The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1098 - 1098 529 Triumphal Return to Court (Second Update)

Chapter 1098: 529 Triumphal Return to Court (Second Update) Chapter 1098: 529 Triumphal Return to Court (Second Update) She thus comforted herself: her daughter, Gu Jiao, marrying a more outstanding man might not necessarily mean a better life than currently. As long as her daughter was happy, she had no regrets.

However, the surprise that this son-in-law brought her was truly staggering.

Not only had he topped the Youzhou region examination and entered the Guozijian, but he had also dominated the Imperial examination, becoming the youngest Zhuangyuan in the history of Zhan Country.

The only regret was his leg disability, which had now disappeared as well.

How could Mrs. Yao continue to be harsh enough to settle accounts with Xiao Hen?

As for the fact that her daughter had concealed several near-death experiences on the frontier, she felt more distressed than critical.

The young couple had no idea that their crisis of falling from favor had already quietly passed.

Gu Jiao came out from the east room and found little Jingkong sitting all alone on the threshold in the front yard. He was small, with his hair neatly cut; at first glance, he really looked like a lonely little mushroom growing in the snowfield.

Gu Jiao walked over, bent down to look at him, and said, “Jingkong, what are you doing here?”

The little Jingkong turned around, looked at Gu Jiao, and said, “I’m waiting for my master.”

With that reminder, Gu Jiao remembered that Jingkong’s master came every year to celebrate his birthday with him. Last year he had come too, but he did not meet with anyone else, leaving a birthday gift—a property deed from Liang Country—for Jingkong before leaving.

Gu Jiao sat down beside Jingkong and asked, “Didn’t your master come last night?”

“Mm,” Jingkong nodded, his mood somewhat downcast.

Gu Jiao patted his little head and said, “This year, Zhan Country has received heavy snowfall. Your master is old and might have difficulty going out, or he might have been delayed on the road.”

Because Jingkong always referred to his master with great respect, Gu Jiao had always imagined him as an old, hunched, white-bearded little old man.

In such weather, not to mention an old man, even a strong man would have difficulty traveling.

Jingkong seriously considered this and felt it could be possible; compared to him, his master was indeed much older.

So his master might really have been delayed by the heavy snow.

“Do you miss your master a lot?” Gu Jiao asked.

“Mm… a little,” Jingkong was an honest child.

Gu Jiao paused, then suggested, “Why don’t you write another letter to your master?”

Jingkong made a face of disdain, “No need, he didn’t reply to the last letter I wrote to him.”

The more he acted petulant, the more it showed how much he cared about his master. He was a child deeply sentimental by nature. His master had picked him up and brought him up until he was three. In his heart, his master was like a father, wasn’t he?

Gu Jiao said to Jingkong, “How about this, when I write back to Ningxiang, I’ll ask her to help inquire at the temple to see if your master is well and whether he has left the temple?”

“… That works,” Jingkong did not refuse.

Gu Jiao curved her lips into a smile, “What’s your master’s name?”

Jingkong replied, “Liao Chen.”

Gu Jiao nodded thoughtfully, “With such a Dharma name, he must be a high monk who has attained enlightenment.”

Jingkong reflected for a moment, then spread his hands, “I don’t know about enlightenment, but my master is indeed pretty tall.”

Gu Jiao adjusted the image in her mind once more, from a white-bearded little old man to a white-bearded tall old man.

Gu Jiao finished writing the letter that afternoon. The post stations of Zhan Country were open all year round, but during the New Year period, the mail was slow. It wouldn’t be too late even if Gu Jiao waited a few more days before taking it to the post station.

On Lunar New Year’s seventh day, news finally arrived that the Gu Family army was returning to the Capital City.

The heavens smiled favorably; after three days of heavy snow, the seventh day brought clear skies, bathing the Imperial City in a radiant glow, a sign of good fortune.

Upon hearing of the army’s return, the people had gathered early along the major avenues and at the city gates, eagerly waiting. The crowd swelled, buzzing with excitement and anticipation.

The Imperial guards had to use their bodies to hold back these impassioned citizens. Unable to push through, the people simply stretched their necks as far as they could.

The harmonious sound of hoofbeats and clanking armor approached from the distance, thunderous under the clear heavens, as if in a moment, transporting onlookers to the battlefield with its clash of iron and steel.

“It’s the Gu Family army! The Gu Family army has returned!”

A tall and robust man shouted loudly.

The crowd began to stir; already dissatisfied with being kept on the roadside, they jostled each other, trying to surge forward. The Imperial guards clenched their teeth, using all their strength to prevent the citizens from breaking through.

Although the flames of war had not spread to Capital City, the common people still received plenty of news from the borderlands through the court’s official reports. When they heard that the old Marquis and a princess of Zhan Country had fallen into the hands of the enemy, they almost believed that the tragedy from ten years ago, where Zhan Country was defeated by Chen Country and had to send the Prince of Anjun as a hostage, was about to repeat itself.

But the Gu Family army won!

Not only did they defeat the remnants of the former dynasty and the great army of Chen Country, but they also protected the princess of Zhan Country.

They recaptured the lost cities with utmost speed and annihilated the invading enemy forces with minimal casualties.

They were the military officers of Zhan Country, the heroes of Zhan Country!

Tang Yueshan’s leg injury had mostly healed, and he led at the front of the procession. Before he left for the front, he had a bit of fat on his belly, which was gone after the battle, making him look leaner, but his spirit was excellent.

He wore deep-colored armor, with a body like a tiger and waist like a bear, exuding a formidable aura.

Behind him rode Gu Changqing, clad in bright, shimmering silver armor, with a white cloak fluttering behind him, and a helmet on his head, the iron visor of which was lowered.

The common people could only see his eyes, cold as knives, and his heroic, dashing figure.

Who in Capital City didn’t know that the heir to the Marquis Residence was handsome and elegant, a figure of jade-like grace? It was only because he was too aloof when he served as a military officer that he earned the reputation of ‘Cold-faced Yama.’

Yet, it was this same ‘Cold-faced Yama’ who protected the rivers and mountains of Zhan Country.

A wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd.

“I heard that the heir to the Marquis has not yet taken a wife.”

“What, you want to marry your daughter off to him?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Your daughter is only three years old!”

“…”

“Huh? Who’s that person?”

A young man pointed to another young man in silver armor behind Gu Changqing and asked.

“When did the Gu Family army get such a young military officer?”

Logically, someone who could walk behind Gu Changqing must hold a not-so-low rank in the Gu Family army, but when the Gu Family army marched out of the city, they had seen it too, and both the commanding officers to the left and right, as well as several military advisors, were all much older than Gu Changqing.

This young man was obviously younger than Gu Changqing, with some tender greenness of youth still on his brows.

The common people guessed for a long time but couldn’t figure out who he was.

In the end, it was one of the imperial guards blocking the crowd who could not help but reveal, “That’s the second son from the Marquis Residence.”

“The second son from the Marquis Residence?”

The crowd gasped in surprise.

Wasn’t there only one son in the Marquis Residence skilled in martial arts? The other young masters, it was said, had not pursued military careers, and even the youngest, the fourth young master, was frail.

“Ah! That person looks like Gu Chengfeng!”

At this moment, a student from Qinghe Academy recognized his classmate.

As luck would have it, Gu Chenglin was standing right beside him.

Unable to wait at home for his grandfather and brothers to return, he had come early to the city gates to meet them. He knew his second brother had also gone to the border, but he didn’t think his second brother would actually fight.

He assumed his second brother went out of concern for their grandfather and wouldn’t have been much help.

“My heavens… Chenglin, that person, that person… it can’t really be your second brother, can it?” The Qinghe Academy student tugged on Gu Chenglin’s sleeve, unable to trust his own eyes.

The aura of killing and valor on the person was too shocking, entirely different from the Gu Chengfeng they remembered.

No, no, no, it couldn’t be Gu Chengfeng; surely he was seeing things, for Gu Chengfeng couldn’t possibly be this formidable.

While the classmate failed to recognize him, Gu Chenglin could not make such a mistake.

The young military officer who had the honor of walking beside his eldest brother to receive the people’s praise was indeed his second brother!

Gu Chenglin’s heart took a hit of ten thousand points of damage.

So it turned out that both his elder brother and second brother were so formidable, while he was the only good-for-nothing—