Chapter 74 Successfully accomplished, it’s time to cash in the reward! His wishes and what he wants to do, “I have something for you too!”
The night is deep, like ink splashing across the sky.
Before dawn, two men in armored patrol soldiers entered the Duke's Mansion again. Xue Rong'an and Liao Kai came to urge them on, but the two men were very adamant: "It's almost four o'clock now!"
Xie Ci was dressed in a snow-white nightgown and a large black cloak. His face was gloomy. The two looked at each other for a moment. He said coldly, "Send a message to Qinguan Chen Luo to mobilize the troops immediately."
The two men hadn't slept all night and breathed a sigh of relief. One of them stayed where he was, while the other quickly turned around and went back to report the news.
At Xie Ci's command, the entire front yard of the Duke's Mansion was in motion, with horses galloping to the temporary barracks and official post station a mile away to deliver orders.
The official residences of the Donggong clique were inspected and confiscated. There were officials of all ranks and clerks sent by the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court. These people temporarily requisitioned an official office building of the Simayuan in the inner city as an inn to rest nearby.
The official quarters in the Simayuan had to house horses. In the middle of the night, there was a noise of horses' neighing and hooves, as well as the smell of horse manure. The large bunk beds also made their bones ache. Many people could only vaguely remember it, then suddenly woke up. Not daring to say anything, they quickly got up to wash and get dressed.
Of course, there were also those who had been waiting patiently, and when it finally came, they were cheered up and immediately threw off their quilts and stood up.
Among them are people from Feng Kun and Lin Guojiu's faction.
There were three or four large bunk beds of varying sizes, with complicated relationships and a tense atmosphere. It was like the surface of a lake in spring, calm on the surface but actually seething with undercurrents, with people confronting and guarding against each other. There was a faint atmosphere of competition and pressure, and the others were so nervous that they pretended not to know and tread lightly for fear of being dragged into it.
Gu Wan tore off a torn corner of the half-worn window paper and peeked inside. He saw three or four middle-aged men in the best bunk beds at the end. They had washed their faces and were putting on crimson official uniforms. They glanced at each other and then looked away, their eyes never making contact. The people in the bunk beds below had finished tidying up and were gradually gathering up.
Gu Guan followed them for a whole day and knew their names. The oldest one was Yuan Tiao, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, and the other was Jiang Zuofan, the right junior minister of the Dali Temple. The people around them were all their minions.
Gu Guan observed them for a while, then quickly shifted his gaze to the other end of the room, where he saw seven or eight green-robed clerks pretending to be busy.
She looked for a while and finally chose a young clerk who was about the same size as her, with a round face and big eyes.
She motioned Xie Yun to look and pointed inside.
Xie Yun took a look and nodded.
…
The night was dark, and the clatter of horse hooves hitting the ground broke the tranquility of the night. Guards holding fire sticks rushed out of the mansion gate quickly, and the flickering fire illuminated the dark camp of soldiers and the long bluestone street.
Xie Ci was wearing black armor and an indigo cloak, moving in the cold wind. In the night, he walked quickly out of the black gate in the middle of the mansion. The black horse had been led to the mounting stone that had been used countless times. He glanced at it, jumped up, pulled up the reins, and squeezed the horse's belly.
Behind him, Qin Guan, Chen Luo, Xie Yun and others immediately jumped on their horses and followed closely behind.
Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple all mounted their horses, and those who could not ride horses either climbed on their companions or took sedan chairs to catch up.
Xie Ci held a golden order, lifting the curfew, and the large group of people slowly advanced towards East City.
It was late autumn, early winter. The night before dawn was extremely cold, and the men and horses exhaled white, hot air. Not long after they started walking, Xue Rongan and Liao Kai quietly joined Xie Ci. One was a scholar, the other a warrior. One wore heavy black armor, the other soft armor. Their faces were gloomy and hinted at displeasure. "Master Xie, have you rested enough? Hurry, let's go to the Beijing camp!"
The two men were obviously extremely nervous. They kept glancing back and forth, staring at Xie Ci with warning eyes, and sternly urged him, "His Majesty has ordered this. Hurry!"
Even the emperor was brought out to suppress Xie Ci. These two people, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiched Xie Ci in the middle, and the implication of supervision and pressure was extremely obvious.
Xie Ci raised the corner of his lips coldly and said coldly: "Send the order, target the west gate of the Jingying camp, full speed ahead!"
The sounds of military boots and horse hooves suddenly became rapid, like drumbeats beating on people's hearts.
The power of the Eastern Palace is not small, among which the most important is the Feijie Army originally from the Beijing Camp, which is now the Eighth and Ninth Camps. These were left to the Crown Prince Li Min by the Jin family of the former Queen's clan, and the Emperor acquiesced.
Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the Second Battalion of the Beijing Camp.
And what Xie Ci needed was for Yu Miaofeng to open a gap.
More than a thousand soldiers obeying the imperial edict marched quickly along Tongtian Street, opened the East City Gate, and headed straight for the West Gate of the Beijing Camp.
At the crack of dawn, when the night is darkest, the sound of armor rubbing against each other and the scraping of iron-hoofed military boots against the ground is like metal rubbing against one's heart.
The confidant who had been secretly observing the movements in the city was terrified and immediately rushed back to the Jing camp to report to Yu Miaofeng!
Now, Chen Bing, the Chancellor of the Chancellery and Grand Secretary, Yan Shidao, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Zhu Shouchun, the Eagle-Young General, were killed and confiscated yesterday.
Yesterday, Xie Ci successfully intercepted the message that Zhu Shouchun sent to his trusted lieutenant Yu Miaofeng and others. Yu Miaofeng hadn't slept all night and was terrified. When he received the news, it was like being poured with ice water in the coldest days of winter, and even his hands and feet trembled.
But soon, the drum-like sounds of horse hooves and military boots arrived. The Beijing camp had received the news from the Eastern Palace yesterday, and there was silence. After the captain of the gate checked the golden order, he immediately opened the gate.
Xie Ci led the troops, and the inspection team of the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple followed closely behind. The moment the horses galloped through the gate, everyone became tense, both openly and secretly.
Yin Luo, dressed in the uniform of the Beijing camp, waved his hand silently and led his men forward.
On the other side, Zhao Xi, the leader of Lin Guozhang's trusted secret guards, immediately opened a window upon hearing the noise and stared intently.
The undercurrent is surging and the situation is critical!
Xie Ci led his troops in without saying a word. Yu Miaofeng came out to greet them with a pale face.
The soldiers of the Beijing Camp, wearing the same black armor, quickly surrounded the entire Eighth and Ninth Camps. They galloped by on horseback and shouted orders, ordering all soldiers to return to the barracks and not to leave without permission. Those who violated the order would be punished as if they were guilty of treason!
Yu Miaofeng's eyes were bloodshot and his hands and feet were trembling. Even if he wanted to clear out the Donggong clique with the charge of treason, there had to be actual evidence to convict them according to the law!
Officials and soldiers from the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court rushed into the main courtyard of the camp. Jiang Zuofan and Yuan Tiao, dressed in crimson official robes, led the way. However, after Yuan Tiao entered Yu Miaofeng's barracks, he headed straight for the side hall with a clear goal.
Jiang Zuofan's eyebrows jumped: "What are you doing?!"
Lin Guozhang was unaware of Feng Kun's plan, and it was too late to fabricate evidence. However, Yu Miaofeng and the others must die! The Eastern Palace's power must be completely destroyed, its followers annihilated, and their positions divided.
Jiang Zuofan rushed forward and grabbed Yuan Tiao's shoulders. Both of them were actually quite skilled in fighting, and soon a fight broke out between five or six people. Jiang Zuofan held Yuan Tiao down and hit him hard with his brush washer. Yuan Tiao fainted, but he quickly searched and found a loose floor tile at the corner. He lifted it up and took a look. He was shocked: "Why is it not there?!"
The unconscious Jiang Zuofan sneered and climbed up, clutching his bleeding forehead. "You think you can stop me? Dream on!"
In order to make a feint to the east and attack in the west, while the two sides were fighting, two inconspicuous clerks in green robes turned their heads and went into Yu Miaofeng's study.
There was a violent storm outside, and the hall was filled with muffled sounds of clashing, but the study was extremely quiet. Finally, the sky brightened, and a ray of morning light passed through the mountains and fell on the window lattice of the study. The clerks took advantage of the daylight and worked together to move the large bookshelf in Yu Miaofeng's study, pried open the ochre-red floor, and took out a stack of things wrapped in oil paper.
The two took out the things and smiled at each other.
But at this moment, they heard the window frame "click" and it automatically opened. The two were startled and looked back, only to see a face with big round eyes. Gu Wan crossed his arms and said with a smile: "What are you doing? Why don't you wait for me to come in?"
The voice was crisp, but it was not the voice of a round-faced clerk at all.
Gu Guan kicked the guy down with one foot, and there was a loud "bang"!
This place was very close to the corridor, and almost immediately, Yu Miaofeng and the others were startled! The trusted deputy captain immediately turned around and rushed over, kicking the entire window frame on the other side away, and jumped in, just in time to see two green-robed clerks holding oil-paper bags and about to rush out from the bookshelf.
The deputy captain rushed forward to block the two men, snatched it away, quickly tore open the oil paper and took a look. He was immediately terrified and his cold sweat turned into hot sweat.
He knocked the two clerks unconscious with a single blow of his hand. Gu Guan had already jumped out of the window on the other side while he was kicking it. The deputy captain didn't care about her and quickly turned back the way he came!
His heart was pounding like it was about to jump out, and the lieutenant stopped and said, "Sir, look—"
Yu Miaofeng took it and looked at it, his eyes widened with horror. He and the deputy captain and others were horrified, their bodies drenched in cold sweat, and they felt dizzy under the cold and hot winter sun.
Just at this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside, and two muffled sounds of arrows piercing the flesh were heard. He turned around and saw that Xue Rongan and Liao Kai suddenly fell to the ground with their horses!
With a "bang", blood splattered everywhere, and a bloody hole was suddenly shot through the neck. The two men groaned and died with their eyes open!
…
Feng Kun's plan was to use evidence to force them to surrender first, and then shoot Xue Rongan and Liao Kai to death on the spot regardless of whether it succeeded or not!
The other party is not allowed to show favor again.
The success rate is very high.
But unexpectedly, Lin Guozhang got the news earlier.
This forced Lin Guozhang to abandon his original plan and send out his best expert and personal guard Zhao Xi overnight.
Xue Rongan and Liao Kai were not unprepared. As soon as they left Gongfu Street, they retreated into the group of cavalry. In the dark night, with all of them wearing iron armor and helmets, no one could see them clearly.
After arriving at the Beijing camp, he first went to find the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp, General Gao Minggong. Gao Minggong and several generals came with him, using both kindness and force, and were right in front of him.
Xue Rongan had been on the battlefield before, and was also wary of desperate men. He wore a thick helmet, heavy armor lined with chain mail, and a breastplate on the back of his chest. He always knew how to protect his vital parts when walking or sitting. He slightly turned sideways to talk to Gao Minggong, without exposing any of his vital parts.
Unfortunately, the person he met was Zhao Xi, who had always been protecting Lin Guozhang personally. This was the first time he had been assigned a mission in such an emergency. The shuttle crossbow worn on his wrist had a range of more than eighty feet and was extremely powerful in penetrating steel plates.
He was a hundred feet away and slightly opened the window. This distance exceeded the optimal shooting range, but he did not move at all. He narrowed his eyes slightly and calmly observed the position of Xue Rongan's neck and the distance from the ground.
One step, two steps, three steps, and finally he reached about a hundred feet. Zhao Xi pulled the trigger like lightning! Two times in a row!
“Whoosh, whoosh—”
The first fine iron crossbow arrow actually shot straight at the horse's head. With a "puff" sound, it hit the horse's eye and penetrated the back of the head, causing blood to splatter.
The warhorse screamed and threw Xue Rongan to the ground. With a "crack", Xue Rongan's leg was broken before he could struggle. He raised his head in pain, and with a "swish", a crossbow arrow flew past, scratching his throat and splattering blood. The entire trachea was cut off precisely.
Xue Rongan was not dead yet and struggled in pain. This scared Liao Kai. He was a civil servant and was responsible for regaining the power of the civil servants. As soon as Xue Rongan fell, he was exposed and Zhao Xi killed him with one arrow!
There were constant howlings, blood splattering, and chaos broke out in an instant!
Zhao Xi succeeded in his attack, pushed open the rear window and jumped away.
Yin Luo and others were also adjusting their angles. He wanted to take action but not now. Unexpectedly, someone killed Xue Liao and the others first!
Yin Luo stood up suddenly: "Who is it? What's going on?!"
He was shocked, his mind racing, and he immediately turned around, "Go! Get Wei Wei to the camp compound quickly—"
…
The two parties were fighting bloodily, and their intention to kill him was obvious.
There was chaos in an instant, with shouts, running sounds, and uproar. Yu Miaofeng rushed out of the camp gate with the pile of "evidence". Zhan Ma and Liao Rongan were still struggling, and blood was sprayed all over the ground, which was a shocking sight.
At this moment, the panic and fear reached its peak. Yu Miaofeng's hands were shaking. He had never realized so clearly: Feng Kun didn't want him to live, Lin Guozhang wanted to kill him, the East Palace rebelled, and the emperor was furious.
He has no way out!
He is dead!
But Yu Miaofeng didn't want to die! The more frightened he was, the stronger his will to survive became.
He was trembling all over and turned around in panic. Suddenly, he saw the General of Cavalry looking outside in the corridor with a slightly frown on his face, saying goodbye.
Xie Ci was riding a black horse and armor, with an indifferent expression. After he came in, he stopped at one side and watched the siege and search with cold eyes.
In a flash, Yu Miaofeng froze. He almost ran and crawled over, grabbed Xie Ci, and knelt in front of him, "General! Major General! Please, save me, save me——"
Yu Miaofeng actually knew Xie Ci. Many officers within the Beijing garrison had received instruction from Xie Xinzhong. Xie Ci's original transfer back to Beijing, under the pretext of training the Beijing troops, was a position Xie Xinzhong had held many times. The younger ones had been instructed by Xie Ci's older brother, Xie Qi.
In fact, many people can see the relationship between Xie Ci and the old emperor, but Xie Ci and the old emperor are not truly of the same mind, so he has a way out!
Yu Miaofeng was terrified and tears were streaming down his face.
In the shadows of the morning light, the young black-armored general slowly stood up. Xie Ci frowned, and after a moment, he slowly said, "...If I save you, I will have to break off relations with the emperor."
Yu Miaofeng burst into tears, "The Emperor is not a good person! He used to indulge and strangle the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince suffered a lot. Otherwise, the Eastern Palace would not have gone down this path! He will definitely abandon him after his time is up! Feng Kun and Lin Guozhang are not good people either!"
Xie Ci stared at him with sharp eyes under his black helmet.
Seeing Xie Ci's hesitation, Yu Miaofeng raised his hands and shouted, "I, Yu Miaofeng, will remain loyal to the Young General and the Xie family until my death! If I say even a single lie, I will be torn to pieces!"
He pulled out the dagger from his boot and cut off his left little finger. With a "snap" sound, blood splattered. He swore an oath on his severed finger to prove his determination. Yu Miaofeng burst into tears: "Even though the East Palace has been in such a difficult situation in the past few years, I have never thought of changing my ways. I am willing to send all my family to Shuofang! My Lord, my Lord——"
Finally, Yu Miaofeng was lifted up by Xie Ci by the ribs. Yu Miaofeng was overjoyed!
He pulled Xie Ci and pushed open the barracks behind him, immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times to acknowledge his master, and quickly handed the evidence in his hand to Xie Ci.
Xie Ci pondered for a moment, called Zhao Yun over, and wrote a letter, "Send it to Feng Kun immediately."
This is what the handwriting says.
Only then did Yu Miaofeng realize that Xie Ci and Feng Kun had been secretly in contact, and he was immediately overjoyed.
With Xie Ci's endorsement, his chances of survival increased greatly. Without even needing Xie Ci to ask, he immediately said, "Sir! I will immediately send my confidant and go with your people to Chen Huaixin, Cui Yanming, and the others!"
This package of evidence certainly wasn't unique to him. The more people surrendered, the more weight it would carry. Yu Miaofeng was trying to win over his old comrades, but also for his own benefit. He was willing to surrender Xie Ci. He had heard of the Xie family's past and the precedent of returning to Yizhou. He suddenly felt more at ease than when he had followed the Eastern Palace.
very good.
Xie Ci immediately called Xie Ping over and said, "You should immediately arrange for people to leave the Beijing camp with Yu Miaofeng's men."
Xie Ping knelt down with a thud, and made eye contact with Xie Ci. He said, "Yes!"
…
The next few days were extremely chaotic, but the turmoil did not affect Gu Wan and the others at all.
Xie Ci's plan has been successful so far.
Gu Guan took off his green official robe and hurriedly put it back on the clerk with a round face and big eyes. He scooped up some water and slapped him, then jumped out the window and left before he woke up.
The two Feng Kun followers who saw "him" had been killed by the deputy captain, and it did not affect this innocent young man.
Afterwards, Gu Guan, Xie Ping and their men split up into several groups and headed straight for the other nine locations with a small group of people to collect evidence, and then help them contact their subordinates. They were nervous and excited all the way.
Gu Guan went to a place quite far away, Lin'an Prefecture, one of the secondary capitals of Zhongdu, about four hundred miles away from Zhongdu.
By the time she slowly turned back, it was already mid-October with snowflakes falling. After urgently contacting Yin Luo and Lin Guozhang that day, Feng Kun finally took quick action and joined forces with Xie Ci and Li Yi to save Yu Miaofeng and his group.
In the early winter when the snow was falling lightly, Gu Guan rode a slow horse and returned leisurely with Xie Zi and a few others.
Xie Ci felt refreshed physically and mentally, and that day he went out in plain clothes to pick up Gu Wan from the outskirts of Beijing.
The sun came out in the afternoon, and the sky was azure. White specks of snow were flying in the wind. From a distance, I could see a tall and unrestrained figure holding a thin bamboo pole as a whip, gently tapping the fallen snow on the branches of the black bushes beside the road as she walked. She was wearing a crooked felt hat and was looking back to talk to Xie Zi and the others. Everyone was laughing.
Xie Ci stopped his horse and felt warm in his heart, but when he saw Gu Wan smiling brightly, he actually felt a little jealous. He thought of her every day when he had some free time and counted the days until she came back on his fingers. It was really like a long time since they last saw each other, but she didn't miss him at all!
She even said that he was her boyfriend, and she said nice things to coax him.
Xie Ci shouted: "Wan Wan——"
It was a half-clear day, with fine snow fluttering in the air. At the end of the long road, there were big trees, black rocks, yellow grass and white snow. A group of people were standing on horseback. The one in the lead was a man wearing black clothes and riding a black horse. He had a figure as straight as a pine tree, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and he was staring at her without blinking.
When Gu Wan turned around, she smiled and said, "Thank you!"
With a flick of the slender bamboo whip, the slow horse came running over. Xie Ci was faster than anyone else. He immediately kicked the horse's belly and rushed forward like an arrow.
He glanced at Xie Zi and the others.
Thanks: “???”
Why does the master's eyes look a little strange?
He was completely confused, but he understood the meaning of disappearing immediately, so Xie Zi and Xie Yun and others behind Xie Ci looked at each other, turned their horses' heads tacitly, flipped over, and with a whoosh, they quickly fell behind.
Xie Ci nodded slightly, humph, you are quite sensible. Forget it, I'll spare you this time.
His eyes, shining against the sunlight, were like stars falling from the sky. The moment he saw Gu Wan, the slightest bit of grievance was thrown away into the sky like snowflakes meeting water.
But he still said, "What took you so long to come back?"
Oh, what a feeling of grievance.
Where's that decisive and ruthless thank you? The news I've received these days has been extremely explosive and dramatic.
Gu Wan looked at him with a smile and wrinkled his nose: "Haven't I been out for a long time? Hey, I just walked a little slower."
It won’t make a difference if I wait a day or two.
Xie Ci immediately felt distressed after hearing this. "I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position. But, this won't happen again soon."
But how is it not necessary? He pursed his lips and smiled, not saying anything first, but looking at Gu Wan with a little shy expectation, coughing lightly, a little embarrassed, "...You, you said again that you would reward me when the thing is done!"
He was finally able to get a good night's sleep these two days, but every time he lay down on the bed, he thought about this, and he was extremely anxious and looking forward to it.
At that time, the two men had already dismounted and were holding the reins, walking along the stream.
The grass by the stream has turned yellow in winter, but the water is exceptionally clear, flowing past with a gurgling sound.
Gu Wan couldn't help but laugh. She stopped, raised her lips and hooked her finger, "Come here."
At that time, the two of them were standing on the gentle slope beside the stream, one high and one low. Gu Guan was a little taller, so their eyes were almost level. If she hooked her neck forward, their lips would touch.
Xie Ci's heart was pounding. He clenched his fists, held his breath, and leaned forward.
But just as the two were getting closer and closer, with only about two palms' distance between them, an obstacle suddenly appeared and interrupted them!
"Master! Young Madam Master!"
Xie Zi had a sad face and no one wanted to come, so he had no choice but to go anyway. However, Gu Wan had instructed him to keep a close eye on Kou Chong and tell him any news as soon as possible.
Facing Xie Ci's murderous gaze, he bravely ran over and said, "Master, Young Madam, Master, Kou Chong has escaped. He left the west city gate early this morning and is heading towards the military dependents' village!"
Xie Ci is now absolutely certain that Gu Wan's reward is a kiss. He is so excited and looking forward to it. He is so nervous that his heart almost jumps out of his chest. But just when he holds his breath and can't help closing his eyes.
“…”
Kou Chong, what the hell, actually dares to interrupt him!
If his gaze was a sword, Xie Ci would have already poked several big holes in Xie Zi.
Gu Guan couldn't help but laugh. His expression of surprise, gnashing teeth, and wanting to spit at Xie Zi to death was too funny. She laughed out loud, leaving behind a string of crisp and happy laughter by the gurgling stream.
"Don't scare my people"
She knocked Xie Ci on the head and pulled him: "Let's go! Let's get this Kou Chong back first."
She leaned close to Xie Ci's ear and said, "Once we catch up, we'll continue."
Her voice, accompanied by a light laugh, penetrated into his ears, and went along the eardrum into his heart, making him feel hot, numb and itchy. Xie Ci's anger turned into joy. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes sparkling, and nodded vigorously, "Hmm."
Gu Wan laughed heartily, pulled the reins and jumped on the horse, "Let's go!"
With a wave of the whip, the two riders galloped away.
…
Gu Wan really had an impression of this Kou Chong. In the original book, he was a member of Li Yi's camp, and his ranking among the staff was neither high nor low, but no matter how many people came and went, he always maintained this position.
He is in the core circle, with good treatment and not particularly conspicuous, but he can do the job and has never made any mistakes or taken the blame. People like Tian Jian in front of him have been shot, injured and assassinated several times, but he is fine and has never even been scratched.
When Gu Guan was reading the book, he thought this was a wonderful person.
Unexpectedly, he was in Feng Kun's camp at the beginning.
This guy is really smart. He hasn't been close to Feng Kun since he came back from the East Palace. No one knows where he got the information, but even if the suspicion was leaked, he would definitely not be the first suspect.
He sent a message that day, and Xie Ci thought that this person might be useful in the future, so he was very cautious and did not leave any traces.
He could have just pretended nothing had happened and continued to muddle along.
No one expected this man to be so decisive. He pretended to eat and drink for more than ten days, and suddenly ran away without even packing his luggage. He went into Feng Kun's mansion, shook off the people who were secretly monitoring him, and ran away without taking anything.
Xie Feng chased him for a while with great effort, but was thrown off by him again.
"This guy is so good at running, I wonder where he is hiding?"
Xie Feng was panting. He and several of his brothers searched the area around the military dependents' village, including the riverside, mountain roads, hillsides, and mountain temples. They ran for more than ten miles. "There's no way this guy can outrun us brothers."
Xie Ci raised his eyebrows, his face looking grumpy. He didn't like the moment he heard about Kou Chong. His eyes swept across the fields, hillsides and small villages where the north wind was blowing.
"Why rush? If you can't run away, then it must be here."
Gu Wan raised her eyebrows with interest. She loved playing this kind of game of finding people! She walked around the area with great interest and finally set her sights on the small village.
The military dependents' village was once a small village where servants of criminal officials waited to be re-employed. It was no longer used later, but the village had an inexplicable aversion to outsiders. Gu Wan did not take it as an offense and knocked on the doors of each house, asking for a bowl of water to drink.
She thought about it. Xie Feng and the others had already searched the entire village, so what place might they have subconsciously missed?
Sure enough, when she knocked on the third house, the old woman who opened the door was a little reluctant, but she didn't dare to offend the important person. She slammed the door aside and went into the house to get a bowl to scoop water. When the lid of the water tank was opened, she screamed in fright, and the big wooden lid was thrown to the side and "clang clang clang" on the ground.
Gu Guan smiled and lifted his hair, then walked forward. In the tub squatted a thirty-year-old man with broom-shaped eyebrows, a mustache, drooping eyebrows and eyes, and a sad face as if his father had died. His skin was wheat-colored and his expression was like a comedian. He was squatting in the water as if he was squatting in the toilet, with a wet head sticking out of the water. He was shivering and depressed, staring at Gu Guan.
Gu Wan patted his shoulder and said, "Aren't you cold in this winter?"
Kou Chong: “…”
Gu Wan waved his hand happily: "Take it away, take it back to the mansion."
Then Kou Chong was pulled out by Xie Feng and others who were ready to fight, and carried away.
"Hello, hello! ..."
Kou Chong struggled, but soon his hand covered Xie Feng's mouth, and he walked away whimpering.
Gu Guan gave the old woman a few coins, thanked her with a smile, and then took Xie Ci out.
The two walked out of the courtyard hand in hand, and she suddenly came over and said, "Let's continue!"
Her voice was filled with laughter, and there was a sweet feeling that made her feel like she was about to fly. Xie Ci turned his head to look at her, and his extremely beautiful eyes immediately opened. He was nervous and expectant, and nodded vigorously!
…
The snowflakes stopped for some reason, revealing most of the blue sky. The winter sun in the afternoon was glowing with a faint golden hue. The wind was cold but refreshing, and the water in the stream was extremely clear, rushing forward.
The mountains are covered with snow, the wild grass is dry, and unknown mosses and lichens are growing tenaciously on the stones at the edge of the stream. Patches of lush green and light blue dot the wild ground in early winter.
Gu Guan and Xie Ci found a spring behind the slope of the mountain. Clear water gurgled out and flowed across the white stone beach dotted with lichens.
Hand in hand, they came to the back of the hillside and sat side by side. Xie Ci looked at the spring pool and then at her. Gu Wan couldn't help laughing. After laughing, she suddenly touched his hand and turned over to sit on his lap.
“!!!”
Xie Ci immediately tensed his spine and stammered, "Wan, Wan, Wan..."
Gu Wan was very open and open, with her arms hooked around his neck. She smiled and said "huh" and glanced at him: "Haven't you been thinking about this for a long time?"
This sounded playful, but Xie Ci had indeed been thinking about it for a long, long time. Ever since he first woke up from his innocent love for Lingzhou, he had been looking forward to and longing for it.
Hearing these words, he suddenly recalled the hope and the only attachment he had back then. His helplessness eased a little, and he couldn't help but feel many expectations again.
The kind of beauty that he savored alone undercover, and then the hopeless pain, but in the end a beautiful flower bloomed from it, the thread of love went up and down, and today he finally held her hand.
She was beginning to like him, she wanted to kiss him!
Xie Ci's cheeks and earlobes were flushed, but his eyes, as beautiful as roses, showed a gleam of expectation like the brilliance of shooting stars.
Gu Wan couldn't help but gradually stop teasing him and became serious. She smiled slightly, hooked her arms around his neck, and slowly moved closer.
Their lips were getting closer and closer, their breath sprayed on each other's faces, Xie Ci's eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings, he closed his eyes slightly, looking at her fair face close to him, finally, those two red lips gently touched her lips.
It wasn't very deep, French kissing or anything like that wasn't appropriate at the moment. The first kiss between the two was a very slow and gentle kiss.
Gu Guan gently touched his lips, which were warm, soft, and caressed gently. This was a time and touch that belonged only to them.
Xie Ci's lips trembled for a moment, and he imitated her, slowly raising his chin a little and gently touching her.
On a sunny afternoon in early winter, on the eve of Xie Ci's nineteenth birthday, the two finally had their first real kiss.
…
As the warm sunshine shines on the hillsides, the afternoon brings a long-lost freshness and tranquility.
Xie Ci's heart was pounding and adrenaline was rushing at first, but gradually he calmed down and felt the gentle and perfect feeling of the moment.
Finally, the kiss ended. His eyes turned red and he rolled over on the hay. Then he went back to Gu Guan, who was sitting with her legs crossed and resting her head on her arms. He lay next to her and looked at her sideways.
——In this life, he has no other wishes for love, he just hopes that the two of them can be like swallows on the beam, and see each other year after year.
After lying down and looking at Gu Guan for a long time, he followed her example and lay on his back on the hillside with his arms as a pillow.
From this angle, you can actually see a corner of Zhongdu City.
Staring at the towering city wall with the gray-black corner tower, Xie Ci actually had some feelings these days.
There are some things he would not tell anyone except Gu Wan, so he would say them naturally.
For a long time, he stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar city wall, and suddenly said, "I hate him. He controls life and death in the world, but because of his suspicion, he kills loyal people!"
Xie Ci finally clearly admitted that he hated the old emperor.
He was so angry that if he was criticized to death by Feng Kun, he would probably be very happy and might even drink three cups of wine.
"Yeah, me too."
Gu Wan listened to Xie Ci whispering about Feng Kun's words, and she thought about Bei Rong. "There's been no news from Xun Xiao, so it probably isn't going well."
Xie Ci thought about it and nodded: "We should pay attention to this aspect as well."
"If the emperor dies, who knows who will take the throne?" Gu Guan plucked a piece of dogtail grass. It was yellow and fluffy, and smelled especially fragrant when dry.
The two of them discussed what would happen if the old emperor died. Xie Ci thought about it seriously and said, "The Third Prince is not good enough. He doesn't know the hardships of life."
He actually felt that he got along well with both sides. On the Emperor's birthday, he was smiling happily and went straight down to toast his grandparents and uncles after toasting the Emperor. I don't know if he was heartless or didn't care, but it was not a suitable choice anyway.
"As for the Fourth Prince, or the younger prince?" Xie Ci frowned in thought. Gu Guan thought to himself that Feng Kun had really been wavering between the two.
However, Xie Ci soon stopped thinking about it. It was too far-fetched to think about it. Who knew how long the old emperor could live?
Gu Guan pulled out a long piece of dogtail grass, and with his white fingers flying, he deftly weaved a small grasshopper and gave it to Xie Ci.
Xie Ci couldn't help but laugh. He held it in his palm and looked at it for a long time, then took out a purse and carefully put the grasshopper inside.
After he finished, he sat up and looked back at the corner of the towering city wall. He said to Gu Wan, "I've been thinking that when I reach Feng Kun's position one day, I will be able to directly clear my father and brothers' names!"
It was not an amnesty, but it forced the emperor to issue a real decree to bring justice to the world.
During this period, the situation was changing with the turn of a hand, and the clashes between powerful people were shocking and terrifying.
Xie Ci was in the situation and had the clearest and most intuitive understanding.
But he never put down the two imperial edicts in the long box in his room.
He kicked it into the corner of the wall and no one dared to pick it up.
Xie Ci finally found something he really wanted to do on this quiet afternoon.
And it burned fiercely in an instant like a prairie fire!
Thinking of this court where people are either driven by selfish desires for power or blindly loyal to the emperor, he looked at all the faces and people with cold eyes.
When Xie Ci said this, his emotions calmed down, his eyes became deep, and there was a hint of awe in them.
Gu Wan thought about it and patted his shoulder, "That's it!"
Her gentle smile warmed his heart. Xie Ci suddenly remembered something. Seeing that it was almost dusk, it was a good time for him to go into the city and return home.
He smiled and excitedly pulled her up, "Let's go back." He pinched the little grasshopper and said with a smile, "I have something for you too!"
The author has something to say:
Hehehe, let's give Xie Ci a hand, it's not easy for him hahahaha
Today's chapter is super long! I've already reached 9,000 words, haha. A big kiss to you all! See you tomorrow~ (/≧▽≦)/
Love you guys!!
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