Uneasy

In the dank 'cell', Luo Zhiyan curled up in a corner bored. She looked up at the boy sitting opposite her and couldn't help but say, "Hey, Xiaojie...Tan Wenhuai, say a few words."

It was a long time since she finished speaking, and it was unknown whether Tan Wenhuai heard her or not. He still didn't say anything and just sat there motionless.

Seeing this, Luo Zhiyan immediately stood up angrily, walked up to the young man, pointed at his nose and said, "Tan Wenhuai, who gave you the guts to ignore me!"

Tan Wenhuai had no choice but to raise his head listlessly, moved his ankles that were bound by iron chains, and asked in one breath: "Miss Luo, what's the matter?"

They were locked in this prison for a day and a night. The soldiers only put shackles on his hands and feet, but did not put any restrictions on Luo Zhiyan.

"You..." Seeing him like this, Luo Zhiyan was suddenly speechless. She looked at the ground in disgust, but still sat down and asked thoughtfully, "Tan Wenhuai, do you think that young man is a bad guy?"

Upon hearing this, Tan Wenhuai's eyebrows sulked even more.

He locked them all up, if he's not a bad guy, then how could he be a good guy?

Moreover, at this critical juncture, how could the people of Liang treat the people of Chu well?

Seeing that he didn't answer, Luo Zhiyan couldn't help but poke his arm with her elbow and raised her chin: "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Tan Wenhuai was suddenly touched by someone, and his whole body tensed up. He subconsciously moved to the side and said in a hoarse voice: "Miss Luo, Tan doesn't want to talk at the moment."

"But I'm bored!" Luo Zhiyan frowned and pulled the chain on Tan Wenhuai's hand: "When do you think he will let us out?"

Tan Wenhuai moved his hands that were chained with iron chains, his eyes dimmed again, and he shook his head.

He had never suffered such humiliation, like a prisoner of war.

He was speechless facing his deceased parents, his aunt who had placed high hopes on him, and his fiancée whose current situation was unknown.

"Come on, you coward. If anything happens, I will protect you." Luo Zhiyan poked Tan Wenhuai's arm with her finger and puffed her cheeks: "Besides, didn't the young master say that he would only inconvenience us for two days?"

Tan Wenhuai's eyes moved slightly, and he suddenly raised his head and looked around.

It was too damp where they were to be in summer, but through the tall windows they could see that they were not underground.

Tan Wenhuai's heart moved, he cleared his throat, and asked tentatively: "Miss Luo, can you climb up and take a look?"

"Hmm?" Luo Zhiyan looked up in confusion. It was rare that she could guess what Tan Wenhuai meant, but she still glared at him with disdain in her eyes: "Tan Wenhuai, it's fine if you let me climb, but how can I climb this high?"

Tan Wenhuai's eyes flickered for a moment, and he felt that what he was about to say was a bit awkward, but in order to find a glimmer of hope, he still said, "Girl, you can sit, sit on Tan's shoulders."

"Your idea... is quite feasible!" Thinking of how she used to sit on her father's shoulders and play like that when she was a child, Luo Zhiyan's eyes lit up. She immediately stood up, walked to the window, and was eager to try: "Then come over here."

Tan Wenhuai took a deep breath, dragged the heavy shackles, walked to Luo Zhiyan's side, slowly squatted down, and let Luo Zhiyan climb up.

"Come down a little further."

Although Luo Zhiyan usually eats a lot and her body is only slightly wider than Mu Anning, she did not expect that Tan Wenhuai is so weak: "Tan Wenhuai, be steady. If you fall on me, you can't afford it!"

Tan Wenhuai shivered, his face flushed, and he reluctantly said to the girl sitting on his shoulder: "Miss Luo, did you see what?"

Luo Zhiyan frowned and kept looking up: "Too short, a little taller!"

Just as Tan Wenhuai gathered all his strength and straightened his body, a hoarse, creepy laugh sounded from behind them -

"What are you two doing?"

*

The emperor was assassinated and the prince took over the country.

In Yu's study, Gu Yihan summoned several ministers who had a say in the court to discuss the war between the two countries.

The elderly minister shook his head and took two steps forward: "Your Highness, I'm afraid that's not appropriate."

Gu Yihan smiled, but gave people a sense of oppression for no reason, and said slowly: "What's wrong?"

"Your Highness, His Majesty has already sent a group of troops..." The gray-haired minister hesitated to speak, obviously concerned about the emperor.

Gu Yihan sneered and spoke word by word, "Prime Minister Li, do you want to see our Great Chu defeated?"

On his way back to Beijing, he finally heard some useful information from Mu Wan'er's thoughts.

Although Chu won the battle, its casualties were much greater than Liang's.

As soon as he said this, the ministers present all bowed their heads in denial and kept silent. Only Duke Liu stood out without changing his expression.

As the Queen's brother, Duke Liu was naturally not afraid of the Crown Prince. He cupped his hands and smiled, "Your Highness, we still have General Lu and General Gu, as well as the King of Beiping, at the border. I think the current troops are enough to attack Liang."

Gu Yihan was silent for a moment, tapping the table with his fingertips. After a while, he scanned the faces of several ministers with his cold eyes: "The King of Beiping has defected to Liang and rebelled against Chu."

There was a sudden silence in Yu's study, and the ministers looked at each other in bewilderment: "This..."

Duke Liu was slightly surprised, his lips trembling: "Are you serious, Your Highness?"

Gu Yihan nodded slightly and directly picked up the pen to write the decree.

"I have made up my mind to send troops. Please do not persuade me any more." Gu Yihan's brows were as cold as frost, but there was still a warm smile on the corners of his mouth: "Father, I will explain it myself."

When the ministers heard what Gu Yihan said, they felt much more at ease and left one after another, except Duke Liu who stayed.

"I have made the decision. What else does the Duke want to say?" Gu Yihan did not raise his eyes, but he seemed to already know who was staying.

Duke Liu looked at his half-nephew with a sullen expression and said, "Your Highness, I would like to visit the Empress today."

"Duke, I know you are eager to protect my sister, and I am also worried about our mother." Gu Yihan's writing hand paused slightly and he slowly put down the pen.

Seeing that Duke Liu wanted to say something, he raised his eyebrows and said with difficulty: "My mother is seriously ill now and cannot see anyone. Let's discuss this matter another day. The capital has been quite chaotic recently. It's better for Duke Liu to leave the palace as soon as possible."

After Duke Liu left, Gu Yihan first ordered the troops to be dispatched, then he curled his lips and said, "Go to Kunning Palace."

*

Gu Ji was guarding outside the door, but when Mu An Ning returned to the tent, he felt uneasy whether sitting or standing.

Gu Huaizhi's abdominal wound had not yet healed and his arm was also injured, but today he resolutely led his troops to fight.

Last night, after she said that, Gu Huaizhi's reaction was quite strange. He stood with his back to her for a long time.

She had never expected that she would blurt out such words, and she froze in place for a moment, unable to move.

But once words are spoken, they are like spilled water, and cannot be taken back.

Afterwards, Gu Huaizhi finally let her re-bandage his wound. Only after she finished bandaging him did he ask her in a trembling voice: Are you serious?

Looking at the boy's red eyes, she didn't want to deny it, and nodded for some unknown reason.

She thought that she had fallen in love with him again, but this liking was definitely different from her previous habit.

However, after she returns to the capital, she will still break off the engagement with Tan Wenhuai, even though the Marquis's Mansion will definitely not agree.

Then, Gu Huaizhi hugged her very tightly and said that he would marry her after Da Chu won the war.

Thinking of this, Mu An Ning's face warmed up, but she knew very well that she didn't want to marry him like this.

Mu An Ning thought for a while, then suddenly picked up the letter that the boy handed to her last night from the table and began to read it carefully.

This letter was written by Mu Wan'er. The handwriting was crooked, as if it was written by a child who had just finished school last year.

Mu Wan'er first apologized to her repeatedly, saying that she returned to Beijing due to some "force majeure", and then reminded her that she must not go to the battlefield with the doctors to avoid losing her life.

Although this reminder seemed a bit strange, she felt it made sense when she thought about the system.

However, now that Gu Huaizhi and General Lu had already led their troops away, she had no way of finding them.

Mu Wan'er also said that she estimated that the battle would be over in less than two days, so she didn't need to worry.

However, Mu An Ning found the following words a little hard to believe.

The girl's fingertips trembled slightly as she turned over the paper, only to see that it was clearly written on it that she was a member of the Qiao family.

Aunt Fang is her aunt, Brother Qiao is her brother, and Fang Ziweng is her cousin.

Mu An Ning stared at the letter for a long while, but she still felt that the words on it were a little confusing to her when put together.

Suddenly, her heart began to beat fast, and she remembered the occasional strange behavior of Aunt Fang and Brother Qiao when they faced her before.

Now that I think about it, perhaps their reluctance to speak was because they wanted to tell her the truth.

There was no need for Mu Wan'er to lie to her for no reason.

So, they really were her relatives, but why did they keep it a secret and not tell her?

And why did Mu Wan'er tell her the truth so suddenly?

She thought that she was all alone after her parents passed away...

Mu An Ning didn't know whether he felt more joy or more complicated.

Although she didn't know what her biological parents looked like, she had dreamed of a happy family and had imagined that if she could really meet them one day, she would cry with joy.

But she knew that such a thing would never happen.

And now, even though they are not her parents, she truly has relatives.

Just when the girl was feeling complicated, Gu Ji suddenly spoke from outside the door: "Miss Mu, can you please come out for a moment?"

Mu An Ning blinked her eyes which were free of tears, slowly put down the letter and walked out.

But when he saw the old man outside the door, he was startled: "Doctor Lu?"

Doctor Lu nodded, a smile appeared in his tired eyes: "Girl Mu, I knew it was you."

Seeing that the two men knew each other, Gu Ji didn't say much and quietly stepped aside.

"Why are you here?" Mu An Ning was puzzled, and his tone was filled with concern and worry.

*

As the only woman among the group of doctors, Chuntao was naturally quite conspicuous. She felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at by the soldiers and shrank to the side.

But after a while, she inadvertently glanced and saw a girl talking to someone outside the tent.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, then hurriedly ran to Mu An Ning, tears in her eyes, as if grasping at a life-saving straw: "Miss Mu, please save my young lady."