Chapter 1241 - 1077: Slap in the Face
Chapter 1241: Chapter 1077: Slap in the Face
"Oh? Sir, it seems they are looking for you!" Ming Mo seemed a bit confused as he slowed the carriage and turned to look back.
"Perhaps it’s someone from the Capital." Recalling the encounter with Prince Gong earlier, Gu Chengyu guessed.
"Indeed!" Ming Yan responded, noticing the attire, it should be a messenger from the post station.
"Finally caught up! I have a personal decree from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that must be handed to Mr. Gu in person!"
Hearing Ming Yan’s response, the person sighed heavily in relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and drove his horse up to the carriage.
"You’ve had a hard time, hand it to me!" Gu Chengyu showed his tooth card and official seal to the man, then took the letter sealed with fire lacquer.
After unfolding it and skimming through, he had countless words of complaint in his heart!
He took a deep breath, only to feel his face sting with embarrassment. Rubbing his forehead, he said helplessly, "Catch up!"
Ming Yan was a bit puzzled, catch up to whom?
"Ahem! Hurry up!" Ming Mo gave Ming Yan a disdainful look, feeling that this fellow usually seemed smart, but always felt that Ming Yan lacked a bit of common sense.
Within a day’s time, Gu Chengyu and his party were trailing at the tail end of one side’s army. Yet, this was not Prince Gong’s army, but He Chaoguang who was tracking Prince Gong.
"Send my letter up!"
Prince Gong’s army was ahead, approximately already a hundred miles ahead, it was uncertain if Prince Gong would keep his promise and release the Empress.
To rescue the Empress, they must negotiate with He Chaoguang, or else he would see them as rebels like Prince Gong.
"Is Mr. Gu Shaoqing in the carriage? Our General invites Mr. Gu over for a discussion." A young officer stepped forward and bowed to Gu Chengyu.
Gu Chengyu smiled, "Then please lead the way, young general!"
"I wouldn’t dare!"
He Chaoguang was not surprised at all to encounter Gu Chengyu here. After all, Gu Chengyu was ordered to the border, and it was natural to meet on the road.
The Crown Prince ordered him to follow Prince Gong, to look for a chance to rescue the Empress and escort Prince Gong back to the court, a very tricky situation.
But the Crown Prince bypassed him and assigned the task to Gu Chengyu, which made him a bit dissatisfied. He had two ten thousand troops, while Gu Chengyu was alone; could Gu Chengyu alone be more effective than a thousand soldiers? This was disrespectful!
However, since the Crown Prince had given the command, he had to follow orders, though in his heart he was still somewhat displeased.
Hmph! He wanted to see what solution Gu Chengyu had to rescue the Empress.
Gu Chengyu followed the young officer to the resting place of the opposing side, and saw a man in a maroon cross-collared narrow-sleeved long robe sitting under a large tree.
This person was past thirty, with a lean face, sharp features, exuding an air of fierce determination, clearly a veteran of the battlefield.
The thick short mustache on his lips added a few more degrees of solemnity, he was not a man who smiled easily.
On the day of the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince, due to the chaotic circumstances, Gu Chengyu did not have the chance to observe this person carefully. Today, upon seeing him, he felt this person’s aura matched well with the traits of a military general.
However, why did the other person look at him with contempt? Although it flashed by, Gu Chengyu still sharply noticed it.
It seemed that this person didn’t have a good impression of him, perhaps it was the old disdain military officers had towards civil servants?
"I, Junior Minister Gu Chengyu of the Ministry of Justice, greet General He!"
"Gu Shaoqing, no need for formalities! I believe you’ve received the Crown Prince’s decree, the most important task right now is to rescue the Empress and escort the rebel Zhao Xian back to the Capital, subject to His Highness’ deliberation."
He Chaoguang disliked the pompous exchanges of civil servants upon meeting, which he found extremely hypocritical, so he got straight to the point.
Gu Chengyu nodded, speaking straightforwardly. Then he might as well discuss his plans bluntly. This person was different from Prince Jing, whose words were often layered with various implications, and he didn’t want to provoke further dislike from him.
In this court, although often beyond one’s own control, it was still necessary to avoid offending people everywhere.
"His Royal Highness ordered me to safely escort the Empress back to the Capital. Prince Gong promised earlier that he would release the Empress a hundred miles from the Capital; now considering the distance, it’s almost there. I intend to go and negotiate with Prince Gong to understand his intentions before making any decision."
Gu Chengyu also found this matter tricky. If Prince Gong was not planning to release the Empress, then negotiation would be in vain.
Looking at the current situation, Prince Gong indeed needed the Empress to stay alive. After all, he had not yet reached his stronghold at the border, and there were pursuers behind; the Empress was indeed a talisman. If it were him, he would probably not release her either.
"You want to negotiate with Prince Gong?" He Chaoguang looked Gu Chengyu up and down, feeling utterly disdainful, thinking that people had exaggerated his abilities.
They said Gu Chengyu was capable and astute, but He Chaoguang thought from his words that this man was nothing special.
"Gu Shaoqing, are you aware that Prince Gong has rebelled? With the Empress holding back the Crown Prince, he can still drag on for a few more days. Do you think he would easily release the Empress? I must say, you’re too young, and your thinking somewhat naïve!"
He Chaoguang had spent long years in the military camp and rarely returned to the Capital, so information there was relatively a bit more closed-off.
He had only heard some rumors about Gu Chengyu and bore no deep understanding. Plus, due to dissatisfaction with civil servants who merely talked and schemed all day, he was not optimistic about Gu Chengyu handling this matter.
"How would I know without trying?" Gu Chengyu smiled slightly, his confident demeanor making He Chaoguang even more discontented.
Actually, He Chaoguang didn’t realize that Gu Chengyu intended to take action if negotiation failed.
Even though Prince Gong was surrounded by many experts, with his skills, he had high confidence in successfully taking the Empress away safely.
...
"Prince, He Chaoguang is still tailing us, impossible to shake him off! What about the Empress?" Lu Chen was somewhat worried, believing that holding onto the Empress was greatly advantageous to them.
Therefore, he came to persuade Prince Gong. He was afraid that Prince Gong would keep his promise and really release the Empress.
"Rest assured! We are now far enough from the Capital, even if he wanted to call for reinforcements, there’s no time for it. With just those twenty thousand elite soldiers, to think of capturing me is wishful thinking. They’ve followed us all the way, we should at least let them have an account to report back."
Prince Gong glanced at the surrounding terrain, focusing on the mountain peaks encircling them on three sides, then sneered. He did not place any concern on the matter of the Empress, as she was not his reliance at that moment. Right now, the Empress was dispensable to him.
In the palace, he could break out of the encirclement; kidnapping the Empress naturally had another plan.
"He Chaoguang is somewhat capable, make sure you plan carefully. Dealing with this person, be cautious."
Without kidnapping the Empress, how would He Chaoguang receive orders to follow him? Such a good opportunity should not be wasted.