Do You Know What You Are Guilty of? (Part Three)
Two days later at the crack of dawn, the group of five hundred soldiers appeared outside the capital.
“Open the city gates!”
A loud shout came from the bottom of the city gates, and the city’s gates were immediately opened. The soldier guarding the gate saw the banner of the Gu family’s army and started tearing up.
“Lord Marquis Gu, you’ve finally come back!”
“That’s right, Marquis Gu has come back. The capital will finally be safe!”
The relieved voices of the city guards came from outside the carriage. With their lanterns illuminating the darkness, the people near the gates were faintly able to see the Gu family’s army’s banner and rushed out of the city.
“Lord Marquis has finally come back. With Lord Marquis here, we’ll see if those bandits dare to carry on with their evil deeds!”
Gu HuaiJiang heard this and noticed that something was off, lifting the curtain, “What happened?”
The soldier guarding the gate immediately reported: “Reporting to Lord Marquis, after His Majesty passed away, the court has not decided on a new ruler and has instead split into two factions. One faction insists that the country cannot survive a day without a ruler and that the eldest prince should handle matters as the ruler. The other faction insisted that they wait until Lord Marquis returned to decide on the matter of the new ruler. One faction of the ministers wants the cabinet to lead court matters, while the other wants the prime minister to lead court matters. The entire situation is a mess.”
“The capital, which was previously very safe, has started seeing an increase in robberies. The military officials and citizens were hoping that Lord Marquis would quickly return, and our hopes have finally come true!”
“Preposterous!”
The usually calm Gu HuaiJiang suddenly became furious, saying: “No matter what sort of mess there might be in court, keeping the citizens safe is the top priority! What do they mean the country cannot survive a day without a ruler? It’s obvious that a country cannot survive a day without its citizens. The safety of the people is provided for by the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety. What has happened to those two?”
The soldiers guarding the city gates hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, they saw a girl in beautiful clothes step out of a carriage in the back.
Yu Fu stepped out of the carriage and walked over to Gu HuaiJiang’s side. The other people who had come out were a little shocked to see her beautiful clothes.
For the sake of convenience, she had dressed very simply at the border and on their trip. Who knew when she had the time to change into such beautiful clothes.
The city guards immediately kneeled to pay their respects, “This guard greets Princess ZhenJiang.”
The other onlookers were stunned and also dropped to their knees. With just one look from Yu Fu, the soldiers from the Gu family’s army stepped forward to help them up.
She looked into the carriage at Gu HuaiJiang. With brows furrowed, she gave him a look, and the latter immediately understood why Yu Fu had come over.
It was because the one to pursue the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety for their mistakes should not be him.
Yu Fu understood very well that different people had different roles, “General, please come. This princess, as a member of the imperial family, orders you to immediately have the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety come to Marquis Gu’s Manor to see me! If they still haven’t come to see me by the time the sun is up, their time in their positions will have come to an end.”
The citizens nearby heard this and cheered. Yu Fu turned to Gu HuaiJiang and nodded before returning to her carriage.
The group then headed toward Marquis Gu’s Manor. Along the way, the citizens of Lin’An would hear their movements and light up their lanterns to look toward them.
“Look, Lord Marquis Gu has come back! Lord Marquis Gu has finally come back!”
Inside the carriage, Kun YuYang asked Yu Fu in confusion, “Lord Marquis was about to ask them about the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety. Why did you stop him and ask about them in his stead?”
Kun YuYang was also a princess in Western Kun, but she very rarely participated in Western Kun’s court affairs. At best, she could guess what the members of the imperial harem were thinking.
Yu Fu let out a sigh, “As a general, the head general is responsible for military affairs. Things like court officials not carrying out their duties should not be handled by him; otherwise, there would surely be people in court who would talk about him increasing his power. In the past, head general would be very careful and would not dare interfere with this sort of thing, but this time, the citizens were the ones suffering. This is a line that he cannot accept being crossed.”
A thought seemed to cross Kun YuYang’s mind, “So that’s why I noticed Lord Marquis’s tone sounding so annoyed.”
Yu Fu said: “The citizens don’t understand this. They only know that he is highly respected, and they are asking him for help. He understands the logic behind this, thus he does not dare speak up. I am the only one in Marquis Gu’s Manor who can speak up for head general. No matter what the situation in court is, calming down the citizens is the most important thing to take care of.”
Kun YuYang was awestruck, “Lord Marquis Gu is fully dedicated to the people, his country, and ruler. For you to be able to understand his intentions, is that not a great show of loyalty?”
Yu Fu reluctantly smiled, “I, like you, am not someone from Eastern Ling. You were married to uncle Ning, while I was adopted by the head general. From that point onward, I have been connected to Eastern Ling. To speak of loyalty, it would be more apt to say that we are doing our best for the people we love. Wouldn’t you say that is the case?”
Kun YuYang did not say anything. It was only after she heard the carriage come to a stop that she finally said: “Yu Fu, I think…”
“Don’t even think about it.”
Yu Fu knew what she was about to say. Yao Lan stepped out of the carriage and extended her hand. While reaching out for Yao Lan’s hand, she said to Kun YuYang: “Right now, Marquis Gu’s Manor is the safest place to be. I know that you are worried about uncle Ning, and I will have someone deliver a message to him. If you go back to his manor now, it would only hurt him. Do you understand?”
Kun YuYang was startled but had no choice but to admit that though Yu Fu was younger than her, she was more thorough in her considerations. She had no choice but to obediently follow Yu Fu out of the carriage.
In front of Marquis Gu’s Manor’s gate, Gu WenQing stood with Gu Xiang and Gu Yi. Seeing their father and brothers return, it was as if they had been through many changes.
“Father, His Majesty…”
Gu WenQing’s eyes were slightly red, and Gu HuaiJiang patted him on the shoulder, “We already know. Let’s speak inside.”
He stayed at Gu HuaiJiang’s side. Yu Fu had never seen her fourth brother so miserable, “If only I had gone to the autumn hunt, His Majesty might not have ended up like this. I just had to be busy with managing the manor’s affairs at that time. Not only did I not go, but son even stopped fifth brother and sixth brother from going.”
Gu HuaiJiang silently sighed, “You did the right thing. With no adults at the manor, it would not be safe for you to go out. That you could protect your fifth brother and sixth brother, father feel very gratified.”
Gu WenQing looked at Yu Fu. He had protected Gu Xiang and Gu Yi but had not protected Yu Fu.
Yu Fu deliberately acted relaxed and walked over to his side, smiling and saying: “Thank you, fourth brother, for letting me go at that time. Did you know? If not for me arriving at the border when I did, the army would have seen tens of thousands of troops die. You indirectly saved the lives of tens of thousands of the Gu family’s army’s troops, and look at me. Aren’t I perfectly fine?”
Exhausted from the long journey, Gu HuaiJiang ordered everyone to go back and rest. When the sun came up and court opened, he would go to work in court.
It was just that some people could not wait until the sun came up.
“This quick? Marquis Gu has already entered the city?”
The prime minister’s manor quickly received the news. Yin Shuo’s scouts had been keeping an eye on the city gates. Upon seeing the Gu family’s army, they quickly rushed back to report.
Yin Shuo sat behind his desk in the study with a thought in mind, “What was the bearing of the Gu family’s army? Did you see Kun YuYang among them? Was there anything off about them?”
The subordinate said with difficulty: “The members of the Gu family’s army had cold expressions that betrayed neither joy nor sadness. This subordinate truly could not see if there was anything off. There was also no sight of that princess from Western Kun. Right, Princess ZhenJiang did call the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety to Marquis Gu’s Manor!”
“Why?”
“Immediately after entering the city, citizens that heard the commotion rushed out. Upon finding out about the robberies and chaos in the city, Marquis Gu was infuriated, but in the end, Princess ZhenJiang came out and called for the two lords responsible for the capital’s safety to go and see her.”
Yin Shuo nodded, “She’s very smart. Knowing that it would be inappropriate for Gu HuaiJiang to handle this matter, she took it upon herself to handle it. Unfortunately, it seems that Gu HuaiJiang doesn’t seem to know what is appropriate for him to handle and what is inappropriate for him to handle.”
As he said that last sentence, he smile contemptuously, “This time, he was lucky. Yu Fu might have been able to save him this time, but if he dares to interfere with something that he should not interfere with again, he won’t be so lucky the next time…”
Following the return of the Gu family’s army to the capital, Ji DaoGong’s messenger also returned to his manor to report. Ji DaoGong immediately got up and got changed, personally visiting Marquis Gu’s Manor to discuss countermeasures with Gu HuaiJiang.
At the same time, the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety also arrived.
Qi An personally led Ji DaoGong to Gu HuaiJiang’s main hall for a detailed discussion. Qi Zhou led the other two lords to the front waiting room where Yu Fu was waiting for them with a cup of tea.
She held the cup but did not drink. She just repeatedly lifted the lid before putting it back down, making a clear sound when the lid and cup came into contact.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a person in blue court robes and a person in a brown military uniform come in. Qi Zhou bowed and then retreated, while Yu Fu did not look directly at the two.
The two exchanged a look then hastily kneeled to report: “This official is the governor of Lin’An, XiMen Chuang. This official is the general of public safety, Mo HuangSha. Greetings, Princess ZhenJiang!”
Yu Fu had a bit of an impression of the governor of Lin’An. When she had saved Lu Xiu, Lu Xiu said that he was a decent person. He clearly knew that they were prostitutes but was still willing to open a case. If it was any other lord, they would have been chased out.
Yu Fu continued to play with the lid. She did this without any sense of rhythm, doing it quickly ten times then slowly ten times. This made the two people below feel very uneasy.
Immediately following this, she quickly smashed the teacup in front of the two. The hot tea splashed onto the two, “Do you two know what you are guilty of?!”
Do You Know What You Are Guilty of? (Part Three)
Two days later at the crack of dawn, the group of five hundred soldiers appeared outside the capital.
“Open the city gates!”
A loud shout came from the bottom of the city gates, and the city’s gates were immediately opened. The soldier guarding the gate saw the banner of the Gu family’s army and started tearing up.
“Lord Marquis Gu, you’ve finally come back!”
“That’s right, Marquis Gu has come back. The capital will finally be safe!”
The relieved voices of the city guards came from outside the carriage. With their lanterns illuminating the darkness, the people near the gates were faintly able to see the Gu family’s army’s banner and rushed out of the city.
“Lord Marquis has finally come back. With Lord Marquis here, we’ll see if those bandits dare to carry on with their evil deeds!”
Gu HuaiJiang heard this and noticed that something was off, lifting the curtain, “What happened?”
The soldier guarding the gate immediately reported: “Reporting to Lord Marquis, after His Majesty passed away, the court has not decided on a new ruler and has instead split into two factions. One faction insists that the country cannot survive a day without a ruler and that the eldest prince should handle matters as the ruler. The other faction insisted that they wait until Lord Marquis returned to decide on the matter of the new ruler. One faction of the ministers wants the cabinet to lead court matters, while the other wants the prime minister to lead court matters. The entire situation is a mess.”
“The capital, which was previously very safe, has started seeing an increase in robberies. The military officials and citizens were hoping that Lord Marquis would quickly return, and our hopes have finally come true!”
“Preposterous!”
The usually calm Gu HuaiJiang suddenly became furious, saying: “No matter what sort of mess there might be in court, keeping the citizens safe is the top priority! What do they mean the country cannot survive a day without a ruler? It’s obvious that a country cannot survive a day without its citizens. The safety of the people is provided for by the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety. What has happened to those two?”
The soldiers guarding the city gates hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, they saw a girl in beautiful clothes step out of a carriage in the back.
Yu Fu stepped out of the carriage and walked over to Gu HuaiJiang’s side. The other people who had come out were a little shocked to see her beautiful clothes.
For the sake of convenience, she had dressed very simply at the border and on their trip. Who knew when she had the time to change into such beautiful clothes.
The city guards immediately kneeled to pay their respects, “This guard greets Princess ZhenJiang.”
The other onlookers were stunned and also dropped to their knees. With just one look from Yu Fu, the soldiers from the Gu family’s army stepped forward to help them up.
She looked into the carriage at Gu HuaiJiang. With brows furrowed, she gave him a look, and the latter immediately understood why Yu Fu had come over.
It was because the one to pursue the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety for their mistakes should not be him.
Yu Fu understood very well that different people had different roles, “General, please come. This princess, as a member of the imperial family, orders you to immediately have the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety come to Marquis Gu’s Manor to see me! If they still haven’t come to see me by the time the sun is up, their time in their positions will have come to an end.”
The citizens nearby heard this and cheered. Yu Fu turned to Gu HuaiJiang and nodded before returning to her carriage.
The group then headed toward Marquis Gu’s Manor. Along the way, the citizens of Lin’An would hear their movements and light up their lanterns to look toward them.
“Look, Lord Marquis Gu has come back! Lord Marquis Gu has finally come back!”
Inside the carriage, Kun YuYang asked Yu Fu in confusion, “Lord Marquis was about to ask them about the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety. Why did you stop him and ask about them in his stead?”
Kun YuYang was also a princess in Western Kun, but she very rarely participated in Western Kun’s court affairs. At best, she could guess what the members of the imperial harem were thinking.
Yu Fu let out a sigh, “As a general, the head general is responsible for military affairs. Things like court officials not carrying out their duties should not be handled by him; otherwise, there would surely be people in court who would talk about him increasing his power. In the past, head general would be very careful and would not dare interfere with this sort of thing, but this time, the citizens were the ones suffering. This is a line that he cannot accept being crossed.”
A thought seemed to cross Kun YuYang’s mind, “So that’s why I noticed Lord Marquis’s tone sounding so annoyed.”
Yu Fu said: “The citizens don’t understand this. They only know that he is highly respected, and they are asking him for help. He understands the logic behind this, thus he does not dare speak up. I am the only one in Marquis Gu’s Manor who can speak up for head general. No matter what the situation in court is, calming down the citizens is the most important thing to take care of.”
Kun YuYang was awestruck, “Lord Marquis Gu is fully dedicated to the people, his country, and ruler. For you to be able to understand his intentions, is that not a great show of loyalty?”
Yu Fu reluctantly smiled, “I, like you, am not someone from Eastern Ling. You were married to uncle Ning, while I was adopted by the head general. From that point onward, I have been connected to Eastern Ling. To speak of loyalty, it would be more apt to say that we are doing our best for the people we love. Wouldn’t you say that is the case?”
Kun YuYang did not say anything. It was only after she heard the carriage come to a stop that she finally said: “Yu Fu, I think…”
“Don’t even think about it.”
Yu Fu knew what she was about to say. Yao Lan stepped out of the carriage and extended her hand. While reaching out for Yao Lan’s hand, she said to Kun YuYang: “Right now, Marquis Gu’s Manor is the safest place to be. I know that you are worried about uncle Ning, and I will have someone deliver a message to him. If you go back to his manor now, it would only hurt him. Do you understand?”
Kun YuYang was startled but had no choice but to admit that though Yu Fu was younger than her, she was more thorough in her considerations. She had no choice but to obediently follow Yu Fu out of the carriage.
In front of Marquis Gu’s Manor’s gate, Gu WenQing stood with Gu Xiang and Gu Yi. Seeing their father and brothers return, it was as if they had been through many changes.
“Father, His Majesty…”
Gu WenQing’s eyes were slightly red, and Gu HuaiJiang patted him on the shoulder, “We already know. Let’s speak inside.”
He stayed at Gu HuaiJiang’s side. Yu Fu had never seen her fourth brother so miserable, “If only I had gone to the autumn hunt, His Majesty might not have ended up like this. I just had to be busy with managing the manor’s affairs at that time. Not only did I not go, but son even stopped fifth brother and sixth brother from going.”
Gu HuaiJiang silently sighed, “You did the right thing. With no adults at the manor, it would not be safe for you to go out. That you could protect your fifth brother and sixth brother, father feel very gratified.”
Gu WenQing looked at Yu Fu. He had protected Gu Xiang and Gu Yi but had not protected Yu Fu.
Yu Fu deliberately acted relaxed and walked over to his side, smiling and saying: “Thank you, fourth brother, for letting me go at that time. Did you know? If not for me arriving at the border when I did, the army would have seen tens of thousands of troops die. You indirectly saved the lives of tens of thousands of the Gu family’s army’s troops, and look at me. Aren’t I perfectly fine?”
Exhausted from the long journey, Gu HuaiJiang ordered everyone to go back and rest. When the sun came up and court opened, he would go to work in court.
It was just that some people could not wait until the sun came up.
“This quick? Marquis Gu has already entered the city?”
The prime minister’s manor quickly received the news. Yin Shuo’s scouts had been keeping an eye on the city gates. Upon seeing the Gu family’s army, they quickly rushed back to report.
Yin Shuo sat behind his desk in the study with a thought in mind, “What was the bearing of the Gu family’s army? Did you see Kun YuYang among them? Was there anything off about them?”
The subordinate said with difficulty: “The members of the Gu family’s army had cold expressions that betrayed neither joy nor sadness. This subordinate truly could not see if there was anything off. There was also no sight of that princess from Western Kun. Right, Princess ZhenJiang did call the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety to Marquis Gu’s Manor!”
“Why?”
“Immediately after entering the city, citizens that heard the commotion rushed out. Upon finding out about the robberies and chaos in the city, Marquis Gu was infuriated, but in the end, Princess ZhenJiang came out and called for the two lords responsible for the capital’s safety to go and see her.”
Yin Shuo nodded, “She’s very smart. Knowing that it would be inappropriate for Gu HuaiJiang to handle this matter, she took it upon herself to handle it. Unfortunately, it seems that Gu HuaiJiang doesn’t seem to know what is appropriate for him to handle and what is inappropriate for him to handle.”
As he said that last sentence, he smile contemptuously, “This time, he was lucky. Yu Fu might have been able to save him this time, but if he dares to interfere with something that he should not interfere with again, he won’t be so lucky the next time…”
Following the return of the Gu family’s army to the capital, Ji DaoGong’s messenger also returned to his manor to report. Ji DaoGong immediately got up and got changed, personally visiting Marquis Gu’s Manor to discuss countermeasures with Gu HuaiJiang.
At the same time, the governor of Lin’An and the general of public safety also arrived.
Qi An personally led Ji DaoGong to Gu HuaiJiang’s main hall for a detailed discussion. Qi Zhou led the other two lords to the front waiting room where Yu Fu was waiting for them with a cup of tea.
She held the cup but did not drink. She just repeatedly lifted the lid before putting it back down, making a clear sound when the lid and cup came into contact.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a person in blue court robes and a person in a brown military uniform come in. Qi Zhou bowed and then retreated, while Yu Fu did not look directly at the two.
The two exchanged a look then hastily kneeled to report: “This official is the governor of Lin’An, XiMen Chuang. This official is the general of public safety, Mo HuangSha. Greetings, Princess ZhenJiang!”
Yu Fu had a bit of an impression of the governor of Lin’An. When she had saved Lu Xiu, Lu Xiu said that he was a decent person. He clearly knew that they were prostitutes but was still willing to open a case. If it was any other lord, they would have been chased out.
Yu Fu continued to play with the lid. She did this without any sense of rhythm, doing it quickly ten times then slowly ten times. This made the two people below feel very uneasy.
Immediately following this, she quickly smashed the teacup in front of the two. The hot tea splashed onto the two, “Do you two know what you are guilty of?!”
