Chapter 402: 402. New Plan

Translator: 549690339

Early in the morning, Gu Ling rode his horse into the palace for the morning court. Although there was definitive evidence that He Wei had an accident and ran away, he decided to let Duanmu Chen hide for a few more days to see how things would unfold.

After the morning court, Gu Ling took the submitted papers and left the palace to return home.

Duanmu Chen in the Library Pavilion thought that Gu Ling would come to find him, but when he learned that Gu Ling had already left, he was at a loss for words. However, he could only follow Gu Ling’s suggestion, searching for books to pass the time in the Library Pavilion.

As soon as Gu Ling returned home, he saw Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu all ready to go out, looking eagerly at him.

“Master, let’s go catch tadpoles!” Ji Xiaoshu hugged Gu Ling’s leg.

Gu Ling shook his head, “I can’t spare the time today.”

Ji Xiaoshu frowned, “Master promised, you can’t break your word!”

“I said tomorrow.” Gu Ling’s expression remained calm.

Ji Xiaoshu was taken aback, “Big brother, is Master reneging on his promise?”

Zhengzheng sighed resignedly and pulled Ji Xiaoshu away, “Let’s focus on important matters first, and wait until Master has time to spare.”

“Mistress, Master is an untrustworthy man!” Ji Xiaoshu complained to Su Liang, who was approaching from not far away.

Su Liang smiled, “There must be some misunderstanding. Xiaoshu, remember to be clear when making appointments with others in the future.”

Ji Xiaoshu huffed, “Mistress, you’re taking Master’s side!”

Gu Ling was unfazed, “That’s only natural.”

Ji Xiaoshu asked Zhengzheng, “Big brother, when will we get a wife?”

“At least another ten years or so,” Zhengzheng thought for a moment and replied.

“By that time, my wife will also take sides with me!” Ji Xiaoshu declared.

Gu Ling walked by and shook his head slightly when he heard this, “Not necessarily.”

After hugging their daughter, Gu Ling and Su Liang went out together to see the cave they had found the night before. Fearing that any open flames would cause an explosion, Gu Ling had not entered the cave the previous night.

Lin Bojun had sent soldiers to guard the area, protecting the scene.

After Gu Ling and Su Liang arrived, they first checked the outside.

The weather was clear today, and the morning mist in the mountains had dissipated. Under the sunlight, the bloodstains on the tree trunks became even more apparent.

“It wasn’t sprayed on, but rubbed on.” Su Liang observed carefully and said, “With this amount of blood, the injury must be severe.” There was blood on the grass nearby, and an area of the ground was soaked through.

Then, they followed the bloodstains deeper into the woods, and about a hundred meters later, the landscape suddenly opened up, and the path ended. In front of them was a steep hillside with overgrown weeds and jagged rocks.

Gu Ling noticed that there seemed to be bloodstains on an upraised rock, so he jumped down from above and followed the bloodstains downward. He found that most of the bloodstains were on the uphill points and nearby areas, which suggested that the injured person had descended the mountain this way.

Su Liang waited above, and it took Gu Ling about half an hour to return along the same path. “He probably escaped using the water route.” There was a river nearby, which made tracking difficult.

“He must have chosen the route in advance.” Su Liang said. After the explosion, it was possible that nearby people would be attracted. Now it seemed that there was no one nearby at the time, but He Wei could not be certain, so he chose a difficult route to be safe.

Gu Ling also observed that He Wei had used his right hand while descending the mountain because several rocks had left bloodstained handprints, only one hand. It was a reasonable inference that He Wei’s other arm was injured or even gone.

The two returned to the entrance of the cave, and Gu Ling went in first to check, making sure there were no traps before calling Su Liang.

The inside of the cave had collapsed and was in disarray, with no bedding, clothes, or hay. They speculated that He Wei and his men had been sleeping on the ground, eating dried food without cooking.

After clearing away some rocks, Su Liang found half of a jade pendant under a pile of rubble, picked it up, but didn’t find the other half, which might have been completely shattered.

Su Liang kept the jade pendant and planned to take it back for Min Rou to confirm if it was He Wei’s belongings.

“I think with He Wei’s caution, he wouldn’t start a fire in the cave.” Su Liang concluded after looking around, “Perhaps he just wanted to make a hand grenade to kill me, but he failed and blew himself up.”

From what they knew so far about this group of people, there shouldn’t be any hidden master who had yet to make a move, so the only one who might have escaped injured was He Wei, and no one else.

Although these people were highly skilled in Martial Arts, they had failed to kill Duanmu Chen, so they must have understood how strong Gu Ling and Su Liang were. Furthermore, Gu Ling and Su Liang had powerful weapons at their disposal.

In this case, using explosives was the most likely method to be successful, even without showing one’s face, as long as the target’s location was known, it would be difficult to avoid throwing explosives from a distance.

However, He Wei had a limited amount of explosives, which he had first used to try to kill Duanmu Chen. When he made another attempt, he blew himself up.

As there were no other useful clues, Su Liang and Gu Ling left, ordering the soldiers to fill up the cave before leaving.

By the time the two returned to the city and home, they saw Qi Yan with a solemn expression, “Master, the war has started in the north!” The urgent battle report finally arrived in the capital city today, and the messenger who entered the palace also came to the Su Mansion to specifically report to the newly appointed Regent King of Qian Country.

It was now the tenth day of the third month, and the war had started on the night of the fifth day of the month, having been going on for four to five days. More battle reports would be coming in succession in the future.

Gu Ling entered the palace to discuss with Duanmu Chen, while Su Liang called Min Rou.

“Do you recognize this jade pendant?” Su Liang put the half of the jade pendant she had picked up from the cave in front of Min Rou.

Min Rou looked at it and nodded without hesitation, “It’s my grandfather’s.” She then described the complete jade pendant pattern to Su Liang. It was a totem designed by He Wei to represent the He Family.

“I have one too.” Min Rou took out her own jade pendant, which she wore with her at all times, and compared it with He Wei’s. The patterns on both were very similar.

This showed that He Wei’s ambition was indeed great, wanting to lead his family to the pinnacle of power; otherwise, if he were truly retiring, why would he need a totem?

“Is my grandfather…dead?” Min Rou furrowed her eyebrows. The broken jade pendant was not a good sign.

Su Liang shook her head, “He’s been injured and fled. But it wasn’t our doing; I suspect he was making explosives to blow me up and accidentally blew himself up.”

Min Rou was stunned, and her feelings were complicated, but at this moment, she somehow found the situation a little funny…she even began to think that her grandfather deserved it for his misdeeds.

Because Min Rou couldn’t even imagine what would happen if He Wei had thrown explosives at the Yuanming Pavilion like he had tried with the Emperor’s Sleeping Palace…not just Su Liang lived there, but also the elderly and children, who were all so adorable…

“How is your mother?” Su Liang asked, “Has she calmed down?”

Min Rou gave a bitter smile, “She’s calm now, but she won’t say anything. When she’s awake, she looks at me as if I were her enemy.”

As soon as Lady He Qianqian found out that Min Rou had been captured, her first concern was whether Min Rou had revealed the secrets of Xingluo Island.

At first, Min Rou followed Su Liang’s instructions and lied to her mother, saying that she hadn’t divulged anything and didn’t know why she was captured.

But Min Rou’s acting skills were average, especially in front of her mother, who had watched her grow up since childhood. Her lies were quickly exposed.

Min Rou then admitted that she already knew what kind of people her father Min Rui and mother were, and that they planned to do evil. She told Su Liang everything she knew about Xingluo Island and advised her mother to reveal any secrets she knew and to seek atonement. In return, she would ask Su Liang to spare her mother.

But Lady He truly became sober, “Su Liang won’t let me go. Since that’s the case, why should I betray my family? You traitor, we really loved you in vain!”

Returning to the present, Min Rou’s face was full of self-mockery, “Today I asked my mother a question that has been bothering me these days: why did they pretend to be good people in front of me? Why did they teach me to be kind and obedient? I really don’t understand the meaning of such deception among family members.”

“What did your mother say?” Su Liang asked.

Min Rou sighed, “She actually told the truth – so that I could win Mo Grandfather’s favor. It turns out that making me a good girl was just their means of pleasing the Island Master, not because they really thought I was right and they were wrong. Everything is for their benefit, everything has a purpose, and the so-called blood and affection are so ridiculous and utilitarian.”

As for this point, Su Liang had already guessed it when Min Rou said that Mo Yan was very fond of her and treated her like a granddaughter.

It was known that Mo Yan had a daughter who went missing. He Qianqian and He Wei just catered to Mo Yan’s preferences and cultivated a genuinely obedient child – a girl that Mo Yan would like – in order to further stabilize their He family’s position on Xingluo Island. Pretending to be good was more troublesome than not, but it wasn’t that difficult – with time, it became second nature.

It was also because Min Rou went to Mo Yan and said that she wanted to go out and seek treatment for Min Rui that Mo Yan allowed the Min family of three to leave Xingluo Island.

“At first, I thought you could threaten my mother with my life. But now I think it’s useless. My mother knows very well that she can’t live, and she also knows that you won’t kill me. She values the He family greatly, listens to her father and uncle, and treats her cousins like her own sons. She would never do anything to hurt them.” Min Rou sighed slightly.

Su Liang nodded, “I understand. After all, she’s your mother. No matter what, it’s only natural for you to hope that she would live. I won’t do anything to her for the time being. Since your parents are not important figures on Xingluo Island and are already under our control, it doesn’t matter whether we kill them or not. Keeping them alive might even prove useful later.”

“Anyway, thank you,” Min Rou said, her eyes suddenly becoming red.

As Su Liang looked at her, a thought suddenly came to his mind, but before he could say anything, he heard Ji Xiaoshu calling for his master from below. Gu Ling must have returned.

“I will find you later,” Su Liang stood up.

The result of Gu Ling’s discussion with Duanmu Chen was to wait and see. At the moment, they only knew that the war had started, but the situation on the battlefield was still unclear. Last month, Duanmu Chen had secretly ordered reinforcements to be sent from the south to the north, so before the war started, Ren Dong and Bai Yang’s siblings had already stationed their troops near Xuanbei City.

Since the old General Peng Wei of Liang Country suffered a serious injury back then, the three generations of the Peng family had not held the position of General again. During the period when the generals of Qian Country were being depleted, Liang Country also faced a similar situation.

Now, with Xing Ji and Qiao Jing in charge of Xuanbei City, Duanmu Chen wasn’t too worried about the army of Liang Country. What he was really worried about was the mysterious force that colluded with Liang Country and whether they would resort to any crooked tactics.

“There’s no black fog on his brow,” Gu Ling said. That was why he had gone to the palace for a short visit to see Duanmu Chen in person. Discussing the war was just incidental, and they didn’t talk much about it.

“I don’t think Mo Yan’s involvement would lead to a normal war,” Su Liang’s expression was somewhat worried, “I’m thinking that even without the food and supplies given by Yin Country initially, Mo Yan could have let the two countries go to war through other methods, like using explosives. Such overpowering weapons of mass destruction can quickly end a war.”

Gu Ling agreed. The two countries were bound to go to war, because Situ Xie wanted to fight, and so did Mo Yan. The food and supplies from Yin Country mainly served to confirm the sincerity of the Yin Royal Family’s cooperation. Moreover, it would allow Mo Yan not to expose to Situ Xie the explosives he might have hidden in his space. If he could win the war without using explosives, then naturally it would be the best option – after all, one could not simply obtain as many explosives as one wished.

If Yin Country did not cooperate and refused to provide food and supplies, and Mo Yan did not want to change his plan, the situation would become even more uncontrollable.

Although Su Liang and Gu Ling could not have predicted this beforehand, at least now, they could be sure that the food and supplies provided by Yin Country were not the fuse that ignited the war.

“We can’t temporarily leave to go north.” Su Liang said, “I just talked to Min Rou, the jade pendant is He Wei’s, and He Qianqian refuses to reveal anything.”

After briefly mentioning her conversation with Min Rou, Su Liang said she had an idea, “The key to this matter is Mo Yan. Since I might be his granddaughter, and He Wei doesn’t want him to know about it, we should find a way to get this news to Mo Yan’s ears. If he doesn’t know, he will most likely try to kill me. However, if he finds out, things can’t get worse, and there might be a chance for a turnaround.”

Gu Ling frowned. His plan was actually to hide Su Liang and the children, which would be more secure. Once Su Liang was exposed in front of Mo Yan, the plan to disguise Gu Ling as a Transmigrator might not hold much significance.

For Gu Ling, he hoped that no matter what happened, he could protect Su Liang and the children from behind.

But Gu Ling also knew that what Su Liang said had its reasons.

“We can’t find him.” Gu Ling said. Although he made a portrait of Mo Yan based on Min Rou’s description, it was difficult to find a master who hid in the dark.

“Let Min Rou go.” This was Su Liang’s plan, “Min Rou is He Wei’s granddaughter, and she has been favored by Mo Yan since childhood. She should not be in any danger when she contacts Mo Yan, moreover, the information she brings is what He Wei hides.”

If there were no other means, Su Liang wouldn’t want to use Min Rou. But to talk to Mo Yan, it was the only option.

“Let her go to Nanping City and use signal smoke to find Mo Yan?” Gu Ling guessed Su Liang’s plan.

Su Liang nodded, “We can give it a try, let Master escort her there, bring a portrait of me and that purple jade pendant. Make Mo Yan think that you are the Transmigrator, and I may be his granddaughter. Seek an opportunity to have a good talk with him and figure out his purpose. At the very least, we can stop the war for a while and avoid more casualties. If it goes well, we might be able to establish contact with him before the injured He Wei sees Mo Yan again.”

The reason for still disguising Gu Ling as the Transmigrator was twofold, to confuse Mo Yan and for safety reasons. Given the current situation, Mo Yan only cares about the Transmigrator and not about others. If Mo Yan knew that Su Liang was the Transmigrator, he might try to assassinate Gu Ling.

Gu Ling pondered for a while and then nodded, “Alright.” Su Liang looking like Mo Yan’s daughter was an opportunity. If used well, the situation might change to their advantage. But they needed to do it quickly. Otherwise, once Liang Country discovers that Yin Country has not sent troops on time and realizes they were deceived, Mo Yan may resort to any means necessary to achieve his goal.

After Su Liang talked to Min Rou about her plan, Min Rou immediately agreed, “After learning that you might be Mo Yan’s granddaughter, I thought I should tell him about it to avoid the tragedy of two generations fighting against each other.”

Su Liang could tell that Min Rou still had feelings for Mo Yan, probably because she didn’t know the exact bad deeds Mo Yan had done. From the perspective of a kind-hearted girl, she felt that Mo Yan would only be against Su Liang because he didn’t know the truth, and if he knew, he would back off.

Although Su Liang believed things were not that simple, Min Rou’s thoughts were not exactly wrong either.

“I can go. I’m more than happy to go.” Min Rou was very serious, “If this can resolve the conflict and make things calm down, so no more people get hurt or killed, then that would be great!” Not just Su Liang and Gu Ling, Min Rou also wanted the people on Xingluo Island to stop making mistakes.

In this case, she was indeed the most suitable person for this task, because she genuinely cared about what she was doing, and Mo Yan would see that too.

Su Liang asked Old Mu to escort Min Rou to the north. Old Mu knew that the situation was turbulent now. Although he was happy to stay at home with the children, he also wanted to help. Especially when he heard that Yue Mei was in collusion with Xingluo Island, and that Old Bai and Ying Ying were in her hands, he had no hesitation. He had always been worried about Old Bai, and now there was finally a clue.

Before leaving, Min Rou went to see Madam Min and told her that she was going to find Mo Yan and inform him that Su Liang was his granddaughter.

Madam Min cursed Min Rou for being a white-eyed wolf and called her a fool, but Min Rou ignored her.

“I should thank you.” Min Rou said before she left, holding Su Liang’s arm, “I am very happy to do something that is truly right and useful, no matter what the result is, I am willing, and I will not regret it. I hope we can see each other again soon.”

Su Liang nodded, “And your grandfather, he is waiting for you to return home, you have a family. Take care.”

Old Mu hugged Gu Xiaonuan and kissed her, hugged Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu, and then reached out to hug Gu Ling, “Take care of the home, that’s the most important thing.”

“Hmm. Master, take care.” Gu Ling nodded and watched Old Mu and Min Rou leave.