After the voice finished speaking, a figure emerged from behind the screen.
Upon seeing this, all the generals immediately stood up, knelt on one knee in unison, and clasped their hands in salute.
"Greetings, General Gu!"
There were only a dozen or so people, but their voices were equally loud and resonant.
Gu Jingheng was half-covered with clothes, and thick gauze could be seen wrapped around his right shoulder and left armpit, with traces of blood still faintly visible on the gauze.
Although his face was pale, his eyes remained sharp, and his authority was undiminished when he looked at the soldiers.
He raised his hand, signaling everyone to stand up, and then sat down in the main seat.
The military doctor, who had just cleaned his wounds, packed up his things and was about to leave when someone called out to him: "No one else is allowed to know what happened today."
The military doctor nodded repeatedly before bowing his head and leaving.
The jolt of his body during the movement aggravated his wound, and a moment of pain flashed across Gu Jingheng's face.
After everyone had returned to their seats, Gu Jingheng glanced at them and smiled faintly: "What questions do you all have?"
The generals seated below exchanged glances for a moment, and finally, the general who had been so emotionally expressive couldn't help but speak up, asking urgently, "General, why did you encounter assassins on your return this time?"
Gu Jingheng was supposed to receive an imperial edict before the end of the year to return to the capital to report on his duties, as was customary. However, he left in good health but returned pale and injured. The generals were worried and came to visit him, but General Lian, who had been attending to Gu Jingheng, told them that General Gu had been attacked by assassins on his way back from reporting on his duties.
"What kind of assassin would dare to be so audacious as to attempt to assassinate a general?!"
Gu Jingheng did not answer, but turned to Lian. Lian Yingtong, who was behind him, immediately stepped forward and explained, "The general did not want to trouble the troops, so we disguised ourselves as ordinary merchants on the way. However, the general caught a cold on the way and was already weak. When we encountered bandits robbing us, the general said that we should not harm their names and should hand them over to the local government. He ordered us to capture them alive. We were too careless and let those people take advantage of the situation."
Xu Men was once again incredulous: "General Lian, are you kidding us?! You actually let the bandits take advantage of your situation?"
Some of the other soldiers also found it unbelievable.
A buzz of doubts immediately filled the military tent.
"Although the general's group consists of only six or seven people, we all know how skilled they are. They've fought their way through countless battles; how could they be bullied by a few small-time bandits?!"
Lian Yingtong frowned, wanting to explain further, but Gu Jingheng waved his hand to stop him. Then, he said in a low voice, "Two fists can't fight four hands. The other side has many people, and I'm sick. Everyone is accommodating me. I'm the one who's dragging everyone down."
Gu Jingheng's sudden words, though not loud, instantly silenced all the doubts and discussions. After an awkward silence, the soldiers suddenly knelt down on one knee again, bowing their heads apologetically: "This humble general dares not!"
Gu Jingheng smiled with satisfaction: "It's getting late. I've troubled you all to come and visit tonight. Everyone should go home now, but please don't let anyone else know."
"Yes, Your subordinate obeys!"
After bowing and greeting each other, everyone left.
After everyone had left, Lian Ying stepped out of the tent to check everything before returning to the tent.
Lian Yingtong stood in the middle of the military tent with a look of shame on his face. He unfastened the sword from his waist, knelt on one knee, and presented the sword to the general: "General, I failed in my duty to protect you, resulting in your injury. I beg you to punish me!"
His expression was one of shame and pain; he clenched his teeth, and his face and neck were flushed red.
After the others left, Gu Jingheng leaned back in his chair, breathing weakly. Seeing Lian Yingtong like this, he didn't even have the strength to help her up.
He chuckled self-deprecatingly, trying to ease Lian Yingtong's grief and indignation: "Aren't you bullying me, a patient? I'm in this state, I don't have the strength to help you up. If you still consider me a general, get up quickly, don't force me to help you."
Lian Yingtong's eyes reddened: "General..."
He choked up after only managing to utter the word "General".
“A man doesn’t easily shed tears. We’ve been through mountains of knives and seas of corpses, and we haven’t seen you shed a single tear. Why are you acting like a young lady today? Get up quickly, or I’ll kick you.”
Lian Yingtong quickly stood up, sheathed his sword, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, still stubbornly insisting, "I didn't cry."
Gu Jingheng was amused, but the aggravation of his wound caused him to gasp.
Lian Yingtong hurriedly stepped forward and touched Gu Jingheng's forehead with the back of her hand: "General, you have a fever. You were already suffering from a cold and haven't recovered yet. Go back to bed and rest."
Gu Jingheng didn't plan to continue pushing himself, after all, getting his health back was the most important thing.
With Lian Ying's help, he returned to the screen and lay down.
This simple action alone had already caused him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
"Yingtong, how's the investigation into the escaped witness and the assassin going?"
"General, please forgive our incompetence. By the time our men found the witness, the assassins had already killed them. Those assassins were all suicide squads; they all took their own lives when they realized they couldn't defeat us. The trail... has gone cold."
Lian Yingtong felt ashamed again.
Gu Jingheng closed his eyes, his still-movable hand clenched into a fist and placed on his forehead. He sighed, "Fine, I can't blame you. These assassins are obviously well-trained, their movements are elusive, and they're not easy to deal with."
"General, how are we to explain this to the Seventh Prince?"
Gu Jingheng closed his eyes and pondered for a while: "Just tell the truth."
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