The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1026 - 1026 490 Night Raid (first watch)

Chapter 1026: 490 Night Raid (first watch) Chapter 1026: 490 Night Raid (first watch) Gu Jiao finished speaking and left the room, ignoring Tang Yueshan.

With Tang Yueshan’s brains, he’d definitely be fooled.

Not that I’m saying Tang Yueshan is stupid…

Well, alright, he is a bit stupid.

Can such a foolish person lead troops into battle? The answer is yes.

As the saying goes, there are specialists in every field; a person’s talents manifest in different areas. Some are good at literature, some at martial arts, and some at strategic thinking. Tang Yueshan is invincible on the battlefield because, first, he has a deep understanding of military strategy, second, because he is brave and skilled in combat, and third, because the Tang Family’s archers lend a great deal of support.

Tang Yueshan relies mainly on courage in battle, with military strategies and tactics coming second.

Gu Jiao went to the main room to check on how the chicken soup was stewing. Gu Chengfeng sat on a small stool in front of the stove, warming himself by the fire and looking at Gu Jiao.

The volume of the conversation between the two in the room wasn’t low, causing Gu Chengfeng to overhear. He quietly asked Gu Jiao, “Did you really poison that guy?”

Gu Jiao lifted the lid of the pot and shook her little head, “No.”

Poisons are so expensive; how could she bear to use them?

The red line, she drew it.

The mark, she pinched it.

The hair, she plucked it!

Gu Chengfeng: “…”

After Gu Jiao left, Tang Yueshan fell into deep thought.

He did suspect that Gu Jiao was just trying to scare him, but she seemed too natural, showing no sign of guilt.

Ordinary people don’t carry poison on them, but Gu Jiao is a doctor. This, Tang Yueshan had heard about back in Capital City, not to mention he had just witnessed Gu Jiao changing the medicine for the old marquis himself.

His own wounds were probably also treated by Gu Jiao.

Medicine and poison are closely related, so it wouldn’t be strange for a doctor to have poisons.

As the thought crossed his mind, Tang Yueshan suddenly didn’t dare to make any rash moves.

Food was set out in the main room.

During the meal, Tang Yueshan saw Gu Chengfeng.

Gu Chengfeng wasn’t wearing a mask, not because he didn’t want to, but because there was no need. His head and face were all covered in bandages, leaving only his eyes and mouth visible.

Just by looking at Gu Chengfeng’s figure, Tang Yueshan guessed he was the other assassin from that night.

Strictly speaking, Gu Chengfeng wasn’t an assassin. He was looking for Gu Jiao. By the time he arrived at the Marshal Residence, Gu Jiao had already clashed with the people there.

He was simply helping Gu Jiao escape from the Marshal Residence, but even just that brief encounter left his figure and silhouette deeply etched in Tang Yueshan’s memory.

Tang Yueshan looked at Gu Jiao, gnawing on a Chicken Leg, and then at Gu Chengfeng, who could only drink soup, his expression darkening. He said, “She’s the Gu Family’s young miss; then what are you to the Gu Family?”

First, the two had participated in a vendetta against Tang Ming, then rescued the old marquis together. Tang Yueshan didn’t believe they weren’t related in some way.

Gu Chengfeng replied irritably, “Who I am is none of your business.”

Tang Yueshan stared intensely at Gu Chengfeng, “Gu Chao has four grandsons; since you’re not Gu Changqing, and not the youngest, that leaves two.”

Isn’t that stupid? Does your stupidity discriminate between people?

Being around that girl, you got fooled easily, so how come you’ve become so sharp with me?

Tang Yueshan continued, “I’ve heard that Gu Chao’s third grandson has become a monk. It seems you’re the second brother then.”

Gu Chengfeng’s mouth twitched again.

What becoming a monk? His brother just can’t grow hair!

Grinding his teeth, Gu Chengfeng mumbled, “Who’s spreading these rumors? I’ll kill them when I get back!”

Tang Yueshan said mockingly, “I only knew about the accomplishments of Gu Chao’s eldest grandson before, but it turns out each of you possesses unique skills.”

Having unique skills should be a compliment, but coming from him, it oddly carried a bit of mockery.

Tang Yueshan then said, “Your grandfather lived a life of integrity, yet the grandsons he raised are each more scheming than the last. I really don’t know if his past upright image was all an act, or if you all just turned out crooked.”

Gu Chengfeng’s expression turned cold, but since his handsome face was wrapped up, only a pair of increasingly icy eyes could be seen, “Don’t smear my family here; our matters have nothing to do with my grandfather! Speaking of uprightness, ha, I’d like to ask the Grand Marshal, you took your brother’s wife and fathered Tang Ming; where do you get the gall to criticize others?”

Tang Yueshan: “You!”

“Also, saying we’re crooked? With Tang Ming being the useless lump of mud that can’t be propped against a wall, as his real father, where do you get the confidence to call other people’s children crooked? We may be crooked, but at least we haven’t harmed innocent young ladies or forcefully taken someone else’s brother! The Empress Dowager gave you a way out, claiming Tang Ming was drugged, and you actually believed it! You think your son is so innocent! You think no one knows about your scandals! You think your son is the best in the world! Nothing of the sort!”

“You… you…” Tang Yueshan had never been verbally attacked to his face like this before, turning red with anger. Additionally, military generals rarely have nimble tongues; they’re used to action over words, so you don’t usually have the upper hand in a verbal fight.

Gu Chengfeng cursed with every word hitting the sore spot, showing no mercy to Tang Yueshan. Tang Yueshan nearly choked on his own rage.

He sprang to his feet, ready to slap Gu Chengfeng right across the face!

Gu Chengfeng slapped his chopsticks down on the table and swiftly stood up, puffed out his chest, and shouted at him, “You want to kill me? Fine! Come on then! If you’re not scared of being poisoned to death, just bring it on! Without me, you’ll never get your hands on the antidote if I die!”

Gu Chengfeng became immersed in his role in a second, ad-libbing skillfully!

The rage inside Tang Yueshan was as if quelled by an invisible hand. His fists clenched with towering fury, yet, he was humiliated into sitting back down!

In the following days, several heavy snows fell in succession, making it impossible for them to leave the area. Accordingly, the remnants of the former dynasty couldn’t find their way in for quite some time either.

They settled down temporarily in the wooden hut.

On the third day, Old Marquis began to show signs of a mild postoperative infection. The wound swelled red and he ran a high fever. Gu Jiao cleaned the wound and gave him an anti-inflammatory injection.

He woke up a few times in the midst of it, but he was groggy; once he saw Tang Yueshan, another time Gu Chengfeng, and even saw his little brother.

Wasn’t this the borderland? What were his little brother and Gu Chengfeng doing here, and why were they together with Tang Yueshan?

Old Marquis believed he must be dreaming and fell back into a heavy sleep.

On the fifth day, the sky finally cleared up.

Tang Yueshan’s injuries were mostly healed, with only a trace of mercury poison lingering in his body. Gu Chengfeng was also recovering well and finally got to remove the gauze from his body and head.

“We should not stay here any longer, it’s best to leave as soon as possible,” Tang Yueshan said to Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng while eating.

Tang Yueshan, having led troops before, naturally knew that every squad had their own routes of march. Those two squads would have been suspected by the remnants by now for not returning after so long, but they were held back by the snow-sealed mountain and couldn’t come in.

Now that the snow had stopped, they would soon be searching for them.

Gu Jiao nodded, “All right, we’ll set off immediately.”

Gu Jiao brought out the makeshift stretcher she had prepared these past few days and placed the badly injured Old Marquis on it. Tang Yueshan and Gu Chengfeng lifted the stretcher, while Gu Jiao led the horse.

Her Red-Tasseled Spear and small basket were carried on her back.

The Red-Tasseled Spear was so ugly that Gu Chengfeng couldn’t bear it and wrapped it with cloth again.

Tang Yueshan did not recognize it as the legendary Yan Country weapon brought back as spoils of war by the Marquis of Xuanping from the military camp; he only recognized it as a long spear, a few inches longer and seemingly heavier than an ordinary one.

How could a young lady wield such a domineering weapon?

Could it belong to Gu Chao?

Or it could be Gu Chengfeng’s. In any case, Tang Yueshan didn’t believe it was Gu Jiao’s own weapon.

Tang Yueshan was familiar with this area of the forest and knew how to find his way out.

The four of them, trudging through the thick snow, would intentionally leave footprints in different directions every so often to mislead any pursuers, then use their agility to return to their original path.

By nightfall, they reached a river.

“Once we cross this river, we’ll be outside Lingguan City,” Tang Yueshan said, looking at the opposite bank of the river.

Gu Chengfeng’s gaze fell on the icy river surface, “How do we get across? Walk over it?”

Tang Yueshan answered, “There are no boats here, we can only walk across.”

Using the glow reflected from the snowfield, Gu Jiao found a rock nearby. She threw the rock onto the ice, which gave off a series of dull sounds.

“We can walk,” Gu Jiao said.

Tang Yueshan, carrying the stretcher and leading the way, stepped onto the ice first before turning back to Gu Chengfeng and Gu Jiao, “The ice is very slippery, be careful.”

“Mhm,” Gu Jiao nodded, “Give me the stretcher.”

The three of them, along with the two horses, cautiously stepped onto the ice. The horses’ hooves had horseshoes, which weren’t of the best quality, but they provided some traction against slipping.

Tang Yueshan and Gu Chengfeng fell several times. Fortunately, the Old Marquis was firmly secured to the stretcher, or else he would have been jolted off by their falls.

Gu Jiao, however, balanced superbly as if walking on flat ground.

After an uncountable number of falls, the trio finally neared the opposite bank.

Gu Chengfeng, panting heavily, asked, “Where will we go once we’re on the other side?”

Tang Yueshan replied, “East leads to Yuegu City, and west leads to Ye City.”

Without a second thought, Gu Chengfeng said, “East, east! Let’s head back to Yuegu City! Ye City has been occupied by the Chen Country’s army and the former dynasty’s remnants. Let’s not go there and court death!”

Gu Jiao cast a glance at Tang Yueshan, who remained silent.

The group continued their journey.

However, just as they were about to reach shore, an arrow ripped through the air from behind them and whistled towards Gu Jiao’s back!