Do you want to re-enter the barracks, young general?
When Song Tiaotiao heard Gu Chengjue's response, her almond-shaped eyes blinked and she nodded in agreement.
Zhao Huaian's gaze darted between the two, but he didn't catch the differing emotions in their eyes. He laughed heartily, "So that's how it is. They're truly a match made in heaven, perfectly matched."
Gu Chengjue agreed with a faint smile.
Song Tiaotiao secretly looked at Gu Chengjue and saw that he was calm and composed, without any resistance. She smiled softly, hiding the surprise in her eyes.
Song Tiaotiao originally thought that Gu Chengjue would agree with Zhao Huaian's statement.
After all, Gu Chengjue never wanted others to misunderstand their relationship, so he didn't want to admit to others that they were husband and wife.
Song Tiaotiao still remembers the day when Gu Chengjue was whipped for her.
That night, Song Tiaotiao was always thinking about Gu Chengjue's injury. She was restless and couldn't fall asleep.
Finally, in the middle of the night, she could no longer bear the uneasiness, and while everyone was asleep, she tiptoed through the crowd and went to find Gu Chengjue.
In the deep darkness, Gu Chengjue's eyes, like cold stars in the silent night, guided Song Tiaotiao step by step forward.
The night was dark and the moonlight was dim. Gu Chengjue sat in the north corner of the courtyard, watching Song Tiaotiao approach.
They looked into each other's eyes.
Gu Chengjue looked at the sadness in Song Tiaotiao's eyes, frowned slightly, and lowered his eyes.
This time, Song Tiaotiao did not argue with Gu Chengjue for the first time.
She just stared quietly at the untreated wound on Gu Chengjue's back, her nose feeling sore.
Under the torn clothes, the whip wound stretched from the left shoulder blade to the waist, and blood continued to seep out as Gu Chengjue breathed.
The more Song Tiaotiao looked at him, the sadder she felt. Her almond-shaped eyes were red and wet, and she choked with sobs, "Gu Chengjue, I'm sorry. It's all my fault that you suffered... Are you in pain? Are you feeling better now?"
Gu Chengjue tilted his head slightly, revealing only Song Tiaotiao's thin profile, and said in a deep voice, "Song Tiaotiao, you don't have to feel indebted to me. It's me who should be apologizing. I've been a burden to you, so it's only right that I protect you now. Besides, I've suffered many injuries on the battlefield, but this is nothing special. Go back and rest early, and don't worry about me."
Song Tiaotiao held back her tears and said worriedly, "Can I stay with you for a while? I'll go back when you fall asleep."
Gu Chengjue grabbed her wrist and put her aside. He looked at her coldly and said, "Song Tiaotiao, I've told you many times not to get close to me anymore, and not to let people misunderstand the relationship between you and me. Go back now. There are so many men here. Don't take any more risks."
Gu Chengjue, who spoke so coldly that night, is now calm and admitting their relationship to others.
Song Tiaotiao watched Gu Chengjue and Zhao Huaian chatting happily back and forth. She felt that Gu Chengjue seemed to be very different from before since the night she rescued him.
His serious expression gradually began to smile, and his stern and calm demeanor also became more gentle.
From time to time, seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Zhao Huaian led a group of brothers to comfort the frightened Zhao and Bo Shuang mother and son. While expressing their apologies, they also did not forget to express their gratitude to the Gu family.
When Zhao heard him talk about the past, she inevitably thought of her late husband, but she couldn't bear to dampen Zhao Huaian's interest. She held back the tears in her eyes, smiled faintly, and told him for a long time about the heroic deeds of the men of the Gu family who killed the enemy on the battlefield.
Song Tiaotiao listened to Zhao's vivid narration, as if she were really there, and truly experienced the swordplay and bloodshed on the battlefield.
In modern times, Song Tiao Tiao only considered herself a spectator of the novel. Before being exiled, Song Tiao Tiao only considered herself a bystander of the marriage between the Prince of Ning’s Mansion and the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion.
Now, Song Tiaotiao was there in person. She had seen the Ning Wang Mansion collapse and undergo a drastic change overnight. She had also been exiled three thousand miles with the Ning Wang family. She had personally witnessed the life and death of the Ning Wang Mansion and felt helpless at the hands of others.
Only then did Song Tiaotiao personally experience the heroic spirit of the people in Prince Ning's mansion who fought bloody battles for the country and risked their lives for the people, as well as the tragedy and desolation of their being loved by the people and having great achievements that frightened the emperor, but ultimately being destroyed by false accusations from villains and suspicion from the emperor, and dying suddenly in the wind and snow.
Zhao Huaian listened carefully until Zhao was about to prepare lunch, and then he returned to the courtyard with Gu Chengjue.
Zhao Huaian sighed softly, "Old General Gu was a man of unwavering loyalty. He must have been framed by treacherous villains and suffered this injustice." He clenched his fists and finally asked Gu Chengjue about his doubts, "Young General, since the old general is not here, where did he go?"
Gu Chengjue's eyes dimmed, and he said in a deep voice, "My father passed away because of this disaster."
Song Tiaotiao felt a pang in her heart when she saw Gu Chengjue's eyes gradually dim.
She carefully touched Gu Chengjue's fingers with the back of her finger to comfort him. This time, Gu Chengjue did not dodge or retreat, but remained where he was until Song Tiaotiao removed her fingers.
Zhao Huaian was shocked and furious when he heard this. His eyes were red and he said sadly, "The world seems to be peaceful, but villains are in power and good people suffer. General Gu, such a good man, has suffered such a disaster. God is really blind." At this point, he clenched his fists, suppressing his grief, not wanting to make anyone sad again.
He wiped his tearful eyes, took a deep breath, and continued, "Young General, do you wish to rejoin the army? I am willing to help you. With your talent, you will surely achieve great military success and revive the army. This will also help clear the old general's name as soon as possible."
When Song Tiaotiao heard this, she immediately connected it to the three factors in the book that made Gu Chengjue leave the northern border.
Enter the military camp, make military achievements, and eliminate treacherous officials.
But it took Gu Chengjue a whole year just to return to the military camp.
At the beginning, after the old emperor was charged with treason in Ning Wang's mansion, in order to thank Gu Chengjue for his contribution in saving the emperor and to appease the people, he finally only sentenced Ning Wang to be beheaded, and all his family members were exiled to the northern border, never to return to Beijing.
In the Northern Frontier military camp, there might be some former subordinates of Prince Ning who, upon hearing this, tried their best to transfer Gu Chengjue back to the army. However, the villain, in order to prevent Gu Chengjue from turning over, put a little pressure on him and completely blocked Gu Chengjue's path to joining the army.
In the book, Gu Chengjue finally went through hardships and returned to the military camp again. It was not until a year later that the war broke out in the northwest of the Southern Dynasty and the army was urgently dispatched to rescue Gu Chengjue, and thanks to the help of Gu Chengjue's noble people, the true meaning of his life had the opportunity to see the light of day again.
However, in order to preserve the mystery, the original novel did not mention the name of the mastermind until the chapter that Song Tiaotiao read before she crossed over into the book...
Just as Song Tiaotiao was lost in thought, a voice called out from the south side of the yard: "Brother Zhao, are you in there?"
The strong men all looked sideways, and even Gu Chengjue and the other man who were talking stopped talking.
After a while, the sound became more and more real, and a panting boy, carrying a wooden basket on his back, poked his head out from the south edge of the yard.
Zhao Huaian understood immediately and shouted back to the person who came: "A Xing, what do you want from me?"
"Brother Su sent me..." Before he could finish his words, Qin Xing saw Song Tiao Tiao not far away and said in surprise, "Miss Song? We are really destined to be together."
Song Tiaotiao marveled at the social network in Songbai Village and chuckled, "So it's Brother Qin? Do you know Brother Zhao?"
Gu Chengjue glanced at Qin Xing's bright smiling face and saw that he was looking at Song Tiaotiao with a slightly frown on his face.
After a moment, Gu Chengjue glanced at Song Tiaotiao again and saw that she was also smiling, with her lips like swallow wings straightened quietly.
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