Chapter 43. What does the City Lord want by inviting me there?…

On a clear night with sparse stars, in the forest outside Liangzhou City, the Gu family troops had been marching all night and stopped here to rest temporarily.

Gu Sui sat on the branch of a fallen tree, one foot resting on the side. Not far away, the crackling campfire leapt with sporadic flames.

He sheathed the long saber after wiping it clean. He had become increasingly proficient with this weapon lately. When first entering enemy formations, not only did he not feel afraid, but he even felt a sense of ease and skill.

This inevitably reminded him of Mu Jiulu’s words.

That bone thumb ring was on his thumb. Gu Sui lowered his eyes and stared at it for a long time, wiping away the dust on it to reveal the strange engravings underneath.

Was it his?

But he couldn’t remember at all.

“Young General, you’ve changed your thumb ring?”

Vice General Zheng Wan, who had been following him into battle these days, sat down beside him and found the thumb ring increasingly familiar as she looked at it.

“Why do I feel like I’ve seen this thumb ring somewhere before?”

Gu Sui furrowed his brow slightly. At this point, retracting his hand would seem like an attempt to cover something up, so he spoke indifferently.

“It’s Mu Jiulu’s.”

Zheng Wan and several people nearby revealed gossipy expressions, inconspicuously moving closer.

Zheng Wan: “I knew it, so it’s the Regent King’s. No wonder the Young General replaced the rhino horn thumb ring he’s worn for years.”

“Young General, do you miss the Regent King?”

Zheng Wan teased impertinently. Gu Sui raised his hand and rapped her on the forehead.

“No! Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Ouch, Young General, you’re already married, why are you still so fierce!”

Gu Sui’s mouth twitched. This time Zheng Wan quickly retreated some distance, running to her group of sisters.

“That’s enough from you, daring to tease the young master. When we get back I’ll tell the family head, see if she doesn’t deal with you!”

“Sui Yu, Sui Yu, please don’t! We were just joking.”

The sisters behind her exchanged glances, forcefully pushing her out together, laughing as they said:

“Don’t say ‘we’, it was your joke alone. Sui Yu, just deal with her.”

Zheng Wan stared in disbelief, turning back to point at the group: “Oh you guys!”

Gu Sui burst out laughing. Yun Mu gloated from the side.

“The great Vice General Zheng, where’s your authority now?”

Zheng Wan straightened her back and raised her head, saying: “What authority do I need in front of the Young General? The Young General is supreme, who dares to say otherwise?”

Everyone: “Eww”

This light-hearted and joyful atmosphere made Gu Sui temporarily forget his worries. He smiled and shook his head.

“Enough fooling around, everyone rest well. We attack the city at the Zi hour.”

“Yes sir! Young General, rest assured, we guarantee to take Liangzhou City!”

Zheng Wan and the others were very serious when it came to official business. Even though they knew there were no large numbers of defending troops left in Liangzhou City, they would not be careless or slack.

After the Zi hour passed, the Gu family troops moved like ghosts walking in the darkness, arriving before the city gates under Gu Sui’s lead.

Liangzhou’s defenses were ridiculously weak. They had already set up scaling ladders and climbed the city walls before a few people discovered them, and those were just night watch petty officials.

Zheng Wan sent people to knock them unconscious and tie them up, then opened the main gates.

The sleepless governor soon received the news. Worried that Gu Sui would massacre the city again, she was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

Before entering the city, Gu Sui had issued strict orders prohibiting harm to civilians. Now the orderly Gu family troops entered and took over the city defenses and the entire Liangzhou. Although the governor felt some unwillingness, she was at least relieved.

At least her life was spared.

“Where is Mu Jingyao now!”

In the brightly lit government office in the middle of the night, Gu Sui sat in the high seat, the long saber laid across the table in front of him, emanating an awe-inspiring presence without anger.

The governor wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. In order to redeem herself and make up for the mistake of failing to discover Mu Jingyao’s troop and food stockpiling in time, she was very cooperative in answering questions.

“In reply to the Young General, yesterday someone guarding the city gates seemed to have seen someone resembling the Prince of Liang, heading in the direction of the prince’s mansion.”

Gu Sui raised a long eyebrow: “Seemed to?”

The governor’s breath caught: “All of Liangzhou’s soldiers were taken away by the Prince of Liang. This official was truly powerless!”

Gu Sui pursed his lips. He had already sent Sui Yu with people to the prince’s mansion, but there was still no news so far.

Half an hour later, Sui Yu came to report, his tone grave.

“Young master, the Prince of Liang’s mansion is already an empty house. We found the Prince Consort of Liang’s corpse inside.”

Gu Sui suddenly stood up, the chair behind him toppling over with the force. The governor in the center of the hall was so startled she fell to her knees with a thud, not daring to even breathe.

“Mu Jingyao!”

Just how vicious a person must one be to be so ruthless and heartless? Gu Sui felt waves of coldness in his heart.

“Search the entire city. Bring her back alive if possible, dead if not!”

Zheng Wan accepted the order: “Yes!”

Two days later, Zheng Wan led people to search the entire city but found no trace of Mu Jingyao’s whereabouts. Gu Sui tapped his fingers on the armrest of the wide chair, coldly looking at the governor in front of him.

“So this is your Liangzhou City, where rebels can come and go as they please like no man’s land, even killing a few people along the way.”

“General, General please calm your anger… This official had no choice. This official is just a fifth-rank governor, the Prince of Liang was the true master of Liangzhou!”

Gu Sui’s voice was icy: “What did you say?”

Her eyes shrank as she realized she had misspoken, and she hurriedly begged forgiveness.

“This official is guilty. The Emperor is the master of Liangzhou. Please forgive this official, General!”

“Mu Jingyao is a rebel with an imperial warrant for her arrest. She is no longer the Prince of Liang. Understand?”

“Yes, yes, yes, this official understands. Mu Jingyao committed treason, her crimes cannot be pardoned!”

Gu Sui began to feel impatient and waved his hand dismissing her. Then he tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose.

Yun Mu offered a cup of hot tea.

“Young master.”

He spoke with some heartache: “You’ve only recently recovered from illness. Such exhaustion is harmful to your spirit.”

The steam rising from the tea blurred his brows and eyes, but his clear voice came through.

“We can’t let someone like Mu Jingyao run free.”

Yun Mu sighed lightly: “There are other generals in the court. If the Regent King summons you back, she will send others here.”