The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1062 - 1062 515 Jiaojiao (Two Updates)_3

Chapter 1062: 515 Jiaojiao (Two Updates)_3 Chapter 1062: 515 Jiaojiao (Two Updates)_3 “Master, please save us—they’re going to seize us and take us before the magistrate!”

The leading woman’s cry of “Master” utterly ripped away the false monk’s fig leaf of shame.

“Don’t listen to her nonsense! I don’t know them! I have no idea what tricks these imperial people have up their sleeves, to find a group of women to frame and slander a poor monk! Amitabha, this is a sin, a great sin!”

“Father—”

Behind the group of women, a child’s tender voice, tinged with tears, rang out.

There wasn’t just one, a rough count revealed at least seven or eight.

If it could be said that these women might have been impersonators hired by Gu Changqing, these children, each bearing a resemblance to the “living Buddha,” surely weren’t just stand-ins.

There are many people in the world who look alike, but these few had a distinct borderland accent; with only so many children in the borderlands, seven or eight resembling the living Buddha—who would believe they weren’t his own?

The fake monk truly hadn’t expected the Gu Family’s forces to be so ruthless, not only unearthing him from the secret room but also finding his family in the cellar.

Now, he was irredeemably compromised.

With both human and material evidence present, Gu Changqing left the military advisor, Shao, in charge of miscellaneous affairs in Lingguan City, and dispatched General Zhang along with ten thousand Gu Family troops to guard Lingguan City.

Afterward, Gu Changqing hurried back to Yuegu City with the rest of his troops.

Indeed, the Chen Kingdom’s army was advancing on Yuegu City for a night raid; however, they encountered an avalanche on the way, delaying them by a full two hours from their planned arrival.

At that moment, Gu Changqing had already led his troops back to Yuegu City, and upon seeing the unfavorable situation, the Chen Kingdom’s army decisively retreated.

Having already undertaken two forced marches over long distances, for the Chen Kingdom’s army to turn around and attack Lingguan City would be akin to hurling eggs against a rock.

Gu Changqing was not concerned about the situation in Lingguan City; he led his troops into Yuegu City.

The first thing he did was to visit the infirmary to look for Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao had told him before that if things went smoothly, she would meet him at the Governor’s Mansion, but he had not seen her there, meaning she must have implemented the second plan—bringing the patients back to Yuegu City.

He arrived at the infirmary and immediately spotted Doctor Song, dressed in a leather-paper isolation suit, with a mask and gloves.

Doctor Song would not be wrapped up so tightly ordinarily, suggesting that Gu Jiao and the plague patients had returned.

It was good that they had returned.

He let out a silent sigh of relief.

However, before he could fully relax, he saw Doctor Song walking toward him with a puzzled expression, “General Gu, didn’t Doctor Gu come back with you?”

Gu Changqing was slightly stunned, “Isn’t she back with those patients?”

Doctor Song shook his head, “She hasn’t returned!”

Both men realized something was amiss at once.

Gu Changqing’s expression changed, and he summoned six Dragon Shadow Guards. Upon learning that Gu Jiao had gone alone to confront the Chen Kingdom’s experts, his heart sank.

“That’s not right,” he pondered aloud, “They wouldn’t send their best experts just to pursue a few plague patients. Unless they weren’t their best, Jiaojiao would have been able to return. Unless—”

Gu Changqing suddenly thought of the death warrior by the bridegroom’s side, one who could defeat three Dragon Shadow Guards, and a chill shot down his spine!

“General, everything is ready, shall we launch the attack on the north the day after tomorrow—”

The Left Commander, responsible for garrisoning Yuegu City and holding several bamboo military orders, approached Gu Changqing, but stopped midsentence as he watched Gu Changqing, as if not hearing him, dash toward the stables, lead out his horse, and mount it without a word.

The Left Commander gave chase, only to be splashed with a noseful of snow.

Wiping it away hastily, he watched as Gu Changqing disappeared into the distance and shouted, “General! Where are you going at this late hour? General! General—”

…

The cold wind howled, and the large snowflakes fluttered about.

Gu Jiao had frozen into a small ice statue amidst the snowy field.

She lay there, her body and that of a sky wolf frozen together, gradually losing warmth and breath.

People nearing death often recall many things, but Gu Jiao couldn’t think of anything; her head had turned numb from the cold.

Time elapsed, and her last shred of consciousness also froze in the snowfield.

She closed her eyes.

Gu Changqing’s beloved horse galloped through the night. When he had first come to the mansion, the horse had been but a small foal. After years together, they had developed an indescribable understanding.

The horse, sensing its master’s urgency, nearly ran itself ragged through the snowfield.

Gu Changqing went to the forest where the camp had been stationed and found the body of the former dynasty’s expert buried under the heavy snow.

With his bare hands, he dug through the ice and snow, turning over each body.