Chapter 67

"You've been dazed the whole time, did something happen?" Gu Yun looked worriedly at Zhuo Qing, who had been absent-minded all day. Early this morning, she had sent someone to the General's Mansion to invite her over, saying there were clues regarding that scrap of paper. They had been out searching for half the day, and she had remained heavy-hearted the whole time; what exactly was bothering her so much?

Zhuo Qing replied listlessly: "Yan Ruxuan returned to the palace early this morning."

"Ah?" Gu Yun was stunned, then smiled: "She only arrived yesterday and left today?! Your methods are too high-level."

Having no heart for jokes, Zhuo Qing replied: "It wasn't me, it was Xiyan. He went to her room last night; I don't know what they discussed, but she returned to the palace early this morning." She had left somewhat suddenly, and she really wanted to know what exactly Xiyan had said to Yan Ruxuan.

Gu Yun clearly thought of it more simply and smiled: "Perhaps Lou Xiyan talked it out with her, and she naturally left once she thought it through." Since someone had already said they didn't like her, it was normal for her to leave tactfully! After all, no one wanted to be that insignificant person!

The two looked at each other, resignedly squatted down, and began digging around the tree.

Zhuo Qing chuckled; she reckoned only Yun would dare to call two famous great generals to squat on the ground and dig things up for her.

A while later, Su Yu made the first discovery and called out: "There really is something."

Several people gathered around. Buried in a pit less than a foot deep was a wooden box; the surface was already somewhat rotten from being eroded by mud and moisture. The wooden box was not locked. Gu Yun gently picked up the wooden box and opened it; inside was another yellowed piece of paper. It couldn't be another inexplicable map, could it!

"The problem is, she doesn't seem like the type who would think it through so easily." Zhuo Qing did not believe Yan Ruxuan left out of tact. Gu Yun thought so because she hadn't met Yan Ruxuan and didn't understand the mindset of ancient women.

Patting her shoulder, Gu Yun looked at her worrying about the sky falling and smiled sheepishly: "Forget about her, at least she's finally gone; leave the rest of the matters for Lou Xiyan to handle."

Zhuo Qing rolled her eyes; one could never discuss matters of the heart with Gu Yun and reach any conclusion!

Gu Yun suddenly stopped walking, and Zhuo Qing quickly stopped as well. Looking up, she saw a bronze door plaque with five striking, eye-catching characters: "Zhenguo Jiangjun Fu"!

The bright red color and the vigorous calligraphy were enough to shock one just by looking at the plaque. In front of the large red wooden gate stood two auspicious beasts carved from black cloud stone; the carving was extremely detailed and exquisite, especially the pair of eyes inlaid with gemstones, which seemed to be staring at you like a tiger watching its prey.

Eight soldiers holding long spears stood on both sides; the unique temperament of soldiers was incomparable to ordinary yamen runners, solemn and domineering. Even with such a gate standing wide open, no one would dare to enter casually!

Zhuo Qing frowned and asked: "Are you sure it's here?"

"We've tried his home and the places he frequents; this is also where Yang Lu works, so trying here is definitely not wrong." If the expression on that paper meant the most superficial meaning, then the first thing they thought of was an oral map.

Shrugging, Zhuo Qing smiled: "Alright."

She had already seen the Prime Minister's Mansion, so now she might as well see what the Zhenguo Jiangjun Fu looked like!

Wonder if Su Ling is around?!

Following Gu Yun, the two walked into the General's Mansion. Upon entering, the two rows of soldiers retracted their long spears, which had been pointing forward, and stood them by their sides, calling out solemnly and respectfully: "Madam."

Zhuo Qing nearly fell over. She glanced sideways at the woman beside her who was pretending not to hear and smiled: "Madam?" She had originally been worried about Yun's situation in the General's Mansion; it turned out she was worrying for nothing. Her status was not low at all; she could make the gate-guarding soldiers call her Madam! Was it authorized by Su Ling? Had she missed some good show?!

Gu Yun coughed twice and replied perfunctorily: "You know there are no women in the General's Mansion; they're just calling out blindly."

Calling out blindly?! Did this mean that since there were no women in the General's Mansion, any woman who showed up was a Madam? So being a General's Madam was that easy! Zhuo Qing rolled her eyes; did she think that after changing bodies, her IQ would be inversely proportional to her bust size?!

Zhuo Qing expressed her disdain to the fullest. Gu Yun continued to pretend not to see, and Zhuo Qing stopped questioning her; anyway, once they were inside the mansion, she would know if they were just calling out randomly.

"Let's start." The two stood at the main entrance, took out the paper, and followed the directions written on it, walking all the way in. After only a few turns, both seemed to have more confidence. Because so far, the directions mentioned were actually present in the General's Mansion, just like the previous intersection only having a right turn, and the paper indeed said right. Perhaps this time, the direction they were looking for was correct.

Another patrol of soldiers came toward them, and upon seeing Gu Yun, they immediately called out respectfully: "Madam."

Gu Yun only nodded slightly in response.

Which patrol was this? Patting Gu Yun's shoulder hard, Zhuo Qing joked: "You're doing quite well for yourself here!" Zhuo Qing had to admire that the security of the General's Mansion was truly strict; she had never seen anyone patrolling like this in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Gu Yun shook her fist in cooperation and smiled: "Doing quite well, I adapt more easily to places where one speaks with force."

Zhuo Qing looked enlightened: "So that's how it is." But looking at her petite figure and arms thinner than firewood, imagining her fighting a group of burly men, Zhuo Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud again: "God really plays such good jokes!"

Gu Yun couldn't stand it and walked a few steps faster, deciding not to walk with this woman whose IQ had been eroded by love.

The two turned left and right, walking for a long time, still circling inside the General's Mansion. Zhuo Qing sighed: "The General's Mansion is quite big!" She just didn't understand why the General's Mansion had to be built so convolutedly; someone entering for the first time might even get lost. Was this to increase the safety factor?!

"Mm." Looking down at the instructions for the next direction, Gu Yun frowned tightly and said: "Following this direction, the front should be the training ground."

What kind of expression was that? Zhuo Qing asked curiously: "What kind of place is that? To make your face wrinkle up like that?"

Gu Yun shrugged and replied mysteriously: "You'll see for yourself when we get there."

After turning left, there was a small door. Pushing it open, the view suddenly opened up, but the scene in front of them made Zhuo Qing open her eyes wide involuntarily. She finally knew why Yun's expression had been so strange just now.

"God! This is too erotic and spicy!"

Not far away was a large open space, about the size of four or five football fields, with at least two thousand people standing densely but very neatly. The point wasn't this, the point was that none of them were wearing shirts. Looking from afar, it was a sea of white, no, it should be a sea of bronze, having been baked by the sun all year round.

It wasn't that she hadn't seen naked men, but she really hadn't seen such a—shocking scene as the one before her. But with the sun so strong, wouldn't they be uncomfortable being baked like this?!

Looking puzzled at Gu Yun, who seemed to have long been accustomed to it, Zhuo Qing asked: "Are they training troops? Why not train in the military camp?" Who would train troops at home!

"These are General Su's elite troops. The training ground is a place Su Ling created to secretly train the vanguard and study formations; they are only taken to the military camp to drill the soldiers after the exercises are successful." At first, she didn't understand either, but after hearing Su Yu's explanation, she understood Su Ling's intentions.

Zhuo Qing nodded in understanding: "No wonder there are no women in the General's Mansion. Su Ling can become the Zhenguo General at such a young age; he really has his ways." With this group of big men wandering around the mansion for no reason, it was better not to have women!

"You seem to admire him quite a bit?" How many times had she even met Su Ling to praise him so highly? Why hadn't she discovered any good points about that ice-block man?!

Zhuo Qing replied generously: "I admit I have a good impression of him, and I think he is a good match for you. You might as well consider it; you certainly wouldn't be someone's concubine, and there aren't many excellent men like this who don't have a wife yet."

Here we go again! Gu Yun snorted coldly: "I didn't realize you were such a gossip before, and it's showing a trend of getting worse!"

Zhuo Qing smiled indifferently: "Can't help it, I'm about to become a married woman; I dare not guarantee what I'll become in the future."

She must be crazy to continue discussing such non-nutritious things with Zhuo Qing! Looking down at the map in her hand, Gu Yun directly changed the subject: "Let's go in; if we haven't gone to the wrong place, the thing we are looking for should be inside."

Zhuo Qing squinted and looked. She saw a tall man putting on his clothes while running toward their direction, his speed very fast. A moment later, Zhuo Qing finally saw who it was and chuckled: "Didn't expect that little chicken general's physique to be really something!" Muscular and dark-skinned, quite pleasing to the eye.

Gu Yun looked up. Su Yu had already run to them, and without preamble, he roared: "Why are you here! Women are not allowed in the training ground, get out quickly!"

What nonsense; she didn't know how many times she had been here! Gu Yun replied depressedly: "Who do you think is interested in looking at you? I'm going in to find something."

Extending his hand to block their path, Su Yu urged anxiously: "What are you looking for? I'll help you find it." Today was heat-resistance training; the men inside weren't wearing clothes, so what were two young ladies doing going in there!

The problem Su Yu was worried about was not a problem in the minds of Gu Yun and Zhuo Qing. He blocked them stubbornly, refusing to let them pass. Gu Yun became somewhat impatient: "You don't understand, move aside, or I'll take action!"

Already feeling irritable from the sun, Su Yu couldn't help but roar: "Take action then, who's afraid of whom!"

She shouldn't always think she was so amazing; if it weren't for the fact that she was a woman, he would have been impolite to her long ago. As they spoke, the two really started to fight.

Su Yu attacked with a straight punch. Gu Yun nimbly turned slightly to the side, dodging it easily. Su Yu was tall and big, but Gu Yun didn't take his punches and kicks head-on, always dodging flexibly. Gu Yun used close-quarters defense. Su Yu used all his strength in every move, and before long, his punching speed slowed down significantly. Gu Yun took the opportunity to grab his wrist with one hand and punch his chest. Su Yu felt the pain and stumbled back a few steps, becoming even more unwilling. With a fierce rush, Su Yu used his ultimate move against Gu Yun—the Falling Cloud Fist.

This set of boxing techniques changed extremely fast, and the force of each punch was also very strong. Gu Yun immediately retreated, wanting to dodge, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zhuo Qing standing not far behind her. If she dodged and Su Yu couldn't retract his punch in time, Qing definitely wouldn't be able to withstand this punch.

Having no time to think, Gu Yun had no choice but to take the punch. Just as she was about to act, a long arm suddenly intervened, separating Su Yu, and a slightly angry voice rang out: "Third Brother, have you made enough trouble?"

"I..." His hand was tightly gripped. Although Su Yu was still angry, he had indeed lost control just now. Glaring at Gu Yun, he sheepishly lowered his hand.

The man turned around and smiled politely at Gu Yun: "Sister-in-law, what are you looking for?"

Zhuo Qing's eyes lit up. This person looked—how should she put it? His handsomeness went without saying; the Su family members were all good-looking. The feeling he gave people was refined! Yes, refined, a thick scholarly air. There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, but compared to Su Yu, he had an extra touch of refreshing and pleasant temperament.

Seeing him, Gu Yun's tone was clearly better: "It's not convenient to say right now; I'm looking for an important clue to a case that might be inside the training ground."

The man smiled slightly and replied: "Alright, please wait a moment."

After speaking, the man walked to the training ground and said loudly: "That's all for today, disperse."

Thousands of people replied in unison: "Yes."

The sound was so loud that Zhuo Qing couldn't help but take a step back. Then, thousands of people quickly gathered into teams and ran away in four directions. Before long, the training ground, which had been full of people, was empty. Zhuo Qing sighed inwardly; they were indeed elite troops with strict military discipline. She had seen it for herself today. Unable to resist moving closer to Gu Yun, Zhuo Qing asked in a low voice: "Who is he?"

Gu Yun didn't lower her voice and replied naturally: "The Second Young Master of the General's Mansion, Su Ren."

"This person seems harder to deal with than the little chicken general." Looking like a scholar, yet his prestige in the army didn't seem low. The more introverted and harmless someone appeared, the more difficult they were to deal with.

Gu Yun rolled her eyes at her and replied: "What great insight." Wasn't that just stating the obvious!

Su Ren walked over to them and said: "Sister-in-law, please."

Anyway, since he had already dismissed the people, they should search properly; she hoped they wouldn't be disappointed this time.

Holding the paper, they followed the directions and distances on it, walking from the left side of the training ground to the right, and then from the right side to the back. Su Yu had been following behind them, wanting to see what they were looking for, but after walking this circle, he finally couldn't stand it and asked: "What are you circling around for? Any further and it's the mountain forest."

There were only a few instructions left. Gu Yun and Zhuo Qing looked at each other and decided to walk to the end to see.

The group bypassed the training ground and walked into a forest. After walking for quite a while, they finally stopped in front of a big tree.

Zhuo Qing wiped the sweat from her face and panted: "It should be here." No wonder Yang Lu wanted to write this thing; with so many trees, it was really hard to find. But why did he have to make them circle around for so long!

Zhuo Qing rested against the tree trunk. Gu Yun half-squatted down and looked for a long time, but didn't see anything unusual. She reckoned Yang Lu had buried this thing a long time ago. Picking up a few suitable stones from the ground, she threw them to the two big men beside her; without her saying anything, they should know what to do, right?

(End of chapter)