Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 368 Mountain and Forest Ambush

Although Gu Qingyue's face still had a touch of immaturity, her words were resolute and decisive, and her eyes were as cold as snow. Gone was her former gentleness and dignity; her eyes flashed with a sharp light, and her imposing aura left everyone stunned for a moment.

This is Gu Qingyue's true nature!

But she didn't mean to scare anyone, and her expression immediately softened as she looked at the old Duke. "Grandfather, don't worry, I still have you and my brothers to protect me!"

A moment later, the old Duke chuckled softly.

"Excellent! As expected of my Gu family's daughter. Prince Li has excellent taste!"

The old Duke's expression softened as he stroked his white beard and said with satisfaction.

He recalled the old emperor's detailed conversation with him at noon, during which he agreed to grant the marriage, but the implicit threat in his words made his heart sink again.

Never mind, he believed in Yue'er and King Li.

Gu Yuanchen and Gu Yuanen, who were sitting at the lower end of the table, were no longer calm.

I was having lunch at Wenxianglou this afternoon when my grandfather was summoned to the palace. Before anyone knew what was going on, my younger sister was betrothed!

"Then Liu Zichan has absolutely no chance," Gu Yuanchen lamented.

Does he need to return the ancient sword he gave him?

Ever since the last time Prince Li came to see his grandfather at night, Gu Yuanchen knew that Liu Zichan basically had no chance.

So he went to the military camp and hinted at it, and the next day he received the ancient sword he had been coveting for so long.

Liu Zichan gave it willingly and was very attentive.

That made it difficult for me to say anything more that would make him give up.

Now that everything has settled down and my younger sister belongs to Prince Li, what about Liu Zichan? What a headache!

What particularly angered Gu Yuanen was that he hadn't even settled the score with Mu Yun Chu for being acupunctured by Zhang Qing Xuan last time, and his little sister had already been betrothed. How was he supposed to make a move now?

Will my little sister be angry?

Of course, he never considered that he was no match for King Le.

What are you all spacing out for?

Gu Yuanjin's voice came from the hall.

"In any case, this is a joyous occasion. As for what the future holds, we will always stand by our little sister, won't we? Little sister, just do what you want to do, don't worry!"

Gu Yuanchen, Gu Yuanming, and Gu Yuanen nodded firmly. Of course, that goes without saying; their elder brother was really overstepping his bounds!

"Ming'er, what are your thoughts? Yue'er and the King of Li will be stationed in Lizhou in the future. What are your plans?"

Seeing that Gu Yuanming seemed a little distracted, the old Duke asked.

Although Gu Yuanming has been promoted to the rank of General Xuanwei, a fourth-grade official, his current garrison location in Lizhou remains unchanged, unless the Ministry of War issues another transfer order.

“Grandfather, I estimate that once the imperial decree for the marriage is issued, my garrison location will likely change,” Gu Yuanming thought for a moment. This was one of the methods used by the Great Chu to prevent its troops from becoming too powerful.

He was Yue'er's older brother, and as a fourth-rank military officer, he could not continue to stay in Lizhou and hold military power with the vassal king.

The old Duke stroked his beard. "Of course. Where do you want to go? If necessary, your grandfather will speak to the Ministry of War. Although my Gu family army no longer exists, I can still find you a job through my connections in the Ministry of War. Of course, your grandfather still hopes that you will try not to stay in the capital."

Since ancient times, military merits can only be earned on the battlefield; no military general's future can be obtained by serving in the Ministry of War.

Gu Yuanming is currently the only military officer from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion still on the battlefield, and the old Duke naturally does not want him to give up halfway.

"Yes, Grandfather, don't worry, I will consider it seriously," Gu Yuanming nodded.

Gu Qingyue remained silent, but she took everything to heart.

She will definitely find a way to make her third brother's wish come true.

After a busy day, it was soon time for Qin to set off for Ci'en Temple.

The next morning, after breakfast, Gu Qingyue, dressed in a light blue dress, swaggered off to Wenxiang Tower right under everyone's noses.

She turned around and changed into men's clothing, disguised herself as an ordinary guard, and rode her horse to follow Qin's carriage out of the city.

The journey was very smooth, and nothing went wrong.

The journey to Ci'en Temple usually takes two and a half to three days by horse-drawn carriage.

The next morning, after breakfast, everyone continued their journey. By the afternoon, they were very close to Yushan Town, and in a few more hours they would reach the foot of Ci'en Temple.

"Madam, would you like to get out of the carriage and rest for a while?"

A young maidservant was sitting in front of the carriage when they arrived at the edge of a forest. It was springtime, the sun was shining, and a gentle breeze was blowing, making it very comfortable. She excitedly turned around and called out to the carriage.

A soft female voice came from inside the carriage, "Mmm."

Then, the woman in the light blue dress, supported by her maid, slowly stepped down from the carriage and gently patted her stiff waist.

At the edge of the woods, Gu Qingyue, the 'guard,' had already laid out a thick blanket on the ground and placed a tray that the maid had brought down steadily on the blanket.

On the tray was a teacup with steam rising from it, next to a plate of delicate tea snacks and a plate of fresh fruit.

The woman, Qin, slowly sat down on the carpet, supported by her maid. She picked up her teacup, about to drink some water, when suddenly, an unexpected event occurred!

"Whoosh------", a sharp arrow shot out from the forest with a murderous aura, barely grazing the woman's cup, and with a 'clang' it embedded itself in the carriage wall behind her.

The arrow's fletching hummed with the force of the impact, and a fine powder dispersed in the air with the vibration of the fletching.

The woman, who had just been stunned, let out a scream, startling the guards around her so they immediately stood up.

"lady?!"

The guards who had just sat down nearby immediately drew their longswords and rushed over to surround the woman, forming two tight protective circles.

After waiting for a while, there was no further movement from the depths of the woods.

Gu Qingyue mingled among the guards, quietly surveying her surroundings.

Just as they were about to go into the woods to investigate, suddenly, 'whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-------', a series of sharp arrows shot out from the woods.

"Clang, clang, clang------" All the arrows were deflected, some falling to the ground, others embedded in the tree trunks beside them. The tail feathers trembled incessantly in the sunlight, and fine powder kept drifting out, slowly swirling in the air around them, looking particularly conspicuous in the dappled sunlight.

Gu Qingyue's eyes narrowed slightly.

She immediately reached into her sleeve, took out a bottle, opened it, poured out a pill, put it in her mouth, and casually handed the bottle to Jiang Wan, who was also dressed as a man, next to her.

"Let everyone have one."

"Yes".

A moment later, the arrows stopped.

Next, the guards surrounding the woman slowly collapsed to the ground one after another.

The woman also kept her eyes tightly closed, lying diagonally on the blanket, motionless.

Fifteen minutes later, the edge of the woods was completely silent.

Even the horses pulling the cart in the distance began to doze off, swaying and threatening to collapse.