Chapter 488 The Cunning and Charming Girl (First Update)

Gu Jiao never expected to run into Tang Yueshan, who had been missing for many days, here.

So the owner of that house was actually Tang Yueshan? The reason why the remnants of the previous dynasty and the Chen army couldn't find him was because he was hiding in this deep mountain forest?

In just a moment, countless doubts flashed in Gu Jiao's eyes, including whether Tang Yueshan had recognized her.

Gu Jiao was still wearing yesterday's night clothes and a mask. Due to the exertion of riding the horse, the peacock feathers on the mask had been blown away by the cold wind, leaving only a bare silver mask.

Tang Yueshan stared at the mask for a good ten seconds, or at least that long in Gu Jiao's mind.

Gu Jiao's first reaction was that he recognized her.

And then she thought of something, and her second reaction was, "He might as well have recognized me."

That's right, Tang Yueshan didn't recognize Gu Jiao as the beloved daughter of the Marquis's family, but instead thought of the little assassin who had once broken into the Marshal's mansion and crippled Tang Ming!

Tang Yueshan had never officially fought against that little assassin, but when Gu Jiao appeared in front of him like this, his first instinct was to think of the night Tang Ming was abused!

This is a father's intuition when he encounters a murderer.

Gu Jiao asked herself if she had ever seen Tang Yueshan so closely since she took revenge on Tang Ming at the Marshal's Mansion.

They may have met from afar, but she was dressed in women's clothing, revealing her left cheek with a birthmark, making it hard to associate her with the assassin from that night, let alone the fact that she, the assassin, and Gu Chengfeng's accomplice who came to the Marshal's Mansion to pick her up, had both "died" at the hands of Empress Dowager Zhuang.

Tang Yueshan had no more reason to doubt her.

But a lie is still a lie, and it cannot overcome a father's instinct.

Gu Jiao could tell from Tang Yueshan's eyes that he recognized her as the little assassin from that night.

That's why Gu Jiao said he would have been better off recognizing her. If he had recognized her as the daughter of a noble family, it would have meant he didn't have that intuition about the murderer.

The atmosphere between the two suddenly became tense.

In that instant, not only did countless thoughts flash through Gu Jiao's mind, but Tang Yueshan also thought about many things.

He personally witnessed Empress Dowager Zhuang's trusted eunuch, Eunuch Qin, leading the two assassins into the woods to be executed. Afterwards, Eunuch Qin came to report that the assassins had been killed.

He didn't check the bodies because he trusted Empress Dowager Zhuang; he didn't believe she would protect two assassins who had caused trouble at the Marshal's Mansion.

After all, he was Empress Dowager Zhuang's trusted minister. Why would Empress Dowager Zhuang go to such lengths to kill just two assassins?

But now, this little assassin is standing right in front of him!

Aside from the different masks, they're exactly the same everywhere else!

Body shape, temperament, eyes, clothing...

Gu Jiao: Damn it, and I just happened to be wearing night clothes...

Tang Yueshan understood everything.

That night, Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't kill the two assassins at all. She deliberately had Eunuch Qin bring them into the grove to "execute" them, just to put on a show for him! Anyway, he didn't know what they looked like, and they could still live openly in this world in the future.

It's so pitiful that his son was brutally murdered, yet the murderer is still at large!

Why?

Why did the Empress Dowager lie to him?

If this whole thing was a lie, then how many of the things the Empress Dowager said to him weren't lies?

The Empress Dowager said that someone wanted to sow discord between the Marshal's Mansion and the Marquis of Ding'an's Mansion, so they drugged Gu Changqing and Tang Ming respectively, which led to Tang Ming humiliating Gu Yan and Gu Changqing seriously injuring Tang Ming.

The Empress Dowager also said that the person behind the scenes was Consort Jing, who was a remnant of the previous dynasty.

To avoid causing pain to his loved ones and joy to his enemies, he spared Gu Changqing, reconciled with Gu Chao, and led an army of ten thousand men and a thousand archers to avenge Tang Ming. But what was the result?

It turned out that the one who lied was the Empress Dowager!

Standing before him was the murderer who had already been executed by the Empress Dowager!

Empress Dowager Zhuang did lie to Tang Yueshan, but only part of the story. For example, neither Tang Ming nor Gu Changqing were drugged. Tang Ming genuinely intended to humiliate Gu Yan, and Gu Changqing genuinely wanted to cripple Tang Ming on the fighting stage.

However, Empress Dowager Zhuang spoke from the heart about Consort Jing being a remnant of the previous dynasty and Consort Jing's attempt to sow discord between Tang Yueshan and the Marquis of Ding'an's residence, and there was absolutely no falsehood in her words.

But if a person tells just one lie, everything she says becomes unbelievable.

Countless doubts and anger flashed through Tang Yueshan's mind. He had not witnessed Tang Ming's humiliation of Gu Yan. Although Tang Ming's servant admitted it, what if the servant had been bribed by the Empress Dowager?

On the contrary, Gu Changqing's injury to Tang Ming on the military camp's arena, and the fact that this little assassin tortured Tang Ming into a cripple, were facts he witnessed firsthand!

Empress Dowager Zhuang protected them!

Empress Dowager Zhuang... Empress Dowager Zhuang is no different from them!

They are all the murderers who killed Ming'er!!!

"Who exactly are you?!"

A murderous aura that could destroy the heavens and the earth suddenly burst forth in Tang Yueshan's eyes!

He had been carrying his prey, but now he threw it away coldly and reached out to grab Gu Jiao's throat!

Gu Jiao wouldn't surrender easily. She used a withered branch to block his hand, but unexpectedly, this guy had a pair of iron hands that pierced right through the withered branch.

Tang Yueshan was able to become the Grand Marshal of the Army and the People's Liberation Army not only because of Empress Dowager Zhuang's favor and support, but also because he himself had considerable strength. His inner strength was very profound and was no weaker than His Majesty's Dragon Shadow Guard.

Gu Jiao had been busy for a day and a night, and her physical strength was already exhausted. She couldn't withstand his attack.

However, at this critical moment, the sound of soldiers talking suddenly came from the woods.

"Boss! There's a little cabin over there!"

"Let's go! Let's go take a look!"

It's the army of remnants of the previous dynasty!

Tang Yueshan was also wanted by the remnants of the previous dynasty, and his expression immediately changed: "You are a remnant of the previous dynasty?!"

“I’m not,” Gu Jiao said.

"You're a girl?!" Tang Yueshan was even more astonished upon hearing Gu Jiao's female voice than upon seeing the army of remnants of the previous dynasty.

It's not that he's naive; it's just that... how could the methods she used to torture Tang Ming possibly be the work of a mere maid?

Are you really that shameless?

Gu Jiao was originally unlucky to run into Tang Yueshan while gathering firewood, but now that she saw the army of the former dynasty that she had attracted, she felt that Tang Yueshan was the truly unlucky one.

They're just hiding in the deep mountains and forests, and they can probably stay hidden for a year or two without any problems.

As a result—

Oops, I've been exposed.

Tang Yueshan also figured out the key point. He gritted his teeth and looked at Gu Jiao: "It was you who led the army of the previous dynasty here."

Gu Jiao shook her head like a rattle-drum.

Yes—we.

Be careful what you say.

Tang Yueshan was furious!

Where did this girl come from? First she harmed Tang Ming, and now she's trying to harm him again!

"Don't kill me, I'll help you fight them."

Tang Yueshan's lips twitched. Help? Did you have a choice? It's as if they'd let you off the hook if you stood by and did nothing. Don't you have any idea who lured the army here?

Could you be any more shameless?

Gu Jiao waved to the army of the former dynasty who were still searching for their way: "We're here!"

Tang Yueshan's body trembled!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

A dozen arrows, carrying a murderous aura, hurtled towards them. Gu Jiao flashed behind Tang Yueshan in an instant!

Tang Yueshan: "...!!"

The enemy sent two squads, totaling more than fifty soldiers. These soldiers were more skilled in martial arts than the patrolling soldiers, since the lord had ordered them to capture prisoners alive, so they were all elite troops.

The group didn't recognize Tang Yueshan at first, but Gu Jiao pointed directly at him and said, "He is the Grand Marshal Tang you are looking for."

Tang Yueshan was sold off just like that...

The group of men slashed at Tang Yueshan with lightning speed!

After all, the higher-ups only ordered that the assassin be captured alive, not that Tang Yueshan be spared as well.

Tang Yueshan is the Grand Marshal of the Zhao Kingdom's army. His head is very valuable. Whoever cuts it off will be richly rewarded by their king!

Then Tang Yueshan discovered an incredibly bizarre scene: the group of people only used half their strength when they attacked Gu Jiao, and they even used the back of their blades, but when it came to attacking him, they hacked at him to death...

Tang Yueshan was so angry he was convulsing!

In this small battle between the two sides, Tang Yueshan constituted the absolute main force of our side, almost single-handedly killing forty soldiers who were remnants of the previous dynasty.

Gu Jiao was really slacking off, only making a real move after she had exhausted Tang Yueshan.

While Gu Jiao dealt with the remaining soldiers, Tang Yueshan clutched his chest and slumped down in the snow, panting. He watched Gu Jiao's skills, his expression growing increasingly grave.

The night Gu Jiao raided the Marshal's mansion, even though he didn't fight her himself, seeing her being chased by the Tang family's archers made him realize how little she was capable of.

Clearly, in just a few months, this girl's skills have improved tremendously.

If he doesn't get rid of her now, she will surely become a major threat to him in the future!

Gu Jiao was killing the last three soldiers, and her back was exposed to Tang Yueshan's eyes.

Just as Gu Jiao was about to finish her last strike, Tang Yueshan quietly gathered his inner strength and slammed his palm down hard on Gu Jiao's back!

But as soon as he raised his hand, a sharp pain shot through his chest, followed by him spitting out a mouthful of black blood and his vision going black. He collapsed onto the snow.

(End of this chapter)