Chapter 50: The Avenger is better off being willingly brought to his side.
When Deng Jie woke up, Xun Wei and Bian Shi were sitting next to him, and the two were talking about something.
"Ugh..." She tried to move, but a dull pain shot through the back of her head, and her throat felt dry and tight. She felt extremely weak and had difficulty moving.
"Don't move!" Xun Wei stopped her from getting up. "The wound has just been bandaged. Be careful not to pull on it."
Deng Jie blinked with difficulty, her hazy consciousness shrouded in a layer of fog, as she tried to recall what had happened before she lost consciousness.
"What do you want to say?" Bian asked, taking her hand.
"Mr. Wenruo..."
"Father? You want to call my father?" Xun Wei listened intently.
“Xu You…Runan…”
"Yuan Shao's envoy is Xu Ziyuan?!" Xun Wei's eyes widened instantly, and he exchanged a surprised look with Bian Shi. "Is Runan their target?"
Deng Jie closed her eyes and slowly nodded. This small movement still caused pain, making her brows furrow.
"I will go and inform my father right away!" Xun Wei bowed to Lady Bian and hurriedly left.
Madam Bian sighed softly, took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the fine sweat from her forehead: "You've had a hard time, you should get some rest."
Deng Jie turned his head and slowly scanned the surroundings. "This is... the Sikong Mansion?"
"Hmm." Madam Bian gently stroked her hand and replied softly, "I apologize to Shi Atong; he was derelict in his duty. Your house... the study was mostly burned down. Mengde's return date is uncertain, so you should rest here in peace. When they return in triumph, Fengxiao will take you back."
Deng Jie was startled, her head throbbing so badly she squinted. "That Fengxiao's book..."
Madam Bian quickly comforted her and told her to lie down, "We've done everything we could to save them, and for those we couldn't, we can only let it go. Lu Hong has already taken people from the Imperial Academy to handle it."
Deng Jie closed his eyes wearily. The School Affairs Office was Guo Jia's confidant, and the arrangements were handled properly.
"Madam, Young Master Zhang is bullying Young Master Xiong again. I'll keep an eye on things here." Madam Du's voice came from afar.
Deng Jie looked in the direction of the sound and his gaze met that of the beautiful woman.
“Alright.” Madam Bian patted Deng Jie’s hand. “Madam Du’s courtyard is spacious, and she’s happy to stay with you. I’ll go take a look first.”
Deng Jie opened his mouth, but had no strength to speak. It turned out that he was in the Du family's courtyard.
After seeing Bian off, Du sat down by the bed and looked at Deng Jie with heartache: "Good sister, you've really suffered so much. How could you have to endure such hardship?"
When Deng Jie saw Du Shi, a sense of grievance welled up within him, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.
A few days later, Deng Jie's injuries improved considerably, and he was able to walk around the room.
Madam Du sat with her in the room, watching the maid remove her bandages.
Another maid came looking for her, carrying Cao Lin, who was not yet a year old. The little baby was soft and cuddly, babbling adorably.
Seeing the envy in Deng Jie's eyes, Du handed the child to her. Deng Jie was startled, but happily took the child and played with him.
But as she played with the lively little one, she couldn't help but think that if Consort Dong had given birth smoothly, the child would be almost this big by now, and a pang of sadness welled up in her heart.
Seeing that things were not going well, Du quickly made an excuse to take the child away and told her about the situation at the front that Bian had brought her: "I heard that Mr. Ziyang invented something called the 'Thunderbolt Cart,' which is incredibly powerful and can smash Yuan Shao's tall towers to pieces. It's truly amazing!"
Deng Jie couldn't help but marvel at the extraordinary talents of the strategists in Cao Cao's camp.
Then she remembered Xu You's matter, and her heart was still hanging: "How is it in Runan? Have they caught up with Mr. Ziyuan?"
Lady Du comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, Lord Xun has already sent a letter to the Minister of Works, requesting that General Zixiao be dispatched to lead the expedition. He will surely ensure that Xu Du is safe. However, as for Xu You... I'm afraid he fled back the day he harmed you, and we didn't have time to catch him."
As Deng Jie thought of what lay ahead, Xu Ta's silhouette flashed through his mind, and his heart tightened. "Then... has there been any other... special news from the front recently?"
Mr. Du was slightly surprised: "Special news? For example?"
Deng Jie suddenly realized he had misspoke. If Madam Du knew about the assassination attempt, she would definitely use it as a topic of conversation. Bringing it up rashly would make him seem like he hadn't reported it, so he shook his head with an embarrassed smile and made up an excuse: "Well... um, Fengxiao doesn't have any special news, right?"
Madam Du understood, and covered her mouth with a light laugh: "You only remember your husband. He didn't say anything bad, so that's good."
Deng Jie nodded shyly, avoided eye contact, raised his lacquered cup to drink tea, and secretly prayed that Xu would eventually see the error of his ways.
Although Deng Zhao's experience also made her realize that such a one in ten thousand possibility was almost non-existent.
At the Guandu front, the wind was howling, the night was deep, and campfires flickered. Xu Ta had already found Cao Cao's camp.
Relying on his years of experience in the Imperial Academy and the tokens he possessed, he used the pretext of "secretly reporting to the Chief Minister of the Imperial Academy" to bypass layers of guards and successfully infiltrate the heart of the military camp.
He carefully avoided the patrols and lay in ambush near Cao Cao's central command tent, patiently waiting for Xu Chu to leave.
With his swordsmanship, he was confident that he could succeed in assassinating the person unless he was facing this madman.
After waiting all day, he was quite hungry, but as he watched Xu Chu hand over his shift to his colleagues, his chance to hold his breath finally arrived!
He changed into a stolen Cao army robe and followed a patrol team as they approached the gate of Cao Cao's camp.
Just as the patrol team brushed past Xu Chu, Xu Chu turned around alertly and glanced back.
Xu was the same height and posture as the other guards. Xu Chu noticed nothing unusual and turned to leave.
However, the moment Xu Chu returned to his tent, he felt his heart pounding wildly and unconsciously began rubbing his nose repeatedly.
This agitation made him feel uneasy, so he turned back to Cao Cao's camp.
Just as he arrived near the central command tent, he saw a furtive figure peeking inside from the tent entrance, his right hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.
"You traitor! Stop harming my lord!" Xu Chu roared, his eyes wide with rage.
Xu was so startled by Xu Chu's sudden return that his movements and thoughts froze for a moment.
Xu Chu charged forward, swinging his short halberd to thrust forward. Xu Ta reacted in time, drawing his ring-handled sword to parry, but how could Xu Ta's agile and slender figure possibly withstand Xu Chu's immense strength?
His blade veered off course, injuring his own arm instead. Losing his strength, he was then forcefully pressed down by Xu Chu, and the short halberd pierced his chest with a "whoosh" sound!
With a piercing scream, the crowd escorted Cao Cao out of the tent to investigate.
"What happened?!" Cao Cao saw that the thief was dead and pushed his way through the group of strategists.
"Reporting to my lord, there was an assassin, but I have already killed him!" Xu Chu sheathed his halberd and knelt on one knee.
But he couldn't help rubbing his itchy nose again.
Guo Jia's gaze fell on the corpse lying face up, and he was shocked: "Xu Ta?!"
He quickly stepped forward, squatted down, and examined it carefully.
"Fengxiao, do you recognize this person?" Cao Cao also stepped forward, watching Guo Jia search through his belongings.
Guo Jia cursed inwardly and turned around to apologize: "My lord, please forgive me... This man is named Xu Ta, and he is indeed a guard I privately recruited. He has been serving in the Imperial Academy for four years... I have failed in my duty to manage my subordinates, allowing such a traitor to infiltrate the Imperial Academy... I will definitely investigate thoroughly and give you an explanation!"
Cao Cao waved his hand: "Fengxiao, don't worry too much. At such a critical time... it's not your fault. First, investigate whether he is Yuan Shao's man or the Emperor's man."
"Here!" Guo Jia continued to search his body and found a hard object on his chest.
A terrible thought exploded in his mind: that Yi knew he was leaving, and even knew he intended to kill Ming Gong, and therefore deliberately gave him this sachet so that Xu Chu could discover him in time...
That must mean someone in Xudu tried to turn Xu Ta against him, and Shuo Yi discovered it... Is Shuo Yi still safe?!
Just as Guo Jia's face turned deathly pale, Cao Cao was also taken aback. He took the jade disc from Guo Jia's hand and examined it closely: "A jade disc with a black bird and valley pattern..."
"Ming Gong...?"
“‘The black bird gave birth to the Shang dynasty, and Heaven’s mandate is clear. I wish to work with Ziyuan to support it.’… Cao Cao smiled bitterly, ‘This is something I personally gave to Xu Ziyuan when I was in Luoyang years ago.’
Cao Cao frowned, took the letter tube, and read the letter.
"Yes, sir!" The messenger took another silk scroll. "Chancellor, there is another letter from home."
Guo Jia glanced at Cao Cao, then took the scroll and unfolded it for a closer look. It was still Xun Yu's handwriting, but the content was about family troubles and Deng Jie's injury. He was instantly filled with rage and gritted his teeth.
"How is it?" Cao Cao asked tentatively as he reached for the silk scroll in Guo Jia's hand, but Guo Jia readily let go without hesitation.
“…Ziyuan has acted in such a way. How could he have become so despicable after all these years?” Cao Cao patted Guo Jia on the shoulder and comforted him, “Now that Lady Bian has brought her into the Sikong’s residence, you can rest assured. Once we hold this place, defeat Yuan Shao’s army, and capture Xu Ziyuan, I promise you can do whatever you want with him!”
Cao Cao was taken aback, and suddenly understood Guo Jia's intention: not only did he want Guo Jia to come with intelligence, but he also wanted to inflate Guo Jia's easily complacent ambition, and finally plunge him into an abyss of no return, shattering his talent and reputation! What a brilliant Guo Fengxiao! That was truly satisfying!
Cao Cao laughed loudly and asked, "Fengxiao, do you already have a plan?"
Guo Jia bowed deeply and said, "Please wait for my arrangements."
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