Chapter 114 Gu Wan: Success in both career and love
So what should we do? Of course, we should rush to Zhongdu to stop it immediately!
This is the job of Gu Wan and her intelligence personnel Xie Jiawei, Liuyunwei and others. Xie Ci is in the army and definitely cannot go, and the same goes for generals such as Zhang Shen and Huang Zongxi.
The military meeting was disbanded on the spot. After Gu Wan said "Oh my god", he turned around and rushed back. Xie Ci also stood up abruptly, said "Disband" and followed him.
As soon as Gu Wan burst out of the hall, he gave the order, and Xie Zi and Xie Ping rushed out like the wind. She ran back to her room in the main courtyard, flung open the door, ripped open the drawer, and quickly put on her long, thin chain whip belt. Besides the original dagger, she quickly put the silver dagger blade and other items into the hidden pocket inside her boot.
Then she opened the big box next to her and took out several bags, which contained makeup powder and other items. She carried one bag herself and gave the rest to Xie Hai and the others later.
Xie Ci helped her, and he quickly sorted the bunch of things into different categories and placed them on the floor tiles, making it easier for her to put them into her boots and on her body.
Gu Wan packed up quickly. She jumped up and said, "I'm leaving."
"careful!"
There are so many things to say, but this is all I need to say. After so much hard work, we thought we could finally take a break this winter, spend some time together as a couple, enjoying a break from the hustle and bustle. But we never expected to be separated again in just a few days.
Xie Ci also predicted that regardless of whether Li Yi succeeded or not, the war between the North and the South would probably break out.
Gu Guan would be out most of the time like before.
Xie Ci said, "Safety is everything. I can fight no matter what happens."
He couldn't bear to leave her, and in fact, every time she went out, he couldn't help but worry about her safety.
He looked at her without blinking, gave her a pursed smile, and reached out to straighten her collar and the hem of her short jacket, which had just been messed up. Gu Wan reached out and hugged him, saying, "If love lasts forever, why should we be together day and night?"
She spoke softly, smiling, her tone slowed down, tender and affectionate, yet with a hint of reluctance to part. Her beautiful big warm brown eyes touched the hard armor of his shoulders, and she raised her head and looked at him with a smile.
Xie Ci immediately hugged her back, and the two of them embraced each other, their eyes meeting. No matter how much he was reluctant to let go and how much he cared about her, this was not the time to express it. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, "Mm."
Xie Ci took a deep breath. Time was running out, so they hugged each other and then let go. Gu Wan walked out quickly and looked back. Xie Ci was standing on the first step of the corridor looking at her. She smiled and waved at him, then turned around and ran out quickly.
…
Xie Ci said that he could fight no matter what, but Gu Wan heard this, but she could never think that way.
Xie Ci was a capable fighter, but once he was put in a situation where he was accused of being a rebel general, along with the families of many generals and captains, their situation was the most disadvantageous one could imagine.
How can that be?
You know, they have the advantage now.
How could Li Yi turn the situation around in one move?
Gu Guan rushed out of the Chuihua Gate. Xie Zi and Xie Ping had already informed Xie Feng and the others and hurriedly prepared. Without saying anything, Gu Guan jumped on his horse and said, "Let's go!"
The group went straight through the neighboring house and went out through the side door. Yin Luo and a few others were waiting outside the side door, and they left Hezhou on horseback.
Their time was very tight. Gu Guan had talked with Yin Luo, and she calculated that it would take at least twenty days for Li Yi to uncover Gongsun Jian's secrets, interrogate him severely, and then secretly cross the river to the north and try to enter the capital.
Minus some miscellaneous things, Gongsun Jian's progress is probably on par with theirs.
There has been no urgent bad news from Zhongdu within eight hundred miles, and Zhang Yuanrang is still safe, which can prove this point.
Now it depends on whether they can catch up. If they can, they will be able to destroy Li Yi’s conspiracy in time!
It is not difficult to break this situation, as long as the news is sent to Zhang Yuanrang in time.
"Has the carrier pigeon been sent out?"
As soon as he mounted the horse and galloped, the north wind blew in his face, and Gu Wan raised his voice and asked.
Xie Hai immediately said: "It has been sent out!"
As soon as he received the news, he sent three letters by carrier pigeon.
The news also spread from Yin Luo's side.
But they didn't receive a response for more than a day.
Gu Wan: "Fuck!"
So the disadvantage of using carrier pigeons to deliver messages is that they are easily sniped when traveling by carriage, so all military reports are sent by land at an accelerated speed of 800 miles.
"Keep spreading it!"
One young man automatically slowed down to deliver the message via carrier pigeon, while the others gritted their teeth and whipped their horses again.
They rushed to the capital along the post road. It took them more than a day to reach the destination, which was nearly a thousand miles from Hezhou to Sishui Pass.
The north wind made it difficult for me to open my eyes. The first snow had already fallen at Sishui Pass. Pieces of residual snow covered the brown and yellow ground. The towering mountains that bounded Sishui Pass were a mixture of gray, white and yellow, making them look even more majestic.
Gu Guan and his party quickly rode their horses onto the boat and headed straight for Sishui Pass. The soldiers on the city wall shouted loudly from a distance, and Gu Guan immediately raised the token in his hand.
The golden token shone brightly in the sunlight, along with the handwritten letter of thanks. The arrows on the city wall were not lowered, and they, accompanied by a scout team, galloped towards the gate. The gate would not open, and a basket was lowered from the city wall, into which Gu Guan placed the letter and the golden token.
This was the golden order handed over by Grand Tutor Wen, which was issued by the court to appoint the Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition Army. It was handwritten and stamped with public and private seals of thanks, so it could not be forged. Not long after the basket was raised, it was quickly lowered again.
The commander of Sishui Pass had mixed feelings about Xie Ci's army, but when Gu Wan said that, he became anxious, "Then hurry up!"
Sishui Pass immediately sent out a messenger, who rode on the best horses and rushed to Zhongdu with Gu Guan and his party.
He ran so hard that his heart almost jumped out of his chest, but soon a good news came: Zhang Yuanrang was inspecting the warehouse in Gu County.
Gu Guan and the others were overjoyed when they heard this, because because Zhang Yuanrang was on guard against Li Yi, Sishui Pass and the entire capital were under a high level of martial law during wartime, and the gates would definitely not be opened for Li Yi's men. Moreover, it was difficult to perform tricks in such a high-profile way as using a hanging basket, and they could not enter directly with a golden order in hand like Gu Guan and the others.
The gate is closed and you can’t enter, but you can climb over the mountain.
However, the mountains on the Sishui Pass side are very difficult to climb. You can either go around to the north bank of the Yellow River and swim over, or go through Guangcheng Pass. The mountains on the other side of Guangcheng Pass are much easier to climb than here.
Anyway, no matter which of the above methods of entering the capital is used, it is very far away from Gu County. If nothing unexpected happens and God helps them this time, they may meet Zhang Yuanrang!
Zhang Ningyuan was delighted: "I've always said since I was a kid that my uncle was born in the Year of the Tortoise."
It’s smelly and hard, but turtles are good, they live long!
Gu Wan couldn't help laughing. What a bastard nephew.
Yin Luo was also in a good mood, "Gongsun Jian must be rescued."
Gu Wan said, "Of course."
The group rode away on horseback while talking, however, things did not go as smoothly as they had imagined.
The sky was azure blue. It was a warm winter this year. A small snow fell in November. The small river in the brown and yellow fields was not completely frozen. The sound of rushing water could be heard. In the distance, from the direction of the granary in Gu County, the sound of gongs ringing to clear the way came. Jinwu Guards wearing dark black armor of the Southern Court Forbidden Army escorted an official sedan chair and turned across the official road beside the forest. The stone bridge was a bit narrow. A general of the Jinwu Guard turned back and reported. The sedan chair stopped and fell forward. The yellow-brown curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man in crimson official uniform walked out from inside.
The man was wearing a five-inch diameter unique pattern, a gold and jade belt, and a three-beam Jinxian crown. He had black temples, a broad face and mouth, thick eyebrows, and regular facial features. He was about forty years old, but his stern expression made him look particularly serious and reserved.
When everyone saw him, they were overjoyed. It was clear that it could be no other than Zhang Yuanrang.
Zhang Ningyuan's legs weakened when he saw Zhang Yuanrang. He smiled and said, "He's my uncle..."
One of Xie Jiawei's young men leaped across the river and rode forward to pass the message first. Zhang Yuanrang stopped and looked over here.
"stop!"
Gu Wan's eyes were like radar. She suddenly said, "Zhang Yuanrang is fifty years old, a scholar. How can his back still be so straight?"
What's more important is that the court has been in turmoil for the past two years. Zhang Yuanrang is over fifty years old. Xie Ci and his generals on the front line have undergone tremendous changes. It doesn't make sense that the overwhelmed Zhang Yuanrang can still maintain the state he was in when they left Beijing!
After all, he is not really young. Once a young-looking person encounters a major obstacle, the changes in appearance can be astonishing.
Gu Guan's first glance fell on "Zhang Yuanrang's" back. The other person's back was very straight, more like the back of a young man who practiced martial arts and stood in military posture for many years.
She stopped her horse and shouted to the young man who was halfway through the charge: "Big fish! Come back! Right now, right now——"
Gu Guan's voice was loud and high-pitched, full of energy and spirit. Yin Luo's cold eyes fell on Zhang Yuanrang's back like lightning. With a flash of thought, he shouted: "Retreat——"
He leaned over and grabbed Gu Wan's collar with one hand. No one was as fast as him. He suddenly flew up like lightning and fled backwards with Gu Wan!
Xie Yun and Xie Feng followed closely behind. Xie Hai shouted loudly and threw out a long rope (learned from Gu Guan). The young man was startled and dropped his horse and threw himself back with all his strength, barely grabbing the end of the long rope. Xie Hai pulled with all his strength!
"Boom!!" There was a loud noise. The other party saw Gu Guan and his group suddenly stop, and knew that they were exposed. They immediately lit the fuse at their feet, and a large area just in front of Gu Guan and his group was completely blown up with a loud bang!
Seeing Gu Wan being taken away by Yin Luo, Zhang Ningyuan shouted anxiously: "Hey, hey, there's me too——"
Just before the huge explosion hit, Xie Yun grabbed his left shoulder and jumped back.
Everyone threw themselves to the ground, holding their heads to avoid the shockwave, and then immediately got up. Gu Guan's mind was unusually clear: "Don't worry about them! Let's go to Zhongdu right away--"
This was a trap that Li Yi had prepared long ago.
Li Yi has two targets this time, one big and one small. The big one is Zhang Yuanrang and the imperial court, and the small one is Gu Wan!
His guess was very accurate. If the news leaked out, Gu Wan would definitely lead his men north immediately.
This "Zhang Yuanrang" was setting a trap just in case.
The one who disguised himself as Zhang Yuanrang was none other than Li Yi's trusted deputy commander Han Zhun. His expression changed instantly, and with a wave of his hand, a large group of hundreds of imperial guards, disguised as the men Li Yi had left in Zhongdu, came out in full force and swarmed forward.
Gu Wan didn't care about them at all. It would be foolish to bother with them. He immediately turned around and rushed towards the northwest.
Gu Guan discovered it very timely. Only a few people suffered minor skin injuries, which were caused by the scratches and cuts of sharp stones flying during the explosion. Zhang Ningyuan was the most seriously injured. He screamed and was hit hard on the back of the head by Yin Luo, who frowned and looked annoyed with him.
Zhang Ningyuan quickly turned around to look at Yin Luo's indifferent face, which looked particularly unapproachable. He was quite timid about Feng Kun's people, so he immediately shut up and dared not howl anymore.
The group rushed into Zhongdu City at the fastest speed. As soon as it was getting dark, they hurried and hurried. The soldiers sent by the Sishui Pass commander could not keep up with the speed because they had no horses, so they could not take care of them.
As soon as he rushed into the city, he ran into Li Yi head-on.
He wore a navy blue round-necked robe as his daily attire, his hair tied up with a jade crown, he had a full forehead and a round chin, sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, thick and long eyeliner with deep outlines, he was noble and handsome, and had the awe-inspiring air of someone who had been in a high position for a long time.
He stood on the second floor of the restaurant in front, facing the city gate, obviously waiting for news. Suddenly seeing Gu Guan, Zhang Ningyuan and his party rushing in in the twilight, his expression suddenly changed and he immediately turned around and left.
There were not many people around Li Yi, and it was obvious that they had all gone out. Xie Yun immediately had an idea - because the distance between them was much closer than that between the fake Zhang Yuanrang. Xie Yun had been with Gu Wan for a long time, and through what he saw and heard, he was also very good at distinguishing whether this person had makeup powder and prostheses on his face, especially the shadows on the nose and cheeks. This person was facing the setting sun, and he did not have any prosthetics to disguise himself.
——Li Yi has a very tall and beautiful nose bridge, just like the model face in later generations. The height of the nose tip and the bridge of the nose is absolutely impossible to achieve with ordinary disguises. If you want to disguise it, you have to stick on prostheses.
This person doesn’t have it!
He is really Li Yi!
Xie Yun almost immediately had an idea. Li Yi was very skilled, but they had Xie Feng, Xie Hai, Xie Ping, and Yin Luo on their side. There was a high chance that they could kill Li Yi by besieging him.
As long as Li Yi dies, wouldn't all the problems be solved? !
But before Xie Yun could say anything, Gu Wan grabbed him and said, "Damn, this is Li Yi's stand-in!"
Li Yi's stand-in is a mysterious trump card. Even Li Yi's confidants, such as Tang Fen, are unaware of it.
She met the man's eyes at first sight. They were very similar, extremely similar. The substitutes trained since childhood were different, but this man's eyes were gentle. Compared with Li Yi, especially the now sharp Li Yi, there was still a difference.
No matter how you disguise yourself, you can't disguise the look in a person's eyes.
Gu Wan may be the only person in the world who knows that Li Yi has a substitute, except for Li Yi and his few confidants.
She shouted: "Quick, something bad has happened! Let's go to the Shangshu Mansion--"
It’s urgent!
Li Yi definitely didn't come, but he even brought out the substitute, a top-secret trump card, to confuse them. His purpose was to tie up their time. Obviously, the operation to assassinate Zhang Yuanrang was at the most critical moment!
Gu Guan rushed forward along the long street, and Xie Yun carried Zhang Ningyuan and ran wildly. They didn't even go through the main gate, but rushed into the inner city and entered Guiningfang where the Shangshu Mansion was located. They rushed to the nearest side wall and directly jumped over the wall and rushed in!
The guards at the Shangshu Mansion are now extremely strict, with almost a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps. All of them are the best soldiers in the imperial guards, and the guard level is even stricter than that of the imperial palace.
As soon as the group appeared, the imperial guards outside the wall shouted loudly. They rushed over the wall and suddenly a sharp whistle sounded. The whole side yard of the Shangshu Mansion was in turmoil. The sound of Grala's bowstring was immediately aimed at this side.
Gu Guan quickly threw Zhang Ningyuan out. She brought Zhang Ningyuan with her from afar, of course not for personal reasons. Zhang Ningyuan's face was more useful than any pass token and could be of great use when necessary!
Zhang Ningyuan yelled, "It's me! It's me! Stop messing around—"
The old servants and the family members from the former Marquis and Zhang Mansion were present and they quickly shouted, "This is our Third Young Master! Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! Generals, this is a misunderstanding, our Third Young Master has returned home!"
"Where's my uncle? Where's my uncle?"
Zhang Ningyuan led the charge, rushing forward. His cousin Zhang Ningjun soon came over, surprised and delighted: "Ayuan, you're home! How's your uncle? Uncle and aunt..."
Zhang Ningyuan quickly grabbed his eldest brother by the collar. The old servant and the general who had followed him all the way were clueless. One of them was a servant in the inner house, and the other was responsible for guarding the backyard. They had no idea what had just happened in the front yard. Zhang Ningyuan was breathless. "Li, Li Yi sent people to assassinate my uncle! Chen Yunzan, my uncle's junior brother was forced to come here..."
Zhang Ningyuan knew more. Chen Yunzan and Zhang Yuanrang were not on good terms. They had a big age gap and different ideas and had quarreled a long time ago. But this was the teacher's only son. If there was an urgent matter, they could immediately put aside their past grudges.
Zhang Ningjun's expression changed drastically. What?! "Dad just returned home, and Chen Yunzan just went to see him. He just entered the main hall!"
This place is neither far nor near from the main hall, about a hundred meters away, but it is precisely these hundred meters that he can suddenly thrust out with his sword, which is more than enough and the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
Gu Wan thought quickly and kicked Zhang Ningyuan in the butt: "Scream! Your father is dying!!"
Zhang Ningyuan: “…”
Fuck, but he raised his neck without hesitation and screamed at the top of his lungs: "Uncle! No, my dad is dying, please come quickly, he can't take it anymore and will die soon——"
They couldn't appear in the main hall immediately, but their voices could.
They couldn't appear immediately to save Zhang Yuanrang, but they could suddenly interrupt him and let Zhang Yuanrang let them rush out.
If it were someone else, even Zhang Ningyuan would not be able to do it. Chen Yunzan is the son of his mentor, and Zhang Yuanrang is stubborn and upright, so the weight is different.
In the main hall, Gongsun Jian was wearing a mourning band, with two people following closely behind him. One was Li Qixun, and the other was Yan Di, another top secret guard expert beside Li Yi. The two had practiced many times and could step smoothly and heavily, so much so that the two royal guard experts who were guarding Zhang Yuan were unable to verify their martial arts value in the first time.
——These two imperial guards were two of the three remaining men who had died by the old emperor’s side. The young emperor gave both of them to Zhang Yuanrang and kept only one for himself.
Zhang Yuanrang's security was indeed impeccable, and Gongsun Jian could be said to be the only flaw he found.
When Zhang Yuanrang saw the mourning scarf around Chen Yunzan's waist, his expression changed immediately. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he stood up and walked towards Chen Yunzan, "Teacher, he actually..."
The two imperial guards took a few steps forward, about three steps away from Zhang Yuanrang. Step by step, they were getting closer and closer, finally entering the attack range of Li Qixun and the others. But at that moment, a heartbreaking howl suddenly erupted from the backyard: "Uncle! It's bad, my father is dying, please come quickly, he's dying soon--"
Zhang Yuanrang's face turned pale instantly, and he turned around and rushed towards the back door.
The moment he turned around, Li Qixun's face changed drastically. With a sharp "clang" sound, the soft sword was suddenly unsheathed. Two cold rays of light as fast as lightning rushed straight to Zhang Yuanrang's throat and Tanzhong!
Gongsun Jian suddenly lunged forward, knocking Zhang Yuanrang heavily to the ground, narrowly avoiding these two moves!
"How dare you, thief!!"
The two imperial guards shouted loudly, drew their weapons almost at the same time, rushed forward like lightning, blocked the second move, and engaged in a battle in an instant.
Gongsun Jian rolled several times with Zhang Yuanrang in his arms, then tumbled out of the battle circle in a panic. He quickly pulled Zhang Yuanrang up and rushed forward without looking back, "Run!"
As soon as he rushed to the back door, he ran into Gu Guan, Yin Luo, Xie Yun, Zhang Ningyuan and others.
Yin Luo, Zhang Yun and others rushed out to join the battle. In an instant, blood splattered and the upper hand and lower hand suddenly separated.
Zhang Yuanrang didn't bother brushing off the bruises on his forehead or the dust on his body. He hurriedly grabbed Zhang Ningyuan and asked, "Where's your father? What happened to your father?"
He was furious: "I told you from the beginning that your father was in poor health and couldn't go out in the winter, and you, a wicked creature, actually took your parents out with you!"
"Take me to—"
Zhang Ningyuan: “…”
Zhang Yuanrang sprayed spit all over his face, and his high-spirited demeanor immediately collapsed, revealing an expression as bitter as a dried bitter melon.
He quickly looked around.
Gu Guan, who was standing on his left, moved two steps to the side without leaving any trace.
Zhang Ningyuan: “…”
Oh my god, why am I the only one who got hurt?!
…
In Hezhou, on the ninth day of November, the fourth day of Gu Guan's journey north, he finally received good news.
In fact, the atmosphere in Hezhou has been very tense these days, and all senior military officials who knew about it, including Xie Ci, were aware of it.
Either move forward or move backward, there is no third option.
If they fail to stop Li Yi, the entire Xie Ci army will fall into the lowest disadvantage. Becoming a traitor or a traitor who kills the emperor is the least of their worries. The most critical thing is the large number of military officers' families who have been protected by Zhang Yuanrang.
Even Zhang Shen and Huang Zongxi were very restless, pretending to be calm so that their officers would not notice their emotions. They came here three times a day to inquire about news, and when they could not free themselves, they sent their trusted guards.
On the contrary, if they succeed in stopping Li Yi, Xie Ci can say with certainty that they will take a big step forward and will have already won half the battle before it even starts.
All previous advantages will be further strengthened.
Xie Ci was also under a lot of pressure. He remained calm and composed during the day, trying to calm the hearts of Zhang Shen and other generals, just as he had always been. However, his emotions were still tense, although no one could see it.
Finally, on the ninth day of April, he received a serious and romantic letter from Gu Wan.
Why is it romantic? Because it was written on a piece of plum blossom paper.
I don’t know if Gu Guan did it on purpose, but pink plum blossoms fell one after another, and a faint fragrance came, which was faintly similar to the faint orange scent on Gu Guan’s body.
The letter was written by Gu Guan herself. She first told him the good news in a serious manner.
Then, he described in detail to Xie Ci the whole process of how she saw through the trap twice and successfully rescued Zhang Yuanrang, and the world where Zhang Ningyuan was injured alone in the end. This unlucky child had been beaten badly by his angry uncle. So pitiful, haha.
Perhaps remembering his reluctance to leave, she added a sweet line at the end of the letter, "I'm fine, not hurt. I just miss you so much! I can't sleep tonight because of you."
Under the orange light, she read every word, the excitement in her tone almost overflowing, and her smug smile almost appeared before my eyes.
Xie Ci couldn't help but smile. His sharp eyes were suddenly filled with a gentle smile, and under the light, they regained the gorgeous color of roses in the past.
Gu Wan seemed to have not changed at all, still as free and unrestrained as the flowing wind back then, but the relationship between the two had changed, and they became lovers who would hold hands for life.
Xie Ci took a deep breath and looked up: "Send the news to Zhang Shen and the others, everything is going well in Zhongdu, Gongsun Jian was stopped and Li Yi's conspiracy failed!"
Zhang Qing and Zheng Ying were eagerly waiting, and when they heard it, they were overjoyed, "Yes!"
The two men received the order and rushed out in a hurry, ordering people to pass the message to Zhang Shen, Huang Zongxi, Zhang Yuanqing and others.
The footsteps soon faded away, and the night wind blew in gusts, but Xie Ci didn't feel cold. The lanterns under the eaves flickered, and the warm light enveloped him.
He covered the plum blossom paper so that Zhang Qing and the others wouldn't see the pink dots, and complained, "How unrefined."
But the corners of his lips were raised. He carefully opened the letter and read the last sentence several times, then leaned over and kissed it.
He misses her too.
The author has something to say:
Zhang Ningyuan: QAQ
Hahaha, good afternoon, babies, chirp chirp~ I love you guys so much! See you tomorrow hehe (づ￣3￣)づ
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