Chapter 636: with translation of chapter title

The first one pointed out by the Duan family elder was the Zhang family, after all, the Zhang family is the head of all grain merchants.

He casually pointed at Gu Jiu Ling, and in that instant she thought she had been discovered by that old Duan family thief; her heart gave a sudden jolt and she was badly frightened.

After seeing that Duan family old man point at other families, her heart eased a little.

A rustling sound came from beside her; Gu Jiu Ling turned her head and saw Zuo Feichen slowly drawing the dagger hidden in his sleeve, which she gently pushed back with a raised hand.

Zuo Feichen was truly anxious; Yingzhou, that is the ruling center of the eight great clans.

If the Princess Consort were taken to Yingzhou, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Prince Rui would go mad!

Moreover, this time only she herself would go; you know that the Duan family old thief points at whoever, and that person must go, while the others don't even know where to go.

That would mean Gu Jiu Ling and he would be completely separated on the road to Yingzhou—how could that be?

With Gu Jiu Ling's mediocre skills, she can treat people's illnesses, but if she were really discovered fighting on the road, with her meager ability she could not possibly escape.

Although the Princess Consort is clever and resourceful, one fist cannot fight four hands.

If she were to fall alone into the thieves' den, the problem would be serious.

This time we absolutely cannot let Gu Jiu Ling take the risk; he must definitely take her away from here to find Prince Rui.

But looking at this situation, we probably have to take these people away now.

At this moment the hall was silent as could be, with occasional pitiful sobs from a few young people.

Nobody knows whether this parting will be a permanent separation.

Zuo Feichen wanted to use this opportunity to strike the other side unexpectedly, letting Gu Jiu Ling escape this damned place.

But as soon as he drew his dagger, Gu Jiu Ling lightly pushed it back, clean and swift.

Zuo Feichen's brows knit tightly; just as he was about to speak, Gu Jiu Ling lightly wrote the character for "grain" on the back of his hand, and in that instant he finally understood.

Initially, when he and Gu Jiu Ling met at the tea house in Yankou Pass, they heard the news that Prince Rui was severely short of grain.

From that moment on, Gu Jiu Ling began to set a trap, spending a large sum to buy a large batch of grain, and then Zuo Feichen recommended her to the local grain merchants.

In this scheme, Gu Jiu Ling started with a potent drug from the beginning.

He had a batch of hallucinogenic medicinal herbs, which Gu Jiu Ling transported to a relatively remote mill at Yankou Pass, grinding them all into powder.

The powder was colorless and tasteless, basically undetectable, and even had a faint sweetness.

Gu Jiu Ling mixed all that powder into the grain they had purchased.

When Gu Jiu Ling initially spent a lot of money to buy grain, she didn't buy just any grain; she bought finely processed fine grain, which would certainly taste much better than coarse rice if given to the Yingzhou soldiers.

Given the nature of the eight great clans, with such tasty grain they would certainly eat Gu Jiu Ling's supplied grain first.

Gu Jiu Ling had been calculating from the start; upon reaching this point, Zuo Feichen found himself unable to say a word.

This woman, like Xiao Yin, doesn't just plan three or four steps ahead; she plans a hundred steps ahead, setting layer upon layer of traps to catch the opponent off guard.

But they didn't expect that Gu Jiu Ling would be singled out by name, requiring her to personally transport the grain to Yingzhou.

That is probably the weakest point of this scheme.

Initially they thought they could exploit the moment when the eight great clans moved against the grain merchants, those people would surely seize the merchants' grain.

At that time they would send this adulterated grain to Yingzhou, just as the Du family once sent poisoned military rations to the Azure Dragon Army's camp.

This time Gu Jiu Ling felt more like she was redeeming, atoning for the Du family's unforgivable sins.

Although the old Du patriarch was also deceived, the act of transporting the poisoned grain to the front line was ultimately done by the Du family.

Now it fell to Gu Jiu Ling to personally escort this batch of grain laced with medicinal powder to Yingzhou, as the finest gift for the eight great clans.

The fates turn, worldly affairs are unpredictable—nothing more than that.

But letting Gu Jiu Ling go on this trip is truly too risky; if we could still rescue her from here, after all it's not far from Yankou Pass.

Yankou Pass is Zuo Feichen's ancestral territory; if we were to go deep into Yingzhou, probably no one could save Gu Jiu Ling.

No! No way! Zuo Feichen absolutely will not allow Gu Jiu Ling to risk herself.

He had just risen to seize the moment to cause trouble and rush out, but Gu Jiu Ling firmly grabbed his wrist and told him to calm down.

Their interaction lasted only that instant, almost being noticed by the Duan family elder.

Gu Jiu Ling glared at Zuo Feichen, telling him to settle down and not act rashly.

Zuo Feichen finally suppressed the urge to lash out, forced himself to sit, yet his whole body remained tense; even Old Master Zhang beside him could see some signs.

He secretly drew a breath, wondering if his lifesaver liked this handsome, pretty youth.

Alas, these young people nowadays are simply intolerable to us old folks.

Old Master Zhang thought of this and perhaps felt he had let Gu Jiu Ling down.

He stood up and said to the Duan family elder seated nearby: "Our Zhang family, I'll go myself. My young nephew is impulsive and not up to the task; if something goes wrong on the road, it would only cause trouble for you, so I'll go."

I expect they didn't anticipate that Old Master Zhang would get up to go in place of his nephew.

This effectively amounts to sending Gu Jiu Ling to her death, after all who knows what's inside Yingzhou, what dangers these people will encounter on the road, or whether they'll survive—it's all unknown.

Gu Jiu Ling stared blankly for a moment.

She and Old Master Zhang were merely passing acquaintances; in fact she had been using his identity.

Unexpectedly, at this point Old Master Zhang actually volunteered to go in her place to face death, which moved Gu Jiu Ling's heart slightly; she hurriedly grabbed his arm.

"Let the young nephew go; you stay here, write orders and have them send the grain."

The Duan family elder stared fixedly at Gu Jiu Ling to one side, his heart slightly surprised; looking at this young lord, his attire and appearance were quite respectable, so he couldn't help but glance a few more times.

But Gu Jiu Ling looked like just a spoiled young lord, and she coldly smiled: "This Zhang family young man is indeed handsome and refined; he must have been raised with countless indulgence."

Gu Jiu Ling felt no honor at all in being praised by that old devil.

She only felt a chill in her heart; the Duan family elder met Old Master Zhang's gaze, his eyes flickering slightly as he smiled faintly: "Since he's the beloved young lord of your Zhang family, he should all the more go out to gain experience, after all you're getting older, and the Zhang family will eventually belong to the children."

As soon as the Duan family elder finished speaking, Old Master Zhang was about to say something, but seeing that person's face already darken, he dared not speak further.