Chapter 392: 392. Fishing

Translator: 549690339

Old Master Qin caught two fish, which Gu Ling fried until they were golden and fragrant. He, Old Mu, and the two little ones sat by the lake, eating fried fish and drinking flower and fruit tea, feeling quite contented.

It wasn’t until nightfall that Old Master Qin left the Su Family after having dinner. He was accompanied by guards from the Duke Mansion, and he made plans with Old Mu and Zhengzheng to visit Huguo Temple together the next day.

As for whether the real or fake Zhengzheng would go, it would be determined after the two little brothers played a game that night. This was not the first time such an incident had occurred, and they all enjoyed it.

At the same time as Old Master Qin returned home, Gu Ling secretly returned to Minister Min’s mansion, and “changed shifts” with Cen Man, allowing her to go home for dinner and rest.

As for whether Cen Man had heard any useful information in the meantime, the two did not immediately communicate. As expected, Mrs. Min was a master as well, so they had to be cautious and avoid startling any snakes in the grass.

When Cen Man left, Gu Ling heard Min Rou’s voice from inside the room, “Father’s condition has improved a lot. He should be able to get out of bed and go out in a few days. It was right to come back. There are no divine doctors like Marquis and Lady Chang Xin on the island.”

The island… Gu Ling immediately caught the keyword. The food and mythical Immortal Island of Yin Country further corroborated his and Su Liang’s previous speculation.

Mrs. Min’s voice was displeased, “Rou’er, how many times have I told you, be cautious with your words.”

“Alright.” Min Rou sounded helpless, “I just don’t understand why… never mind, Mother, don’t glare at me, I know I’m wrong, and I’ll be careful in the future.”

Min Rui’s voice, “It’s not early, Rou’er, go to bed soon.”

“Then Father and Mother should rest early too. I’m going back.” Min Rou finished speaking, footsteps were heard, followed by the sound of a door opening and closing.

The room quieted down, and after a short while, Mrs. Min’s deliberately lowered voice entered Gu Ling’s ears, “Damn it. That Qin guy went to the Su Mansion today. I don’t know if he’s back yet.”

“Let’s see tomorrow.” Min Rui said, “Taking action at night, it’s impossible to make it look like an accident, and people might suspect me.”

Mrs. Min snorted coldly, “As long as you know. I have to wait for the right opportunity to make a move, and I cannot act recklessly.”

About a quarter of an hour later, after a long silence, Mrs. Min spoke again, asking Min Rui, “Don’t you want to kill Xing Ji and his son?”

It took Min Rui a little while to answer, “If I have the chance.”

Mrs. Min sneered, “No matter how many people you kill, you’ll never have Qin Yuan in this life.”

Min Rui immediately retorted, “Your lover died earlier than Qin Yuan. No matter how much you hate me, you can only be with me, this substitute.”

Gu Ling gained a little more understanding of how this couple ended up together.

“That’s enough. From now on, I won’t mention Qin Yuan, and you’re not allowed to mention that person either.” Mrs. Min surprisingly calmed down.

The lights in the room went out, and the surroundings returned to tranquility, but Gu Ling did not leave. He still stood quietly in the night, waiting for Min Rui’s father-in-law, who might not appear.

In the Imperial Palace, Duanmu Chen hadn’t slept, and he didn’t plan to sleep tonight.

Chang’an looked at the food and drinks Duanmu Chen had prepared, as well as the specially taken out Double Jade Chess, and couldn’t help but remind him gently, “Your Majesty, Marquis Gu said he won’t come tonight.”

“He came the night before without making a sound.” Duanmu Chen asked Chang’an to go out and take a look, “The tree from last night, is he hiding in it again?”

Chang’an really went out to look and even climbed the tree to confirm that there was no one there.

After waiting for a while and not seeing Gu Ling, Duanmu Chen felt strange, “How does he seem to know when an assassin will appear? If I didn’t trust him, I would have suspected that he arranged the assassin to gain merit.”

Chang’an thought to himself, does Gu Ling need to invite merit? This didn’t make sense.

Then he heard Duanmu Chen sigh, “But he doesn’t need to invite merit either. Could it be that he can foresee the future?”

Seeing Duanmu Chen look over, Chang’an quickly shook his head, “Your subordinate thinks that this is unlikely.”

“If he really can predict the future, that would be great.” Duanmu Chen said, “Anyway, I absolutely believe that they are my good friends, and they’ll definitely help me.”

Chang’an immediately nodded, “Yes.”

“You eat these,” Duanmu Chen got up, “put away that chess set, and send it to Su Mansion tomorrow. Say it’s my gift to thank Gu Ling for staying up all night.”

Chang’an complied, and Duanmu Chen went into the inner chamber, “I need to sleep now. Since Gu Ling said it’s okay, it should be fine.”

Su Mansion.

Cen Man had just reported to Su Liang the information she had secretly gathered during the afternoon. She was not sure what their purpose was, so she remembered everything she heard and recited it to Su Liang from beginning to end.

The conversation between Min Rui and his wife was mostly pointless, but it revealed that their relationship was terrible.

However, in the afternoon, Min Rui’s wife had secretly left the Ministry Mansion once, and Cen Man had followed her undetected. Min Rui’s wife went to the Duke Mansion, hid in a spot in the garden with a view of the lake for a long time, then went to the courtyard near Old Master Qin’s residence, but did nothing before returning to the Ministry Mansion.

Cen Man wasn’t sure what was going on, but Su Liang understood completely. Min Rui’s wife had previously visited the Duke Mansion to investigate. According to the plan, Old Master Qin would be fishing by the Garden Lake in the afternoon, and there would be no one around him at the time, making it a perfect opportunity to take action.

Unfortunately, Min Rui’s wife’s plan fell through because Old Master Qin “changed his mind” and went to fish at Su Liang’s house instead.

After dinner, Cen Man asked Su Liang if she needed to switch places with Gu Ling.

Su Liang said it was unnecessary and asked Cen Man to go to bed early, as she might need her help during the day.

When Su Liang went upstairs, holding the drowsy Gu Xiaonuan, she heard laughter coming from the study room.

The door was half-open, and Su Liang saw Old Mu, along with the two children, competing to see who could stand on their head the longest. Ji Xiaoshu had already lost and was lying on the carpet, making faces at Zhengzheng and teasing Old Mu.

“Master!” Ji Xiaoshu saw Su Liang and excitedly climbed up from the ground, “accidentally” bumping into Zhengzheng, who in turn kicked Old Mu’s face when he fell. The three of them ended up in a tangled heap.

Old Mu sat up, holding a child in each arm, and they all laughed toward the doorway, “Is that kid not coming back tonight? Do you want me to substitute for him?”

“I can do it too!” Ji Xiaoshu raised his little hand.

Zhengzheng went around Old Mu’s back and pressed Ji Xiaoshu’s hand back down, “You can’t. Don’t make trouble.”

Ji Xiaoshu chuckled, “Then I can sleep with Master!”

Su Liang smiled, “None of you need to. Stop fooling around and go to bed. Aren’t you going to Huguo Temple tomorrow?”

“Master, guess who is going out and who is staying at home tomorrow?” Ji Xiaoshu asked excitedly. “If you guess correctly, we’ll go to sleep immediately!”

“I guess…” Su Liang feigned hesitation, “Xiaoshu is going out to play tomorrow?”

“Master is amazing, you guessed it!” Ji Xiaoshu had already climbed onto Old Mu’s back, “Tomorrow Master will take me to play, and Big Brother will stay at home to practice writing.”

Su Liang smiled at Zhengzheng, knowing that it was his intention to let Ji Xiaoshu win. Zhengzheng had already become proficient in the games they played, but he knew that Ji Xiaoshu rarely had the opportunity to go out, so he always let him win whenever they competed.

Zhengzheng silently puffed out his little chest. As the eldest brother, it was his duty to take care of his younger siblings, as Master always told him he was the most well-behaved child.

Returning to her room, Su Liang put Gu Xiaonuan down and, feeling restless, sat at her desk. She pondered for a moment, and then began to write all the fragmented information related to the mysterious power and the Transmigrator known so far. She connected each piece, one by one.

Finally, Su Liang took out a new sheet of paper and wrote down three questions: “Who is the enemy? What do they want to do? Why are they doing this?”

The answer to the first question was incomplete and inaccurate, but it was “Transmigrator.”

The answer to the second question, as far as they knew and what directly involved them, was “to capture Gu Ling alive.”

The answer to the third question was the most critical and still remained shrouded in mystery. Why would one Transmigrator look for another Transmigrator, secretly investigate and confirm their identity, and not kill them? What were they planning to do?

“How can the exchange be made, discussing how to go back…” Su Liang’s muttered words made her pause, as she wrote the words “go back” under the word “transmigration” on the paper. She drew a circle around it and once again fell into thought.

Is it possible… Su Liang wondered. Although she and Gu Ling often brought up this topic since they met, it was mostly based on fantasies and assumptions. Whether it was choosing to face reality like her or Gu Ling’s desire to see another world, they both knew deep down that this was impossible. If a person’s soul could travel through different space and time, would that not make them immortal? A one-way transmigration is already a dream-like encounter, and it usually happens at the brink of death. Who would put their life on the line, betting on an uncertain future?

At this thought, Su Liang’s expression grew serious! Near death … betting one’s life… Could it be that another transmigrator really wants to go back, not wanting to gamble on their own life, but looking for a fellow transmigrator to experiment with?

However, Su Liang quickly realized that this hypothesis does not hold. The so-called near-death experience is remembered from the perspective of a successful transmigration while recalling the last moments in the previous world. But people living in the same space-time would only see death, unable to verify if the deceased had actually transmigrated to another place.

The deduction hit a bottleneck again, and Su Liang tidied up her desk, planning to discuss her immature new idea with Gu Ling when he returned.

Looking out the window, there was no moon in the night sky, and it was already the first day of the third month. Northern battle affairs were likely to start at any time, as expected.

Su Liang wasn’t sure whether the other party would use special weapons, like explosives, in addition to their mysterious supplies. To be on the safe side, she had already sent a cart of secret weapons and a letter to Qiao Cong, explaining that these items should not be used lightly unless the enemy has used something similar. Using their powerful weapons first might end the battle quickly, but it could also lead to retaliation and make the situation uncontrollable.

What Su Liang hoped for the most was that Qiao Cong could destroy the Liang Country’s supplies before the battle began, or at the very start of the battle. Without enough supplies to sustain them and realizing they were deceived by the Yin Country, Liang Country would be unable to put up much resistance.

But if the opponent really had someone carrying a large storage space for the Liang Country’s army, things became more complicated.

That night, Gu Ling did not encounter Min Rui’s father-in-law and Min Rui and his wife did not say anything or leave the room either.

As dawn approached, Cen Man came to relieve Gu Ling of his duty and sent him home.

As Gu Ling approached Yuanming Pavilion, he saw Elder Mu leading Ji Xiaoshu and Zhengzheng in a jog around the lake in the early morning light.

Ji Xiaoshu waved at Gu Ling from a distance, “Master!”

Gu Ling stopped in his tracks and waited for them to approach; he caught the little ones as they rushed over.

“Master, Mistress and little sister are still asleep,” Ji Xiaoshu pointed to the building above and then tried to climb Gu Ling like a tree.

Zhengzheng solemnly pulled Ji Xiaoshu down, “Stop making a fuss. Master didn’t sleep all night and most likely is tired. We still need to train.”

The next moment, Ji Xiaoshu was caught by Gu Ling, and his small body somersaulted 360 degrees in mid-air. By the time he reacted, he had passed over Gu Ling’s head and landed steadily on the ground.

Looking puzzled, Ji Xiaoshu scratched his head as Gu Ling entered Yuanming Pavilion; his face seemed to say, “Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?”

Zhengzheng pulled Ji Xiaoshu forward and started running, “Master’s just playing with you, are you scared?”

Ji Xiaoshu immediately shook his head, “How could I be? That was so much fun! Let’s have a somersault competition later!”

Gu Ling washed up and changed clothes before entering the room and saw Gu Xiaonuan nestled next to Su Liang; the mother and daughter duo were fast asleep.

Gu Ling did not wake them. Instead, he turned to see a stack of papers on the table. As he picked them up, his eyes fell on the three questions and answers Su Liang had written, finally resting on the circled word “return.” He furrowed his brow.

“Great God, you’re back.” Su Liang sat up and cradled the little girl in her arms, “How was it? Any new developments last night?”

Gu Ling nodded and shook his head, “A little bit.” It was the two words “on the island” that he heard Min Rou mention when he arrived last night.

“It really is an island.” Su Liang said, “So, all the oddities we encountered were caused by the same group of people? The supplies sent by Ji Yuebai from the Yin Country also disappeared at sea.”

Gu Ling sat down by the bed, taking Gu Xiaonuan from Su Liang to give her a kiss, “Do you think that person wants to go back?”

Su Liang shrugged her shoulders slightly, “I just had this idea last night – a bold guess, but not a fully formed thought.”

“You’ve mentioned something like a time machine before. Maybe the way that person transmigrated is different from yours, and there really is a possibility of going back.” After accepting new knowledge and ideas, Gu Ling’s thinking sometimes became more open and bold than Su Liang’s.

Su Liang was stunned, “What I said was purely fictional, like from novels or sci-fi movies. When I came here, technology hadn’t advanced enough to realize such fantasies.”

Gu Ling thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps, that person is not from the same world as you, but maybe from the future or a parallel space in your world who has traveled here?”

After contemplating for a while, Su Liang said, “If what you say is true, Great God, this would be unimaginable. If that person came from a more advanced time and space than mine and brought along treasures like the Storage Space, they would be really the Chosen Son, while I would just be a transmigrator who tags along.”

Gu Ling shook his head, “Perhaps we are overthinking it, and it’s not that complicated.”

Su Liang sighed lightly, “Maybe we are overthinking things. If that person wants to go back but doesn’t come directly to us, instead secretly causing trouble, it is inexplicable.”

After waiting for a while, Imperial Physician Gao didn’t come, so Gu Ling went to the Ministry Mansion on his own.

When Gu Ling left, Lao Mu, disguised as “Zhengzheng” by Ji Xiaoshu, met up with Old Master Qin and headed to Huguo Temple together.

Within the Min Mansion.

When Gu Ling saw Madam Min again, the black fog between her eyebrows was still there, indicating that her murderous intent towards Old Master Qin had not subsided, and she might succeed. But for now, Gu Ling was intervening.

As usual, he administered the acupuncture. After finishing, while he was packing up, Min Rou appeared again, “Marquis, have a cup of tea before you leave.”

Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent, “Thank you, but there’s no need.”

Min Rou smiled, “Is the Marquis afraid that I might have poisoned the tea?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “You’re overthinking.”

Madam Min frowned and pulled Min Rou, motioning her to say less.

Nevertheless, Gu Ling took the initiative to say, “My guidance in medical skills and that of the Madam were learned from one another.” This was the answer to Min Rou’s question from yesterday.

Min Rou was surprised that Gu Ling still remembered and would even answer her question. By the time she recovered, Gu Ling had already left.

Madam Min pulled Min Rou again, “Hurry up and clean up, we still have to go to Huguo Temple.”

The mother and daughter were both going to Huguo Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings for Min Rui. Madam Min had decided this in the morning, and Gu Ling heard about it as he left.

After leaving the Min Mansion, Gu Ling went straight home. However, as soon as he entered the mansion, he secretly left and went to the Imperial Palace.

Seeing Gu Ling appear, Duanmu Chen’s face revealed a smile, “Are you here to make sure that I am safe and sound?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “Your Majesty should go to Huguo Temple today.”

Duanmu Chen was stunned, then frowned, “Why?”

“Min Rui’s daughter, Min Rou, is in Huguo Temple. Your Majesty should meet her and then issue a decree to bring her into the palace as a concubine,” Gu Ling said.

Duanmu Chen was speechless, “You’re meddling too much. Give me a reasonable explanation!”

Gu Ling’s expression was calm, “I suspect that the family of three – Min Rui, his wife, and his daughter – is related to that mysterious force, but we cannot reveal our hand now. Bestowing the marriage is not the goal, but just a means of probing. It is ‘fishing’ to see what reactions these people will have.”

Duanmu Chen’s expression changed slightly, “Are you saying that they might be colluding with Liang Country?”

Gu Ling nodded, “It can’t be excluded.”

“Fine!” Duanmu Chen’s eyes narrowed, “I understand what you mean now. Min Rou isn’t the main point; it’s the person behind her… I know what to do now. I’ll accompany the Empress Dowager to Huguo Temple later to offer incense and pretend to be infatuated with her. In this way…”

Gu Ling added, “In this way, the person who tried to assassinate Your Majesty the night before may come again.”

Duanmu Chen held his forehead, “My role as Emperor becomes more and more interesting.”