Futile Devices Scans

At that moment, both Master One-Hammer and Adviser Jin silently praised him in their hearts: Impressive!

To outside observers, Tao Mo’s words seemed extremely abrupt. After all, no matter how close his friendship with Gu She might be, they had only met four times. How could Gu She possibly decide such a lifelong matter for him?

But upon deeper reflection, did this not precisely show that Tao Mo regarded Gu She as a confidant worthy of entrusting even his future marriage to with a single sentence? Furthermore, Gu She was Master One-Hammer’s prized disciple. Since he undoubtedly knew at least something about whether Miss Tong was truly suitable or not, placing the matter in his hands also carried an element of testing the waters.

The more one considered it, the more brilliant the seemingly careless sentence became. Not only did it avoid offending Madam One-Hammer through outright refusal, it also avoided agreeing too quickly and appearing frivolous.

Madam One-Hammer, however, did not think nearly so deeply. Her bright eyes immediately shifted toward Gu She, the meaning within them perfectly obvious without words.

Gu She turned his head and looked at the four eager pairs of eyes fixed upon him before saying calmly, “Considering it is acceptable.”

Tao Mo froze. Clearly, he had never expected Gu She not to refuse on his behalf, and a trace of disappointment appeared upon his face.

Madam One-Hammer hurriedly said, “Do not listen to She’er’s nonsense. He has always been like this—leaving room in every sentence he speaks. My niece is rare in both beauty and character. If Magistrate Tao were not such a handsome and accomplished young man, I would not even be willing to play matchmaker.”

Naturally, such words could only fool someone newly arrived like Tao Mo. A local snake like Adviser Jin had long since heard the many “glorious deeds” surrounding Miss Tong. The so-called “unwillingness” was more likely because the other party was unwilling instead.

Tao Mo originally intended to refuse on the grounds that he was still in mourning, but upon remembering Old Tao’s warning not to reveal the matter, he grew anxious and stammered, “This matter… there is no need to rush.”

“How can it not be urgent?” Madam One-Hammer exclaimed. “Every day you delay marriage is another day lost from the joys of painting brows and adorning one another.”

She continued enthusiastically, “Why not leave your birth date and time with me? I shall ask the temple diviner to compare your fates. If the match proves suitable, you may come formally present the betrothal gifts as soon as possible.”

Tao Mo stared blankly in shock, unable to understand how the matter had somehow progressed all the way to discussing betrothal gifts.

Seeing his employer sitting there like a stunned wooden chicken, Adviser Jin finally could not bear it any longer and intervened. “As the year’s end approaches, Employer has only recently assumed office, and affairs within the yamen are exceedingly busy. I fear he truly cannot spare the time at present. Perhaps it would be better to discuss this matter again in spring, when flowers bloom and all things flourish?”

“What business could the yamen possibly have?” Madam One-Hammer shot a glare at Master One-Hammer. “Could it be you are secretly causing trouble again?”

Master One-Hammer nearly choked on his tea. Hastily forcing a smile, he replied, “My dear wife, your wisdom shines brightly. These past few days, I have remained constantly by your side morning and night. Where would I find the leisure to meddle in county yamen affairs?”

Madam One-Hammer sneered. “You may be behaving yourself, but who knows whether your disciples and grand-disciples are?”

Master One-Hammer’s gaze swept toward Gu She, who sat nearby with an indifferent expression as though the entire matter had nothing whatsoever to do with him. “That, I truly do not know. Fortunately, one disciple is right here. You may ask him personally.”

Madam One-Hammer immediately fixed Gu She with a stare.

Before Gu She could answer, Tao Mo hurriedly blurted out, “He never caused any trouble.”

“I know he would not,” Madam One-Hammer replied. “He is famous for never appearing in court. But do not be fooled by that honest and reliable face of his—he is absolutely full of bad ideas inside.”

Adviser Jin nearly spat out his tea.

Gu She? Honest and reliable-looking?

Master One-Hammer, delighted at having successfully redirected the danger elsewhere, quickly chimed in, “Indeed, indeed. Even I cannot compare to him.”

“That is because you have been splashing dirty water around for decades already,” Madam One-Hammer retorted.

Master One-Hammer laughed awkwardly.

At last, Gu She spoke.

“Farmer tills fields—therefore, farmer. Hunter hunts beasts—therefore, hunter. One who splashes water—therefore, splash-man. Then what should the wife of a splash-man be called?”

Madam One-Hammer’s brows shot upright. “You dare call me a shrew?”

“I never said that,” Gu She replied calmly.

Tao Mo quietly echoed, “He really did not say it.”

Madam One-Hammer immediately turned to glare at Master One-Hammer. “You say it!”

Master One-Hammer hastily surrendered. “All my fault, all my fault. I have splashed far too much water and implicated my wife.”

Madam One-Hammer was both annoyed and amused. Turning around, she poked Tao Mo lightly in the forehead. “If you continue getting close to She’er, be careful he does not trick you away and sell you off before you even realize it.”

Tao Mo grinned foolishly. “If he truly wanted to trick me away, I would let him.”

Madam One-Hammer choked speechless at his idiotic sincerity.

Master One-Hammer gave Tao Mo a meaningful look before turning to Gu She. “It is rare for the county magistrate to appreciate you so highly. You should not disappoint him.”

Gu She replied blandly, “Why does Master place such importance upon the words ‘disappoint’ and ‘betray’?”

Madam One-Hammer’s dangerous gaze instantly swept over again.

Master One-Hammer viciously glared at him before hurriedly turning toward his wife with an exceedingly cheerful smile. “My dear, the sun is beginning to slant westward. Shall we return to our room?”

Reluctantly, Madam One-Hammer looked toward Tao Mo. “Who knows whether Magistrate Tao will even come visit again.”

Master One-Hammer immediately shot Tao Mo a murderous look!

Tao Mo could only say, “I will come. I definitely will.”

Satisfied, Madam One-Hammer nodded. “Very well then. After the Lantern Festival, I shall await Magistrate Tao’s honored visit at home.”

As he watched Madam One-Hammer lean against Master One-Hammer while the two departed gracefully together, Tao Mo found himself unable to force even the slightest smile onto his face.

Adviser Jin tried to comfort him. “You should return and discuss the matter with Old Tao first. Actually… Miss Tong is not so bad.”

Tao Mo secretly glanced at Gu She and declared almost like a solemn oath, “No matter how good she is, I will never marry her.”

Adviser Jin was greatly astonished. “Why?” He had originally assumed Tao Mo merely disliked Miss Tong’s fierce reputation, but now it seemed there was another reason entirely.

Tao Mo looked toward Gu She once more.

Adviser Jin’s eyes turned thoughtfully. That smile clearly means he already has someone he likes. I simply wonder which family’s young lady it is, for him to be so embarrassed to speak of her.

After finishing the tea in his cup, Gu She lazily rose to his feet.

Tao Mo immediately stood as well, his eyes filled with reluctance. “You are leaving too?”

“Mm.”

“You are returning home?”

“You have business with me?” A faint glimmer flashed through Gu She’s eyes.

Gathering his courage, Tao Mo asked, “I wish to invite you to a meal. I wonder whether you would honor me with your presence?”

Adviser Jin sighed inwardly. He had agreed to become Tao Mo’s adviser far too readily. He had not even managed to get a single meal out of it!

“Business?” Gu She repeated stubbornly.

After exhausting every ounce of thought, Tao Mo still ended up shaking his head.

Gu She frowned slightly, seeming faintly disappointed. Without another word, he turned and left.

As though bewitched, Tao Mo followed behind him all the way out of the estate.

Gu Xiaojia’s carriage sat arrogantly across the entrance, blocking the entire gateway.

Seeing Gu She climb aboard, Tao Mo’s heart suddenly stirred, and he blurted out, “Could you give me a ride?”

“Young Master!” Hao Guozi’s shrill voice suddenly rang out from behind Gu She’s carriage.

Gu She expressionlessly lowered the carriage curtain.

Gu Xiaojia shot Tao Mo a mocking glance before driving away.

Only after the carriage disappeared did Hao Guozi finally manage to bring their own carriage over, still grumbling angrily, “I wonder whose carriage that was, acting so overbearing and occupying the whole street.”

Tao Mo climbed into the carriage looking utterly dejected, while Adviser Jin followed behind him thoughtfully.

After the carriage had traveled some distance, Adviser Jin finally asked, “Employer wishes to recruit Gu She for your own use?”

Originally, he had assumed Tao Mo merely wished to use Gu She as a bridge to board Master One-Hammer’s ship. But now it seemed Tao Mo’s interest in Gu She far surpassed his interest in Master One-Hammer himself.

Could it be that Tao Mo had already discerned that although Master One-Hammer no longer involved himself in affairs, the true person controlling the One-Hammer faction was now Gu She?

If that were truly the case, then this newly appointed magistrate was terrifying indeed. Not only was he astonishingly quick-witted, but his judgment of people was frighteningly precise.

Fortunately, he was a magistrate and not a litigation master. Otherwise, Adviser Jin would likely suffer endless headaches in the future.

Still dazed, Tao Mo only caught the word “recruit” before abruptly jumping up, his face flushing crimson. “Recruit? When did I ever say I wanted to recruit him?”

Adviser Jin eyed him suspiciously.

Tao Mo’s voice gradually softened. “How could I possibly recruit someone like him?”

At least he possessed some self-awareness. Adviser Jin nodded approvingly.

Later, Hao Guozi escorted him back to the residence before returning alone to the yamen.

The next morning dawned foggy.

Tao Mo was sleeping soundly when urgent knocking suddenly startled him awake.

After much effort, he crawled out from beneath the blankets, threw on a robe, and opened the door—only to see Hao Guozi standing there shivering violently, looking as though he had seen a ghost.

“S-Someone died!”

Tao Mo jolted fully awake. “Who died?”

Hao Guozi froze for a moment before finally remembering.

“Someone from the Tong residence… Miss Tong… hanged herself!”

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