Frontline collapse
Before long, she arrived at the Duke's mansion.
She walked briskly toward Chengxin Residence, only to see Gongsun Cheyuan playing with birds in the courtyard.
He greeted Gu Jinghong with a smile: "Jinghong, look! This bird can talk. I just taught it to her. Listen to it... Good girl, call out 'Princess Consort'."
The blue and yellow parrot actually spoke, saying, "Princess Consort, Princess Consort."
Gongsun Cheyuan laughed heartily, as if he had accomplished some earth-shattering feat.
Gu Jinghong was taken aback and carefully looked Gongsun Cheyuan up and down: "The servant said something terrible happened to you, what...what terrible thing happened?"
Gongsun Cheyuan continued to tease the bird, saying, "Look, I've been teaching it for so long, and it can finally call out 'Princess Consort'! Isn't that a wonderful thing?"
Gu Jinghong stood there, looking at his pure and innocent smile, then at the parrot that was mimicking his speech. For a moment, she felt a mix of emotions.
The worry she had felt while rushing all the way here instantly turned into a deep sense of powerlessness.
Gu Jinghong pursed her lips, smiled as if to flatter him, and turned to enter Chengxin Residence.
Before the long table in Chengxin Residence were placed writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone. She ground the ink with one hand and roughly reviewed the contents in her mind.
He then wrote the poem in one go, completing it in one go.
After playing with the parrot, Gongsun Cheyuan went into the room to check on Gu Jinghong. Only when he stood beside her did his expression slowly turn to stone.
It turned out that what Gu Jinghong had written in a short while was none other than a "Letter of Divorce".
Gu Jinghong wrote her a letter of divorce in Gongsun Cheyuan's voice, angrily denouncing her for being unfaithful and disrespectful to her in-laws... and finally left a space for Gongsun Cheyuan to sign his name...
Gongsun Cheyuan's face turned pale instantly, and his voice trembled as he blurted out, "Jinghong, I can change the parrot's calling you 'Princess Consort' if you don't like it, but please, please don't treat me like this."
Gu Jinghong looked at Gongsun Cheyuan, who was standing beside her, frozen in place. After hesitating for a moment, she finally reached out and patted his shoulder: "Cheyuan, I'm sorry. I can only tell you that this matter has nothing to do with that parrot... You will meet a woman who loves you."
After a long silence, Gongsun Cheyuan asked blankly, "Did...did Father upset you? I'll go and explain to him."
Gu Jinghong stopped Gongsun Cheyuan, who was about to leave: "No, it has nothing to do with my father. It's my problem."
Gongsun Cheyuan watched helplessly as Gu Jinghong packed her things, his words of urging her to stay swirling in his throat, but he never uttered them.
Gu Jinghong didn't have much luggage, and she packed it up in a short while.
Gongsun Cheyuan felt an unprecedented sense of loss as he watched Gu Jinghong's departing figure—she hadn't even glanced back at this home.
To her surprise, Xie Yan was waiting for her at the entrance of the Duke's mansion.
He handed a letter to Gu Jinghong: "Ah Hong, from the Northern Border, a private message to you, signed by... him."
Gu Jinghong took the letter and opened it expressionlessly.
There was no reminiscing, no sweet talk, only a line of cold, austere words, and a jet-black token that could mobilize the army under Xiao Chengyan's control:
"I wish you safety, to remain in the capital, and not to head north. If this battle is lost, you will become the new ruler. Keeping you out of this is my only selfish wish. — Xiao Chengyan"
...
Not long after Gu Jinghong left, Gongsun Cheyuan felt extremely aggrieved and unwilling, so he went to find Gongsun Lie.
To everyone's surprise, just as they were about to reach the study, they saw the steward bowing slightly as he reported something to Gongsun Lie.
He moved slightly closer, holding his breath and listening intently.
"Your Excellency, everything is as you predicted. Gu Jinghong has already set off."
Gongsun Lie smiled slightly: "Very good. Only when she leaves can this pool of water truly be stirred up. The person who notifies us must make sure that 'that person' knows that it was his good son who personally led the remnants of the previous dynasty into his military camp."
It turns out that it really was the father who was messing with the chess game...
In that instant, Gongsun Cheyuan felt as if the sky had collapsed.
He instinctively took a step back, and Gongsun Lie quickly became alert: "Who is it?!"
Gongsun Cheyuan emerged from the shadows, looking at Gongsun Lie with a forlorn expression.
“Father.” Gongsun Cheyuan’s eyes held a sorrow he had never felt before since childhood, a sorrow that even the hard-hearted Gongsun Lie found hard to bear.
Gongsun Cheyuan trembled as he raised his hand and handed the letter of divorce that Gu Jinghong had written for him to Gongsun Lie. "Jinghong, she... she's gone..."
After he finished speaking, tears welled up in his eyes, as if they were about to overflow.
Seeing this, the butler silently withdrew.
Gongsun Lie took the paper and glanced at it. He then smiled and patted Gongsun Cheyuan on the shoulder: "Cheyuan, I told you long ago that it would take at most a year... It's only been a few months, and we've already come this far. You should be happy, you know?"
Gongsun Cheyuan stared blankly at Gongsun Lie.
After a long while, he seemed to realize something: "So what Jinghong said is right, Father, my marriage is part of your scheme, isn't it?"
Gongsun Lie was speechless for a moment, then quickly comforted him, "A-Yuan, once this matter is over, your father can help you find a woman much better than Gu Jinghong. I would even marry you a princess. Gu Jinghong... how could such a withered flower be worthy of being the future mistress of our Duke's mansion?"
Gongsun Cheyuan looked at Gongsun Lie: "But Father, I only want her."
Gongsun Lie gritted his teeth and then let go, trying hard to suppress his temper: "If you really like her, it's not impossible to take her as a concubine in the future. She is indeed quite pleasing to the eye."
Seeing that Gongsun Cheyuan did not move an inch, Gongsun Lie couldn't help but raise his voice: "Ayuan, wake up! Gu Jinghong is a remnant of the Southern Wind, a thorn in His Majesty's side! Keeping her by his side as his principal wife, is he trying to drag the entire Duke's mansion down with her?"
Gongsun Cheyuan had never felt so unfamiliar with Gongsun Lie as he did at this moment.
He took the "Letter of Divorce" from Gongsun Lie in a daze, and then walked towards Chengxin Residence in a daze, tears finally falling uncontrollably.
He kept hearing Xiao Chengyan's words to him on the night before their wedding: "If your father, for his own selfish reasons, were to try and kill Gu Jinghong, what would you do?"
Gongsun Cheyuan's reply at the time was, "Jinghong is extremely important to me, and even my father cannot touch her for personal reasons."
Xiao Chengyan turned around, his beautiful phoenix eyes looking at him with a firm yet somewhat imposing gaze—"Gongsun Cheyuan, remember your words as a man: never make things difficult for her."
At the time, Gongsun Cheyuan only thought that he would not make things difficult for Gu Jinghong. Even though Xiao Chengyan pointed out Gongsun Lie, he still did not believe that his father would harm his daughter-in-law.
How... how could this be real?
He walked back to Chengxin Residence in a daze, looked at the parrot that was still mimicking speech, and finally couldn't help himself. He picked up the birdcage and slammed it to the ground.
The cage door burst open, and the parrot squawked and flew away.
He looked at the empty birdcage, but his hand holding the "Letter of Divorce" suddenly tightened.
...
Northern Frontier, Military Camp, Night
Outside the tent, the wind was biting cold, capable of chilling one to the bone. Inside, Xiao Chengyan sat upright in the main seat, a layer of unmelted frost clinging to his black cloak.
His fingertips traced the military map, the candlelight flickering between his deep-set eyes.
In just a few days, some were executed, some were punished, some were promoted, and some were subdued... Those originally arrogant and unruly northern generals now all bowed their heads and stood solemnly before him, even deliberately keeping their breathing soft.
His ruthless methods have made everyone understand that this Prince Jin from the capital is indeed as capable as rumored. He is not here to take over a mess, but to control life and death.
The military doctor, Xuan Ru, was administering acupuncture to him, tiny ice crystals forming at the tips of the silver needles. Xuan Ru's eyes suddenly flickered, and he said with feigned ease, "Your Highness, the Gu worms in your body... seem to have been suppressed somewhat by the harsh cold of the north."
Xiao Chengyan remained expressionless, only giving a faint "hmm".
He knew better than anyone how long this body could hold on. Xuan Ru had merely attributed the medicine's effects to the weather in the Northern Territory; Xiao Chengyan could naturally see through this cautious, compassionate approach to medicine.
However, this was just a minor episode in his plan.
Gongsun Lie could not stand idly by while Xiao Chengyan took control of the Northern Border Army; his next move was likely already underway.
Just as I was deep in thought, a scout, covered in snow and wind, rushed into the tent, his voice urgent.
"Report! Your Highness, the Northern Di cavalry have been harassing our border for days. They are equipped with an extremely tricky crossbow with a very long range and amazing armor-piercing power! The front lines... the front lines have already suffered three defeats!"
"An extremely tricky crossbow bolt"—the faces of the generals in the tent changed drastically.
The Northern army was valiant; unless they were at a complete disadvantage, there would be no question of "rout".
Xiao Chengyan raised his eyes, his gaze suddenly sharp: "Crossbows? Where did they come from?"
"The exact cause is still under investigation! But its power is definitely not what the Northern Di originally possessed!"
Xuanru's fingers trembled slightly, then she calmly put away the needles.
Looking around, all the lieutenants were frowning again.
Jinghongwu became famous in Dayong, especially since many of the deputy generals had tried other mechanical devices made by Jinghongwu. In addition, there were rumors that Jinghongwu had sold a batch of supplies to Beizhai, making Gu Jinghong a very suspicious person.
Although it was confirmed in the court at the time that they were agricultural tools, who knew what would happen next? That new emperor of Beizhai, Murong Xiao, didn't seem like the type to purchase agricultural tools.
The lieutenants subconsciously looked at Xiao Chengyan—if this prince hadn't been Gu Jinghong's sworn brother, and if they hadn't heard that they had some ambiguous relationship back then, they would definitely have arrested that Gu Jinghong right now and asked him to find out the truth!
Xiao Chengyan sensed that Xuan Ru had put away the needles, and then stood up. "Prepare the horses, I will go myself."
The swift horse galloped all the way, finally arriving at the border battlefield before dawn.
The wind and snow had not stopped, and the world was a vast expanse of white.
He stood on the high ground, gazing into the distance as the Northern Di cavalry, using their crossbows, relentlessly attacked the defenses of Dayong.
The whistling sound of arrows tearing through the air even drowned out the sound of the wind.
He raised his binoculars, his gaze precisely locking onto the crossbows that had claimed the lives of his soldiers.
Just one glance.
His fist clenched suddenly, and deep in his eyes, it was as if a layer of ice had suddenly shattered.
"Your Highness?" Changfeng, who arrived shortly after, noticed the sudden change in his aura.
Xiao Chengyan's voice was so cold it could freeze the surrounding wind and snow, his words carrying a white mist in the icy landscape: "The ones they're using aren't from Beizhai. They're armor-piercing crossbows from Jinghongwu—I would never mistake them."
Changfeng was taken aback—could it be that Miss Gu knew about her background and was now turning her guns on Dayong?
Xiao Chengyan's expression was cold and stern: "Pass down the order to stop the frontal charge. All cavalry should spread out on both flanks and use scouts to harass the enemy. No one is allowed to take direct hits from crossbow bolts."
"yes."
Another deputy general went down to relay the order, while Changfeng remained standing with Xiao Chengyan in the wind.
Xiao Chengyan raised an eyebrow: "Something wrong?"
Changfeng frowned and said, "...It's Pavilion Master Gu. She wrote a letter of divorce for Prince Gongsun and is heading to the northern border!"
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