Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Mother and Daughter Meet

The Gu Residence was the best courtyard she had ever seen.

Looking at the Gu Residence, Gu Qingli felt a strange sensation in her heart—extreme joy.

Gu Qingli frowned. She just remembered that although the Original Host had been wandering outside since childhood, she was born here. Why would she still experience emotions that weren’t hers?

Gu Qingli’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the Original Host’s soul still existed somewhere? When she had free time, she must investigate. What if, one day, the Original Host truly reappeared and wanted to reclaim her body? Where would Gu Qingli go then?

After some meandering, they arrived at a large hall. Everyone sat down, and Gu Qingping immediately ordered tea to be served.

Only then did Gu Qingli really look at Gu Qingping. It had been nearly a year since she last saw him. He had become a father, and his temperament had changed noticeably. He was no longer the naive young man he once was; now, he appeared quite mature. He carried himself with the air of a head of the family. However, compared to Gu Xicheng, Gu Qingping was still far less seasoned. But in another eight or ten years, Gu Qingping would likely have fully transformed.

“Big Brother, have you asked Mother to come? And could you ask Sister-in-law to come over too? I’d like to see her as well,” Gu Qingli said. She still remembered that somewhat avaricious woman and wondered how she had changed after taking her medicinal pill.

“Yes, they’ll be here soon. She’s bringing the child, so it will take a little longer. By the way, where are your three little ones? I haven’t seen them yet, and Mother talks about them every day.”

Gu Qingping hadn’t seen the children and assumed they had been left in the palace. He wondered how these two could be so bold as to leave their three children there.

Xiao Yunjing and Gu Qingli exchanged glances, both realizing they had been careless about this. There were many people with loose lips in the Gu Residence. The sudden appearance of three children hadn’t been well thought through. This was a bit troublesome. If they had known, they would have had someone buy a residence outside the city, and they would have gone there instead.

Hearing Gu Qingping’s question, Xiao Yunjing’s brow twitched slightly. He said, “They’re at a residence outside the palace. When we came over today, the three little ones were still asleep, so we came ahead first.”

Gu Qingli understood Xiao Yunjin’s meaning and added, “I just arrived in Capital City and wanted to see Mother and all of you first. We’ll bring the children over later. I’m worried that once we enter the palace, it might not be easy to see you all.”

Gu Qingping looked as if he’d had a revelation, and at the same time, he felt very gratified that his younger sister had even considered this for them. Once in the palace, meeting would indeed be difficult. They were commoners, and his sister held no official rank. It truly wouldn’t be as convenient as staying outside. He smiled and nodded. “That’s true. Li’er, when you returned to Capital City, why didn’t you come directly here?”

Gu Qingli sighed. “Big Brother, it’s a bit of a long story. You must know about Old General Liu’s situation, right?”

“What does General Liu have to do with you?” Gu Qingping asked, looking at them in confusion.

Gu Qingli glanced at the servants in the room.

Gu Qingping waved his hand, dismissing them.

Only then did Gu Qingli say, “There is a connection. We were ambushed by his troops on our way here.”

Thinking of the sixty-odd people injured at that time, Gu Qingli’s expression turned grim.

“His army ambushed you?” Gu Qingping was astounded.

“Yes,” Gu Qingli nodded.

“Has that old scoundrel eaten himself senseless?” Gu Qingping frowned.

“He hasn’t,” Gu Qingli replied. “The one who’s truly gorged herself on ambition is Jiang Lile of the Jiang Residence.”

Gu Qingli briefly recounted Jiang Lile’s dealings in Beijing.

“BANG!” Gu Qingping slammed his hand on the table in anger. “What kind of woman is she? So shameless! So, there was nothing that could be done about her this time?”

“Yes, there’s nothing to be done about her, and there’s no evidence,” Xiao Yunjing said with a sigh of resignation. “Old General Liu took all the blame himself.”

Without evidence, even he, the Emperor, couldn’t arbitrarily arrest and convict someone. He could only watch as that woman remained at large.

“She’s truly vicious, annihilating an entire family for her selfish desires!” Gu Qingping lamented. “General Liu always had a good reputation. For his whole family to be wiped out like this… it’s truly a pity.”

Daqian currently had few generals, and Xiao Yunjing was precisely at a time when he needed capable people. General Liu was one of those few, and just like that, he was gone.

Xiao Yunjing said nonchalantly, “Don’t feel sorry for him. That old scoundrel was scheming. He was maintaining a private army; those two thousand soldiers were all his own men. The names of those two thousand soldiers had long been reported to the imperial court as killed in action. However, Old General Liu had secretly manipulated their records. He had them all secretly sent back to the capital and maintained them himself. Of course, it wasn’t just those two thousand. Over the years, using such methods, he had amassed no fewer than twenty thousand private soldiers. These twenty thousand men were all well-trained elite soldiers, each capable of taking on ten enemies on the battlefield. That old scoundrel’s intentions in doing so were perfectly clear.”

“Ah?” Gu Qingping was utterly shocked. He would never have guessed Old General Liu harbored such ambitions. Power is truly a great temptation!

Even Gu Qingli was surprised. She had actually been feeling sorry for Old General Liu, thinking a young woman had orchestrated his downfall. It turned out that wasn’t the case at all. He got what he deserved.

“Indeed,” Xiao Yunjing continued. “So, don’t feel sorry for him. That man has grand ambitions. Jiangnan was entirely under his control. If I hadn’t sent people to Jiangnan last year and brought his eldest son under control, I would indeed have found it very difficult to remove this malignant tumor today. I wonder, if Old General Liu knew about this, would he die of anger on the spot? He would probably regret not having rebelled directly like Qingchen did. If he had taken that gamble, he might have even achieved something significant. While Qingchen had replaced nearly everyone in the imperial court, Old General Liu, possessing so many troops, had remained as steadfast as a rock—precisely because he held military power.”

Gu Qingli asked worriedly, “So, how did you handle it? Were there any complications?”

Xiao Yunjing smiled, squeezed Gu Qingli’s hand, and said, “Don’t worry, Li’er, no complications. I sent people last year, and this year we gained control of his eldest son. I just hadn’t expected Old General Liu himself to harbor rebellious intentions.”

“That’s good.” Gu Qingli looked into Xiao Yunjing’s profoundly wise eyes. This man is practically a cunning mastermind; he had it all planned so far in advance!

“Li’er, Yunjing! You finally decided to come see your mother!” Just then, Ms. Su hurried in, followed by Ms. Liu, who was holding an infant.

“Mother.” Gu Qingli rose to greet her. When she reached Ms. Su, she also turned to Ms. Liu and said, “Sister-in-law.”

Ms. Liu smiled, her lips curving gently. “Li’er, you’re back. Mother has been eagerly awaiting your return.”

“Mhm,” Gu Qingli acknowledged, taking Ms. Su’s hand and looking at her closely. “Mother, you’ve lost weight.”

“How could I not? This little rascal is so boisterous, not at all like Little Dumpling and the others,” Ms. Su said with mock exasperation, though her eyes were filled with affection.

“You’ve worked hard, Mother,” Gu Qingping also came over, reaching out to take his son.

Ms. Su snorted. “And you two haven’t even mentioned having more! I’d be willing, no matter how tiring it is for this old mother.” Her daughter had triplets in one go, while her daughter-in-law only had one. That’s too few! Two would have been good too!

Gu Qingping, Gu Qingli, and Xiao Yunjing were momentarily speechless. Then, they all burst out laughing.

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