Gu Qingning left Jiang Yuelou very late and took Qin Chun back to her Shilang Mansion.

Fusu had been waiting for her at the gate of the mansion to that time, and when he saw her coming back, he hurriedly welcomed her into the mansion, wanting to show it. Gu Qingning felt strange and knew that something was wrong, and Yu Guang caught a glimpse of another carriage next to the gate of the mansion, the Gu family's carriage.

Her heart sank, frowned, and asked the maid next to her, "Who is here?"

The maid replied: "Back to my lord, it's Ling Zun, Doctor Gu, I've been here for a while, I'm waiting for you in your workshop, my lord......"

Gu Qingning's face became more and more ugly, and he asked, "Who asked you to allow him to enter my workshop? Whose house is this? Don't you count it in your heart?"

Fusu and the other maids were frightened, and the maids all stammered: "But, but that's Lingzun......"

Gu Qingning became more and more uncontrollable, Fu Su held her hand when she saw this, reminding her to stabilize her emotions, she clenched her fists, bit her lip, inhaled, slowed down for a while, and said to them: "Retreat first." Fusu, take this Qin Gongzi to live in the backyard and entertain him well. ”

Fusu nodded, looked in the direction of the workshop again, and asked her with his eyes.

She struggled for a moment, then compromised, "I'll go see him now." ”

……

It was a new workshop, much larger than her old one, and all her old utensils had been moved here, and many new ones had been added, and there was a long case on the wall of the room, full of the knick-knacks she had made in her spare time, and the ones she had made with her mother when she was a child, all of them polished as new.

She stopped at the door and looked at Gu Qingxuan in the room. He sat sideways in front of the desk, hanging his head and playing with a delicate wooden pigeon, which was made by Shen Lanxi when Gu Qingning was seven years old.

He looked at the flying wooden pigeon and sensed her arrival, "Qingning, Xinfu is good, but my father still wants you to go home......"

She was silent, just staring up at him stubbornly.

"By the way, my father hasn't congratulated you yet, you have done a good job by taking charge of the Ministry of Engineering and becoming a waiter of the two ministries. He turned to look at her and smiled reassuringly.

"You must know something from the Queen Mother, right? Father knows that those in your backyard are all chosen for the Queen Mother, but this kind of thing is not approved by my father, and the flattery is the easiest to attract criticism, and now the top and bottom are talking about you, which is very unfavorable to you. If you really have to do it, you should also be cautious and secretive, it is difficult for you to act so openly without being caught, especially when it comes to your subordinates......"

He spoke frankly, but she remained silent, and did not seem to bother with him.

He rolled his eyes and met her, and his heart suddenly felt cold......

It's that kind of gaze again......

He couldn't bear it, he was silent for a long time, and finally spoke, saying what he thought Gu Qingning wanted to hear the most: "Qingning, father is wrong......"

Gu Qingning finally made a move, and said loudly, "Yes, Father, how could you be wrong? You calculated every step so accurately, how could you be wrong?"

"It's because it's so accurate, it's all counted, but there are some things that can't be calculated......" He put down the wooden pigeon, supported his numb body, stood up, and turned to look at her.

"I shouldn't be so harsh on you, you have been wronged, you have been hurt, and your father has not understood you, it is the fault of your father. He walked up to her, his eyes deep, and he confessed.

Her eyes were red, but her face couldn't stop laughing, she felt that there was a big mountain in her heart that was crumbling, and she couldn't hold it anymore, "No, it's all my own fault, it's my own willingness!

"Qingning, don't ...... like this" Gu Qingxuan saw that she was out of control, and felt that something was wrong.

She stepped back, raised her sleeves and said, "But that's how I am! Father, you have to accept the reality, we are not good people! Don't let others splash dirty water! Your daughter has long been an unclean person! She has long been notorious! If you can't accept it, if you want to blame me, I can't help it!"

Gu Qingxuan frowned and said, "It's not that my father can't accept it, it's that you can't accept it yourself." You haven't passed the hurdle in your heart yet! Qingning, when will you be a little more sober!"

Gu Qingning was stunned for a moment, no longer crazy, opened his eyes again, his eyes filled with hatred, and said to Gu Qingxuan: "Father, you should go back and rest!"

……

On the second day after Gu Qingning returned to the Ministry of Labor, he had to go to the Criminal Department in the morning to preside over official business, and then went to the Ministry of Industry in the afternoon.

Although Zhang Yuanning and the others were drunk the night before yesterday, they all cheered up the spirit of twelve points this day, began to refine the drawings of the imperial tomb, and handled official affairs according to Gu Qingning's arrangement, but it was herself, probably because she was drunk and slept less, and she had a headache since she woke up. When she arrived at the Ministry of Industry, she first went to see Wang Yunshen, routinely reported to him on official affairs, and gave him a lot of face as the new Shangshu. Later, I went directly to the fortification room to inspect the situation of the drawing, and after being busy for a while, I found the feeling I used to feel here.

Coming out of the fortification room, passing by the deacon hall, I wanted to explain something to Xu Zitong and warn him not to leak Qin Chun's affairs, but when I arrived at the deacon hall, I heard from the signer that Xu Zitong did not come to sign today, nor did he submit a fake order, thinking that he had drunk too much yesterday and needed to rest for a day.

Her head hurt violently, but it never got better, and she was powerless to pursue it, so she went to the public house to rest for a while, always feeling that she would not be able to survive this day.

Opening the door of the squire's house, she saw two pairs of feet dangling in the air......

Looking up, Xu Zitong and his cronies and entourage, sticking out their tongues and closing their eyes, their whole bodies were stiff, their complexions were purple, and they were hanging there, and they had turned into dead bodies.

On this road, the killing, never stops.

……

After investigation by the Criminal Department, they did commit suicide, as for why they chose to hang themselves in Gu Qingning's public house, no one knows, not even Gu Qingning.

That day she was stimulated, she passed out, and when she woke up, she had a fever for no reason, and she was sick for three days, and she was emaciated, and she had no energy, and she couldn't go up, and she couldn't do business.

Three days later, the investigation into the matter also came to an end, she returned to the Criminal Department, presided over the closure of the case, returned to the Ministry of Works to preside over the fortification, and the commissioner wanted to change her to a new public house, but she did not accept it, as if nothing had happened, and she would do what she had to do.

In the past few days when she was sick, Gu Qingxuan and Gu Qinghuan both came to visit her Shilang Mansion, but she refused to see them, and only saw Jiang Hechuan Dong Yehong and colleagues from the two criminal departments. Fusu and Qin Chun served on her left and right, and when she was sober, she talked a lot to Qin Chun, and when she was well, Qin Chun left her house.

She sent a girl to the Queen Mother to be a palace maid - just to offer a palace maid, which is very justifiable.

The queen mother liked her very much, rewarded her a lot, and asked the emperor to praise her specially.

Others say that it is these praises and rewards that cure Gu Qingning's disease.

But after receiving these praises and rewards, she did not feel happy and happy, she felt numb......

Many times, she is unconscious, she doesn't know the taste of food, she doesn't know the cold, she doesn't have any joy or happiness, she feels very tired to smile at people, she has to drag such a tired body, continue to be her two servants, shuttling in the official offices of the two criminal departments, busy all day, she has no time to think about what happened to her......

One day off, she stayed in the workshop.

There were a few plates of pastries on the tea table in the workshop, as well as a few strings of sugar gourds, seeing this, she was stunned and asked the maid, and the maid had to hint at Fusu, but she didn't tell her that these were sent by Gu Qingxuan, but only said that they were bought for her to eat.

Fusu knew that she liked sweets and would buy pastries, so it was not surprising that she would buy them, but this sugar gourd ......

She didn't ask anything more, picked up a string of sugar gourds, and looked at the bright red color on it, the sugar coating was shiny, it was really a beautiful thing......

She smiled, prepared to eat the sugar gourd, took a bite, and chewed it in her mouth.

Fusu was relieved to see her smile. After she finished eating a hawthorn, she asked Fusu and them to go out first, and she was going to start drawing.

She was the only one left in the workshop, and she looked at the plate of sugar gourds and was stunned for a long time.

In September, the autumn wind rose, the door of the workshop was not closed, and the cool breeze blew, lifting the drawings in the room, floating like fallen leaves.

She got up and picked up the papers, put them on the paper cutting table, and her stiff eyes glanced at a paper cutting knife in the corner......

She was curious to know what the pain felt like......

So she picked up the paper cutter and scratched it on the back of her hand, and the blood slid down her hand as the color of the sugar gourd.

But she still didn't seem to be conscious, so she struck a second time, this time with the blade aimed at her wrist......

Just as she was about to paddle down, a stone flew in from outside the door and struck her hand with the knife, knocking down the knife in her hand.

She finally felt the pain, and looked up at the back of her own hand, and through her fingers, she saw her brother Qingfeng running anxiously towards her.

He watched her in the shadows until she was about to hurt herself.

"Sister, sister, what's wrong with you?" Gu Qingfeng was so frightened by her, she ran over and hugged her, she was weak, only that hand was conscious, and her body collapsed softly in Gu Qingfeng's arms.

She always raised that hand and smiled at Gu Qingfeng, like a whisper: "Qingfeng...... It hurts...... It really hurts ......."

It turned out that she was already seriously ill, and this was not the first time. When Fusu was waiting for her to bathe, he found that there were many small scars on her body, all of which were in places that others could not see when she wore official uniforms......

Gu Qingfeng stayed in her squire's mansion, guarding her every step of the way, forcing her to take a vacation to recuperate for a few days, with his company, she was a little better, and tried to mediate herself.

……

"Brother, don't persuade me, I will definitely go to your wedding banquet, but I don't want to go back home, so I'll stay here with my sister. ”

Gu Qinghuan came to Gu Qingning's mansion, he saw the right time, picked Gu Qingning before he came back, and Gu Qingfeng was there again, Gu Qingfeng would not see him anyway, and Gu Qingning would directly turn him away if he was there.

He came to persuade Gu Qingfeng to go home and invited him and Gu Qingning to attend his wedding banquet next month.

"Well, if only you could come...... What about my sister? Can you help my brother persuade my sister?"

Gu Qingfeng nodded, a little worried, but thinking that Gu Qingning didn't allow him to tell others about her illness, he didn't say anything more, and only said: "Okay, brother, I will help you, but you have to be careful with your sister, don't make her unhappy, some things have to be done slowly." ”

Gu Qinghuan was thoughtful and did not respond immediately.

At this moment, the subordinates hurriedly came to spread the word, saying that Gu Qingning was back, they didn't expect her to return home early, and they were suddenly in chaos, Gu Qinghuan thought about it, this was also an opportunity, so he didn't hide, and asked Gu Qingfeng to stabilize Gu Qingning, so that he could see his sister and talk to her in person.

Before going out to greet Gu Qingning, Gu Qingfeng repeatedly told Gu Qinghuan to be careful when speaking to Gu Qingning.

He didn't dare to let Gu Qingning know in advance that Gu Qinghuan was there, so he only walked into the main hall with her, and asked her how she was feeling today on the way. Today, the Ministry of Industry passed the first round of revision of the imperial tomb drawings, she was naturally in a good mood, and was talking to Gu Qingfeng about celebrating with her colleagues in the restaurant tonight, she wanted Gu Qingfeng to go with her, and Gu Qingfeng agreed.

But as soon as she walked into the main hall and saw Gu Qinghuan, the smile on her face froze.

"Sister......" Gu Qinghuan called her.

She turned her face, her face changed completely, and she only said to Gu Qingfeng: "Qingfeng, you go out first, and I'll talk to your brother." ”

Gu Qingfeng was very uneasy in his heart, and hesitated to withdraw.

"What are you doing?" Gu Qingning's tone changed suddenly, and Gu Qinghuan was apprehensive when he heard it.

He smiled awkwardly: "Sister, I am also your brother, don't treat it differently like this." ”

"Talk about things. She said directly.

Fortunately, he didn't say anything to drive him away, Gu Qinghuan breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Sister, Luoke and I have already set a wedding date, and on the eighteenth of next month, you will come, right?"

Gu Qingning sat down, expressionless, and only shook his head.

Gu Qinghuan sat down in front of her and persuaded, "Sister, don't be like this." ”

She took a moment to rest, looked at Gu Qinghuan, and finally had waves in her eyes, she asked him, "Qinghuan, do you really like her before you want to marry her?"

Gu Qinghuan was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't think that Gu Qingning would talk to him about this topic, he smiled awkwardly, "Of course, sister, Luoke is very good, she makes me feel at ease." ”

Her gaze became sharp, but serious: "But I don't think you really love her, you just want to use her to forget the pain that the string song has given you." ”

Gu Qinghuan's face changed, he was at a loss, and he lost his soul.

Gu Qingning continued: "Because she is a completely different person from Xiange, she is close to you and treats you well, and you feel that you like her." Qinghuan, can you be more sensible? Can you really forget about the string song? Did you really put her down?"

As she spoke, she looked at Gu Qinghuan, who was completely stunned, and lifted the cuffs of his official uniform, revealing the scar he left for Jiang Xiange.

Gu Qinghuan suddenly got up angrily, shook off his wrist, and said angrily to her: "Don't say it! Sister! Since you know that I can't put her down, and you see that I want to die or live for her, then why didn't you help me keep her in the first place! You didn't help me! You know that I have liked her since I was a child, and you all know it, but which of you has helped me keep her? You all support her, and she will let her marry whoever she wants! They all say that they want to give her the freedom to choose! But now, I can finally accept others, why don't you just refuse to support it?"

Gu Qingning couldn't hold back his emotions anymore, and said to him: "I don't want you to make a mistake! What good is it for you to force yourself? It will hurt He Luoke!"

"Enough!" Gu Qinghuan almost collapsed, and yelled at Gu Qingning: "Sister, you are simply unreasonable! I just need you to support me, why can't you do it?"

Gu Qingning was stunned for a moment, and the anger in his heart was suppressed, "Qinghuan ......"

But he couldn't control himself anymore, and he became more and more angry, and he didn't choose to speak, "Sister! I have trusted you since I was a child, and I support you in whatever you do! Whether you are right or wrong, why can't you be considerate of me? You are always so selfish! Self-righteous! I and Qingfeng let you get used to you, and my father helps you everywhere! And you? When you are unhappy, you leave home! When things don't go your way, you don't see anyone! Why are you? We all bear all those ugly things and those scandals that are embarrassing with you! Why don't you think about us? ”

"My scandal, my scandal?" Gu Qingning trembled with anger, glared at Gu Qinghuan fiercely, and lost his mind more and more, and yelled at him: "Get out of here!"

Gu Qinghuan was also angry, he said to leave, ran out of the main hall angrily, and was stopped by Gu Qingfeng on the corridor.

Gu Qingfeng heard their conversation outside just now, and his mood was also very shocked and complicated at the moment, blocking Gu Qinghuan and blaming him: "Brother, are you crazy?

"There won't be children?" Gu Qinghuan was stunned, and when he thought about Gu Qingfeng's words, he was stunned.

Seeing his surprised expression, Gu Qingfeng realized that he was wrong, and accidentally said something that Gu Qinghuan didn't know, dumbfounded, "Didn't you mean...... What you said was ugly......"

"I mean the matter between her and Her Majesty? It's all ......" Gu Qinghuan noticed that Gu Qingfeng had something to hide from him, so he grabbed Gu Qingfeng's arm in turn and didn't let him escape: "Qingfeng, what are you talking about? Do you know any sister's secret?"

……

"Sister, I was wrong...... I didn't mean to. ”

The next day, Gu Qinghuan went directly to the Criminal Department and blocked Gu Qingning in the public room, he was sure that Gu Qingning couldn't be angry with him in the official office.

Finally, he also knew Gu Qingning's secret, and he promised Gu Qingfeng to treat him as if he didn't know, but for Gu Qingning, he didn't want to argue with her at all.

"Sister, I was too radical yesterday, and I shouldn't have said that about you. Sister, will you forgive me?" he said earnestly, sitting next to her.

"Lord Shangshu, let's go. Her attitude was still cold.

Gu Qinghuan was helpless, so he continued to plead: "Sister, I still hope that you will believe me once, and come home to attend the wedding banquet between me and Luoke, okay? This is the closest time to happiness in my life, you just give me this opportunity, let me try it with Luoke? You are my sister, if you don't believe me, who will believe me? You will always be the Gu family, there will be no one else in this world to support our Gu family and help our Gu family, only if we have one heart and help each other can we go on......

He held Gu Qingning's hand, patiently persuaded her, his eyes drooped, and when he saw that she had an injury on her hand, he picked it up and said, "Sister, how did this hurt?"

She finally faltered, looked at her scar, and asked him, "Does it hurt?"

"What?" Gu Qinghuan was puzzled.

She held Gu Qinghuan's hand and lifted his cuffs again, her eyes were dilated, as if she was immersed in another world: "Only after I am injured myself, do I know that kind of pain...... When did you shed so much blood...... How much it hurts......"

Gu Qinghuan's eyes turned red instantly, and his heart was sour: "Sister...... Do you believe me? I'm really going to ...... her. Dropped the ......"

She stretched out her hand to caress Gu Qinghuan's cheek, her expression still sluggish: "Okay, I believe you...... Who made us a family? Probably, a family, even if it is self-deception, we must believe in each other......"

……