Chapter 28: First Clues Emerge
Wearing a full suit of soft armor and with my long hair tied in a bun, I looked at myself in the bronze mirror again and again. I nodded with satisfaction; this outfit truly had a dashing and heroic air about it.
"Even a blind man could see you're a woman," came a disdainful sneer from the side.
I knew she was still angry that I had kicked her out of the room last night, so I ignored her and said, "I am going out with the Prime Minister today, so don't cause any trouble."
“I’m going too,” Tuanzi said, raising her head.
I glanced at her and was immediately dumbfounded. She had somehow gotten hold of a soft armor, and she was dressed just like me, except that the soft armor was wrapped around her round body, which was quite amusing.
"Xiaoxiao, Fengxiao has come to pick us up," Aman said as he pushed open the door and entered.
Tuanzi immediately ran out, looking shyly at Guo Jia standing outside the door, "Young Master."
Guo Jia coughed lightly and smiled.
As I stepped out of the room and passed through the garden, I noticed a pair of eyes following us. I turned around and met a pair of alluring eyes.
What banquet is this?
When he saw me, his face flushed red, and he turned and walked away.
I laughed, then lowered my head and thought of the dog.
"Pei'er." Guo Jia's voice rang out from afar.
I looked up and saw that I had fallen far behind, so I quickly caught up with them and we all got into the carriage together.
It was a very spacious car. Ah Man and I sat inside, while Guo Jia sat outside.
"Tuanzi, the sun is very strong, why don't you sit in the car?" Guo Jiaqing said softly.
"Tuanzi is a girl, she knows her place." Tuanzi's soft voice rang out.
I choked for a moment, then looked at her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. She really went to any lengths to get close to the immortal.
"Xiaoxiao, are you angry?" Aman leaned closer to me and asked.
"Why are you angry?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
“Last night…” Aman began hesitantly, then stared intently at me, unconsciously licking his lips.
My lips started to twitch, my fist clenched slightly, and I raised my hand to punch him.
"Protect the Prime Minister!" Guo Jia's voice suddenly rang out from outside the carriage.
The carriage began to shake violently.
Almost reflexively, Aman pulled me into his arms, and in the instant the carriage overturned, he leaped out of the carriage with me in his arms and landed safely.
Guo Jia slightly shifted his body, his wide sleeves billowing in the air before crashing to the ground, coughing up blood.
Tuanzi was shocked and bent down to help him up.
"Protect the Prime Minister!" Guo Jia raised his hand to wipe the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth, showing no sign of panic or pain.
Looking around, I secretly observed that there were about a dozen attackers. Although Aman had brought twenty guards, only a few remained. The attackers were quite skilled.
With a slight frown, I broke free from Aman's embrace, stood up on my own, and while the guards were fighting desperately, I pulled Aman closer to Guo Jia.
A flash of cold light, and Aman pulled me away, narrowly avoiding disaster. I turned my head and looked at the man with the knife. When he saw me, he was slightly taken aback and his eyes widened. Although he was masked, he obviously recognized me.
I don't know many people here. Who are they?
With only a moment's hesitation, the broadsword fell again.
"My lord!"
"My lord!" Suddenly, two loud shouts rang out, like thunderclaps.
Not far away, two people came galloping towards them on horseback.
From a distance, one man held two halberds and had a fierce expression, while the other held a large knife and had an honest face.
The two charged into the encirclement from afar, slashing left and right with astonishing skill.
The masked man standing in front of us hesitated for a moment, then leaped onto his horse, whipped it, and rode away.
"Don't chase them," Guo Jia said, blocking the two. "There are still ambushes. Let's escort the Prime Minister to the military camp first."
"Dian Wei and Xu Chu are late, we have frightened our lord!" The two knelt on one knee and said apologetically.
Seeing that Aman looked blank, I quickly tugged at his sleeve.
He turned to look at me, then nodded knowingly and said in a measured tone, "It's alright."
"These two are both guards of the Prime Minister. The one with the fiercer appearance is Dian Wei, known as 'Evil Lai,' and the other is Xu Chu, known as 'Tiger Fool.' Both are fierce generals," Guo Jia whispered in my ear as he approached me at some point.
I nodded.
With the two escorting them, the journey was safe and uneventful.
As soon as he entered the military camp, two men came forward to greet him. Both men were wearing heavy armor, and one of them wore an eyepatch over his left eye, leaving only one eye visible.
Xiahou Dun?
I'm reminded of the story of "plucking out an arrow and eating one's own eye," where someone literally swallowed their own eye.
The story goes that when Xiahou Dun was campaigning against Lü Bu, he was ambushed by Cao Xing, one of Lü Bu's subordinates. An arrow pierced Xiahou Dun's left eye. Xiahou Dun pulled out the arrow with one hand, but accidentally pulled out his eyeball as well. He cried out, "My father's essence and mother's blood cannot be discarded!" and then put his eyeball into his mouth and ate it. He then spurred his horse forward, brandished his spear, and killed Cao Xing, who had ambushed him. Both armies were horrified...
I trembled slightly and looked at Xiahou Dun, who had only one eye. The person next to him must be his younger brother, Xiahou Yuan.
Seemingly sensing my overly intense gaze, Xiahou Dun looked at me.
I casually looked away.
"Who are you?" Xiahou Dun asked coldly, pointing the sharp blade directly at me.
Before Guo Jia could speak, Cao Cao pulled me behind him and said, "Don't touch her."
Xiahou Dun paused for a moment, then sheathed his weapon. "Yes."
"The military camp is not a place for women." Xiahou Yuan looked at me with a hint of disdain.
I choose to turn a deaf ear.
"Let's go!" Aman angrily pulled me away, ignoring them, and turned to leave.
I was secretly alarmed and quickly grabbed him to prevent him from leaving.
Seeing Cao Cao's defiant behavior, both Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan looked puzzled.
"Let's talk inside the tent," Guo Jia finally spoke up.
Sensing something, the Xiahou brothers nodded.
"Tuanzi, will you take care of Xiao Mao for me?" Guo Jia turned his head and said with a slight smile on his pale face.
Tuanzi nodded hurriedly.
I was completely dumbfounded when I realized that Xiao Mao had come along too.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu stood guard outside the tent, while Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan entered the tent together.
"The Prime Minister has lost his memory." Guo Jia said calmly as he sat down, his voice very even.
"What?!" the two exclaimed in unison, greatly surprised.
"The fewer people who know about this matter, the better. Currently, only a few people in the tent know about it. It must not be spread outside, otherwise the Prime Minister will be in danger," Guo Jia continued, his voice still calm.
"Damn it, who did this?" Xiahou Yuan muttered.
“A month ago, the Prime Minister was poisoned and went missing. It was this young lady who brought him back,” Guo Jia said, glancing at me.
Are you poisoned?
The Xiahou brothers looked at me, their eyes flashing with a cold light.
"Killing someone to silence them is not the best course of action," I said with a slight smile.
Seeing through their thoughts, the two were somewhat embarrassed and turned to Guo Jia, asking, "Is there any way to detoxify them?"
"We have already ordered people to find an antidote, but now that the Prime Minister is in danger, the Emperor must already have some suspicions, and there is another group of people who are ready to make a move. This is the second time the Prime Minister has been attacked."
It was the third time… I added silently, but didn’t have the courage to say it aloud, because that time I was the one who betrayed Cao Cao…
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