Female General (18)
Gou Su was only in his early twenties, and had been used to living on the edge of a knife and galloping on the battlefield. He finally got a chance to relax for a while, but was troubled by another kind of trouble.
It’s true, he came to my door.
"A Su, I want to marry you." Huang Heng opened his lips slightly, and each word was spoken lightly.
However, to Gou Su, these six words were nothing but a joke.
As an orphan, her marriage was not arranged by her parents or a matchmaker, but she always made her own decision.
Huang Heng came here with ulterior motives. Unlike ordinary women, her face did not reveal a single moment of shyness or joy. Even Ah Chou, who was standing beside her, was surprised. Her starry eyes were always calm.
As calm as a pool of stagnant water.
"What did you say?"
"I want to marry you."
Looking at Huang Heng's bloodless face, Gou Su's words failed to provide any comfort.
She straightened her neck and raised her head slightly: "Marry me? Do you know who I am?"
Her question left Huang Heng speechless. He had been expecting her to make all kinds of excuses, but he hadn't expected that she would give him such a blow.
He really didn't know how to answer, and after hesitating for a long time, he mumbled a few words: "You...you are Asu, General Zhaowu of our dynasty...Is there anything wrong with that?"
"That's the problem." Gou Su raised his brows slightly, not out of annoyance, but out of annoyance. "I'm used to wielding swords and spears, and I'm really not capable of taking care of my husband and children. I'm terrible at needlework, and I don't know how to be filial to my parents-in-law. I'm definitely not a good match for the nobles in Tianling City."
Her expression was solemn, and she opened her mouth with a series of rejections, which Huang Heng found a bit ridiculous.
He shook his body unnaturally, muttered inaudible words, and blinked awkwardly, always thinking that there was still room for improvement. "A Su, do you think that my official position is too low and I am not worthy of you..."
"Mr. Huang, please don't misinterpret my meaning." Before he could finish his words, Gou Su interrupted him, "Even if you were the prime minister's legitimate son, I would not marry you."
"W-why?"
It seemed that Gou Su didn't understand why he was so persistent, and he couldn't help but sigh.
Ran Achou stayed behind him, hiding his secret joy under his mask.
Gou Su scratched her temples and, raising her eyes, happened to meet a sparrow perched on the eaves. She raised her chin and directed Huang Heng's gaze to the creature, "Do you see clearly? All you young men want to marry is a beautiful sparrow, kept in a gilded cage, to sing a few songs on your husband's lap every day and guard the house. But I am different. I have been free from the constraints of morality since I was young. I am more fortunate than them, living a free life. From beginning to end, I have been an eagle in armor. Under the heavens, my nest is on the cliff, not on the eaves of a drizzling house."
Huang Heng was stunned when he heard this, and didn't know how to respond for a moment. Gou Su had an indifferent expression and showed no emotion. Only Ah Chou was listening on the side, with joy in his heart.
"You...I...you..."
"Young Master Huang," Gou Su finally lifted his boots and took a step back. "You are my savior. I am naturally grateful to you and happy to repay you. But if my sincerity has caused you unnecessary misunderstanding, please allow me to apologize. My original intention was only to do good, not worldly things."
Having said it so clearly, Gou Su believed that if Huang Heng wanted to keep a good friend, he should leave tactfully.
But for a long while, he was still shocked by Gou Su's blunt refusal and couldn't recover. It was not until Ah Chou came out and was about to close the door to refuse visitors that he stammered and forcedly changed the subject.
Fortunately, there were only Gou Su and the other two at the time, otherwise he would have had to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
With a rare pair of rosy cheeks, he licked his lower lip and scratched his sleeves meaninglessly, "Sorry... I'm being sentimental. I always thought that you, Su, lost your parents at a young age and should be longing for a sense of belonging. I took the initiative to expect you to find a sheltered place, but I didn't expect..."
"Young Master Huang is indeed overthinking things," Ah Chou suddenly stepped between the two men and interrupted with a kind smile, "Our general has a mansion and family, and he has his own place to go."
"Family? Where are they..."
"I am a member of the general's family. I have followed the general for many years. If she needs me, I will risk my life to help her."
With Gou Su in front and Achou behind, Huang Heng's already pale face suddenly became even paler.
He had planned on not making any mistakes, but the constant retorts really embarrassed him, and his face gradually lost its good expression.
Fortunately, Gou Su had little patience. She felt that she had spoken out, so she personally asked Huang Heng to leave. "Young Master Huang, if you have nothing else to do, please return. The palace has summoned me to see the emperor. I will pack up and go. I will speak well of you in the palace. After all, you have made an invaluable contribution."
Huang Heng was about to open his mouth to argue a few more times, but Gou Su did not give him a chance. Even though the words were on the tip of her tongue, her boots still made the clanging sound of the stone slabs on her feet.
Achou didn't say anything more. He bent his body, stretched out his arms, and stood across from Huang Heng.
Reputation was the most important thing. Since Gou Su had made it clear, he didn't want to argue any further, so he forced a smile and then turned away reluctantly.
As it happened, Xiao Lin and Mu You returned home a step late and passed by Huang Heng who was walking down the stairs.
"Why is he here..." Xiao Lin muttered to himself, his face stiff except for the black pupils following his back.
Mu You remained silent for a rare moment, quietly watching Huang Heng limping and finally disappearing into the crowd on the long street.
However, just as the two of them took small steps to the threshold, they heard a creaking sound from behind them, the sound of wheels rolling over gravel.
Xiao Lin immediately turned his head, and what he saw was a group of people dressed in palace attire.
Their carriage stopped neatly at the gate of the general's mansion. After the horses neighed, a corner of the curtain was lifted, and a pair of black leather boots appeared in the darkness, followed by an embroidered long gown, and finally a squinting face was revealed.
Although Xiao Lin and Mu You did not recognize who this person was, they had been here for so long that they had developed some insight and could tell that this person was a eunuch and of high status.
The two of them stared in amazement. Before they could come to their senses, the eunuch came up to them in small steps and said in a rather shrill voice, "Is General Zhaowu here?"
"In...in the mansion..." Mu You responded subconsciously.
It seemed that the eunuch was very satisfied. He closed his eyes in the shadow cast by the eaves, and walked over the threshold with his men in a proud manner, heading straight for the inner courtyard.
The originally peaceful courtyard suddenly became noisy, and Gou Su could hear the noise even though he was hiding deep inside.
She seemed to realize something, and the eunuch only looked at her for a moment, then she put on her wristband and strode towards him.
Seeing Gou Su's face, the eunuch's expression immediately brightened up a lot, and his hands folded and fell down: "The emperor has ordered that the general enter the palace, and this old servant is here to pick him up."
"No need to say more, just take me to the palace."
Gou Su did not give a good look to the group of people in the palace. He strode forward without stopping, passed the eunuch in the lead, and headed straight for the sedan chair outside the door.
For some reason, Xiao Lin hid behind Mu You and watched, and felt a little happy in his heart. After seeing this arrogant father-in-law unfortunately suffer a setback, he couldn't help but burst out a laugh.
Fortunately, Mu You blocked her, otherwise if the eunuch heard it, she would be severely punished.
But besides the ridicule, a wave of uneasiness began to rise in her heart again, sometimes weak, sometimes fierce.
Especially when she actually saw Gou Su enter the sedan chair, the palpitations in her heart became even more confusing.
She covered her chest with her hands, trying to comfort herself.
It's okay, isn't it just a performance report in the palace? Besides, now that the truth is out, it was Fujue's people who committed the murder. With everyone watching, the emperor won't bother her again.
It should be safe.
That’s what Xiao Lin thought.
As for what kind of reply the person in the palace wants and how the two ministers will plead their case, we will have to wait for Gou Su to return to find out.
As he thought about it, Xiao Lin slowed down the movement of the wooden spoon stirring the porridge.
When she came back to her senses with her head tilted, the pot of mung bean porridge that was originally meant to relieve the heat had lost its moisture and the surface was quite thick.
Realizing that the porridge was overcooked, Xiao Lin hurriedly found a large bowl from the cupboard and scooped the porridge into the bowl spoon by spoon.
The green rice porridge with beans flowed down the edge of the spoon, spread a few inches along the bottom of the spoon, and finally fell into the porcelain bowl with a plop, leaving behind bursts of hot steam.
After going to the general's mansion to do odd jobs, she often hid in the back kitchen, doing clumsy chores. Thinking back to when she was living under someone else's roof, she also did the job of serving tea and water, but occasionally made a few cups of tea.
At this time, the firewood in the stove was burning brightly, and the heat outside the door enveloped the whole body.
Beads of sweat the size of beans hung on her forehead, and her hair stuck tightly to her temples. The thought of the air conditioning in that world made her burst into tears.
Xiao Lin's lips even drooped, and her eyes were about to burst open with tears. Mu You seemed to have sensed something with her and hurried over just before her tears fell into the rice porridge.
"Let me do it, I'll do it." He only took a glance and saw the grievance hidden in Xiao Lin's heart. He didn't care about his wet back and snatched the spoon from her hand. "It's too hot here. Go get a fan over there to fan yourself."
Most of the time, Mu You was a man of his word and would not allow others to interfere. Therefore, although Xiao Lin knew that this was inappropriate and would make her seem overly pampered, she still obediently moved to the shade under his constant urging.
Even after leaving the fire, the heat had not yet dissipated, making Xiao Lin's uneasiness even stronger.
Mu You subconsciously glanced up at her, thought for a moment, and then said soothingly: "Don't think too much, the more you think about it, the more uncomfortable you will feel."
"But..." Xiao Lin unconsciously started to move his fingers again, "The general has been gone for so long and hasn't come back yet. I'm worried something might have happened..."
"It's not that easy to enter the palace to see the emperor. The emperor asks all sorts of questions, which takes a lot of time."
"That's what I said, but it's almost evening now and the general hasn't come back yet, so I..."
"Didn't Chu Mo say it? That person is the one behind all this." Mu You's voice suddenly rose, and he wiped the sweat from his temples by grabbing his sleeve. "We just need to keep an eye on that one person and keep a close eye on him."
Even with Mu You's series of comforts, Xiao Lin remained silent, with a lot on his mind.
At that time, Mu You had just finished scooping the last spoonful of mung bean porridge, and he took the big bowl and placed it on the tray, while reaching into the cupboard to get a few more porcelain bowls and spoons.
But from the corner of his eye, he could see that Xiao Lin's brows were still furrowed.
He couldn't help but sigh: "It's really nothing. If there was something wrong, people would have been sent to seal the house long ago."
To be honest, Xiao Lin's intuition has been very accurate since she was a child. Whenever they are undecided about something, they both trust her intuition.
But what about Mu You?
The crow's mouth is the most effective.
Before Xiao Lin could even tell him to touch wood, the deafening sound of armor clashing could be heard in the courtyard.
Realizing that something was wrong, Xiao Lin was the first to rush out of the backyard.
But what greeted her were the imperial guards charging in with spears. The sound of the soldiers drawing their swords drowned out the heavy breathing of the war horses outside the door, making people's spines shiver.
Ah Chou also came out upon hearing the sound, his face showing fear.
Then, the black crowd retreated in an orderly manner along a central line, and a senior official wearing a black hat walked out from them.
Xiao Lin blinked, taking in the man's face—it was Li Yun, the Minister of Justice! Why was he here? What was he doing?
Before they could ask, Li Yun cleared his throat and spoke in a loud voice, "General Zhaowu Gou Su is implicated in the plot to murder the Minister of War. The Jinwu Guards are now enforcing a ban on the general's residence. From this day forward, all those who receive a salary from the residence, from the clan members and children to the servants, are to remain within the courtyard. The keys to all internal and external gates are in the custody of the guards. We will make a final decision after the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate have concluded their investigations!"
Mu You vaguely understood part of it, but Xiao Lin understood it clearly and his eyes widened.
Wha…what? Gou Su was involved in the murder of Huang Zhi?
No, how come Huang Zhi is dead too?
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