Chapter 51

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The carriage moved at a slow pace, followed behind by the prefectural troops led by General Huang.

The first day was sunny, and the journey was easy. As night fell, they arrived at the courier station within the prefectural seat of Nanling Prefecture.

The Prefect of Nanling Prefecture, along with the Tongzhi and other officials, had long received the news and guessed the inside story. Now they waited at the courier station.

The two sides met and exchanged pleasantries. The Prefect dismissed his subordinates, then pleaded guilt regarding the matter of Magistrate Wang, Wang Gong. He tearfully recounted his own ill health, his failure to perceive the jackal Wang Gong, which had caused His Highness to fall into danger... He cried so urgently that snot dripped out, and he sat down on the ground.

Gu Jun was behind a screen at that moment. He had come to find Chao Yan to have dinner. Seeing this scene, he was dumbstruck. Was this old fellow really the Prefect? Why was he acting like a rogue? Was he trying to extort someone?

Chao Yan patiently listened to him finish and asked: "Did you submit a self-impeachment?"

The Prefect sobbed out an answer: he had self-impeached.

Chao Yan then said that for official errors, those who voluntarily confess are exempted from punishment. He also stated he wouldn't blame him and offered a few words of consolation.

The Prefect revealed a smile. He washed his face and invited Chao Yan to his residence as a guest.

Chao Yan declined the Prefect's banquet invitation, telling all the officials of Nanling Prefecture, great and small, to return to their respective posts and perform their duties.

Gu Jun still hadn't recovered his wits even after the Prefect had taken his people and left. Chao Yan walked up to him, waved a hand twice, and said, "What are you daydreaming about?"

Gu Jun looked at Chao Yan. After a moment, he came back to his senses. Checking that no one was around, he cautiously asked, "Husband, didn't you say you lost your memory? How could you handle the Prefect and those people? And from where did you know about things like 'self-impeachment'?"

Chao Yan lowered his eyes and smiled: "The Prefect and those people? Aren't they just an old fellow too? How could I not handle them? As for things like self-impeachment, I learned it from books. Within books are houses of gold. Wife, you must study more. Otherwise, if you ask such foolish questions another day, you'll truly become a laughingstock."

Gu Jun: "..."

You're the one about to become a laughingstock! How was that question foolish? What do you understand? You damn Crown Prince, dog king. This was a probe! A probe!

Gu Jun didn't manage to probe anything; instead, he didn't even need dinner—he was full from anger.

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They stayed one night at the courier station. The next day, they continued their journey.

General Huang was worried about safety issues. When they parted ways, he left a contingent of prefectural troops to serve as guards.

The second day was overcast, making travel exceptionally easy. At nightfall, as usual, they rested at a courier station along the official road.

Afterward, they traveled for another two days, arriving at a prefecture bordering the capital.

Unfortunately, it was raining in that prefecture.

At first, the rain wasn't heavy, and the convoy could barely continue. However, an hour later, heavy rain poured down in torrents, truly making travel impossible. The convoy could only retreat several miles and find the nearest courier station to rest and regroup for a day.

When Gu Jun heard this news, the person who had been wilting the whole journey immediately perked up.

On the first day, riding in the carriage with various books purchased at some unknown time and placed inside to pass the time, he could still manage.

By the second day, Gu Jun was uncomfortable everywhere. Inside the carriage, he changed positions multiple times, until even Chao Yan couldn't stand it anymore. He pulled him into his arms and pressed him down to sleep.

By the third day, Gu Jun was suffering even more. He even began to miss long-distance buses. He lay on the carriage window, contemplating whether to jump out of the carriage.

Midway, Chao Yan took him to try horseback riding, but he had an injury, his body couldn't remain tense for long, and after riding for a while, the inside of his thighs were rubbed raw and painful. So they had to give up and return to the carriage.

Rocking and swaying, bumping along, his brain had become a blob of mush. His whole person couldn't muster any spirit, and all his thoughts were gone.

He yearned for the capital like yearning for home, wishing they could arrive in an instant.

Although his wish didn't come true right now, being able to stop for a day still made him happy.

Everyone's faces looked rather grim, so he suppressed his high spirits and echoed with a sigh.

Chao Yan glanced over at him. He let out another sigh.

Chao Yan narrowed his eyes. Gu Jun shrank his neck back and retreated.

Chao Yan raised his hand and rubbed his head. Lowering his voice, he told him, "Alright, go down and rest."

Gu Jun had been waiting for these words. He hooked his finger around Chao Yan's sleeve, twisted around, and ran. The "Crown Prince" was currently recuperating in the Eastern Palace, so Chao Yan, returning to the capital, traveled incognito. They were currently using the official statuses of Meng Zhao and Ning Fu to stay at the courier station.

Meng Zhao's rank was higher than Ning Fu's, so the courier station arranged a decent courtyard. Right now, this courtyard was given to Chao Yan. Meng Zhao stayed where the courier station would have placed Ning Fu.

Gu Jun stayed with Chao Yan. He arrived at the main house of the courtyard. Everything inside was made very clean and tidy. He propped open the window, pulled a reclining chair beside him to the window side, and, accompanied by the sound of rain, began to catch up on sleep.

Over the past few nights, he hadn't slept well. Once on the carriage, he had even less desire to sleep.

While Gu Jun was busy catching up on sleep here, Chao Yan was over there, after dismissing everyone to go rest, coming to the west wing where they stored the items for this trip, to inventory the medicines—his medicines and Gu Jun's medicines.

When Gu Jun woke, the other party had already gone out. Some medicines had been soaked by water, and he had gone out to replenish them.

At this time, the rain was a bit lighter than before, but it was still inconvenient for travel. Ning Fu tried to dissuade Chao Yan, but the other said that after many days of travel, he felt very cooped up and using this chance to go out and clear his mind was also good. Ning Fu couldn't dissuade him, so he led a few men and followed him.

Gu Jun also wanted to go out; he was also cooped up. But on second thought, at this moment... time.

He picked up a book, sat in the pavilion, and started devouring it noisily. Reading more books could increase wisdom; perhaps he could find other ways besides Chao Yan's memory loss and his own escape. Escape—never mind the people everywhere in the courier station, with such heavy rain, where could he go?

Tea... was gone.

Gu... pot, reading while leaning. This was a travelogue, quite interesting. Just then, he heard a faint sound. Following the sound, he saw... swaying slightly.

Gu Jun stood up alertly, braved the rain to exit the pavilion,... a vague black shadow.

For the convenience of travel, the hidden attendants had also been converted to visible positions. There shouldn't be anyone observing in secret right now.

Gu Jun's heart pounded like a drum. He quickly averted his gaze, calling the attendant to return to the room, saying he wasn't feeling well.

The attendant abandoned the half-brewed tea, held up an umbrella, and rushed over. Upon hearing this, he supported him back to the room. The other attendants also swarmed over.

On the way back to the room, aside from the sound of rain hitting objects and the footsteps of him and the attendants, there was no other sound.

Gu Jun clenched his fists. Taking a left step, borrowing the motion of stepping onto the steps, he turned his head back to look.

Among the flowering shrubs, looking carefully, there wasn't a shred of foreign matter. Gu Jun stood in place, pondered for a few breaths, and then quickly led the attendants to the neighboring small courtyard.

Ning Fu had followed Chao Yan and left. Inside the small courtyard, Meng Zhao was still there. If trouble arose, finding him was the right thing to do. Should the weak not seek the strong—wait to be slaughtered? That person just now—none of the several attendants had even noticed him—was proof enough that his martial arts skill was quite good. Dressed all in black, sneaking around the courier station; if he harbored no ill intent, that would be strange!

Gu Jun soon arrived in front of the small courtyard. Before he could even enter, he heard the sounds of a fierce fight inside.

"Crash—" With a loud bang, the courtyard gate collapsed, and a person flew out. Gu Jun looked closely. This person was precisely Meng Zhao's attendant. Looking through the wide-open gate...

Meng Zhao was entangled in a deadly struggle with a man in black who was tightly wrapped from head to toe, not even revealing much of his eyes. Meng Zhao was already at a disadvantage. Several attendants lay collapsed on the ground, vomiting blood.

In just a mere instant, Gu Jun saw Meng Zhao's shoulder stabbed by the curved blade in the black-clad man's hand.

This was a type of short-handled blade. The blade was long, narrow, and curved, exceptionally sharp. Cutting through clothing and flesh was as easy as pie.

Gu Jun felt as if he had returned to the day of the disaster at the county office.

This person, as his brother would say, was a natural-born optimist. No matter what unpleasantness he experienced, he could always quickly return to a normal state and live each day happily.

Even so, he could still remember every unpleasant event. The scene from that day surfaced vividly in his mind. A wave of nausea surged up. He grabbed an attendant's arm, steadied his feet, and shouted, "Save him!"

The several attendants had been itching to act for a while. Drawing their blades, they charged forward.

Gu Jun turned around to find the leader of that prefectural troop unit and the courier station manager, seeking rescue. Before he could run a few meters, a light breeze came from behind him. An icy blade pressed against his neck, across his collar.

"Don't move," the man in black said.

No need to judge; from the other party's tall stature and the hoarse voice coming from their mouth, he knew their gender. This was a man.

Gu Jun halted in his tracks. Cold sweat covered his back. He maintained a calm facade, parted his lips, and was about to speak. The other party took him hostage and walked forward. The several attendants cursed under their breath, not daring to make any rash moves, and followed behind them.

The man in black took him hostage into the east wing room of the small courtyard. The rain soaked both of them. The man in black kicked the door shut. The pressure of the blade against his neck intensified. "You are that bastard Meng's woman? Good. Today I couldn't take his life, so I'll take the life of this meddlesome woman of yours."

Gu Jun's eyes were blurred by the rain and he couldn't open them. He grasped the other party's arm firmly and held on tight: "I am not Sir Meng's woman. I am the wife of someone traveling with the group."

The other party let out a strange, sarcastic cold laugh: "Besides that bastard Meng, who else would have such a strange woman like you?"

Strange? Referring to his short hair? Gu Jun explained: "I cut it deliberately to avoid suffering disaster again."

As soon as the words fell, Gu Jun felt a sting on his neck. The other party barked: "What disaster could cutting your hair short avoid?"

"A family of villagers wanted to keep me as their son's wife. When I refused, they dragged me back by my hair. After I escaped, I felt long hair was a hindrance. To avoid such things happening again, I cut it short."

The other party said: "Looking at your appearance, you are clearly a lady from a wealthy and influential family. How could mere villagers dare lay their crooked thoughts on you? Where were your servants? How could you be caught by mere villagers?"

The other party pressed relentlessly. Gu Jun had no time at all to think of a counter-strategy. In desperation, he mixed his modern identity and his transmigration experience with the background of the Xuan Dynasty to form his reply: "I am the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Not long ago, disaster struck my family. While fleeing, I was forced apart from my family and became stranded in a foreign land."

The other party, hearing this, showed no reaction. They neither loosened their grip nor tightened it. Gu Jun said: "I can swear an oath..."

Just then, the voices of the attendants came from outside the door.

"Impudent bandit! Release the lady immediately, or we will break down the door right now and hack you to pieces, leaving not a trace of your bones!"

Before Gu Jun could feel joy, the other party's body shifted slightly. His heart leaped in fright. He stomped fiercely on the other party's instep. Taking advantage of the other's pain and loosened grip, he wrenched the other party's arm and pulled violently to the side.

The blade left his neck. The distance was far enough. Gu Jun broke free from the other's coercion. He kicked the other party's vital part and lunged for the door.

The door wasn't locked. He lunged out, staggered a few steps, and was caught by someone. Looking back, the man in black had bent his back for just an instant, then turned and leaped out the window.

The attendant immediately called to the people by the window, "Don't let him get away!" Unexpectedly, the other party's martial arts were profound. With a few leaps, he flipped over the wall and vanished from everyone's sight.

The attendant said, "Chase him!"

A group of people circled around this wall, following the other's tracks. They chased into the woods in front of the courier station, where the trail disappeared completely. The group was fuming when they heard the sound of horse hooves not far away.

Chao Yan had returned, drenched in the rain.

The attendant reported the situation here to him. He yanked the reins and spurred his horse into the courier station. He strode quickly to the small courtyard, found Gu Jun, and urgently inquired, "Is anything wrong?"

Gu Jun sat at the table, holding a dry cloth and wiping his face. He shook his head and said, "Nothing's wrong."

Chao Yan's brow relaxed, and he said, "That's good then." Gu Jun pulled him over, saying, "Sir Meng is gravely injured. Let's go see him."

Chao Yan walked two steps, then held his forehead, his expression pained. In a low voice, he said, "Wait. Let me sit for a moment."

Gu Jun asked with concern, "What's wrong with you?"

Chao Yan sat down. After a moment, he said, "My head aches a bit. It must be because I rushed back without an umbrella and caught a chill."

Gu Jun poured him a cup of hot tea, blew on it, and handed it to him: "Take your time and recover."

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The capital city, as usual, was a rainy, overcast day.