Rebirth with my ex-husband

Chapter 98

Zheng Zhijing confessed to framing Xu Tongpan. He explained the cause of the incident and how he got away with it.

He was suspected by the judge Xu of colluding with bandits, so he took the initiative and had the bandits on the wanted list pretend to be arrested. After they identified the judge Xu, he used someone else's body and found death row prisoners to impersonate them.

The reason why Xu Tongpan pleaded guilty was that his entire family had been imprisoned, and Zheng Zhijing threatened the lives of his entire family.

Judge Xu knew that if he did not plead guilty, he would have a hard time getting out alive, so he decided to save his family's lives. Therefore, he could only plead guilty in tears and died with a stigma on his face.

Zheng Zhijing also admitted that it was his plan, and some yamen runners or people with some power were also involved because of his bribes.

When Zheng Zhijing was paraded through the streets, he was hit with countless rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs.

Zheng Zhijing was sentenced to be beheaded in the autumn, and his parents were exiled to the north.

Governor Wu knew that he had been at fault for negligence, and had already sent a self-criticism and a letter of resignation to the court.

What hit Wu Taishou the most was not the negligence, but the fact that he had misjudged the man. Not only did this man collude with bandits, he also framed an official of the imperial court, which ruined his reputation in his later years. More importantly, he had promised his beloved daughter to him.

Gu Shixing and Su Yun were also preparing to return to Jindu in the next two days, so the courtyard was filled with servants who were taking care of the formalities. They carried the prepared items to the front yard and placed them there so that they could be loaded onto the truck tomorrow.

People in the courtyard carrying or holding luggage filed out of the moon gate.

Su Yun warned, "Be careful. There are Lingchuan porcelains given by Aunt Qi in there. Don't damage them."

Gu Shixing came in from outside, glanced at the luggage that was coming out one after another, then turned his gaze to his wife in the yard.

After approaching, he asked jokingly: "Are you going to move the entire Lingchuan back?"

Su Yun glared at him and went into the house with him before explaining, "This is still considered a small amount. The nobles from Lingchuan knew that I was going back to Jindu, and they all sent me many gifts, which I accepted. The relatives in the clan knew that I would not accept gifts that were too expensive, so they only sent Lingchuan specialties for me to take back, and also asked me to bring many gifts to my mother."

Gu Shixing was slightly surprised: "Are they all gifts from them?"

Su Yun poured him a cup of warm tea and handed it to him: "That's not the case. I picked some of them this morning. After all, it's rare to come to Lingchuan, so it's not good not to bring some gifts back to the sisters in the mansion and the brothers and sisters of the Su family. My brother's little daughter has also prepared a lot."

Gu Shixing took the tea and chuckled, "You've thought of everything. If the gift is not enough, I'll go out with you this afternoon to choose."

Su Yun shook her head: "You still have some chores to deal with, so Aunt Qi and I will go."

At this point, Su Yun asked, "What did you say when you went to see Uncle Seven?"

Gu Shixing drank some tea and then said, "After interrogating Zheng Zhijing, we found out that he had been tipping off the gang of bandits that he was collaborating with for the past four years. Whenever there was a bandit suppression operation, they would inform them in advance and ask them to retreat. Although the bandits in Lingnan have restrained themselves in recent years, almost all the looting in Lingnan was done by this gang of bandits."

Hearing this, Su Yun frowned and said worriedly: "If we don't do anything, I'm afraid that in a few years, the bandits will become rampant again."

"Did Zheng Zhijing reveal where the bandits were hiding?"

Gu Shixing put down the cup and shook his head: "Those people got information from him, but they were also wary of him. Zheng Zhijing only knew the approximate location, not the exact location." After a pause, he continued: "This matter is not my responsibility. I have asked Uncle Qi to keep an eye on it. If he finds out where he is, I will immediately send people to eliminate him."

Although the current prefect has not yet stepped down, his heart is no longer in government affairs, so most of Lingchuan's affairs are now managed by Uncle Gu Qishu, the prefect.

Su Yun exhaled lightly: "But fortunately, Xu Tongpan was able to clear his name, and the Xu family members who were originally exiled can return to Lingchuan."

At this point, Su Yun asked, "How should Madam Zheng deal with this?"

She had been busy these past two days and hadn't asked him.

Gu Shixing said: "Before Zheng Zhijing confessed, he made a request not to implicate his wife. After thinking about it, I let her stay in the temple and not leave for ten years."

Su Yun sighed when he heard this, and felt very upset.

She took a step forward, put her hands through his waist, hugged him, and leaned close to his chest, sighing: "If Zheng Zhijing is not the kind of person with evil intentions, he is indeed a hard-to-find good man for Madam Zheng."

At this point, there was a lot of sighing in his tone: "No matter how big the storm is in the future, you can't push me away. We must advance and retreat together."

She believed in Gu Shixing's character, and he would not do something as conscienceless as Zheng Zhijing. But if faced with difficulties, he might make the same choice as Zheng Zhijing.

Gu Shixing hugged her, leaned against her hair, and whispered a promise to her: "Okay, we will advance and retreat together."

Hearing his yes, Su Yun breathed a sigh of relief and buried her head in his chest, breathing in his cool breath, feeling comfortable and at ease.

She seemed to be more and more attached to his unique scent.

In the evening, relatives held a farewell banquet. The welcoming banquet when the guests arrived was lively and joyful, but the farewell banquet when the guests left was a little more sad.

After all, they had been together in Lingchuan for more than a month and got along very well. Su Yun was naturally reluctant to leave, but all good things must come to an end, so they could only look forward to meeting again next time.

At the beginning of the next day at noon, the sun rose and the sky was clear.

There are many people welcoming you when you come, and there are many people seeing you off when you leave.

After bidding farewell to the enthusiastic people of Lingchuan, the carriage gradually disappeared from everyone's sight.

Only after it was out of sight did Su Yun lower the curtain and lean lightly on the shoulder of the man next to her.

Gu Shixing said nothing, just held her hand.

*

It would take them about five days to leave Lingchuan and reach the border of Lingnan. Outside Lingnan, there was a canyon of about ten miles.

As they entered the canyon, the carriage outside suddenly stopped. Gu Shixing, who was dozing off, opened his eyes. Hearing the sound of horse hooves coming from the side of the carriage, he blocked Su Yuan who was resting against her and lifted the curtain of a window on one side.

The secret guard beside the carriage whispered, "Prince, there seems to be something wrong with the birds and beasts nearby. They are too agitated."

Gu Shixing looked solemn and focused. He paused for a moment and ordered, "Send someone to the front and return along the original route to explore the way."

The secret guard nodded, then rode to the front and arranged for people to scout the way.

Su Yun also woke up. After hearing what they said, she got up from Gu Shixing's arms and said with a little worry: "What happened?"

Gu Shixing's secret guards have received rigorous training and are very sensitive to their surroundings. If they feel there is something wrong, it is likely to be the case.

Gu Shixing also lowered the curtains. Knowing that Su Yun was not someone who could be easily appeased, he said directly to her, "The birds and animals are restless. One possibility is that it is due to the weather or an earthquake. The other possibility is that there are too many people gathered in one place. But the sky is clear right now, and there are very few earthquakes in Lingchuan. The first possibility is almost ruled out."

Su Yun's expression instantly turned serious when he heard this: "So many people gathered... Could they be the bandits who colluded with Zheng Zhijing?!"

Gu Shixing looked serious, he had the same idea.

After a moment of silence, he said, "If they are really bandits, I'm afraid the road behind us will also be blocked. If there is any danger later, I will do my best to escort you away first."

Upon hearing this, Su Yun immediately grabbed his arm and frowned: "You said that we should advance and retreat together."

Gu Shixing patted her hand gently: "I know, if I escort you away, I won't have any worries."

After saying that, he asked her to sit in the carriage first, and he went out to arrange people to check the surrounding terrain to see if there was any way to retreat.

Before he went out, Su Yun grabbed his sleeve, and Gu Shixing turned around and looked at her.

Su Yun said: "You must remember what you promised me."

Gu Shixing smiled faintly, then nodded and responded in a gentle voice: "I won't forget it."

Only after getting his assurance again did Su Yun let go of his hand.

Gu Shixing got off the carriage and arranged for the secret guards to search for other ways out within a one-mile radius.

The canyon they were in had steep mountains on both sides and no way to climb, but if they looked carefully, they should be able to find a narrow path out of the canyon.

After a while, the secret guards who went to explore the way ahead and those who went to explore the way in the surrounding area came to Gu Shixing to report.

The secret guard who was exploring the way ahead said urgently: "Prince, there is an ambush ahead!"

As he was speaking, the scouts from behind also rode back on horseback: "Sir, there are people chasing us from behind, and they will be here in about half a minute!"

At this time, the ground was shaking slightly and the sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance.

The bandits in Lingnan had not made such a big move for a long time, but when he left Lingnan, they seemed to come out in full force. Their purpose could not be just for money.

Most of the bandits are capable of committing all kinds of evil, but due to the frequent crackdowns on bandits in recent years, he may have suffered a lot of humiliation, so this time he wants to capture him to negotiate terms with the court.

In just a moment, Gu Shixing had the answer. His face suddenly turned cold, and he asked the secret guard who was exploring the road within a mile with a serious face: "Have you found the narrow road?"

The man spoke very quickly, "There is a narrow road half a mile ahead that is covered by trees. Because it is narrow, carriages cannot pass through. Only one person can pass through."

Gu Shixing did not hesitate and said decisively: "Arrange two people to escort the women away, and then immediately find someone to come back for support!"

If everyone left, the bandits would be familiar with the terrain and would catch up and surround them in no time. By then, no one would be able to escape.

Su Yun heard Chu Yi's order from Gu Shixing, then got off the carriage, hurriedly walked to Gu Shixing, and asked, "What about you!?"

The situation was urgent, and Gu Shixing could not explain too much to her. He only said, "The bandits are targeting me. They probably want to capture me and negotiate with the court. They will not harm my life. But if you and the other maids are captured, the consequences will be disastrous. Hurry and leave first."

The bandits were plundering and committing all kinds of evil. If the women were captured, the consequences could be imagined.

After that, Gu Shixing looked at Xia Ke and ordered: "Take my wife away immediately!"

Xia Ke immediately pulled Su Yun along. Su Yun knew that if he stayed, he would be a burden and would also bring trouble to himself and others.

She bit her lip and said to him seriously, "Be careful and don't break your promise to me."

After saying that, he turned around and left quickly with Xia Ke, but he kept looking back at Gu Shixing. His eyes gradually became misty and his vision became misty.

Gu Shixing took a deep breath and turned around to prevent her from looking back.

When I looked back, she was gone.

The sound of horse hooves came from both sides. Gu Shixing took a long spear with a silver tip with a cold face, and then stood in the canyon, looking forward with sharp and cold eyes, and was on full alert with nearly a hundred guards and secret guards.

He could naturally go along, but the descendants of the Gu family would not abandon their subordinates and run away.

The Gu family's ancestral motto is to advance and retreat together.