Chapter 192 Welcoming the Coffin
Gu Huan didn't sleep all night, and Chiyu didn't come back yet.
Gu Huan stared at the stars in the sky, hoping that day would come soon.
The sun is out and everything will be fine.
"Will something happen?" Gu Huan grabbed Zhou Zhilan's sleeve, her hands and feet cold with nervousness.
Zhou Zhilan felt so distressed that she held her hand and rubbed it, "No, the master has always been lucky and very smart, nothing will happen to him."
Bang.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Chiyu appeared in front of Gu Huan, dusty and haggard.
Gu Huan jumped up in shock: "What's wrong?"
"Madam, Madam... The Master, the Master's coffin... is on its way back."
"Coffin? What coffin?" Gu Huan was trembling all over and fell into Zhou Zhilan's arms.
Akabane's eyes were red. "I was worried, so I went to the Dali royal court overnight, but before I arrived, I met the black-armored guards escorting... the master's coffin back. I hurried back to report to the madam first."
Akabane choked up and tears fell from the seven-foot-tall man's eyes.
He didn't want to tell Gu Huan, but after several deputy generals discussed, they unanimously decided that someone was needed to preside over the funeral in the city, and as the lady, Gu Huan should also preside over the funeral ceremony of her lord.
Everyone in the room was so shocked that they couldn't say a word.
"lady!"
Zhou Zhilan screamed, and hurriedly hugged the fainted Gu Huan, screaming anxiously: "Call Chen Li, quickly."
In the guest house, Yuan Zhongyong, who was lying on the bed, wanted to get up excitedly after hearing what he said, but his wounds were hurting so much that he kept yelling and groaning.
"Dead, finally dead, son of a bitch!"
"Ouch, it hurts so much, what kind of quacks did you hire? Damn it, you all deserve to die!"
…
Before daybreak, the messenger rode back to Juzhou City on a fast horse, crying all the way: "Duke Yong died heroically! Duke Yong died heroically!"
Like a thunderclap, it awakened the sleeping Juzhou City.
Soon, everyone in Juzhou City knew the news of Duke Yong's death, and the whole city was shocked.
In the blink of an eye, white banners and white lanterns were hung in front of every household, and cries could be heard everywhere.
Just as the sky was getting light, heavy snow suddenly fell.
The citizens and soldiers of the entire city braved the heavy snow and gathered at the west gate of the city, holding their breath, waiting for the Black Armored Army to return Mu Junyan's coffin.
Among them were several members of the Tianwu Army who had followed Yuan Zhongyong, squeezing through the crowd and peering out their heads.
Gu Huan bit her lip tightly, trying her best to hold back her tears, suppressing the turmoil in her eyes, and staring at the snow-capped distance with everyone else.
Mu Junyan died in battle, the Mu family army was defeated, and the Dali royal court was not captured but ambushed instead.
Some people among the crowd waiting for the coffin were whispering that they had heard news circulating in the city that the Mu family army had suffered heavy losses in this battle, with nearly 30,000 people killed in the bombing of the royal court and in the encirclement and suppression battles.
It was also said that it was Mu Junyan's greed for merit and recklessness that led to this disastrous defeat.
Gu Huan felt heartbroken upon hearing this.
Unexpectedly, despite her efforts to change her fate, she still could not avoid Mu Junyan's death in battle.
But she didn't believe that Mu Junyan was greedy and reckless, and she was more willing to believe that it was a conspiracy.
She took a deep breath, and tried hard to suppress her sadness, her eyes becoming clear.
No matter what, she will protect the baby in her belly.
Even if she is powerless and incompetent, she will do her best to protect those she wants to protect.
Even if I'm torn to pieces!
A fast horse was galloping through the snow. Before the man came close, he fell off the horse and crawled to Gu Huan and the others.
They cried out, "Here they come, here they come. The coffin of the Duke of Yong and the bones of the fallen soldiers are here."
There was silence all around, and everyone looked over.
A large group of black-armored guards were slowly approaching with a mourning carriage and a long line of carriages loaded with the bodies of fallen soldiers.
The civilians and soldiers all knelt silently and kowtowed heavily in the snow. Waves of suppressed sobs came one after another, making those who heard them feel heartbroken.
The coffin procession drove in front of the people and stopped.
The soldiers' faces were filled with grief and indignation, and their red eyes were filled with rage.
Gu Huan bit her lips so hard that she didn't notice that they were bleeding.
She broke free from Zhou Zhilan's support and walked slowly towards the coffin with difficulty. Her trembling hands stopped half an inch away from the coffin, and she did not dare to touch it.
When she saw the coffin with her own eyes, she couldn't believe it. The man who held her in his arms and loved her so much was gone.
Gu Huan felt a sharp pain in her heart and her vision went dark. She hurriedly reached out to grab the coffin to steady herself.
He used too much force and his nail broke with a snap. Blood gushed out from his fingertips, but he was unaware.
She can't fall!
She is Mu Junyan’s wife!
In order not to lose her composure, she asked Chen Li to make her a bowl of heart-strengthening medicine.
"Madam, please take care." Deputy General Qi stepped forward, bowed to her, and handed her Mu Junyan's sword with both hands.
Gu Huan couldn't hold back her tears any longer and they fell down.
He reached out and took the bloody sword.
The sword was very heavy, and Gu Huan tried her best to hold it steady. She nodded with tears in her eyes, "Thank you all for sending Duke Yong and the fallen soldiers home."
Deputy General Qi looked at her and whispered, "Madam, please don't be too sad and take care of yourself."
Gu Huan took a deep breath and forced back the tears.
"Let's welcome Duke Yong into the city first."
"Yes." Deputy General Qi and the soldiers responded in unison.
Gu Huan supported the coffin, Zhou Zhilan supported her, and Chen Li and Donghua Dongqing followed closely behind.
A group of people walked slowly into the city.
The common people and soldiers defending the city all knelt on the ground and cried. There were also groups of soldiers' families crying and confirming the search for corpses.
Suddenly, a group of people carrying a sedan chair blocked the coffin procession.
Gu Huan stared at the person who came through her tearful eyes.
The curtain of the sedan chair was opened, and Yuan Zhongyong was lying in it.
"I am ordered by the Emperor to supervise the army. I am going to open the coffin and conduct an autopsy to confirm whether the commander-in-chief died in battle."
Gu Huan's face darkened.
There was an uproar all around.
Deputy General Qi was so angry that his face turned blue. He suppressed his anger and said, "The commander's body was burned by the fire and is unrecognizable. It is inconvenient to open the coffin!"
Burnt beyond recognition?
Gu Huan felt a tearing pain in her heart when she heard this. She held her chest with one hand and held the coffin tightly with the other, choking with sobs, "The dead are the most important. Sir Yuan, please make it convenient for Duke Yong to return to the official residence for burial."
Yuan Zhongyong sneered: "Who knows whether it is true or not? I must verify it, otherwise I will not be able to explain to His Majesty."
Gu Huan was so angry that she shouted hoarsely, "I will go back to the capital and apologize to His Majesty! If His Majesty wants to kill me or chop me up for this, I will bear the full responsibility!"
"That won't do. The peace delegation will be here soon. If Mu Junyan is not really dead, how can the peace delegation negotiate peace?"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar.
The soldiers were fed up and shouted angrily.
"Why do we need to negotiate peace?"
"Yes, although we did not capture the royal court, we took over Shicheng County and other cities. We won!"
"That's right. The King of Dali is afraid of us and has fled the royal court with his family. Are we still going to negotiate peace?"
"How are we going to settle the accounts for the deaths of so many soldiers and civilians?"
Gu Huan's heart was choked with anxiety, and she glared at him: "A peace delegation? We just launched an attack on the enemy's royal court the day before yesterday, and the peace delegation is coming today? Could it be that you knew that this battle would be lost a month in advance?"
Gu Huan's question made all the soldiers silent.
yes.
It takes at least a month to travel from Bian Jing to Juzhou.
They had just captured Shicheng County a few days ago and were confident of victory. How did the imperial court predict that they would fail and need to send a peace delegation?
Yuan Zhongyong stiffened his neck and said, "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, so you should have two plans. If you win, the delegation will make Dali Kingdom surrender. If you lose, won't you appease Dali Kingdom? If the enemy takes advantage of the victory to attack, will you all survive?"
"Bullshit!" Gu Huan was furious.
"You are doing whatever you want in the name of the emperor, right? I am a woman and child, and I don't know much about military tactics or government affairs, but I know that victory and defeat are common in the military."
"Besides, the Mu family army has been guarding the southern border for decades, and the emperor has never sent a peace delegation. This time, the enemy has been driven out of its lair. What reason is there to negotiate peace?"
Yuan Zhongyong's tone of voice changed, and he shouted sharply: "Are you trying to disobey my order?"
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