In the following days, Wei Ruo noticed that Gu Qingyan kept mentioning Lingyun Garden to her, seemingly casually.
For example, today.
"Sir, how many women and men from Lingyun Garden do you think will be on the list when they participate in the Spring Imperial Examination next March?"
Kui Ruo's eyelids twitched. "Your Majesty, I do not know how to answer this question."
"We'll have to see what their true skill level is."
"Sir is right. I do have high hopes for some of the women in Lingyun Garden, such as Guo Siyuan. I remember you two even competed together, and the result was evenly matched."
"I remember Miss Guo. She is a woman of great wisdom and insight, and a rare and valuable talent."
Unbeknownst to Wei Ruo, it was this one sentence that made Gu Qingyan and Jiang Yu's eyes light up.
Zhaoning Palace.
"Is that really what Kui Ruo said?"
“Absolutely true.” Gu Qingyan nodded vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice. “I only mentioned Guo Siyuan’s name, but I didn’t expect you to praise her as a rare talent.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu pondered for a moment, "Wanji, I remember that Guo Siyuan has an older brother?"
"Your Majesty has a good memory. Miss Guo also has an elder brother, but he has repeatedly failed the imperial examinations and is currently only a Xiucai (a scholar who has passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations)."
"A scholar's degree is enough; he can open a private school to support his family."
Jiang Yu became more and more satisfied as she thought about it. "I hope that Guo Siyuan can give us a beautiful test paper next March. Then I will ask her if she is willing to marry Wei Ruo."
"I didn't expect that your marriage would be settled so quickly."
Gu Qingyan was overjoyed and even ate an extra bowl of rice.
"Judging by the days, your father should have arrived by now." Although she didn't say it aloud, Jiang Yu was still very worried about Gu Lin's safety.
"They should have arrived by now, and they're probably just itching to get started from the Sun and Gong families."
Jiang Yu nodded. "And the Pei family, we can't forget about the Pei family."
The Pei family kept themselves extremely well hidden, and then reaped the benefits.
"We need to think of a way to drag the Pei family into this as well." Gu Qingyan's eyes darted around, and Jiang Yu couldn't help but laugh when she saw Gu Qingyan's expression.
"Then you'd better think about it carefully."
"By the way, we also need to keep an eye on Gu Qingfeng from time to time."
"I understand."
......
Gu Lin had been in Gaixian for a day, and Chang Qing and a group of other generals had gathered in Gu Lin's house.
Everyone was clearly a little reserved in front of Gu Lin, who had a head of white hair.
"Your Majesty, what should we do if they go to Yun County?" Chang Qing scratched his head. The Emperor Emeritus had fenced off two places, but in the end, he transferred most of the troops to Gaixian County.
“Yunxian is the exit of the Fengshan Tunnel, and its geographical location is most suitable for the Sun and Gong families. But don’t forget, they will think that we have stationed people there to guard it.”
"Gai County has a small area and will hardly attract any attention."
"Their goal in this battle is not to occupy the land of Dayu, but simply to win a victory, understand?"
"Understood."
Chang Qing hurriedly spoke, his heart trembling slightly. In front of this person, he felt his knees go weak.
"Wait a little longer, and tell everyone not to be anxious."
At night, Gu Lin sat on a hill, gazing at the full moon in the sky.
Ah Yu must be looking at this full moon too. Suddenly, Gu Lin's resentment towards the Sun and Gong families increased. He could have been enjoying the moon with Ah Yu in the middle of the night, but now they had to be separated.
They really deserve to suffer.
Gu Lin and his men waited for two more days. Just when everyone was beginning to wonder if the Sun family and the Gong family were not planning to send troops, a scout from the front line sent word that a troop of soldiers was heading towards Gaixian.
"General, this retired emperor is truly a god!"
They anticipated that the powerful families would choose to attack Gai County, and even led them to set up their forces there early on.
"Alright, the Emperor Emeritus has walked out of a sea of blood. Tell everyone to cheer up for this general." After saying that, Chang Qing hurriedly headed towards Gu Lin's room.
"You're here?"
"Yes, they're already heading towards Gaixian County."
Gu Lin stared at the map in front of him for a long time, then slowly curled into a bloodthirsty smile, "Finally here."
On the other side.
For some reason, Sun Cai's right eyelid kept twitching.
"Brother Gong, my right eyelid keeps twitching. Could it be that today is not an auspicious day?"
“Brother Sun, be careful with your words. We’ve brought a full 20,000 elite troops to take Gai County. Are you afraid we can’t take it?” Gong Liuming said slowly. “As long as we keep our minds calm and follow the pre-planned troop deployment, we will definitely win.”
"That's right, we have sufficient troops this time."
Sun Cai kept trying to comfort himself, then looked back at the huge crowd, and finally felt much more at ease.
When the aristocratic army arrived near Gaixian County, it was noon. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but the wind still made it feel cold.
"Everyone, listen to my command."
Sun Cai's voice rang out, and the soldiers behind him stopped in their tracks: "Fire the arrows."
At a command, countless arrows shot towards the city wall, but in the next second, the soldiers on the wall took out their shields and avoided the aristocratic family's attack.
"You reacted quite quickly, keep shooting arrows."
After several rounds, the two sides were at a stalemate. Gong Liuming raised his sword and shouted, "Everyone, attack the city!"
The sound of drums followed closely after Gong Liuming's voice, and suddenly many Dayu soldiers appeared on the city wall, each holding a bow and arrow and shooting towards the aristocratic family.
When Sun Cai and Gong Liuming saw that figure on the city wall, with a distinctive head of white hair, both of them almost dropped their weapons.
"Brother Sun, we've fallen into a trap set by the Great Yu! We must leave quickly!"
Upon hearing this, Sun Cai turned his horse around, wanting to leave the battlefield quickly with Gong Liuming.
Gu Lin smiled slightly and used his inner strength to amplify his voice, "Guests are guests, so since you're here, don't leave. You might as well keep Qin Zheng company."
The city gates opened, and Chang Qing charged at the forefront with a fierce expression. Behind him, his men nimbly split into three teams, quickly cutting through the battlefield.
Gu Lin'er swiftly passed through the crowd, striking Sun Cai and Gong Liuming on the neck, causing them to immediately slump off their horses.
"Tsk, have no one dared to fight against you aristocratic families all these years?"
Why do you always underestimate your opponent?
The 10,000 elite soldiers of the aristocratic families appeared extremely weak compared to the 50,000 elite soldiers of Dayu, and were quickly subdued by Chang Qing and his men.
“Your Majesty, this Gong family member doesn’t seem like the young master.”
"It should be that eldest son born out of wedlock."
Gu Lin looked at the two still unconscious men and said, "Take them away."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com