Chapter 375: 375. You are not allowed to come to our house from now on.

Translator: 549690339

Early in the morning, Qiao Jing got up, got ready to go out, and glanced into the courtyard, whereupon he froze.

The outside was foggy, with very low visibility. The deciduous trees in the courtyard were already bare at this time of year, and in the dense fog, only the dark lines of their twisted branches could be seen.

At this moment, however, there were not only lines on the trees but also “black balls” that drifted lightly in the wind, creating a very eerie shape.

Any outsider who saw this would probably be terrified.

Qiao Jing was just speechless because he knew what those “black balls” were – the heads of the masters who had recently come to claim the reward offered by Situ Xie, all flocking from all directions to kill him.

And this “human head tree” was Qiao Cong’s perverse taste.

“How is it?” Qiao Cong appeared behind Qiao Jing, his tone marked with a mix of satisfaction and disdain, “They’re all trash, the more they come, the better!”

Qiao Jing shook his head, “Although most of them are acting alone, with no more than three at a time, with my help, those who want my head should think twice.”

Qiao Cong scoffed, “That’s right, no one came last night. I think it must be because the bounty order issued by Xiaoliang has also been made public, and some people saw that your side was too difficult, so they went to Liang Country to kill Situ Jing instead!”

Qiao Jing nodded, “Perhaps. But that bounty order wasn’t issued by Su Liang.”

“Then it must be a plan Xiaoliang suggested to the Emperor!” Qiao Cong said.

Qiao Jing agreed on this point. However, speaking of which, if it were not for Qiao Cong’s help, he wouldn’t have been able to handle this trouble by himself. With their combined efforts, it was much easier.

A gust of wind blew, and the thick fog began to move, and the heads on the tree began to sway as well.

Qiao Jing asked Qiao Cong if he could throw away the heads, as they were an eyesore to him.

Qiao Cong refused, saying it was nice to hang them up, and since the weather was so cold, they wouldn’t rot for a while. If he wasn’t stuck there, he actually wanted to stuff all these heads into Situ Xie’s bed.

Qiao Jing:…As long as the old man is happy.

“I don’t even know if Xiaoliang’s baby is a boy or a girl, they didn’t mention it in their letter, really!” Qiao Cong grumbled.

Qiao Jing smiled, “What does Grandpa want it to be?”

“Of course, I hope it’s boy-girl twins!” Qiao Cong blurted out.

Qiao Jing shook his head, “It’s not.” It had already been determined.

“Xiaoliang and Xiaogu’s child, whether it’s a boy or a girl, will be the most beautiful in the world!” Qiao Cong was looking forward to it, then turned his head and taught Qiao Jing, “By the time you let me hold my great-grandchild, who knows when it’ll happen.”

Qiao Jing just smiled, not in a hurry about that. First, they would have to conquer Liang Country.

In the southern city of Jiaye, the weather was the most comfortable at this time of year, not too hot nor too cold.

The Orange Garden of Lian Shun’s house harvested its last batch of fruit this year, and most of it was sent to the capital city again. At present, there were just him, Nian Jincheng, and Yang Yu at home, and they could eat only a few fruits, so they didn’t plan to sell them.

The southern border had been quiet since the last conflict was resolved, with no further clashes between the two armies, especially since the recent marriage alliance.

Although Liang Country had also formed a marriage alliance with Qian Country, Lian Shun had already received news that Situ Xie had offered a huge bounty on Qiao Jing’s head, and the Qian Royal Family had offered a huge bounty on Situ Jing’s head. What a play where both sides hurt each other.

From the perspective of the tripartite situation, Yin Country remained on the sidelines, while the animosity between Liang Country and Qian Country had become open, with no signs of easing.

The more tense the situation, the more vigilant the south needed to be, preventing Yin Country from colluding with Liang Country or being suddenly attacked by Liang Country’s spies as it had been last time.

Lian Shun was very busy because he had done a lot of work for Nian Jincheng. It wasn’t that Nian Jincheng was lazy; Lian Shun volunteered to help, needing to use busyness to dispel boredom and loneliness.

That night, Lian Shun returned home, holding a bunch of flowers in his hand to give to Nian Jincheng and his wife.

As he entered, he found a surprise.

“General Lin.” Qi Jun and Ren Dong appeared in front of Lian Shun, with Bai Yang standing behind them.

Previously, Ren Dong had found Bai Yang in Yin Country and met with Nian Jincheng and Lian Shun when they passed through Jiaye City.

“How did you guys get here?” Lian Shun’s eyes lit up, “It must not be for sending a message, three people aren’t needed for that! Did Su Xiaoliang send you to find Ying Xiaoying?”

Ren Dong shook his head, “The emperor has sent Bai Yang here to be at the disposal of General Nian and General Lin, and we’ve come to help you both guard the city.”

Lian Shun paused for a moment, “Has the capital received any secret news that Yin Country is going to attack?”

Qi Jun explained that there was no particular situation, they just wanted to come.

“I see.” Lian Shun nodded and put his arm around Qi Jun’s shoulder, “That’s great, I was just feeling bored with no one to play with! You guys have no idea, that bastard Xiao Nian only has eyes for his wife and treats me like I don’t even exist!”

Qi Jun coughed lightly, “Young Master Lin, Ren Dong and I also plan to get married this year.”

Hearing this, Lian Shun pushed Qi Jun away and embraced Bai Yang, “From now on, let’s hang out together! I’m so fed up with those couples! Why hasn’t there been any news about Ying Xiaoying yet!”

Later, when Lian Shun asked Bai Yang why he was ordered to join the army, Bai Yang only said it was the emperor’s arrangement and did not reveal his relationship with Ji Yueyan. Ren Dong knew that even Qi Jun didn’t know about this.

Yang Yu was very happy to see Ren Dong. When Su Liang and Gu Ling were not at home, Yang Yu had lived in Su Mansion for a while and had become very familiar with Ren Dong.

However, when Yang Yu asked Ren Dong whether Su Liang was carrying a boy or a girl in her belly, Ren Dong immediately froze, “Master didn’t say, I don’t know.”

Qi Jun shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know either.

“Xiao Nian, let’s have a bet!” Lian Shun said excitedly, “Since no one knows, let’s guess. I bet I’m going to have a godson!”

Nian Jincheng thought about it and said, “Perfect, I think it’s a girl.”

“What’s the stake?” Yang Yu asked with a smile.

Nian Jincheng said, “Whoever guesses right gets to be the baby’s godfather.”

Lian Shun completely agreed.

Over the next few days, Lian Shun took Bai Yang, Qi Jun, and Ren Dong to familiarize themselves with the environment and defenses of Jiaye City. Regarding their positions, Bai Yang served as Lian Shun’s Deputy General, while Qi Jun and Ren Dong both served as Nian Jincheng’s Deputy Generals. They arranged it this way because Ren Dong believed that they had a duty to protect the safety of Nian Jincheng, Yang Yu, and Lian Shun while in Jiaye City.

Su Liang calculated the time. If everything went smoothly, Ying Ying and Old Bai should have returned by now, but there was still no news at all.

“Yue Mei raised Ying Ying and won’t kill her easily. Old Bai is the man she once loved.” Gu Ling comforted Su Liang, “In the worst-case scenario, they fall into Yue Mei’s hands. In that case, Yue Mei would definitely use them to deal with you, and there would be news. Let’s wait a little longer.”

Caressing her bulging belly, Su Liang sighed softly, “I know.”

Now, whether the three countries will go to war mainly depends on whether Yin Country wants to join, and there is no sign of this happening at the moment.

Su Liang felt that the struggle outside the battlefield between the three countries would continue for some time, such as the ongoing battle between the Royal Families of Liang Country and Qian Country with their bounty orders.

It wouldn’t be long before Liang Country’s Situ Xie’s response to Qian Country’s bounty order would be known. In the most recent message from Xuanbei City, Qiao Cong said that he had collected many heads, and he and Qiao Jing were unharmed and told them not to worry.

When the letter containing Uncle Liang’s bloody handprint was delivered to Su Mansion, Su Liang had already put on the thick clothes made by Gu Ling.

The letter was delivered to the mansion by an old beggar who was paid by someone on the street.

Upon learning that Situ Xie used Uncle Liang to threaten Gu Ling, Su Liang’s face was strangely calm, “If he hadn’t mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about Uncle Liang.”

It had been quite some time since their last meeting. At that time, Gu Ling wasn’t present, so Su Liang had talked with Uncle Liang and advised him to go home and not meddle in Gu Ling’s affairs anymore.

As for Uncle Liang, Su Liang didn’t have any pleasant impressions of him, because the old man never liked her. More precisely, he looked down on her and despised her. He thought that she had bewitched Gu Ling and firmly believed that she was not worthy of him.

However, although people’s prejudices are like mountains, Su Liang and Gu Ling have already been truly married for more than half a year. Uncle Liang hasn’t specifically come to bother them about anything since, so Su Liang thought the old man had probably accepted her marriage to Gu Ling.

As for how things had come this far between Situ Xie and her, Su Liang wasn’t entirely surprised. However, she had originally thought that if Situ Xie tried to kidnap hostages again, he would target her and Gu Ling’s real friends and family, not Uncle Liang.

“Uncle Liang’s entire family is probably in Liang Country, closer and easier to capture,” Su Liang analyzed. “As for this letter, it shows that Situ Xie thinks your relationship with Uncle Liang is very good, so you’d save him.”

“When Uncle Liang initially looked for me, it was just to repay a favor,” Gu Ling threw the bloodstained paper on the table, “I don’t owe him anything.”

If anything, there was still a score to settle between them. Uncle Liang trusted Situ Xie to genuinely care about Gu Ling and once “betrayed” Gu Ling by exposing his disguise as Ning Jing. Fortunately, Su Liang and Gu Ling managed to deal with the crisis this issue could have brought by adapting to the situation.

“But… Situ Xie has already made his move. If we ignore it, he will kill Uncle Liang’s whole family as soon as he realizes that Uncle Liang has no value to us. Plus, he will definitely target the people we really care about. For example, the people of the Su Village are not far from Liang Country,” Su Liang frowned. Little Tiger had already been kidnapped once because of them.

She felt that once things started to head in this direction, Situ Xie wouldn’t back down. He understood what would have the most impact on Su Liang and Gu Ling.

Gu Ling’s eyes fell on Su Liang’s pregnant belly, and he reached out, gently touching it.

Su Liang sighed softly, “If it wasn’t for my pregnancy, we should have gone to Liang Country to assassinate Situ Xie at a time like this.”

“No,” Gu Ling shook his head, “he knows we can’t kill Qiao Jing.”

Su Liang’s eyes narrowed, looking at the letter again, “So his purpose is only to force us to cancel the reward for Situ Jing?”

Even though it seemed impossible, he proposed such a condition to force Su Liang and Gu Ling to compromise and cancel the reward first.

Afterward, Situ Xie should also cancel the reward for Qiao Jing, with the reasoning that Qian Country had already shown their willingness to make peace through their actions. Otherwise, this would be never-ending, and Situ Jing would never know peace either.

Having just ascended to the throne, Situ Xie had to take a strong stance against Qiao Jing’s public betrayal of the Liang Royal Family. Otherwise, he would lose face.

There’s not much difference between offering a reward and assassinating. Even if the reward is later canceled, the assassination could still continue.

If Qian Royal Family cancels the reward first and then Situ Xie does so, there would be a significant time gap. The skilled fighters out for the money might feel cheated and left with no choice but to become even more desperate to kill Qiao Jing.

Situ Xie surely anticipated this as well.

Uncle Liang and his family were just tools, not the real goal. This was a game of chess, with Situ Xie making the first move to force Su Liang and Gu Ling’s hand. It was a deterrent, playing on their good nature in his eyes.

“Let’s just cancel it then,” Su Liang and Gu Ling spoke at the same time, saying the same words.

It wasn’t just for Uncle Liang’s sake, but also to put an end to this matter on the surface. They dared to do this knowing fully well that Qiao Cong and his grandson Qiao Jing were not in actual danger.

Originally, the Qian Royal Family’s reward was only meant to make Situ Xie cancel his reward for Qiao Jing. Now things had just taken a detour.

Additionally, although they didn’t like Uncle Liang, they didn’t want him to die either. His family was innocent, and Su Liang and Gu Ling never wanted innocent people to be involved or hurt because of them.

When Gu Ling went to the palace to tell Duanmu Chen about canceling the reward, Duanmu Chen was speechless, “This will make me lose face.”

Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent, “Just say something noble and grand.”

Duanmu Chen: …

However, he was good at that.

The next morning at court, Duanmu Chen announced that in order for Liang Country and Qian Country to coexist peacefully, Qian Country would revoke the previous reward for the capture of the Crown Prince of Liang Country. He also hoped that Emperor Liang would rescind the reward for capturing Qiao Jing as soon as possible and seek opportunities for peace talks.

On the surface, it appeared that Qian Country had been the weaker party, but as long as Qiao Jing remained alive, it was the Situ Family of Liang Country that would ultimately be humiliated by these events.

Two days later, a special guest arrived at Su Mansion.

He was a spirited old man, sent by the Crown Prince of Yin Country, Ji Yuebai. He was merely passing through Qian Country on his way to Liang Country, where he was to serve as an envoy of Yin Country and meet with Situ Xie to discuss the alliance between the two countries.

The secret operation was meant to prevent any leaks or interference from Qian Country.

The Emperor of Yin Country had neglected state affairs due to years of indulgence in wine and carnal pleasure, and he now lay ill. Ji Yuebai had essentially taken control of the country, just waiting for the Emperor Yin to pass away.

“Master Gu, Madam Gu, this is a letter from my master for you both.” The old man handed a letter to Gu Ling, then took a delicate brocade box from his bosom and said, “This is a gift for you both.”

The gift was meant to celebrate the baby that Gu Ling and Su Liang were expecting.

After the old man took his seat, Gu Ling read the letter while Su Liang opened the gift box. Inside was a dark pearl, not very noticeable during the day, but definitely a valuable treasure by night.

Gu Ling handed the letter to Su Liang after reading it.

Although Su Liang had never met Ji Yuebai, she had heard Gu Ling mention him, and she imagined the Crown Prince of Yin Country to be a gentle and refined scholar.

This letter, however, was full of surprises, as its content was very rough… There was not a single unnecessary word, no pretentiousness, just a straightforward assurance that he intended to “sincerely” ally with Liang Country to fight Qian Country. However, it was up to Gu Ling to decide the date of the war and to then inform the messenger.

The so-called sincerity, of course, meant that he planned to take advantage of Liang Country once again. Ji Yuebai didn’t like war, but if the people of Liang Country were unwilling to stop the fight, he would have to deal with them.

“My son is clever and quick-witted. If Madam Su gives birth to a daughter, please let her become my daughter-in-law!” This was Ji Yuebai’s last sentence in the letter, which Gu Ling chose to ignore as if he hadn’t seen it.

The actual alliance was between Gu Ling and Ji Yuebai, and everything in this letter had already been discussed between them. But until now, they had not informed Duanmu Chen.

With Ji Yuebai becoming Crown Prince, Duanmu Chen becoming Emperor of Qian Country, and Situ Xie becoming Emperor of Liang Country, some plans could finally be put into motion.

Of course, Ji Yuebai didn’t actively send envoys to Liang Country; before this, the deceased Situ Han and Situ Xie had repeatedly sent people to secretly visit Yin Country to negotiate cooperation, but Ji Yuebai had never given them a straight answer.

Su Liang chuckled. Over the years, Gu Ling had saved many people due to his special abilities, most of whom weren’t even aware of his existence, and he never sought anything in return. However, this Crown Prince of Yin Country was an unexpected delight.

The old man couldn’t stay in Su Mansion for too long as he had to rendezvous with his accomplices. He needed Gu Ling to give him a message to relay to Situ Xie in Liang Country, claiming it was the intent of the Crown Prince of Yin Country.

Gu Ling thought for a moment and said, “Let’s wait until next spring.”

The old man nodded, “How about March? I’ll just say we should be considerate of Liang Country’s harsh winters and insufficient supplies.”

Gu Ling agreed.

After finishing his tea and accepting the food Su Liang had prepared for him, the old man left secretly.

After he left, Su Liang asked Gu Ling, “Why wait until next spring?”

Gu Ling gently stroked Su Liang’s pregnant belly, “By then, the baby will be born, and you’ll have finished your confinement. It wouldn’t be good for you to worry about the war while pregnant or during your confinement.”

Given Qian Country’s current situation, most of the generals in power were friends of theirs. If war broke out in the North, it was very likely that Xing Ji would have to go north again to oversee the situation.

Su Liang laughed softly, “Alright, that makes sense. But, can we really trust Ji Yuebai? Isn’t there a possibility that he’s deceiving us and Yin Country will join forces with Liang Country to fight against Qian Country?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “There’s only one lie in Ji Yuebai’s letter.”

Su Liang expressed her curiosity, only to hear Gu Ling say, “I’ve seen his son, and he’s neither clever nor quick-witted. He’s not allowed at our house in the future.”