sailing together
The clan leader calmly said, "For now, we can only wait and see. The Hidden Moon Clan is small and weak, and has never been a true enemy of the Southern Dynasty. If anyone questions us, Fourth Sister, you only need to sever all ties with us and deny everything to the death. Your Majesty, you should do the same. Stay at the post station and don't come here again."
She looked up at the sky, where a half-moon peeked out from above the buildings, and said softly, "Anyway, the trap has been set, and Chongyu will be here soon. Let me see what he will choose!"
A Qiu insisted that Xiao Chang'an carry Chu Huaiming ahead, while she would bring up the rear a few steps behind to prevent further attacks by the Hidden Moon Clan assassins.
Chu Huaiming's face was ashen, yet he still insisted on pointing out the rendezvous point. After walking only twenty or thirty paces, they indeed saw a small boat moored under a few withered willows on the inner city riverbank in the darkness of night.
Upon seeing the three approaching, Gu Yi immediately stood up from the bow of the boat.
Xiao Chang'an first led Chu Huaiming to the stern of the boat, and A Qiu then jumped down. Seeing that the three of them were on board, Gu Yi immediately waved his long pole and tapped it on the bank. The boat moved like an arrow, immediately carving a long line of water forward, and soon they were in the middle of the river.
Even if Princess Wansui and her entourage rushed over at this point, they would be unable to pursue and kill them.
At this moment, Xiao Chang'an also had a moment to joke and said, "It is a great honor to ride in a boat rowed by the Junior Tutor."
Gu Yi's expression remained unchanged, calm and composed. Paddling the boat was as natural as if it were second nature to him, requiring no effort at all.
A Qiu first pinched Chu Huaiming's philtrum, then checked his meridians, and immediately said with a change in expression, "What can we do? His internal injuries are extremely severe, and the blood stasis is in his lungs and internal organs. That clan leader's skill is far superior to his, yet he dares to fight head-on. He really doesn't care about his life."
She had once witnessed Chu Huaiming wielding the Mad Sand Blade Technique at the Beining Pavilion, charging forward with unparalleled ferocity. This blade technique originated from the battlefield, filled with the heroic spirit of dying alongside the enemy. At the time, she was somewhat amazed that Chu Huaiming, at such a young age, could be so resolute and courageous, displaying the essence of this blade technique to its fullest extent. However, she hadn't expected that, like her assassin's martial arts, it was also a style of fighting where both sides would suffer heavy losses.
Gu Yi was also moved upon hearing this. He had also witnessed Chu Huaiming's swordsmanship, so he assumed that it wouldn't be a problem for Chu to support A Qiu from the side, which was why he had escaped first. Hearing that Chu was so badly injured, he also felt guilty.
Without saying a word, A Qiu immediately helped Chu Huaiming up and sat cross-legged behind him, intending to use his own innate true energy to clear his meridians, cleanse his internal organs, and force out the stagnant blood.
Just as she was about to press one of her delicate hands onto Chu Huaiming's back, it was slapped away by the other hand.
Xiao Chang'an tilted his head to look at her, clasped his hands in front of his chest, and said with a half-smile, "Why are you so worried about him?"
A Qiu was bewildered and before she could react, Xiao Chang'an took another step forward, looked her in the eye, and said, "Aren't you a dancer, Sister A Qiu? How come you also have such excellent martial arts skills?"
A Qiu then remembered that when she first met Xiao Chang'an, she was just one of the many dancers in the Yuefu Dance Troupe. Xiao Chang'an was unaware that she possessed martial arts skills and had even once half-showed off by taking her on a nighttime walk through rooftops.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, when the White Tiger suddenly attacked, she was entrusted by Gu Yi to protect the Eastern Palace, so she took action to intercept the White Tiger. Xiao Chang'an also took action for her sake, revealing his identity as a disciple of the Hidden Sect of Dawan Mountain.
Gu Yi, standing at the bow of the boat, suddenly coughed heavily and said, "She is my disciple."
A Qiu is Gu Yi's disciple, a fact Gu Yi had actually told Xiao Chang'an long ago. With Xiao Chang'an's expert eye, he naturally knew that A Qiu's martial arts skills, displayed in every gesture, were so formidable that they couldn't have been acquired in just half a month after becoming Gu Yi's disciple.
But since Gu Yi had spoken, he couldn't very well refuse. He just looked at A Qiu with a half-smile, as if he wanted her to give an explanation.
But A Qiu was no pushover. She immediately retorted, "Xiao Xiao, aren't you a palace eunuch? How come you not only play the xiao so well, but also have such excellent martial arts skills, and are you a disciple of a prestigious family?"
Although she was being sarcastic, pointing out that Xiao Chang'an hadn't shown his true face when they first met, every word sounded like a compliment. Xiao Chang'an, being young, laughed it off and let her off the hook, no longer pressing her about martial arts. Instead, he said:
"This kid risked his life to cover his sister's escape. It seems that his sister and he have a close relationship."
A Qiu was dumbfounded, wondering how Xiao Chang'an could be so sarcastic. Just as she was about to answer, Gu Yi coughed heavily again and said, "He is a member of the Shuofang Army and cannot be allowed to get into trouble in Jianzhang."
A Qiu immediately added, "He is the son of Chu Mao, the military advisor of the vanguard battalion of the Shuofang Army. Oh, you should have seen him at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in Chang'an. He is also the son of Madam Hu, a fellow student of Consort Sun and Instructor Xue."
Xiao Chang'an stared intently at him. He remembered that the young man was the musician who provided the music for Bai Zhu Wu at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, and he had also helped A Qiu defeat Bai Hu. At that time, he seemed to have seen this young man sitting near Hu Miaorong and Sun Neiren, but he only had a vague impression of him.
However, before the banquet began, Consort Chen praised Hu Miaorong, the wife of the military advisor of Shuofang Army, in front of everyone and even bestowed upon her an imperial decree. Everyone who attended the banquet would never forget this.
Xiao Chang'an was already 80-90% convinced. Seeing that A Qiu was about to raise her palm to heal Chu Huaiming's wounds again, he slapped her hand away again and said unhappily, "Put it down! With me here, how could I let you do something like healing other men's wounds!"
Before A Qiu could even process the meaning of his words, a gust of wind sharp enough to cut through metal struck, but it wasn't aimed at her; instead, it was aimed at Xiao Chang'an.
Xiao Chang'an was slightly taken aback, but with a flick of his sleeve, he caught the object that was coming at him from the bow of the boat—it was the long pole that Gu Yi used to propel the boat. He looked completely bewildered.
Gu Yi strode over and said in a deep voice, "I'll do it."
When it comes to healing others, the deeper one's skill, the better. Xiao Chang'an was only doing it out of consideration for A Qiu, and he wasn't particularly concerned about Chu Huaiming, so he didn't bother competing with Gu Yi. Therefore, he went to the bow of the boat to row.
A Qiu had a feeling that Gu Yi was acting strangely, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she quickly got up and gave him her seat.
Gu Yi sat down cross-legged behind Chu Huaiming without saying a word, pressing his palm against Chu Huaiming's back. After a short while, wisps of heat rose from Chu Huaiming's head, and a moment later, he vomited a mouthful of black blood.
Gu Yi seemed to have anticipated that A Qiu would reach out to help, and immediately steadied Chu Huaiming before she could. Chu Huaiming had already woken up, and upon seeing Gu Yi beside him, his eyes first lit up with admiration, then dimmed as he said, "Huaiming is ashamed; in the end, I failed to kill her!"
Xiao Chang'an, who was rowing the boat, was the least aware of the situation. Hearing Chu Huaiming's first words upon waking from his injuries, he realized that Chu Huaiming's desperate struggle was mostly not because of A Qiu, but because of his grudge against the clan leader; he had given up even the last shred of hope. He proactively asked, "Young General Huaiming, why did you knowingly fight that old woman in white robes? If you die here, wouldn't your father be heartbroken?"
Xiao Chang'an was extremely cunning. Knowing that Gu Yi and A Qiu were both concerned about the deaths of the Shuofang soldiers in Jianzhang, he deliberately mentioned Chu Huaiming's father, even if it was just casually, so that he would be concerned and not do something so self-destructive.
But it would have been better not to mention it. Once it was brought up, Chu Huaiming's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He spat out another mouthful of blood and said coldly, "The hatred of killing one's mother is irreconcilable. If a son cannot kill his enemy with his own hands, what face does he have to live in this world?"
Although Xiao Chang'an did not know the details of the events, judging from his grief and anger and listening to his few words, he knew that his mother, Hu Miaorong, was no longer alive. Even with his carefree and unrestrained nature, he could no longer speak.
Before he left Jianzhang Palace, Hu Miaorong had just received an award at a palace banquet, becoming the only lady of the highest rank among the dancers of the Music Bureau throughout history. Now, she returned as a cold corpse, and she was in the prime of her life, not an old woman. The upheavals and changes that had occurred in between made even him, an outsider, realize how fickle and cruel the world could be.
At this moment, the world was silent, the moon had set and the water was dark, and only the sound of waves lapping against the side of the boat could be heard in the inner city river.
Aqiu tried to speak softly: "Why is General Huaiming so certain that the one who killed your mother was the Hidden Moon Clan Chief? Does your father know?"
Chu Huaiming looked utterly devastated and said calmly, "He doesn't know. Father has always been busy with military affairs, so he doesn't know much about Mother. But I do know, because I spend almost all my time serving Mother except when I'm out of military training."
This shows that Chu Huaiming was a truly filial son, and his relationship with Hu Miaorong was also very deep. In the end, he was still just a child, still at an age where he deeply cherished his mother.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Before my mother passed away, some people came looking for her, and I know that. For example, your Yuefu's Lady Sun and Instructor Xue. But it wasn't them. They had no motive to harm her. The one who forced her to take poison could only be this Su Rouhua Clan Chief of the Hidden Moon Clan."
The three people on the boat were hearing the name of the clan leader for the first time.
Before they could ask any more questions, Chu Huaiming said with a resolute expression, “After Mother arrived in Jianzhang, Su Rouhua came to see her several times. Each time she came, Mother was preoccupied. She wouldn’t tell me, but I could guess that Su Rouhua must have threatened her. In the end, she didn’t want to be coerced by Su Rouhua, and she didn’t want to involve me and Father, so she chose to commit suicide.”
Ah Qiu wanted to ask another question, but then stopped himself immediately.
Hu Miaorong died just before she was about to ask Li Chongyu about his origins. If this question alone had already driven Hu Miaorong to her death, how could she bear to ask her only son as well?
Looking at the vast expanse of water, Chu Huaiming said frankly, "You probably don't know that after my mother was bestowed upon General Li Mingyuan, the Marquis of Guannei, by the previous emperor, she served as a maidservant to General Li's wife, Yao, for a period of time."
When A Qiu overheard this story, the Hidden Moon Clan Chief Su Rouhua also mentioned it briefly. At the time, she said that if Li Mingyuan hadn't never touched Hu Miaorong and hadn't immediately sent her to the Madam upon arriving at the camp, she would have definitely killed Hu Miaorong.
Chu Huaiming continued, "Madam Yao came from a noble family in Youzhou and liked my mother very much. Although my mother was a dancer, she was serious about her work and gradually gained Madam Yao's trust. Also, because my mother had no relatives or friends in the area, she was considered clean. Madam Yao would also ask her to do some very secret and important things. The most important thing was that my mother brought back the current Marquis of Guannei, General Chongyu, who was only seven or eight years old at the time, from a Xianbei family and claimed that he was brought back from Madam Yao's maternal family. He was Madam Yao and General Li's eldest son."
He revealed this earth-shattering secret so casually to the three of them. He clearly had no reservations and intended to believe Gu Yi and A Qiu.
Gu Yi finally asked the most crucial question: "If Li Chongyu was not born to Madam Yao, then who are his parents?"
This question is crucial because Li Chongyu's background and lineage will largely determine his stance.
The Shuofang Army originally consisted of at least half Xianbei and Wuhuan soldiers, making it the strongest of the three armies of the Southern Dynasties. If Li Chongyu, who commanded this army, was half Xianbei, he could easily have integrated with other tribes.
Therefore, they would no longer build the northern city wall of the Southern Dynasties.
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