Chapter 1000: Reunion with an Old Friend (Jingkong Fan)
Last night, Gu Jiao recited the mantra of Jingkong, which had already left her with a sore back. Today, she spent the whole day burning incense with the children. Considerate of her husband, Gu Jiao thoughtfully put the two boxes of Xiao Tao Tao (a type of incense) back in the drawer.
To her surprise, her husband, with an unexpected surge of confidence, walked over, opened the small medicine box, and took out Xiao Tao Tao, whom she had put back.
One box, two boxes, three boxes.
That's right, he even added another box!
Gu Jiao: "..."
Do you have any misconceptions about the duration of your time?
The two spent an indescribably enchanting night, their commotion lasting until dawn.
The couple, who were supposed to visit the Duke's mansion on the second day of the Lunar New Year, couldn't get up this time.
...
The three little ones are sensible children. They rarely bother their parents, and usually bother their uncle Shangguan Qing. Now that Xuanyuan Xi has returned, the three of them have switched to bothering him.
Xuanyuan Xi experienced another bout of despair at being dominated by the little ones. Just as dawn broke, he was dragged out of bed by the "Baby Army" led by Xiao Yan.
Kids have so much energy!
The three of them want to ride horses today.
The main reason was that Xiao Yan wanted to ride; she voted for all three people, and Xiao Cong's objection was ineffective.
Xuanyuan Xi, accompanied by three little tails, went to find Little Eleven.
Little Eleven wasn't in the stable right now. It went to flirt with Black Wind King and got chased all the way there. It ended up falling flat on its face on the frozen lake!
Black Wind King is the same age as Gu Jiao, twenty-four this year, which is already an octogenarian for a warhorse.
Ordinary warhorses begin to age at sixteen, their backs gradually drooping, their muscles atrophying and becoming weak. However, these phenomena do not seem to appear in Black Wind King.
It remains strong and robust.
Little Eleven got beaten up terribly.
I thought I was all grown up after a year away, but when I came back, I realized I was naive.
Little Eleven felt wronged.
However, upon closer inspection, the differences can still be discerned.
In the past, when Black Wind King chased and beat it, it wouldn't even blush or pant. But now, after beating it, it stood there panting for a long time.
Little Eleven, with its mane disheveled from being beaten, stood up, went to Black Wind King's side, and nuzzled him with its head.
It was as if it were asking, "Hey, are you alright?"
Black Wind King walked away proudly.
Its back is no longer as strong as it was when it was young.
For more than seven years, countless warhorses from various countries have challenged its authority, but it has never been afraid of the challenge. With its absolute strength, it has defended the honor of the Black Wind Cavalry and created its own legend.
It walked through the frigid snow, panting heavily, yet its steps remained elegant and its posture composed, exuding an innate aura of ruthlessness and domineering power.
Little Eleven followed silently behind it, playfully stepping in its footprints.
Black Wind King turned around.
Little Eleven stared blankly at it, then grinned at it with its big mouth wide open!
Black Wind King silently withdrew his gaze and continued walking proudly.
...
During the first month of the lunar calendar, the palace was immersed in a joyous Spring Festival atmosphere, but one day, a message from the border of Zhao Kingdom broke this atmosphere.
The western border of Zhao Kingdom has been breached, and more than ten cities have fallen!
"Was it done by the Liang Kingdom?" Gu Jiao asked the guard who brought the message.
The western border of Zhao State actually borders Yan State, but Yan State did not do such a thing, nor would it do such a thing, so only Liang State remains.
The State of Liang was located southwest of the State of Zhao, but it was farther away than the State of Yan, and separated by a long waterway.
The guard hurriedly said, "You misspoke, you misspoke! It's not the western border, it's the eastern border!"
"Chen Kingdom?" Gu Jiao still vividly remembered the battle to defend Yuegu City eight years ago. "How could Chen Kingdom be fighting with Zhao Kingdom?"
Has Yuan Tang gone mad?
Two years ago, the Emperor of Chen died, and Yuan Tang ascended the throne.
He had offended Prince Bo and had fallen out with the Rong family, the maternal clan of Consort Rong. His situation in Chen was not as peaceful as it seemed. Where did he get the idea to launch a well-planned attack on Zhao?
Besides, Yuan Tang had no reason to do that.
The guard forced a smile and said, "It seems... it's not the army of Chen, it's the army of Wei!"
Two questions arose in Gu Jiao's mind: Why did Wei attack Zhao? How was Wei's army able to enter Chen smoothly?
The guard added, "In addition, there is another matter. The Shadow Division has found out the name of that Prime Minister Liu; it is Liu Yisheng."
Despite having suspected it beforehand, Gu Jiao was still shocked when the moment of confirmation arrived.
Zhao probably never dreamed that the orphan of the Liu family, who was bullied like a rat in the street and hated by everyone in the entire Zhao capital, would lead the Wei army to break through the border of Zhao in one fell swoop and capture twelve cities in a row eight years later!
Gu Jiao murmured, "He is Yuan Tang's cousin. Yuan Tang would give him face if his army entered Chen. But Zhao's army is not to be underestimated either. Why has it fallen to this state?"
The guard sighed, "In a way, it was just a coincidence. Marquis Xuanping was away from the court, having gone back to his fiefdom with Princess Xinyang. The old Marquis Ding'an was also getting on in years. The most suitable generals to fight him were the newly appointed commander of the Gu family army, Gu Changqing, and the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces of the Realm, Tang Yueshan."
Gu Jiao frowned and said, "The two of them have a very high chance of winning."
The guard said, "It is a big problem, but it doesn't lie with those two. The Emperor of Zhao followed the example of Yan and sent the Crown Prince to lead the army in place of the Emperor to boost morale. Who would have thought..."
Gu Jiao spoke up for him, saying, "Who would have thought that the Crown Prince was such a fool, falling for someone's treacherous scheme, giving blind commands on the battlefield, and causing great harm to the soldiers."
The guard nodded: "That makes sense."
"Who is the villain?" Gu Jiao asked.
“Fourth Prince… Prince En,” the guard replied.
Gu Jiao had almost no memory of this person; it was only when he was mentioned now that she remembered that she had met the Fourth Prince when she first came to Zhaodu.
Liu Yisheng fell ill, and the Fourth Prince was unhappy that he had treated her. He caused trouble for her in the street, but later, by chance, he ended up with Marquis Xuanping, and only then did the Fourth Prince let the matter rest.
However, this person's presence was not strong, and he was not of great importance, so Gu Jiao turned her head and forgot about him.
Who would have thought that after ten years of lying low, he would be stabbed in the back by the Crown Prince at the very end?
Gu Jiao asked, "Did he collude with the Wei army?"
The guard replied, "Yes."
Gu Jiao said indifferently, "He used to look down on Liu Yisheng the most, but now he has actually colluded with Liu Yisheng. It's really ironic."
“Isn’t that right?” the guard sighed. “But he didn’t get away with it either. After the incident, Prime Minister Liu turned around and exposed him, and sent all the evidence of his treason to Zhaodu, handing it over to the emperor. The emperor fell ill on the spot, and now it is Empress Dowager Zhuang who is handling state affairs.”
At this point, the guard couldn't help but sigh, "Liu Yisheng is truly ruthless!"
First, she tempted the fourth prince to betray the country and collude with the enemy. Then, she used the fourth prince to bewitch the crown prince, chilling the hearts of the soldiers and the people.
Finally, he stabbed the emperor in the heart.
No wonder he was able to help the King of Wei unify the thirteen tribes; his methods and strategies are truly chilling.
The guard sighed again, "After this great battle, regardless of whether the Zhao Kingdom perishes or not, the future of these two sons is ruined."
The people will not accept a prince who has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, nor will they submit to a crown prince who has lost half of the country.
"Who is the general accompanying the army?" Gu Jiao asked.
The guard said, "Gu Changqing. The Crown Prince was captured, and he risked his life to rescue him, sustaining serious injuries himself."
He paused, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Gu Jiao continued for him: "If the emperor wants to protect the crown prince, he must find a suitable scapegoat and say that everything was done by that person on his own. There is no one more suitable than the commander of the Gu family army. But if the emperor really does this, it will cause the Gu family army to become alienated from him, and he will become completely isolated."
The guard felt a chill run down his spine the more he thought about it: "This Liu Yisheng... he's really cunning!"
...
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Xi rushed into Gu Jiao's study immediately: "Jiaojiao! I'm going to meet the enemy! I'll take back the city of Zhao!"
He grew up in Zhao, and Zhao is his home.
"Wait for my news in Shengdu!"
This time, however, Gu Jiao did not let him go alone.
...
In February, the Zhao Kingdom lost another city.
Despite being wounded, Gu Changqing went into battle and, together with Gu Chengfeng, led the Gu family army in a fierce resistance, eventually recapturing the two cities.
The Wei army seemed to completely ignore their plundering in the rear, focusing only on advancing into the heart of Zhao Kingdom. They would take one city after another, seeing who could conquer it faster!
It was under these circumstances that Gu Jiao confronted the Wei army.
It was a chilly spring morning, the sky was overcast and covered with dark clouds, and the two armies were on the banks of the Li River, ready to draw their swords.
Gu Jiao, dressed in red robes and black armor, rode atop the mighty Black Wind King with an icy expression. Beside her were Xiao Shiyi and Xuan Yuanxi, both clad in armor.
Although they were called soldiers, there were actually only the two of them.
The rest of the group were still on their way, and their warhorses were not as fast as Black Wind King and Little Eleven.
The Wei army was overjoyed. With a force of 5,000 men, capturing two people alive was a piece of cake.
"Who goes there?" asked a general from the Wei army. His surname was Mo, and he was a young general who was not yet thirty.
Xuanyuan Xi rode his horse forward a step, and the young man said arrogantly, "How dare you ask my sister's name? Let Liu Yisheng come out!"
Gu Jiao and Xuan Yuanxi had a strong presence, but unfortunately they were too young. Gu Jiao was already twenty-four, but she looked young and not even twenty.
Needless to say, Xuanyuan Xi, a thirteen-year-old child, cannot act like an adult.
Since the two were practically alone, General Mo didn't take them seriously at all.
Gu Jiao said calmly, "I want to see Liu Yisheng."
General Mo scoffed disdainfully, "Do you think you can just see Prime Minister Liu whenever you want? Who do you think you are! I might as well lay it out right here: even if your Zhao Kingdom's prince came, our lord would not see him!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a white shadow flashed from behind the Wei army and pounced straight at Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao did not dodge.
Xuanyuan Xi's first reaction was to launch a sneak attack. Just as he was about to draw his bow and shoot him dead, Gu Jiao gently pressed down on his wrist.
The little white figure darted into Gu Jiao's arms.
Gu Jiao hugged the chubby little bundle of joy and asked in surprise, "Little Ten?"
"Meow~" It rubbed against Gu Jiao.
Nine years ago, it was fostered by Gu Jiao at Liu Yisheng's home. At that time, it was just a little kitten. Now it has grown several sizes bigger and is quite heavy, almost filling Gu Jiao's arms.
"Ah, it, it's Xiao Shi?" Xuan Yuanxi was dumbfounded.
He had only heard about Xiao Shi from Jiao Jiao, and had never actually met him.
Wei Jun was even more astonished than him.
They had already recognized the cat as their Prime Minister's beloved pet. The Prime Minister loved cats dearly and took them everywhere. It was the only one who dared to tear the Prime Minister's memorials to shreds without fear of being punished.
It's very delicate.
Extremely fierce, extremely difficult to please, and dislikes being close to people.
No one but the Prime Minister can touch it.
I heard that the emperor of Chen was even scratched by it.
At this moment, it actually... threw itself into the arms of a stranger?
Are they seeing things?
Or did that young man use some trick to deceive it?
General Mo drew his sword with a swift motion: "Release the Prime Minister's beloved pet immediately! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!"
"stop!"
A cold voice rang out from behind, and General Mo was taken aback.
The Wei army automatically parted to make way, and a man dressed in Wei army armor slowly rode out on horseback.
Xuanyuan Xi did not know him.
Gu Jiao felt he looked familiar. After staring at him for a few seconds, she frowned and asked, "Jun Xiuhan?"
Jun Xiuhan is a student at Canaan Academy in Yan State. Eight years ago, when the Black Wind Cavalry commander was being selected, he was Gu Jiao's rival.
He successfully advanced to the final round, but in the bamboo forest, he voluntarily handed his bamboo tube to Gu Jiao and said to her, "I owe someone a favor, and now I'm returning it to you."
Gu Jiao still couldn't figure out who the person he was talking about was.
Could it be—
Jun Xiuhan rode up to Gu Jiao, but Xuan Yuanxi blocked him with his spear: "Don't get too close to my sister!"
Upon hearing the word "sister," Jun Xiuhan showed no surprise. He calmly looked at Gu Jiao and said lightly, "Commander Xiao, we meet again. Lord Liu wishes to see you."
Once Liu Xiang's pit is filled, things will be pretty much settled.
The romantic storyline of Shangguan Yan will not be elaborated on, leaving room for the audience's imagination.
Recently, I've had a cold, so my brain is a bit foggy. Also, I'm a little reluctant to finish writing this, so I keep procrastinating. But no matter how long I procrastinate, there will always be a day when I can say goodbye to everyone.
I really, really love Jiaojiao. She is my favorite female protagonist. I also deeply love the other characters in the story: Aheng, Jingkong, Longyi, Aunt, Big Brother, Xiaofengfeng... There are so many! I can't take it anymore, I'm a bit too easily moved to tears lately.
Good night, see you tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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