69novels Chapter 1372: The Plan Moves Ahead
Chapter 1372: The Plan Moves Ahead
However...
"It’s such a pity that Nanny Ji and the others were uprooted just like that."
If those pests were kept, it would really restrain Xie Cheng. He could bribe these pests to occupy Mrs. Ji, humiliate Xie Cheng, and also use Mrs. Ji to threaten him.
Now it’s somewhat difficult to think of kidnapping Mrs. Ji again.
"Indeed, a house of base merchants, from master to servant, all useless!" Ding Ge cursed the Ji Family and then spoke of the Gu Family: "The Gu Family is really surprising, refugees fleeing famine, yet in just five years have become a wealthy family, with several doctors of high medical skills."
Ding Ge looked at the Gu Family with new eyes, yet when thinking of Gu Shi’s face, he retched again: "Pah, ugly woman, truly a face that ruins everything."
If Gu Shi had a bit of beauty, for the Gu Family’s silver and those skilled in medical arts, he would also take a bite.
Ding Ge felt disgusted for a while, then asked Ding Changying: "What did you find out, speak."
Ding Changying, one of Ding Ge’s confidants responsible for secret affairs, responded upon hearing: "The servant has investigated. The Gu Family are indeed people from Gu Family Village in Gaoshui County, Long’an Prefecture. Their ancestors came from the northeast, wanting to flee back to their ancestral land during the famine, but due to encountering chaos by evil men and lacking warm clothing, they could only flee southward."
"After arriving in the south, they saved the granddaughter of County Captain Jiang of Tianfu County. Qin San Lang used this relationship to enter the Military Office, and as for those skilled in medical arts, it was with the help of an elder Doctor Wu who bought them."
"That elder Doctor Wu has some backgrounds, having worked at Yuanzi Pharmacy before, then retired after getting old and opened a pharmacy in Qingfu Town to enjoy his twilight years. Because Doctor Du in the pharmacy is an old acquaintance of the Gu Family, he met them. He seems to have no relatives, so was enticed by the Gu people, treating them like his own grandchildren, spending holidays eating, drinking, and lodging at the Gu family, helping them a lot."
The identity of Elder Wu has always been mysterious, so it’s quite impressive that Ding Changying was able to find out this much.
Ding Ge heard this and was angry: "A whole family of insidious people, bullying Elder Wu for having no children or grandchildren, this is typical of exploiting the childless!"
Ding Ge was extremely sour, thinking if he encountered Elder Wu earlier, he would certainly treat him like his own father, never allowing the Gu Family to gain the slightest advantage.
Seeing this, Ding Changsheng laughed and said: "Sir, it’s not too late now. Just kill Qin San Lang and take his soldiers, and the talented people and resources brought by the Gu Family will all belong to us."
He added maliciously: "Though Gu Shi is ugly, her maids are attractive, and those medical women are too, quite charming. Nowadays, medical women are scarce and not easy to train. Once we have them, sir could send a couple to court the nobles. Please them well, and sir’s career will surely prosper."
Ding Ge nodded, smiling: "Mm, Old Da, you’re right. As long as the plan goes smoothly, before reaching the Northwest, we’ll gain people, wealth, and resources."
The talented people skilled in medical arts brought by the Gu Family are indeed tempting, prompting Ding Ge to accelerate his pace to eliminate Qin San Lang.
After pondering, Ding Ge instructed Ding Changying: "Old San, you and Old Si act faster. No need to wait until New Year’s Eve to make a move. Qin San Lang is smart and likely suspects we’ll act then, so we’ll strike three days earlier while they’re still arranging personnel to counter us, catching them off guard. Once they’re dealt with, we can enjoy the New Year!"
The ’them’ refers to Qin San Lang and Xie Cheng.
The alliance between Xie Cheng and Qin San Lang could not deceive Ding Ge, as he had foreseen it.
"Yes." Ding Changying immediately accepted the order and left.
Ding Ge further instructed Ding Changli: "Give more benefits to Company Commander Shi and Company Commander Niu. Liu only seeks stability and won’t meddle, so don’t waste resources buttering him up. Stop providing benefits to Lu Chong, Xie Cheng, and the Qin family; they already know I intend to seize soldiers, giving them benefits is a waste."
Damn it, if a fight is inevitable, what’s the point of acting?
Ding Changli frowned: "Sir, shouldn’t we give some to Lu Chong? He’s brought seventy soldiers this time, quite a number. The servant thinks it’s best to mollify him for now."
Ding Ge replied: "No need, Lu Chong just bullies the weak and fears the strong. My power is evident here; even if I slept with his wife, he wouldn’t dare say anything."
Only if he loses would Lu Chong be most dangerous, but how could Ding Ge possibly lose?
"Yes, the servant understands." Ding Changli agreed then stayed listening to some of Ding Ge’s instructions before finally leaving with Ding Changsheng.
...
In Qin San Lang’s camp, Gu Jinli relaxed after hearing Daqing’s words, saying to Daqing: "You did well, go ahead. Everyone’s worked hard recently, so let’s rest for a day at the manor over New Year."
Though they brought Uncle Mu Tong on this westbound journey, Uncle Mu Tong didn’t travel with them. He set out ahead to inspect the manors along the route, purchasing items and preparing the manors for their arrival.
"Yes, thank you, madam." Daqing followed orders and left, his face seemingly expressionless but feeling happy inside as he could relax for a day during the New Year.
After Daqing left, Gu Jinli couldn’t help slapping the small table inside the carriage angrily: "Luckily Ji Zhenniang isn’t my sister, or I would beat her to death."
So dumb yet so troublesome, truly a freak.
Qin San Lang laughed, grabbing her hand that was hitting the table, and said with a smile: "Ji is more than three years older than you. If you were siblings, she’d be the elder sister."
Gu Jinli snorted: "Her mind is like that of a nine-year-old, wanting to be my sister? She wishes."
She then mentioned Xie Cheng: "Company Commander Xie went wrong too. Nanny Ji and the others should have been dealt with long ago. Keeping them for four years, that’s just inviting trouble."
If Xie Cheng had dealt with Nanny Ji and the others earlier, there wouldn’t be today’s problem.
"Xie Cheng wanted to drive them away, but he cared too much about Ji. Ji treated Nanny Ji better than him, fearing that handling them would make Ji dislike him even more." Qin San Lang said, laughing: "But Xie Cheng sent a message saying pretending to be pitiful is very effective. Once he acted pitiful, Ji got baffled and started feeling sorry for him."
Gu Jinli laughed: "Then let him keep pretending to be pitiful. Ji is someone soft-hearted rather than listening to reason. If he masters acting pitiful, it’s much more effective than reasoning with her."
Ji isn’t someone who listens to reason. You must act pitiful, be more cunning, and overwhelm her before she listens.
Qin San Lang drew closer to her, placing her hand on his abdomen.
Gu Jinli was a bit confused: "What are you doing?"
Her hand instinctively caressing his abs felt remarkably good!
Qin San Lang’s eyes were full of laughter, letting her touch him while moving closer, showing an aggrieved expression: "I’ve been eating cold wind all day, my stomach hurts; Xiao Yu, give me a rub."