Chapter 187 Clear the city to search for someone
Shu Yue mind had an ulterior motive that she couldn’t tell people. Hence, when Ji Danqing and Zhang Zirong arrived, she quietly moved to their side.
At this moment, many people had come to the city gate. Everyone had a puzzled look. It seemed that they also didn’t know what had happened.
Naturally, no one came forward to explain. Gu Xiran, Ji Danqing and the others looked very nervous. Their eyes swept over everyone who went out of the city. From time to time, they would shake their head disappointingly.
The atmosphere on the scene seemed to have frozen. Even if some people were discussing in low voices, but those repressed voices only made the atmosphere heavier.
Under such circumstances, it happened that someone still used an innocent and sweet-sounding voice to ask, “Young master Zhang, do you still remember me?”
At this moment, Zhang Zirong was also paying attention to those who have come out of the city and wanted to find some familiar faces. It didn’t matter if it was his family or the servants from his household. It was fine as long as he could inquire about the situation at home. He didn’t regain his senses yet when he was being called and only turned his head reflexively. In the end, he saw a lucid and elegant face.
He was an old hand who often stayed at romantic places. With just one glance, he knew that this was a girl disguised as a man. Also, he knew very well what the hope in those eyes meant. If it was in the past when he had the money, was bored and in a good mood, he wouldn’t mind to banter flirtatiously and play amorously with such girls. However, it happened that worry burned now in his heart, how would he have the mood? He didn’t even want to talk. He felt that this girl was very unfamiliar as if he had never seen her before. He turned away his eyes and continued to look at the city gate.
This wasn’t the first time that Shu Yue had been completely ignored. She still couldn’t get used to this feeling of disappointment. After she bit her lips for a while, she didn’t give up and said, “We had met each other before. Weren’t you looking for brother-in-law at that time?”
She put Gu Xiran out.
This trick usually worked well. Everyone knew that the prefectural magistrate was very dependent on him, making no one dared to offend anyone who had a relationship with him. Every time, after Shu Yue had been rejected when she wanted something or wanted to do something, as long as she put out his name to suppress people and say one word “brother-in-law”, she would often get her wish fulfilled.
Of course, she was also not stupid. When she used this trick to satisfy her unreasonable demands, she would pick a time when Gu Xiran and the people around him weren’t around and did it secretly. Sometimes, she didn’t even have to say it. Others knew her identity. They thought that since she was Gu Xiran’s relative, their relationship must be close and that they couldn’t offend her. After weighting the pros and cons, they would be in all agreement with her like that bailiff who dragged Shu Huan to the dungeon. He may not have truly believed her full-of-loopholes story, but it was because he didn’t dare to offend her and was afraid that she would talk bad things about him in front of Gu Xiran.
However, this time, Shu Yue didn’t feel that she was asking for unreasonable demands. It was just to use his name to talk with someone. It didn’t have much obstruction. Hence, she put out the word “brother-in-law” without any pretense. She didn’t expect that the moment those words left her mouth, a few pair of eyes looked in her direction.
Zhang Zirong’s eyes showed puzzlement and hasn’t came to the realization who her brother-in-law was.
Ji Danqing’s eyes showed pity and he faintly shook his head.
Du Qiu’s eyes showed that he looked down upon her. To be able to let him have emotions on her face, Shu Yue was not simple.
As for Gu Xiran, he placed all his mind on the people who left the city and was busily identifying them one by one. Although, he heard Shu Yue talk, every word that passed to his ears turned into a meaningless noise. He didn’t know what she was saying and only felt that he had been disturbed. Hence, he looked angrily over and coldly said, “Shut up or just get away.”
With this shout, dozens of gazes were casted over.
Shu Yue’s face was as a prawn that had fallen into boiling water and became red instantly. That slightly opened mouth couldn’t be closed in this short moment. She didn’t know whether she should continue to talk fearlessly or obediently shut up.
In the end, after she thought about it, she hasn’t curried favor from Zhang Zirong yet. It didn’t have any benefit to be driven away by Gu Xiran now. Therefore, that mouth of hers closed like someone had put a shackle on it. It was just that her lips just moved slightly. No one knew what she was cursing.
Such a small interlude passed soon as more and more people left the city.
No one had the mind to bother about other things.
It was just that Gu Xiran looked more and more disappointed. He frowned and asked, “Are you sure she had entered the city?”
Zhang Zirong knew that he was asking him. He nodded and said, “I saw it with my own eyes.”
He saw with his eyes how Shu Huan and Shang Xin entered the city while dressed as men. Then, he went the prefectural magistrate to inquire about Zhang household’s situation, hoping that he was lucky. He didn’t expect that he didn’t get anything about the situation but was surprised to learn that Gu Xiran was here.
Thinking till here, he was silent for a moment and suddenly asked, “What do you plan to do in the future?”
“Mm?” Gu Xiran was puzzled.
Zhang Zirong said with ridicule in his tone, “What do you plan to do after you have found her? Bring her back to be a concubine?”
Only now did Gu Cian remember that old madam had privately set up the marriage alliance with Zhang household and when he had a fall out with old madam, the earthquake happened to have been erupted. Presumably, this news didn’t have the chance to be passed to Zhang household yet.
He didn’t look at Zhang Zirong, he cupped his hands and said, “There is no relation between your little sister and me. The one who set up the marriage should marry her.”
“You….,” Zhang Zirong couldn’t help but clench his fist.
It was one thing that he hated his own little sister. It was another thing that Gu household formed a marriage alliance and then broke it.
Gu Xiran also didn’t bother with his (ZZR) reaction. He continued to speak, “I will tell you straight. Not to mention that I have someone I like, even if I don’t have one, you know your sister’s character better than me. If it was you, would you marry her?”
One sentence made Zhang Zirong spiritless.
He didn’t even have to think about it. If his family had arranged a marriage for him and chose someone with his little sister’s character, he would’ve escaped faster than Gu Xiran.
What you don’t want done to you, don’t do to others.
“Right, I wondered why you would divorce your wife and form a marriage alliance with my family. It turned out to be another person’s own initiative,” Zhang Zirong said a bit dispirited. “It’s just that you speak too irritating, can you not be a bit more subtle?”
Gu Xiran frowned and said, “I don’t have that mood.”
Zhang Zirong was immediately dumbfounded. His family and little sister were still missing and whether they were dead or alive was still unknown. It was truly not the right moment to talk about this matter. Moreover, he had witnessed Gu Xiran’s persistence in love and his mad actions today, it was beyond the limits of his (ZZR) prediction.
He only said that Shu Huan had entered the city. Who would knew that this person would dash into the prefectural magistrate’s residence and request to drive out all the people in the city? When the prefectural magistrate asked for the reason, he only said three words “looking for someone”. The most ridiculous thing was that even if his reason was so unreasonable, the prefectural magistrate agreed and even comforted her with sympathy, saying that the heavens helps the worthy and that his wife would be safe and sound.
The more Zhang Zirong thought, the more he had the urge to wipe his sweat. He couldn’t help but worry about him, “You can actually search the city. It wouldn’t be as troublesome as clearing the city.”
Gu Xiran raised and eyebrow and said, “It’s the fastest this way.”
Zhang Zirong was a bit speechless, “You seem to be abusing your power…”’
Gu Xiran laughed, “If you have the power and don’t use it, after it expired it would be void.”
At the beginning when he promised to help the prefectural magistrate was because he wanted to have power and people in order to find Shu Huan easier. This was also the only condition he set. The prefectural magistrate had agreed to it. Why should he still be modest?