Nangong Lin's Letter

After Min Rou left, Su Liang transferred Madam Min to the Tianlao and told her not to torture her, not to let her die, and to treat her like a normal prisoner. Su Liang had told Min Rou about this matter, because no one in the Su Mansion was free to look after Madam Min.

This was a secret. The people in the Tianlao did not know Madam Min's identity, and the Min family did not know she was in the Tianlao.

The tension and anxiety of the past few days finally eased temporarily. After Gu Ling confirmed again that Min Rui and Duanmu Chen had not suffered any bloody disasters recently, he told Duanmu Chen that he could leave the library.

"Are you sure everything is fine?" Duanmu Chen breathed a sigh of relief, "Have you dealt with all the assassins?"

Gu Ling shook his head, "There is another leader who ran away."

Duanmu Chen frowned, "Just temporarily fine? Okay. I am mentally prepared for this." As an emperor, it was normal for him to be assassinated by the enemy during the war. In fact, Duanmu Chen had also sent people to assassinate Situ Xie before, but no news came back, so he thought it was a failure.

"Everything is as usual. The position of regent should be withdrawn." Gu Ling said.

Duanmu Chen shook his head, "Why withdraw? This position is very suitable for you. I need your assistance."

Gu Ling turned and left, "Don't look for me if you have nothing to do."

Duanmu Chen's voice came from behind, "When can I eat the buns you made again?"

"Next year." Gu Ling said casually.

Duanmu Chen: ...

Empress Dowager Xiao saw that Duanmu Chen was safe and sound, and she couldn't help crying with joy. Duanmu Yi's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he asked Duanmu Chen and Gu Ling what the hell they were doing.

Duanmu Chen knew very well that there was no father-son relationship between him and Duanmu Yi. He kept Duanmu Yi's life, but he felt that their relationship was not so bad that he needed to kill Duanmu Yi, and he was a little reluctant to do it.

Duanmu Chen answered Duanmu Yi's question very calmly, "Father, don't worry so much. It's not good for your health."

Duanmu Yi was so angry that he cursed, but Duanmu Chen didn't care.

Empress Dowager Xiao asked Duanmu Chen to go see the queen and concubines, so Duanmu Chen went.

Xing Yuyan cried when she saw Duanmu Chen, saying that she had been having nightmares and was worried that something might happen to Duanmu Chen.

Although Duanmu Chen didn't like this queen very much, he knew her and knew that she was sincere. In addition, Xing Yuyan was pregnant with his son, so he put aside the previous unhappiness and comforted her for a while.

Then, Duanmu Chen went to Situ Yao.

Situ Yao was pregnant, but she was very thin. Duanmu Chen frowned when he saw her and scolded the servants for not taking good care of her.

Situ Yao spoke for the servants, saying that she was restless recently and couldn't eat.

"Are you worried about Liangguo, or me and Ganguo?" Duanmu Chen asked indifferently.

Situ Yao smiled bitterly, "I care about my family, and the emperor is also my family."

Duanmu Chen snorted, "But this time it was not me who started the war, but your grandfather."

"I don't understand the big things outside, and I can't interfere. I just hope to give birth to the baby in my belly safely." Situ Yao said, looking out through the window. The farthest place she could see was the high palace wall.

Duanmu Chen came out from Situ Yao, and Chang'an, who was waiting outside, immediately followed and went to the Imperial Garden.

It was the pavilion that Duanmu Chen loved most since he was a child. He sat in the old place, looking at the colorful flowers and lush ancient trees, and sighed, "Since I can remember, I have been working hard to sit on the throne, trembling with fear, and dare not take a wrong step. Now that I really sit in this position, slowly, I actually start to feel a little..."

Duanmu Chen paused for a while, and then said two words, "boring."

Chang'an was stunned. He really didn't dare to respond to this. However, from his perspective, it must be the couple Gu Ling and Su Liang who made Duanmu Chen have this idea.

For so long, Changan is most aware of some changes that have taken place in Duanmu Chen, even if they do not seem obvious.

Duanmu Chen quickly changed the subject, "Changan, I hope that Concubine Liang will no longer miss her family. Is it too harsh?"

"This..." Changan is not afraid to say it, but he really does not know how to say it.

"You don't have to answer." Duanmu Chen shook his head, "I have been thinking about a question in the library these days. What is the future goal? Unification of the world? It seems that the time has come, although the result is unknown. What about after the world is really unified?"

Changan said that he would just be a listener silently.

"My son is going to be Gu Ling's apprentice. When the child grows up, he can hand over the throne to him. Gu Ling taught him, and I am absolutely at ease. At that time, I will also go out for a walk and see the beautiful scenery of the world." Duanmu Chen smiled slightly.

Changan was stunned again, a little surprised, but felt that it was very feasible.

"It's a pity that I have many women, but none of them makes me want to travel the world with them." Duanmu Chen sighed slightly. If Situ Yao was not the princess of Liang, perhaps their relationship would be different. But there is no if, and when the world is unified, either the Situ family will be destroyed or the Duanmu family will be destroyed. The situation of life and death is destined that his relationship with Situ Yao will not be better than it is now.

After sighing for a while, Duanmu Chen regained his sanity, left the pavilion, and went to the imperial study to handle government affairs.

In the evening of the same day, the second war report arrived in the capital: the Liang army came fiercely, without challenging, and directly began to attack Xuanbei City on the first day. Xing Ji commanded in the city, Qiu Jing led the elite out of the city to fight, and after a fierce battle, the Liang army temporarily retreated.

In addition to the information about the battle situation, Xuanbeicheng sent another news. Before the war started, Xing Ji sent people to Ping'an Temple and wanted to ask the abbot master to lead the monks to Xuanbei City to prevent the war from affecting the quiet place of Buddhism, but Ping'an Temple refused.

Just as the battle report from the north arrived, a "battle report" also came from the south: The Yan Kingdom army sent troops to attack Kasyapa City. On the first day, the Yan Kingdom army general called for formation. Nian Jincheng went out to fight against the city, but there was no victory or defeat. Not long after the Yanguo army began to attack the city, they retreated due to heavy rain. There were no casualties on either side.

In response, Duanmu Chen only smiled slightly. The Liang Kingdom's attack on Xuanbei City was real, and the Yan Kingdom's attack on Kasyapa City was just for show, otherwise there would have been no casualties. This was a method agreed between Gu Ling and Ji Yuebai to confuse Liang Guo. As for the detailed work in Yanguo's border army, Ji Yuebai had sent people to find out before, but it was not "exposed". He was not a person in an important decision-making position, so he kept it just to pass the news to Situ Xie.

…

Su Mansion.

Before dinner, new battle reports from the north and south were also sent to the Su Mansion.

For the time being, it seems that Mo Yan has not appeared yet, and no explosives have appeared on the battlefield. There was nothing going on in the south. Ji Yuebai would not let his army get out of control and be led by Situ Xie.

"My father ordered the attack on Qian Kingdom?" Ji Xiaoshu was shocked, "I'm still here! He really doesn't want me anymore? Will I be taken as a hostage by the emperor's uncle and hung up on the tower? How scary!"

Zheng'er frowned. He also felt that this matter was a bit troublesome. He thought that Yan State and Qian State were allies, so why did they fall out so quickly?

"Master, I'm so scared!" Ji Xiaoshu said and threw himself into Gu Ling's arms.

Gu Ling was serving soup, and the soup almost spilled when she was bumped. She put down the bowl and pulled Ji Xiaoshu away, "Sit tight."

"Master, what on earth is going on?" Zheng'er asked seriously with a small face.

"Guess." Gu Ling looked calm.

Zheng'er and Ji Xiaoshu looked at each other.

Ji Xiaoshu sighed, "I know. My father is a liar. He sent me to Qianguo to confuse Master, Master and the Emperor's uncle, right? It makes you think that Yanguo is cooperating with Qianguo, but it is not the case. Master and Master will not treat me badly. A little kid started."

"Xiao Shu, your analysis makes sense." Zheng'er agreed, "If that's the case, then it makes sense. Your father is using you."

"Master, is this true?" Ji Xiaoshu asked.

Gu Ling nodded, "Yeah."

Ji Xiaoshu was dumbfounded, "I'm just kidding! My dad is definitely not a liar! Master, don't scare me!"

Zheng'er: ...Ji Xiaoshu is a liar. It turned out that he was telling sarcastic things just now, which made him believe it.

Su Liang smiled and hugged Gu Xiaonuan over, sitting between the two children. Originally, the seat next to her was reserved for Gu Ling, but he couldn't compete with the child, so he let Zheng'er and Ji Xiaoshu sit. The premise is that Gu Ling knew that Ji Xiaoshu lacked maternal love and was very dependent on Su Liang, so although he was harsh on the child on the surface, he actually doted on him.

"Master's wife..." Ji Xiaoshu was really nervous now, and her face tensed up.

"Your master is right, your father is a liar." Su Liang chuckled, "The Yan Kingdom's attack on the Qian Kingdom is a fake, it's just a pretense. Your father deliberately deceived the Liang Kingdom."

Ji Xiaoshu blinked, "Oh~ this liar? That's a good trick, a great trick! Am I right, Master?"

"That's right." Su Liang nodded.

Then the two children began to discuss the situation of the war. Their serious appearance was very cute, but after all, they were still young and did not know many things clearly, and their views were relatively naive. For example, Ji Xiaoshu said that if Gu Xiaonuan went to the battle and smiled, the enemy would surrender, and Zheng'er actually agreed...

…

The next day, Duanmu Chen resumed his morning court. The officials saw that he looked in good condition. There was no sign of illness or injury at all. Everyone felt that the previous unexpected situation was just a ploy. After all, a war had begun. Maybe there were too many assassins to temporarily avoid it and confuse the enemy.

As for the regent Gu Ling, he only went to the morning court once, but as soon as Duanmu Chen showed up, he stopped coming.

Although the situation was tense, Gu Ling had nothing that he had to do for the time being. He fulfilled his promise today and planned to take his two young apprentices out for fun and look for tadpoles.

"Master's wife, aren't you going? Bring your sister and we'll go together!" Ji Xiaoshu held Su Liang's hand and shook it.

"That's okay." Su Liang looked at the weather outside and decided to go for a walk.

Cen Man also wanted to go, and finally Su Liang decided to go with everyone, including Nangong Qian and Qiu Yue. Otherwise, just leaving their master and servant at home would still be a bit uneasy. If Nangong Lin came to take Nangong Qian away again, Su Liang would have no way to explain to Qiu Cong.

Hefu went on a trip and took two carriages. The destination was Wangxiang Mountain. There are clear streams in the mountains, where you can find tadpoles, and they can also meet the needs of Su Liang and the children who want to climb mountains.

After packing up, the group set off.

Get off the bus at the foot of the mountain in Zhanwang Township and walk up the mountain. Gu Xiaonuan was held by Gu Ling the whole time, while Zheng'er and Ji Xiaoshu ran forward energetically. Nangong Qian and Qiu Yue, who had the weakest physical strength, are now much stronger than before, and they have been exercising under Su Liang's guidance. Although Wangxiang Mountain looked very high and I thought it might not be possible to climb it, I still wanted to give it a try.

"Master, whoever reaches the top of the mountain first can be the senior brother?" Ji Xiaoshu asked.

Gu Ling shook his head, "No."

Ji Xiaoshu said to Zheng'er with a smile as he ran forward, "I originally wanted to trick my senior brother into competing, but actually I don't want to be a senior brother, haha!"

Zheng'er: ...Yes, Ji Xiaoshu is very good at acting coquettishly and cheating as his junior brother. What's the good thing about being a senior brother?

But then again, Zheng'er was happy to be the eldest senior brother, because he felt that he was actually Gu Ling's first disciple, and he should take care of the junior brothers behind him.

Nangong Qian felt tired after walking for a while, and slowed down. Cen Man asked Su Liang and the others to go first, and she walked slowly with Nangong Qian and Qiuyue behind.

"Then we will meet at the waterfall halfway up the mountain." Su Liang said.

In the middle, Ji Xiaoshu wanted Gu Ling to carry him on his back, but Gu Ling said yes, but if he did, he would expel Ji Xiaoshu from the sect because he was too weak to be a man.

Ji Xiaoshu lost his temper instantly and continued to rush forward.

There was a clear stream at the waterfall. Su Liang took his daughter over and asked Gu Ling to take the two disciples to play in the water. It's rare to come out, so put aside your worries for a while and relax.

"Master, is this a tadpole?" Ji Xiaoshu called Gu Ling over to see.

Gu Ling walked over and shook his head, "It's a loach."

"What is a loach?" The two children asked at the same time, eager to learn. One is the prince of Yan State, and the other is a young master from one of the four major merchant families in Gan State. They have never seen such a thing.

"It can be eaten." Gu Ling explained from a cook's perspective.

"Can tadpoles be eaten?"

"No."

"Can frogs be eaten?"

"I haven't eaten it. It is said that it can be eaten, but it is not easy to handle."

"Ah! This loach is as slippery as a snake! So scary, don't get close to me!"

Su Liang was holding Gu Xiaonuan and watching the waterfall. Listening to the noise of Gu Ling and the children not far away, he felt as if he had returned to Sujia Village for a while, thinking of the brothers Bai Xiaohu and Zhuzi. It's been a long time since I last saw them. They must have grown taller. If the war can be settled and the troubles can be solved, Su Liang will definitely go back to the village with Gu Ling and the children to live for a while.

When Cen Man arrived with Nangong Qian and Qiuyue, Zheng'er and Ji Xiaoshu had already caught the tadpoles and put them in a precious glass vase they brought specially for them to show them.

Nangong Qian also saw it for the first time and thought it was amazing, "Like a drop of ink, what will it look like when it grows up?"

Then she followed the direction of Zheng'er's finger and saw a frog tied to the legs by Gu Ling with a straw rope. She was immediately frightened and screamed, her face turned pale, and she couldn't even look at the tadpoles directly afterwards.

The two children didn't play enough, but wanted to continue climbing to the top of the mountain, so they put the tadpoles and frogs they caught back and said they would come here to find them another day.

When Nangong Rou and Qiuyue, who were behind, also arrived at the top of the mountain, they saw the two children hanging on the tree swinging, and Gu Ling and Su Liang's family of three were sitting under the tree to rest.

Nangong Rou wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked far to the north. She couldn't help but sigh, "You can see far only when you are high up. This is the first time I have returned to such a high place. I wonder how grandpa and big brother are doing."

Cen Man smiled, "They are together, nothing will happen." She was blind before and had never seen such scenery.

Gu Ling brought some fruit snacks, and everyone played on the top of the mountain for about an hour before going down the mountain. In the middle, Gu Ling also wrapped Gu Xiaonuan in his coat and hung her on the tree to let the wind blow. Gu Xiaonuan liked it very much and laughed non-stop.

After going down the mountain and returning home, Qi Yan went to Wanjia Restaurant to get food and food. After eating, the three children fell asleep quickly.

……

Xuanbei City.

Another day of fighting ended. When Qiu Jing saw Qiu Cong, there was a lot of blood on his body.

Seeing Qiu Cong's face sank, Qiu Jing hurriedly explained that he was not injured, it was all other people's blood. With his strength, it is difficult to be injured on the battlefield.

"Grandpa, did you get anything today?" Qiu Jing asked.

Qiu Cong sighed, "No! Xiao Liang said that Liang has food and grass, but I have searched everywhere I can and have not seen any food and grass. Liang does not seem to be short of food and grass, which is really weird! I have not found the mysterious person Xiao Liang said. Otherwise, I will go to Liang tonight to capture the chief general!"

Qiu Jing frowned and thought, then shook his head and said, "Since Su Liang said that Situ Xie colluded with mysterious forces and there are many masters, Grandpa should not take risks to avoid unnecessary trouble. The chief general of Liang is not as good as the Marquis in military tactics, and his martial arts are far inferior to mine. If he is captured, Liang may not save him. Once he dies, unexpected situations may occur."

"Okay, you have the final say." Qiu Cong shook his head and sighed again, "If I were not afraid that Situ Xie would send someone to kill you, I would really want to go to Liang to kill Situ Xie!"

"Grandpa, don't worry, he will definitely not die well." Qiu Jing's eyes were firm.

At this moment, a soldier hurriedly delivered a letter, saying that a mysterious person had delivered it to the gate of the general's mansion, addressed to Qiu Jing.

Qiu Jing opened the letter, his face suddenly turned cold, the handwriting was very familiar, "It's Nangong Lin."

Qiu Cong took it and looked at it, frowning fiercely. Nangong Lin said in the letter that he had taken Nangong Qian away from Su Liang's house, and came tonight to say goodbye to his master and apprentice. He planned to take his daughter to live in seclusion, hoping that all past grievances would be wiped out. If Qiu Cong and Qiu Jing did not go out of the city to keep the appointment tonight, they would never see Nangong Qian again in this life.