Chapter 506 (First Update)
Upon hearing this, the old Marquis could almost imagine Gu Changqing's reaction. He felt heartbroken even to look at him, so he simply turned his face away.
The truth will eventually come out, but when that moment actually arrives, one will still feel immense entanglement and struggle.
Gu Changqing froze, and the entire room fell into a deathly silence.
The old marquis felt he should say something, but he wasn't good at making polite remarks, especially at comforting people.
Moreover, it's easy for him to comfort strangers, but given his personality, comforting his closest relatives always feels a little awkward.
Actually, to be precise, this whole scheme was set up from the moment Consort Jing entered the palace.
Consort Jing was a former imperial assassin. Her encounter with the old Marquis, where she was rescued by the old Marquis after being attacked by thieves, turned out to be a scheming plot.
If a person's feelings can be manipulated, why can't a family's marriage arrangements be?
Whether it was Consort Jing or Lady Xiao Ling, they were both pawns planted in Zhao Kingdom by remnants of the previous dynasty. The difference was that Consort Jing entered the palace, while Lady Xiao Ling did not.
Not entering the palace doesn't mean that Xiao Lingshi can't play a significant role.
The old Marquis founded the Gu Family Army. If Xiao Ling's son becomes the young master of the Gu Family Army, wouldn't that mean that the remnants of the previous dynasty would control the most powerful army in Zhao Kingdom?
The old Marquis felt very guilty. He had failed to investigate the marriage between Gu Chong and Xiao Ling. If he had known earlier that Xiao Ling was a spy from the previous dynasty, he would never have agreed to the marriage.
But it's too late to say all this now, besides—
He glanced at Gu Changqing, who, despite suffering a huge blow, had not shown any sign of collapse, and felt a mix of emotions.
Without Xiao Lingshi, he wouldn't have such an outstanding grandson.
Gu Changqing appeared composed, but in reality, every inch of his body was permeated with cold.
His mother was a spy from the previous dynasty.
His mother... was a spy from the previous dynasty!
He knew his grandfather wouldn't lie to him about something like this. A voice in his head said: Maybe his grandfather made a mistake, but why did his heart feel like it was being pricked by needles?
"What do you want to be when you grow up, Qing'er?"
"I don't know, what did Mother want me to do?"
"Your mother hopes that you will grow up to be a man as upright and honorable as your grandfather."
"When I grow up, I will join the army. I want to fight on the battlefield like my grandfather and protect the country and its people!"
"My Qing'er is really amazing."
My mother's gentle voice and her beautiful features are still vivid in my mind, as if it happened just yesterday.
But now he could no longer tell whether the hope that burst forth in her eyes when she said those words was her deep affection or her ambition.
The old marquis found it difficult to speak about what was to come, but if he didn't say it now, he feared he would never have the chance or the courage to do so again.
He said, “With the country in peril, I know you won’t disagree with me on the war just because you have grudges against me, but I still want to tell you clearly that I didn’t kill your mother.”
His heart was not at peace either.
No matter how many years have passed, his heart still churns uncontrollably whenever he recalls the events involving Xiao Ling.
The old Marquis said with difficulty, "During the time when your mother was ill, she was in close contact with her associates from the previous dynasty. I accidentally discovered a secret letter that she hadn't had time to destroy, and learned that she had been secretly contacting someone. At that time, I didn't know who she was contacting, but the letter was full of inquiries about the movements of the Gu family army, so I became suspicious. I ordered my guards to keep an eye on her and secretly intercepted several secret letters, finally uncovering her identity."
“You are a general of the imperial court. You should understand the consequences if a family like ours were to produce a spy from the previous dynasty. To end this once and for all, I decided to secretly execute her. But looking at you... and your two younger brothers, I changed my mind. I want to go and ask her in person.”
He just didn't expect that Aunt Ling would see him that time.
The old Marquis continued, “I went to your mother and threw the secret letter in front of her, demanding an explanation. She didn’t try to deny it and admitted it on the spot. She said she was a spy from the previous dynasty, and her initial purpose in infiltrating the Marquis of Ding’an’s mansion was to assassinate me. However, I was away from the mansion for many years, and she couldn’t find an opportunity. Then she gave birth to you. Seeing how much I doted on you, the remnants of the previous dynasty devised another plan and decided to let you inherit the Gu Family Army. You truly lived up to expectations and gained all my trust and expectations. But things are always changing and developing. The remnants of the previous dynasty’s appetite grew day by day. They were no longer satisfied with just taking the Gu Family Army into their possession; they set their sights on you.”
Gu Changqing's eyes flickered slightly.
“You have two younger brothers. Actually, it doesn’t matter who inherits the Gu family army, but what they need is a puppet young master.” The old marquis said, his eyes suddenly turning cold. “They want to take you away and train you to be the best assassin… Your mother doesn’t agree.”
Gu Changqing clenched his fists, and the veins on his forehead slowly bulged.
The old Marquis said with deep sorrow, "Your mother knew their methods and the consequences of betraying them. In order to protect you from being taken away by them and to prevent herself from becoming a tool for them to blackmail you and your brothers, she... killed the remnants of the previous dynasty who came to take you away, and then chose to commit suicide."
Upon hearing this, Gu Changqing's body began to tremble slightly.
The old marquis looked at him, a pang of pain crossing his heart. He sighed and said, "There are no secrets that stay hidden forever, but sometimes, we have no choice but to take a desperate gamble."
Xiao Lingshi had no choice but to die, and he had no choice but to keep it a secret from His Majesty.
The emperor had conspired with him to feign disbanding the Gu family army in order to lower Empress Dowager Zhuang's guard. In fact, he was relieved, as not having to inherit the Gu family army might be a good thing for Gu Changqing.
If he doesn't take that position, he won't be so easily targeted.
But things didn't go as planned. He led 100,000 Gu family soldiers and marched towards the border as the commander-in-chief of the entire army.
The methods the remnants of the previous dynasty used to treat traitors were appalling; the old marquis could not imagine how they would retaliate against Xiao Ling's son.
He would rather Gu Changqing had never come to the border, he would rather die here, and he would rather hand over the Gu family army to Tang Yueshan to lead, than see Gu Changqing expose him to the remnants of the previous dynasty.
The old Marquis felt such emotions because he was unaware that his other grandson and Gu Jiao had also come to the border. They were also descendants of the Marquis's family, and the remnants of the previous dynasty would not let them go either.
But the remnants of the previous dynasty hated Gu Changqing the most.
Those who should have been their loyal followers became their enemies.
On the other side of the room, Gu Chengfeng was completely dumbfounded.
He was more shocked than Gu Changqing.
First of all, he did not know that his elder brother was here. Since his elder brother could come to the governor’s mansion, which was much farther away, to visit his grandfather, why did he not go to the wounded soldiers’ camp to see him?
Secondly, there was the death of Xiao Lingshi. He originally thought that his mother had been angered to death by Yaoshi, but after Yaoshi was exonerated, he thought that his mother had really died of illness.
But now he's being told that his mother was forced to commit suicide?
Furthermore, since his mother was a spy from the previous dynasty, then he... isn't he practically a spy himself?!
Upon hearing this, and combining it with her past dreams, Gu Jiao understood many of the mysteries. No wonder she felt that the remnants of the previous dynasty were taking revenge on the Gu family; it turned out they were punishing Xiao Ling for her betrayal.
First, they cut off the heads of Gu Chengfeng and the old Marquis, then they wiped out the Gu family army and cut off Gu Changqing's legs, so that Xiao Lingshi in the afterlife could not rest in peace.
Look at what happened to the son you refused to hand over, and look at the Gu family army you failed to capture for us—all of them are now corpses.
Destroying what you can't have—that's utterly twisted!
Tang Yueshan was the last person to pry his ear off the wall.
To be honest, he was quite shocked too.
He never expected that the seemingly well-behaved Marquis of Ding'an's mansion would cause such a huge mess!
So what if he and his sister-in-law had an affair?
So what if Tang Ming is a womanizer and domineering man!
Is it really such a heinous crime to marry a spy and have three children with them?
Tang Yueshan suddenly felt that his image was more radiant and lofty than ever before! Thanks to his colleagues for making him stand out!
After the initial shock, Tang Yueshan began to have his own plans.
If I go back and report one, two, or three minor spies from the previous dynasty to the Empress Dowager and His Majesty, what level of merit can I earn?
The moment this thought crossed Tang Yueshan's mind, he felt a chill on his forehead. When he came to his senses and looked closely, he saw Gu Jiao standing in front of him holding a huge needle.
He was terrified, his body trembling: "What are you doing!"
Gu Jiao pushed the syringe with her thumb: "Give me a shot, and I'll poison you so you'll be mute!"
Tang Yueshan: "...!!"
(End of this chapter)
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