Love is More than a Word, Chapter 63: Beware of visitors with gifts (9)...

Love is More than a Word《识汝不识丁》Shi Nu Bu Shi Ding
Love is More than a Word, Chapter 63: Beware of visitors with gifts (9)...

Tao Mo was startled, not knowing why he was asking so but answered honestly, "The late man."

"Stranger deceased, familiar person deceased, or somewhere in between stranger and familiar?"

Tao Mo thought seriously, "An old friend somewhere between stranger and familiar, right?"

Gu-She turned around slowly. His eyes were cold and stinging in the dense shade of the trees.

"Why do you ask?" Tao Mo asked cautiously.

Gu-She said, "You don't care for him like a normal deceased person."

Tao Mo explained evenly, "I just think there's something strange about this case. After all, we know each other and I don't want him to die for no good reason." He saw that Gu-She was still looking at him steadily, thinking he didn't believe him and said, "Besides, I can only think of it that way but the help I can give is not helpful in the slightest." He was self-aware enough to know that even if he became the Tangyang County's magistrate, all he could manage was the small cases of the Tangyang County and the cases of neighboring counties were not his turn to interfere in any way.

Gu-She's heart was racing.


He seemed to be taking his feelings too much for granted again by imposing them on the other man. In his mind, there were only a handful of people who could make him care so much but for Tao Mo, it was impossible to count the number of people who could make him care so much but for Tao Mo, it was impossible to pull out all his hair. He was vaguely unhappy but also vaguely pleased, he couldn't tell what was churning inside of him that kept him awake at night but subconsciously listened with bated breath to the movement of a wall and even followed Tao Mo without hesitation when he went out.

"Can't you sleep even this late?" Tao Mo asked.

Also?

Gu-She looked down at the young man who was just a step away but bathed in moonlight and illuminated as pale as snow. "Thinking about the case?"

"A lot." Tao Mo opened his mouth to sigh but how could the depression and sadness that had built up in his chest be sighed cleanly in one breath?

Gu-She said, "You want to break this case down?"

"I'd like to but I'm afraid it's not easy." Tao Mo shook his head and laughed bitterly, "I always say I want to be a good official, a good official for the people but it's easier said than done. I've always said that I want to be a good government official, to serve the people but that's easier said than done. A lot of blood won't make a difference after all." It was only after he finished that he felt his shoulders lighten a little. Truly at the Tangyang County as this county magistrate, he realized how naive he had thought before! But these were words he couldn't say to Lao Tao, nor to Hao Guozi, because he was their hope, their pillar of support and if he fell, they would be even more at a loss for words. So he could only secretly hold back, not daring to express such emotions even if he had them in his heart and even immediately suppressing them back when they came up.

The phrase "to be a good officer" is more often than not no longer his ideal but his motivation, his burden. Although he had made up his mind a long time ago, the future was bumpy and in the end he was not up to the task.

Tao Mo finished his whining, only to find that Gu-She hadn't answered back for a long time and had to look up at him.

There was a tenderness between Gu-She's eyebrows that he couldn't take back.

"I... I'm useless." Tao Mo awkwardly looked away. He didn't know why he'd just spat out all the words he'd been hiding in his mind for so long with such reckless abandon. Maybe Gu-She was too strong, so he didn't have to force himself to act strong in front of him, even if he did and Gu-She didn't think so? He even felt a few times that Gu-She's gaze eluded him, both in his thoughts and emotions.

"If you're useless like this, then it's better for everyone in the world to be useless." Gu-She faded.

Tao Mo mulled over the words and was shocked, "I, you... what do you mean, uh."




"It's not hard to know the truth." Gu-She quickly changed the subject away.

Tao Mo felt slightly disappointed. Because for just a moment, he almost felt like Gu-She was appreciating himself.

"Cases are made by people and where there are people, they're never perfect," Gu-She said with other thoughts, "both in personality and in the way they do things."

Tao Mo listened stunned.

Gu-She said, "The woodcutter is just a move and it can be a white or black chess piece."

Tao Mo pondered for a while, enlightened, "You mean, the game is starting with the woodcutter?"

Gu-She walked upstairs with his hands down.

Tao Mo was overjoyed to have been instructed and when he saw that he was leaving, he grabbed his arm without thinking and said, "Thank you."

Gu-She looked down at the frozen hand that rested on his cloak.

Tao Mo hastily retracted his hand and laughed dryly, "In the heat of the moment…… "

"Go back." Gu-She interrupted him bluntly.

The first half of the night Tao Mo is tossing and turning because there is nothing he can do about it. In the second half of the night, Tao Mo is still tossing and turning because it has a strategy.

By the second day there was a noise in the outer corridor, so he got up eye-to-eye and asked the shopkeeper himself for a kettle of hot water to wash himself.

Then one went to the lobby of the inn for breakfast and waited for the others to come down by the way.

The wait was the worst and it was hard to wait for Lao Tao and Master Advisor Jin to come down and Tao Mo had already consumed three bowls of soy milk.

“Young master?" Lao Tao was surprised to learn that Tao Mo was not a bed-wetter but he was a young man, so he was sleepy and it was rare for him to get up early.

Master Advisor Jin sits down with Lao Tao and greets the shop assistant who brings the breakfast.

Lao Tao saw that Tao Mo looked like he was about to stop talking and simply took the initiative to ask, "Is there something on Young Master's mind?"

Tao Mo probed, "I was thinking about the Wan Feng case."

Master Advisor Jin's hand with the steamed bun paused, a dark cloud looming above his eyebrows.

Lao Tao said without moving, "Young Master wants to take charge of this case?"

Tao Mo said, "It's not like I care, I just want to find out what's going on. If the woodcutter is the real killer, then, of course, it's great. If not, wouldn't he have let down two lives?"

Master Advisor Jin Tao: "His Excellency need not worry. This case is a matter of life and death and the magistrate has no say in the matter and it will not be finalized until the Emperor's imperial approval."

Tao Mo was stunned, "You want the Emperor to decide?"




Master Advisor Jin smiled, "Of course."

Lao Tao gave him a meaningful look. Although a capital crime needs to be decided by the emperor, the emperor's day is full of things to do, how can he pay attention to such a small case? Usually, the life of a woodcutter is considered lost if he passes through the Magistrate's gate.

Tao Mo was slightly relieved and added, "That being said, it bought some time."

Master Advisor Jin's smile tightened, "His Excellency or are you going to get involved in this?"

"Not interfering, just,” Tao Mo tried to think of an appropriate description but a cool, pleasant male voice took over for him, "Assisting from the sidelines."

Master Advisor Jin saw Gu-She and subconsciously stood up.

Lao Tao looked meaningfully at Tao Mo, "It seems that Young Master has come to an agreement with Young Master Gu.”

Tao Mo lowered his head and laughed, Lao Tao's tone wasn't good, it could be said to be a bit unkind but the content of the words made Tao Mo feel sweet from the bottom of his heart.

Gu-She said matter-of-factly, "Is this not what you would expect?"

Lao Tao was undisputed. His expectations are obviously slightly different from what Gu-She thinks. He does expect Gu-She to help Tao Mo but his expectation is selfish and frankly, selfless, in the sense that he expects Gu-She to give selflessly without needing anything from Tao Mo in return and even if he does, it's something insignificant, like friendship, at least not what Tao Mo is feeling at the moment.

He suddenly felt powerless. This powerlessness was a little deeper than when he had watched Tao Mo get close to Yiyu. He hadn't cared about Yiyu before. Because he was a young emcee, powerless and could be conquered with money. But Gu-She is different; his family status, talent and personality will only allow him to conquer others in turn. And he believes that if Gu-She makes a move, Tao Mo will be defeated without any resistance at all. But what he doesn't understand is what is Gu-She really up to?

Is it a game? I'm afraid Gu-She doesn't care for such a boring and childish game, right?

Tao Mo took Lao Tao's contemplation as a dilemma and whispered, "If it is indeed a dilemma... "

"Actually, it's time to look into it." Lao Tao blurted.

Master Advisor Jin chewed on his steamed bun and looked unhappy. Thought Lao Tao would be the only ally at this table but who knew Gu-She had mutinied after coming out.

Lao Tao said, "Don't worry Young Master, just leave this to me."

Wan Feng died at the hands of Huang Guangde, so it's obvious who threw out the woodcutter as a scapegoat. Although he doesn't know the reason why Huang Guangde killed but since he is close to Tangyang County, he can't ignore this matter.

Tao Mo frowned, "You're going alone? It's too unsafe."

Lao Tao finished his soymilk without a word, then raised his hand and slapped it against the bowl.

The bowl turned to pieces under the palm.

Tao Mo, Master Advisor Jin:”......”

Gu-She’s face remained the same.

When Hao Guozi, Gu Xiaojia and Sang Xiaotu came down, Lao Tao was already out the door.

The three of them looked at the breakfast that was being eaten on the table.

Gu Xiaojia whispered, "Young Master, I'm up late."

Gu-She said, "Eat."

Gu Xiaojia was relieved to see that he didn't mean to blame him.

Sang Xiaotu and Hao Guozi both took their seats one by one. With a clear conscience, their butts were only on the edge of the stool and they ate in small bites, like a new wife coming to the door.

The atmosphere was a little depressing for a moment.

Gu Xiaojia was eating and suddenly blurted out, "Where did Young Master go last night?"

Gu-She said, "A walk."

Tao Mo choked down and flew a glance at Gu-She. It was obviously a normal meeting and somehow, being asked by Gu Xiaojia so openly, made him feel a little guilty.

Gu Xiaojia wondered, "But the middle of the night...” he knew Gu-She's habit of never getting up at night.

Gu-She looked up.

Gu Xiaojia swallowed the words along with the buns.

Lao Tao returned at noon. Tao Mo looked him up and down in detail and was relieved to see that he was unharmed.

Lao Tao was old and childless and had long thought of Tao Mo as his own son, seeing him so concerned about himself, his old heart was so relieved that he even spoke in a gentle tone. "That woodcutter has two sons, both of whom are in debt to gambling. That woodcutter must have been bribed with money to confess."

Tao Mo shuddered at the thought, "But it's selling a life."




Lao Tao sighed, "The world is full of filial parents."

Tao Mo remembered his father and his heart, which had been hesitant, was determined, "I want to save him."

"It shouldn't be difficult with Lao Tao's skills, right?" Gu-She blurted.



~ Love is More than A Word ~



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