Chapter 29: Miss Wei’s Clever Scheme to Take the Blame

Gu Dao did not go to the Imperial Academy to join the excitement, as he had few friends and no desire to force his way into other social circles. He hid in his study, writing "The Injustice to Dou E," while sending his page, Dou Ding, and his groom, Guan Shitou, out to gather intelligence.

In the Yuan household, no one besides Gu Dao truly considered Wei Qingmei a mere maidservant. Unable to enter the study and feeling bored, she went to chat with Xiangyun, hoping to indirectly find out what Gu Dao usually did. However, Xiangyun was a former palace servant, and her words and actions were airtight. Wei Qingmei failed to gather any information and instead ended up revealing quite a bit of her own mind to Xiangyun.

Shortly after Dou Ding returned, Gu Dao put down his brush, stepped out of the study, and summoned Wei Qingmei. He scanned her with a scrutinizing gaze and asked, "Maid Wei, you come from a military family—how are your martial arts skills?"

Wei Qingmei was wary of his gaze and replied with a threatening tone, "I wouldn't say I'm an expert with the bow and horse, but I only need one hand to beat you. You'd better not have any bad intentions."

Gu Dao curled his lip, his face full of disdain. "You look like a washboard; how could you have such blind confidence?"

Wei Qingmei looked down at herself, instantly understood what he was belittling, and turned red with shame and anger. "You are lewd and shameless!"

Gu Dao acted as if he didn't understand, feigning surprise. "I just thought your physique didn't look like that of someone skilled with the bow and horse; how is that lewd?"

Wei Qingmei was truly stunned. She suddenly began to doubt herself—was she the one being lewd? This was mortifying. If Gu Dao realized what she meant, wouldn't that be... Just as she was dying of embarrassment, Gu Dao’s mischievous voice sounded in her ear: "Don't doubt it, that is exactly what I meant."

Wei Qingmei regretted not bringing her spear; she wanted to run this jerk through with a single thrust.

Yanhuizhuang was not a village, but the largest dog-fighting arena in the capital. Wei Qingmei and Gu Dao had followed Dou Ding here. For the past two days, Dou Ding and Guan Shitou had been tracking the movements of Dou Tuo, and today they finally found an opportunity. Dou Tuo was a regular here, and his vicious dog, Black Tiger, had just shredded an opponent and was now resting leisurely in the backyard.

"Young Master, that Dou Tuo is inside placing bets, and the guard at the back has been taken care of," Dou Ding whispered.

Wei Qingmei looked at the sleek, pitch-black dog, then at Gu Dao. She realized with a start that this jerk was actually eyeing the dog. A low, trembling sound escaped her throat: "You aren't planning to go after Dou Tuo's dog, are you?"

Gu Dao nodded, handed her a bow, and pointed at the black dog. "Come on, it's time to show off your skill with the bow and horse. Shoot this dog dead."

Wei Qingmei pushed the bow away, furious. "Are you crazy? That's the apple of Dou Tuo's eye! Isn't this offending him to the death?"

Gu Dao looked at her with contempt and sneered, "Isn't that obvious? I have a grudge against him. If I can't kill the man, can't I kill his dog? You're my maid; isn't it your duty to avenge your master?"

Wei Qingmei regretted once again that she hadn't brought her spear. But she couldn't out-argue Gu Dao, and she didn't want to give him an excuse to drive her away. So, she lowered her voice and said, "Do you think that's just an ordinary dog? That's a beast Dou Tuo has painstakingly raised. It has torn apart the most skilled animal trainers and has countless innocent victims. If one arrow doesn't kill it, it will go berserk, and if a commotion starts, none of us will be able to escape."

She tried to emphasize the severity of the situation, speaking in a low, grave tone. Gu Dao seemed to take it in and nodded convincingly. "As a daughter of a military family, you must be right, Miss Wei. Do you have any better ideas?"

Seeing that he wasn't giving up, Wei Qingmei gritted her teeth. Dou Tuo was a notorious young thug in the capital who cherished that dog. If he found out who killed it, it would be a life-or-death situation. The Wei family had no reason to provoke him. But Gu Dao was as stubborn as a mule, so she could only try to soothe the jerk for now.

"We cannot attack head-on; we must take it by strategy. Let's plan it slowly," she said.

Gu Dao nodded deeply. "A great plan. We shall do as you say," he replied.

Wei Qingmei breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that he was indeed a good-for-nothing and quite easy to fool. Unfortunately, before she could fully relax, Gu Dao waved his hand, and Dou Ding walked over with a rack of lamb. Wei Qingmei immediately understood his plan—to lure the dog out with mutton and then strike. She grabbed Dou Ding, furious, and hissed, "Are you crazy? That's no ordinary dog. It's fed fresh meat every day; why would it eat something of unknown origin?"

Gu Dao thought this made sense and gave her a thumbs-up. "Luckily for your reminder, Miss Wei, otherwise a fine rack of lamb would have been wasted," he said, then waved his hand. "Dou Ding, move to the next plan."

Wei Qingmei’s head buzzed. She gritted her teeth and growled, "What on earth are you messing around with? Put away your pathetic plan and hurry—"

Before she could finish, Guan Shitou walked over leading several dogs. He had already prepared everything. Wei Qingmei was nearly driven mad. Was this a matter of numbers? Even if he brought a dozen more, they would be nothing but snacks for that black dog. Could you compare a king of beasts to a sheep?

"You're joking, right? You want to defeat that black dog with these?" she mocked.

Gu Dao shook his finger at her eyes and said calmly, "No, these dogs aren't meant to defeat it."

"Then what are you doing?" she asked angrily.

Gu Dao smiled smugly. "Since ancient times, heroes have struggled to pass the trial of beauty. Look at these dogs—various heights, weights, and colors."

Wei Qingmei was stunned and blurted out, "Are they all female?"

They were not only female, but they had also been doused in the urine of a dog in heat—an essential tool for veteran dog thieves in the capital.

With a howl, Dou Tuo’s black dog snapped its chain and charged out. Guan Shitou led the female dogs and lured it into an alley. A fishing net descended from above, pinning the black dog and hoisting it into the air. The frustrated, blood-red-eyed dog struggled, opening its fang-filled maw, but before it could bark, Guan Shitou threw a short spear that pierced its upper and lower jaws, silencing it completely.

The net-wrapped dog was tossed onto a carriage and covered with debris. The carriage pulled away through the alley. The process was clean and efficient. Not until the carriage vanished and the female dogs were taken away did Wei Qingmei realize that this jerk had a plan all along and had been playing her for a fool.

"You dared to toy with me?" she exploded. But as she said it, she felt ridiculous. He dared to kill Dou Tuo’s beloved dog; did he need any courage to toy with her?

"Miss Wei, what are you saying? Wasn't this all your brilliant strategy?" Gu Dao said calmly.

"My brilliant strategy?" Wei Qingmei was bewildered. When did she come up with a strategy? How did she become the mastermind behind a dog theft? What did this have to do with her?

"Gu Dao, you jerk, don't pin this on me! This has nothing to do with me; you're framing me!" she grabbed him, furious. How did she become the accomplice in offending Dou Tuo to the death without doing anything?

Gu Dao replied with utter indifference, "I wouldn't call it framing. It's just letting you take the blame, Maid Wei. You don't have any objections, do you?"

Wei Qingmei was on the verge of tears. When he wanted her to take the blame, she was "Miss Wei," and now that the scheme had succeeded, she was "Maid Wei" again. "Are you shameless so openly? You'll be struck by lightning!" she cursed.

Gu Dao stroked his chin, appearing to think seriously, then nodded solemnly. "That is indeed a bit much. Don't worry, I'll invite you when we eat the meat so you don't do all that work for nothing."

"Eat the meat? What meat?" Wei Qingmei asked, stunned. She had an answer, but she refused to believe it.

"Nonsense, the dog's meat, of course," Gu Dao said, confirming the answer as if it were only natural.

"You're actually going to eat this dog?"

"Obviously. Otherwise, wouldn't your brilliant strategy as a head maid be wasted?"

"It has nothing to do with me!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Half an hour later, Dou Tuo charged out of Yanhuizhuang with bloodshot eyes, wielding a blade and leading a group of thugs to search for his dog. He looked murderous, as if he would eat the dog thief alive. People on the street were secretly delighted to hear that the vicious dog was missing, but seeing Dou Tuo’s savage appearance, they all retreated, fearful of being caught in the crossfire. As soon as he appeared, the whole street emptied instantly.

Gu Dao hummed a tune, followed by the exhausted Maid Wei. She carried bags filled with various seasonings Gu Dao had purchased. Upon returning to the Yuan household, they found Chu Mao waiting. During this time, Chu Mao had secretly sold Gu Dao’s calligraphy, easing the family's financial pressure. Everyone in the capital knew Gu Dao never wrote for anyone, let alone sold his work. But a rumor circulated that Gu Dao had a greedy servant who sold his calligraphy on the side. Everyone kept this secret, fearing that if the servant were exposed, they would lose their channel to acquire Gu Dao's work. The more exclusive it became, the higher the price.

Chu Mao had come because the calligraphy was sold out, and more importantly, the books had been printed. Gu Dao sniffed the scent of ink on the books and nodded with satisfaction. Four volumes per set, in a thick stack. These were the lifelong efforts of Mr. Jingjie—not just books, but a pile of silver.

"Xiuzhi, since the books are printed, we should find a place to sell them," Chu Mao said, thinking of the profit.

Gu Dao shook his head. They had to be sold, but not just anywhere. One had to know how to market good things to make money. Besides, if he let someone else sell them, the middleman would take the profit; it was better to sell directly.

After discussing for a long time in the study, Chu Mao left excitedly to carry out Gu Dao's plan with a new batch of calligraphy.

At dinner, Gu Dao discussed it with Yuan Cong, and they decided to send a letter to the Prince of Chu the next day in Yuan Cong's name, inviting him to a meal. The Prince of Chu generally did not attend dinners easily, but since they had arranged it in advance, it was just a formality.

Gu Dao didn't touch the steam-pot chicken on the table. "Are you tired of it?" Yuan Cong asked.

"Grandmaster, you shouldn't supplement your diet like this. It's not good to have too much," Gu Dao advised, seizing the opportunity.

"This isn't anything overly stimulating. I've been comfortable this winter all thanks to this," Yuan Cong said, pointing to the medicinal steam-pot chicken. Yuan Cong was old, and winters were indeed hard on him.

"But Grandmaster, I am in the prime of my youth; I can't handle this," Gu Dao said with a bitter face.

"You can get up in the middle of the night and practice your blade," Yuan Cong laughed. So he knew.

"Why practice the blade in the middle of the night?" Jinse asked innocently.