Chapter 851 The Truth of What Happened Back Then (First Update)
What are you looking at?
Tang Yueshan tugged at Gu Jiao's sleeve, gesturing to the gap in front of the horse, "It's time to move forward."
A large section in front of them had been cleared, and the people queuing behind were getting impatient.
Although going to the city was not their wish, they wouldn't earn much more money if they went in later, so they might as well finish their work early and go home to rest.
Gu Jiao said, "It's nothing, just looking around."
Black Wind King took a few steps forward.
At this moment, the carriage had successfully passed through the checkpoint at the city gate.
The reason it went smoothly was that Gu Jiao discovered that the guards on duty seemed to know the owner of the carriage beforehand, and let him in without even checking his identity.
There is only one person in the whole world who looks exactly like my husband.
But wasn't he arranged by Shangguan Yan to take refuge in a safe manor? In order to prevent him from sneaking out, Shangguan Yan gave the guards a strict order.
Of course, Gu Jiao felt that Shangguan Yan might not fully understand her son's character.
Even Wang Xu could be fooled like that—
What's strange is why he's at the border now? And why does he seem to be doing quite well in Pucheng?
"What exactly happened?"
She didn't feel she had admitted her mistake, but she also didn't think that guy had any reason to be on Jin army territory.
Neither of these scenarios is reasonable.
"What are you muttering about?" Tang Yueshan asked in a low voice. "Why are you being so strange so early in the morning? Is the arrival of the Crown Princess reminding you of your little husband?"
The Crown Princess is Xiao Heng's biological mother; seeing her reminds him of her, which is perfectly normal.
Gu Jiao turned to look at him: "By the way, how did you know that the Crown Princess was Xiao Heng's biological mother?"
Tang Yueshan didn't hide anything: "It was Empress Dowager Zhuang and the old chief minister who told me. Otherwise, who would dare to think about such a big secret? Speaking of which, Old Xiao is really lucky with women. I also knew about how he saved that Yan Kingdom female slave."
Gu Jiao asked curiously, "How did you know that?"
Tang Yueshan casually remarked, "I was there."
Gu Jiao: "Hmm?"
Tang Yueshan's expression changed.
Oops, I let it slip.
Oh well, it's already leaked, so a little more leakage won't matter.
Tang Yueshan sighed: "The events of that year are a bit complicated. Did you think that the Crown Princess was brought back from the military camp by Lao Xiao? Several military prostitutes came to the camp, one of whom was a beauty of unparalleled grace. The servants dared not enjoy her privately, and the first thing they thought of was offering her to their boss?"
Believe it or not, Gu Jiao had actually guessed that.
"Actually, no." Tang Yueshan waved his hand.
Xiao Ji didn't actually bring the person back from the military camp, but from the underground martial arts arena. At that time, masters from the underground martial arts arena of the six kingdoms gathered together. Xiao Ji was not the number one in the six kingdoms. The number one in the six kingdoms took a fancy to that female slave and wanted to take her.
The female slave begged Xiao Ji for help.
Even heroes like Xiao Ji can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman, so he challenged the number one player. As you can imagine, the number one player got a sound beating.
At that time, Xiao Ji was not as powerful as he would become later, and the price he paid for defeating the number one martial artist in the six kingdoms was enormous.
He always thought that Xiao Ji had sent the woman away after he had his fun. After all, Xiao Ji was a womanizer who never got involved with anyone. Who would have thought that the two of them would have a child?
However, Xiao Ji probably didn't know that Shangguan Yan didn't just randomly ask him for help when she was locked in the cage in the underground martial arts arena. Back in the Great Yan Kingdom, Shangguan Yan had knocked off Xiao Ji's mask.
Shangguan Yan saw Xiao Ji's face.
He still remembers the little girl's amazed expression: "I... I'm called Ayan, who are you?"
Xiao Ji was seriously injured in the previous duel, and his five senses were impaired, so he could neither see nor hear clearly.
He didn't say anything, but simply picked up the mask from the ground with a blank expression, put it on, and walked away without looking back.
The young girl, Shangguan Yan, stared blankly at Xiao Ji's retreating figure for a long time.
That look in his eyes was just like how I looked at my sister-in-law… Tang Yueshan added in his mind.
After hearing Tang Yueshan's words, Gu Jiao exclaimed in surprise: "So the number one martial arts master in the capital's underground arena is Marquis Xuanping!"
No wonder he's always so elusive; he probably hasn't been to that place since he got his back injury.
Thinking of something, Gu Jiao asked again, "Are you also in the underground martial arts arena?"
Tang Yueshan straightened his back: "Well, that's about right."
Gu Jiao: "Be mindful of your status."
Tang Yueshan, his face dark, hunched over slightly.
"Where did you rank back then?" Gu Jiao asked again.
Tang Yueshan chuckled and said, "I didn't participate in this kind of boring duel."
Gu Jiao glanced at him sideways: "Then it seems your ranking is very low."
"Hey! Do you have to look down on me like that?! I already said I'm too lazy to duel!" If it weren't for the inappropriate situation, Tang Yueshan would have already exploded and yelled out. He gestured, "Third!"
In the underground martial arts arena of Zhao State, only the top three are qualified to go to Yan State.
"Who is second?" Gu Jiao asked.
Tang Yueshan snorted: "Who else could it be?"
However, I know who they are, but they don't know who I am. That's my skill, Tang Yueshan!
Gu Jiao: "So Gu Changqing only gained the qualification to go to Yan State by defeating you."
Tang Yueshan: "That was because I let him have it! I knew he was Gu Changqing a long time ago!"
Gu Jiao pouted: "Hindsight is 20/20."
Tang Yueshan glared fiercely, saying, "What I said is true!"
Tang Yueshan ultimately didn't have the chance to clear his name—because it was their turn in line.
“We came from Quyang City. My grandfather was a merchant from the State of Jin. My whole family was imprisoned by them. I managed to escape with great difficulty. Please do me a favor and allow me to enter the city for refuge.”
Gu Jiao simply recited her lines this time, without showcasing her top-notch acting skills, yet the effect was surprisingly good.
“My grandfather came to Dayan decades ago. I was born and raised in Quyang City and don’t speak Jin dialect very well.”
As Gu Jiao spoke, she took out a bag of silver and handed it to the guards stationed at the city.
The two entered the city without incident.
It wasn't as strict as I imagined. Was it because the Jin army was undisciplined and its defenses were lax, or were they too confident to be afraid of spies infiltrating the city to gather intelligence?
As Gu Jiao pondered, she looked around at the scene in Pucheng.
Pucheng was a larger and more prosperous city than Quyang, with twice the population and three times the annual tax revenue paid to the imperial court. However, what Gu Jiao saw was not what a large city should look like.
Shop doors were tightly shut, the streets were deserted, and the cloth signs that had been fluttering in the wind were torn to shreds by the Jin army.
...This city is bleeding.
"Let her go! You beasts! Let her go—let her go—"
From a shop not far away came the sobbing and angry cursing of a woman. She was clinging tightly to the leg of a Jin soldier, who, along with his companion, was dragging a pretty, well-dressed young girl.
The little girl had already been beaten half unconscious and had no strength to resist or cry out, so she could only let the two Jin soldiers drag her into the alley.
Judging from her clothing and jewelry, she is the daughter of a wealthy family.
She used to be the center of attention, but now that Pucheng has fallen into the hands of the Jin army, her identity and status are no longer worth mentioning.
The destruction of a nation and the ruin of a family have always been the case.
The Jin soldier kicked the woman aside, grabbed her waistband, and dragged the little girl into the depths of the alley.
Countless similar incidents have occurred in places unseen by them.
Gu Jiao tightened her grip on the reins.
She was very angry.
These Jin soldiers really angered her!
"That's how war is." Tang Yueshan sighed inwardly, raising his hand to shield her eyes. "Alright, stop looking. I'll take care of it."
After saying that, he dismounted and entered the alley.
With his martial arts skills, taking down two Jin soldiers was a piece of cake. In the blink of an eye, the two Jin soldiers died at his hands, and he found a place to dispose of the bodies.
The woman who had been kicked unconscious woke up and ran into the alley to take her young mistress away. Both of them were so frightened that they forgot to thank her.
By the time they realized they needed to kowtow to their benefactor, Tang Yueshan had already returned to his horse and left with Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao rode her Black Wind Chariot along the deserted streets and said, "The situation in Pucheng is worse than I imagined."
When the Nangong family occupied Quyang City, they did so under the banner of overthrowing the tyrant, rectifying the world, and bringing peace and prosperity to the country. Therefore, they treated the people in the city relatively well, and the Jin army had no fear of them.
They came to invade; the people of Great Yan are not human beings, but resources that they can plunder at will.
"The war must end as soon as possible."
She said seriously.
"Someone's coming!" Tang Yueshan said.
The two men dismounted.
A group of Jin soldiers, about a hundred strong, approached from the front, led by a squad leader.
As the sergeant brushed past the two men, he merely glanced at them casually. A down-on-his-luck young master and a servant—nothing to be concerned about. The sergeant then led his men away.
Once he was sure the person was out of sight, Tang Yueshan spoke up, "I've been here so long, and I still don't know where Old Gu went. If I had known I was coming, I would have had him leave a signal beforehand."
Gu Jiao said calmly, "We'll investigate our own."
Whether or not I investigate is secondary; my main concern is seeing you two expose each other's secrets.
A strong will to survive made Tang Yueshan suppress this suicidal remark.
"Where do you plan to investigate?" he asked.
"The City Lord's Mansion," Gu Jiao said.
Tang Yueshan almost choked, thinking to himself that Gongsun Yu probably lived in the city lord's mansion, where there were many experts. Even I wouldn't dare to be so arrogant. You have a lot of guts, kid!
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." All the Jin army's valuable intelligence is in the city lord's mansion, so even if the city lord's mansion is a den of dragons and tigers, we must venture in today.
“You don’t have to go,” Gu Jiao said. “This battle has nothing to do with the Tang family.”
Xiao Heng was the son of Marquis Xuanping, so it's understandable that he helped his son quell the Great Yan rebellion. Tang Yueshan really didn't need to work so hard.
Tang Yueshan snorted coldly: "Who do you think you are?"
If a mere girl dares to venture out, how can he, the Grand Marshal of the Army and the People's Liberation Army, not dare to?
Seeing this, Gu Jiao said nothing more.
The two arrived near the city lord's mansion and found an empty courtyard to settle Black Wind King and Black Wind Riders.
"Why do I feel like you're so familiar with the border? Have you ever been here before?"
"I guess so."
She was killed in Pucheng during that chaotic battle.
She died from a peacock feather sword, its cold light gleaming, pierced through the heart from behind.
The sword's owner was a very skilled swordsman, dressed in black and wearing a bronze fang mask.
(End of this chapter)
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