Chapter 53: Gu Qing with a Worried Expression
After arriving in the capital and resting at the Gu Residence for a night, Gu Yu took Gu Mengyao, her brother, and Xia Tian, along with others, for a stroll on the streets of the capital, buying many things.
Afterward, led again by a servant, they visited all the fun places near the capital.
This gave Gu Yu a feeling of traveling in modern times, and he also bought many souvenirs.
After two days of wild fun, their excitement subsided, and only then did Gu Yu realize… the situation in the capital was a bit unusual.
Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the streets were not lively at all. Instead, everyone had a serious expression, and even places for romantic encounters were much quieter.
Not to mention anything else, his father-in-law’s side already showed signs.
Recently, Gu Qing only showed a smiling face in front of Gu Mengyao. After Gu Mengyao left, Gu Qing’s expression quickly changed, and he resumed his worried look.
Especially in front of Gu Yu, he looked like he was sighing, making Gu Yu have to speak and ask what happened to his father-in-law.
Gu Yu originally thought that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, they would return to Yang Village, and no matter what happened in the capital, it would have nothing to do with them.
Therefore, ignoring it was the wisest choice.
However, Gu Qing’s expression now was clearly “I’m so troubled, hurry up and ask me what’s wrong,” making it impossible for Gu Yu to pretend not to see it.
What a hassle!
However, Gu Yu was only a listener now, offering advice when necessary, but nothing else.
He was only a thirteen-year-old boy, not thirty, and what else did they want him to do now?
“Father-in-law, did something happen?”
“Alas, the envoy from Luoluo Kingdom was killed on the way to visit.”
“What!!!”
Immediately, after Gu Qing said the reason with a face full of worry, Gu Yu, upon hearing it, immediately exclaimed in surprise, not expecting… the news from Gu Qing to be so explosive.
He remembered that when they last left the capital, the Emperor had announced in court that they would adopt a friendly negotiation model for dealing with Luoluo Kingdom, not wanting to resort to violence again.
After all, the cost of going to war was too great, and the Emperor did not want to change the current situation of peace and prosperity.
However, in such a short time… the envoy sent by Luoluo Kingdom was actually killed, which was completely a disregard for imperial authority!
“Father-in-law, could it be the work of bandits? I see that in some remote areas, there are many bandits on the mountains. Perhaps they took a liking to the gold, silver, and jewels brought by the visiting envoy, and that’s why they made their move?”
“No, according to the report… besides the visiting envoy Yi Lewen sent by Luoluo Kingdom and a large number of escorting soldiers being killed, there was a deputy officer named Min Xing who escaped with his subordinates. After returning to Luoluo Kingdom, before he fell into a coma due to his injuries, he produced a blood-stained piece of cloth with the emblem of Linfeng Kingdom’s government office drawn on it, saying that he had been ambushed by Linfeng Kingdom’s government soldiers.”
“…”
After listening to Gu Qing’s detailed explanation, Gu Yu couldn’t help but frown, thinking that the matter was too smooth.
Even if Linfeng Kingdom really wanted to intercept the envoy, they would kill them all, and letting a fish slip through the net was unlikely.
Now, it sounded as if it had been arranged, playing out like a soulless script.
Not to mention, they even let people from Luoluo Kingdom take away the cloth with the Linfeng Kingdom official uniform’s emblem… Wait, the cloth!
When Gu Yu thought of the cloth, he subconsciously thought of what he had experienced in Xize Town before, wondering if things were such a coincidence!
He was just on his way to the capital, and he wouldn’t encounter clues related to the killing of the Luoluo Kingdom envoy!
“Gu Yu, what’s wrong?”
Since Gu Qing finished speaking, he saw Gu Yu’s expression changing constantly. This made the originally worried Gu Qing curious, wondering what was wrong with Gu Yu.
The face he was putting on now was even more worried than his own!
Could it be that he was worried about war after hearing that the Luoluo Kingdom envoy was killed? If so, he could rest assured, because he would be leaving for the battlefield tomorrow.
That’s right, he couldn’t even properly celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
After finally waiting for his children to be by his side, it was because of the war that they couldn’t spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together again this year, making Gu Qing sigh and wear a worried expression every time he thought about it these days.
After the Luoluo Kingdom envoy was killed, the Emperor of Luoluo Kingdom was also extremely angry and directly ordered his troops to attack, disregarding even the life of the great general Guan Shun, only wanting the two countries to fight a war to the death.
After all, an envoy was killed, which was like stepping on their faces viciously, so it was no wonder the Emperor of Luoluo Kingdom was so enraged.
Even the Emperor of Linfeng Kingdom had not been able to sleep well for several nights after learning about this matter.
During court sessions, when two ministers were arguing over trivial matters, the Emperor, in a fit of rage, had them dragged out and beaten a few times, making the remaining ministers much more honest.
The situation was serious, not only in court but also among the common people, especially after the news spread, causing panic in the capital.
Although the imperial city was very far from the border pass, if a war really broke out, their peaceful lives would be broken, and they would also be greatly affected.
That’s why Gu Yu saw that the situation in the capital was a bit unusual.
“Father-in-law, do you remember the Xize Town incident I told you about when I first came to the capital?”
“Is it about the magistrate being killed? I’ve already sent people to investigate, and the news should be reported back soon.”
“Let’s not mention the outcome of this matter for now. The key is what those local tyrants said… Among the buried bodies of government soldiers, some of their clothes were torn, missing the part with the emblem of Linfeng Kingdom’s government office.”
Gu Yu connected the Xize Town incident with the killing of the Luoluo Kingdom envoy, and the more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Then he simply told Gu Qing, thinking that he shouldn’t be the only one to be troubled; let his father-in-law think about it too!
When Gu Qing heard what Gu Yu said, his expression was stunned, and then his eyebrows furrowed tightly like Gu Yu’s, clearly realizing that something was wrong after Gu Yu brought it up.
The killing of the Luoluo Kingdom envoy left Gu Qing with many doubts.
He wondered who was so bold as to do such a thing within Linfeng Kingdom, not fearing to be beheaded if found out.
However, if the evidence held by Luoluo Kingdom was indeed obtained from the deceased government soldiers in Xize Town… then this was a conspiracy involving collusion from both inside and outside!
After all, the Luoluo Kingdom envoy had died halfway before reaching Xize Town, so the piece of cloth they obtained must have been received by someone from Linfeng Kingdom.
In this case, it was completely intended to provoke a war between the two countries!
Upon realizing this, Gu Qing could no longer sit still, so he asked Gu Yu to stay at home, while he went to the Imperial Palace.
Originally, Gu Qing wanted to take Gu Yu with him. After all, Gu Yu had personally been to Xize Town and knew the situation there… However, because Gu Yu was a commoner, entering the inner hall required a lot of procedures, and Gu Qing was anxious to meet the Emperor, so he didn’t take Gu Yu with him.
Gu Yu was quite satisfied with this. He only pointed out the doubts and did not want to take credit.
He preferred to stay away from such troublesome matters.
If Gu Qing wasn’t his father-in-law, Gu Yu wouldn’t bother with so much trouble!
“Brother-in-law, I’ve heard some news.”
“?”
“Luoluo Kingdom has started another war. Tomorrow, my father is going to the battlefield.”
“Tomorrow… so soon?”
Afterward, when Gu Yu returned to his residence, he saw Gu Qingheng already waiting for him in the room. Seeing Gu Qingheng’s excited expression, Gu Yu knew that his younger brother-in-law had probably heard some news again.
However, after hearing that Gu Qingheng had also heard about Luoluo Kingdom, Gu Yu was quite puzzled… His younger brother-in-law’s information was so well-informed?
He had only just heard this news from Gu Qing, but Gu Yu did not know that Gu Qing was going to the battlefield tomorrow.
No wonder Gu Qing had been sighing all these days; it turned out he couldn’t celebrate the festival tomorrow.
In fact, Gu Yu was also very strange.
It had been several days, so why must they depart on the Mid-Autumn Festival? Could it be that the Emperor did it intentionally?
Indeed, the Emperor’s heart was like a needle in the sea.
While Gu Yu couldn’t figure it out, he stopped speculating about the Emperor’s state of mind and looked at Gu Qingheng’s still excited little face, clearly, his words were not finished.
“Yes! I heard that the envoy sent by Luoluo Kingdom died miserably, but after the news reached the capital, the Emperor sent people to transport the corpse to the capital, preparing to have them carefully examine it to see if they could find any clues.”
“It’s been so many days, and they’re still examining the corpse… Although the weather is gradually getting cooler, by now, it’s probably rotten and smelly!”
“It is said that it was also buried, and now it has been dug up!”
“…”
When Gu Yu heard Gu Qingheng say that the corpse was on its way back to the capital, he couldn’t help but twitch his lips, thinking that the person doing the autopsy was truly unfortunate.
Not only would they have to face the foul-smelling corpse, but they also had to deal with the pressure of failing to find anything, which was a huge pressure.
“Qingheng, I didn’t expect that even in a new place, your news is still so well-informed!”
“What’s there to say! Hehe, it’s all thanks to Sister Xia Tian’s help, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to gather so much useful information. I also heard a lot of gossip. Turns out the capital is similar to the village, full of people stealing husbands and fighting at home.”
“…”
Looking at Gu Qingheng’s helpless expression, Gu Yu couldn’t help but raise his hand and hit him on the head, wondering when his brother-in-law became so close to Xia Tian that he even called her “Sister Xia Tian”…
Gu Yu had hired Gu Qingheng to hinder Xia Tian from clinging to Gu Mengyao.
Now that their relationship had improved so quickly, Gu Yu was very worried that his brother-in-law would betray him!
