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Tang Yueshan and Old Marquis have decided to go together to the borders.
One belonged to the camp of Empress Dowager Zhuang, while the other was a trusted aide of the Emperor. They used to be at odds with each other, but ever since Empress Dowager Zhuang deceived Tang Yueshan, his hatred had been diverted to the mastermind behind the scenes, who sought to benefit from their conflict.
Empress Dowager Zhuang told Tang Yueshan that the mastermind was Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing. Although Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was dead, she had allies, namely the remnants of the former dynasty hiding in the borderlands.
Tang Yueshan was determined to go all out to kill the enemies this time.
Old Marquis had no objections to this arrangement either. He and Tang Yueshan operated in different spheres, each with clear roles and no interference.
The tasks of suppressing the rebels and rescuing Princess Ning'an were pressing. The Emperor hoped that the two of them would depart soon.
Leaving the palace, Old Marquis rode in a carriage back to his residence. When passing by Qinghe Academy, he asked the coachman to stop. Unfortunately, Qinghe Academy had already finished for the day, and Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun had gone to their craftsmanship class in Lady Nan and Master Lu’s place.
"Forget it, let's return home." Old Marquis waved his hand, paused for a moment, and then remembered something. He said, "Wait, let's make a trip to Taihe Martial Arts School."
The road was crowded with pedestrians at this moment, causing some congestion. The coachman put in some effort to bring the carriage to a stop in front of Taihe Martial Arts School.
"My Lord, we've arrived at the martial arts school." The coachman said.
Old Marquis got off the carriage.
He had come to find his Little Brother Gu. As he was about to leave the capital, he wanted to bid farewell to Little Brother Gu.
However, when he entered and asked the people inside, he discovered that Little Brother Gu hadn't been to the martial arts school for several days.
"Wasn't he doing well in his training? Why did he suddenly stop coming?" murmured Old Marquis.
One of the staff at the martial arts school said, "Well... To be honest, I saw him with a man called Old He the other day. Old He is a manager of an underground martial arts arena. He often comes here to scout talented individuals and has taken away many of them. The school's master was furious with him, but we can't afford to offend the underground arena, so we have to let him be."
Old Marquis furrowed his brow. "Underground arena?"
Today was Gu Jiao's tenth match. She used a beautiful move to knock her opponent off the stage and secure victory in this match.
This “young man” in a black robe, wearing a mask and wielding a blinding spear, had completely made a name for “himself” in the underground martial arts arena.
It was hard to say whether it was her flashy moves or her exceptional skills, or perhaps her unattractive weapon, the red-tasseled spear, that made everyone initially dismissive. However, as time went on, truly amazing moments unfolded one after another, and people couldn't help but acknowledge its brilliance.
Old Marquis happened to arrive here and witnessed Gu Jiao's final match.
She fought beautifully.
The “young man” stood on the stage, her eyes bright, her posture imposing, as if emitting a radiant light.
Suddenly, a sense of grandfatherly satisfaction welled up in Old Marquis's heart, though he couldn't quite explain why.
After stepping down from the stage, Gu Jiao received her first exclusive emblem, a large character engraved with the local language. From today onwards, it symbolized her recognition as a first-level expert in the underground martial arts arena!
Gu Jiao hung the small emblem on her little pouch and shook her head in delight.
So happy!
Watching her adorable head-swaying expression, a smile unconsciously appeared in the depths of Old Marquis's eyes, "Little Brother Gu!"
He walked over with big strides.
Gu Jiao raised her gaze and looked at him, questioning him with her eyes, asking why he was here.
To his surprise, Old Marquis understood the meaning of her look. Even Old Marquis found it miraculous. He smiled and said, "I went to the martial arts school to find you, but they said you went to the underground arena. I was a bit worried about you, but just now I saw you fight a match, and it seems I was worrying for no reason."
Since Gu Jiao couldn't write while holding the red-tasseled spear, she handed it to him.
A warrior's weapon was a personal possession and was generally not allowed to be touched by others. Gu Jiao's action showed her trust in Old Marquis.
However, Old Marquis wasn't moved by her trust. On the contrary, his brow furrowed deeply.
Was this... still that legendary weapon from the State of Yan’s general that he gave her?
How did it become so ugly?
What had it been through all this time?
Gu Jiao took out a small notebook and quickly wrote: ‘Do you need something from me?’
Old Marquis decisively averted his gaze from the red-tasseled spear. He was afraid that even a brief glance would blind him with its ugliness.
He said, "I'm leaving the capital, but I wanted to see you before I go."
Gu Jiao didn't go to the palace today, so she temporarily didn’t know about Old Marquis’s assignment to the border.
Although they were “‘sworn brothers”, she had never been one to pry into people's privacy, so she didn't ask him what he was going to do outside the capital. She simply wrote: ‘Will it take a long time?’
Old Marquis nodded, "I'm afraid I won't be back this year."
The journey to the border was long, and investigating the remnants of the previous dynasty as well as helping Princess Ning'an settle down would also take some time.
Gu Jiao looked at him, seemingly waiting for a more specific answer.
He continued, "If things go smoothly, I'll be back by the beginning of spring, but if it takes longer, it may be a year before I return."
Gu Jiao wrote: ‘‘So long. I'll treat you to a meal to see you off!"
Old Marquis laughed heartily, "Great! Coincidentally, I still have one last move to teach you. The move you used on the stage just now was too rushed. Next time you encounter a similar situation, do it like this..."
The two of them had a meal that lasted for two hours, mainly because Old Marquis was giving Gu Jiao a lot of guidance. Gu Jiao, who usually didn't pay much attention, listened to it with relish this time.
Old Marquis felt like he could teach her a little more, but it was getting late, and Little Brother Gu should return home, while he needed to prepare for his departure from the capital.
Old Marquis didn't let his little sworn brother pay for the meal and settled the bill downstairs himself.
As long as he didn't act like her grandfather, the old man was quite cute. Gu Jiao thought for a moment and took off the emblem hanging from her waist, handing it to him.
Old Marquis looked puzzled, "What are you giving it to me for?"
He asked what it was for, not what it was.
Obviously, he recognized this kind of emblem.
Gu Jiao didn't think too much about it. She picked up the nearby notebook and quickly wrote: ‘My first expert emblem, I'm giving it to you!’
Old Marquis asked, "You’re willing to give me such a precious thing?"
One only received this emblem after winning ten matches, and it was the first expert emblem in her life. Old Marquis knew the significance of this emblem to Gu Jiao.
Old Marquis was overthinking.
Gu Jiao thought that she would soon receive the emblem for a second-level expert anyway, so giving this one away... didn't really matter.
The main thing was that she had to spend money to buy him a send off gift, but she was reluctant to do that.
Old Marquis saw that she was genuinely giving it to him... but was it really genuine? Anyway, since it was free of charge, Old Marquis graciously accepted it.
"It's getting late, you should go back." Old Marquis said, standing up with a smile.
However, Gu Jiao suddenly remembered something and wrote in her notebook again: ‘By the way, that friend of yours from last time... He said he was going to elope with the woman he loves, how come there's no follow-up news?’
This was something the old man had brought up himself, so it didn't count as prying into his privacy.
Old Marquis's body stiffened slightly, and out of Gu Jiao's view, he clenched the armrest of the chair tightly, "He's not eloping anymore."
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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