At the temple entrance, Gu Jinghong looked slightly apprehensive as he instructed his subordinate. "Ride back through the night as fast as you can and tell Grandfather that County Princess Linghui and the Prefect of Suining are resting at Yunshan Temple tonight. They will arrive in Songzhou City tomorrow, so tell them to prepare."
Wearing a bamboo hat, his personal servant cautiously probed, "Should I tell the Old Master and the Second Master about the eradication of the Qingfeng Stronghold?"
The Young Master had wanted to establish his merits and make a name for himself. Under the guise of visiting Yunshan Temple, he had taken the Young Lady along to wipe out the bandits, even threatening the other guards to follow him.
Fortunately, everyone was safe and sound now, or they would definitely be punished.
Gu Jinghong rubbed his nose.
"Just say that County Princess Linghui caught them, and we simply lent a helping hand because we happened to run into them."
The servant frowned in a dilemma. "But you told the County Princess that you were ordered to scout the area. When the two of you compare stories, won't the lie be exposed?"
"My father won't expose me in front of the County Princess. When Grandfather and Father question me later, my little aunt will protect me."
Gu Jinghong put his hands on his hips, still feeling a bit of regret in his heart.
If County Princess Linghui hadn't happened to appear, the Qingfeng Stronghold would have absolutely been in the bag. Even if his father punished him verbally, he would definitely approve of him in his heart. But now everything was ruined, and all his efforts were for nothing.
It was already midnight by the time the servant rode non-stop to Songzhou City.
The soldiers guarding the city gates heard the galloping hooves and poked their heads over the wall. Seeing that the rider was Gu Jinghong's attendant, they looked surprised and shouted down.
"Lord Laixi, why have you come here in the middle of the night? Where is the Young General?"
A few days ago, Gu Jinghong had marched out of the city in a grand procession, and the city guards had all been informed. Why was he returning alone now? And in the dead of night, no less.
The servant looked up and replied, "The Young General sent me back. Hurry and open the gate!"
The soldiers ordered the city gates to be opened, and the servant galloped into the city.
By the time he returned to the manor, Gu Zhongxun and the others were already fast asleep.
"My Lord, Laixi is outside requesting an audience. He says he has an important matter to report."
The door was knocked three times before there was any movement inside.
Gu Zhongxun rubbed his eyes and opened the door. "What is it at this late hour?"
The servant bypassed the other attendants and walked up to Gu Zhongxun. "Old Master, the Second Young Master sent me back to report: County Princess Linghui and the newly appointed Prefect of Suining have arrived at Yunshan Temple. They will reach Songzhou City tomorrow."
Gu Zhongxun's eyes snapped wide open, his sleepiness vanishing without a trace in an instant.
"County Princess Linghui! Song Jinzhao?"
The servant nodded. "Not only that, but while passing through Longtou Mountain, the bandits of the Qingfeng Stronghold attempted to rob and kill the County Princess. However, they were counter-killed by her, and the bandit leader Zhao Jiutou and his men have all been captured."
"The Second Young Master happened to run into them while leading his men to scout the area. The prisoners are currently being held at Yunshan Temple and will be escorted into the city tomorrow."
"Scout what?"
"Why on earth did he run off to Longtou Mountain?"
The voice arrived before the person did. Gu Huaiyuan's gruff voice reached the servant's ears, making his body instinctively tense up.
Turning around, he saw Gu Gaoyuan and Gu Huaiyuan walking over with stern expressions.
Looking at the ground, the servant whispered, "The Second Young Master heard that the bandits at Longtou Mountain have been rampant lately. He wanted to share the Second Master's burdens, so he took some men over to have a look."
Gu Huaiyuan's tiger-like eyes widened drastically as he snorted and roared at the servant.
"There are no traveling merchants in the winter, so the bandits at Longtou Mountain couldn't find anyone to rob even if they wanted to. Not a single case has been reported since the snow mountains thawed. Where did Jinghong hear that they were being rampant?"
The servant swallowed hard in fear and explained tremblingly, "It was precisely because merchants would be passing by after the snow mountains thawed, and the Second Young Master happened to hear the commoners worrying about the bandits on the road, that he took his men to investigate."
Seeing the servant in this state, the three men looked away speechlessly, too lazy to listen any further.
Gu Huaiyuan sneered, his eyes looking as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
He knew his own son's personality best.
"I think he was just trying to show off and be competitive, greedy for merits and acting rashly. He wanted to go eradicate bandits with just a few guards. What about the Young Lady? Is she hurt?"
With his lie exposed, the servant didn't even dare to lift his head, his voice dropping even lower.
"The Young Lady didn't lose a single hair. By the time we arrived, the bandits had already been mostly killed by County Princess Linghui's people. The Second Young Master just cleaned up the rest."
Seeing his younger brother so enraged, Gu Gaoyuan signaled for the servant to leave.
"You may step down first."
"Yes." The servant bowed and turned to leave, not daring to straighten his posture until he had disappeared from the courtyard.
Seeing that his younger son's face remained cold, Gu Zhongxun advised, "What young person isn't impulsive? You were just like that in your youth."
"Ever since Jinghong entered the military camp, you've always kept him by your side. You don't give him important tasks, treating him like a lowly foot soldier. It's no wonder he's so eager to prove himself."
Gu Huaiyuan furrowed his brows. "What I'm angry about is that he actually took our little sister with him. What if something had happened?"
Gu Zhongxun shook his head helplessly.
"I know Baozhu's personality better than you do. If she weren't a girl, she would have joined the military camp long ago. You can't blame Jinghong for this."
Gu Gaoyuan casually chimed in.
"If our little sister hadn't agreed, those guards wouldn't have taken orders from Jinghong either."
"Fortunately, they are fine now and happened to run into County Princess Linghui. I think we should just let this matter rest. Don't be too hard on them."
Gu Huaiyuan glared at his older brother with disdain.
"My eldest nephew is obedient, well-behaved, and only focuses on reading the classics of the sages. Of course it's easy for you to talk, Big Brother, since you have nothing to worry about."
"If Congwen were like Jinghong, I'd like to see if you could still sit still."
Gu Gaoyuan retorted, "Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and the son of a mouse knows how to dig holes. You shout about fighting and killing all day long, so it's no wonder Jinghong wants to eradicate bandits every day. This is called a son carrying on his father's legacy."
"If he were to hole up in the city as an idle, wealthy young master, then you would truly be anxious."
Seeing his two sons start bickering again, Gu Zhongxun didn't want to listen and took a step back into his room.
As he closed the door, he left them with one sentence: "Order the servants to clean the post house. Prepare to welcome County Princess Linghui into the manor tomorrow."
Looking at the tightly shut door, they saw the lights inside the room go out.
Gu Gaoyuan and Gu Huaiyuan were also too lazy to continue their argument, turning around to leave the doorway.
They had only taken two steps when the topic shifted to Song Jinzhao, and their attitudes suddenly became extremely brotherly and harmonious again.
The two brothers had a very good relationship, though they frequently bickered. After an argument, as long as one of them spoke first, they would make up immediately.
And it would be just as if nothing had ever happened; the matter would blow over before the wind even blew.
