Song Qiming blinked, his mind a bit bewildered. "Commissioner Gu doesn't intervene?"
Gu Jinghong smiled bitterly. "If we don't hire them, accidents easily happen. We can't just keep replacing people as they die. The imperial court rarely allocates funds to the southwest. Both the commoners and the officials suffer. Sometimes, turning a blind eye is the only way to get by."
He turned his head and glanced at the guards Song Jinzhao had brought.
"If my grandfather knew that the guards the County Princess brought were so capable in combat, he would surely feel more at ease about you, my lord."
Song Qiming's lips twitched, speechless for a moment.
To say something like that, just what kind of situation was Suining Prefecture in?
Caught in the middle, Song Jinzhao fell into deep thought.
Her gaze stared into the distance, her mind already beginning to ponder the matter of private soldiers.
Behind them, Gu Baozhu curiously asked Song Shixue, "Second Miss Song, I saw many women who know martial arts just now. Are they also guards?"
To bring so many female guards, County Princess Linghui was indeed different from ordinary women.
Song Shixue shook her head. "They are all maids from the estate. We have a martial arts training ground at home, so everyone knows a little."
Gu Baozhu smiled sweetly, turning to stare fixedly at Song Jinzhao's back, her eyes sparkling.
"That still requires the County Princess's permission. I see their martial arts are quite good. Did the County Princess teach them personally?"
Song Shixue said, "My elder sister hasn't taught them. They all practiced by following others, and they only do it half-heartedly."
By the time they arrived at Yunshan Temple, the sky had grown dark. Gu Jinghong had his men lock the bandits in the woodshed while leading Song Jinzhao toward the backyard.
The ground was covered in fallen leaves that rustled as they walked.
Logically, it wasn't time to sleep yet, but the temple's windows were completely dark.
Despite such a commotion, not a single monk came out, as if no one lived there.
"Young General Gu, are there any monks in Yunshan Temple? With so many fallen leaves on the ground, no one seems to be sweeping."
Gu Jinghong held up his fingers. "There are two monks."
Song Jinzhao asked, "Why so few? I see there are many buildings here."
Gu Jinghong replied, "Yunshan Temple is quite far from Songzhou City. Plus, the abbot was once forced to be a bandit, so very few commoners come here to offer incense."
Forced into banditry and then turning over a new leaf to become a monk? Looking at Gu Jinghong's attitude, this abbot most likely had a story.
Walking into the guest room, it was quite clean, as if it had been specially swept.
"County Princess, please rest for a moment. The vegetarian meal will be ready soon."
A quarter of an hour later, all the people Song Jinzhao had brought were properly settled by the Gu family aunt and nephew.
Lan Xi knocked and entered.
"Your subordinate heard from the Gu family guards that they originally planned to stay at Yunshan Temple for several days. As for why they suddenly went to investigate Qingfeng Stronghold, they all kept their mouths shut."
Over the course of the afternoon, Song Shixue had become quite familiar with Gu Baozhu.
"I think they must have gone to investigate secretly on their own, and no one else knew. Otherwise, Gu Baozhu's father wouldn't have let her come."
Even if she knew martial arts, he wouldn't let his daughter go out and risk her life with his grandson. Qingfeng Stronghold had hundreds of bandits, and they had only brought fifty guards. If they were discovered, it would be very dangerous.
Song Qiming nodded in agreement. "I think so too. Gu Huaiyuan has troops at his disposal. Even if Gu Jinghong went to investigate, he should have brought the regular army instead of just guards."
Song Jinzhao's index finger, which had been tapping on the table, stopped.
"We'll know everything once we enter the city tomorrow. What I'm thinking now is that perhaps we can buy more guards."
Song Qiming pondered for a long while before nodding in agreement.
"You are a County Princess, sister, Shixue is a woman, and Anhao is still young. Even if we double our manpower, I'm sure Gu Zhongxun won't say a word."
In the capital, keeping too many guards would be labeled as maintaining a private army by those with ulterior motives, but here in the southwest, no one cared.
The current prefect of Suining was a precedent; five hundred yamen runners had long exceeded the standard limit by several times. And they were using the prefectural office's money, yet Gu Zhongxun didn't intervene.
