None of them had ever met Grand Preceptor Shi’s nephew. They did not know when he would come, nor how he would arrive, and there was no follow-up to the letter from the Prefect of Qincheng. As a result, the matter was naturally set aside and soon forgotten.
Tao Mo continued to spend several hours at the county yamen each day, handling official business together with Adviser Jin. Afterward, he would spend several more hours at the Gu residence practicing calligraphy and playing chess.
Hao Guozi could not resist asking Old Tao, “Have you noticed that Young Master has been spending more and more time at the Gu residence?”
Old Tao said, “Has he?”
“There have even been a few nights when he didn’t come back at all.”
“It happened to be raining on those nights. The roads were wet and slippery, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to stay there.”
Hao Guozi frowned in confusion. “But Young Master hasn’t been taking the county yamen’s carriage lately.”
“Adviser Jin is getting on in years. It is perfectly reasonable for the yamen to keep a carriage here in case he needs it.”
Hao Guozi knitted his brows. Why did that explanation sound so terribly far-fetched? He pursed his lips and continued, “But Young Master hasn’t been asking me to go with him lately either.”
“There is plenty to do at the yamen. It is better for you to stay here and lend a hand.”
Hao Guozi gave him a strange look.
Old Tao remained perfectly composed.
“Why do I feel like you’re making excuses for Young Master?” Hao Guozi asked.
Old Tao said, “Their feelings may begin in affection, but their conduct stops at propriety. Young Master and Young Master Gu are associating perfectly normally, so what is there to make excuses for?”
Hao Guozi’s expression became exceedingly strange. “Their feelings begin in affection… but their conduct stops at propriety?”
Old Tao continued working on the accounts, privately thinking that Young Master’s official salary was not particularly generous, and supporting such a large household on it was genuinely difficult. Before the Tao family had fallen into ruin, Master Tao had fortunately possessed enough foresight to move part of the family fortune elsewhere. But no matter how large a fortune might be, it would eventually be exhausted if they did nothing but spend it. It seemed the time had come to tell Young Master that the money existed, and while he was at it, discuss how they might put it to work so that it could generate more.
Seeing that Old Tao’s attention had wandered elsewhere, Hao Guozi could not resist leaning closer. “Old Tao, weren’t you the one who objected most strongly to Young Master being with Gu She?”
Without expression, Old Tao pushed away the head that had intruded into his space. “When did I ever object?”
“You obviously had your heart set on finding Young Master a young mistress, then having her give birth to a whole brood of little young masters!”
Old Tao sighed. “Do you think that simply because I want it, Young Master will want it too?”
Remembering the utterly devoted look Tao Mo had worn whenever Gu She’s name came up over the past few days, Hao Guozi felt a chill settle over his heart.
“Besides,” Old Tao said, “how many women under Heaven could compare with Gu She?”
“How are you even supposed to compare them?” Looks? Family background? Talent?… Hao Guozi could not think of any woman who could surpass him. If one truly insisted on finding someone comparable, perhaps only a young lady from the imperial clan or another noble family would qualify—but why would someone like that ever take an interest in Tao Mo? Suddenly, Hao Guozi realized something was wrong. “Wait. Are you saying Gu She has feelings for Young Master too?” His face was filled with shock.
Old Tao clicked away at his abacus, too lazy to answer him.
Growing anxious, Hao Guozi hurried from one side of Old Tao to the other. “But sometimes I see Young Master staring blankly at the foot of a wall and sighing over and over… Could he be worrying about what will happen to the two of them in the future?”
Old Tao said, “If you keep making noise, all of us are going to have to start worrying about how we will make a living in the future.”
Hao Guozi blinked. “Are we very poor?”
“I don’t know whether we are very poor,” Old Tao said, “but I can certainly make you very poor.”
Hao Guozi looked deeply aggrieved. “I’m only worried about Young Master.”
“Then go and see whether Young Master’s ginseng soup is ready,” Old Tao said. “It is enough for us to take care of his health. As for everything else, I trust that Young Master knows his own limits.”
Hao Guozi left somewhat sheepishly.
Only after the sound of his footsteps had faded did Old Tao raise his head, his brows drawing together.
Staring at the foot of a wall and sighing?
Had the knot in his heart still not been untied?
Tao Mo felt as though he had spent the past several days constantly walking along the boundary between happiness and fear.
The gentler Gu She was with him, the more frightened Tao Mo became that this gentleness could not last. And so he received every bit of Gu She’s care with trembling caution, like a beggar eating each meal in fear that there would be no next one.
Old Tao said he had lost weight over the past few days and kept making him drink all manner of nourishing soups, but Tao Mo himself knew that no tonic could restore what sleepless nights were steadily wearing away. He wanted to pull himself free of this fear. He had even thought of laying bare everything in his heart to Gu She. Yet every time he looked into Gu She’s cool, clear eyes and saw his own reflection there, all the words inside him seemed to fall like stones into a lake, sinking straight to the bottom before they could ever struggle free.
“The pressure here is wrong.” Gu She’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Lift the brush slightly.”
Tao Mo hurriedly nodded.
Gu She set the sheet of paper down and looked up at him. “Something on your mind?”
Tao Mo hastily shook his head.
Gu She did not press him. “Bring me the laws and statutes of the realm.”
Tao Mo turned to fetch them. Ever since his handwriting had begun to look somewhat presentable, Gu She had started explaining the laws and statutes of the dynasty to him. His explanations were remarkably vivid, and he frequently used different cases as examples and annotations, making everything both easy to understand and genuinely interesting. Not only that, Gu She would sometimes explain the sophistries and tricks litigation masters used in court, pointing out the flaws in their arguments and teaching Tao Mo what to watch out for.
Tao Mo knew Gu She was afraid that someday a litigation master might use such arguments to mislead him, so he always listened with the utmost attention.
Gu She took the statutes but did not open them. Instead, he asked, “What do you think of the woodcutter’s case?”
Tao Mo paused before answering, “The woodcutter falsely confessed in someone else’s place. Although he is not guilty of murder, he obstructed the proper investigation of the case, so he should still be punished for that.”
“How will you prove that he confessed in someone else’s place?”
“Well…” Tao Mo hesitated. “Perhaps once Young Master Lu recovers, we can discuss it with him?” After they parted at the Guanyin Temple, Lu Zhenxue had taken ill at home. The following day, he had merely sent a servant with a letter apologizing for his absence.
“I’m afraid his illness will not improve anytime soon.”
Tao Mo was startled. “Is it that serious?” He had been so busy going back and forth between the Gu residence and the county yamen these past few days that he had never found time to visit the Lu residence. Thinking about it now, he felt somewhat guilty. “Why don’t I go and visit him tomorrow?”
Gu She glanced at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “All right. I’ll come to the county yamen to pick you up tomorrow in the early afternoon.”
A sweetness spread through Tao Mo’s heart, only for him to immediately warn himself in silence that he must not fall too deeply.
Gu She watched the expressions shift across Tao Mo’s face without saying a word, a thoughtful look flickering through his eyes.
Gu She had always been punctual. If he said he would come in the early afternoon, then he came in the early afternoon.
Before the appointed time had even arrived, Tao Mo was already waiting at the entrance with the gifts Hao Guozi had prepared. When the carriage drew up and he was about to climb aboard, Hao Guozi suddenly popped out from behind him. “Young Master, I’ll come with you. At the very least, there should be someone to carry the gifts.”
Gu Xiaojia gave a cold snort. “You think I can’t carry them?”
“Isn’t that because I feel sorry for you having to carry everything by yourself?”
“Who wants you to feel sorry for me?” Gu Xiaojia turned his head away, but nevertheless shifted sideways on the driver’s bench and made room for him.
Hao Guozi cheerfully climbed up and sat down.
Just as Gu Xiaojia was about to set the carriage moving, Hao Guozi took the reins straight out of his hands.
“You’ve worked hard these past few days. Why don’t you rest and let me drive?” Hao Guozi was being exceptionally attentive.
Gu Xiaojia looked at him suspiciously. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I just feel bad seeing you work so hard every day.” He absolutely had to prove his usefulness in front of Young Master. There was no way he was going to let himself be pushed aside and left with nothing to do!
When it came to driving a carriage, Hao Guozi and Gu Xiaojia were about evenly matched, and the carriage traveled smoothly and steadily all the way.
When they reached the entrance of the Lu residence, Gu Xiaojia handed the calling card they had prepared to the gatekeeper, who immediately dashed inside to announce their arrival.
Tao Mo and Gu She stepped down from the carriage.
Tao Mo could not help remembering the day he had come to the Lu residence for a banquet and encountered Gu She there. That had been the very first time he and Gu She had spoken to each other.
Gu Xiaojia seemed to remember it as well. “When I first saw you that day, I thought, Why does this county magistrate look so foolish? He probably won’t last long. I never expected you’d actually make it all the way past the beginning of spring.”
Tao Mo’s face reddened slightly, and he gave two dry laughs.
Hao Guozi immediately stepped forward in his defense. “My young master has always been the sort who quietly builds up his strength before showing what he can really do.”
Gu Xiaojia gave a derisive laugh, then turned and saw Gu She looking at him. He immediately ducked his head and fell silent.
It was quite some time before the Lu residence’s gatekeeper returned. With an apologetic smile, he led them into the reception hall.
The steward of the Lu residence came out to receive them. His face was full of apology. “Our young master is unwell and cannot conveniently receive guests. I hope Lord Tao and Young Master Gu will forgive us.”
Gu She said, “I happen to know a little medicine. Would it be possible for me to take Young Master Lu’s pulse?”
The steward replied, “We have already called a physician to examine him. It is merely a chill, and he needs to rest.”
Tao Mo asked, “Do you know when Young Master Lu is likely to recover?”
“That I cannot say. It may be three or five days, or perhaps half a month. These things are difficult to predict.”
“That is true,” Gu She said. “Some illnesses linger for three, five, even seven years without improving.”
The steward clearly found the remark unpleasant, yet he still had no choice but to keep smiling politely.
Tao Mo presented the gifts they had prepared beforehand and offered a few words of consolation before leaving together with Gu She. The moment they stepped outside, Gu Xiaojia completely ignored the fact that the Lu residence’s gatekeeper was still standing nearby and loudly declared, “What a conveniently timed illness!”
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