Zhou Gu saw that Su Rong also approved of his speculations, hence he had no objections to her arrangements.
So, he immediately penned a letter to the Crown Prince, while Su Rong wrote a letter to Zhou Che.
Fen Ling brought two trained falcons. Zhou Gu looked at them with curiosity, "You actually keep trained falcons? I’ve only heard of such things, but never seen people use them, are they reliable?"
"They are reliable. They have undergone special training for three years and have been tested countless times without a single failure," Su Rong said.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Gu was relieved. He rolled up his letter and following Su Rong’s example, tied it to the leg of one of the falcons. He then patted its head, "You must be quick, understood? Don’t delay matters. I am counting on you."
After saying that, he asked Su Rong, "Do they have names?"
"This one is called Bai Yu and the other is Mo Yu. We also have two others named Green Tail and Dian Qi," Su Rong answered.
Zhou Gu nodded and watched as Su Rong released the two falcons. The large birds soared into the sky and disappeared within the blink of an eye. The speed was astonishing. Zhou Gu thought that even if he drew his bow and arrow, with the speed at which these two birds just flew, no matter how good his archery skills were, it would be hard to catch them.
This sight truly impressed him.
Feeling excited, he asked Su Rong in a low voice, "Could you let me keep one?"
Su Rong turned to look at him.
Zhou Gu whispered to her, "You promised me earlier that we would stay in touch through letters. But as you know, the courier relay stations are too slow. Your falcon... I find it incredibly useful and it’s certainly faster."
Su Rong reminded him, "Recall the pet bird you brought down from Phoenix Mountain and later abandoned when you left Jiangning County? Do you have the patience to keep a bird?"
Zhou Gu immediately said, "It’s not the same. That was a pet bird, but this is a messenger bird."
He remembered Cuiyu, the bird that Su Rong refused to keep but he thought was cute and insisted on bringing it down the mountain. When he later left, he indeed left it with her. Now feeling guilty, he asked, "What happened to Cuiyu? Did you send it back to Phoenix Mountain?"
Su Rong shook her head, "It got used to feasting on pastries and living luxuriously, so it adamantly refused to leave."
Zhou Gu felt even guiltier, "But when you came to the Capital City, you didn’t bring it with you."
"Before I left for the Capital City, I left it with Yuewan. Later, when Wet Nurse Zhao and Yuewan came to the Capital City, I asked Uncle Xie to take care of it."
Zhou Gu cleared his throat and looked away, "So, can you let me keep one or not?"
Su Rong looked at him, "You are quite bold. Training a special messenger falcon takes several years."
Zhou Gu remained silent.
Seeing his expression, Su Rong felt amused, "Okay, I’ll give you one. Make sure to take good care of it."
Zhou Gu’s eyes lit up when he saw her agree, "Great."
Fen Ling was squatting by the stove, stoking the charcoal fire, listening to their exchanges. Within a few sentences, Zhou Gu was already asking for a falcon. He almost shrieked. He wanted to ask Su Rong, didn’t she have any limits when it came to Zhou Gu? Wasn’t she being too indulgent? The specially trained falcons were priceless treasures. They had trained over a dozen of them for several years, and only four were truly useful. Even they themselves didn’t have enough to spare, yet as soon as Zhou Gu asked, she gave one away without even asking for his opinion.
He was truly resentful.
Zhou Gu seemed to sense Fen Ling’s resentment. He turned to look at Fen Ling, "Did Master Feng train these falcons? If Master Feng has objections, then I won’t take it."
Fen Ling: "..."
Even if he had objections, would he dare to say no?
He immediately suppressed his resentment and said to Zhou Gu, "It’s just a falcon. Since my sister is willing to give it, I don’t have any objections. Young Master Zhou, don’t worry."
Zhou Gu immediately smiled, "Thank you, Master Feng."
"Just call me Fen Ling." Fen Ling put down the fire poker he was using, washed his hands, and sat at the table.
Zhou Gu, always amiable and easygoing, replied, "Fen Ling."
Fen Ling sat down next to Zhou Gu, "Fourth Prince, raising a falcon is not easy. But with your intelligence, I’m sure you can do it. I can teach you how to raise falcons later."
Zhou Gu thanked him, "Great."
The kitchen staff brought breakfast: buns, rice porridge, pancakes, egg custard, soup, and various other dishes, filling the entire table.
Zhou Gu asked Su Rong, "How many days will the falcon take to reach the Capital City?"
"It can reach in a day for a journey of a thousand miles. In case of heavy snow, it will be slower." Su Rong glanced outside the window, "At the slowest, it should able to reach the Capital City tomorrow morning. It may take a bit more effort to find your third brother, but at most it will be three days."
Zhou Gu asked, "Should we send another two letters via couriers as a safety measure? Even though it would be slower, it would serve as a double insurance and be more secure."
"That works. After all, the matter is significant." Su Rong nodded, "Let’s send another two letters after breakfast!"
After breakfast, they wrote another two letters. They sent a person each to deliver the letters to the Capital City and to Zhou Che, who was calling troops in Jibei. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Ning Chi had given enough time for Zhou Gu and Su Rong to have a private conversation. Feeling that it was about time, he finally went to Su Rong’s residence.
When he arrived, Zhou Gu and Su Rong were studying the topographical map of the mountain range from Jibei leading to Nanping.
Ning Chi came in, Su Rong greeted him and Zhou Gu said to Ning Chi, "The ten thousand soldiers you gave me are not enough. I came to borrow another twenty thousand soldiers."
Ning Chi was stunned, "Is it that difficult? You need thirty thousand soldiers to deal with eighteen villages?"
He thought ten thousand soldiers would be enough.
Zhou Gu shook his head and briefly explained his trip to the eighteen villages and his suspicions that Zhang Mao was there with preparations. Hearing this, Ning Chi suddenly took the matter seriously.
Even though Zhou Gu’s suspicion was based solely on the change in Chen Qi’s attitude, it wasn’t impossible. If it turned out to be true, then Nanping would indeed be in danger.
"Given Zhang Ping’s ambition and over a decade of scheming, if Nanping sides with the crown prince, he would dominate the eighteen villages..." Su Rong paused and looked at Zhou Gu, "Using Duke Zhou Gu as a sacrifice and attacking the Nanping Marquis Residence, he would rebel outright. Striking unexpectedly and at an unprepared opponent, the consequences would be unthinkable."
Zhou Gu puffed his cheeks and snorted, "I was thinking of using Zhang Mao as a sacrificial offering."
Su Rong laughed, "That can be done."
She looked at Ning Chi, "Prince Ning, give him the other twenty thousand soldiers. Let him take them now to deal with the eighteen villages and capture Zhang Mao. Don’t wait for the Jibei Army to arrive, by then it would be too late."
Ning Chi nodded, "Alright."
He said to Zhou Gu, "I’ll go with you."
"Sure." Zhou Gu was somewhat reluctant to leave Su Rong and asked her, "Aren’t you coming with us?"
Su Rong shook her head, "I’m tired. I need to rest."
Zhou Gu gave up on persuading her to go, "Alright! Then wait for me to come back."
"If Zhang Mao actually brings the Jibei Army, why would I go to Jibei? Naturally, I would need to stay in Nanping." Su Rong waved her hand.
Zhou Gu thought about it and agreed. Without further delay, he left Su Rong’s residence with Ning Chi.
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