Male Lead Is Always That Heartless

Chapter 9 

It was night, and Xiuyi Hall’s side hall was engaged in penwork. Tao Jia copied the palace rules, and Gu Yi wrote the storybook. After the third watch, Gu Yi shook off her aching arms and looked at her masterpiece, satisfied, while Tao Jia beside her had dozed off like a chicken pecking at a rice paddle. 

Gu Yi woke Tao Jia up, “Don’t sleep here. Go back to the bed. Tomorrow morning, I have to go to Beauty Qi.” 

Tao Jia nodded in a daze. The dawn had just arrived when several vigorous taps on the door awakened Gu Yi. “Noble Lady Wang invites Beauty Gu to go to the main hall!” 

Noble Lady Wang? Looking for me? 

Gu Yi rolled over and got up. Tao Jia hurriedly went to open the door, “Why did Noble Lady Wang invite Beauty?” 

The palace maid from the main hall’s face was pale and ugly, “Please go quickly!” 

Gu Yi hurriedly freshened up, still confused about the urgency. This Noble Lady Wang is so eager to find her; it is unlikely to be for breakfast. Could it be for showing off? After all, they have not met since the Emperor left her. 

In the main hall of Xiuyi Hall, the sound of crying was intermittent. Gu Yi’s heart sank. What’s going on? 

Noble Lady Wang stared and rebuked, “Stop crying. If you cry again, you cannot enter the hall.” 

The second-class palace maid, Guihua, stopped crying. “Please, Noble Lady, give Huaihua an explanation! She died too miserably. If patrolling guards didn’t find her, how long would Huaihua be soaked in the well?” 

Hearing this, Gu Yi desperately recalls: who is Huaihua? There is no such person in the novel, ah! 

Noble Lady Wang glared at Gu Yi, “Does Beauty Gu have anything to say?” 

Gu Yi curtsied and said, “Greetings. But who is Huaihua?” 

Guihua, kneeling on the ground, was immediately shocked: “Beauty Gu, don’t pretend to be confused! That night, when Noble Lady had a pain in her heart, the palace maid who went to the west side of the Xiuyi Hall to ask His Majesty was Huaihua!” 

Gu Yi raises an eyebrow, “Oh, it was her. I haven’t said half a word to her, so naturally, I didn’t know she was Huaihua.” 

Noble Lady Wang coldly scolded, “Still quibbling! I didn’t expect you to be such a villain. Huaihua was running an errand for me, but you hold such a grudge! How insidious of you to plot against her life!” 

Gu Yi: “Wait!” 

I can’t take the blame for this! 

“When was Huaihua died? Which well did she fall into? Which guard found her? Did she kill herself, did the guard kill her, or was it an accident? Noble Lady doesn’t check out these stakes and puts the charge on my head. Then, you slandered me! From the night before to tonight, I have been with Tao Jia, and after I got up yesterday morning, I met with Beauty Qi. Then I met with Headmaster Hu, and after that, I was in the palace supervising Tao Jia to copy the rules of the palace. So where did I find the time to murder a palace maid whose name I don’t know?” 

Noble Lady Wang straightened up, “How eloquent! You don’t have to do it yourself. You can buy someone to hurt someone!” 

Gu Yi sighed, “Noble Lady, I don’t have the money to buy a murderer!” 

Tao Jia immediately corroborated, “Exactly! Beauty is so strapped for cash that she has no reward money!” 

Gu Yi choked for a moment and glanced at Tao Jia. Although you mean well, could you be a little more courteous? 

Noble Lady Wang did not expect Beauty Gu to be so shameless. She was silent momentarily, only to hear Guihua kneeling and saying, “Noble Lady must not gullibly believe in Beauty Gu’s one-sided words, ah. Huaihua has been serving Noble Lady for many years. She can’t be dead for nothing!” 

Gu Yi’s gaze fell on this palace maid, “And who are you? Why are you here fanning the flames? Are you loyal? Or do you want to see Noble Lady Wang fight with me?” 

Noble Lady Wang’s gaze also landed on Guihua. 

Seeing this, Guihua immediately kowtowed and said, “Noble Lady, don’t listen to her slanderous words. Huaihua is my roommate and has a deep affection. I can’t bear to see her die in an unknown way!” 

Gu Yi: “That’s good. Why don’t you hand this matter to the Department of Justice for an impartial investigation? If it turns out that this palace maid is intent on slandering me, hand her over to the Department of Justice for investigation.” 

Noble Lady Wang didn’t expect Beauty Gu to be so angry. Could she genuinely have been wronged? 

“In that case, report it to the Department of Justice.” 

Guihua exclaimed, “Noble Lady!” 

Gu Yi smiled and said, “Noble Lady is wise. Why don’t you recheck this palace maid? The most taboo thing in this palace is someone double-crossing and serving two masters, instructed by others to stir up Xiuyi Hall!” 

Guihua was shocked, “You are so vicious!” 

Noble Lady Wang angrily said, “Shut up!” 

Next, it was Noble Lady Wang’s family matter. Gu Yi bowed, “Since the Department of Justice will take over this matter, I will take her leave first.” 

Returning to the side hall, Tao Jia whispered: “Beauty, do you truly think that palace maid is instigating Noble Lady and Beauty?” 

Gu Yi: “Yes or no, it depends on the investigation by the Department of Justice. I can’t say.” 

Tao Jia frowned: “Beauty, aren’t you afraid that the Department of Justice will use it for private gain? Maidservants throw themselves into the well; it can be a big or small matter. It will implicate the whole clan if it is suicide. What if it wasn’t, and some people inverted black and white, harming Beauty?” 

Guihua seemed to be trusted by Noble Lady Wang and unlikely to kill herself. Still, accidental or homicide depends on the evidence. The Department of Justice is responsible for offenders and significant events; the death of a palace maid is only a trivial matter for them, and if someone wants to mess up with her —

Gu Yi wondered whether the plot was screwing with her and had to get rid of her, this cannon fodder. She remembered the words of Headmaster Hu: this harem, in the end, depends on ‘favor.’ The main theme of this palace fighting novel is so stubborn!

Gu Yi had to ask, “What day is the next flipping?” 

Tao Jia did some math, “It should be tomorrow. As a rule, His Majesty flips the plaque every five days. Last time, it was 15th. So, the next time will be the 20th. Even if he didn’t flip that day, it will be postponed until the next day.” 

Gu Yi silently sighed. For the sake of the happy road to being a rich woman in the future, she must save her dog head first. She organized the storybook manuscripts and went to the east side of the hall to look for Beauty Qi, who didn’t talk much and loved to read books. 

When Beauty Qi saw Gu Yi enter the hall holding a pile of manuscripts, her eyes lit up, and she said, “Sister Gu, have you finished writing?” 

Gu Yi handed her the manuscript, “It’s finished, so I show it to Sister Qi first.” 

Beauty Qi read it in one breath and sighed, “It is truly a marvelous story!”  She looked at Gu Yi encouragingly, “Sister should continue writing!” 

Gu Yi was a bit shy. What marvelous; it’s all a scam! 

She sighed, “Sister, I am flattered!” 

Beauty Qi was suspicious, “Why are you sighing?” 

Gu Yi slowly said, “Actually, I came today with an unkind request, and I hope you will come up with an idea.” 

Beauty Qi nodded, signaling her to speak. 

Gu Yi: “Because I’m short of cash, I want to sell these manuscripts and publish a book under a pseudonym. Sister, do you have a way?” 

Upon hearing this, Beauty Qi immediately said, “Good idea! I have a few close friends that I can trust! I’ll have someone transcribe it, so no one will see it’s from your hand ……” She handed a gold leaf in the box as she spoke, “If you believe me, this is the deposit.”

Gu Yi knew that the Qi family was powerful and that this matter was easy, but she did not expect Beauty Qi to be so pleased. She took the gold leaf and thanked, “Sister Qi is very kind! Sister Qi can have 30% of profits!”

Beauty Qi shook her head, “No need to be concerned.” 

After a pause, she asked, “What name do you want to be known as?” 

Gu Yi: “The Laughing Scholar of the Capital.” 

Since it’s the same publication type, following the predecessors’ example is essential! 

After bidding farewell to Beauty Qi, Gu Yi returned to the west side of the hall with a gold leaf in her arms. She cut half a sheet of rice paper, drew a prototype, and told Tao Jia: “You go to the Accounting Department to get some cotton cloth. There’s no need to be flashy; scraps of cloth will do. Then, look for a carpenter to follow this shape and make two handles.” 

It’s only a gold leaf, not necessarily enough to line up in Eunuch Gao’s place. She also must find a way to prepare other gifts. 

Tao Jia took over the figure to see, “Beauty, isn’t this a hammer?” 

What a hammer! Insult my drawing skills again! 

Gu Yi had to give Tao Jia a detailed explanation of the form before letting her go out. 

Tao Jia came back very quickly. 

Gu Yi looked at the two wooden handles, which were not bad, “The carpenter did it so fast?” 

Tao Jia laughed: “I only told them what you want. Mr. Carpenter removed two old table legs so they became ready-made round wooden balls. It’s similar to the drawings; he only needs to stick them. But what is this for?” 

Gu Yi received the fabric and touched it. It was very thick. “Wrap the log with fabric and sew it. We’ll make two objects to pound legs. Eunuch Gao stood for a long time. Use this object to pound the legs; it can make your legs relax! The other one, you give it to Eunuch Lu Chao!” 

It’s a simple leg massager. 

When Tao Jia heard this, she said, “Beauty, this is good! Very thoughtful!” 

Gu Yi laughed, “If it’s well made, we’ll make two more for ourselves.” 

The following day, Tao Jia carried two leg-punching sticks and a gold leaf to Lu Chao. Lu Chao was about to walk towards the Imperial Garden when he saw Tao Jia coming over. He paused in his steps and wanted to retreat. 

Tao Jia immediately greeted him, “Brother Lu!” 

Lu Chao couldn’t retreat again. “Tao Jia, my eyesight is bad, and I didn’t recognize you.” 

Tao Jia didn’t care and only handed out two leg massagers and a gold leaf, “I hope Brother Lu will accept it.” 

The Emperor had left Gu Beauty last time, so clearly, he didn’t like her. Lu Chao didn’t take it, only asked, “What is this object?” 

Tao Jia immediately demonstrated the leg massager: “This is to pound legs. Our beauty said that as an eunuch, you always stand every day. Gently use it to massage your legs. It can make you comfortable.” 

She handed it to Lu Chao, “Here, brother Lu, try it.” 

Lu Chao curiously took it and gently tapped his leg with the end of the stick, which was wrapped in thick rags. It seemed useable — 

Tao Jia smiled and said, “Beauty specially made two of them, one for Brother Lu and one for Eunuch Gao.” 

When Lu Chao heard this, his heart moved slightly, but he said, “As a lackey, we cannot grasp His Majesty’s mind. It’s hard to say if Beauty Gu can receive favor.” 

Tao Jia stuffed the gold leaf into his hand, “I hope brother Lu will say a few words. Even if it doesn’t work this time, I’ll return next time!” 

Lu Chao nodded, “Okay, for the sake of this hammer. You go first.” 

Tao Jia: “Thank you, Brother Lu!” 

She was turning around and was about to leave, “You wait.” 

Lu Chao called her.

Lu Chao lowered his voice and said, “Did you do what happened to Huaihua?” 

Tao Jia immediately changed her face and retreated a big step, “Brother Lu, don’t slander me!” 

Lu Chao rubbed up the gold leaf in his hand and smiled, “Okay, okay, you go ……”