Chapter 118

Chapter 118

"Can it be repaired?"

"It can be repaired from the inside, but the coordinates indicate that the external part can only be fixed by local human effort, otherwise it will remain damaged."

"Then what's the use of repairing it?"

"Before he left, Lin Ge'er intentionally used stones to cover the damaged area of the space compartment wall that was exposed."

"In other words, apart from Lin Ge'er, no one else knows that the hole outside leads to my third space compartment?"

"If no one moves those stones in the future and discovers the damage, it will remain unrepaired."

"Then why are we still talking nonsense? Repair it!"

"Repairing the space compartment wall requires the consumption of one hundred points. Does the host agree to the deduction?"

Two options appeared in front of Gu Ran: "Yes" "No"

She had a feeling that the Gulu system proposing the repair wasn't going to be good news.

Reluctantly, Gu Ran pressed "Yes."

Hearing the sound of the points being deducted by the Gulu system, she watched as the hole in the cabinet slowly disappeared, but the cabinet she had moved in still had a fist-sized hole.

She would have to find Master Huang to repair it after returning.

Three days after the third space compartment was repaired, the official ship they were on arrived at the last seaport, completing a voyage that had lasted over two months.

By mid-March, the northern regions were already warming up. As they traveled to the capital by carriage, they could see lush greenery everywhere.

Gu Ran and Pei Sixth Lady were sitting in the same carriage, and she let out a long sigh.

How refreshing!

While it was pleasant to stay in the third space compartment with someone to chat with, nothing beat the fresh air outside!

The scenery along the way was also beautiful.

As Gu Ran squinted her eyes to enjoy the scenery, Xiaodouhua, who had been in Pei Sixth Lady's arms, jumped onto her knee and meowed for some affection.

Gu Ran hugged Xiaodouhua with one hand and turned to Pei Sixth Lady. "Sixth Miss, have you ever been to the capital?"

Pei Sixth Lady gently shook her head.

"Ah, I was just about to say I haven't been here either," Gu Ran began, but then quickly remembered—no, the original owner was born and raised in the capital. How could she say she had never been here before? She corrected herself, "It's been a long time since I last returned, things have changed, and I'm afraid I can't even remember what the capital looks like!"

So when we arrive in the capital, don't be surprised if I seem like a fish out of water.

"It's alright, if you don't remember, then you don't. It's not a big deal!" said Pei Sixth Lady.

However, Lord Hang considered it a significant matter.

When he was first invited to Dunzi Island to reward the heroes who had defeated the Heaven Rank First bandit group, he already knew about Gu Erniang's identity.

She was the second daughter of the Ningyuan Marquis family, who had once been married to the fourth lady of the Qin family.

Even though Gu Erniang had just finalized her divorce from the Fourth Master of the Qin family upon arriving in Min Prefecture, her status as a member of the Ningyuan Marquis family, specifically as the second daughter, remained intact.

Though Gu Erniang wasn’t the Marquis’s biological daughter, she was formally adopted by the Marquis and his wife. Despite her exile, the Ningyuan Marquis family had not publicly disowned her.

Therefore, Gu Erniang’s status should still be valid.

This was also why Magistrate Hang was courteous to Gu Erniang throughout the journey back to the capital with General Qiao, and did not outright refuse when she requested additional personnel.

After passing through the thorough inspections at the city gates and entering the capital’s streets through the magnificent walls, Magistrate Hang immediately inquired about Gu Ran’s arrangements: “I need to arrange for General Qiao to enter the palace immediately. You should have my overseer find accommodations at my separate residence and wait for good news. Gu Erniang, would you like an escort to take you back to the Ningyuan Marquis family?”

Gu Ran was startled, and everyone else looked at her.

Shen Erlang, who had been slow to catch on, finally realized: “Oh, it’s true that Gu Erniang is said to be the second daughter of the Ningyuan Marquis family, right?”

“No need. I haven’t been in contact with the Ningyuan Marquis family for many years, and we are not close,” Gu Ran shook her head and said, “Please arrange accommodations for me and Sixth Miss as well, Magistrate Hang.”

“Very well,” Magistrate Hang nodded with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

“Second Miss!” Qiao An looked at Gu Erniang, then at the others who had accompanied him to the capital, clutching the Xiaojinhua in his arms and stroking it repeatedly: “Wait patiently. I’ll be out of the palace soon.”

“Of course,” Gu Ran and the others nodded.

“Grandpa Qiao, we’ll wait for your good news.”

Qiao An nodded and followed Magistrate Hang into another carriage.

Gu Ran and the others followed the overseer brought by Magistrate Hang’s men to the separate residence as instructed.

Along the way, hearing Shen Erlang’s exclamations from the carriage behind, Gu Ran coughed repeatedly, barely maintaining her composure. She stole a glance as Pei Sixth Miss lifted the curtain to reveal the capital’s wide streets, towering buildings, and elegantly dressed crowds, barely suppressing a gasp of amazement.

Keep it together, keep it together!

She was a native of the capital, not some country bumpkin who had never seen the world!

“Second Miss!”

“Yes?”

“Is this your hometown?”

Gu Ran nodded with feigned calmness.

“It’s wonderful!”

Such a magnificent capital, so much more prosperous than Jian Prefecture!

Her memories of the capital had grown hazy, and even now that she had returned, she could find no trace of her past life here.

“It’s a mixed bag!” Gu Ran could neither refute nor fully agree, giving a noncommittal answer.

Pei Sixth Miss withdrew her gaze from outside and looked at Gu Ran.

Gu Ran spoke frankly: “As you know about my background, being the lady of the Marquis family and having lived a life of wealth and comfort was indeed good. However, being raised by the wrong family and unable to acknowledge my real parents, even though they were so close, was certainly not good. Later on...”

The original owner thought she had a good marriage, but it turned out to be a disaster. She was even exiled to Min Prefecture, where she died halfway from illness and grief. That was even worse.

“But fortunately, after being exiled, I came to terms with it. I no longer dwelled on it like before and had the courage to do what I wanted, and I succeeded.” So, the Gu Erniang spoken of in the capital’s households now had a different personality and way of handling things compared to me. Don’t be surprised!

“Also, fortunately, I got to know you, Sixth Miss, and Li Ji, Old Man Li, Head Wu, and many others. In the past, with my status as the second daughter of the Ningyuan Marquis family and the prestige of being the fourth wife of the Qin family, I would have looked down on all of you.”

Pei Six smiled faintly.

"So, you know, when someone goes through enough hardship, they really do change." Gu Ran preemptively warned Pei Six with a smile, asking, "Right, Six?"

Pei Six nodded, thinking of herself.

Of course, suffering too much really does change a person, hadn't she experienced the same?

Seeing that Pei Six didn’t overthink, Gu Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

The residence prepared for them by Governor Hang wasn’t very large, a two-compound residence. According to the overseer, Governor Hang had rented this place early last year for the period he would be in the capital for his duty report.

Come to think of it, during the years Governor Hang served as prefect in Jianzhou, it coincided with the time when the Heaven Rank First bandit group was rampant in Jianzhou, and also the time when the remnants of the Heaven Rank First bandit group were repeatedly wiped out. By the end of last year, Gu Ran and her team also wiped out a major group of these bandits. Now, with General Qiao found, it seemed certain that Governor Hang’s promotion was secure.

Perhaps this was also the reason Governor Hang dared to rent a large residence in the capital—if he stayed in the capital, this residence would naturally be very useful.

Gu Ran and Pei Six were settled in the inner courtyard, in adjacent rooms.

With a place to stay, all that was left was to wait.

Wait for the outcome of Governor Hang and General Qiao’s audience with the emperor, wait for the news of General Qiao getting his name cleared, wait for General Qiao to clear the names of those who had died unjustly.

They also waited for the rewards from the emperor for those who had helped rescue General Qiao and contributed greatly to the elimination of the Heaven Rank First bandit group.

Of course, these were things that could only happen after General Qiao and Governor Hang had their audience with the emperor, so there was no rush.

After resting up from the long journey, Gu Ran, ready to explore, persuaded Pei Six to go shopping.

The original owner had been familiar with the capital, but not her. Since she had come to the great Sheng Dynasty’s capital, how could she not take a look around?

Coincidentally, Pei Six also wanted to visit her birthplace after so long and readily agreed.

When they reached the courtyard entrance, they found that Li Ji and Shen Laoye and his son also had the same plan, so they invited each other to go together.

Their residence was in the outer city, so they planned to take a look around the neighborhood first.

Unexpectedly, not long after they stepped out, as they walked along, they heard the people on the streets of the capital discussing excitedly and joyfully, "Did you hear? General Qiao has been found!"

"Really, it is said that the prefect of Jianzhou brought him back."

"That’s right, I also heard from my grandson, who works as a servant in Lord Meng’s mansion, that this morning during the imperial court, the emperor’s top priority was to restore General Qiao’s innocence and reward him with gold and a higher rank."

"It’s posted outside the imperial palace, many people have gone to see it. Even if you can’t read, there are people who will read it out loud for you!"

"Let’s go see it too."

"Thank goodness, General Qiao is alive!"

"Exactly, a general is indeed a general, heaven would never allow such a formidable general to die unjustly."

"Damn that Du Jiang, if we had known General Qiao was still alive, we should have waited until now to execute him publicly, so General Qiao could have had his revenge."

"Let’s go see, maybe we’ll even catch a glimpse of General Qiao coming out of the palace!"

...

So, after entering the palace yesterday, General Qiao’s identity was confirmed today?

The efficiency was indeed fast.

"Should we go check it out?"

She also wanted to see it for herself at the gate of the imperial city.

"Alright." Just as Gu Ran and the others were about to walk forward with the excited and noisy crowd, Overseer Hang drove up urgently in a carriage: "Miss Gu, Miss Pei, and everyone, wait! Wait!"

"Overseer Hang, what's the matter?"

"Hey, nothing's wrong, it's great news!" Overseer Hang jumped down from the carriage, took a deep breath, and then said, "Just now, someone from the palace came and asked everyone to go to the palace to meet the emperor!"

Everyone was shocked, and Shen Er Lang, overwhelmed with surprise, started shouting in shock, "Ahhhh!" despite Shen Laoye's embarrassed attempt to cover his mouth.

Meeting the emperor in person was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most people, maybe even a three-lifetime opportunity.

No wonder Shen Er Lang was shouting; even Gu Ran, who had lived two lives, felt like joining in. But she forced herself to stay calm. She was a native of the capital, after all, and had been the Second Miss of the Ningyuan Marquis family, who was close to the emperor. She had frequently entered the palace to see the empress and empress dowager. What grand scene hadn't she witnessed?

Li Ji and Shen Laoye were also delighted and were about to board the carriage sent by Overseer Hang when Pei Sixth Miss paused and looked at Gu Ran. "Erniang, you all go to the palace, but I won't."

Hearing Pei Sixth Miss say this, everyone's joy was halved.

"Why not go?" Gu Ran asked, puzzled.

"You all and I… we have different statuses."

In fact, Pei Sixth Miss was concerned about the identity she was currently assuming.

She could meet others as Pei Sixth Miss, but going to the palace to see the emperor was another matter.

First, if she met the emperor as Pei Sixth Miss and others regained their true identities, she would be guilty of deceiving the emperor.

Second, having grown up in the Heaven Rank First bandit group, she had learned that the palace was a place full of sharp-eyed individuals. She could get along well with Gu Erniang, Li Ji, and the Shen family because they had not thought of her as a man, but the palace was different from the outside.

If she entered the palace, where the most perceptive people gathered, it wouldn't take long for someone to see through her disguise.

She wasn't willing to take that risk.

These were Pei Sixth Miss's real reasons for not wanting to go to the palace, but Gu Ran and Li Ji thought it was because, although Gu Ran had been implicated and wronged, Pei Sixth Miss had been part of the Heaven Rank First bandit group and had actually committed crimes.

"So, were you worried about this?" Gu Ran asked.

"But Sixth Miss, you've already been punished and even eliminated bandits to make up for your past. I believe the emperor won't mind," Gu Ran persuaded.

Pei Sixth Miss shook her head. "I just feel ashamed and have no face to meet the emperor."

Seeing that Pei Sixth Miss was insistent, everyone had no choice but to give up.

"Then Sixth Miss, you return to the separate residence and wait for us. We should be back soon."

Pei Sixth Miss nodded at Gu Ran and smiled. "Alright."

Gu Ran had to say goodbye to Pei Sixth Miss, feeling regretful and disappointed.

Sigh, such great news, why couldn't she share this moment with Sixth Miss?

After all, meeting the emperor was like meeting the head of state in her first life or meeting an immortal elder in her second life—a very solemn event.

In her first life, she never had the chance to meet the head of state because she was just an ordinary person. And in her second life, she wasn't qualified to meet the immortal elders either, since she was just an average talisman master who struggled to reach the qi cultivation stage until her forties, let alone meet the human emperor.

Now, in the Great Sheng Dynasty, I actually have the chance to have an audience with Your Majesty?

What incredible luck!

Gu Ran, you've really come a long way!

For a moment, Gu Ran felt dizzy, constantly telling herself in her mind: "Stay calm, stay calm!"

But even when she managed to stay composed, her legs were still trembling slightly when she knelt before the reigning Empress in the palace. The opulence of the palace, with its gold and jewels gleaming, left her feeling dazed and overwhelmed. She could barely recall what the Empress and General Qiao had said or asked, responding mechanically with "yes" or "no."

After being seated, she gradually regained her composure and finally calmed down enough to quietly listen to the conversation between the Empress on the imperial throne in the study and General Qiao.

The Empress was asking General Qiao about the identities of those he had brought for the audience.

After going through the questions once and learning that Pei Sixth Lady had not come due to concerns over her past crimes and fear of offending the Empress, the Empress did not say much.

Finally, the Empress called for a court eunuch and prepared to bestow rewards upon them. At this, Li Ji and the Shen family kneeled again.

Li Ji's purpose in coming to the capital with General Qiao was clear, and although Lord Shen did not say it explicitly, Gu Ran had already guessed their motivation for insisting on coming to the capital.

"Your Majesty, this commoner Li Ji asks for nothing but for Your Majesty to reopen the case of my wrongful conviction for the murder of a suspect and clear my name."

"Your Majesty, this commoner Shen Huaixun! I was ostracized by the clan for testifying against the crimes of the Suzhou Shen family. For years, I have lived in exile and almost fell victim to the assassins of the Heaven Rank First bandit group. I beg Your Majesty to clear my name and ensure that my family no longer lives in fear and displacement."

The Empress, seeing the three kneeling before her, turned serious and glanced at General Qiao. "Qiao An, it seems those you brought into the palace all have grievances?"

Qiao An rose and bowed to the Empress. "I did not expect that my savior had such complicated circumstances. However, since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have issued decrees to ensure clean governance and ordered local governments to thoroughly investigate wrongful convictions. If their grievances are true, wouldn't it mean that some officials have been disregarding Your Majesty's benevolent love for the people and dared to defy the imperial authority?"

The Empress snorted coldly.

"Your Majesty!"

"Please, Your Majesty, clear our names."

"Enough. Since I said I would reward you greatly, I will not let you suffer any more injustice. Considering your bravery in eliminating the Heaven Rank First bandit group and saving General Qiao, your requests are granted."

"This commoner, I thank Your Majesty for your benevolent decree." Li Ji and the Shen family were overjoyed.

When the Empress's gaze finally fell on Gu Ran, who had been quietly observing, Gu Ran's heart skipped a beat: "It's my turn!"

"What about you, Gu Erniang, do you have any grievances to present?"

"In response to Your Majesty, this humble subject has no grievances to present. I will be happy with whatever reward Your Majesty bestows."

On the way to the palace, they had been warned not to act recklessly in front of the Empress, and some basic court etiquette had been taught. However, Gu Ran also recalled many rules from the original owner's memories, so she answered honestly.

The Empress chuckled. "I heard that you were originally the Second Lady of the Ningyuan Marquis family?"

"In response to Your Majesty, although I am not of the Ningyuan Marquis family bloodline, the Ningyuan Marquis family is like my benefactor. However, after marrying into the Qin Prime Minister's family, I cut ties with the Ningyuan Marquis family to protect them from any potential fallout. I am no longer the Second Lady Gu of the Ningyuan Marquis family."

She was not the original owner and did not want to have any further association with the Ningyuan Marquis family, lest someone familiar with the original owner would recognize her as an impostor.

It was better to cut ties herself and declare that she no longer had any connection with the Ningyuan Marquis family.

In any case, the fact that the Ningyuan Marquis family had not looked after the original owner after the incident could be verified by anyone, so it would not count as deceiving the Empress.

Moreover, the Ningyuan Marquis family probably would not casually acknowledge her again, considering how they had not inquired about the original owner during her years of exile in Min Prefecture. If they were to acknowledge her now, it would only highlight their neglect of her during her time of need.

"Oh, is this matter true?"

"It is true."

"Then why haven't I heard the Ningyuan Marquis mention this matter in the capital all these years?"

"I am afraid the Ningyuan Marquis was considerate of my difficult situation and found it inconvenient to bring it up," Gu Ran replied. "Since I am not of the Ningyuan Marquis family's bloodline, I also did not wish to unjustly occupy the title of Miss of the Ningyuan Marquis family. If not for this fortuitous event of saving Grandfather Qiao, I would not have had any intention of returning to the capital."

"You are quite straightforward. I heard that you have divorced Qin Fourth as well?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I was originally of common birth and did not match the status of the Qin family. Although we maintained a respectful but distant relationship, I had already accompanied the Qin family to Min Prefecture. I did not wish to burden them further, hence the request for a divorce."

"But it seems that you have been doing quite well in Min Prefecture!"

From the tone of the Emperor, Gu Ran realized that he already knew about her affairs in Min Prefecture.

It seemed Minister Hang or General Qiao must have told him.

"Fortunately, I have a skill that allows me to make a living, and with the help of the village head and the villagers, I was able to establish myself in Min Prefecture."

"Your situation was mentioned briefly by Minister Hang, and General Qiao also spoke to me about you, Gu Erniang. You have accomplished something very few women in the world dare to do," the Emperor said, looking at Gu Ran. "A Miss, alone in a place of exile, managed to find a foothold and had the courage to purchase an island to cultivate oranges. That's quite an achievement."

"It is merely a means of livelihood, Your Majesty flatters me."

Before entering the palace, the etiquette official had instructed her not to look directly at the imperial face, so Gu Ran quickly lowered her head upon meeting the Emperor's gaze.

She hadn't seen clearly before, but this time she did: the Emperor has a striking and commanding presence. His crown shone brightly, and his imperial robes exuded a royal majesty that ordinary people dared not look upon directly.

This is the top leader of the Great Sheng Dynasty!

Quite impressive!

"It is also thanks to your plan to reclaim the wilderness on the island and your care for General Qiao that he was able to gradually regain his senses." The Emperor paused, then said, "The plan to eliminate the assassins was yours, and you deserve the most credit for saving General Qiao. I shall reward you with fifty taels of gold, one thousand taels of silver, a jade scepter, a pair of pearl ornaments, and two pieces of fine silk. How about that?"

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

Gu Ran was greatly delighted on the surface and even more so in her heart: I'm getting rich!

She hadn't expected to become wealthy in this second life of cultivation, but now, in the Great Sheng Dynasty, she had suddenly become rich!

The Emperor is truly generous!