Su Xu bid farewell with a cascade of tears soaking his lapels, leaving the Old Duke, Grand Princess Shengan, and the Lady of the Duke dumbfounded.
Inside the carriage, Grand Princess Shengan couldn’t help but laugh, "This Su Xu, I didn’t expect it, but he really does love his wife."
The Old Duke of Protectorate didn’t know what to say and felt a chuckle coming on, "As an official, he’s incorruptible, no wonder the Crown Prince wouldn’t let him resign. It is said he submitted his resignation three times, and each was rejected by the Crown Prince."
Grand Princess Shengan smiled, "Securing the Su Family’s father and son is essentially securing Su Rong and Nanchu’s foundation." She paused, then continued, "That’s not entirely correct; we also have our Zhou Gu. With our Duke Residence here, the diplomatic relations between the two countries will not be severed."
The Old Duke of Protectorate nodded.
When the entourage reached Jibei, Su Xingze received news early and went out to welcome them.
He welcomed the Old Duke of Protectorate and the others into the Residence, settled them in, and asked the Lady of the Duke with a smile, "Mother, could you stay a few more days at your son’s place?"
"Are you busy?" The Lady of the Duke asked him.
"Not particularly busy."
"Then we’ll stay for a few more days." The Lady of the Duke looked at her son, frowning, "Why have you lost so much weight? Haven’t you been eating well?"
Su Xingze shook his head, "The first half of the year was filled with affairs, and work was hectic. You’ve lost weight too, mother. You were busy with the weddings of six of my younger sisters, truly exhausting yourself."
"You always speak so sweetly; your father does not." The Lady of the Duke looked at him, "Having been in Jibei for so long, have you taken a liking to any girl?"
Su Xingze shook his head, "No."
The Lady of the Duke sighed, "Alright then, you better take your own matrimonial affairs seriously. I’m going to enjoy my days with your sister in Nanchu and won’t be worrying about whether you get married or not. I won’t be in a rush to come back and arrange your wedding."
Su Xingze smiled, "I understand. If you find living in Nanchu comfortable, just stay with my sister; you don’t need to worry about father and me."
The Lady of the Duke straightened up, "Of course, with a good daughter like her, who would worry about you two men?"
Su Xingze was speechless.
The Lady of the Duke said, "Your father even cried when I left, how embarrassing, and the Mistresses had to comfort him."
Su Xingze looked at his mother, "If it weren’t for my sister vehemently refusing to let me go to Nanchu, father wouldn’t be so reluctant to part with you. We could have all gone to Nanchu."
The Lady of the Duke disagreed, "Your sister has a Macro View. You have gained the Crown Prince’s esteem in Daliang because of your own abilities, your career has soared, your name will be remembered in history. If you went to Nanchu, no matter how talented you are, people might say your sister favors relatives over others, and scholars could erase your talents from the records. As for your father, although he is a common official, his dedication is beneficial, and both of you are suited to stay in Daliang. Now that your sisters are well married and both you and your father have smooth careers, it couldn’t be any better."
Su Xingze sighed, "But I miss my sister too."
The Lady of the Duke lightly coughed, "I will take care of her and keep her company for you."
Su Xingze: "..."
Is that really something that can be done on someone’s behalf?
In his mother’s heart, he and his father were just like cabbages. And his sister, she only thought of their mother.
The party stayed in Jibei for half a month before continuing their journey.
Shortly after leaving Jibei, they received a letter from Zhou Gu, instructing them to travel slowly as he was handling matters in the Southern three states under the guise of meeting them. If they arrived in Nanchu too soon, it would blow his cover. They should at least wait until he had nearly settled the affairs of the Southern three states before arriving at the Nanchu Capital.
The Old Duke of Protectorate received the letter and clicked his tongue, "Originally we weren’t planning on hurrying, but this brat. Our forces haven’t even arrived in Nanchu yet, and he’s already made use of us."
Eldest Princess Shengan calculated the itinerary, "Why don’t we take a turn in Nanping? The first victory Zhou Gu and Xiaoqi won, was in Nanping. I’d like to go see it too."
The Old Duke of Protectorate had no objections, wherever his old wife wanted to go was fine with him, "Agreed."
So, the group changed their route and headed to Nanping.
Zhou Gu rode quickly with his people, and, after ten days, arrived in the Southern three states. The group disguised themselves and conducted secret observations for more than ten days, and indeed discovered a big problem in the Southern three states.
Liao Yuying whispered, "I’m sure that Black Gorge definitely harbors soldiers. I don’t know why the Nangong Family didn’t deploy those soldiers back then. Could it be that they saw the situation was hopeless? That there wasn’t enough time to deploy them?"
Zhou Gu’s expression was grave, "Fourth Aunt, since you are sure there are soldiers in Black Gorge, can you determine how many?"
Liao Yuying shook her head, "I dare not be certain about that. I need to take men to scout again."
Cui Yuanbin gripped Liao Yuying’s hand, "My lady, isn’t it very dangerous?"
Liao Yuying clasped his hand in return, "My lord, there certainly is danger, but I’m not afraid with the people from Evil Ghost Sect on my side. Don’t worry."
Cui Yuanbin looked at Zhou Gu when he heard this.
Zhou Gu shook his head and took out the Tiger Talisman, "Ziye, go summon soldiers, call for a Hundred Thousand Soldiers."
Ziye took it, "Young Master, the nearest Military Camp is also three hundred li away, and it doesn’t have a Hundred Thousand Soldiers. Should I run to multiple camps?"
"Yes, just go. Be discreet about it," Zhou Gu instructed.
Ziye obeyed, holding the Tiger Talisman and left.
Liao Yuying wanted to stop him, but Ziye moved too quickly. She said uncertainly to Zhou Gu, "Maybe I’ve made a wrong judgment. After all, we haven’t ventured deep into the mountains to investigate. If we call in the soldiers unnecessarily, that would be trouble. We still need to scout further..."
"I trust Fourth Aunt’s judgment," Zhou Gu said. "There’s no need for a second investigation. Otherwise, if we inadvertently alert the enemy, we’ll just wait here. Now, all we’re going to do is wait for the soldiers to arrive."
Liao Yuying nodded, "Alright then!"
Cui Yuanbin breathed a sigh of relief. Scouting military camps was not a game, and he was genuinely afraid his wife might get hurt. Now that Zhou Gu was not planning to send scouts but instead calling soldiers directly, there was an element of risk, but it certainly didn’t involve danger.
A month after Zhou Gu left the Royal Capital, Su Rong finally received a letter from him. The letter described the situation in the Southern three states that he had uncovered, and he had already sent Ziye with the Military Talisman to summon soldiers. It would probably take three more months for him to return to the Royal Capital.
Su Rong was shocked as well; she hadn’t expected the Nangong Family to still have hidden soldiers. Then why didn’t they use all their force to fight him? Perhaps they had indeed realized the situation was hopeless and given up?
She wrote back to Zhou Gu, asking him to be careful and not to rush back, emphasizing that his safety was the top priority.
Afterwards, she summoned Ye Guixue into the Palace and gave him Zhou Gu’s letter to read.
Ye Guixue took the letter, and after reading it, was also quite surprised, "The Nangong Family actually still has soldiers remaining in Nanchu? This is indeed..."
"So, what do you think?" Su Rong asked.
Ye Guixue read the letter again, pondering, he said, "Could it be that the hidden soldiers of the Nangong Family were originally intended as a safeguard against Dawei eradicating Nanchu and then turning on them? As a precaution for future troubles? So, they didn’t use them because at that point the situation was already hopeless, and these were the Nangong Family’s last resort, not to be deployed unless absolutely necessary?"
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