Jin Zijin didn’t know why he appeared preoccupied today, and when he heard Gu Youyou’s words, he didn’t respond but seemed lost in his own thoughts.
Gu Youyou gave him a look and asked curiously, "What’s wrong with you?"
Jin Zijin snapped out of it, turned his head, and said, "Nothing. It’s not that Qin Changlin is generous; you deserve all of this. You’ve forgotten that you worked as a doctor in Jisheng Hall in Qingshui Town for so long and never took any silver."
Gu Youyou thought about it and it seemed to be the case.
She was used to being her own boss and never had the habit of counting her expenses, let alone paying herself a salary.
When she was at Jisheng Hall, she always had others do her shopping, and she just needed to say what she wanted. Reflecting on it, she really hadn’t taken any of the wages that were originally agreed upon.
"That’s quite generous of him, two thousand taels!"
Jin Zijin fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject, "They should be sending Abao over in these next couple of days, right?"
"Abao?" She had almost forgotten if he hadn’t mentioned it.
She truly was an irresponsible owner.
Lately, she had been busy trying to get Jisheng Hall up and running as soon as possible, and she was almost overwhelmed by the workload.
Gu Youyou nodded and said, "Once he arrives, you can take care of him. I need to take Banxia out tomorrow since it’s the season for harvesting herbs, and we’re going to the countryside."
The countryside had cheaper herbs to offer.
At night, once Gu Youyou had fallen deeply asleep, Jin Zijin suddenly sat up in bed.
He glanced at the peacefully sleeping Gu Youyou, got up, and in the blink of an eye, vanished from the room.
"You mean he’s come to Lingnan?"
The man in black said, "Yes, we tracked him all the way to the vicinity of Lingnan and then lost sight of him. I suspect he has entered Lingnan City. This is Yue Tingfang’s territory; we cannot conduct an overt search, and we also have to be cautious about how we act covertly. What do you think..."
Jin Zijin pondered for a moment then said, "I understand. Withdraw all our people from Lingnan City. Be careful not to let Yue Tingfang notice, and leave the rest to me."
The man in black nodded and said, "Sure, you be careful too. It’s not suitable for me to show my face in Lingnan. I’ll head back to the capital first, but I’ve left some men in Wangxian Town for you."
Watching the man in black disappear, Jin Zijin’s expression remained serious.
Qin Changlin had sent not just those items, but also a letter.
Gu Feng had died, Gu Sanbao had been imprisoned, and the family of Gu’s second brother had expelled Gu Sanbao’s wife, daughter, and son from the Gu Family, only giving them a deep-water lotus pond unsuitable for rice cultivation, and a patch of dry, barren land barely good for growing sweet potatoes and vegetables.
The family of three was now in a dire situation. Everyone knew about Gu Erya’s arranged marriage with Wang Shun, but after this incident, even the Wang Family wanted to call off the marriage.
Out of frustration, Meng Qiuju had jumped into the Qingshui River to commit suicide. Now, only Gu Erya and her little brother, Gu Sanbao, remained, living in their old thatched cottage, barely surviving.
Qin Changlin wrote to Gu Youyou, explaining that the vile acts were committed by Gu Sanbao, whose wife and children were totally unaware and merely suffered due to his wrongdoings.
Seeing the pitiful state of the two siblings, he inquired if Gu Youyou would be willing to help them. It just so happened that Jisheng Hall needed a female attendant.
Considering that Gu Sanbao had died from anger, and that even Gu Youyou’s parents had been murdered by him, Qin Changlin didn’t dare make the decision himself.
Whether to offer help was indeed a troublesome matter.
He couldn’t show the letter to Gu Youyou, yet he also knew what sort of person she was and didn’t feel right making the decision for her. To just leave the matter unresolved seemed inappropriate as well. Really, he’d never been so conflicted, not even over killing a person.