Chapter 98 [VIP]
Gong Hai's face was grim, his eyes filled with hostility.
Gu Yican used herself as bait to capture his full attention; the commander must be someone Gu Yican trusted implicitly. Besides Li Qing, who are the other two captains in the Thousand Machine Battalion?!
If this person can be found, he still has a chance to turn things around.
Xie Jing looked back and forth between the two, filled with surprise and uncertainty.
"Ten days, I await your good news."
Gu Yican finished speaking with a smile, then turned and walked away.
He walked straight out of the palace gate, stood in front of the gate and looked around. A carriage stopped silently in front of him, and Qin Chen, sitting on the carriage shaft, greeted him: "Prince Gu".
"Ah Chen, do you want to go horseback riding with us during your day off?"
"go!"
"Alright, you're included, but not your young master." As he said the last sentence, he lifted the curtain and climbed into the carriage.
Xie Yingchen, a faint smile playing on his lips, tossed a water pouch over.
Gu Yican took the water pouch with his hands, opened it, and gulped down more than half of it in one go. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, sat down opposite Xie Yingchen, and took out some dried meat from his purse to eat.
As a habit formed from military campaigns, he would often carry some dried meat with him so that he wouldn't have to stop to eat frequently during long marches.
He spent the night in the palace, filling his stomach with these dried meats.
The carriage started moving.
Xie Yingchen poured him another cup of hot tea, his every move exuding gentleness and politeness: "There are some snacks on your right."
Gu Yican opened the food box and looked at it, then said with disdain, "Isn't anything hot?"
"No."
Despite my dislike for it, I still ate it.
Having spent a long time in the military camp, the Gu family had never followed the rule of "not talking while eating." After recounting what happened in the palace, they rested their chin on their hand and asked, "Aren't you angry enough?"
That's enough.
Xie Yingchen changed the subject and asked, "How well hidden is the secret passage?"
Gu Yican raised an eyebrow at him: "Did your sister tell you this?"
"It's not hard to guess. Gong Hai will probably figure it out soon too."
Xie Yingchen pushed the hot tea towards him. The tea had a faint medicinal smell, which made Gu Yican frown.
"Yaoyao made it herself."
Alright. My sister made it, so I must do her a favor. Gu Yican didn't even ask what kind of tea it was and drank it all in one gulp. The tea smelled medicinal, and when it tasted like mint, it was icy cold. Even though it was hot tea, a cool sensation spread through his limbs after drinking it, which was extremely refreshing.
Xie Yingchen's gaze was focused, and his tone was unhurried: "Gong Hai's ability to sit in this position is not solely due to his service in supporting the emperor."
Gu Yican put down her teacup, leaned back, and ate her snacks while listening to him talk.
Although Xie Yingchen was not very good at horseback riding and was physically weak, his grasp of people's hearts was absolutely accurate.
As he said, Gong Hai is impulsive and easily angered. Having held a high position for a long time, the older he gets, the more he enjoys the worship of others. Therefore, if you provoke him and make him lose face, his actions will become fragmented and he will lose his sense of proportion.
It went surprisingly smoothly.
Xie Yingchen tapped the small tea table twice to draw Gu Yican's attention back, and then said, "Once he calms down, he will realize that the Qianji Camp's actions were so swift and that they were able to ambush the supply convoy undetected on its route by taking a little-known path and bypassing the Imperial Guards patrolling the capital."
“Can Can…”
"Don't call me by my nickname, we're not that close."
"Brother?"
Gu Yican: "..."
The two stared at each other wide-eyed. Gu Yican rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on her arms and shivered: "...You should still call me Cancan."
"Can Can, if the Imperial Guards search with all their might, how long will it take to find us along this back path?"
Gu Yican put his hands behind his head, stretched his body, and said, "If we're lucky, he might find out within ten days. You're ruthless, so help me figure this out. It would be best if we could keep it. I'm also thinking of transferring some troops from the Northern Frontier. If we lose this small path, it will cause a lot of trouble."
Xie Yingchen lowered his eyelashes and tapped his knuckles lightly as he said, "Xiliang has recently begun to tentatively deploy troops on the border, and small-scale harassment has also increased."
Gu Yican didn't understand his intention in suddenly bringing up the Western Frontier, and raised an eyebrow.
"Ten days ago, the people of four of the thirteen cities in the Western Frontier rebelled simultaneously, killing the military supervisor to appease the spirits of those who had been slaughtered. The other cities are also stirring up trouble, trying to force the general to send troops against the Xiliang people who have entered the territory without authorization."
"The current commander-in-chief of Xiliang is the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin."
"If the Prince of Jin's heir were in danger, the Prince of Jin would be even more eager than you to remove Gong Haiteng from his position."
"I'll handle the rest."
Gu Yican's eyes darted around, and he figured it out: "Tsk tsk, you've schemed to this extent, you probably didn't just come up with this on the spur of the moment, did you? You're really ruthless."
Xie Yingchen smiled but remained silent.
He had already begun making arrangements even before Yaoyao went to the Western Frontier.
Western Xinjiang is now just one spark away from being lit.
The original plan was to provoke the emperor and the Prince of Jin to fall out again before instigating the Prince of Jin to take action. Now, changing the order won't hurt.
"but……"
Gu Yican drawled out the last syllable, like a wild beast pouncing on its prey, full of intimidation: "If you use this black heart on your sister, I, the young master, will cut your heart out and throw it into the ink pool to completely blacken it."
Xie Yingchen sat up straight and said, "Okay."
Gu Yican stared straight at him, then leaned back, as nonchalant as ever: "Do you want to go to Qianji Camp? My sister is still there. I'll take you along that path in a bit."
After saying that, before he could speak, she lifted the carriage curtain and said something to Qin Chen.
Seeing that Xie Yingchen had no objection, Qin Chen drove the carriage smoothly out of the capital.
Walking on the official road, when there were no people around, Qin Chen asked from outside, "Young Master Gu, aren't you under house arrest? Is it alright for you to keep running around outside?"
Gu Yican replied lazily, "If the emperor wants to find fault, I'll be in prison immediately, otherwise whatever I do will be wrong. Why bother with all that?"
That makes perfect sense! Qin Chen admired his mindset immensely.
Gu Yican couldn't stand the slow pace of the carriage. Yan Yunzhao went back to the mansion by himself. He would sit for a while, then stand up again, then peek out again, busier than Qin Chen, the coachman.
When they finally arrived at the camp, he couldn't wait to jump off the carriage, stretch as if he had just been tortured.
"Gu Cancan, you're here."
Gu Zhizhu ran out from inside, and was about to ask him why he was riding in a carriage when his beautiful phoenix eyes suddenly lit up, like a sky full of twinkling stars.
"Young Master!"
Xie Yingchen stepped down. Despite sitting in the carriage for so long, his bamboo-colored brocade robe with its dark floral pattern showed no obvious wrinkles. He moved with composure and ease, except when he saw Gu Zhizhuo, when he naturally reached out his hand to her.
Gu Yican silently took a step forward, stood between the two, and happily caught his sister in his place.
As he walked inside, he asked, "How is it?"
"Everything went very smoothly!"
Gu Zhizhu leaned his head behind him and said with a bright smile, "Young master, I snatched two!"
Xie Yingchen clapped: "You're really amazing."
Gu Zhizhu laughed even harder: "When I came back, I saw that it was still early, so I sent a scout to investigate. Sure enough, Gong Hai rushed back to the capital, and the Five Armies Camp had not made any moves."
"Food and arrows? Only children make choices!"
Gu Zhizhuo raised his arm high: "I want them all!"
Gu Yican was determined not to fall behind and clapped, "Little sister is amazing!"
Xie Yingchen followed them at a leisurely pace, listening to Gu Zhizhuo vividly describe how to carry out the ambush, while his gaze swept across the military camp.
The order was excellent.
Everyone had their own duties, and no one would bother to put down their work to pay their respects unless they were right next to them. In terms of military discipline, the Imperial Guard and the Thousand Machine Battalion were completely incomparable.
Gu Zhizhuo reached out from behind Gu Yican and tugged at Xie Yingchen's sleeve: "Young Master, I'm going to gather herbs, are you coming?"
"go."
"I'm going too!"
"You're busy." Gu Zhizhu glared at him. "Li Qing hasn't been interrogated yet, the arrows haven't been brought back, and the provisions haven't been arranged. If the Imperial Guards find it, all my efforts will have been for nothing. Do you hear me?"
Gu Yican: "...Okay."
“I’ll pick some wild fruit for you to eat… Young master, wait for me, I’ll go get the bamboo basket.”
Gu Zhizhu ran back, leaving the two of them staring at each other. Xie Yingchen said in a gentle and refined manner, "Don't let the Imperial Guards find us." He paused, then added, "We can also create a diversion."
"oh?"
"With so many doubts, it becomes difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood in a short time."
Gu Yican clapped his hands: "That's right..."
Gu Zhizhuo ran back again, carrying a bamboo basket from the military doctor's tent.
"Gu Cancan, you go ahead and get busy."
She grabbed Xie Yingchen's sleeve and ran, saying, "We're on the back mountain, we'll be back soon."
Gu Yican stared at their retreating figures, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.
Qin Chen said thankfully, "Luckily, I don't have a younger sister."
"Shut up," Gu Yican said, gesturing as if to raise his fist, "I'll beat you up."
Qin Chen wasn't afraid of him at all, and laughed in front of him: "Hahahaha!"
Gu Yican was so angry that her teeth itched. She hooked her arm around his neck and dragged him inside: "Since you're already here, go and be my laborer."
Amidst the commotion, Gu Zhizhuo had already run far away.
When the soldiers were carrying the arrows, most suffered burns, some minor, more or less. Wrapped in fire-resistant cloth, most only experienced redness and swelling or blisters, but some burns were inevitably more severe. None of them uttered a sound at the time; it was only after returning to camp that Gu Zhizhuo discovered the burns. Redness and blisters could be treated with talisman ash, but more severe burns required the addition of herbs. Before Gu Yican and the others arrived, Gu Hezhuo had been planning to settle the provisions and pay before going out to gather herbs.
"All you need is some long-leaved horn ferns; the military medical tent has all the commonly used herbs."
They walked along the muddy mountain path, heading deeper into the mountains. Gu Zhizhuo, carrying an empty bamboo basket, walked in front, looking around with his head down.
“I’ve seen it once before by chance. This kind of herb often grows in patches, and if there’s one plant, there will definitely be many more.”
"careful."
Xie Yingchen placed his hand in front of her forehead, blocking a drooping tree branch.
"I'll find out what it looks like with you."
Gu Zhizhuo turned around and smiled.
Even though she hadn't slept all night, she was still radiant, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and her delicate dimples were faintly visible on her cheeks.
She stated, "The scales are lanceolate, with minute teeth, and have narrow brown or black edges." (Note: Atlas of Ex-situ Conservation Plants of Chinese Herbal Medicines)
"I'll draw it for you."
Gu Zhizhuo took his hand and drew a rough outline on his palm.
That's about it.
"It grows on rocks or tree trunks, so there must be some nearby."
After Gu Zhizhuo finished drawing, he patted it, his fingertips tickling. Xie Yingchen's breathing became erratic, and he thought to himself, "I think I've seen this before."
Where is it?
Xie Yingchen naturally took her hand and strode ahead to lead the way. Their fingers intertwined, a warm feeling that made Gu Zhizhuo feel at ease: "Young master, are you practicing riding?"
The calluses on his hands were rougher than they had been a few days ago; you could easily feel it by touching them with your fingertips.
In his previous life, Gu Zhizhuo had heard Huai Jingzhi say that the young master had mastered the Six Arts of a gentleman since childhood, being proficient in archery, horsemanship, and horseback riding. Later, when the Crown Prince's palace fell, he was injured and poisoned, severely damaging his foundation and weakening his physical strength. It wasn't that he couldn't ride a horse, but rather that his body couldn't withstand the jolting on horseback.
Gu Zhizhuo touched and pinched it; this spot was definitely due to the friction from the reins, there was no mistake.
"yes."
Gu Zhizhu disagreed; it would take at least several more years to recover. "Young Master!"
Xie Yingchen squeezed her restless fingers and said with a wronged expression, "I can't always be left behind by you."
“Who said that?” Gu Zhizhuo said matter-of-factly, “I have never abandoned you, young master.”
"have."
"No."
Xie Yingchen chuckled softly. He gently supported her waist, leaned down, and his breath lingered in her ear, causing her hair to flutter slightly.
"The day Can Can came back, you ignored me and left me alone in front of the Golden Palace. I felt so pitiful." His voice was soft and seductive, and a blush rose on Gu Zhizhuo's cheeks.
Did I do something so outrageous?
It seems there really is!
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her pupils seemed to be misty.
Xie Yingchen was somewhat taken aback. He gently stroked the corner of her eye, his fingers lingering on her face for a moment, his fingertips damp. Xie Yingchen's heart also felt inexplicably sore. Master Wuweizi had said that their destinies were closely intertwined, and her every smile and frown could easily tug at his heartstrings.
Gu Zhizhuo's voice rose at the end, as if whispering in his ear, "I won't abandon you anymore, okay?"
"good……"
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Zhizhuo suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Young Master, I've found it!"
She let go of his hand and happily ran towards a rock not far away.
"How long has it been?! You little liar, you just said you wouldn't abandon him." Xie Yingchen's shoulders trembled slightly, and a laugh he had been holding back finally escaped his lips. He opened his empty palm, then slowly clenched it again. He strode towards her.
She doesn't need to deliberately stop for him; he can keep up with her.
"Young master, this is the long-leaved iron-horned fern."
The rock was half her height, and on the shaded side, a green "weed" was growing. Its roots were deeply embedded in the cracks of the rock, growing tenaciously, and its finely toothed leaves were extremely lush. It was a mature long-leaved iron fern.
Gu Zhizhuo put down the bamboo basket on his back and squatted down next to the rock.
She drew her knife, inserted the tip into the crevice of the rock, and carefully dug it out by the roots, placing it in a bamboo basket without damaging a single leaf.
"The long-leaved iron fern can be used without processing, and the fresher it is, the better the effect."
Xie Yingchen gestured for her to look ahead: "There's more ahead."
There were several rocks nearby covered with long-leaved iron ferns. Gu Zhizhu dug them up one by one, roots and all, and put them into a bamboo basket with the soil on them. In no time, he had collected seven or eight plants. These herbs were very fresh, and some of them still had dew rolling on their leaves.
That's enough.
Xie Yingchen slung the bamboo basket over his shoulder and reached out to help her up: "Are your legs numb?"
The last plant had very deep roots, and her knife wasn't very nimble; it took her a full incense stick's time to dig it up, roots and all.
Gu Zhizhuo nodded, and she tugged at his sleeve and shook it, her phoenix eyes sparkling in the sunlight: "Young Master, I've made up my mind."
Let's get married!
Forehead?
"Does what you said last time still stand?"
She won't abandon the young master, so let's get married!
Only by getting married can you stay together forever.
Sometimes, Xie Yingchen felt he should understand her very well, but at other times, she was just like Gu Yican, always catching people off guard.
Xie Yingchen was unwilling to use the imperial decree to grant them marriage to bind her.
He patiently waited for her to "agree," but something seemed off about the process.
However, why would Xie Yingchen turn his good luck against him?
He caught the joy in her eyes, his gaze lingering on the dimples at the corners of her lips. Just as he had imagined countless times, he kissed her forehead. Xie Yingchen's voice was alluring, tinged with a gentle smile.
"Let's get married."
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com