Chapter 822 Driving a Tiger to Devour a Wolf (Third Update)
Xiao Jingkong is a polite child, especially towards the father of his classmate.
He sensed his father's embarrassment and thought to himself, "Should I give him a hug myself?"
"Hello, Xiaoxue's dad."
He ultimately chose to shake hands with the little hand in a very serious manner.
He can only hug Jiaojiao!
Yeonsan-gun, who was not comforted at all: "..."
The young princess introduced her father to Gu Jiao, and then introduced her friends and teachers to her father.
Only then did Yeonsan-kun realize that this little girl was actually his daughter's teacher.
What did she teach you?
Murder?
He saw this girl in the palace, killing Han's trusted confidants one by one, and two by two, like a god of death!
This girl is a natural-born archer!
"Riding a horse!" the little princess exclaimed in her sweet, childlike voice. "Young Master Xiao is my riding instructor!"
Lord Yeonsan breathed a sigh of relief. The horsemanship was alright.
Gu Jiao patted her little head: "I'll teach you archery next time."
Lord Yanshan's body trembled!
A bloody scene flashed through his mind: his beloved daughter drawing her bow and arrow, shooting an enemy through the head. He wished his little lady would not become like that!
The two little ones went off to play happily again.
The young lady had absolutely no intention of clinging to her father.
Yeonsan-kun felt a deep sense of helplessness. He had only gone out for a short while, but now it seemed like his daughter was no longer his own.
Gu Jiao glanced at Yan Shanjun and walked back to her room.
As she walked past Yeonsan-kun, she puffed out her small chest.
He gestured with his eyes to indicate that they were now of equal seniority.
Shangguan Yan straightened her back and walked past him.
Hmph, they've exceeded the generational limit!
This is what it means to elevate the seniority of one's entire family by virtue of one's own efforts.
Yeonsan-jun, his face darkening: "..."
Gu Jiao went to Long Yi's side first to check on his injuries. She remembered telling Long Yi not to move around before she left, but she didn't know if he had listened properly. If he moved the bandages and gauze off, the wound would easily get infected.
But the moment she stepped into the room, the corner of her mouth twitched violently.
Long Yi remained in the same posture she had seen before she left—her body half-twisted, one hand held horizontally in front of her, and the other hand raised high beside her head, frozen there motionless as if about to spike a ball.
"Long Yi, what are you doing?"
She went over and asked.
Long Yi's body remained still, only his eyes moved slightly.
It was as if it were saying, "Look, I didn't move."
Gu Jiao: "..."
Gu Jiao covered her eyes and brows. Is that what I meant?
You used to be so disobedient, how come you only listened to this one sentence?
Gu Jiao had a feeling that Long Yi was waiting for her to praise him.
How strange, how come I could read that feeling in his eyes?
Looking at the bandages wrapped around his arms and waist, Gu Jiao decided to praise him: "Long Yi is great... so obedient. Okay, you can move now."
Standing like this for so long, aren't you afraid of your muscles getting stiff and cramping?
Before she could finish her reflection, Long Yi instantly stopped what he was doing and pulled out a box of charcoal pencils.
—Obedience will be rewarded. Now, it's time for Long Yi to spit out his pen!
Gu Jiao: "..."
I feel like I've fallen into a pit.
...
The Crown Prince and Lady Han were transferred to the Court of Judicial Review, where the Minister of Judicial Review personally tried the case of the fake monarch.
The mother and son were imprisoned in different torture chambers. At first, they were both very stubborn, but if the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review didn't even have this much skill, then he was sitting in this position for nothing.
The Crown Prince is a tough nut to crack, but he also has a weakness: his two-year-old daughter.
In an attempt to extract a confession, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review brought his youngest daughter with him, allowing him to peek at her through the gate before taking her to the next room.
The sound of his youngest daughter crying in terror came from next door. The Crown Prince panicked: "Stop! Stop it! She is the Princess of Great Yan! You can't treat her like this!"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review said coldly, "Having committed such heinous crimes, do you think you can still be a prince? Your crime is far more serious than Shangguan Yan's back then. You are not even as favored as her. Your whole family will be deposed and reduced to commoners!"
"Father—waaaah—I'm scared—Father—I'm scared—"
Next door, the youngest daughter's heart-wrenching cries shattered the prince's willpower.
He gripped his sleeves tightly with both hands, his eyes red-rimmed, and gritted his teeth as he said, "Don't hurt her... I'll tell you... I'll tell you everything!"
Next door, Gu Chengfeng rubbed his throat, which was practically burning.
Imitating a child's voice is so difficult!
Actually, it's not that similar.
But with a wall between them, and the Crown Prince caught up in his concern and acted rashly, he didn't quite catch what was going on.
The crown prince confessed his crimes. He said that the palace coup had little to do with him. He was unaware of the Han family's plan beforehand. His biggest mistake was refusing to believe that the emperor in the palace was an imposter. However, he had not yet caused any real harm.
He was also unaware that Han had led troops to besiege the true king.
His main crime was framing the real eldest grandson of the emperor, Xiao Heng.
As the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review recorded the events, a storm raged in his heart. Who could have imagined that the eldest grandson of the emperor would have such inside information?
"Where is the real eldest grandson of the emperor? And who is Shangguan Qing's true identity?" the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review asked.
The Crown Prince said calmly, "You'll have to ask Shangguan Yan about that; I don't know."
How could he possibly waste his energy on a fake imperial grandson? As for Xiao Heng, that kid suddenly disappeared from Shengdu, we couldn't find him even with a lantern!
The Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review continued the interrogation: "Whom did you instigate? A member of the Han family?"
The Crown Prince clenched his fist: "...The Nangong family."
...
The Duke of Anguo's Mansion.
Gu Jiao, whose hand was sore from repeatedly stubbing her pen, leaned her face to the side on the table, breathing heavily with utter despair.
Long Yi takes a break at halftime.
He went to find a new charcoal pencil.
Xiao Heng carried a plate of freshly cut fruit into the room and saw Gu Jiao lying on the table, her cheeks pressed together and soft. He went over and pinched her cheek: "Tired?"
Gu Jiao: "Um, no."
My hands are sore.
"Have something to eat," Xiao Heng said. "It shouldn't be too cold, and the sweetness should be just right."
Gu Jiao sat up straight, picked up a piece of honeydew melon with a skewer, but didn't eat it right away. Instead, she paused for a moment.
Xiao Heng asked, "What's wrong?"
Gu Jiao said, "I'm thinking about a dream I had a few days ago."
Xiao Heng asked curiously, "Oh? What did you dream about?"
Gu Jiao thought for a moment and decided not to hide it from him: "I dreamed that the Han family used the fake king to start an internal strife, and the ten great families killed each other. The Han family and the Nangong family, who were originally in the same camp as the crown prince, also went to war with each other."
Xiao Heng gave her a deep look and realized that she had once again seen future events in her dream.
No wonder she knew the king had been replaced.
She said she dreamed about the torrential rain in Pingluofu last time, and he was still skeptical.
Xiao Heng pondered for a moment and said, "The Crown Prince needs the Han family and the Nangong family. He hopes to balance the relationship between the two families, but the Han family desires to be the only one to dominate. From this point of view, the Han family and the Nangong family are at odds."
Gu Jiao nodded: "So it's not surprising that they started fighting."
"So who won in the end?" Xiao Heng asked.
Gu Jiao shook her head: "None of them won."
In that civil war, there were no real winners. The Han family thought they could control the whole situation, but they did not know that the counterattacks of the major families were far more brutal than they had imagined.
All the powerful families suffered heavy losses. The Han family and the Nangong family, the two largest military families, fought the fiercest battle, while the Jin and Liang states took advantage of the situation to invade.
Gu Jiao looked at the two largest pieces of melon on the plate: "But now, the situation may be about to change."
With both the Han and Nangong families facing punishment, they have a common enemy and no energy left for internal strife. Therefore, they are very likely to temporarily join forces to fight against a common foe.
Gu Jiao's guess was confirmed in the middle of the night.
Manager Zheng learned through the night that the Han family had refused to hand over the military tally and had led an elite force out of the west gate.
Half an hour later, the Nangong family also led their troops to flee Shengdu.
Over the years, various powerful families have infiltrated their own trusted confidants into the military camps, so a considerable portion of those troops are under the command of the powerful families themselves.
After the two powerful families broke out of Shengdu, they gathered troops from various military camps outside the capital and marched toward the border overnight.
They also stationed a considerable number of troops at the border.
Whether the Crown Prince and the Han family have fallen into the hands of the King is no longer important. If the Han family wants to live, they can simply rebel. The great feat that the Xuanyuan family failed to accomplish back then can now be accomplished by the Han family!
As luck would have it, the Nangong family thought the same thing.
Gu Jiao gazed at the twinkling stars in the sky: "Is civil war still inevitable?"
The invasions of the states of Jin and Liang—
In the dream, the eleven great families were fighting each other, but now, the nine great families are ordered to unite and attack the Han family and the Nangong family.
Gu Jiao murmured to herself, "The Nangong family and the Han family are at their wits' end, what will they do?"
Xiao Heng looked up at the endless night sky: "We will open the border gates and use the tiger to devour the wolf."
It's quietly time for midnight! Anyone have a free monthly pass?
(End of this chapter)
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