Tangled

As the night progressed, Gu Tingshu stood up to say goodbye. Shen Qiqi did not go to see him off, but stood up and stood in front of the window, watching his figure gradually disappear into the darkness.

After holding back the tears for a day, the dam finally burst.

She lowered her head, wanting to cry but was afraid that others would know, so she could only cover her face, and only thin choked sobs escaped from her fingers.

Just as he was feeling aggrieved, he suddenly heard a vague sigh.

She did not raise her head, and still maintained the same posture as before, until a warm palm gently covered her head.

The warmth continued to invade, but Shen Qiqi finally couldn't hold on, and threw herself into the other person's arms, crying wildly.

"Cousin, why are they coming? Why are they coming to pick me up?"

"I thought they didn't want me anymore, but I finally convinced myself that even if they didn't want me, I could still live a good life."

"But they suddenly appeared, with signs of coming, and their words were full of care. They were telling me that they loved me."

"But why haven't they come to see me, send me a letter, or give me any news for so many years."

"Why did they appear suddenly, why did they want to take me back, why."

"Cousin, I'm so sad. I've tried hard to accept the current situation. Why did they take me to a strange place and make me start all over again when they showed up?"

"Cousin, I feel uncomfortable, I feel so uncomfortable."

She was extremely aggrieved, and she complained one sentence after another. Even though her words were unclear, she still refused to stop.

There was warmth in her chest, and Gu Tingshu knew that those were her tears.

He didn't speak, he just hugged her tightly and let her vent all her grievances.

Shen Qiqi was not what he expected. She would stop crying when she was tired. By the time he found out, the person in her arms had already fainted from crying.

She cried for too long, and the area around her eyes and nose were red. The ends of her eyes seemed to be injured because they had been soaked in tears for so long.

Looking at her again, it was obvious that she had fainted, but she still sobbed from time to time.

Gu Tingshu carried her back to bed and called for a basin of cold water. He wet the handkerchief and put it on her eyes.

"Master Marquis, His Highness the Crown Prince has summoned you."

Eleven had been waiting outside the door for a long time. It wasn't until the guards came again and again to report that she came in with concern.

Through a screen, one could only vaguely see the figures inside. Eleven lowered his head and held his breath for fear of disturbing the people inside.

The person on the bed was still sobbing. Gu Tingshu didn't want to move, but he also knew that if there was no emergency, the other party would not summon him late at night.

Before leaving, Gu Tingshu took a deep look at Shen Qiqi and walked out the door with his hands behind his back.

"Take good care of the girl. Don't mention it before today. No one is allowed to enter this yard before I come back."

She was thin-skinned, and if she mentioned crying to her, she would definitely not dare to see anyone else.

"Yes, Lord Hou!"

Jinbao Yinbao knelt down and agreed. When Gu Tingshu led the people away, they looked at each other and then tiptoed into the house.

In the East Palace, Mu Chengze walked around in the study countless times before finally waiting for Gu Tingshu.

"Your Highness is anxious to summon you. Why?"

Mu Chengze waved him over and motioned for him to read the secret report that had just been presented.

"Quinrong has been making frequent small moves recently, and Southern Xinjiang is also ready to make moves."

The Quanrong are not terrible, and Southern Xinjiang is not difficult to defeat, but according to the news heard by the detective, these two tribes are probably going to join forces.

Quanrong would cross the border to plunder after the autumn harvest every year. After being beaten back a few years ago, they sued for peace and agreed not to fight for ten years. After only a few years, they planned to break the agreement.

"Does Your Majesty know?"

"Father should already know about it. He will definitely mention it tomorrow."

"There are foreign countries in the southeast and northwest who are ready to move. All the running generals are guarding the borders. Fu Tu is fighting against the pirates. Now the only one who can lead the army, Ashu, is really you." As the prince, he originally wanted to lead by example. , who fought for his people, but if he left, Kyoto would have to be handed over to others.

He wanted to stay in Kyoto to prevent anyone from risking the lives of thousands of people just to get to that position.

"If you really want to raise an army, Ashu, you..."

She obviously promised to marry him when she came back, but now it seems that his marriage has to be postponed.

"Your Highness, this is your duty."

Gu Tingshu understood his hesitation, "If I leave Beijing, remember to take good care of her."

The issue of raising troops was not a joke. They all knew how dangerous it would be, because they had already started discussing it before it was implemented.

When they went to court, it was just as they expected. When the battle report was presented, no one dared to speak out.

"The Quanrong and Southern Xinjiang are recruiting troops aggressively, and their ambitions are clearly revealed. What do you want? Is it war or peace?"

As soon as these words came out, some veterans seemed to have opinions, but they glanced around, but said nothing.

Emperor Yuan sat at the top and was well aware of their little moves. He tapped the dragon chair lightly and turned his eyes away.

"Fourth brother, do you want to fight or make peace?"

The fourth prince stood up and bowed with his hands, "Go back to my father, I would like to persuade you to make peace."

"Now that there are floods in Panzhou and the national treasury is in short supply, it is really not appropriate to use force."

"You know very well whether the national treasury is in deficit or not."

Emperor Yuan didn't look at him and pointed to the third prince, "Third prince, please tell me."

"Father, I really don't know what to do about such a big matter. My eldest brother is the prince, so he should be the one to decide."

This statement made Emperor Yuan very angry. Among all his sons, only this third child was the most timid and stupid.

Every day, he just curls up in his palace to admire the flowers and the moon. When he gets bored, he learns how to fight crickets. He doesn't look like a royal child at all.

I asked a few more casually, but all I received were attempts at peace.

Emperor Yuan raised his eyelids, glanced at the people below calmly, and sneered.

"What a persuasion."

They are a huge country, but they are still afraid of those small countries.

If it weren't for the difficult terrain, he would have flattened those places that were as big as a palm.

"Marquis Zhenbei, tell me whether you should persuade me to make peace or fight."

"Your Majesty should have already made a decision in his mind."

"I want to hear from you."

"If you don't obey, you'll be beaten to death. If you don't obey, you'll be beaten to death."

It is just seventeen words, but it is very close to Emperor Yuan's heart.

If his son had such courage, there would be no need to worry about the world not being able to grasp him.

Those who tried to persuade him to make peace were not because they didn't understand what he meant, but because they were afraid. If they were afraid of using force, they would be the ones chosen to lead the troops.

It would be best if you win this battle. If you fail to win, you will completely miss the throne.

Huh, they are all a bunch of people with high ambitions and low intentions. Fortunately, he chose his successor from the beginning. Otherwise, he would have been angry to death on the spot.

"Since the Marquis of Zhenbei said so, then in this battle, the Marquis of Zhenbei will be appointed commander."

Emperor Yuan's decree was straightforward. In order to seize the opportunity, he directly gave the tiger talisman.