Chapter 176: Ao Tian Imprisoned (2)

The clear eyes were full of sharp edges. Ao Tian's heart jumped, and he replied coldly, "This matter has nothing to do with you."

Leaving only one sentence, Ao Tian turned and said to Cheng Hang in the room, "Let's go." The two soon left the courtyard.

Gu Yun stood quietly in the courtyard, deeply immersed in her own thoughts, her brows furrowed tighter than ever. She didn't ask Ao Tian again, nor did she need to, because he had already told her the answer just now.

He really knew. Who was the murderer? What was his relationship with him? And why was he willing to go to prison for the murderer?

Su Ling watched the woman in the courtyard with her brows locked. When had she ever been so worried? Was she worried about Ao Tian? Had their relationship reached such a point?

In the early autumn morning, the cool autumn wind blew the yellowing leaves, making them rustle, and a few withered yellow leaves drifted down slowly, signaling the arrival of autumn. Under a vigorous large tree lay a woman in plain clothes. She was naturally not here to grieve for the spring and autumn. Heavy breathing accompanied the rising and falling of her body, and fine, dense sweat beads were on her forehead.

Two hundred ninety-nine... three hundred! Finishing the last sit-up, Gu Yun hugged her knees with both hands and breathed heavily. She had almost not slept all night, constantly thinking about Ao Tian's case. The testimonies of the previous victims were of little use, especially the rape cases, which were recorded very little; she estimated the Yamen Runners didn't dare to ask. She should perhaps go find the victims herself to understand the situation at that time. And last night's case, the interrogation record had not been done well either. She always felt that the murderer's crime last night should have been relatively hurried, not as calm as the previous cases, which could be seen from the location he chose.

Was he doing it on purpose or... just doing it randomly in a hurry?

With the case on her mind, Gu Yun felt she still had to go to the Ministry of Justice. Standing up nimbly, she casually wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and walked out of the courtyard. Just as she stepped out of Yitian Courtyard, she saw Leng Xiao and Ge Jingyun standing at the courtyard gate. Looking at them, it seemed they had been waiting for a while. Seeing Gu Yun come out, the two immediately welcomed her.

"Head."

Gu Yun looked at Ge Jingyun and smiled, "How is your injury?" Seeing him speaking with full breath, he should be fine.

Patting his chest hard, Ge Jingyun replied heartily, "It's completely healed."

Gu Yun nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Do you have something to do with me?"

The two looked at each other, and finally Leng Xiao said, "We heard that the General intends to draw some soldiers from the Su Family Army to be trained by you personally, is it true?"

"Mm."

Leng Xiao asked in a low voice, rarely mysteriously, "Do we still have a chance to be by your side?"

Gu Yun smiled slightly and replied loudly, "There will be a competition then. If you are excellent enough, you can. I only want one hundred people."

Hearing that they would select people through competition, both breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Just wait and see." Before, they were worried that it would be arranged directly by the General. If it were a competition, then they had nothing to worry about! Even if they really lost, it was because they were useless, and they couldn't blame anyone else!

The confident look of the two made Gu Yun's mood improve, and she smiled, "Good, I'll wait!" After the two looked at each other and smiled, they had a tacit understanding. Leng Xiao and Ge Jingyun ran toward the practice field with peace of mind. They reminded Gu Yun of the matter of training the special forces. Although Su Ling hadn't mentioned it again, since she had already agreed, she couldn't be indifferent. Thinking of this, Gu Yun decided to find Su Ling first, then go to the Ministry of Justice.

Walking to the front courtyard of the study, she happened to meet Su Ren coming out from inside. Seeing her wanting to go in, Su Ren asked, "Are you looking for Big Brother?"

"Mm, is he there?"

Su Ren nodded and smiled, "Yes."

This person was like a fox. Looking at his obviously strange smile, Gu Yun frowned, "He won't be throwing a tantrum again, will he?" On the way back to the General's Mansion yesterday, he had been moody, glaring coldly at her with black eyes. When she thought he was going to explode again, he didn't say a word and galloped away on his horse. Sometimes she really couldn't understand what Su Ling was thinking.

Coughing lightly, Su Ren smiled strangely and replied, "Go in, I'll go get busy first."

Watching Su Ren's back as he slipped away, Gu Yun subconsciously didn't want to enter the study. She always felt that Su Ling must be hard to deal with right now. Thinking of him holding her in the study last time and saying things that were unfathomable, Gu Yun's face burned for no reason, and her heart had a moment of panic. Or... should she wait until there were more people to find him?

Gu Yun turned and retreated a few steps, suddenly feeling unhappy in her heart. Since when was she such a coward? It was just a man! Last time it was her carelessness that let him take advantage. If she were prepared, she would definitely not let him succeed again! Taking a deep breath, Gu Yun stepped into the study's small courtyard again.

Entering the room, Gu Yun thought she would see an active volcano again. Unexpectedly, Su Ling was just sitting quietly before the desk, holding a brush, not knowing what he was writing. His resolute and angular face looked somewhat cold and hard, but also had a bit more Confucian elegance than when he was holding a long sword. From the moment Gu Yun entered the courtyard, Su Ling knew she had come. Originally, he didn't want to pay attention to her, but she stared at him so straightly, which made him, who had long been accustomed to being chased by countless eyes, also dazed.

After a quarter of an hour, Su Ling finally gave up. Looking at the handwriting that was clearly not as flowing as before, he cursed in a low voice, put down the brush in his hand, slowly looked up at her, and asked coldly, "What is it?"

The low, deep voice and deep eyes finally brought Gu Yun back to her senses. She had actually stared at him for so long, damn it! Sitting on the chair closest to the door, Gu Yun asked casually, "Nothing particularly important, I just want to talk to you about the special forces training. Now that Su Ren is back, the garrison basic troops have all returned to the capital, asking when you plan to start."

"After the celebration." After saying a sentence indifferently, Su Ling lowered his head, picked up a book at will, and didn't look up at her again.

Gu Yun raised her eyebrows lightly. She really wasn't used to such a Su Ling. Usually, he either roared at her, moved his hands at her, or practiced his eyesight with her. Today, he was so cold and calm, which made her feel strange. Gu Yun asked in a low voice, "Are you angry?"

Su Ling's hand flipping the book paused slightly, but soon returned to normal. He still didn't look up, just replied coldly, "No."

This was called not angry? She wasn't meeting him for the first time! Pondering for a long time, she didn't seem to have provoked him. Unable to think of it, Gu Yun asked directly, "Where did I offend you?"

She still dared to ask? Su Ling looked up again. This time, there was no calm in his hawk-like eyes. If looks could kill, Gu Yun would have died many times. She swallowed her saliva, feeling that she was really a cheap bone. She seemed to feel... this Su Ling was more real, and of course, more dangerous!

Gu Yun slowly stood up from the chair and smiled, "You get busy, sorry for the disturbance."

She had asked what she wanted to ask, and Gu Yun intended to leave. Who knew that before her foot crossed the threshold, Su Ling's gloomy voice had already sounded behind her, "Wait. Where are you going?"

Gu Yun turned around and replied truthfully, "Going to the Ministry of Justice to look at the case files."

She was really keen on this case! Su Ling snorted coldly, "So keen on this case, it's because it relates to Ao Tian that you are so extra attentive, right!"

Gu Yun sighed secretly, here it comes again...

However, compared to the unfathomable him just now, she was more willing to deal with this Su Ling. At least she felt very familiar. Gu Yun rarely explained with a good temper, "I am keen on all cases. Ao Tian saved me and helped me, so I naturally hope this case can be cleared up as soon as possible. But even if this were just an ordinary case, I would be just as attentive. All culprits should be brought to justice, which has nothing to do with who is involved! If it were your affair, I would also do my best."

If it were your affair, I would also do my best...

Su Ling's eyes, which had been burning with rage just a moment ago, suddenly sank. The irritation in his heart had actually diminished quite a bit because of her seemingly offhand remark. Thinking of how she had indeed done a lot for him when they were suppressing the mountain bandits, Su Ling gazed at Gu Yun with eyes that grew increasingly deep, his expression appearing somewhat complex.

Why was he looking at her like this? Facing Su Ling's eyes that had become "strange" again, Gu Yun's heart began to panic again. Unconsciously taking a step back, she smiled, "You get busy, I'm really leaving."

"Wait."

Her feet stiffened. Gu Yun sighed, what did he want to do!

Su Ling stood up from the desk, walked to her side, and said with a seemingly good mood, "I'll go with you, the Ministry of Justice is not an ordinary place after all."

He wanted to go with her? Could she say no?

Su Ling had already stepped out of the study first. The answer was clearly—no!

Gu Yun followed Su Ling to the courtyard helplessly. A small general happened to come in and reported, "General, the Minister of Rites, Yu Zesi, requests an audience."

Yu Zesi? Su Ling's sword brows furrowed slightly. What was he looking for him for? In fact, the Yu family and the Su family could be considered family friends. When his mother gave birth to Su Ren, she almost had dystocia. It was the Yu Madam, who came from a family of medicine, who helped, so his mother didn't die from dystocia. Counting it up, the Yu family could be considered their benefactors. It was just that later, his parents passed away, and their contacts gradually became less. Yu Zesi almost never came to the Su family on weekdays. This time he came, what exactly was it for?

Although he didn't know the purpose of his visit, Yu Zesi had come in person, so Su Ling still had to give him this face. Lifting his hand lightly, Su Ling said to the small general, "Invite him."

"Yes."

Seeing his expression somewhat grave, Gu Yun thought something important had happened in the court, so she smiled and said, "I can go by myself. I am the person who can help Dan Yulan solve the case, he won't make things difficult for me."

After lingering for so long, it was almost morning. Gu Yun wanted to go and return quickly. Just as she turned around, a pair of powerful hands grabbed her wrist, and a low, deep voice sounded in her ear at the same time, "You sit for a while, I'll go with you later."

Gu Yun was stunned. What was wrong with him today? So persistent?

Being pulled to sit by the chair closest to the desk, Gu Yun could only wait. According to Su Ling's personality, if she insisted on leaving, the two would probably have another big fight. She didn't want to roar at him all day. Those who know the times are heroes, wait a while.

After a while, the small general brought an old man around sixty years old into the study. Gu Yun looked up and saw that behind the old man, there was actually a woman following. The woman lowered her head slightly, with a tall figure and elegant manners. She looked like a daughter of a great family. Gu Yun was suddenly curious about the woman's appearance. Looking up again, Gu Yun was stunned. How was it her?

As soon as Yu Zesi entered the room, he saw Gu Yun sitting on the chair regardless of anyone. He had never seen a woman who could appear in Su Ling's study and be so relaxed. Withdrawing his gaze without a trace, Yu Zesi bowed slightly to Su Ling and saluted, "Seen General Su."

Su Ling rarely said politely, "Magistrate Yu, no need for courtesy."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 177 =====