Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 818: Taken the Bait

Went out for an entire night and only returned at dawn. If the Young Master were to face any mishaps, she would pay with her life ten times over.

Gu Jinli looked at Xiao Ji, whose face turned pale with fright, and laughed, "I went out with Brother Qin, what could possibly go wrong? Don’t scare yourself."

Xiao Ji: "..."

It’s precisely because she went out with Qin Family’s third son that worries her. A big lad with ill intentions towards the Young Master—what if he took advantage of the Young Master? They’re not even officially engaged yet!

"Anyway, Young Master, please don’t go running off for the whole night again. This maid won’t be able to explain it to Good Brother An." Xiao Ji seriously advised Gu Jinli.

Gu Jinli casually replied, "Alright, I’ll come back earlier next time."

She then glanced at the people waiting in the room with Xiao Ji: "Erping, Sanping, Erle, Sanle, Sanxi, thank you for your hard work."

When Gu Jinli called out their names, it truly was indescribable. What was Qin San Lang thinking when he gave them such arbitrary names?

Using words like peace, happiness, celebration, and joy to combine into names—the most horrifying part was using the character for celebration for girls.

Indeed, after the Water Bandit Village was conquered, some girls were sold as official slaves by the government. Qin San Lang bought several who bore deep hatred for river bandits with decent bone structure and threw them in with You An for training. Three years passed, and they trained well, but those names...

Daqing, Erqing, Sanqing—the names made these girls sound like old men.

Erping and the others were quite pleased when Gu Jinli could actually call out their names. They stood up in unison and said, "It was not laborious!"

Their voices were loud, and the team was orderly, clearly well-trained by Qin San Lang.

Qin San Lang not only trained them well but also seriously told them that Gu Jinli’s life was more important than his, and they should all listen to her.

He also mentioned that Gu Jinli was part of the effort that led to the successful extermination of the Water Bandit Village.

Thus, Erping and the others held Gu Jinli in high regard, considering her as important as Qin San Lang.

Qin San Lang looked at the sky turning pale and said to Gu Jinli, "It’s almost dawn, you should go to sleep first, then talk when you wake up."

He was okay staying up all night, but it wasn’t good for a young lady like her to do so.

Gu Jinli was indeed tired: "Mm, you too should go back to sleep early."

Qin San Lang smiled and nodded, watching her return to the inner courtyard with Xiao Ji.

After a bath, Gu Jinli went straight to sleep.

She slept for three hours and only got up at the hour of Si.

Qin San Lang had already had Sanxi prepare breakfast. Seeing her awake, he brought it over for her.

While eating, Gu Jinli asked, "Are Daqing and the others back?"

After speaking, she twitched her mouth, obviously startled by those names once again.

Seeing this, Qin San Lang laughed and said, "They’re back. Everything has been taken care of. Within three days, we can deal with Qian Guangzong and his son, and Gu Chengxian."

Back then, her family was sold off because of the Qian family’s scheme. The Qian Guangzong family should not be spared.

Gu Jinli nodded upon hearing this and said after eating an egg, "It would be best to deal with them within three days, or we’ll have to wait until next time."

She promised Gu Jin’an to return home before February 15 to send him off for the exam. She could tell Gu Jin’an had been tormented by the Old Gu Family enough to leave a shadow. If she didn’t come back before he entered the exam hall, Gu Jin’an would surely be unable to calm down for the exam.

Qin San Lang: "Don’t worry, with the Qian family’s father’s and son’s temperament, three days is more than enough. That Gu Chengxian is no gentleman either, with many inner schemes."

He investigated Gu Chengxian and had people test Gu Chengxian, only to find he’s a gentleman on the surface with a rotten interior. Previously in the Capital, there were a few concubines whose bellies he swelled, yet Gu Chengxian was quite beastly—instead of keeping them, he sold all those maids to the Lai Family. When he arrived at He’an Prefecture, he played the part of a gentleman who kept women at arm’s length.

Qin San Lang did not detail these matters to Gu Jinli, not wanting to sully her ears.

Gu Jinli ate her noodles and said, "As long as we can ensnare him, that’s what matters."

She then asked Qin San Lang, "Have you eaten?"

Qin San Lang shook his head: "Not yet."

He purposely waited for her to wake up so they could eat together.

Upon hearing this, Gu Jinli served him a bowl of noodles, "Eat up."

Qin San Lang smiled and accepted the noodles, eating them in large mouthfuls. Before long, he finished three bowls and two eggs before stopping.

After Gu Jinli filled herself, she rinsed her mouth and shared her suspicions about Lord Lai: "That Lord Lai treats Gu Youwen and the others too well, only descendants of benefactors, yet he helps them with daily living and provides official positions. When something happened to Gu Youwen, he was even more agitated than Elder Gu, acting as if his own son was paralyzed..."

At this point, Gu Jinli paused, suddenly recalling that Granny Gu was literate and seemed to have worked as a maid in a large household before marrying into the Yuan Family.

The Yuan Family was the family of Granny Gu’s first husband and Gu Dagu’s father, who died early.

After the death of her surnamed Yuan first husband, Granny Gu remarried Elder Gu.

"Granny Gu’s maternal family is very mysterious. When the villagers mentioned her in childhood, they referred to her as the Yuan Family widow. I strongly suspect she had no real maternal family and was but a maid from that wealthy household." Gu Jinli pondered for a while and finally said, "That large household might have been the Lai Family, and Granny Gu probably knew Lord Lai long ago, possibly having some melodramatic history between them."

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense, would it?

Who in this world is so compassionate as to treat descendants of benefactors like their own sons?

Qin San Lang also thought Lord Lai’s treatment of Gu Youwen and the others was excessive. Upon hearing her, he said, "I will instruct You An and the others to investigate Granny Gu’s past. But this matter will be tough to investigate due to the age."

Both Granny Gu and Lord Lai were approaching sixty, making it hard to uncover their youthful affairs.

Gu Jinli also realized the difficulty and said, "Just investigate to the best extent possible. If nothing surfaces, I have other ways to deal with them."

Qin San Lang, looking at her smiling profile, did not want to disappoint her and promised, "Even if it’s difficult, I’ll ensure You An and the others find out. It’d be good practice for them for future tasks."

Holding a cup of tea, Gu Jinli took a sip and said, "Don’t push them too hard. They’re younger than you."

Qin San Lang laughed, "Training is best while they’re young. It’s hard to teach once they’re older."

As he spoke, he took away her tea, handing her a cup of warm sugar water, "Drink this instead."

Lake tea is cold and unsuited for young ladies.

He had cared for her before, so Gu Jinli didn’t mind and took the warm sugar water. However, Qin San Lang drained the lake tea she had drunk. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Gu Jinli: "..."

Seeing her dazed, Qin San Lang looked at her and laughed, "What’s got you spellbound? I don’t mind, drinking from your cup isn’t a big deal."

Gu Jinli felt a flush on her face and inwardly cursed: "Rascal!"

...

Daqing and Erqing handled their task quite well, with Daqing reporting on the evening of the second day: "Gu Chengxian has caved. It’s the handiwork of Qian Guangzong and his sons."