nycdaug Chapter 178: One Person Exclusively
Chapter 178: One Person Exclusively
Wang Qi didn't look at the other person. Instead, he turned to Zheng Hao with a respectful expression and asked cautiously, "May I ask if you are Lord Zheng?"
Zheng Hao did not respond, but Da Zhuo said, "Exactly!"
Thinking of how he had been caught bullying the young men by the supervising officer, Wang Qi suppressed his fear and forced a dry laugh, saying, "I never expected Lord Zheng to return to the city so early. The prefect even ordered me to go out of the city to welcome Lord Zheng."
Looking into the distance, ignoring the person in front of him, Zheng Hao exchanged a glance with the young man across the crowd. Gu Lin's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but when he met Zheng Hao's reassuring eyes, he gradually felt at ease.
Seeing that Uncle Gu was unharmed, Zheng Hao briefly looked away and then turned his gaze to Wang Qi.
"As a yamen runner, I should be fulfilling my duty to protect the safety of the people in the city. However, after seeing the villains riding horses in the street and nearly trampling a child to death, I did not immediately capture the villains, but continued to let them harm those who were trying to save the child. As an imperial censor, I must ask Prefect Ren and the sub-prefect how they govern Jibei Prefecture."
Wang Qi's vision went black.
He opened his mouth to explain, but the young master Li beside him seemed to be oblivious to the situation, and said disdainfully to the supervising officer: "The censor is just a minor official of the seventh rank, while my brother-in-law is a sixth-rank prefect. Do you think you can see my brother-in-law?"
Wang Qi's lips trembled as he thought he was about to be driven mad by the other party's nonsense. Although the Censor was a minor official of the seventh rank, he could reach the ears of the emperor. Not to mention the prefect, even the high-ranking officials in the capital had to be careful about their words and actions at all times to prevent the Censor from finding fault with them.
Feeling Lord Zheng's icy gaze fall upon him, Wang Qi gritted his teeth and said to the eldest young master of the Li family, "Stop talking!"
After being sternly warned by Wang Qi, and seeing his increasingly unpleasant expression, and then turning his head to look at the opposite side with a calm expression, and the head servant looking down at him with a hint of pity, the eldest young master of the Li family gradually sensed that something was wrong.
His heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the young man riding a tall horse not far away. Could it be that the other party was really the military supervisor?
Wang Qi forced a smile and said, "It was a misunderstanding that I offended my husband today. Please forgive me, Lord Zheng."
Seeing the group of constables surrounding Fulang with knives drawn, Da Zhu sneered. If it weren't for Chen Huwei and his group being there, and their timely arrival, there would probably have been bloodshed long ago.
Zheng Hao said in a calm tone: "Although I concurrently serve as the Censor, and have the responsibility to investigate official conduct and supervise all officials, I have no right to handle the affairs of Jibei Prefecture."
Upon hearing this, Wang Qi assumed that Lord Zheng was being considerate of Prefect Ren and unwilling to lower himself to argue with them.
Lord Zheng said, "The country has its laws. I will hand you over to the prefectural government so that Prefect Ren can punish you according to the law."
The relaxation that had not yet fully appeared on Wang Qi's face completely disappeared. Seeing Lord Zheng's indifferent expression, his body gradually grew cold.
The censor's evidence that they colluded with the eldest son of the Li family to oppress the people is tantamount to handing over the prefect's lax governance to Lord Zheng. If the prefect finds out, the eldest son of the Li family may escape punishment with the support of the vice prefect, while he will definitely be severely punished.
Zheng Hao rode his steed toward Gu Lin. At this moment, the eldest son of the Li family finally noticed the two soldiers following behind Zheng Hao.
His body trembled, and he swallowed hard, unsure whether to ask himself or Wang Qi, "Is he really the military supervisor?"
Before the military supervisor arrived in Jibei Prefecture, the prefect had warned the eldest son of the Li family not to be too high-profile recently. Facing his brother-in-law, who was more than 20 years older than his sister, the eldest son of the Li family did not dare to be presumptuous. He stayed at home for two or three days as advised. In the end, he could not stand it any longer. After hearing the news that the military supervisor had left the city and stayed in the military camp, the eldest son of the Li family went out again to call his friends.
Although he was unaware of the censor's identity, he understood the extent of the military supervisor's power. The eldest son of the Li family felt a wave of dizziness when he thought about how he had just offended the husband of the military supervisor.
Hearing Wang Qi pleading incessantly in his ear, he also wanted to beg for mercy, but he saw that the supervising officer had already dismounted and stood next to the young man with his back to them. He did not turn his head to look at them, and said indifferently, "Take them all to the prefectural government office and let Prefect Ren handle them impartially!"
"Yes!"
After Da Zhuo responded, he immediately ordered his men to escort the eldest son of the Li family and Wang Qi and his entourage of yamen runners. As a result, the people on the street witnessed an extremely strange scene: the officials and soldiers, who were usually dressed in official robes and acted arrogantly, were being escorted to the government office by a group of guards.
Having been some distance away from Gu Lin earlier, Zheng Hao could only judge whether the young man was injured based on his movements. Now, standing beside the young man, Zheng Hao slowly moved his gaze from Gu Lin's face to his midsection, chin, neck...
To outsiders, his behavior was very inappropriate. Even if the young man was his husband, he shouldn't have acted like that in public!
But considering the actions of the young master of the Li family and his entourage just now, they could understand. If this young man's husband hadn't also been an official, he probably would have suffered a loss today.
They can understand if a woman is anxious and worried about her husband.
Seeing the young man in front of him frown and his gaze move further down, Gu Lin felt strange, even though he knew the other man was concerned about him.
He pursed his lips slightly, trying to ignore the stares from pedestrians on both sides of the street, and said, "It's not convenient to talk here, let's go back first."
Many words were suppressed within him. Zheng Hao's gaze was deep and unfathomable. He recalled how, upon entering the bustling city, he had seen Uncle Gu being threatened with knives by a group of constables. His heart had nearly stopped. Those knives were not unsharpened; with a mere touch, the slender Uncle Gu would...
Thinking of this, a surge of violence and murderous intent arose in Zheng Hao's eyes, all directed at these yamen runners and the brother-in-law of the prefectural magistrate of Jibei.
Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly, concealing the violence in them. Seeing the persuasive look in Gu Lin's eyes, he said in a slightly lower voice, "Okay."
Chen, the guard, and his group followed Da Zhuo to the government office. Zheng Hao and the others rode into the city on tall horses. He mounted his horse and then looked down at Gu Lin below, saying, "Uncle Gu, mount your horse."
Although the tone was gentle, it was more like an announcement than a question.
Gu Lin's brow twitched. What kind of situation would it be for him and Zheng Hao to ride back on horseback in front of everyone?
But when he looked up at the other person, intending to refuse, he saw Zheng Hao's gloomy eyebrows and deep eyes. Gu Lin's intuition told him not to refuse the other person, otherwise the consequences would be more uncontrollable than he imagined.
The young man reached out his hand towards the young man. Gu Lin raised his hand, and when his palm was placed on the young man's hand, Zheng Hao pulled him up. In a flash, Gu Lin was sitting on the saddle, with a broad, warm chest against his back. A cool minty scent entered Gu Lin's nose.
A deep voice came from behind him. Zheng Hao said, "Uncle Gu, sit tight."
Gu Lin subconsciously tightened his grip on the reins in front of him, and Zheng Hao steered the horse forward, his body swaying slightly.
The two rode together on one horse. Along the way, the young man remained restrained and polite, never overstepping his bounds. He held the other man's long arms loosely around him, protecting him.
The bustling city was not far from the residence where Gu Lin and Zheng Hao were staying, and with the added comfort of riding horses, they arrived in no time.
Without dismounting outside the residence, Zheng Hao rode Gu Lin into the mansion, stopping only in the front yard.
Zheng Hao's slightly magnetic voice reached Gu Lin's ears: "Uncle Gu, be careful."
Before Gu Lin could react, he felt his body lighten and was lifted to the ground by the young man behind him. As soon as his feet touched the ground and he stood up, Zheng Hao dismounted.
After handing the horse to a servant to take away, Zheng Hao said to Gu Lin, "Uncle Gu, come with me."
Zheng Hao stepped into the front yard. Gu Lin paused, watching the young man's departing figure. He slowly realized that the other man seemed to be angry with him.
Gu Lin entered the front yard, where there were few servants. Gu Lin followed Zheng Hao into the house.
He thought that when he came in, Zheng Hao would first ask him why he had clashed with the eldest son of the Li family. Instead, the young man took a white porcelain bottle from the wooden shelf next to the desk and then turned to Gu Lin, who had just entered the room, and said, "Uncle Gu, take off your shoes and socks."
Gu Lin paused in his tracks.
Zheng Hao held up the white porcelain bottle in his hand and explained in a low voice, "This is a medicinal wine specifically for sprained ankles."
"I noticed that Uncle Gu was having difficulty walking earlier, so he must have accidentally twisted his ankle. Now, before the injury flares up, let's apply some medicine."
When Gu Lin rescued the child, he accidentally twisted his right ankle because the situation was too urgent. However, the injury was not serious and he only had a dull pain. He thought he had concealed it well, but Zheng Hao still saw through it.
He didn't seem to mind and politely declined, saying, "It's just a minor injury, it'll be fine in a few days, no need to make such a fuss."
It wasn't that he was wary of Zheng Hao, but Gu Lin felt a little uncomfortable doing something as intimate as applying medicine to someone's foot, no matter who the other person was.
It was truly unavoidable that Gu Lin needed to be cared for by Zhao's wife and Zheng Hao because of his cold and fever. Gu Lin was essentially a very independent person, and he didn't want to trouble others with anything he could do himself, let alone let others apply medicinal wine to him.
Hearing the young man's refusal, Zheng Hao remained unfazed. He walked towards Gu Lin, placed the white porcelain bottle on the table with a dull thud, and then looked at Gu Lin with his deep eyes, speaking again: "Uncle Gu, please take off your shoes and socks."
It appears respectful but is actually coercive.
Here we go again. Gu Lin frowned. Whenever there was something Zheng Hao wanted to do between the two of them, even if Gu Lin didn't agree, Zheng Hao would always find a way to achieve his goal.
Already displeased by his encounter with the eldest son of the Li family and Wang Qi and others today, Gu Lin felt a surge of anger upon seeing the other party's commanding tone, and his voice turned cold: "I said no, and that means no."
Gu Lin pursed his lips. What had he done to deserve this? He went out and ran into a bunch of scumbags, and now he had to watch Zheng Hao's face when he got back.
Seeing the young man's face darken, Zheng Hao sighed and his mind cleared. Why was he arguing with Uncle Gu? After living with him for so many years, didn't he know Uncle Gu's temperament?
Uncle Gu was kind-hearted by nature and couldn't bear to see people suffer, let alone watch a child be trampled to death by a horse in front of him. Besides, if the other party wasn't a kind person, why would they have willingly raised him for so many years? After that incident, no matter how harshly they scolded him, they were just all bark and no bite.
However, Zheng Hao's fingers twitched slightly under his sleeve. Uncle Gu's kindness was only meant for him. Uncle Gu couldn't bear to see others being bullied, and he couldn't bear to see Uncle Gu put himself in danger to save others.
He needs to climb up quickly and send more guards to protect Uncle Gu, so that those villains will avoid him when they see him from afar, and Uncle Gu will no longer be in danger.
With half of the darkness fading from his eyes, Zheng Hao's expression softened, and he lowered his dark eyes to look at the young man.
He lowered his voice and said, "I was too harsh. Uncle Gu, would you mind letting me take a look at the injury on your foot?"
Gu Lin is the type who responds better to gentleness than force. Besides, the young man hadn't done anything to him just now; he was just acting out of anger. Although Gu Lin didn't regret causing such a big scene outside today, seeing that the other party didn't blame him but instead cared about his injuries, and being coldly rejected by him, he was even less angry and apologized to him.
Gu Lin's anger subsided instantly. He pursed his lips, and his mind gradually cleared. At this moment, he realized that it was somewhat unreasonable for him to take his anger out on Zheng Hao.
Zheng Hao continued in a soft, gentle voice, with a hint of coaxing: "Uncle Gu, just let me know, okay?"
Knowing exactly what posture he needed to soften the heart of the young man before him, Zheng Hao was utterly shameless, behaving as if he were a teenager every time he angered Uncle Gu.
Gu Lin twitched his fingers, then slowly nodded.
He sat down at the table, and Zheng Hao picked up the white porcelain bottle, then knelt down in front of the young man: "Uncle Gu, don't move, let me help you take off your shoes and socks first."
As soon as Zheng Hao finished speaking, Gu Lin moved his legs slightly, but since it was inconvenient for him to take off his shoes and socks at the moment, he remained silent and let Zheng Hao do as he pleased.
Zheng Hao raised his hand and took off Gu Lin's shoes and socks, revealing his jade-like feet. He lowered his eyes slightly, his expression unchanged.
Uncapping the white porcelain bottle, Zheng Hao poured out the medicinal oil and rubbed it in his palms to warm it. He then lifted the young man's delicate and warm soles and placed them on his lap. The black trousers made Gu Lin's soles appear even whiter. As his hot palms caressed the skin of Gu Lin's ankle, Gu Lin's body tensed slightly. However, when the young man began to rub the sprained ankle, Gu Lin frowned. Everywhere Zheng Hao's palms touched, a sharp pain arose.
Noticing the change in Gu Lin's expression, Zheng Hao slightly reduced the force in his hands, but did not stop: "If the bruises are not rubbed out, they may flare up on rainy days in the future. If it hurts, Uncle Gu, you don't have to bear it. There's no one here."
Despite this, Gu Lin kept his brows furrowed, but never uttered a sound of pain.
After rubbing the injured area, Zheng Hao got up and went behind the screen to wash his hands. Gu Lin put on his shoes and socks, and then Zheng Hao came out.
After the time Zheng Hao spent applying the medicine to him, Gu Lin had calmed down.
He looked up at the young man in front of him and said, "I was taking my anger out on you just now..."
Before Gu Lin could finish speaking, Zheng Hao said, "Uncle Gu will never have to feel guilty."
Meeting the young man's dark eyes, Gu Lin heard Zheng Hao say, "I'm glad Uncle Gu can get angry with me."
Zheng Hao: "I am one with Uncle Gu. He can confide in me about anything, whether it is joy, anger, sorrow or happiness."
For Zheng Hao, he was different from others. He and Uncle Gu were one, and they were meant to grow old together. No matter how lively and cheerful or how unhappy and irritable the other was, Zheng Hao wanted to possess him all to himself.