After a long silence, Jiang Chao spoke in a muffled voice, "Don't do that again. Although I'm not as good as you, I'm not weak, and I can protect myself."
He was just careless today; he didn't expect someone to throw a knife at him directly.
"I will do the same thing next time."
"You..." silly goose.
Jiang Chao wanted to curse, but considering he couldn't win, he could only swallow the last two words.
After a long silence, she spoke weakly, "Have you thought about your aunt, your sister-in-law and niece, and Da Niu and the others?"
My own family dislikes dogs, and there's a baby coming into the family soon, so even if I die, I'll have no worries. But the second child is different.
“I’ve thought about it,” Huang Lao Er’s face darkened, and he spoke seriously, “For their sake, I will do my best to protect my life.”
Before Jiang Chao could even feel happy, he continued, "However, a man should know what to do and what not to do. I have the ability to save you but I watched you fall to the ground. I will never forgive myself for this."
"you……"
Jiang Chao was very angry, but he knew he couldn't change the second son's mind. In the end, he decided to compromise, "Fine, I'll stay in the camp from now on to devise strategies and organize supplies, and I won't go out anymore."
Both Su Qing and Fang Han viewed Jiang Chao as a scholar-general and did not particularly want him to go out into battle.
However, Gandan's arrogant and rampant attitude completely aroused his fighting spirit, and he never lagged behind in any battle.
His physical abilities surpassed those of the vast majority of soldiers, and he was also agile, but ultimately not to an extreme degree, and he could not withstand wave after wave of attacks.
“That works too,” Huang Lao Er said, not really caring about the matter. “Giving advice is definitely more suitable for you.”
It's not that Jiang Chao was bad at fighting, but rather that his martial prowess was slightly inferior to his strategic thinking.
"Um!"
The matter was settled, and although Jiang Chao was somewhat unwilling, he didn't dare to cause any more trouble.
He received the news the moment Xie arrived and immediately muttered to himself, "Why did she come? And she brought Xiao Liu with her? What is Aunt thinking?"
After complaining a few times, he immediately went to pick up the person.
The Xie family had a smooth journey.
With someone secretly protecting them, and the tension on the Northwest battlefield, officials, fearing repercussions, tightened security, resulting in a very peaceful situation.
"Luckily I brought a cotton-padded coat," Xie said, rubbing her hands together as a biting wind blew by. "It's really cold here."
“I had only heard that the weather in the Northwest was terrible before,” a maidservant chimed in. “But when we got here, we realized that the wind was like a knife, and our faces would crack. I don’t know how the soldiers could endure it.”
"There's moisturizing oil in the carriage. Take one box each and apply it to your face. Don't let your face get really cold when you turn around."
"Thank you for your generous gift, Madam."
Before Xie could say anything more, she heard the clatter of hooves. After frowning and looking into the distance, she realized that the person who had come was Jiang Chao. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "Jiang Chao, why is it you? Where is my husband?"
"The second brother went to Gandan to investigate and hasn't returned yet. Sister-in-law, come back to camp with me first. It's not convenient to talk here."
"become!"
The arrival of Xie attracted a large crowd of soldiers, who were genuinely curious about why a woman would appear in the camp.
Jiang Chao and Huang Shu's camps were not next to others; they were set up at the northernmost point for easy access, and they had their own men and staff.
"Lieutenant General, who are these people?"
"You can just call your general's wife 'sister-in-law'."
Upon hearing this introduction, a clear and resounding shout immediately rang out, "Hello, sister-in-law!"
"Hello to you all," Xie said, amused by the group. "We're family, no need to stand on ceremony. Just go about your business."
As he spoke, he instructed the maid beside him, "Take out the wound medicine we brought, one bottle for each of these brothers, for their self-defense."
"Thank you, sister-in-law."
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Huang Shu and Jiang Chao did not hide their identities; everyone knew about their relationship with the banished immortal.
They had considered trying to extract some valuable items from the two men, but unfortunately, the two men hadn't brought anything with them.
The moment everyone received the wound medicine, they covered it tightly and carefully hid it in their clothes.
Seeing this, Jiang Chao coughed twice and said, "Now that you've got your benefits, hurry up and get to work. Your sister-in-law has come all this way, go get her some hot food."
"The adjutant is right, I will make the arrangements."
After saying that, he cleverly dispersed the crowd.
The smile on Xie's lips never faded. "They are a very lovely group of people."
“They’re all slippery, they’re the first to run away when they see an opportunity,” Jiang Chao said, quite satisfied with the people he had chosen. “However, they have good intentions, and they are the most reliable brothers on the battlefield.”
Upon hearing this, Xie immediately looked Jiang Chao up and down, and then her mouth dropped open.
He has lost weight and his skin has become rough, but he has become more resolute and steady, and he has lost the impetuousness he used to have.
"What a big change!"
I wonder if my husband is the same?
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chao didn't take it seriously, saying, "Having gone through life and death, it would be unreasonable if there were no changes."
"Grandma will be very proud when she sees this."
“She wouldn’t.” Jiang Chao started to feel awkward when the topic came up.
Only at this time can one see traces of the past.
After a short while, Madam Xie asked the question that concerned her most, "Jiang Chao, where has my husband gone, and when will he be back?"
“Gandan’s actions have been very strange lately. Although he keeps attacking, he always ends up doing nothing, as if he’s deliberately being perfunctory. The second brother went to investigate the reason, and it’s been three days. He should be back soon.”
It's incredibly frustrating to know something's wrong but still not be able to find the reason.
After nearly a month of hard work, we still can't find a clue. Now we can only hope that the secret guards can find some clues.
"So you didn't know either."
Mr. Xie was somewhat disappointed.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chao touched his nose and dared not reply.
After a moment, she changed the subject, "Sister-in-law, how's things at home?"
"Everything is going well, your parents are doing well, Doctor Gu checks your pulse every few days, the child is very healthy, and there's one more thing," Madam Xie smiled mysteriously and lowered her voice to speak, "An San got married and changed his name to Qi Fan."
"An San is getting married?" Jiang Chao swallowed hard, asking in surprise, "Secret Guards can get married?"
"He's not a secret guard. His Majesty sent him to us long ago. The rules for secret guards can't control him."
"But……"
Jiang Chao still had reservations.
"I know what you want to say," Madam Xie explained in a voice only the two of them could hear after making sure no one was around. "Mother said His Majesty is a smart man and wouldn't do something that would backfire. He planted spies before because our family had no leverage over us, but now his mistresses are in the capital..."
“The emperor’s heart is unfathomable, and we cannot trust him so easily,” Jiang Chaobu remained very vigilant. “Since ancient times, serving a ruler has been like serving a tiger, so it is better to be on guard.”
After the conflict in the capital, Jiang Chao's thinking changed: one can never trust someone as powerful as the emperor.
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