Master Ye Xiang and his son Guixue had a moment of conversation before each retiring to their own courtyard.
After returning to his own yard, Guixue spoke to Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun who were waiting for him, "His majesty has agreed to your plan and has left the city through a secret tunnel from the Imperial Palace. After you and Brother Zhang Yun leave the city, meet with His Majesty at Changting Slope."
He pressed his lips together, "Brother Zhou, I leave His Majesty in your care."
"Rest assured, Brother Guixue." Zhou Gu bowed solemnly, "After we leave with His Majesty, if the Nangong Family is cornered, they may become desperate and seize the Royal Capital and Royal Palace. If the Ye Xiang Residence cannot hold them off, I suggest that you persuade Master Ye Xiang to avoid a head-on confrontation. When the time comes, you also have troops at your disposal, worst comes to worst, you can abandon the city and wait for Xiaoqi to arrive in Nanchu. We can strategize and recapture it. It’s crucial to ensure our safety, ten Royal Palaces are not worth as much as Brother Guixue’s talents, and the princess will need your assistance in the future. You must take care of yourself and avoid any mishap."
Guixue nodded, "I’ll remember what Brother Zhou said."
He said softly, "I’m assigning half of my personal guard to you, Brother Zhou."
Zhou Gu nodded, didn’t delay any further, took a hundred of Guixue’s personal guards and left the Ye Xiang Residence.
Guixue went to the palace late at night, naturally both Nangong Yin and Liu’an Prince received the news and immediately ordered their men to keep an eye on the Imperial Palace, hoping to get some information. However, until dawn, they couldn’t figure out what Guixue was doing with the Nanchu King last night; the Imperial Palace was very calm.
As it happened, today was a day of rest for the court, but Nangong Yin was still worried, so he entered the palace early in the morning, intending to see the Nanchu King and personally find out more about the situation.
In the morning, the city gate was opened and Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun successfully left the Royal Capital.
They led their men to Changting Slope quickly but found no one there. Zhou Gu estimated the time and frowned.
Zhang Yun questioned, "Arguably, the Nanchu King should have arrived an hour before us. Now that there’s no one here, could it be that the Nanchu King encountered some difficulties and couldn’t leave the city?"
Zhou Gu couldn’t say for sure. He gave the surroundings a quick look. The sloping area was full of maple trees. A heavy snow had fallen a few days earlier. The snow hadn’t melted yet, and there were no footprints to be seen.
He thought for a while and said, "Let’s wait here. If no one shows up in half a day, we’ll return to the city and investigate."
Zhang Yun nodded, "Alright."
So they each found a tree trunk to lean against and wait for someone.
After a while, Zhou Gu asked, "Are you hungry?"
They had left early and hadn’t had breakfast yet.
"I’m hungry." Zhang Yun rubbed his stomach, "My mother passed away early, so I often didn’t have enough food when I was young and that’s why my stomach was ruined. After I had the means, I found a doctor Timothy Zhang for stomach treatment. These years, my stomach has been slowly getting better, but if I don’t eat on time, it still acts up."
"Do you want to eat roasted rabbit?" Zhou Gu asked.
"Sounds good." Zhang Yun perked up.
"You catch it, I’ll roast it." Zhou Gu said.
"No problem." Zhang Yun immediately went off.
In no time, Zhang Yun caught two rabbits and handed one to Zhou Gu. The two of them squatted down, used snow water to gut and wash the rabbits. They made a fire, put the rabbits on the fire to roast.
Zhou Gu took out a package of seasonings. He sprinkled salt and seasonings while roasting.
This was the first time Zhang Yun had eaten like this since he had followed Zhou Gu to Nanchu. Normally, they didn’t have the leisure to do so. In the past, in the flurry of combats, they usually bought dry food to eat while rushing on the road, if they couldn’t find a place to sit down and have a meal.
He curiously watched Zhou Gu’s proficient movements, "Brother Zhou, you’re good at this, aren’t you?"
"I learned from Su Rong." Zhou Gu said, "When we were in Jiangning County, she would roast food with me. Her techniques were very skilled, and I learned quickly because I have a good memory. After our departure from the capital, I purposely practiced a few times along Yellow Spring Road, and by the time we got to Nanping, I could already roast decently. This is certainly more delicious than dry food."
"Indeed, dry food can’t compare." At this moment, Zhang Yun felt blissful. He realized that he wasn’t very skilled at this, and felt that he could learn something.
The rabbits were roasted and sizzling with oil, exuding the aroma of roasted meat which dispersed far away.
The Nanchu King, disguised as a common farmer, came down from the other side of the hill and saw two people roasting rabbits on Changting Slope early in the morning. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
They were two young men, average-looking, and dressed simply, much like two wandering knights.
Upon hearing footsteps, Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun looked up at the same time to see a middle-aged man in his forties holding an axe, apparently going up the mountain to chop wood.
Zhou Gu immediately stood up, "The person we’re waiting for has arrived."
Zhang Yun shared the same feeling, he also stood up and responded, "It should be."
Hence, they both put aside the roasted rabbits and waited for the Nanchu King to approach.
The Nanchu King soon drew near, looking them up and down. After a while, he seemed uncertain which one of them was Zhou Gu, he asked, "Which one of you is Zhou Gu?"
Zhou Gu gave a slight bow, "I am Zhou Gu, your future son-in-law. Greetings, father-in-law."
The Nanchu King was taken aback, he hadn’t even seen his daughter yet and his future son-in-law was already calling him father-in-law. This feeling... wasn’t too bad, he cleared his throat, "At ease."
He continued to examine Zhou Gu closely, "Is this... also a disguise?"
Zhou Gu nodded, perceiving the meaning of "also," thought that since the Nanchu King was known to be extremely handsome, it was clear he too had disguised himself. Knowing that the king had made careful preparations to hide his identity upon leaving the palace, Zhou Gu felt relieved.
The Nanchu King also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking about Zhou Gu, the young master of the Duke Residence who was said to have a handsome appearance. If not for the disguise, his appearance would be completely incompatible with his daughter. If his daughter decided to forsake Guixue because of his appearance, that would be rather foolish.
The Nanchu King turned to the other man, "And you are Zhang Yun?"
Zhang Yun hurriedly saluted, "I am Zhang Yun, greetings, Your Majesty."
The Nanchu King waved his hand, "You two certainly have nerve and leisure, roasting rabbits here." He paused, "Take them, let’s go."
Both men nodded in agreement.
Each of them picked up a rabbit, extinguished the fire, and Zhou Gu asked the Nanchu King, "Father-in-law, did you not come from Changting Slope? Isn’t the secret tunnel leading out of the city from the Nanchu Royal Palace in Changting Slope?"
"No, it took me about an hour to get here on foot." Said the Nanchu King.
Even with Guixue, the Nanchu King dares not completely trust him. After all, the future Palace tunnel must be left for Su Rong to inherit and use. It cannot be known to anyone in his reign, not even Guixue.
Zhou Gu nodded, and then asked, "Have you had breakfast?"
The Nanchu King glanced at the rabbit in his hand, "No."
Zhou Gu immediately tore half a rabbit and gave it to the Nanchu King, "Then, shall we share?"
The Nanchu King reached out to take it, at the same time, he asked another question, "Why didn’t you give me all of it?"
Zhou Gu widened his eyes with a look that read "what are you thinking?", "If I starve, Xiaoqi will be upset. If she’s upset, I’ll be upset too."
The Nanchu King was silent, "..."
Very well, it seems he knows how to cherish his daughter.
He took a bite of the rabbit meat and commented, "Mmm, it’s well-roasted."
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