freenovelworld Chapter 680 Tell your father, I owe the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion a favor.
Chapter 680 Tell your father, I owe the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion a favor.
The white sails of Prince Yong's mansion were finally taken down, and the funeral was conducted hastily and in a rush, as if the only goal was to bury the past as quickly as possible.
Overnight, Prince Yong's temples turned gray, and he looked as if all his energy had been drained away, aging him by more than ten years.
Princess Yong, on the other hand, went completely mad.
She stopped crying and fussing, and stopped recognizing people. She spent her days hugging her pillow, sitting in the empty bedroom, and calling out softly to the air again and again, "Xingyao, my Xingyao."
Lin Jingchuan stood under the corridor, rubbing his throbbing temples. The exhaustion and grief of the past few days had almost crushed him.
His gaze swept across the deserted courtyard, and a small, thin figure suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Where is Lin Jiayou?" he asked the servant behind him.
The servant bowed and reported tremblingly, "Your Highness, it has been several days since we last saw the young master."
"Useless!" Lin Jingchuan's anger flared instantly. He turned around abruptly and kicked a pillar in the corridor. "A child has gone missing, and not a single person in the manor knew! What use are you all!"
The servants were so frightened that they all knelt down on the ground, burying their heads even lower.
Lin Jingchuan's chest heaved violently; after the anger subsided, only endless emptiness and bewilderment remained.
This palace is no longer a home.
That child has no parents. In this capital city, where else can he go besides the Prince Yong's mansion?
He suddenly remembered something: the child seemed to have two close classmates at the academy.
"Prepare the horses!" he ordered coldly. "Go to Bailu Academy."
At Bailu Academy, Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun were dozing off on their desks, the pain in their buttocks not yet completely gone. The two of them had been much more well-behaved these past few days.
The master was engrossed in his lecture when a commotion arose outside the academy.
Soon, a servant rushed in and whispered a few words in the teacher's ear.
The teacher's expression changed slightly. He looked at the two drowsy men and cleared his throat: "Gu Qingchen, Qian Zhenyun, come out here for a moment."
The two stood up groggily and followed the servant out of the school.
At the entrance of the academy, Lin Jingchuan stood there forlornly, dressed in a plain brocade robe.
Upon seeing him, Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun's hearts skipped a beat, and they instantly snapped back to reality.
They exchanged a glance instinctively, both seeing tension in each other's eyes.
Didn't Lin Jiayou say that the Prince Yong's Mansion wouldn't care about him?
Why is Lin Jingchuan showing up here? Is he here to cause trouble?
How can a grown adult hold a grudge against two children? That's so petty!
Lin Jingchuan's gaze fell on them. "Have you ever seen Lin Jiayou before?"
They really came here to demand an explanation!
Gu Qingchen immediately puffed out her chest, shielding Qian Zhenyun behind her, and spoke first: "Lin Jiayou has already left!"
Lin Jingchuan's brows furrowed instantly. He took a step forward, and the imposing aura emanating from him made both children involuntarily step back.
"Gone? Where did you go?"
His voice carried a hint of urgency.
Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun exchanged another glance, feeling even more uncertain.
But the words had already been spoken, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and bear it.
Gu Qingchen raised her chin and deliberately spoke in a self-righteous tone, "He went to find my brother Lu! My father said that brother Lu happens to need a study companion in Chengdu, so from now on he will be under the protection of my Zhenguo Duke's Mansion!"
She deliberately emphasized the words "Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion," but her heart was pounding, hoping that her words would intimidate Lin Jingchuan.
"Brother Lu?" Lin Jingchuan frowned and repeated.
Gu Lu.
It turned out that Gu Junze had made the move.
His tense nerves suddenly relaxed at that moment.
Well, he still doesn't know how to face that child, or that face that bears a resemblance to Lin Xingyao.
Leaving the capital for a few years might be a good thing for him, for Lin Jiayou, and for the Yongwang Mansion.
Gu Lu was personally raised by Gu Junze, and his academic achievements and character are impeccable. Lin Jiayou will surely learn some skills from him and won't go astray.
Thinking of this, the tension in Lin Jingchuan's eyes gradually faded, leaving only an overwhelming weariness.
He looked at the little girl in front of him, who was pretending to be calm, and remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Tell your father that I owe the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion a favor."
Having said that, he turned and left without another word. His tall figure appeared incredibly lonely.
Gu Qingchen stared blankly in the direction he had left.
Why is this so disjointed? What do you mean by owing her father a favor?
However, it seems he believes it and will not cause any more trouble for Lin Jiayou for the time being.
She and Qian Zhenyun both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Should we tell Uncle Gu about this?" Qian Zhenyun asked in a low voice, still feeling uneasy.
"My dad?" Gu Qingchen shook his head, analyzing like a little adult, "Forget it, didn't you hear? He's the one who owes my dad a favor, not the other way around. We're already on good terms, let's not go looking for trouble!"
Qian Zhenyun thought she made sense and nodded vigorously.
Gu Qingchen looked up into the distance and counted on his fingers.
Lin Jiayou has been gone for almost three days now, and we don't know where he is now.
The official road was long, and the carriage bumped along.
The caravan successfully delivered the goods to their destination and received a generous reward.
Now, only one task remains: to send Lin Jiayou, this half-grown boy, to Chengdu.
At night, the group rested in a dilapidated temple in the wilderness. The fire was burning brightly, crackling and casting flickering light on the faces of the bodyguards.
Lin Jiayou huddled in the corner, wrapped his body in a tattered straw mat, and pretended to be fast asleep.
Several bodyguards sat around the fire, eating dry, hard flatbread and drinking cheap liquor.
"Damn it, this job is finally done." A burly bodyguard took a swig of wine and complained gruffly, "Only this brat is left as a burden, he still has to run a few more miles."
Another tall, thin bodyguard named Wang Er chuckled and nudged him with his elbow.
"What's the rush? Send him to Chengdu, and we'll get another fifty taels. It's such an easy way to make money."
“It’s easy, it is,” the burly bodyguard clicked his tongue, “but I always feel there’s something strange about this whole thing.”
"The young lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is so generous, just to send this boy away, she didn't even send a proper guard, but instead came to our escort agency."
Wang Er leaned closer, lowered his voice, and his eyes gleamed: "Don't you guys think this kid's face looks a little familiar?"
Upon hearing this, the group subconsciously glanced at the small figure in the corner.
"look familiar?"
“I heard a lot of gossip about the Prince Yong’s mansion when I was in the capital recently.” Wang Er’s voice was even lower, with a hint of strange excitement. “Take a closer look at that kid’s eyebrows and eyes. Don’t they look like that princess who just died?”