from that area, had them climb onto the eaves and treetops, then directly flung feces and mud onto those people's heads."

"Cough cough cough..." Gu Jiu Ling was startled by Yun Duo's mischievous maneuver.

Yun Duo's trick is somewhat nasty; even the always‑crafty Gu Jiu Ling couldn't think of it.

Yun Duo also felt a bit embarrassed, lowering her head: "Those people, seeing they were just local kids playing, because they are shady characters who can't really harm children, cursed and scattered off to a tributary of the Yu River to wait."

"I also gave a few little beggars some scattered silver, sending them to steal one piece of clothing from the men bathing in the river—just one, not more—and gave them a silver ingot as payment."

"Afterward I didn't dare continue pursuing; looking at them, they were clearly Bei Di people."

"Master, how could Bei Di people know you are here? It's truly strange!"

Gu Jiu Ling looked at the jacket placed on the table, her eyes icy.

She never expected that the one who came over here would be from Bei Di; this is not good.

You should know that to reach her side, one must break through the hidden guards she has set around the perimeter.

Those people are all Xiao Yin's trusted personal guards, all have feuds with Bei Di people; how could they let Bei Di persons enter?

If we speak of the Bei Di side, could it be Shi Tuo Ba Yu?

No, Tuo Ba Yu is always proud; if he wanted to see her, he would have long since torn through Xiao Yin's defenses and stormed in.

"Hehe, someone truly loves me, Gu Jiu Ling!"

Yun Duo stared at Gu Jiu Ling and said, "Master, could it be Princess Yuanqing?"

"But your whereabouts are known only to us few and the people of Rui Wang Fu; how could Bei Di people know?"

"Could there be a traitor beside the Prince, in close league with Bei Di?"

Yun Duo also didn't know what to do.

Gu Jiu Ling had originally just wanted to see who exactly was by Xiao Yin's side; looking at this now, it seems this might be reaching the heavens with hands and eyes!

"Yun Duo, go eat first, then rest properly; these days you all be careful, do things cautiously."