Chapter 57: CH 57

Chapter 57 The Gengzi Rebellion in the past life

Yun Ke woke up on the fourth day. When he woke up, the morning light penetrated the window of the meditation room and rays of light shone into the room at an angle. The scent lingering in his nose was that of sandalwood. There was a beautiful and pleasant sound in the distance, sounding as though it was both near and far.

“You’re awake?” A warm voice came from inside the room. Yun Ke turned his head in the direction of the voice.

Under the morning sunlight, a man in a grey and white monastic robe stood by the bed. His eyes were calm and gentle. Revealing a bit of elegance that was not worldly, his face still had a veil on. Black hair hung past his shoulders, held casually in place by a peach wood hairpin. A string of boxwood monastic beads hung from his slender fingers, the round beads turning slowly in his white fingertips, just like the movement of life.

“Sixth Brother.” Yun Ke wanted to sit up, but as soon as he moved, there was a sharp pain in his lower back. This made him breathe sharply.

“You lost a lot of blood, so you slept a little longer,” Yun Ling said with a light smile. “Imperial Physician Sun was almost scared to death by you. If you did not wake up still, I’m afraid I would have told Father the Emperor the truth.”

“I’ve made Sixth Brother worry,” Yun Ke did not dare to act rashly now and only nodded slightly.

“You and I are brothers, there need not for such outlandish words between us. I cultivate here all year round. You are the only one who comes to see and talk to me,” Yun Ling’s eyes dimmed slightly, then returned to normal.

“Sixth Brother. Did something happen while I was in a coma?” Yun Ke looked around for a while, then he asked after thinking for a moment.

“Which aspect are you talking about?” Yun Ling lifted the hem of his clothes, then sat down on the soft stool by the bed and looked at his younger brother with a profound meaning.

Yun Ke was slightly startled. Then he burst into laughter. His Sixth Brother had not asked about the affairs of the world for a long time. Although the events in the capital could not be concealed from him, he scarcely rambled in front of him. Asking him himself, was it not just a question in vain?

What he really wanted to ask was, how was Gu Yu Qi? It was just that he was embarrassed to ask so directly in front of Yun Ling.

He never expected Gu Yu Qi to come and see him, but he could not help but think, would she really come and see him? Yun Ke felt a little tired and lost.

“When you were in a coma, the Ding Yuan Marquis’ Madam came and requested to see you.” Yun Ling seemed to see through Yun Ke’s mind. “But I dismissed her.”

“Oh.” Yun Ke nodded thoughtfully.

“Thinking about it, the young miss from the Ding Yuan Marquis’ family must be very beautiful,” Yun Ling said with a slight smile. “Although it’s not polite to talk about others behind their backs, to make you sacrifice your life to save her, she must be something special, right?”

Yun Ke’s white jade-like cheeks suddenly blushed faintly and he looked away unnaturally, “What is Sixth Brother talking about?” That woman was not beautiful, she was obviously loathsome. Yun Ke recalled Gu Yu Qi’s eyebrows. From the bottom of his heart, there was an inexplicable feeling.

Alright, that woman was very beautiful, and she would be even more beautiful in the future.

“Don’t be so stiff,” Yun Ling smiled faintly. He always felt that his Seventh Brother was too cold with a composure and ruthlessness that did not match his age. However, at that moment, he seemed to come alive with a sense of miraculousness. “With your skill, if you did not have to take care of someone else, how could you be hurt so badly? I’ve already replied to Father the Emperor on your behalf. I just said that you fell accidentally and Fifth Brother sent someone to ask about your injury. I replied in the same way. You can rest assured and stay here for a few more days.”

“Thank you Fifth Brother,” Yun Ke nodded.

The capital was going to be thrown into chaos soon, he remembered it clearly. Since he had already arranged everything early, it would be good to stay in Hu Guo Temple for a few more days and conveniently avoid all those things in the capital.

“It’s a pity,” Yun Ling suddenly sighed again.

“What’s wrong?” Yun Ke asked offhandedly.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to see the Ding Yuan Marquis’ Madam in the future,” Yun Ling sighed in a low voice. “And that young miss from the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence is now more famous, she could also be regarded as notorious. It’s rumoured that she forced her mother to death and disobeyed her father, so she was expelled from the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence. If it wasn’t for the Ding Yuan Marquis begging bitterly for mercy in front of Father the Emperor, it’s likely that by now, Father the Emperor would have ordered to arrest the young miss of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence. Oh, no, she can only be referred to as the former young miss.”

Yun Ke’s heart trembled, “What happened?” He had just been in deep slumber for a few days. How could so many things happen?! Forcing her mother to death and disobeying her father? What crimes!

“The night you were hurt, I heard the Ding Yuan Marquis’ family staying at the meditation courtyard out front all rushed back to the capital overnight one after the other. After two days, there was news from the capital that said the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence caught fire. The daughter of the Ding Yuan Marquis was expelled from the family for disobeying her father and setting the residence on fire. The Ding Yuan Marquis’ Madam disappeared in the fire and her whereabouts are unknown, most likely having been burned to death in the Marquis’ residence. The Ding Yuan Marquis broke through the city gates and chased after the unfilial daughter all night, but came back in vain,” Yun Ling said this while watching his Seventh Brother’s expression carefully.

The Ding Yuan Marquis’ Madam was dead! Yun Ke could not bear it any longer and sat up, “Is what Sixth Brother said true?” He anxiously held Yun Ling’s hand. Yun Ling looked down at his movements. Then he looked up and nodded, “It’s probably not a far cry.” He paused, “the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence had already issued a notice last night. He also invited the master of Hu Guo Temple to hold a three-day ritual for the Ding Yuan Marquis’ Madam.” He simply told him what he had heard. As for whether it was true or false, it had nothing to do with him. He only spoke of it because Yun Ke was very concerned about the daughter of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence.

Although Yun Ke had refused to say who had fallen in with him after he was rescued, the strips of cloth tied around him were of a completely different material to his clothes. Even if he refused to speak, Yun Ling had some idea. The Ding Yuan Marquis’ Madam’s visit was unexpected and had a tentative tone. In addition, the person who came to tip off the news was obviously dressed as a maid from a large family. As long as Yun Ling thought about it, he could probably guess the reason.

Yun Ke had always been coldhearted. If he was not protecting the young miss of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ family, why would he not say a word?

Yun Ke’s brows furrowed deeply.

He slowly lay back on the bed. His mind was in a mess, how could this be?

In his previous life, the Ding Yuan Marquis’ Madam had also died around this time. However, in his previous life, Gu Yu Qi had always been the daughter of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ family. She had not been driven out of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence, so where did it go wrong?

Or… Yun Ke’s eyes flashed and he clenched his fist tightly. Damn Gu Yu Qi. Avoiding himself with such a brutal method! Fire again! You’ve got a long way to go. In his previous life, she had set the palace on fire and burned herself. In this life, she burned the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence and burned her mother to death! She also left the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence.

Yes, it was definitely caused by Gu Yu Qi. She defied him openly and beat him up. Beating up a member of the imperial family was a felony. It must be that the Ding Yuan Marquis wanted her to come and apologise, admitting her mistake after he found out about it, but she would not so she disobeyed her father.

He only felt a sudden anger rise in his heart, damn it! He thought this woman would restrain herself in this life and no longer neglect filial piety, no longer be beneath reason. Yet, who knew that in this life, Gu Yu Qi became even more severe. In his previous life, Gu Yu Qi married into the palace during the mourning period and was utterly shameless. She was better this life and set fire to her mother directly, then fled in the fear of crime?!

He instantly felt like a fool. How could he think about such a woman for decades and even if he lived another life, she was still unforgettable! Quite right, speaking of sin, he was not clean himself either. He had killed his own brother with his own hands. Yet, if he did not do it, then it would be him who died. What about Gu Yu Qi? Presumably, that Ding Yuan Marquis wanted to cultivate her, how could he so easily be unfair to her? Even if he had some thoughts, he would not force his daughter into a corner. But Gu Yu Qi forced her mother to death and disobeyed her father. To be able to do this kind of thing, was she still human?

Anger came and his eyes even dimmed a little. However, after getting angry, he thought about it carefully and felt that something was wrong.

This made Yun Ke frown deeply.

“You rest first. Don’t think about other things.” Looking at his brother’s deep frown, Yun Ling sighed silently. He soothed him with a few words, then got up and left.

The more Yun Ke thought about it, the more he felt it was wrong. He summoned his secret guard, “Send someone to check the whereabouts of Gu Yu Qi from the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence and who she is with. Report immediately when you find out,” he ordered. The secret guard was ordered to leave and Yun Ke slowly closed his eyes.

Gu Yu Qi’s whereabouts must be found out. However, there was one more situation in front of him right now. If he remembered correctly, in half a month, a nationwide plague will break out in the Qi dynasty.

He had secretly collected a lot of medicinal herbs like fadelead and stored them. This medicine was only three taels of silver per pound now, but in another month, the price would soar to twenty gold per pound. The rapid rate of increase in price, and such a high increase, was shocking.

It was this plague that made Emperor Jing’s trust in the Crown Prince drop sharply. Bandits were everywhere. Fourth Brother, Prince Ding Yun Qing, in the Jiangbei camp led troops out of Jiangbei on the pretext of righteously suppressing the bandits. After the bandits were removed, Prince Ding Yun Qing rose in court. However, Prince Jing Yun Yi dealt with the plague in a timely and appropriate manner and was therefore favoured by Emperor Jing. In order to keep in check and balance the rising Prince Ding, Emperor Jing allocated part of the military power to Yun Yi and himself.

This plague was the starting point for him to gain power and reach the peak step by step.

***

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In his previous life, he had risked death to enter the epidemic area and accidentally contracted the plague, almost losing his life there. It was thanks to Zhang Wan Yi who brought out an ancient prescription. The methods recorded on it saved people all over the world, and saved him. The most important herbal ingredient in this medicinal recipe was fadeleaf. Due to the large proportion needed for this formula, fadeleaf would be out of stock for a while and create a situation where it was more valuable than a thousand gold.

It was also because of this that Zhang Wan Yi had been granted marriage to Yun Yi and became Prince Jing’s main concubine.

In his previous life, he had narrowly escaped death in the epidemic area and was downhearted. It had been Yun Yi and the Virtuous Consort who had forced him to go. If all the people in the affected area were saved, all the credit would go to Yun Yi. If he too had the plague, then all the responsibility would be pushed on him and it would have nothing to do with Yun Yi at all. Everything would have just been mishandled by him.

What a ruthless Virtuous Consort and a ruthless Fifth Brother. In his previous life, when he was seriously ill, he swore that if he could escape this catastrophe, he would definitely punish all those who had bullied him.

In this life, he already knew the prescription Zhang Wan Yi had brought out so naturally, he would not suffer from infection. However, his top priority at the moment was to immediately recover from his current injuries and return to the capital.

This was because it would not be long after the plague broke out and he would be sent to the epidemic area by Yun Yi.

Thinking of the prescription, Yun Ke suddenly remembered something. In his previous life, he had not taken this matter to heart. In this life, he needed to take a look.

After Gu Yu Qi and her party took a rest, they travelled mostly at night. At night, they did not attract much attention on the road. There was a downside to this thought. According to the law of the Qi dynasty, towns were closed at night, so Gu Yu Qi and the others could only try to avoid the towns as much as possible. It took a little longer without passing through towns, but compared to the risk of crossing through towns, it was not much to walk through a few more mountain roads.

It took about 15 days for a fast horse to rush day and night without stopping to go from the capital to Kuizhou. Moreover, Gu Yu Qi and the others only hurried at night and rested during the day, slowing down their journey even more. Gu Yu Qi estimated that by the time they arrived at Kuizhou, the plague would have broken out in the towns a little further south.

She had found the recipe in her previous life in an ancient book. At that time, she had happily showed the recipe to Zhang Wan Yi and let her send someone to find a few sick people to test the medicine. Who knew that a few days later, this prescription would have been offered by Zhang Wan Yi first.

Since she heard that Yun Ke had been sent to the epidemic area for disaster relief duties, she had been torn with anxiety, stupid with sleeplessness. She dove headfirst into medical books and searched for a good prescription. Nobody knew how many nights she stayed up. Yun Ke would not know how sad and worried she had felt when she learned that he had been infected with the plague and was quarantined in the epidemic area. Like crazy, she swept through all the bookstores in the capital and finally found a tattered manuscript in an unremarkable little shop. It was an ancient book from the previous dynasty and the formula was recorded in it.

She had been incredibly furious at that time and wanted to go and argue with Zhang Wan Yi. Unexpectedly, Zhang Wan Yi had gone to the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence to take the blame and plead guilty. She had cried that she had not offered the prescription behind Gu Yu Qi’s back, but that it had accidentally been discovered by her father, Prime Minister Zhang, who dedicated it to His Highness Prince Jing without her knowledge. His Highness Prince Jing thought that it was Zhang Wan Yi who had found it and delivered it to His Majesty.

She begged Gu Yu Qi bitterly to not speak about this matter, otherwise, their family would be criminals for deceiving the emperor and every member of the family would be slaughtered. Besides, it was another matter whether this formula would work or not. In the case that it did not work, their Zhang family would also bear the consequences. Gu Yu Qi was originally extremely angry, but Zhang Wan Yi’s begging like this moved her with compassion. After all, in that lifetime, Zhang Wan Yi was already her best friend. It was just a prescription, so she just gave it.

As Gu Yu Qi recalled this, she could not help but smile coldly. How stupid was she in the previous life?

Zhang Wan Yi was the kind of girl who was born clever and sly. How could the prescription be offered without confirmation? Besides, Prime Minister Zhang had been a slippery fellow in the official government circles for many years. As long as there was even the slightest eroor with the prescription, he would not put himself into a cage.

Therefore, Zhang Wan Yi must have confirmed that this prescription was indeed effective, then brought it out.

She had gained a good reputation because of this prescription and had become Princess Jing. But what about herself? She felt that the purpose of saving Yun Ke had been achieved anyway. As long as he was safe, it did not matter who gave him the recipe.

After he returned to the capital, he just thanked Zhang Wan Yi and had been indifferent to her, his true saviour. Even if she said to his face that it was her who found the prescription, it just got her a sneer from him.

So stupid, so stupid. Beside the carriage with a piece of grass in her mouth, Gu Yu Qi looked up at the sky.

The sun shone through gaps in the trees and was warm and dazzling. Gu Yu Qi could not help but narrow her eyes. In this life, without her reading medical skills day and night in the capital, would anyone else offer this prescription?

Gu Yu Qi let out a long sigh. There should still be. Even if she did not bring out the formula in this life, that Yun Ke had also been reborn. So even without her in this life, and even if he was infected with the plague in the epidemic area, it would only be a near miss. It seemed like some arrangements had already been made. In this life, even without Gu Yu Qi frantically looking for a prescription for Yun Ke in the capital, Yun Ke would not die because of the plague.

As for Zhang Wan Yi, who knew how she would become Princess Jing in this life. As calculations stood, she was two or three years older than her and was quite young now. However, according to the current situation, it was likely that it would not be long before she was appointed as concubine.

“Reporting to Young Miss, I’m afraid the hill in front is a little unsafe.” Zhao Wu came running from a distance on horseback. In front of Gu Yu Qi, he dismounted and then spoke with clasped fists.

In order to avoid the towns and the Ding Yuan Marquis’ pursuit, they chose the more remote paths to travel. When they saw towns, they avoided them as much as possible. It was far from the capital here so it was not surprising that there were bandits in the mountains.

Gu Yu Qi still remembered that after the plague in her last life, the robbers and bandits could not survive in the mountains so they went down the mountain to loot and caused chaos in the Qi dynasty. A powerful group of bandits even broke into the capital unsuspected while taking advantage of the chaos and they almost ransacked the palace. The historian of the Qi dynasty gave the turmoil a name and called it the Gengzi Rebellion because this year happened to be the year of Gengzi.

Since the plague and the Gengzi Rebellion affected the entire Qi dynasty, the vitality of the Qi dynasty was hurt. In the following few years, the strength of the country was weak and the Rouran people had a chance to make a comeback.

However, Gu Yu Qi felt that the Rouran people came a little late. If the Rouran people sent troops during the Gengzi Rebellion, it would not be impossible for them to occupy half of the Qi dynasty.

Such was history. Looking back on it, anyone could be a judge after the event but at that time, they would not have such courage or speed.

The further north, the more robbers there were. As it was desolate, they had many mountain strongholds, big and small. Before the Qi dynasty, they had fought for years. It had seemed prosperous and stable, but in fact, there were hidden dangers. Moreover, within the vicinity of the capital, it was a flourishing scene of prosperity. How would they see that people in remote areas were still starving and freezing?

The aristocrats’ extravagance was unabated so Emperor Jing only worried about his position all day. Where would he have time to care about whether the people lived and worked in peace and contentment? As long as in the imperial court, the ministers shouted slogans to the emperor like the people of the Qi dynasty were peaceful and there was peace in the world, he was far removed from the masses and was naturally unaware of the truth.

If he could detect the clues early, the Gengzi Rebellion would not have exploded so thoroughly and its impact would not be so far-reaching and long-lasting.

Gu Yu Qi gathered everyone together. The more they travelled, the more Liang Huai Yu felt at ease in letting Gu Yu Qi make arrangements. So in this team, although Liang Huai Yu was the boss, it was Gu Yu Qi’s words that counted.

“It’s not far to Jiangbei Camp. There should be bandits in the mountains ahead. Zhao Wu has already investigated. Even if there are robbers, we don’t need to be afraid.” Gu Yu Qi thought about it and said, “How about this? Let’s travel in the daytime today. After we pass through the mountains, we’ll take a rest. Zhao Wu, you lead the way ahead with five guards. Sister Chun Xing, you and Sister Dong Xue ride a horse together. Sister Xia He, you bring Sister Qiu Yue. Bai Fu brings Dai Mei, Ran Mo brings Run Ying, Yan Zhi will be with Mother. The carriage will be driven by the rest of the guards in the middle of the procession. We must go all together. Zhao Wu, with your experience, be careful leading the way. Watch carefully for any traps or things. If the bandits you encounter are not that strong, we’ll fight our way through. But don’t be stuck on fighting in case they have support. If you encounter powerful bandits, we will focus on breaking through. Remember to try your best to go to Jiangbei Camp after getting out of trouble. They won’t dare to chase us to the barracks. If anyone gets lost, we will be gathered just outside the south gate of Jiangxia City where the Jiangbei Camp is located.”

After Gu Yu Qi finished speaking, she glanced at everyone, “Does everyone remember it all?” She tried her best to let the maids who did not know martial arts be protected by those who knew martial arts. In this way, even if they had to break through, they would not drag everyone down.

Although Gu Yu Qi had a advantage, she did not know much about the bandits in this area. After all, she had never experienced such a thing as a bandit. However, according to her memories from the previous life, she vaguely remembered that the bandits here were just a motley crew. With the climate here and because Jiangbei Camp was not far ahead, the powerful bandits had long been exterminated by Prince Ding. The rest were just small soldiers who hid in the valley.

So she was not worried, but for safety’s sake, she still arranged it this way.

“Yes, Young Miss,” the ten guards responded in unison and their eyes shone with light. How long had it been since they had heard such resounding orders? They were originally orphans rescued by General Liang and grew up in a military camp. In order to repay his kindness, they went to Jiangnan and became bodyguards for the Liang family, but they still had the blood of soldiers flowing in their veins. The days behind the gates of the house numbed them and only the recent days fleeing with Eldest Young Miss and Young Miss awakened their original courage flowing in their blood.

Seeing the guards answer in unison, although there were only a few of them, they were very energetic and Gu Yu Qi also felt motivated.

Although she had never been a soldier, she had seen others lead soldiers. It was not like she had never stayed with Yun Ke in a place like a military camp in her previous life. With the voices of the guards, it seemed to arouse the memory in Gu Yu Qi’s mind. She proudly straightened her chest and looked at her mother.

Liang Huai Yu looked at her daughter in the morning light with a warm and soft gaze. If she were a boy, would the Qi dynasty have another god of war? Perhaps her father’s mantle need not be passed on to Gu Huai Zhong, but instead it should be inherited by Gu Yu Qi.

Between her daughter’s eyebrows, Liang Huai Yu vaguely saw her father, General Liang, the Qi dynasty’s god of war. Yes, the blood flowing in her daughter’s veins was the blood of generals!

“Mother, how are my arrangements?” Gu Yu Qi asked.

“Good,” Liang Huai Yu nodded. Then she mounted her horse and pulled out the silver spear stuck in the ground, “Just do as the Young Miss says!” She proudly raised the silver spear in her hand, the body of the spear reflecting the dazzling sunlight.

“Then let’s go!” Gu Yu Qi also got on horseback and raised the long spear hanging behind the saddle.

Chun Xing and Xia He also felt a burst of pride in their hearts. With such a Eldest Young Miss and Young Miss to follow, even if there was a mountain of swords or a sea of flames in front, what was there to be afraid of?! Besides, it was just a bunch of little thieves.

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