The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1220 - 1220 Fathers Love is Like a Mountain (Second Update)

Chapter 1220: Father’s Love is Like a Mountain (Second Update) Chapter 1220: Father’s Love is Like a Mountain (Second Update) The Dowager Empress sat inside the carriage and witnessed the hunt with her own eyes.

Yes, it was a hunt.

She knew just how formidable the Dragon Shadow Guards were. The Dragon Shadow Guards brought by General Nangong were, strictly speaking, even more powerful than those from Zhan Country; however, in the face of Marquis Xuanping’s phantom-faced army, these Dragon Shadow Guards could not find the opportunity to exhibit their martial skills. They became prey in the forest, subjected to a complete annihilation by the phantom-faced army!

It was a tactical advantage, as well as an overwhelming presence.

Marquis Xuanping seemed to naturally carry an aura. When he stood somewhere, doing nothing, he perfectly captured the demeanor of being the unrivaled number one!

Of course, bluffing would not do. He needed solid military strength and power.

And indeed, Marquis Xuanping had achieved it all.

There was a time when the Dowager Empress thought the most tactically adept general in Zhan Country was Old Marquis Gu Chao. Now, after seeing how Marquis Xuanping dealt with Yan Country’s Dragon Shadow Guards, she realized that his understanding and control over the battlefield and tactics had reached an unparalleled level.

If such a man were born into a great clan like the Nangong Family, who knows what achievements he might have attained.

The hunt ended in no time, leaving but a few captives alive.

“Take the prisoners back for questioning, as for the rest, deal with what needs to be dealt with, bury what needs to be buried.”

To ‘deal with’ meant to confiscate the enemies’ weapons and possessions. In this, Marquis Xuanping and Gu Jiao were in complete agreement, never to waste any resources of war.

Properly handling the corpses was mainly to prevent the outbreak of plague.

General Nangong, realizing the situation was irretrievable and having lost an arm himself, chose not to confront the young leader of the Dark Night Clan. He threw a black gunpowder bomb and fled!

Chang Jing coldly chased after him with a sword in hand!

Marquis Xuanping wasn’t worried about Chang Jing’s safety. In Capital City, aside from those few old men and Long Yi, basically no one could harm Chang Jing, let alone Nangong Li with an arm missing.

Marquis Xuanping came before the Dowager Empress’s carriage, dismounted, and with closed carriage curtains, he bowed and said, “This subject has arrived late to rescue, frightened Your Highness.”

Marquis Xuanping wasn’t sincerely greeting her. The Dowager Empress glanced at Xiao Hen beside her and said, “Go. Let your father send you back. Tonight, I shall return to the palace.”

Xiao Hen: You clearly had an appointment to play leaf card game with Aunt Liu.

“Just go,” said the Dowager Empress.

Xiao Hen reluctantly dismounted the carriage.

Marquis Xuanping picked out a gentle horse for him, “We left in a hurry, without preparing a carriage. Here, you can ride this.”

Xiao Hen approached the horse emotionlessly, grabbed the saddle, and was just about to step onto the stirrup.

Marquis Xuanping suddenly reached out, intending to lift him onto the horse as he did when he was a child, but Xiao Hen turned his face away flatly: “I am not a little kid anymore! I can ride the horse!”

Marquis Xuanping withdrew his hand, annoyed.

Xiao Hen indeed stepped on the stirrup and with a swift turn, he was seated on the horse.

Marquis Xuanping was astonished: “You really have grown up.”

Marquis Xuanping also mounted his horse, which was much wilder than Xiao Hen’s Mama. As soon as it got close to Xiao Hen’s horse, it began to menace and bully it!

Xiao Hen’s Mama was scared out of its wits!

Marquis Xuanping impatiently pulled the reins, threatening, “Keep showing off and when we get back, I’ll stew you!”

Then his horse calmed down.

Perhaps to please its unscrupulous, undiscerning, and unappreciative master, it even went as far as to nuzzle its head against Xiao Hen’s horse in a boot-licking manner.

Xiao Hen’s horse was even more terrified.

Marquis Xuanping: “…”

Marquis Xuanping’s horse: “…”

At this time, the Dowager Empress’s Grand Tutor was caught by Marquis Xuanping’s men. That vile man had done much harm, and according to Marquis Xuanping’s temperament, he wasn’t one to go through the Yamen’s procedures—now was the time to get rid of him.

Xiao Hen spoke up: “I promised the Prince of An that I would spare his grandfather’s life.”

Although Marquis Xuanping really wanted to crush that old scourge, since his son had spoken, sparing his life was acceptable. After all, keeping him alive was torture enough; let him live a life worse than death.

Xiao Hen had spoken first, and although it was about business, Marquis Xuanping was quite pleased, he smiled and said, “Son, how did you think to send me a letter? Did you feel that your dad is the most reliable?”

Xiao Hen glanced at him sidelong: “I just don’t want Jiaojiao to go to war again.”

If the Gu Family’s army was mobilized, Gu Jiao would surely accompany them.

Marquis Xuanping, sitting on the horse, leaned to the side and moved closer to his son, “The Gu Family’s army is not as strong as my phantom-faced army. They would suffer heavy casualties against the Dragon Shadow Guard; my phantom-faced army won’t.”

The phantom-faced army was elite combatants, few in number, but extremely powerful in battle—perfect for dealing with Yan Country’s warriors.

Xiao Hen said gravely, “The scale of the Gu Family’s army is large, and their combat power is not weak.”

Marquis Xuanping with an I’m-not-listening face: “Regardless, you came to me, so in your heart, I am the strongest!”

Being so grown-up and still comparing like this, Xiao Hen simply didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

Xiao Hen wished the horse would move faster, but since he had no riding crop, he hesitated before speaking lightly, “Can you make it go faster?”

The Marquis of Xuanping petulantly replied, “I cannot.”

He just wanted to spend a little more time with his son!

Xiao Hen took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the reins, and said, “There is a shortcut nearby. Let’s go that way!”

The corner of Marquis of Xuanping’s mouth twitched.

Damn!

He had forgotten about that!

Leading the way, Xiao Hen turned off the Official Road at an intersection, where a village lay. Crossing a small stream after passing through it could save half the distance.

However, it was only when Xiao Hen reached the stream’s edge that he found… the water had risen!

His face immediately darkened, was he really that unlucky?

This was due to the melting snow at the mountain peak, where the runoff gathered into the stream, turning what was once a shallow stream into waters that went up to the thigh at its shallowest, and possibly deeper in other areas.

Most importantly, the stream flowed quite swiftly.

Xiao Hen’s horse would not move an inch further.

The Marquis of Xuanping’s steed seemed eager to try, but with the depth of the water unknown, riding across was not very safe.

It was quite embarrassing to lead the way only to bring them here; to say he wasn’t awkward would be a lie.

Xiao Hen bit his lip and still decided to turn back, even if it meant losing face.

But before he could speak out, Marquis of Xuanping made a squeak, dismounted, and said to Xiao Hen, “Get down, let’s walk across.”

Xiao Hen was a grown man now. He could barely say let’s turn back, but to admit to his father that he couldn’t make it across was something he found hard to say.

Taking a deep breath, he dismounted and, with determination, took bold steps towards the rushing stream.

Yet as his foot touched the water’s surface, a pair of strong hands grabbed him and hoisted him onto someone’s back.

Xiao Hen’s world spun for a moment, and by the time he recovered, the Marquis of Xuanping was already carrying him, hands bracing his legs, unwaveringly wading through the icy stream.

On the battlefield, faced with all manner of treacherous terrain, such a stream could be crossed by the Marquis of Xuanping with his eyes closed, and stumbling or getting hurt did not matter.

But now, with his son on his back, he became extra cautious, daring not to step forward recklessly.

He had to test every step to choose the most suitable footing.

When someone’s presence began to weigh on your heart, his life simultaneously becomes your burden.

For a stream less than six zhang wide, the Marquis of Xuanping took quite a while to cross, not letting Xiao Hen feel a single stumble.

Once on the other side, the Marquis of Xuanping was entirely soaked from the waist down.

Only Xiao Hen’s shoes were slightly wet.

The Marquis of Xuanping had no intention of putting him down and continued to carry him forward.

Xiao Hen, laying on his back, said firmly, “Let me down, I can walk on my own.”

The Marquis of Xuanping walked steadily, briskly, his wet military boots squeaking on the ground: “This stretch is Mountain Road; it’s not easy to walk on.”

Behind them, unbeknownst to Xiao Hen, the blood in the stream was being washed away by the waves.

As the Marquis of Xuanping carried Xiao Hen up and down the mountains, droplets of water trailed behind them.

At first, Xiao Hen truly believed they were all just droplets of water, but gradually, as the droplets decreased, a more pungent smell of blood began to spread from the body of the Marquis of Xuanping.

Xiao Hen furrowed his brows and turned to look at the ground.

Under the meager moonlight was a trail of bloodied footprints.

“Are you wounded?” Xiao Hen asked in surprise.

The Marquis of Xuanping hadn’t engaged in combat with the Yan Country men just now, so it shouldn’t be a fresh injury from that.

The Marquis of Xuanping nonchalantly hummed a response, “A minor injury.”

There were no injuries in battle, and over the years, he had suffered countless wounds, the most severe being a waist injury many years prior, one that had been aggravated three times, leaving a persistent issue.

This time, during the final battle, his old waist wound flared up again, and he unintentionally received two slashes, one on the back and another on the thigh.

When he received Xiao Hen’s letter, he was in the Military Camp having his stitches done.

Suddenly, Xiao Hen became angry, “If you’re hurt, why didn’t you say anything? You’re still riding a horse! Crossing water! Walking! Carrying someone and adding weight!”

The Marquis of Xuanping abruptly stopped, turned his head slightly, “Ahen, are you worried about me?”

Xiao Hen, choked up, turned his face away: “I am not.”