Chapter 757 Who is Yinyin? (First Update)

Gu Jiao stayed at noon to have lunch with Duke Anguo.

Duke Anguo had a good appetite. In addition to drinking some congee as usual, he also ate a few bites of the dishes that Gu Jiao had placed on his plate.

Gu Jiao was testing his chewing ability by putting food on his plate. He was having some difficulty chewing, and he wouldn't have bothered to eat if Gu Jiao hadn't put the food on his plate.

“We should eat like this for every meal from now on,” Gu Jiao said.

You can't just drink porridge; you need to exercise your oral muscles.

“My elder brother would never do that—” Before Master Jing could finish speaking, the Duke’s fingertip wrote “good” on the armrest.

Master Jing: "..."

After the meal, Duke Anguo took Gu Jiao to visit the armory in the courtyard.

This place contains all kinds of weapons; some belonged to his wife, Xuan Yuan Zi, while others were given to Jing Yin Yin by Xuan Yuan Li.

Duke Anguo was always both amused and exasperated when he received weapons from his father-in-law. Why did he have to send Yinyin, a girl, these knives and spears?

"You don't understand, this child takes after me, he's destined to be a great general!"

“But Yinyin is only one year old. Father-in-law, even if you want to train her, shouldn’t you wait until she’s a little older? Azi only started learning martial arts at the age of four.”

Xuanyuan Zi, wife of Duke Anguo, and daughter of Xuanyuan Li.

Whenever this happened, Xuan Yuanli would hold the bewildered little Yinyin in his arms, as if afraid she would be snatched away, and snort, "How can Azi compare to Yinyin? Yinyin is the most like her maternal grandfather! Yinyin must learn martial arts!"

Xuanyuan Li would come to steal the child every few days.

Only when Duke Anguo woke up and Yinyin was no longer in bed did he realize that Xuanyuan Li must have sneaked in and taken her away in the middle of the night.

"Big brother, big brother!"

Second Master Jing waved his finger in front of Duke Anguo's eyes.

Duke Anguo snapped out of his daze and glanced awkwardly at Gu Jiao, who happened to be looking at him with a puzzled expression.

A hint of apology flashed in his eyes, and he dipped his fingertip in water and wrote on the armrest: "Thinking of something from the past."

Master Jing said, "Xiao Liulang wants to ask you, can he just pick any weapon he wants here, or what?"

Duke Anguo wrote with unparalleled arrogance: "It's all yours."

Master Jing felt wronged.

He had coveted his sister-in-law's bow for many years, but his older brother had never offered to give it to him.

Gu Jiao took the weapons to the courtyard and tested them one by one.

Duke Anguo sat in his wheelchair on the veranda, watching her intently, like a parent watching their child play with toys, his eyes full of smiles.

Master Jing leaned over, glanced at Gu Jiao who was drawing her bow and arrow in the courtyard, and whispered, "Brother, her selection is dangerous. Do you want to persuade her? It's not easy to find someone you like. If something goes wrong, you'll have no one to keep you company in the future."

Master Jing isn't stupid. His elder brother looks at Xiao Liulang like he's his own child. His elder brother really wants to be someone's father.

The pain of losing a child is enough once.

From the moment the Grand Preceptor came to him, Duke Anguo already understood what he was about to face and what he would have to endure in the future.

He loves this child very much and naturally hopes she can stay by his side forever.

But he couldn't cut off her wings just to put his own mind at ease.

She wanted to fly, so he lifted her up, carrying her above his head, and let her fly to a farther and wider sky.

He would be filled with fear, but he would never stop her.

Gu Jiao stayed in the courtyard until evening before returning home. She picked up a bow, the very one that Master Jing had coveted for many years.

On the way back to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall, Second Master Jing looked at her all the way like a resentful young wife.

...

Gu Jiao is now someone who can enter the Imperial Preceptor's Hall simply by showing her face. She led the Black Wind King toward the Qilin Hall.

Halfway there, Yu He seemed to have been looking for her on purpose, his eyes lighting up when he saw her: "Young Master Xiao!"

He strode towards Gu Jiao.

Upon reaching him, he suddenly recalled the indescribable scene he had witnessed at the Qilin Hall that day, and a sense of embarrassment welled up inside him. He forced a smile and said, "Young Master Xiao... you're back..."

Gu Jiao was particularly open and honest, which made Yu He seem like the one who had been caught doing something wrong.

"Did you need something from me?" Gu Jiao asked.

Yu He forced a smile and got down to business: "Ah, it's my master. He said your horse is in the recovery phase and you need to pay more attention to its feeding. He had someone get some concentrated feed and asked if you wanted to go and take a look."

Gu Jiao doesn't have much experience in raising horses, so it's only right that she consults the Imperial Advisor.

Yu He led Gu Jiao toward the purple bamboo forest.

Yu He is currently unable to look Gu Jiao in the eye. She can't help but think of Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng in the room. How could a man as handsome and refined as the eldest grandson of the emperor like a man?

Cough cough.

I can't think about it anymore.

Perhaps to ease the awkwardness, Yu He made conversation by saying, "I think you're quite good at raising horses; Little Eleven is quite good at it."

Ma Wang had only been there a day, but Yu He already knew its name was Xiao Shiyi.

Yu He asked, "How do you usually feed them?"

Gu Jiao said, "So, you just fed him whatever you wanted?"

Yu He chuckled awkwardly, "What do you feed them?"

Gu Jiao thought for a moment: "Grass? Sometimes we give you a carrot too."

Yu He's lips twitched. Are you sure you're raising horses, not donkeys?

Yu He continued, "By the way, I heard from Senior Brother that you advanced. I haven't congratulated you yet."

Gu Jiao: "Mm."

The conversation died down.

Having run out of things to say, Yu He endured the immense embarrassment alone and led Gu Jiao to the Imperial Advisor's courtyard.

The Imperial Advisor went to select purple bamboo, Yu He asked Gu Jiao to sit in the main room for a while, and Black Wind King strolled around in the woods.

Yu He brought out a special wine from the Imperial Preceptor's Hall to entertain Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao took a sip: "So sweet."

Yu He smiled and said, "This is osmanthus wine brewed by my master himself. Only one jar is made each year, and ordinary people can't get to drink it."

Gu Jiao had just finished her drink and was slightly taken aback: "Is it wine?"

Yu He nodded: "Yes, but it's not astringent at all, right? The wine my master brews is like that—"

Bang!

Gu Jiao slammed her forehead on the table and passed out drunk!

Yu He: "..."

"Young Master Xiao, Young Master Xiao, Young Master Xiao!"

Yu He called for a long time, but Gu Jiao still didn't respond. Yu He was confused. "What's your alcohol tolerance? With such good martial arts skills, shouldn't you be able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk or falling over ten thousand cups? How come you were knocked out after just one cup? Oh no, what am I going to tell Master when he comes back?"

When the Imperial Advisor returned with two bamboo stalks, he found Gu Jiao lying face down on the table, completely drunk and unconscious.

Like a child who had made a mistake, Yu He stood up, lowered her head, and said in a panic, "I'm sorry, Master, I... I gave Young Master Xiao some osmanthus wine."

The Imperial Advisor frowned: "You gave her alcohol?"

Yu He opened her mouth: "I..."

The Imperial Advisor, who usually spoke without emotion, was somewhat displeased at the moment: "She can't drink alcohol."

Yu He lowered his head even further: "...Yes, disciple knows he was wrong."

The osmanthus wine was placed on the table, and he assumed it was for his master to serve to Xiao Liulang.

The Imperial Advisor gently placed the bamboo on the ground, came behind Gu Jiao, bent down, picked her up, and carried her to the inner room.

Yu He's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

His master had never even hugged the eldest brother, yet he hugged Xiao Liulang!

He...he even brought them into the inner room?

The Imperial Advisor placed the person on a bamboo bed and instructed his disciples from the Purple Bamboo Grove to prepare a hangover remedy.

This was a national advisor that Yu He had never seen before. His master had reached a level where he could not show his emotions and was undisturbed by worldly affairs.

But just now, he saw emotion in his master's eyes.

"You may step back," the Imperial Advisor said to Yu He.

“…Yes.” Yu He cupped his hands in greeting and retreated without looking to the side.

He remained puzzled even after leaving the courtyard.

What exactly is the relationship between this Xiao Liulang and his master?

Why did his master make so many exceptions for him?

...

Gu Jiao's effects were too strong. At first, she just slept in a drunken stupor, but later she started having wildly imaginative dreams.

She first dreamed that when she was eight years old, a boy in military boots took her back to the organization.

Sixteen is the youngest godfather in the organization, and also the most ruthless killer.

She was the first child he brought back, yet he was the coldest and most inhumane towards her.

He always punished her.

In the middle of the night, she was often the only one running laps on the training field.

He was like a cheetah lurking in the darkness, making her dare not slack off.

She was always exhausted, and then he would carry her back like a sack of potatoes.

He never calls on anyone else for the most dangerous missions.

"Shadow, you're coming with me."

She once suspected that he wanted to use the mission to kill her.

She and her comrades from the organization were taken hostage, but he didn't even glance at her and simply rescued his comrades and left.

However, it was on that occasion that his companion, whom he cared about, was killed, while she, who hadn't even received a glance from him, survived.

At that moment, she seemed to understand something.

"Wake up, drink some hangover soup before you go back to sleep."

The sound, seemingly coming from the water, entered Gu Jiao's mind in a faint, audible way.

The scene in her dream was shattered. She opened her eyes groggily, looked around, didn't react, and then closed her eyes again and fell asleep.

She continued to dream.

But it wasn't the dream I was just having.

The weather was fine, and she came to a small courtyard full of lily of the valley flowers, with a clump of green bamboo growing in one corner of the courtyard.

A gentle breeze blows, and the bamboo leaves and lilies of the valley dance together.

She recognized it; it was the courtyard she had visited that afternoon.

Why is she back again?

Where is the Duke?

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she saw the door to the main room open and someone step out, but it wasn't the Duke; it was a woman who was six months pregnant.

She was dressed in purple battle clothes and silver armor, with a longbow in her hand, as if she were about to go to war.

The young Duke of Anguo stepped forward, looked at her intently, his eyes slightly red.

She smiled and said, "Take good care of Yinyin, I'll be back soon."

But you never came back—

This sentence suddenly flashed through Gu Jiao's mind.

She watched the woman's retreating figure as she walked out of the courtyard.

Don't go.

You will die on the battlefield.

Gu Jiao wanted to call out to her.

But not a single sound came out of her throat.

She tried a few times.

Suddenly, a little girl stumbled out of the house, her innocent voice piercing the air: "Mother—"

Gu Jiao shuddered and opened her eyes.

A sound lingered in my ears; I couldn't tell if it came from myself or from a dream.

"You're awake."

The Imperial Advisor sat in a chair by the bed, looking at her calmly. "Would you like some hangover soup? Or not?"

Gu Jiao looked around and found that it was an unfamiliar house. However, when she looked out the door and saw the familiar main room, she realized that she was still in the small bamboo house in the Purple Bamboo Forest.

"No need, I'm awake." Gu Jiao sat up, her head still aching. "What kind of wine did you brew? It's so potent!"

"It's because you have a low alcohol tolerance," the Imperial Advisor said. "Ye Qing could drink a whole jar without any problems."

Knowing her own alcohol tolerance, Gu Jiao remained silent and did not refute.

"Did you just have a dream?" the Imperial Advisor asked.

Mentioning this, Gu Jiao frowned slightly. She had had many dreams lately, but she forgot them all when she woke up. However, this time, perhaps due to the effects of the alcohol, she actually remembered the second half.

"Yes." She didn't deny it.

The Imperial Advisor placed the hangover soup on the bedside table and asked, "What did you dream about that caused such a strong reaction?"

Gu Jiao looked at him strangely: "My reaction... is strong?"

The Imperial Advisor glanced at her and said, "Never mind if you don't remember."

Gu Jiao suddenly spoke up: "I dreamed of the Duke of Anguo when he was young, as well as his wife and children."

She had seen Xuan Yuanzi's portrait in the library, so it's not surprising that she would dream of her.

As for the content of the dream, perhaps she had heard too much about the Xuanyuan family and imagined a separation in her mind.

But that child—

Wait, there are no portraits of the Jing family children in the library. Those are the children in the portraits she saw in the Imperial Preceptor's study!

Was that child really Jing Yinyin, or did she simply project the appearance of any random child onto the Jing Yinyin in her dream?

The Imperial Advisor felt Gu Jiao scrutinizing him: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Gu Jiao asked, "Are the little girls in those paintings in your study Jing Yinyin?"

The Imperial Advisor didn't seem too surprised: "You saw it all?"

Does this mean they've admitted it?

The Imperial Advisor nodded and sighed, "That's right, she is Jing Yinyin."

Gu Jiao asked seriously, "What is your relationship with Jing Yinyin?"

The Imperial Advisor looked at Gu Jiao, his expression suddenly becoming serious: "You really want to know?"

Gu Jiao: "Yes."

The Grand Preceptor paused for a moment, then said to Gu Jiao, "Alright, once you win this selection and become the commander of the Black Wind Cavalry, I will tell you everything."

(End of this chapter)