Chapter 398 The Most Handsome Overlord! (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)
The other group of assassins was larger; Gu Jiao counted six in total. Each of them exuded a very powerful aura, and Gu Jiao vaguely felt that they were familiar.
The three people and the bird hid in the lush branches of a tree. Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng held their breath, and Gu Jiao covered her aunt's nose with her hand. She didn't suffocate her, but she could block out the sound as much as possible.
Seeing Gu Jiao covering her head, Xiao Jiu rolled her bird eyes, spread her wings, and covered her own bird head as well.
Gu Chengfeng, standing to the side: ...No, you're a bird, why are you covering yourself?
The group of people didn't know that Gu Jiao and the others were in the tree. They assumed that the group had gone forward again, so they used their lightness skills to chase after them.
Once he was sure the person was out of sight, Gu Chengfeng spoke up: "What do we do now?"
The carriage is gone, and the horses have run away. They can't possibly walk back to the capital on their own two feet, can they?
It's quite a distance from the capital; even at a fast horse, it would take several hours. Walking back would surely break their legs.
"Let's wait until dawn," Gu Jiao said.
While it's easy to conceal oneself while walking at night, the sudden appearance of several people in the darkness is bound to arouse suspicion, and even the slightest movement will be magnified.
With more people on the streets during the day, they are less likely to be noticed when they blend into the crowd.
"So... we're going to sit in the tree and wait?" Gu Chengfeng asked.
As the two were talking, a venomous snake slowly approached them, its tongue flicking.
The venomous snake was closest to Gu Jiao.
Just as it opened its sharp-toothed mouth to bite Gu Jiao's neck, Xiao Jiu swatted it away with a wing!
Spending the night in a tree is obviously not realistic. Putting aside the venomous snakes and insects, the possibility of accidentally dozing off and falling from the tree would be disastrous.
"Hey? There seems to be a cave over there," Gu Jiao said, looking towards the foot of the mountain to the south. "Let's go check it out!"
The three of them went to the foot of the mountain south of the forest and found a cave there.
“Someone has lived here.” Gu Jiao took out a tinderbox and looked at the firewood and dry grass on the ground.
"People actually live in places like this?" Gu Chengfeng scoffed.
"I stayed here a long time ago, so I must have just been passing through." Gu Jiao tidied up the cave simply, rolled up some dry grass, and said to Gu Chengfeng, "Let Auntie sit here."
The cave was cold and damp. At her age, Empress Dowager Zhuang would have caught a chill if she had just sat down on the ground. Fortunately, there was some withered grass left by her predecessors.
"Oh." Gu Chengfeng put the sleeping Empress Dowager down and gently let her sit on the haystack. Gu Jiao sat down next to her aunt and let her lean on her shoulder.
Gu Chengfeng, a grown man, could only sit on the ground. Although he was the number one thief in the capital, he was a wealthy thief, and he suffered physical hardship, not hardship in life.
Therefore, this environment was somewhat torturous for him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Xiao Jiu landed on a big tree to keep watch.
Gu Jiao put away the tinderbox, and the cave was plunged into darkness again. A moment later, a thin ray of moonlight shone in, illuminating the cave in silence.
Gu Chengfeng broke the silence in the cave. He picked up a dry twig from the ground and idly scratched it: "Tell me... why did Consort Jing do this? Why did she target the Empress Dowager at every turn? Was it just because she didn't become Empress Dowager? But if she hadn't gone down this dark path with the Empress Dowager back then, wouldn't the Empress Dowager have made sure she became Empress Dowager?"
It's not uncommon for two empress dowagers to exist at the same time. One is the emperor's legal mother, and the other is his biological mother. This was the case with Empress Dowager Zhao and Empress Dowager Xun, who were the founders of the dynasty.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment: "Because of jealousy?"
Jealousy can drive people mad; you never know what incomprehensible things a woman filled with jealousy might do.
"Because of hatred."
Empress Dowager Zhuang's voice rang out calmly and slowly.
Gu Jiao turned her head: "Auntie, you're awake?"
"Hmm." Empress Dowager Zhuang slowly straightened up. In the darkness, she closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her eyes were icy cold. "She is a remnant of the previous dynasty."
Snap!
Gu Chengfeng exerted force, and the branch in his hand snapped. He said incredulously, "Remnants of the previous dynasty?"
The previous dynasty has been gone for two hundred years, yet there are still remnants of its former regime. It's terrifying!
"Did Auntie already know?" Gu Jiao asked.
Empress Dowager Zhuang shook her head: "I only just found out."
On the carriage, Consort Jing showed off her bracelet, her sleeves pulled up a little, and she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the pigeon blood tattoo on Consort Jing's arm.
She had a tattoo on her arm that used to be a peony, but today I saw it and realized it was a crimson flame totem.
It seems that the peony she painted on before was to cover up the Crimson Flame Totem. No wonder when Ning An broke her face, she immediately suggested that Ning An paint a begonia on the scar. It turns out that was her usual trick.
Empress Dowager Zhuang said, "That totem is the emblem of the assassins of the previous dynasty, somewhat like the Xuanwu tattoo on the face of the Dragon Shadow Guard."
Although they were all assassins, the assassins of the previous dynasty were not like the Dragon Shadow Guards, who were simply killing tools. They were more like imperial guards, combining the roles of strategists and scouts.
Gu Jiao suddenly realized, "No wonder she's so skilled." She's a suicide squad member.
Empress Dowager Zhuang continued, "The true assassins of the previous dynasty no longer exist. Strictly speaking, they are the descendants of the assassins of the previous dynasty. The original purpose of the late emperor in buying assassins from Yan to train the Dragon Shadow Guard was to capture and kill the assassins of the previous dynasty. After killing most of them, who would have thought that there was still one who had escaped the net."
Gu Chengfeng opened his mouth: "Then... Marquis Yong'en..."
The current Earl of Yong'en is the nephew of Consort Jing.
Empress Dowager Zhuang snorted, "Do you think anyone is qualified to become a rebel? That good-for-nothing Earl Yong'en could not possibly be favored by the former dynasty's faction. On the contrary, Consort Jing's own brother is a bit of a mystery. It's a pity he fell ill and died young."
Otherwise, who can say that the capital won't produce a second Grand Tutor Zhuang?
Gu Chengfeng was utterly shocked. If the Empress Dowager hadn't said it herself, who would have imagined that such a small Consort Jing was involved in such a terrible web of interests?
He simply couldn't believe it!
"Then... then is it because there are remnants of the previous dynasty there? Is she going to join them? She can't stay in the palace anymore, so she's making a timely exit. She... she's going to..."
Gu Chengfeng firmly suppressed the word "rebellion".
He shouldn't be meddling in politics.
Empress Dowager Zhuang did not deliberately hide anything: "For now, we can infer that the border region is a place of hardship, and the court does not have strict control over it. If we want to raise troops, it is the most suitable place."
Gu Chengfeng suddenly heard inside information that even his grandfather and elder brother couldn't hear, and his feelings were indescribable: "But, hasn't anyone suspected that she has been in contact with the border for so many years? She..." Gu Chengfeng's words stopped.
He remembered that Princess Ning'an had married into the border region.
He sighed, "She's really good at scheming."
Princess Ning'an's marriage was probably a scheme she had planned from the very beginning. The man who made Princess Ning'an fall in love at first sight, the man who loved Princess Ning'an with his life, was also just a pawn of Consort Jing.
"How could there be such a cold-blooded person? Princess Ning'an is so pitiful." Gu Chengfeng was at a loss for words.
Empress Dowager Zhuang closed her eyes, and tears glistened on her eyelashes.
Xiao Jiu flapped its wings and flew over, landing on Gu Jiao's lap.
Gu Jiao understood, her eyes turning cold, and said, "They're coming!"
Gu Chengfeng's expression changed: "So fast!"
"Let's go!" Gu Jiao helped her aunt up.
Gu Chengfeng turned around and carried his aunt on his back. Gu Jiao tied her belt around both of them so that he could free his hands.
Seeing that her posture was not right, Gu Chengfeng frowned and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Gu Jiao said, "I'll distract them, you take Auntie away!"
"No! If we're going to use it, it should be..."
He wanted to say he would lead the way, but Gu Jiao had already rushed out.
In fact, he understood that this was the best arrangement—he was good at light footwork and could lead people away quickly, while Gu Jiao was skilled in martial arts and could delay them to the greatest extent possible.
Gu Chengfeng was not an indecisive person; if he delayed any longer, no one would be able to leave.
He carried his aunt on his back and used his lightness skill to disappear into the night in the opposite direction.
...
In the dense forest, Gu Jiao confronted the group of people.
She finally realized where that sense of familiarity came from; these people's moves and killing intent were too similar to those of the Dragon Shadow Guards.
After acquiring the Dragon Shadow Guards, Consort Jing had them duel with the masters under her command, and secretly had someone study and analyze their martial arts skills, thus training a "Dragon Shadow Guard" of her own.
They were certainly inferior to the real Dragon Shadow Guards, but still far superior to ordinary imperial guards.
Gu Jiao was soon covered in wounds, and blood flowed down her arms.
Her goal wasn't to fight to the death; having delayed for so long, this group shouldn't be able to catch up with Gu Chengfeng.
Gu Jiao used the black fire bead to blast a bloody path and rushed into the depths of the dense forest.
One of the men in black, despite his pain, drew his bow and shot an arrow straight at Gu Jiao's heart.
Little Nine flapped its wings and flew over, displaying the sharpness and speed of a sky overlord, and caught the arrow with one claw!
It's past midnight, are you happy?
(End of this chapter)
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