The old Duke was just as irritated by his grandson’s stare.
He asked Zhou Gu, "She gave you the marriage contract, what about Ye Guixue?"
Zhou Gu huffed, "Ye Guixue left the capital before she broke off her engagement with him."
The old Duke was surprised, looking at Su Xingze.
Su Xingze nodded to the old Duke.
The old Duke scolded, "Spoiled girl, treating marriage like a child’s game."
"Not at all," Zhou Gu argued, "she did it for me. She said she had no choice, she had made up her mind, but she couldn’t help but soften her heart towards me. Therefore, she timely called off her engagement with Ye Guixue as soon as she found out, in order to avoid future troubles."
As he spoke, a hint of pride appeared on his face, he emphasized, "Grandfather, she said she had a soft spot for me, did you hear that?"
Naturally, the old Duke heard that, "Shameless, making others at a loss, and you’re even proud? What are you proud of?"
Zhou Gu shamelessly said: "It proves she likes me."
The old Duke grunted.
Only in the presence of the old Duke would Zhou Gu engage in such back-and-forth exchange. Since childhood, the two seldom spent time together without bickering.
Zhou Wei laughed and asked, "Third and fourth brothers must be hungry after the long journey, shall we eat first?"
Zhou Gu patted his stomach, "I’m hungry."
Zhou Che also nodded, "We’ve been rushing on the road without rest. Although there’s a letter from Miss Seven saying that Zhang Yun will take down Zhang Ping’s two hundred and fifty thousand Jibei troops, we don’t know if it’ll really work. So, my brother and I didn’t dare let our guard down, we just kept rushing. We wanted to reunite with grandfather soon."
"Huh? Who is Zhang Yun?" the old Duke asked.
Zhou Che hurriedly explained how Su Rong had won over Zhang Yun.
The old Duke was astonished, "Really?"
Zhou Gu raised his brows, "Talent is rare, Xiaoqi should seize it while she can."
"Indeed, the girl has some skills, beyond expectation." The old Duke had always known that Su Rong was capable, but he didn’t know that aside from her abilities, she had such a broad mind. After all, she was almost killed by Zhang Yun and Nangong Yu, "If what Zhang Yun says is true, then taking over the command of the Jibei Army without a battle is a great achievement."
One can imagine how many people would die if a war broke out. If there are no casualties, that would be the best outcome. After all, all the soldiers belong to Daliang.
"So, grandfather, what’s wrong with me going to Nanchu?" Zhou Gu took advantage of the situation to plead his case, seemingly insisting on his grandfather’s agreement to his decision, "The crown prince and she are both destined to be wise rulers. She has done such a great thing for Daliang, preventing war and the disaster it brings, can’t she exchange that for me?"
The old Duke was irritable, but didn’t dispute his argument.
Zhou Gu immediately broke into a smile, "Grandfather, although Nanchu is far away, it’s not beyond reach, we will visit you in the future."
No matter how reluctant the old Duke was, he knew that he couldn’t hold on to this grandson of his, "Shut up."
Zhou Wei sighed, "Fourth brother, you can consider this as abandoning your family and career. We, your family, will miss you."
"Then you should learn from Uncle Su, Aunt Su, and my elder cousin." Zhou Gu placed his hand on Su Xingze’s shoulder, "They’re not going to Nanchu either. You can write letters if you miss me."
His words reflected the sentiment ’once a child has grown, his mother no longer has control over him’.
Some people brought food, Zhou Gu and Zhou Che were indeed hungry, they stopped talking, picked up their chopsticks and started eating.
The old Duke summoned someone and ordered, "Keep a close watch on the movements of the Jibei Army. Report immediately if there’s any movement."
Someone responded and left immediately.
After eating, Zhou Gu and Zhou Che, exhausted, went to sleep in their tents.
The old Duke, Zhou Wei, and Su Xingze, none of them were sleepy, and sat together chatting.
Zhou Wei said, "Grandfather, if what the third and fourth brothers said is true, and if Zhang Yun can take over Zhang Ping’s two hundred and fifty thousand troops, then we don’t need to fight this war. What do you think, does Zhang Yun have this ability?"
After listening to Zhou Gu and Zhou Che, it seems that Zhang Yun has sincerely agreed to defect. But Zhang Ping isn’t a simple man who can be easily fooled.
"That Zhang Yun lad, if he can win over that little girl Su Rong despite their past disputes, it shows that he indeed has some skills. Just by the way he calculated Su Rong’s location through the secret agents of Zhang’s family, secretly collaborated with Nangong Yu to kill her, and even showed himself before Nangong Yu arrived, certain that Su Rong wouldn’t easily lay a hand on him, which made her stumble heavily, it proves that the lad is a master at observing people and strategies." said the old Duke, "Zhang Ping may be able to guard against outsiders, but not necessarily against his own son. There’s a high possibility that Zhang Yun will succeed."
Su Xingze agreed, nodding at the side, "The old Duke is right."
He continued, "I originally requested His Highness the Crown Prince to dispatch troops to Jibei, which he agreed to. Therefore, in preparation, I had read the profiles of the people in the Pingxi General’s residence at the Eastern Palace. This Zhang Yun is indeed an extraordinary character. He has been controlling all of Zhang’s secret agents since he was 13 years old. It’s only after passing numerous tests that Zhang Ping valued him enough to hand over the most important secret agents of Zhang family to him. Being valued by Zhang Ping shows that he knows Zhang Ping’s temperament very well, so there’s a great chance of his success."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Wei felt relieved, "Do we just wait then?"
The old Duke nodded, "Yes, we wait!"
Zhou Che slept all day, he still couldn’t sleep soundly even though he was so exhausted. Zhou Gu, on the other hand, slept for two full days, seemingly making up for his lack of sleep these past few days.
The old Duke asked a few times and was told he was still sleeping. He snorted and rolled his eyes, "That boy, he sure can sleep soundly."
Zhou Che said, "The fourth brother has exerted a lot of energy recently, he should rest well."
The old Duke gave him a meaningful look, "If Zhang Yun managed to escape right under your nose, it shows that you’re not alert and nimble enough when leading troops. You should take it as a lesson. After all, he’s not alone, he’s leading over forty thousand troops. Such a large number, even if they had covered their tracks well, should have left some traces, it shouldn’t have gone unnoticed."
Zhou Che took the advice to heart, "Yes, grandfather, I will take this as a lesson."
When Zhou Gu woke up, he was refreshed and energetic, a complete contrast to his state of fatigue these past few days. He felt comfortable throughout his body. When he finished his meal after waking up, a scout came to report, "Report to the old Duke, the Jibei Army has stopped marching, it seems that they have turned back."
"Huh?" The old Duke was startled.
Zhou Gu was the first to react, he immediately smiled, "Zhang Yun has succeeded."
Zhou Wei sprung up, asking the scout: "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely. We have triple-checked. The Jibei Army had a day and a half left to reach Changzhou, but they stopped in place for half a day, then hoisted a white sail and headed back in the direction of Longxi County."
"Zhang Ping is dead." Zhou Gu stated. "Only Zhang Ping’s death would result in the raising of a white flag. Zhang Yun taking control of the Jibei Army would cause them to return to Longxi County. Because he doesn’t know that I would rendezvous with my grandfather, fearing a confrontation between the two sides, he would rather go to Longxi County and meet up with Su Rong."
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