31 Embrace
◎Falling into the arms of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao◎
His Royal Highness Prince Zhao's expression was different from before, and Zhen Yuan and Xie Qian's brows were immediately filled with worry.
When Luoyang was under siege for a long time and His Highness received the secret report that King Zhao Jianan of Xia was leading an army of 100,000 to support, he also sat quietly like this all night.
They expended enormous manpower and resources to dismantle the defenses along Luoyang's city walls, trapping Wang Xingman within. After eight months of siege, Luoyang was now an isolated city, and Wang Xingman was at the end of his rope. Zhao Jianan intervened, instantly placing them under attack from both sides.
If we retreat when we are on the verge of success, I am afraid there will never be such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight again.
But if they do not retreat, when Zhao Jianan's troops arrive at the city and join forces with Wang Xingman, the Jin army will be in danger.
They all stayed up all night, waiting for His Highness's decision.
At dawn, His Highness's military orders were broadcast throughout the camp. He personally assembled 3,500 black-armored cavalrymen, leaving Yanming to continue the siege of Luoyang while the two of them accompanied His Highness on the march to Sishui Pass. Marching day and night, the 3,500 cavalrymen captured Sishui Pass and set up a well-defended battle array, awaiting the arrival of King Zhao Jian'an of Xia.
This battle is a matter of life and death, no one will retreat.
"Your Highness, is there something important going on?" Xie Qian's voice was filled with rare nervousness.
Lu Jing raised his eyes and saw the expressions on their faces as if they were facing a great enemy, and came back to his senses.
"I was just thinking about the Turkic envoys," he said. "You all sit down."
When the Turks were mentioned, Xie Qian and Zhen Yuan immediately understood.
The Turks in the north had been eyeing the Central Plains covetously since they officially established the Khanate at the end of the previous dynasty, committing all kinds of atrocities such as burning, killing, looting and so on.
Because the Central Plains was divided, all forces had no power to fight against the Turks and could only resort to appeasement, offering gold and silver objects to win them over in order to seek temporary peace.
Your Highness was forced to leave Beijing because of the Turks.
Lu Jing said, "I've been thinking about this a lot these past few days. I'm afraid that war will break out between the Jin Dynasty and the Turks sooner or later."
It's better to plan ahead and prevent disasters before they happen. Xie Qian and Zhen Yuan both straightened their expressions and said, "We understand."
Everything goes without saying. If they have to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, no one will be left behind.
Lu Jingwang regarded the two good friends in front of him as his best friends, and he was open and honest with them, even willing to trust them with life and death.
So do they.
And Yuan Le... His Royal Highness Prince Zhao had to make a comparison and had to admit to himself that his feelings towards Yuan Le were different.
Not that...pure.
…
"Send the person back?"
"Yes," Sun Jing replied with a smile, "Miss Qin received the letter from home and repeatedly asked me to express her gratitude to His Highness on her behalf. Then she returned happily."
His Highness also prepared a gift for Miss Qin and took good care of his fellow soldier's sister.
"Well, anything else?"
Sun Jing thought for a moment and said, "Miss Qin just asked if Lord Gu was in the palace today. She thought if Lord Gu had some free time, she would go visit him."
It’s a pity that Lord Gu got up early in the morning to report for duty at the Ministry of Works and was not on duty in the West Courtyard.
Lu Jing paused while drawing the defense map.
Sun Jing did not bring up this matter for no reason. Miss Qin was seventeen years old and had reached the age to get married.
The Duke of Qi's residence in Kyoto is now different than it was in the past. Countless noble families are willing to marry into the Duke's residence. Miss Qin and Lord Gu are of similar age. If they are interested in each other, this would be a perfect match. Furthermore, Your Highness is familiar with both families and can make the decision.
Sun Jing's words made perfect sense, but His Royal Highness Prince Zhao remained silent for a long time.
"...What do you think of my treatment of Yuan Le?"
Even Sun Jing didn't know how to respond to the sudden question.
Besides, this question is very difficult to answer. Steward Sun thought secretly, could it be that Lord Gu has done something to let His Highness down?
He thought about it and couldn't find an answer, except that the edict that demoted His Highness was written by Lord Gu, but that was for a reason and His Highness didn't take it to heart at all.
Sun Jing's hesitation was obvious. Lu Jing closed the defense map and said, "Just tell me directly."
He also wants to hear other people's opinions and doesn't care about anything else.
His Highness looked calm. Sun Jing considered for a moment and said truthfully, "Your Highness is naturally very good to Lord Gu."
His Highness Prince Zhao and Lord Gu grew up together. Whether in the Imperial College or later when Lord Gu entered the court, His Highness always took good care of him.
This wasn't surprising; His Highness was naturally protective of his subordinates and always treated those around him well. It was just that His Highness was closer to Lord Gu than to others. Among his acquaintances of the same generation, no one could compare to Lord Gu.
Sun Jing smiled and said, "I still remember that Your Highness once accompanied Lord Gu in a fight with another noble family, just to vent his anger. Lord Gu loved cherry biro, and Your Highness always asked the palace kitchen to keep it stocked. Lord Gu also borrowed a book from Your Highness when he lost it."
When the Queen was alive, she also liked the young man from the Gu family very much. He had exactly the appearance that the Queen favored. It was not surprising that the mother and son were of the same bloodline.
Sun Jing talked about many past events, and every time he talked about one, Lu Jing felt relieved.
Yes, he and Yuan Le have known each other for more than ten years, and their friendship since childhood is much better than that of others.
That's why he cares about him more.
That's how it should be.
Lu Jing justified himself, his tone much more relaxed: "Okay, you can go down."
Sun Jing took his leave, and felt relieved when he saw that His Highness did not seem to have any disagreement with Lord Gu.
…
As dusk fell, when Gu Ningxi was returning home from work at the Ministry of Works, he met Han Tong, the Junior Secretary of the Eastern Palace, on the palace road.
They were too close, and there was no way around it. It would be too much of a stretch to pretend not to see him. Gu Ningxi sighed, "It's bad luck!" and, resigned to a smile, stepped forward to greet him.
"Lord Han." She bowed.
"Master Gu." The other party returned the greeting politely.
The two people who were not familiar with each other met, and Gu Ningxi also felt embarrassed in front of the young minister, but had to respond.
She was originally the Crown Prince's Assistant, and had been on duty at the palace by order of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao. Now, when she met her old colleagues, everything they said seemed deliberate.
After practicing Tai Chi for two rounds, both sides said goodbye to each other and felt relieved at the same time.
But there are some blind people who come to disrupt the situation at this time!
"Master Han, Gu Zhongyun, what a coincidence."
The man who came was dressed in a green official uniform and had a smile on his face. He was Lin Yang, the legitimate son of Duke Ningguo.
Gu Ningxi retracted the steps she had taken.
The Ningguo Duke's family is the emperor's maternal grandfather, a distinguished and distinguished family. The Duke's wife is still alive, having been personally bestowed the title of First-Rank Imperial Consort by His Majesty. Last year, on the Duke's eightieth birthday, His Majesty personally visited the Duke's family to celebrate.
Lin Yang had two older brothers, so naturally, he would not inherit the title. However, it was easy for him to secure a seventh-rank official position in the court, and no one dared to provoke him.
Gu Ningxi knew that her elder sister was discussing marriage with Lin Zhen, the son of Ningguo Duke, and that the two families would become a close alliance.
Having both grown up in Kyoto, Gu Ningxi and Lin Yang had known each other for a long time, and their grievances couldn't be explained in a few words. Furthermore, this idiot probably still remembered that if he hadn't interfered, he would have been the one to join the Ministry of Works and be favored by the Crown Prince.
Lin Yang has the Ningguo Mansion behind him, so the officials in the court give him some favor.
Lin Yang was also well versed in the art of bringing up things that were not relevant. "I heard that Lord Gu is still on duty at Prince Zhao's mansion?"
Gu Ningxi replied indifferently, "Brother Lin is really well-informed."
The implication is that I don’t know how old the calendar is, why is he still bringing it up.
Gu Ningxi greeted Han Tong and was stopped by Lin Yang as she was leaving. "It's a rare sight to see you, Lord Gu. Why are you leaving without a few more words? You're being too disrespectful to me and Lord Han. What do you think, Lord Han?"
Han Tong was caught between these two sons of noble families and was in a dilemma.
No one paid any attention to him, so Lin Yang continued to speak: "Let me calculate, Lord Gu has been in Prince Zhao's mansion for nearly half a year, right? Lord Gu must be quite capable, he's been doing so well in both the Eastern Palace and the Prince's mansion that he almost forgot he also holds the position of Crown Prince's Assistant. But it seems to me that Lord Gu is enjoying himself so much that he doesn't want to leave."
He spoke a long string of words with a smug look on his face, and met Gu Ningxi's half-smile eyes.
"What did Brother Lin say?"
Han Tong's expression wasn't looking good either. Lin Yang recalled what had happened and broke out in a cold sweat.
How could His Royal Highness the Crown Prince be the defeated "Shu"?
There was a moment of awkwardness, but Han Tong gave him a way out and let the matter go. This time, when Ning Xi was about to leave again, Lin Yang did not stop him.
She left Lord Han and that idiot far behind, with only one thought in her mind.
As expected, he could be good friends with Gu Ningzheng. Birds of a feather flock together.
…
Half a month had passed, and the court had been relatively stable. Aside from the Turkic envoys who had come to Beijing to discuss the annual tribute, His Majesty had already handed the matter over to the Prince of Huai.
The affairs of the six ministries were all going on as usual. In addition to his own duties, Gu Ningxi devoted himself to studying Jiangdongli, and his life was peaceful and fulfilling.
The morning court meeting ended, and the sun was already scorching. Gu Ningxi had to go to Prince Zhao's mansion for duty today, so he went back to the Ministry of Works to get two books.
She wasted some time looking for books in the storeroom and estimated that she would be late when arriving at Prince Zhao's mansion.
Gu Ningxi walked hurriedly and was about to leave after closing the door of the duty room, but was unexpectedly stopped by Zhou Langzhong from the Ministry of Works.
His official rank was two ranks higher than hers, so Gu Ningxi said politely, "How are you, Lord Zhou?"
Doctor Zhou was about forty years old, with an honest face and a very popular figure in the Ministry of Works. The Minister of Works also valued him and regarded him as his right-hand man.
"Master Gu is truly diligent." Zhou Cheng looked at the two thin volumes in his hands and said gently, "Over the past month, Master Gu's name has appeared most frequently in the library's loan books. With such young people like him, it seems the Ministry of Works has successors."
Gu Ningxi smiled and said, "I just make up for my shortcomings with hard work. I'd like to ask Master Zhou for more guidance when he has time."
The back and forth trips delayed Gu Ningxi's departure from the palace, and there were not many carriages parked outside the palace gate.
It would definitely be late to arrive at Prince Zhao's Mansion. Gu Ningxi thought that there must be a reason for everything, and His Royal Highness Prince Zhao should not hold it against her.
As she thought this, she found her carriage.
However, when she opened the carriage door, Gu Ningxi was stunned. She closed the door, took a step back, and saw that the Gu Mansion's logo was indeed hanging on the carriage, which was very eye-catching.
After a pause, she opened the carriage door again. The person inside looked at her, not realizing he was an uninvited guest. "Why aren't you coming up yet?"
There were not many people at the palace gate, and no one around noticed the movement here.
Gu Ningxi got into his carriage with a normal expression and calmly told the driver to go to Prince Zhao's Mansion.
After the carriage had safely left the palace, Gu Ningxi lowered his voice and asked, "Your Highness, are you hiding from His Majesty?"
She guessed it right, and Lu Jing should naturally answer "yes".
After the court meeting, the emperor will definitely summon him and talk to him about choosing a princess.
Perhaps Li Ji had already blocked him in front of the royal carriage, but Lu Jing pretended not to know and decided to just leave.
"Your Highness is really..."
Gu Ningxi was speechless. Seeing that the person opposite her had taken the initiative and even handed her a cup of tea, she was speechless.
The tea was still warm, and Gu Ningxi planned to let it cool for a while before drinking it.
She said, "Your Highness really knows how to choose a place."
Lu Jing smiled without saying anything, and looked at the two books placed beside her.
Without saying anything, Gu Ningxi took the initiative to hand him a book to read.
The streets were already bustling with activity. As it was getting late and the sun was getting brighter, the drivers were driving faster than usual.
The two of them sat facing each other in the car. Lu Jing flipped through the documents carefully and asked, "Are you still thinking about the plow?"
"Yes," Gu Ningxi said with a bitter face, "This matter is much more difficult than I imagined."
She tried seven or eight drafts, but always failed.
It was naturally impossible to give up halfway, so Gu Ningxi made up his mind to change the Jiangdong plow.
Lu Jing looked at the distressed and stubborn person opposite him, and he couldn't bear to leave.
He thought that Yuan Le was his good friend of many years, and he didn't know what he had been thinking about recently.
Clearly everything is as usual.
However, as it turned a corner, the carriage, which had been moving normally, suddenly stopped. The carriage tilted, separated from the two horses. Gu Ningxi was completely unprepared and was thrown out uncontrollably.
The cold tea in his hand spilled all over her body, flowed down her shirt and soaked her bra.
Lu Jing reacted much faster. He had already steadied himself when the carriage started to shake. He even had his hands free to throw away the book and catch the person who bumped into him.
When she fell headfirst into the arms of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, Gu Ningxi wondered why she didn't hit the wall of the carriage.
Outside the car window, a steed neighed, accompanied by Lin Yang's smug laughter: "My apologies, Master Gu. My new steed is really untamed. Is Master Gu alright?"
【Author’s words】
Girl: This is how my life will be.
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