Chapter 343: Fox Borrowing the Tiger's Might

He Jinghui's understanding was refreshed tonight; after digesting it for a moment, he then patted Mu Nan Zhao on the shoulder and said:

"Just now I thought you were overconfident, but now I take that back."

"Not only are you worthy of Gu Xixi."

"It's precisely your family's Gu Xixi……"

He Jinghui sighed emotively.

"Wanting to find another who could stand beside her and not mind her being so powerful as a husband is probably difficult."

"So you still have hope, brother—I'm rooting for you!"

Mu Nan Zhao said expressionlessly, "No."

"She could remain unmarried for her whole life, without a husband."

That statement could be called shocking to the world and contrary to convention.

Even though He Jinghui is learned and broad-minded, he could only treat it as a joke: "How could that be possible."

"How could a woman not marry? Unless she coils her hair and becomes a nun."

"Boss Gu clearly isn't the type to be pure-hearted and desireless; he certainly wouldn't think like that, haha……"

Mu Nan Zhao said lightly, "Of course she won't; she will also find ways to make her life good."

"Whether she has a man or marries, this point will not change for her."

"So, her choice has never been that she cannot do without me."

He Jinghui couldn't laugh; he could see this guy was serious.

Trying to clarify the relationship, he said, "Um… that is to say… you are now indispensable to her."

"But she… is not indispensable to you?"

Mu Nan Zhao lifted his eyes to look at He Jinghui, saying nothing.

He Jinghui knew he had spoken the truth too bluntly, which again made him unhappy.

He hastily changed the subject: "However, Gu Xixi really has guts."

"As fellow women, those aristocratic ladies, princesses and county ladies surely don't have this kind of confidence, right?"

Mu Nan Zhao said, "They certainly don't."

"What they have comes either from the authority of their fathers and brothers, or from the patronage of other women in the family."

"Gu Xixi is different; she only borrows strength and does not rely on anyone. She does so because she provides the value the other party needs as an exchange, especially a value that no one can replace."

He Jinghui deeply agreed with this: "Indeed."

"The Northwest Army had long suffered from insufficient military rations; Gu Xixi solved it as soon as she acted."

"I heard her land reclamation plan in the Northwest is still to be promoted; it's no wonder that besides Huo Jiang seeing her as a guest of honor, I also heard that even several generals and deputy generals in the army are on familiar terms with her."

Mu Nan Zhao said, "This is Gu Xixi's strength; her confidence is not given by others, but firmly held in her own hands."

He Jinghui sighed, "If one merely flatters and ingratiates, acting as a temporary lackey, eating a few scraps may be okay, but it is certainly not a long-term solution."

"Only by revealing one's unique value can one endure; you and I are no exception to this principle."

The two gazed at each other, both feeling wistful.

That evening, He Jinghui went to the Yuzhu Institute to speak of the matter of meeting the emperor the next day.

He Jinglan obviously understood Gu Xixi better, and joyfully said, "Xixi, wonderful!"

"In a moment we'll pick out clothes."

He Jinghui was surprised by his sister's attitude: "The emperor summons Boss Gu; aren't you surprised?"

"'Also?' He Jinglan asked, 'Who else?'"

After thinking, she said, "Oh, you mean Mu Nan Zhao."

Seeing her brother still waiting for an answer, He Jinglan raised her pointed chin, sly and proud.

"Because in our family, Xixi always reaps what she sows."

"Helping you devise anti-locust strategies, offering ideas to help you gather the populace, even eating fried insects, and in the following days she may still have to run errands for you."

"With such hard work, how can there be no benefit!"

He Jinglan's final remark was spoken with utter righteous confidence.

Looking again at Gu Xixi's faint smile, she also seemed not intending to refute.

He Jinghui gaped in astonishment: "This, this isn't to protect the grain, to keep the people from starving, is it?"

He Jinglan disdainfully clicked her tongue, giving him a "Are you stupid?" look.

"Xixi said, doing good deeds and benefiting oneself are not contradictory."

"Could it be that only self-sacrifice, cutting flesh to feed eagles, counts as being a good person?"

He Jinghui didn't know how he walked out of the Yuzhu Institute.

Shocking!

Greatly shocked!

People often display selflessness while concealing selfish desires.

Even he has seen too many who appear lofty and principled, treating money and power as dirt, yet in private they cannot do any sordid deeds.

Like Gu Xixi openly admitting "selfish desire," He Jinghui felt for the first time that this act was worthy of respect.

Previously, He Jinghui considered himself broad-minded.

At this moment he actually felt that his own broad-mindedness was somewhat laughable.

And he truly understood why Mu Nan Zhao, with his lofty standards, could not be with anyone but Gu Xixi.

Within the imperial city, the palace walls stretch beyond sight, and roof eaves line up in continuous rows.

The imperial carriage stopped at the rear palace corner gate, where a young eunuch was already waiting, leading Gu Xixi on foot to the Imperial Study.

At parting, He Jinglan deliberately took Gu Xixi's hand and said openly, "His Majesty summons you; it shows he values you, so you must perform well."

"I'm going to pay my respects at the Jade Consort's palace; when the time comes, I'll still be waiting here for you."

"We'll still go back together."

Saying that, she turned to the eunuch and gave a slight bow, "Please trouble you, sir, to show the way for my good sister."

The little eunuch certainly knew that He Jinglan was the He clan's direct legitimate daughter, the Jade Consort's cousin, and moreover the only younger sister of the newly appointed Minister of Revenue and influential figure He Jinghui.

He bowed his head nervously, saying, "I dare not, I dare not; it's just my duty."

"How could I dare accept a single word of trouble from a young lady?"

At that moment, Gu Xixi took out an embroidered pouch; inside was the silver ingot she had placed there the previous night.

As the saying goes, "Yama is easy to see, but little ghosts are hard to deal with"; in the imperial palace there are plenty of lackeys who flatter superiors and trample inferiors.

Moreover, she entered the palace as a commoner woman, with no rank and no background.

Gu Xixi knew that He Jinglan had just been deliberately upholding her dignity.

She herself naturally also needed to make preparations.

He Jinglan gave a glance to the accompanying senior maid, Green Wax.

Green Wax received the embroidered pouch, stepped forward and discreetly slipped it into the little eunuch's hand, smiling, "Boss Gu, please have some tea, sir."

In similar situations before, even if He Jinglan personally handled things, they would still dare to accept.

But when this little eunuch's hand just touched the pouch, it felt as if he'd been burned, and he jerked his hand back.

"I dare not, I dare not!"

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan stared in shock, then looked again at the little eunuch, whose face had turned white with fright.

The two looked at each other, bewildered.

What's going on?

The little eunuch bent over, wiped sweat with his sleeve, and realized his reaction had been a bit excessive.

He then tried to make amends with words, "Thank you, Boss Gu, for your generous gift! Merely being allowed to show Boss Gu the way is already the utmost honor; asking for more reward would shorten my life!"

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan looked at each other, puzzled once more.

This is too abnormal, isn't it?

Upon first meeting, Gu Xixi couldn't believe it, just from being able to make this little eunuch so fearful and apprehensive.

He Jinglan frowned, leaned close to Gu Xixi's ear, and said, "He couldn't possibly have been... threatened by someone, could he?"

At this moment, Gu Xixi recalled the person who said they would meet her in the Imperial Study; what else could be unclear?

She remained expressionless and said softly, "Besides the Regent Prince, who else could it be?"

Heh, today I finally got to experience the fox borrowing the tiger's might.