Unrepentant

Chapter 18:As it turned out, this was a secret everyone knew of

After Wànshùn Year 41, the two of them did not meet again. Gu Hong Jian finally began a very small business, opening a small store selling 'Four Treasures of the Study.'1 This was purely a hobby of hers that she did in her free time between study sessions. She did not earn much, but it was better than nothing.

Actually, Gu Hong Jian was not short of money.

Although she and Lin Si Ze's relationship was still very stiff, and despite neither seeing nor contacting each other, Jiang Hai Fu contacted her intermittently the entire time. Every month, Jiang Hai Fu would send a little palace eunuch to go to Gu Hong Jian's residence to deliver letters and receive others to deliver.

Jiang Hai Fu could read, and his penmanship was not bad either. His literary talent was decent too, so Gu Hong Jian, each cycle, would receive headache-inducing voluminous letters——writing so much each month, where did he come up with so many things to write?!

Usually within the letters, there would be a report all about Lin Si Ze—concerning any matter regardless of size, including his clothing, food, housing, transport, and other basic needs. A small matter such as Lin Si Ze feeling unwell or not having a good night's rest to a large matter such as which old state official was inappropriately scheming—everything was reported to Gu Hong Jian.

Gu Hong Jian actually replied to these letters, but contrary to Jiang Hai Fu's incredibly lengthy letters, her replies were simple to the point of being horrific. It was normally only five words: How does this concern me?

Jiang Hai Fu, however, never fell to Gu Hong Jian's indifference. He even sent a letter a month—sometimes two letters—regardless of the weather conditions.

As usual, Lin Si Ze's ascension to the throne meant amnesty for the entire country. The dying first prince and previously imprisoned third prince were set free, on the conditions of being reduced to commoner status as well as being forever barred from entering the capital. Imperial Tutor Yao was executed that night as well as all of his relatives. Regretfully, the one Lin Si Ze wanted to eliminate the most, Yao Tian Ao, had unexpectedly not been captured, having escaped long ago. Although the arrest orders had been issued for quite a while, his whereabouts were still unknown to this day.

The first prince and third prince, reduced to commoners, were soon discontent with their lot in life and once again began to plot.

These matters were all told to Gu Hong Jian by Jiang Hai Fu. To the contrary, Gu Hong Jian was not worried; after all, if Jiang Hai Fu knew, then Lin Si Ze definitely had an even clearer understanding about all this.

Only after Jiang Hai Fu informed Gu Hong Jian about how the first prince and third prince unexpectedly organized and established an evil cult in the south did she become slightly concerned.

In the south, the evil cult of the Luminous Religion was founded during a drought to incite revolts amongst the peasants, but because the drought did not last for very long, the religious cult did not have time to expand. The followers more or less scattered. Regardless of where the cultists fled to, they were very quickly suppressed in that region until the cult gradually vanished without a trace.

Although it was never specified how the first prince and third prince were connected to the cult, the third prince and first prince were connected, and their intentions were clearly visible in this scheme.

Consequently, Gu Hong Jian's rare reply of 'how does this concern me' changed into 'how does he intend to handle this.'

Probably because he finally received a reply other than 'how does this concern me,' Jiang Hai Fu sent word with a little palace eunuch the next day.