HCB Chapter 679: He was rewarded with a beating with a board and meat.
Chapter 679: He was rewarded with a beating with a board and meat.
Before dawn, the vermilion gate of the security escort agency was tightly closed, and the two stone lions at the entrance looked majestic in the morning light.
The three children huddled together on the stone steps by the door until the sky began to lighten and more people began to appear on the street. Then, the door of the security escort agency creaked open from the inside.
A sleepy-eyed bodyguard yawned as he walked out, saw the three little ones squatting at the door, and waved his hand impatiently.
"Go away, you wild child! This is not a place for you to beg for food!"
Gu Qingchen immediately flew into a rage. She jumped up, hands on her hips, her almond-shaped eyes wide: "Who are you calling a wild child! Open your dog eyes and see clearly!"
She threw a bundle on the ground, untied it, and the glittering gold jewelry and gleaming silver ingots almost blinded the镖师 (bodyguard/escort) in the morning light.
"You!" The bodyguard was startled by the scene.
Gu Qingchen raised his chin, his aura fierce: "My father is Duke Zhenguo, Gu Junze! If you dare to spout any more nonsense, I'll have my father tear down your lousy escort agency!"
The bodyguard's face turned pale instantly. Just as he was at a loss, a burly, composed middle-aged man walked out from inside.
"What's going on?" He glanced at the valuables on the ground, then swept his gaze over the sulking Gu Qingchen, before finally fixing his eyes on the silent Lin Jiayou.
"Chief镖头," the镖师 hurriedly stepped forward and stammered, "this young lady said she is from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
The head镖师 (chief镖师) cupped his hands in greeting to Gu Qingchen, becoming much more polite.
"So you are the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. My apologies for my rudeness. May I ask what goods you have to escort to our Weiyuan Escort Agency so early in the morning?"
Gu Qingchen pointed to Lin Jiayou behind him and said decisively, "Not delivering goods, but sending people! Send him to Chengdu!"
The head镖师 (chief镖师) was taken aback. The镖局 (镖局) traveled all over the country, escorting valuable goods. This was the first time they had ever spent so much money to escort a teenager.
He looked troubled: "Miss, this is probably against the rules..."
“What’s wrong with the rules!” Gu Qingchen took out another fifty-tael silver ingot from his bundle and slapped it into the chief镖头’s hand. “I’ll pay double!”
Looking at the silver in his hand, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) pondered.
Just then, they had a shipment to deliver, and the destination was only five miles from Chengdu.
With such generous compensation, it wouldn't be unreasonable to drop the child off at his destination after delivering the goods.
Thinking of this, he nodded: "Since Miss insists so much, our Weiyuan Escort Agency will take on this escort mission!"
The matter was settled.
The caravan was about to depart, and the three children stood at the entrance of the caravan agency. When it was time to truly part ways, they all fell silent.
"You...you're all alone out there, you need to take good care of yourself." Gu Qingchen was unusually quiet, her voice soft, her eyes a little red. "Remember to write to me."
“Yes, let us know you’ve arrived safely,” Qian Zhenyun also advised. “Don’t get into conflicts with anyone, and be tolerant in all things.”
Lin Jiayou looked at them and nodded heavily.
He walked up to Gu Qingchen and whispered, "I'm entrusting the things my mother left behind to you."
"Don't worry!" Gu Qingchen nodded vigorously.
Lin Jiayou turned and followed the tall chief镖头 (head镖师, a high-ranking镖局, a type of bodyguard/escort) into the镖局's courtyard. He
The small figure stood out starkly among the group of burly bodyguards.
Just as he was about to disappear behind the gate, he turned back and took a deep look at Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun standing in the morning light, then resolutely turned back and never looked back again.
As more and more people appeared on the long street, a commotion arose.
Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun stood there, both feeling empty inside.
"Sister, let's go." Qian Zhenyun sniffed and tugged at Gu Qingchen's sleeve.
Gu Qingchen snapped out of her daze, looked down at the heavy bundle at her feet, then at the silver notes and land deed she was carrying, and her face turned serious.
"No, we can't go back like this. We have to hide this first!"
"Where should I hide it?" Qian Zhenyun looked at the bulging bundle with worry. "It's such a big bundle, it will definitely be discovered if I bring it back to the manor."
Gu Qingchen's dark eyes darted around, and he pulled Qian Zhenyun into a nearby alley.
"I know a good place!"
The two dragged their heavy bundles, winding their way through the streets, until they finally arrived at a small grove of trees near the Duke's mansion.
Deep in the forest stands a huge old willow tree with a hollowed-out hole in its trunk, concealed by vines and easily missed unless you look closely.
"Right here!" Gu Qingchen patted the tree trunk triumphantly.
The two of them worked together, huffing and puffing, to stuff the bundle full of gold and silver jewelry into the tree hole, and then carefully disguised the vines again.
By the time all this was done, it was already broad daylight.
The two children, covered in dust and dirt, then sneaked back to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
They intended to climb over the back wall and sneak back to their own yard unnoticed, pretending nothing had happened.
But as soon as they landed, before they could even brush the dust off themselves, they saw two figures standing in the courtyard, coldly watching them.
Chu Ruohan and Song Ruyan.
The two men had faces so dark they looked like they could drip water, and behind them stood a row of serious-looking maids and servants.
“Mother…” Gu Qingchen’s heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously shrank behind Qian Zhenyun.
Qian Zhenyun was so frightened that his legs went weak and his face turned deathly pale.
"You still know how to call me 'Mother'?" Song Ruyan's voice was as cold as ice. "Where did you two go last night? You didn't come home all night. You're getting bolder and bolder!"
Early this morning, when the maid went to wake the two men up, she found that the bedding was empty and ice-cold, indicating that they had obviously slipped out long ago.
The entire Duke's mansion was frantically searching for them, but these two little devils just came back from outside on their own.
Chu Ruohan sat upright on the stone bench to the side, saying nothing, only watching her daughter who was shrinking her neck.
She was pregnant and shouldn't have gotten angry, but this brat was really going to cause trouble.
"Kneel down!" Song Ruyan shouted sternly.
Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun knelt down obediently with a thud.
"Tell me! Where did you go!" Song Ruyan grabbed the feather duster from the maid next to her.
“We…” Gu Qingchen’s eyes darted around, trying to come up with a reason.
"You still dare to lie!" Song Ruyan was furious and raised a feather duster to slap Qian Zhenyun's buttocks.
"Ouch!" Qian Zhenyun jumped up in pain.
Seeing this, Gu Qingchen was so frightened that he scrambled to his feet and ran away.
"You dare to run away!" Song Ruyan put one hand on her hip and waved a feather duster in the other, chasing after the two children in the yard.
In an instant, the yard was in chaos, with chickens flying and dogs barking, and the two children running around the yard crying for their parents.
"Mother, I was wrong!"
"Aunt Song, spare me!"
Gu Junze witnessed this farce, quickly walked to Chu Ruohan's side, and gently comforted her: "Alright, alright, don't be angry, take care of yourself."
Chu Ruohan glared at her jumping daughter and said to Gu Junze, "Look at her, she's getting bolder and bolder! Song Ruyan should teach her a lesson, otherwise she'll be a mess in the future!"
Gu Junze sighed, also feeling that his daughter really deserved a beating this time...
After finally getting a beating, Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun rubbed their burning buttocks and limped back to their rooms to reflect on their mistakes.
Until the dead of night.
The window of Gu Qingchen's room was gently pushed open, and a small head peeked in—it was Qian Zhenyun.
"Shh." Gu Qingchen gestured for him to be quiet.
The two exchanged a glance, then slipped out of the yard again, finding their way to the old willow tree with practiced ease.
Together they dragged the heavy bundle out of the tree hole and quietly carried it back to Gu Qingchen's room.
"Where should I hide it?" Qian Zhenyun looked at the large bag of things and began to worry again.
Gu Qingchen pointed to the large camphor wood chest at the foot of his bed, which he used to store seasonal clothes.
The two of them took all the clothes out of the box, carefully placed the bundle at the bottom, and then laid the clothes out layer by layer to restore them to their original state.
After doing all this, the two of them collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
Qian Zhenyun rubbed his still slightly sore buttocks and complained softly, "I really didn't deserve this beating today."
“It’s not unfair.” Gu Qingchen shook her head. “This is what we promised Lin Jiayou. A woman’s word is her bond!”
She patted the large box and said solemnly, "Don't worry, I'll hide it well, no one will be able to find it!"