Chapter 2837: The Stand-In Was Forcibly Taken by the Mountain Bandit's Wife 43

On the official road from South Province back to the Capital, the carts and horses rattled.

It was late spring; the willows by the road had sprouted new green, swaying gently in the breeze.

Gu Fanghe rode on horseback, with Jin Chen's carriage beside him; the carriage curtain occasionally flipped up in the wind, revealing the side profile of the person inside leaning against the window, leisurely and carefree, as if on an outing.

At the rear of the convoy was the prison carriage carrying the Crown Prince.

Wu Zhengming huddled inside the carriage, his hair disheveled, his clothes ragged, bearing no trace of the former Crown Prince's dignity; he kept his head lowered, but his eyes occasionally glanced forward, as if waiting for something.

At dusk, the convoy stopped at the official relay station outside the city.

The clerk at the relay station had already received the news; he came out trembling, kneeling on the ground, and said, "Welcome, General."

Gu Fanghe dismounted, walked to the carriage, lifted the curtain, and Jin Chen bent to step out from inside.

The clerks secretly glanced up, saw this scene, and their hearts jolted; they had long heard that General Gu had returned to the Capital with a favored young master by his side, and seeing it now confirmed the rumor—this young man was truly handsome.

The group entered the relay station.

The main hall already had food set out; it wasn't lavish, but it was clean.

Gu Fanghe pulled Jin Chen to sit in the seat of honor, while Liu Mianfeng took a seat privately on either side.

As for the Crown Prince…… his hands and feet were bound, he was thrown into a corner without even a stool, so much so that the clerk's hand trembled when serving food.

Gu Fanghe acted as if he hadn't seen, picking up his chopsticks, he placed the tenderest piece of the steamed bass into Jin Chen's bowl, saying, "The journey has been bumpy and austere; are you still accustomed?"

Jin Chen lazily propped his chin, lifted his eyes to him, and said, "Compared to what I'm not used to…… there's probably someone else."

"Our Gu Dangjia… oh no, General, you look rather nervous."

Gu Fanghe froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

To say he was nervous would be less accurate than saying his homesickness made him timid; but these emotions, upon hearing Jin Chen's words, suddenly dissipated.

He shifted closer to Jin Chen, then felt a bit more at ease, and added a piece of chicken to Jin Chen's bowl, saying, "Eat more."

In the corner, the Crown Prince watched this scene, and his stomach let out an involuntary growl.

From the start of the journey to now, he had only been given food every five days, merely to keep him from dying on the road—how could he not know that Gu Fanghe was doing this on purpose?

Starving him, just as he once had people starve to death the younger brother of the Gu clan, bit by bit tormenting him.

Wu Zhengming gritted his teeth, his eyes growing brighter; once back in the Capital, he would certainly make these people pay.

Just then, the sound of hurried hooves suddenly came from outside the relay station.

Immediately after, the clerk came running in, stumbling and crawling, and said, "May I report… lords!"

"News from the capital: His Majesty passed away just two hours ago!"

"What!" Everyone in the hall, except Gu Fanghe and Jin Chen, was startled.

"The Son of Heaven has passed away! So quickly?"

The clerk continued, "Now the Ninth Prince is temporarily handling state affairs, overseeing all matters, and the capital is under lockdown."

"Has the Ninth Prince seized power?"

"General! The Ninth… the Ninth Prince has arrived!"

The Crown Prince's whole body jolted, overjoyed beyond expectation.

His Imperial Uncle, who has always been carefree and uninterested in the throne,

In the past, Father Emperor several times tried to involve him in governance, but he refused each time; his taking power might merely be a temporary measure to stabilize the court.

Then… does he still have a chance?

Wu Zhengming suddenly lifted his head, looking at Gu Fanghe's party, and shouted, "You're doomed! My Imperial Uncle will surely come to rescue me! I will still be the Son of Heaven, and I will certainly…"

He hadn't finished speaking when the door of the relay station was pushed open.

The Ninth Prince was not the Ninth Imperial Uncle the Crown Prince remembered—always swaying a folding fan, like a carefree scholar.

He entered, his gaze sweeping over the hall, lingering on the Crown Prince for a moment before shifting away, as if looking at something insignificant. He then turned to the standing Gu Fanghe, clasped his fists, bowed deeply, and said, "General Gu, after seven years apart, our great undertaking… is finally fulfilled."

The joy on the Crown Prince's face froze.

No…… impossible……

Are the Imperial Uncle and General Gu in league?

"Your Highness flatters me; this is your great undertaking, not mine." Gu Fanghe said, "I helped you ascend the throne only to avoid… repeating past mistakes."

Upon hearing this, Ninth Prince Wu Chengjing's eyes filled with even greater reverence: "General, you have given me the gift of life, the gift of recognition, and moreover… the gift of rebirth."

"Had it not been for the General not abandoning me in the army camp, secretly instructing and supporting me, I, Wu Chengjing, might already have been a pile of withered bones beneath imperial rule, or a muddled idler wasting away my remaining life as a leisurely prince; I would certainly not be here today."

"This kindness, I will never forget; if the General is willing, this throne…"

He hadn't finished speaking, but the meaning was already clear.

Gu Fanghe, however, shook his head without hesitation: "No need."

"I have no interest in that position; I am a general, and in the future I will remain nothing but a general who leads troops in battle."

"He was born to be on the battlefield, at the frontier, amidst bugles and beacon fires; the intrigues of the imperial court are neither his desire nor his forte."

"What's more……"

Gu Fanghe turned his head, looking at Jin Chen, who remained lazily seated beside him, utterly uninterested in the topic of the throne.

He had asked his beloved; Jin Chen felt no interest in that supreme position, even finding it troublesome.

If Jin Chen wanted it, he might consider it, spare no effort to seize that position and deliver it into his hands, just to win a smile.

But since Jin Chen doesn't want it, then let it be.

Crown Prince: "……"

"Wu Chengjing! How dare you betray the imperial family, collude with traitors, plot to usurp the throne! You don't deserve the surname Wu!!"

The Ninth Prince then turned to look at him, "Your Highness probably doesn't realize—I… am not actually a member of the imperial family."

"I am the General's man."

"Huh?"

Jin Chen heard this, slightly raised his brows, lifted his eyes to Gu Fanghe, his gaze teasing: "He belongs to the General… then who do I belong to?"

Gu Fanghe froze.

Immediately, he lifted his foot and kicked the Ninth Prince's buttocks without courtesy; the force wasn't strong, but it was enough to make this future Son of Heaven stagger a step.

"Speak properly." Gu Fanghe's face was expressionless.

Wu Chengjing was caught off guard, kicked in the butt, covered his rear and instantly lost composure; the solemn, dignified look on his face collapsed, he wore a tearful face, "Wrong, wrong! Don't kick my butt from now on! At least I'm about to become emperor! Show some respect, okay."

This appearance bore no trace of the earlier imperial dignity; instead it resembled how, years ago, in Gu Fanghe's camp, he had crawled and struggled, trained to the point of crying for his parents, the look of a young boy.

Liu Mianfeng laughed out loud; Yan Qi, leaning on Shi Meng's shoulder, laughed until he doubled over; even Chen Xiaoshan couldn't help but lift the corners of his mouth.

Gu Fanghe then turned his head, kissed Jin Chen's cheek in a fawning manner, poured him a cup of wine, "He's talking nonsense, don't listen to his rubbish."

"He… was a discarded pawn the former emperor threw into my camp to be tempered, useless; I picked him up and casually taught him for a few years, counting him as half a disciple."

Jin Chen let out an amused "oh".

The Crown Prince collapsed in the corner, his face ashen.

He finally understood that all talk of idle clouds and wild cranes, of disdaining power and position, was false.

That imperial uncle, whom he had never taken seriously, was the one who hid himself the deepest.