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T/N: This is for tomorrow as I'll be away. Enjoy reading! :D
***
Gu Changqing and Gu Jiao went to pick up Princess Ning'an and Huangfu Zheng's son. He was thirteen this year. When Princess Ning'an mentioned him, she didn't say much, just that “he isn’t in good health."
However, when the three people arrived at the address Princess Ning'an provided, they realized they had underestimated the meaning of "not in good health."
He was a youth sitting in a wheelchair, with thin cheeks and a sickly pale complexion. He was wrapped in a thick cloak and the fox fur on the collar faintly swayed in the biting cold wind.
He had narrow phoenix eyes, much like his father.
Yet his nose and mouth resembled his mother's.
He sat in a courtyard filled with lush bamboo, accompanied only by four attendants in the courtyard.
Seeing the three armored figures, he showed no expression, merely holding the wheelchair's wheels with his hands, and calmly asked, "Are you here to pick me up?"
"Uh... Yes!" Gu Chengfeng said, somewhat dazed.
"Let's go." He moved the wheelchair forward.
Gu Changqing just looked at him steadily and said nothing. Then he approached and went behind him to push the wheelchair, "I'll do it."
The youth released his hands from the wheels.
"Um, don't you want to ask who we are?" Gu Chengfeng asked him in confusion.
The youth replied, "If you're not my father's people, you're my mother's subordinates. Since my father was defeated, I guess you're sent by my mother."
"Pretty smart." murmured Gu Chengfeng.
Alas. To be honest, Gu Chengfeng was a bit disappointed.
He initially thought they were here to rescue someone, but as it turned out, they were literally here to pick someone up.
He wanted to engage in a fight and show his skills to his eldest brother, but it all went in vain!
Gu Changqing guided the youth towards the door.
Gu Jiao stood at the doorway with her arms crossed, leaning against the door frame.
As Gu Changqing pushed the wheelchair past her, Gu Jiao glanced at the youth's legs.
Not out of disrespect, nor out of curiosity, but purely a physician's assessment of the patient.
Unfortunately, his legs were covered with a thick quilt, concealing them entirely, so Gu Jiao didn't see anything.
There was a specially made carriage for the youth, with a back panel that could be opened and form a slide when lowered.
Gu Changqing pushed the wheelchair onto it, and Gu Chengfeng helped close the panel.
"Are they not coming along?" Gu Changqing asked, looking at the four attendants in the house.
The youth calmly said, "Is the capital lacking people to attend to me?"
His words made sense, but somehow, they gave an impression that he wasn't very approachable.
However, Gu Changqing hadn't intended to get close to him from the start. On their way back to the capital, their relationship was that of a monarch and his subject, but perhaps, after returning to the capital, they would become strangers who would never cross paths again.
There were fixtures on the carriage's floor to secure the wheelchair, but Gu Changqing wasn't familiar with them, and the youth didn't remind him.
As the coachman prepared to drive, Gu Jiao spoke up, "Wait."
The coachman stopped.
Gu Jiao lifted the curtain and boarded the carriage, pulling out several hidden wooden buckles from the floor and locking them onto the wheelchair's wheels.
Throughout the process, she intentionally avoided touching the youth's legs.
Once done, she glanced at the youth before turning and getting off the carriage.
They set off first, with the main army following behind.
Gu Changqing found a post station on the way back to the capital, booking two rooms: one for Gu Jiao and one for the youth.
The main army would arrive by night, and Gu Changqing and Gu Chengfeng would sleep in the camp.
The youth fell asleep once he settled in at the post station and didn't come out for dinner.
The three siblings made a bonfire in the yard, roasting some sweet potatoes and meat.
Gu Changqing took some fodder to the stable to feed the horses.
Gu Chengfeng and Gu Jiao sat by the bonfire. Gu Chengfeng scooted closer to Gu Jiao and whispered, "Hey, don't you find that kid strange?"
"Strange? How?" Gu Jiao turned over the meat on the fire.
Gu Chengfeng swallowed as he skewered a roasted sweet potato with a stick, and then whispered in a lowered voice, "His father has died, but he doesn’t seem to be grieving at all. Also, his temperament always gives me an eerie feeling. And then, his legs, what do you think happened to them? Is he injured or crippled?"
As Gu Chengfeng spoke, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He swiftly turned his head and saw the youth, who had somehow come out of the building, sitting in the wheelchair exposed to the cold breeze and looking eerie as a ghost from the underworld.
Gu Chengfeng, who was usually bold, couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine at that moment, dropping the sweet potato in his hand!
Gu Jiao calmly glanced at the youth, withdrew her gaze, and continued to roast the meat.
"What are you roasting?" the youth asked.
"Pork belly." Gu Jiao replied.
"I want some too." the youth said.
Gu Jiao flipped the meat, saying, "Once it's done, I'll bring it to you."
The youth refused, saying, "No, I want to eat it there."
There were stairs from the building to this spot, and he couldn't come down on his own. Gu Chengfeng composed himself and walked over, lifting both the youth and the wheelchair down the steps, then pushed him closer to the bonfire.
"It's windy here. You should go in after a while." Gu Chengfeng kindly reminded him.
The youth didn't respond but instead looked at Gu Jiao, who was earnestly roasting the meat. "Why are you guys wearing a mask? Are you ugly? You can't face people?"
Gu Chengfeng straightened up, "Hey! How can you speak like that! Who's ugly!"
The youth sneered, "If you're not ugly, why cover your face?"
Gu Chengfeng was furious and retorted, "We just want to! If covering the face means having no face to meet people, does sitting in a wheelchair mean you don't have legs to walk?”
As soon as his words fell, Gu Chengfeng felt the youth’s expression stiffen momentarily.
Gu Chengfeng suddenly realized he might have said the wrong thing. He opened his mouth, wanting to rectify it, but it was already too late.
The youth slowly tugged at the corner of his lips, smiling in a mocking manner.
Then, much to Gu Chengfeng's astonishment and unease, the youth raised his pale hand and pulled open the quilt covering his legs.
A gust of cold wind blew, revealing his empty trouser legs.
……
The military report of the great victory on the border had already reached the imperial palace via an 800 li urgent report in early of the twelfth month, bringing relief to the Emperor and his courtiers.
The remnants of the previous dynasty had colluded with pirates and the State of Chen's army, leading to simultaneous battles at two borders of the State of Zhao. The State of Zhao found itself under attack from both sides and learned of the capture of the Old Marquis and Princess Ning'an.
Initially, people hadn't been very confident about this war.
But the surprising victory of the Gu Family Army came swiftly.
The Emperor began anticipating the return of Princess Ning'an, Gu Changqing, Tang Yueshan, Old Marquis, and all the officers and soldiers.
Of course, there was also the little miracle physician.
He had issued a decree allowing the little miracle physician to leave the capital, never expecting her to go to the dangerous borderlands at that time. If not for the news from Yuegu City about the arrival of two officials dispatched by Empress Dowager Zhuang, holding the token of Renshou Palace, he would have remained clueless.
Had he known she was going to such a perilous place, he wouldn't have granted her permission to leave the city.
God knew how much he had been reproached by his imperial mother. He hadn't even seen her in three days!
"Have they not arrived yet? Are they still not here?" The Emperor paced anxiously in the imperial study.
"They’ll be here soon. They say it will only be a few more days." Eunuch Wei replied with a smile.
The Emperor looked at him with dismay, "You said the same last time!"
Eunuch Wei grinned awkwardly, "Well, isn’t it because... they encountered a sudden heavy snow on the mountain roads, and they couldn't proceed?"
The weather on their return was colder than when they had left, and the road closures due to heavy snow happened more frequently.
Originally, at the rapid marching speed of the army, they should have reached the capital by the twentieth. However, day by day passed, dragging on until after the eve of the New Year, yet there was still no sign of the arrival of the army!
The Emperor slumped despondently in his chair and said, "If the little miracle physician doesn't return soon, Zhen is afraid my imperial mother might never talk to me again."
The Emperor was mistaken. Whether JiaoJiao returned or not, Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't want to deal with this foolish son anymore!
How could he send her JiaoJiao to the border?!
Seriously, how did she manage not to smother him with a quilt back then?!
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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