Lingyan walked to her side and gently placed her hand, which was wrapped in gauze, on her shoulder.
Madam Zuo's trembling body froze instantly. She even held her breath in terror, as if Ling Yan would snap her neck at any moment.
"Once Lord Zuo returns, you can go home. Although the house was burned down, at least most people are safe, which is fortunate. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn, Madam."
Ling Yan patted lightly, then withdrew her hand and walked to Gu Zhong, who was dozing off with his eyes half-closed.
After a short while, Zuo Yingyuan still hadn't returned, nor had the two soldiers who had gone with him.
A sense of foreboding rose in Lingyan's heart. She glanced at the exhausted Gu Zhong, quietly descended the steps, and whispered an order to the soldiers guarding the door:
"Take a team and search the mansion for Zuo Yingyuan. Remember not to get separated. If you can't find him, come back and report. Don't make a fuss."
The soldiers obeyed and left, and the number of people in the hall dwindled.
"gentlemen!"
Suddenly, Gu Zhong, who was sitting at the head of the table, exclaimed in surprise. Ling Yan quickly turned around and saw Gu Zhong looking at her with a shocked expression.
"Your Highness? Are you suffering from a nightmare?"
Lingyan walked quickly to her side, looking at the dejected little princess with heartache.
"It's nothing. What time is it now?"
Gu Zhong waved his hand and stood up, leaning on the table.
"A cup of tea's time has passed just now, Your Highness may rest a little longer."
"Zuo Yingyuan hasn't returned yet?" Gu Zhong frowned.
"We have already sent people to search for them."
"Report! Your Highness! My lord! Something has happened!"
Another urgent shout rang out, the voice arriving before the person.
Gu Zhong patted her head. She never wanted to hear the word "report" again today; it never brought anything good.
The bodies of Zuo Yingyuan and two accompanying soldiers were found in the garden behind the prefect's mansion. Strangely, Zuo Yingyuan's head had been taken away.
Incredibly, someone managed to infiltrate the heavily guarded mansion in such a short time and kill three people without alerting anyone.
Or perhaps the assassin was already lurking within the army, striking when everyone was momentarily off guard.
Why take away Zuo Yingyuan's head when it's just murder? This is a truly perplexing question.
So the soldiers in the manor were tasked with finding the head. Gu Zhong ordered another team to be brought from the city, and they even searched the deep well in the courtyard, but they still couldn't find the missing head.
"Perhaps they were taken away by someone. Your Highness, have someone check the register of the soldiers who came with the army this time. After counting the casualties, are there any people whose identities cannot be verified?"
Lingyan suggested that if the assassin was indeed a spy within the military, there would be clues to follow. However, if he had infiltrated during the chaos, he would likely be impossible to find, no matter how far he was searched.
"Good." Gu Zhong immediately arranged for people to investigate, but this was an extremely large task and would likely take several days.
"As for Madam Zuo..." Lingyan glanced at Madam Zuo, who had fainted from shock upon seeing her husband's corpse, "Let's take her to reunite with her family."
"Watch closely. I don't want to hear tomorrow that another member of the Zuo family has died." Gu Zhong coldly glanced at everyone present and left the prefectural governor's mansion.
The two stepped back onto the streets of Beiling County. The sounds of fighting that had echoed through the streets and alleys had disappeared. Squads of soldiers carrying torches marched by, knocking on the tightly closed doors of the city, searching for any barbarians who might be hiding.
The body collectors tidied the bodies of the young men who had fallen on the battlefield and would never rise again, then hung wooden plaques made of peach wood with their names engraved on them on their waists, covered them with white cloth, and carried them away one by one.
"Sir, there are so many people..."
Strolling through the streets, Gu Zhong's words revealed an overwhelming sadness and indignation.
"The casualty figures in those military reports were just numbers to me, used to assess the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, to formulate battle strategies, and to supply food and weapons. Now, they have become living, breathing people, dying right before my eyes. In just one night, the battle has become so brutal."
Even though the Crown Princess appeared calm and composed throughout, she was actually just a young girl stepping onto the battlefield for the first time, and the intense impact of everything that happened tonight on her could not be ignored.
“Your Highness…” Lingyan turned her head to look at Gu Zhong, who had briefly revealed all her vulnerability, and gently put her arm around her shoulder. “If you are feeling unwell, you can lean on me for a while.”
"gentlemen…"
The young prince stopped in his tracks, turning to stare blankly at Ling Yan, a light seemingly shining in his dark eyes. A warm smile suddenly appeared on her lips.
"As long as the gentleman is here, that's fine..."
"I will always stay by Your Highness's side..."
She wanted to reach up to Gu Zhong's eyes and catch the glimmer in them, but hesitated to overstep her bounds.
His hand, wrapped in blood-soaked gauze, finally rested on her shoulder, as he sincerely and firmly told her his deepest wish.
"Sir's hand...it needs a dressing change." Gu Zhong glanced at the increasingly red gauze on Ling Yan's hand again and reached out to grab her fair wrist with displeasure.
"Your Highness need not worry, it's alright... We'll deal with it after tonight's business is over... Eh? Your Highness?"
Warmth emanated from the part being held, and a strange sense of satisfaction rose from the bottom of my heart.
Ling Yan politely declined, while shrinking back and trying to pull her hand away, but Gu Zhong held it tightly.
"There's nothing serious tonight, I'll take you to change your dressing!"
Before she could finish speaking, the young prince grabbed her and strode forward.
As dawn broke, the city, ravaged by a night of war, was covered in dust. Fine snowflakes drifted down, blanketing the bluestone streets. The smudged snow, mixed with congealed bloodstains, had been cleared away, and the ground was once again a pure white expanse.
Apart from the wooden houses and tiled roofs destroyed in the war, which tell the story of the fierce battle last night, there was not a trace of turmoil left behind.
The army, carrying an aura of impending doom, returned to the city. Marquis Wu of Wei personally presented Gu Zhong with the head of the barbarian chieftain Zuo Chanyu. His entire army had been wiped out, signifying the complete failure of the barbarian and the schemes of those behind the scenes.
After this battle, the barbarian tribe was severely weakened. If they were lucky, they might find a fertile and well-watered place and survive until spring. If they were unlucky, the entire tribe might not survive the winter.
The Northern Army returned to the Northern Pass, guarding the border year after year, day after day, just as before, with the sounds of battle echoing daily beyond the pass.
The scourge of the barbarians has been resolved, the harsh winter is gradually fading, and the overall situation in Beiling is much better than before.
So Gu Zhong and Marquis Wu of Wei took stock of the remaining guards in the capital region, escorted those powerful families who had lost their homes and foundations, and returned to Xijing.
However, the register of soldiers who accompanied the army that Lingyan had previously checked matched the living and the dead perfectly, with no omissions.
The assassin most likely killed one of the soldiers, then disguised himself and infiltrated the mansion.
Such painstaking efforts, all for the sake of killing Zuo Yingyuan, also indirectly prove that the Zuo family truly has a serious problem.
However, the clues to Zuo Yingyuan's death have completely dried up, and the investigation into the assassin can not be continued for the time being, casting an indelible shadow over the joy of returning to the capital.
When they passed through Luyi, the powerful clans were handed over to the governor of Luyi, and Gu Zhong continued to lead the Zuo clan south.
She had a gut feeling that she could uncover more information about the previous dynasty from the Zuo family.
However, to the outside world, Gu Zhongmei claimed that it was difficult to settle the family of Zuo, who had died loyally for the country, except in Xijing. But it was obvious to everyone that the Zuo family was being held captive by the Crown Princess.
Upon returning to the capital, Emperor Gu was overjoyed by the Crown Princess's meritorious service in defeating the barbarians and providing disaster relief during her trip to the northern border. He bestowed great rewards upon her, promoting all those who accompanied her by one rank, and granting additional military merits to the fallen soldiers, bestowing upon them gold and silver, and exempting their clans from three years of corvée labor.
The imperial edict to replace the officials of Beiling County was also issued, and the new officials set off for Beiling soon after.
Those powerful clans that had previously been unable to penetrate the area due to the dominance of aristocratic families like the Zuo family, like hyenas smelling meat, eagerly began to carve up the now-uncontrolled Beiling County.
Although Gu Zhong was displeased, Beiling County needed to be rebuilt and developed, and the national treasury was struggling to sustain itself. The only way to achieve this was to rely on these wealthy and powerful families.
The court officials were fully aware of the situation in the north. Gu Zhong had done all he could, and saving half of the Gu Dynasty from the ravages of war was already a great achievement.
Yet some still criticized her for failing to investigate the barbarian schemes, letting the enemy invaders into the pass, and vehemently attacked her for her rogue treatment of the Beiling aristocratic families, showing no regard for the people's livelihood.
In the past, Gu Zhong would probably have rolled up his sleeves and beaten someone or belittled them on the spot in court.
However, perhaps because he had been too angry in Beiling, Gu Zhong had spontaneously mastered the skill of ignoring everything, and verbal provocations were no longer enough to anger her.
Anger is sometimes unnecessary and doesn't need to be shown to others. Only then did she truly understand what it meant to "let go of joy and hate".
Because the Crown Princess remained smiling on the steps, showing no sign of anger, she became unpredictable, and fewer people joined in the conversation than before.
Emperor Gu gave the man who was still cursing Gu Zhong a cold look, and impatiently ordered his mouth to be gagged. He then sent him to the southern border to experience the poisonous miasma and clear his head.
In the past, those who impeached Gu Zhong were only concerned with minor matters, so Emperor Gu was too lazy to pay attention to them, which only emboldened these censors.
If matters of national importance are brought up, how can the Crown Princess still have any authority?
This is practically tantamount to cutting off her path to the throne. Someone who is so blind to the situation or who simply disdains the royal family has no reason to remain in the court.
After Emperor Gu's words, the voices in the court instantly became unified, and everyone began to praise Gu Zhongzhuo for being as bright as the moon, brave and benevolent, and thoughtful and considerate, which made the young prince very happy.
However, what Emperor Gu announced next shocked Gu Zhong and was also beyond Ling Yan's expectations.
Without consulting Gu Zhong at all, he directly issued an imperial decree to select a husband for her.
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Author's Note:
We've taken all feedback into full consideration! Time-fast forwarding is the way to go!
Okay, fast forward to the moment when they're choosing husbands.
Chapter 16 The Imperial Tutor and the Crown Princess (15)
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For aristocratic families, the selection of a husband for the Crown Princess was a great joy—as long as they could marry into the royal family, their family would surely rise to a higher level.
Moreover, Emperor Gu did not say that a prince's son-in-law could not participate in politics, which means that even if they married their sons into the royal family, they would not lose their power.
Despite his reluctance, Gu Zhong could not contradict his father in the palace, so he could only endure the court session until the end, and then hurriedly followed Emperor Gu to the side hall to intercept the person.
Watching the young prince's anxious and hurried figure, Ling Yan's heart trembled, and she had no choice but to confront this matter that she had been avoiding all along.
—Now that the Crown Princess has come of age and is ready to start a family, even though the royal family has no shortage of marriage options, the position of Empress still requires His Majesty's approval.
Royal marriages are never simple matters.
Now that Gu Zhong has made great contributions and her position is gradually becoming stable, her ruthless methods against powerful families have aroused considerable dissatisfaction among the noble clans of the world, and her reputation is a mixture of praise and criticism. As the saying goes, public opinion can melt metal.
Emperor Gu issued the decree, and in an instant, Gu Zhong became the object of fervent flattery from aristocratic families. Those so-called talented scholars and celebrities, who sang her praises every day, would no longer bother to smear her. There was no longer any need to exhaust herself silencing the public's gossip.
As for who to ultimately choose, there's no need to care about the thoughts of these already exploited aristocratic families.
But... Gu Zhong will eventually marry another man. Even if he is not from a noble family, not Chen Muxian, it will be another man, but it will not be her, Ling Yan.
His usually upright posture slumped slightly as he stepped out of the Ganlu Hall, revealing an indescribable weariness. The midday sun was particularly dazzling, making one want to cry.
In the afternoon, Lingyan did not go to the East Palace to handle government affairs as usual. Instead, she left herself alone on the cool, soft couch in the Changli Palace to calm her mind, which attracted Gu Zhong.