Chapter 1265 - 1101: Yin Kun Imprisoned
Chapter 1265: Chapter 1101: Yin Kun Imprisoned
"Our General—our General was attacked and still hasn’t woken up!" The young officer finally managed to struggle to his feet, and when he heard this and also heard how Gu Chengyu introduced himself, he realized this man was no small figure.
"Hasn’t woken up? What happened?" The brows hidden beneath Gu Chengyu’s cloak drew together slightly. Wasn’t General Huaiyuan supposed to be highly skilled in martial arts? Just one night raid and he’s injured?
"May I ask who you are?" The young officer knew this person’s background was anything but ordinary, so he didn’t dare offend him too much. And from that move just now, the other’s martial arts were far above his own.
Most men of martial background were straightforward types, and they held even more respect for those stronger than themselves.
"I am Gu Chengyu, an Imperial Censor sent by the court. Who is in charge here at Yuhe Pass right now?" Gu Chengyu gave the young officer a once‑over and saw he was a youth just past twenty, with thick brows, large eyes, and an air of uprightness all over him.
A soldier helped the young officer stand up. "So it is Mr. Gu. This humble one is Yang Xiaoguang, Commander of Yuhe Pass, paying respects to Mr. Gu!"
"No need for ceremony. Ming Mo, take the court documents and my credentials over for Commander Yang to have a look." Gu Chengyu stepped over the soldiers still writhing and wailing on the ground, and led his horse over.
"My lord, did some misunderstanding occur between you and them? Why did it come to blows?" Yang Xiaoguang took the credentials and documents, looked them over carefully, and seeing nothing amiss, asked about what had happened, perplexed.
He glanced at the men still sprawled on the ground unable to get up and felt more than a little stifled. Mr. Gu’s hands were really heavy; these soldiers only had bodies a bit stronger than common folk, they basically had no martial arts to speak of.
For Mr. Gu to strike so hard, it was clear he wasn’t some soft‑hearted type.
"Lord Yang, you don’t know. These men said General Huaiyuan had ordered that no one was allowed into the city. My lord rushed over as soon as he heard Yuhe Pass had been raided at night. To make better time, he didn’t even bring the formal gifts; wasn’t it all for the sake of the border’s safety? Who knew that the moment we got here, we’d be stopped by these men. Not only did they speak rudely to my lord, they even called him a spy from Da Xing. That’s simply outrageous!"
Ming Mo was not someone who didn’t know his place, but he truly couldn’t swallow this. He had seen with his own eyes how hard his lord had it all these years—from working hard at his books as a child to earn Silver to support a large family, to treading as if on thin ice after entering officialdom.
Everyone said his lord was naturally gifted in his studies, but who had seen his lord getting up before dawn every day to read and practice his calligraphy? And at night he studied late into the night, so self‑disciplined it was almost frightening.
After earning his degree, he had to be on guard at all times against the schemes of Princes and Ministers, practically working himself like a dog.
Yes, his lord calculated every day, but that was because if he didn’t calculate, he would be living inside other people’s schemes. Ming Mo had followed him for many years and truly felt sorry for him; his lord’s life was simply too exhausting.
Yet these bastards still came to insult his lord—how could he possibly endure that?
Feeling the hostility radiating from Ming Mo, and having heard how it all went down, Yang Xiaoguang felt somewhat embarrassed to speak.
"Ahem! You blind fools, this is an Imperial Censor sent by the court. How could the likes of you slander him? Hurry up and get up and apologize to Mr. Gu! What a disgrace."
Yang Xiaoguang’s chest still hurt; these idiots did nothing but cause him trouble.
Gu Chengyu let out a cold snort. "Hmph! Commander Yang, that’s quite a little abacus you’re playing. You think a few words of apology will settle it? I am an official of the court—if I’m insulted like this, where does that leave the court’s authority?"
At that, Yang Xiaoguang’s face immediately fell into a bitter grimace. "Mr. Gu, you also know these men are rough fellows; they only know how to follow orders. This order was given by General Mingwei, Qi Huan Yu. We can only obey; I must ask Mr. Gu to be magnanimous."
"So by your reasoning, if they offend me, I should just let it slide easily, or else I’m not being magnanimous?" It wasn’t that Gu Chengyu liked to haggle over every slight, but he’d come to Yumen Pass knowing things here were not looking good.
If he didn’t establish authority, how was he to win people over? And he’d just heard that his senior brother seemed to have been locked up by these people. He still didn’t know what state he was in, and his heart was more than a little anxious.
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and beg Mr. Gu’s forgiveness!" These men were comrades who’d gone through life and death with Yang Xiaoguang; naturally, he sided with his own.
The soldiers helped each other to their knees; as they pleaded guilty, the expressions on their faces were at least sincere. Seeing that their attitude in admitting fault was decent and that they’d already been injured quite badly—enough of a lesson—Gu Chengyu decided not to pursue the matter further.
Their minds were simple; they were merely following orders. Their attack on him might well be rooted in something to do with his senior brother.
"In light of this being your first offense, I’ll give you a light punishment as a stern warning and let it go for today. If there’s a next time, you’d best know what fate awaits you."
With that, Gu Chengyu walked inside. Ming Mo stepped up to take the reins from his hand and followed closely behind him.
Yang Xiaoguang didn’t dare stop them. Just now Mr. Gu had said he should go make a report, but now that the man had already gone in, going to report would be redundant, wouldn’t it?
As for why this lord was going back on his own word, he had no idea—and didn’t dare ask!
"Actually, General Huaiyuan did mention earlier that in these few days you would be arriving at Yuhe Pass, and that once you came, we were to report immediately. But now that the General is unconscious, matters here are temporarily in the hands of General Mingwei. He’s the Vice Marshal and is currently leading troops stationed on the frontier."
"Let’s go see your General Chang first. Send someone to inform General Mingwei as well, so he doesn’t take me for some man of unknown origin."
Hearing the sarcasm in Gu Chengyu’s tone, Yang Xiaoguang could only give a wry smile. This lord really did hold grudges.
He stepped forward, took the fine horse that had just struggled up, and carefully checked it over. Seeing it hadn’t been injured, he finally let out a breath of relief.
This horse was his good partner; they’d braved life and death together several times. He couldn’t bear for it to be hurt.
"They just said that the Imperial Censor previously sent by the court, Lord Yin, has been thrown into prison. What’s that about?" Gu Chengyu finally couldn’t hold back and asked.
"That Lord Yin? Hah! He is nothing like you. When he first came to Yuhe Pass, General Chang treated him warmly and cooperated fully with his investigation into any collusion between the border and Da Xing. Who knew that a few days ago when Da Xing launched a sneak attack, this man actually colluded with them from the inside, leaking quite a bit of our terrain and military maps and opening wide the gates of convenience for them. Not only that, he even drew a dagger and stabbed General Chang. The General still hasn’t woken up. The physician said the dagger was coated with poison."
Speaking of this, Yang Xiaoguang was seething. General Chang had always been someone he admired. If the General hadn’t let down his guard toward Yin Kun, how could this petty man have succeeded?
On hearing this, Gu Chengyu instinctively wanted to refute it, but then he thought better of it. Before the truth was clear, he’d better not reveal his relationship with Yin Kun; otherwise it would be hard to gain these people’s trust.