CHAPTER 1248: CHAPTER 1243: LOOKING FOR HELP

Yue Rujing was choked until his face turned crimson, but thankfully, he had grown accustomed to it.

"Well then, I will leave tomorrow."

...

Today, Lord Jie received a secret letter, along with a Jade Pendant, exactly the pledge he once gave to Gu Youyou.

He had thought that Gu Youyou would never need his help, that the Jade Pendant would never be returned, yet now it was back along with a secret letter.

Lord Jie let out a wry laugh and murmured to himself: "You have helped the Jie Family so much, you are benefactors to our family. Even without this Jade Pendant, with just one command from you, this old man would certainly lend all his support."

Curiously, he opened the secret letter and after reading it, he was completely stunned.

The letter detailed the entangled love and hate between King Jin and the Ducal Residence, with Gu Youyou hoping that Lord Jie could assist King Jin and seize the moment to uproot the Ducal Residence.

Lord Jie’s body shook repeatedly.

Half out of anger, half out of fear.

It was outrageous how the Ducal Residence dared to usurp the country with such despicable means.

What surprised him even more was that 300 years ago, they had such a relationship with the Jin Imperial Clan.

What frightened him was that the Crown Prince had collaborated with King Jin and planned to use this opportunity to eradicate the Ducal Residence.

He could only sigh: Oh, how naively these young people think.

The deeds committed by the Ducal Residence were not merely usurpation, were they? If the Emperor truly wished to find evidence, there would always be something to find.

But why hadn’t the Emperor done so?

Clearly, because they were untouchable.

If it was possible to move against the Ducal Residence, the Emperor would have done so long ago.

He could only hope that the Crown Prince was more thorough than he imagined. It might be impractical to completely eradicate the Ducal Residence, but delivering a lesson in defeat was still feasible.

Even a cornered rabbit will bite; if they truly intended to strike at them, they had to be well-prepared.

Thereupon, Lord Jie decided to write a letter to his eldest son.

Then thinking it over, it was almost the New Year, he should have a month’s leave, he should be coming back soon, right?

With that thought, he put down the pen and threw Gu Youyou’s secret letter into the stove to burn it.

At this moment, Jie Zhongsen had already returned. Having heard about Jie Zhonglin’s affairs, he deliberately took leave early and returned to the Jie Residence, and the first thing he did was not to see his father but this brother who had returned from the dead.

Towards Jie Zhonglin, he felt guilty.

Time and again, he had arranged the most exhausting and dangerous tasks for him, even humiliating him by assigning him to guard the city gates, really just to force him back to Beijing.

How could his elderly father be without someone by his side?

But he never expected him to endure all those deliberate difficulties and even make a name for himself in the military, which frustrated and distressed Jie Zhongsen, pushing him to give his brother a strong dose of medicine, and making him disguise as a merchant to go to Xining for military espionage.

Upon learning of his brother’s tragic death, Jie Zhongsen could not express enough remorse, so much so that he had not dared to return to face his own father.

"Eldest Young Master!"

"The Eldest Young Master has returned."

"Ah, Eldest Young Master, please wait a moment..."

Upon his return, Jie Zhongsen’s first act was to rush into Jie Zhonglin’s courtyard. Along the way, the maids and servants called out to him but he didn’t respond.

With a bang, he kicked open the door, only to see that Jie Zhonglin was indeed alive. He was lying on a specially made bed, his leg suspended high, with Miss Du holding a bowl of medicine and feeding him.

"You... sister-in-law?" Seeing this scene, Jie Zhongsen realized he had been too impulsive and felt extremely embarrassed.

Unable to restrain his laughter, he said, "Haha, good, good, as long as you are alive!"