Transmigrated into Substitute Bride ‘Fu Lang’

Transmigrated into Substitute Bride ‘Fu Lang’

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Chapter 10: 坦白

[To Confess]

Chen Xing had no idea what had happened to Lai Jiu after he had left.
He had been debating on how to tell Gu Lang about it all the way back to the Gu Family’s residence.
After all, this was the trouble he had caused and if Lai Jiu really found his way to the Gu Mansion, he was worried that it would involve Gu Lang and the others into the trouble.

 

Chen Xing thought that if it was really not possible, he would leave the area first to lie low until the storm was over.
However, he would not be able to return Gu Lang’s money for some time.

 

Chen Xing stepped through the gate of the Gu Mansion with anxiety and fear.
The first thing he saw was that the courtyard, which was usually overgrown with grass, had been mostly cleared and looked much emptier and spacious.

 

Chen Xing was stunned by the sight.
He looked at the person who suddenly emerged from the grass and fixed his eyes upon Qiu Jiu.

 

Qiu Jiu’s eyes lit up when he saw him.
He opened his mouth to say something to him.
After seeing Chen Xing’s somehow not in a good expression, the smile on his face paused for a moment and he asked, “Chen Xing, did you run into any trouble just now?”

 

Chen Xing looked at him with some hesitation, not knowing how to start and tell him about this matter.

 

Qiu Jiu looked at Chen Xing’s ‘find it too difficult to talk to’ look and smiled cheerfully, “If you have any difficulties, you can go and talk to my family’s Gong Zi.
My Gong Zi is very clever so he will definitely be able to help you out.”

 

Hearing him say this, Chen Xing finally had made a decision in his heart.
He nodded his head to Qiu Jiu, expressing that he would go and talk to Gu Lang.

 

Only after this was said, did Chen Xing have time to pay attention to the half-empty courtyard, looked at Qiu Jiu and asked, “Why are you suddenly cleaning up the courtyard?”

 

Qiu Jiu picked up the knife in his hand and waved it, with somewhat silly smile, “The rainy season is approaching, so if I don’t get rid of the grass in the yard, I’m afraid we’ll attract a lot of insects by then, so it’s would be better to cut it all.”

 

Chen Xing smiled and thought he had a point, then said, “I’ll help you do it later.”

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Qiu Jiu hastily refused and politely said, “No need, no need, I can do it alone.
You only need to cook properly.”

 

Seeing Qiu Jiu’s repeated refusals, Chen Xing did not insist and after bidding him farewell, he went to the study room.

 

It was only after Chen Xing left that the smile on Qiu Jiu’s face fell and he looked at the barren grass in front of him, said helplessly, “It seems that I will have to call them over to help me tomorrow.”

 

Chen Xing arrived in front of Gu Lang’s study room and caught a glimpse of a young man sitting in the study room reading a book through the window.
His eyebrows were picturesque (as distinct as a painting), his expression was calm and indifferent, even with the humble background behind him, he was still beautiful like a painting.

 

As if he noticed someone looking at him, Gu Lang raised his head and looked in the direction of his line of sight.
In the first glance, he saw Chen Xing who was smiling foolishly at him.
Gu Lang was stunned for a moment and smiled at Chen Xing.
His thin lips lightly parted as he asked indifferently, “Why are you standing outside and not coming in?”

 

Only then did Chen Xing realize that he had been standing outside the room.
He hit his head, a little annoyed and upset by his own action as he slowly walked into the study room under Gu Lang’s gaze and came in front of him.

 

Gu Lang’s gaze swept him from top to bottom without a trace and finally put his attention into his face as he said softly, “Do you have something you want to talk to me about?”

 

Chen Xing didn’t know how to tell him and said in a small awkward voice, “I got into a bit of trouble.”

 

Hearing that, Gu Lang put down the book in his hand and stared at him intently, as if he was ready to listen to his next words.

 

Chen Xing was getting more and more pressured by such a gaze, so he clenched his teeth and simply said it all, “I got into trouble with Master Lai’s son.”

 

Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing’s nervous look and his voice slowed down a little, “What? Isn’t he coming to mess with you? But you didn’t have time to dodge it!”

 

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Chen Xing was startled, met Gu Lang’s gaze and asked in surprise, “You already know?”

 

Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing’s excited look and said indifferently, “It’s just that I had heard about his son’s character for a long time, so I guessed it.
But in this case, it seems that I guessed it correctly.”

 

Hearing what he had said, Chen Xing dropped his head down and gloomily retell the events of the past two days.
At the end, he also told the story of how he had gone to spy on Lai Jiu and ended up hearing that they were coming to arrest him.

 

Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing’s worried expression, lowered his head and smiled.
His eyes, which were always gentle, seemed to be hiding a pool of deep spring.
He then said in a low voice: “It’s alright, I heard that the new County Magistrate is a parental official 1(a popular term for a county magistrate) who works for the people.
I’m sure he won’t let this scourge continue to ride roughshod over others and act like a tyrant.”

 

Hearing Gu Lang say this, Chen Xing was still a bit worried, “But I heard that Lai Shiye is quite powerful in this county town, even the county magistrate can’t do anything to him.”

 

At this point, although Chen Xing was a bit reluctant, he still told him his alternative solution, “If it really won’t do, I will leave here first and come back after some time.
It’s just that the money I owe you can’t be paid back for a short while.”

 

Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing’s apologetic face.
His face didn’t change much, he just smiled gently and comforted him, “It’s not that worrisome yet.
I’ll go to the county office tomorrow and see what the newly appointed county governor is like, then it’s not too late to plan for the rest after that.”

 

Chen Xing looked at him with a tangle in his eyes, as if he wanted to say something but could not.

 

But Gu Lang saw through his thoughts at once and asked without any hesitation, “Are you worried that I’ll be kicked out before I even get to see the county magistrate?”

 

Chen Xing nodded embarrassedly as Gu Lang exposed his mind.

 

Instead of getting angry, the smile on Gu Lang’s face grew bigger and bigger as he said in a soft voice towards Chen Xing, “Although I am not talented, I have passed the Juren 2[举人: in the Ming and Qing dynasties, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level (乡试)] examination, so even if I am not well received by the local officials, I will not be kicked out,so you can be at ease.”

 

Hearing Gu Lang say this, Chen Xing’s expression changed into amazement, he had originally heard that Gu Lang was just a downtrodden or in dire straits scholar and thought that he was just a tongsheng 3[童生 tongsheng: a scholar without a xiucai (秀才) degree], a candidate who had not yet passed the county level imperial exam.

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Looking at appearance, Gu Lang said softly, “Alright, it’s a deal then.
I will go to the county magistrate’s feudal office tomorrow and see what the county magistrate has in mind.
You should stay at home for the next few days, lest you meet Lai Jiu again.”

 

Seeing that Gu Lang had arranged everything clearly, Chen Xing’s originally nervous and tense mood suddenly relaxed.
He nodded repeatedly towards Gu Lang, responding obediently as he said, “Hn.”

 

Looking at Chen Xing’s bright smile, Gu Lang stunned for a moment and quickly averted his gaze again, shifting his eyes to the window and changing the subject, “It’s getting late, you, it’s time for you to go and prepare the dinner.”

 

Chen Xing didn’t think there was anything wrong with his words and after looking at the sky outside and realizing how late it was, he left hurriedly.

 

Just as Chen Xing was walking towards the kitchen while contemplating what to cook today, Qiu Jiu suddenly appeared from the side, startled him.

 

Qiu Jiu looked at Chen Xing who had been startled by him, then apologized to him.
He looked at his expression carefully and found out that the worry he had on his face just now had disappeared.
He secretly relieved in his heart, at the same time, he cheerfully took out the chicken he had hidden behind him, “Let’s eat this today!”

 

Chen Xing looked at the rooster in Qiu Jiu’s hand which weighed at least four or five catties and then looked at Qiu Jiu’s happy and excited appearance.
He seemed to want to ask something, but felt that it was not appropriate.

 

The good thing was Qiu Jiu on his own accord answered his confusion.
He looked at Chen Xing and said with some embarrassment, “This is the money I earned from doing odd jobs and since the season is about to change, I wanted to make something delicious for my family’s young master to nourish his body.”

 

Hearing that, Chen Xing nodded and then asked, “How would you like to eat this?”

 

Hearing Chen Xing ask like this, Qiu Jiu said loudly without any hesitation, “I want to eat the kind of hand-torn (shredded) chicken you mentioned the other day!”

 

When Chen Xing looked at Qiu Jiu’s excited look, he had some doubts as to whether Qiu Jiu had made this chicken because his young master wanted to eat it or because he wanted to eat it himself.
However, Chen Xing only thought about it in his heart but did not say anything and after taking the chicken from him, he silently went to the kitchen to cook it.

 

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Qiu Jiu looked at Chen Xing’s departing back and sighed, “There aren’t many people as simple as Chen Xing.” After sighing, he immediately went after him, wanting to help him cook it so that they could eat it quickly too.

 

That day Chen Xing give his best on it and made full use of the ingredients in the kitchen, cooking three dishes and a soup in addition to the shredded chicken, making a total of four dishes and a soup.
It was so delicious that in the end, apart from Gu Lang who always restrained himself, Chen Xing and Qiu Jiu both ate so much that they both feeling too full for a long time after the meal.

 

The next morning, after the three of them had breakfast together, Gu Lang told Chen Xing to properly stay at home, soon afterward he took Qiu Jiu and left the Gu residence to go to the county magistrate’s office to find out some information.

 

Chen Xing was left at home and had a rare leisure moment, wandered around the empty house several times before finally deciding to find something for himself to do.
First he went to the kitchen and found a small pumpkin, so he decided to make a steamed pumpkin cake.

 

During the day, Chen Xing noticed that although Gu Lang didn’t say anything, he would eat a little more every time there was sweet food to eat.
This pastry he made, Gu Lang would surely like it too.

 

With this goal in mind, Chen Xing wouldn’t think a lot about it any more, so he went to carry the pumpkin out with great enthusiasm, weighed the quantity and started to work on it.

 

Busy as he was, Chen Xing soon lost track of time, when he came back to his senses again, he found that it was almost dinner time, but Gu Lang and the others had not yet returned.

 

Just when Chen Xing was worried about Gu Lang, wondering when they would be back, Qiu Jiu ran in first followed by Gu Lang who was calm and composed behind him.

 

Chen Xing looked at how happy Qiu Jiu was, so he still at a bit loss, then he saw Gu Lang raised his eyes as he smile toward him and said, “You are very lucky, before I could say anything at the Yamen’4[衙门: Yamen, government office in feudal China]s office, I heard the news that the county magistrate had already collected the evidence of Master Lai’s guilt and arrested his whole family and was going to deal with them together in a few days.”

 

Hearing Gu Lang’s words, Chen Xing’s eyes slowly lit up as he said unbelievably, “All of them were arrested?”

 

Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing’s pleasantly surprised look and could understand why he was so happy.
He couldn’t help but follow and curl up the corner of his lips, “If nothing was missed, they should all be arrested.
If you want to see the condition with your own eyes, you can just go to the Yamen tomorrow.”

 

 

1(a popular term for a county magistrate)2[举人: in the Ming and Qing dynasties, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level (乡试)]3[童生 tongsheng: a scholar without a xiucai (秀才) degree]4[衙门: Yamen, government office in feudal China]