Chapter 116 Gu Nanxiao escorts the coffin back to the capital
The war in the northern frontier lasted for more than two years. During this time, Gu Nanxiao often traveled thousands of miles to return to his wooden house for a few days.
Every time he returned, he would carve various small objects day and night, and occasionally he would imitate a dog's bark.
Before leaving, he placed the wooden carving on the window frame, only to find that one or two pieces of the previous carving were often missing. When no one could see, he secretly curled the corners of his mouth into a stiff smile.
Every time Gu Nanxiao returned, he would bring some fruits unique to the Northern Frontier. Then he would sit in front of the wooden house, demonstrating how to eat them while describing the taste to himself.
During Gu Nanxiao's return, Yunxi would sit in the wicker chair all day, staring blankly at the man opposite her. Sometimes she would laugh, sometimes she would cry.
Qi Jinxiu stood silently behind her, keeping her company. He knew better than anyone that Yunxi deeply loved Gu Nanxiao, which was why she had been struggling internally about whether or not to forgive that man.
In the past, Qi Jinxiu would never have wanted Yunxi to forgive him, but after nearly three years of companionship, Qi Jinxiu realized that he simply could not enter Yunxi's heart.
With the solar eclipse drawing ever closer, if even Yunxi's love for Gu Nanxiao couldn't keep him, he had even less confidence that he could retain Yunxi.
Therefore, Qi Jinxiu had already secretly decided in his heart that rather than letting Yunxi leave this world, it would be better for her to love someone else and live in a place within his reach.
Perhaps due to the harsh climate of the northern frontier, Yunxi noticed that Gu Nanxiao's skin had become darker and rougher. He must have suffered a lot during his two years stationed there.
The last time Gu Nanxiao returned, he was covered in blood and fell off his horse as soon as he arrived in front of the wooden house.
Yunxi almost rushed out of the barrier to check on Gu Nanxiao, but fortunately Moyu and the others arrived in time and carried the critically injured Gu Nanxiao into the house.
Yunxi didn't know whether Gu Nanxiao's injury was sustained on the battlefield or during a long march when he was ambushed.
In short, he appeared to be seriously injured, but he only stayed for a few days. Before his injuries had healed, he forced himself to ride back to the battlefield.
Presumably, the war in the northern frontier was intense, and the Prince Yong was getting old. Gu Nanxiao was worried about leaving him alone on the battlefield, which is why he was in a hurry to return.
Yunxi really wanted to advise Gu Nanxiao to stop torturing himself like this; she felt so sorry for him.
But Yunxi dared not show herself, fearing that she would be entangled with Gu Nanxiao and miss this opportunity to leave.
Although Yunxi felt sorry for him, she still did not intend to forgive him, because she felt that she could not accept a man who could not control his behavior when he got angry and would hurt her without mercy.
After deciding to be together, the two are going to spend their lives together. Yunxi absolutely cannot tolerate Gu Nanxiao's behavior, which is akin to domestic violence.
Yunxi thought that he was probably just having trouble letting go for the time being, and that he would give up completely after running himself tired for a while.
Moreover, given Gu Nanxiao's status and family background, it would be easy for him to find someone who truly respects, loves, and obeys him.
Perhaps she wasn't that special to him, and their relationship might not last long.
That day, a spies from the border brought news that the Great Yan Kingdom's Fengxue Pass was under siege. The city's food supplies were running low, and Gu Nanxiao and the Prince of Yong had been holding out in the city for more than half a month.
The news came back from the border about seven or eight days later, and it is unknown how much grain is left in the city.
Upon hearing the news of the critical shortage of provisions, Yunxi knew that Gu Nanxiao's fate was sealed. She immediately and anxiously ordered Qi Jinxiu to quickly transfer grain from the Northwest and bring the troops secretly trained in the Northwest to the northern frontier battlefield.
After calming Yunxi down, Qi Jinxiu accepted the order without hesitation. Ten days later, Qi Jinxiu delivered countless medicinal herbs and grains to Fengxue Pass.
Gu Nanxiao knew it was Yunxi who was helping him as soon as he saw who it was. Although he had prepared for it himself, it was Yunxi who sent it, which meant that Yunxi still cared about him.
The war in the northern frontier has lasted for nearly three years, and both sides have exhausted their military and financial resources. They are already at their limit, and each side is just one step away from defeat.
With the addition of supplies and troops from Yunxi to the battle, they quickly gained control of the situation. Within a month, they completely repelled the enemy and marched all the way to the enemy's capital, capturing their king.
However, just as the city was falling, King Yong was struck by a poisoned arrow from the enemy. He died on the battlefield just three days later due to the poison taking effect.
After the death of King Yong, Gu Nanxiao, in a fit of rage, slaughtered the royal family of the enemy country and escorted the coffin of the deposed king back to the capital.
When the Empress Dowager saw her youngest son's coffin, she fainted on the spot. It was Gu Nanxiao who summoned Su Mingyan to provide emergency treatment. After more than ten days of strong medicine, the Empress Dowager's life was saved.
The treatment was extremely dangerous, and the Empress Dowager faced life-threatening situations multiple times. In the end, although she was saved, she was permanently paralyzed and bedridden, unable to speak, hear, or even control her bowels and bladder.
The emperor was quite satisfied with this, only occasionally visiting him and sending eunuchs to deliver some tonics, just going through the motions.
In the Emperor's heart, the Empress Dowager's favoritism was something he could never get over. The Emperor felt that if he were the one who died, the Empress Dowager would never be so heartbroken.
However, the death of Prince Yong relieved the emperor of a major worry. From then on, he no longer had to worry that an imperial edict would suddenly appear from some corner and overthrow his throne.
Even though Prince Yong is dead, his bloodline still exists, and the Emperor has always been very wary of Gu Nanxiao's abilities.
Furthermore, through numerous reports of victories from the army, they learned how Gu Nanxiao was a master strategist, a skilled commander, and a brave and invincible leader who always led from the front when fighting the enemy.
All of this made the Emperor even more determined to get rid of Gu Nanxiao. He decided to first sow discord between Gu Nanxiao and the Shen family, creating a major rift between them. After eliminating the Shen family's support, he would then find a way to kill Gu Nanxiao.
At the welcoming banquet, the Emperor, under the guise of rewarding Gu Nanxiao, bestowed upon him the marriage of Shen Yujiao as his principal wife. He claimed that this was to comply with the Empress Dowager's wishes, to appease loyal ministers and generals, and to allow Gu Nanxiao to take over the Shen family's military power.
The Emperor knew Gu Nanxiao's attitude towards Shen Yujiao, but he deliberately arranged the marriage to create conflict between him and Shen's uncle.
If Gu Nanxiao accepts Shen Yujiao, the two will be lifelong enemies. If he breaks off the engagement, the Shen family will lose all face. Therefore, no matter what she does, she will fall out with the Shen family.
As the Emperor predicted, upon hearing the news of the bestowal of marriage upon Shen Yujiao, Gu Nanxiao immediately risked his military merits to decline the decree.
To the Emperor's surprise, Gu Nanxiao not only exchanged his immense military achievements for the cancellation of the arranged marriage, but also resigned from all his posts, requesting to take the ashes of the Prince of Yong to his fiefdom, and also asked to take the paralyzed Empress Dowager with him, saying that he wanted to fulfill his filial duty to his father.
The emperor was overjoyed with this outcome, having already been thinking about how to prevent him from gaining more power after achieving military merit.
Unexpectedly, a simple imperial decree not only reclaimed his military power but also his political power. Moreover, it conveniently sent the Empress Dowager away. This outcome couldn't be more satisfying.
Over the years, the Empress Dowager had used the concept of filial piety to force him to compromise on many matters. Now that this obstacle has been removed, the Emperor can finally truly hold power in his own hands.
The Emperor lavishly praised Gu Nanxiao's loyalty and filial piety at the morning court the following day. He also bestowed upon him the title of "Virtuous" and the hereditary title of Prince.
The fiefdom of Bashu left to Prince Yong by the late emperor was transformed into a vast territory encompassing several times larger northwestern prefectures. Prince Xian, Gu Nanxiao, was permitted to govern his own fiefdom independently. Furthermore, he was no longer required to pay taxes to the court.
With this decree issued, everyone finally understood just how much the Emperor loathed Prince Yong and his son.
Everyone knows that the fiefdom of Bashu is fertile, rich in resources, and has a suitable climate. This fiefdom is enough to show the late emperor's fondness for Prince Yong.
The northwestern fiefdom, though seemingly several times larger, was actually arid and barren, frequently plagued by sandstorms and snow. This imperial edict, while appearing to be a reward, was in reality a form of punishment.
Moreover, they claimed to be exempt from taxes, but who doesn't know that the northwestern prefectures suffer from constant disasters and not only cannot pay taxes, but also need the imperial court to allocate funds for disaster relief every year?
This wasn't a tax exemption; it was practically leaving Prince Xian to fend for himself. Gu Nanxiao, however, smiled dismissively and calmly accepted the order.
He still had one thing to do: before the handover of authority of the Imperial Guard, he had to investigate the case of the Shi family and the Third Prince.
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