Chapter 681 - 680: Drunken Words
On the way here, Huangfu Yuxuan discreetly expressed that he sincerely considered the future of Haotian Village, hoping every person under Haotian had a promising future.
Then he promised Gu Hongxin an even brighter future.
Of course, his words were even more cryptic.
However, Gu Hongxin is not Hua Yuanming; Hua Yuanming is much coarser, and if Huangfu Yuxuan hinted, he might not understand, but Gu Hongxin understood immediately.
Light ignited in his eyes.
Yes, Huangfu Yuxuan is an Imperial Grandson, and his father had even been a Crown Prince.
Among the Emperor’s sons, there will definitely be one who becomes the next Emperor, and if the sons prove useless, then the Grandsons will certainly be promoted.
This Young Master Xuan has great ambition, and seeing his demeanor, he has long been plotting. If he follows Young Master Xuan, that will be the achievements of following a dragon in the future.
Isn’t that a glorious future for raising children and securing a title? That’s simply a straight path to great success!
Gu Hongxin almost made up his mind instantly that he would not disappoint Young Master Xuan’s favor. Young Master Xuan placed him in the Capital Guard, obviously with profound intentions, and he must serve well. With his skills, the rise would definitely be quick; then he would become someone Young Master Xuan relies on.
Of course, his strength alone is not enough, but he is from Haotian Village.
Everyone in Haotian Village has real abilities, and though they and Hua Yuanming are only Third Class Captains now, in terms of skills and abilities in the Capital Guard, even the Commander of the Capital Guard might not be their match, right?
The village has more than five hundred brothers, and the Village Chief sternly supervises their training daily; everyone has excellent skills, each capable individually, not inferior to those in the Capital Guard.
Such power, Young Master Xuan could certainly use it.
Moreover, he feels obliged to remind Brother Xia that Wenjin and Young Master Xuan’s marriage must be expedited. How can Wenjin be allowed to whimsically consider escaping from the wedding and seemingly want to dissolve the engagement?
Later when Young Master Xuan achieves great success, won’t Wenjin become the Empress? Such good fortune should not go to others.
Gu Hongxin is strategic, and certainly won’t approach things directly, so he persistently offered drinks, and only after three rounds did he attempt to probe the others’ intentions.
Hu Zeqi laughed, saying: "We are all from Haotian Village; naturally, we follow the orders of the Village Chief. As long as the Village Chief agrees, changing posts to become colleagues wouldn’t be bad for us brothers!"
Zhuo Pengju also laughed: "Right, with a word from Big Brother, we’ll go wherever the wind and rain take us, no questions asked!"
Gu Hongxin poured another round of drinks, saying: "Having spent half a year in the Capital City as elder brother, life in the city really differs from the village. Changing our way of living wouldn’t be a bad idea either."
Zhuo Pengju nodded, drank, but said nothing.
Gu Hongxin continued: "Moreover, Young Master Xuan is not an outsider; he is the son-in-law of Haotian Village. His sincere efforts in planning for us, we shouldn’t disregard his intentions."
Zhuo Pengju said: "Wenjin has escaped the marriage; the wedding did not happen!"
"It’s just a matter of time!" Gu Hongxin hiccuped from the drink and said: "Young Master Xuan, a man of great wealth and nobility, being engaged with Wenjin is akin to a divine decree; such mandated matters are destined to succeed. To be frank, Wenjin is actually aiming high."
Zhuo Pengju frowned, saying: "Third Brother, you are drunk!"
Gu Hongxin realized the remark was inappropriate and quickly tapped his mouth lightly, saying: "See, I’ve drunk too much, speaking without reservation, luckily we are among brothers! Brothers, actually my words come from the heart. Why are we Jianghu people? Why did we join Haotian Village? Isn’t it to fulfill our ambitions? Previously, why didn’t we pursue official positions? Was it because we didn’t want to? No, we wanted to, but merely wanting was futile. The Court excessively emphasized lineage in selecting and employing officials, and entering the military required seven or eight years before one could hope for advancement. But now it is different; now we have Young Master Xuan, here is an open door for us, don’t you agree?"
Zhuo Pengju laughed, saying: "Third Brother brings up the old topic again, weren’t we supposed to wait for Big Brother to return and decide?"
Gu Hongxin shook his head, saying: "Big Brother won’t disagree; you didn’t see my and your Second Brother’s situation—it was Big Brother’s permission. There’s no reason Big Brother would allow us to enter officialdom but not permit you two. Big Brother keeps the brothers in his heart, and we brothers must keep him in our hearts. Big Brother is away for ancestor worship but will return in a few days. When he returns, we will persuade him together. With Big Brother’s skills, being Young Master Xuan’s father-in-law, his official rank will surely exceed ours; then we can all stay together as in the village, which is quite good!"
The three of Zhuo Pengju laughed and agreed, saying: "Yes, yes, yes!" Gu Hongxin was speaking drunk words again; there’s no point arguing with a drunk.
Gu Hongxin cheerfully said: "Brothers are all understanding! Besides, let me tell you, Young Master Xuan is not an ordinary person, and wealth is limitless in the future. Wenjin is still a bit young and doesn’t understand these, running away from marriage, making a good engagement such a mess. You ought to counsel her as well. We all watched Wenjin grow up and wish the best for her. Young Master Xuan, with his character and family background, rarely does he overlook our Jianghu origins; Wenjin shall not continue to be prideful, otherwise, once missing this opportunity, it won’t come again!"
After his words, Zhuo Pengju wasn’t sure how to respond, so he poured another cup of wine, saying: "Third Brother, drink wine, drink wine, let’s discuss these matters later."
Gu Hongxin was not pleased and said: "Old Four, give your honest opinion; don’t you agree Young Master Xuan is the best among people? Who can compare to him? Such good conditions; it’s a wonderful thing for Wenjin to marry him, don’t you agree?"
Huangfu Jingchen arrived at Xia Mansion, noticing the lights, assuming Xia Wanqing was home. Busy as he was, he hadn’t passed by Xia Wenjin nor had in-depth talks, and naturally did not know about Xia Wanqing acknowledging family relationships nor that he had left the capital for ancestor worship.
Thinking about Xia Wanqing’s dislike, if he found out Jingchen appeared at Xia Mansion to meet Wenjin late at night, it might lead to misunderstanding. Therefore, he slowed his pace, lowered his posture, and nearly clung to the tiles, advancing along the shadows on the rooftop, planning to quietly sneak into the backyard to speak with Wenjin.
But upon crossing the courtyard wall and advancing in the shadows, he happened to hear conversations below; he didn’t recognize anyone, but seeing them openly eating and drinking in the hall, he guessed they were from Haotian Village.
He didn’t hear Xia Wanqing’s voice and wasn’t surprised.
Initially, he didn’t intend to intervene, yet the more Gu Hongxin spoke, the more excessive it got, and it sounded as though the people at the table were all elders to Xia Wenjin.
Typically being a patient person, but when it concerned Xia Wenjin, how could he endure? He chimed in: "So, this esteemed predecessor ’s belief is that as long as conditions and origins are excellent, there’s no need to heed Wenjin’s own wishes?"