Quick Transmigration: Even Extras Want to Be Leading Actresses

Chapter 212 Challenge (7)

The imperial court, having conducted its research for a long time without any results, had no choice but to send officials to meet with Gu Shijiu to discuss the matter.

So, after a month of eating, drinking and having fun, Gu Shijiu finally met the legendary high-ranking official.

This person's identity is somewhat special; he is none other than Zeng Daniu, the one who pushed her off the cliff.

Hehe, Gu Shijiu was secretly delighted. She knew that even if she didn't follow the plot, the plot would still come to her.

Zeng Daniu felt somewhat displeased when he saw her expression.

He always knew he was good-looking, and many girls secretly fell for him, but he had never encountered someone so rude as to laugh out loud like that.

Zeng Daniu's original name was Zeng Xu. His father was originally a civil official on the border and had a long-standing feud with the local generals.

Once, when the city was besieged by foreign tribes, the entire Zeng family was captured. The general defending the city then accused them of treason and collusion with the enemy.

The Zeng family was raided and their property confiscated. All their relatives were exiled, and even members of the Zeng clan and collateral branches in their ancestral home were not spared.

Many of the Zeng family women who had married out died of illness or were divorced; only a few members of collateral branches managed to survive.

In no time, the Zeng family fell and its followers scattered.

Zeng Xu's life after being captured was also very difficult; he, along with his parents and sister, suffered torture and humiliation every day.

Zeng Xiaomei, a young girl, suffered unspeakable humiliation.

If the enemy hadn't wanted to exchange the lives of the Zeng family members for the city's defenders, their graves would probably be overgrown with weeds by now.

To everyone's surprise, the general guarding the city didn't respond at all after receiving the news and had no intention of sending the man back.

The foreigners thought the Zeng family was useless and didn't want to waste food by supporting them, so they decided to kill them.

At the last moment, Zeng Xu's parents sacrificed a pawn hidden among the foreign army and their own lives to allow their two children to escape.

Zeng Xu led Zeng Xiaomei and ran eastward at breakneck speed. However, both of them were injured and could not run fast.

Zeng Xiaomei, in particular, not only suffered a broken leg and disfigurement, but also had many other unexplained injuries. Her lower abdomen would feel like it was being cut by a knife whenever she engaged in strenuous exercise.

The two finally reached the village where Li Fang and Mo Shi lived, but they couldn't hold on any longer and fainted, which was discovered by Mo Shi.

Afterwards, Mo took in the two people in need and married her daughter Li Fang to Zeng Xu, who used the alias Zeng Daniu.

How could Zeng Xu possibly be grateful?

In his view, Mo saved him hoping to have more labor in the family, and even forced a village girl on him.

This is clearly a humiliation.

However, he was unfamiliar with the situation in the capital and worried about the background of the Mo family, so he dared not act rashly for fear of revealing his identity.

He only felt at ease to go to the capital after he secretly contacted a former member of the Zeng family and learned that the new emperor was a prince supported by his father's faction.

He wanted to seek justice for his father and avenge him, but before that, he had to bury his dark history of having married a village girl.

Sure enough, the new emperor knew what was going on as soon as he saw the Zeng siblings who had risked their lives to escape back.

The Zeng family's ancestral home and mansion in the capital were returned to the emperor, and Zeng Xu was granted an official position. However, Zeng Xiaomei was a difficult case to handle.

Everyone knows that Zeng Xiaomei was once captured by a foreign tribe, so there's no need to guess what she might have experienced.

Moreover, she was old, and not only was her face disfigured, but she also suffered physical disabilities.

Finally, the new emperor adopted her as his sworn sister and brought her into the palace.

In recent years, Zeng Xu has worked diligently for the emperor, married the daughter of a powerful official, and his promotions have been as rapid as a rocket.

There's also Zeng Xiaomei, who schemes for her brother in the palace.

She joined the Queen's faction and devoted herself to doing shady things.

Having suffered at the hands of foreign tribes, Zeng Xiaomei was a natural at dealing with the women in the harem.

She couldn't possibly seduce anyone with her appearance, so the Empress was very satisfied with her.

With both siblings gaining favor with the two powerful figures, the Zeng family not only rose to a higher level but also showed signs of booming prosperity.

This time, the emperor wanted to open up trade routes and cooperate with Gu Shijiu, so he thought of Zeng Xu, his favorite minister.

He had followed his father to the border in his early years and was familiar with the foreign tribes of the Western Regions. Moreover, he was good-looking.

The leader of the mountain stronghold was a woman, and what woman wouldn't like a handsome young man?

The emperor had considered wiping out the bandit stronghold, but had not been very successful over the years.

One is taken down, and another will soon appear; there are also foreign tribes from the Western Regions causing trouble.

Unexpectedly, in the past few years, this big boss has actually managed to unify the trade routes along the border.

After much discussion, the imperial court still felt that they should offer amnesty.

This task fell to Zeng Xu.

When he received the imperial decree, Zeng Xu was actually not very happy. He never wanted to recall those days on the border again.

But the imperial edict could not be refused, especially since if this matter succeeded, it would be a great achievement that would go down in history.

Before coming, he made many contingency plans and kept wondering who this boss was.

After all, I've lived in that small village for so long and haven't heard of any powerful figures nearby, especially a woman.

When Zeng Xu actually saw Gu Shijiu, he was shocked.

Yes, he recognized Li Fang's face at a glance.

Even though he disliked Li Fang very much at the time, even loathed her, feeling that her noble bloodline had been tainted, Zeng Xu still recognized her immediately.

"You... are you a human or a ghost?!" Zeng Xu's voice became somewhat shrill with panic.

He stared intently at Gu Shijiu, his body unconsciously taking a few steps back.

The attendants around Zeng Xu were all taken aback when they heard his exclamation and turned their gazes toward Gu Shijiu.

They then exchanged glances without speaking, but what they were thinking remains unknown.

Zeng Xu was speechless for a long time.

He couldn't understand how someone who should have disappeared long ago could reappear in this way;

He even transformed himself into the powerful leader of this mountain stronghold.

Over the years, Zeng Xu has constantly told himself that he did nothing wrong.

He only eliminated Li Fang because he didn't want to tarnish the family's reputation or bring shame upon his ancestors.

But the recurring nightmares in the middle of the night made him realize that he felt guilty.

Zeng Xu also grew up reading the classics, and he clearly knew where he went wrong.

Seeing that he recognized him, Gu Shijiu didn't waste any time: "I've been looking for you everywhere, but I didn't expect you to show up on your own."

"The grudge you set for pushing me off the cliff back then, we'll settle it today."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Xu's entourage exchanged glances again, their eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Zeng Xu gritted his teeth: "You...you mustn't spout nonsense and make false accusations. I have no connection with you whatsoever."

"I have come today on His Majesty's orders to discuss matters with you. Do not let personal grudges jeopardize important state affairs."

Then he dismissed his entourage from the room, saying, "I will speak with this chief privately. You may all leave."

These were all his trusted confidants, and Zeng Xu wasn't worried about them talking nonsense.

Upon hearing his words, the attendants, as expected, apologized to Gu Shijiu and filed out.

What happened next was beyond their control.