Marquis Lin looked utterly confused. "What? What happened to Gu Liyue?"
Lu Jinchen got up and looked in the direction of the fireworks. His eyes were filled with panic. "Liyue's in trouble. I stationed some men around her to keep her safe. They must have failed to protect her, which is why they sent me this signal... The fireworks are a secret signal. If they can handle the situation, they'll only set off two. But now they've set off five, which means... they don't even know where Liyue is."
Marquis Lin was stunned. "How could this happen? But Gu Liyue was just fine in the capital. Why did something happen to her all of a sudden?"
Lu Jinchen curled his hands slightly. After a moment's thought, he told the secret guard to stop the carriage. "Liyue doesn't make enemies. It's probably because of me. We just need to wait. We'll get news soon."
But his adoptive father was still waiting for him to be rescued. He was stretched too thin. What should he do?
Lu Jinchen guessed right. Before long, someone brought him a letter. There were just a few words on it: If you want to save Gu Liyue, come to Qianyue Pond alone.
Hearing this, Marquis Lin's face also changed greatly. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Could it be that someone is deliberately using her to disrupt your plan? Qianyue Pond is so far from Cangshan. You can't be in two places at once."
Lu Jinchen closed his tired eyes. "It's the Qi family."
Marquis Lin asked in confusion, "What?"
Lu Jinchen let out a bitter laugh. "The Qi family pretends not to take sides. They're just being overly proud. That's their usual way. I don't know why Qi Manyan agreed to marry Lu Jinxuan, but for such a well - planned scheme, that fool Lu Jinxuan could never have come up with it."
"But what does the Qi family gain by helping Lu Jinxuan? Is it just for Qi Manyan?"
Lu Jinchen shook his head. "Qi Manyan is nothing to be afraid of. She was so stupid that she tried to harm Gu Liyue several times before. I warned her many times, but she didn't stop. What really made her stop was the Duke of Qi. Every move the Duke of Qi makes has a deeper meaning. Power is what he loves most. Compared to me, Lu Jinxuan is more stupid and easier to control. As long as they get rid of me, it'll be easy for the Qi family to take over the power of the Prince Liang's Mansion."
Marquis Lin frowned. "What are you going to do?"
What should he do? On one side was his adoptive father, whom he regarded as his own father. On the other side was the woman he cared about most. More importantly, no matter where he went, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to bring people out safely.
Lu Jinchen's heart was cut like a knife. He closed his eyes for a long time before tremblingly saying, "I finally... have to let her down..."
Marquis Lin grabbed his arm. "I don't believe the Gu family will just sit back and do nothing. You go and find your adoptive father. Then send your men to the Gu family for help. They know the direction and will surely rescue Gu Liyue."
When Lu Jinchen opened his eyes again, his eyes were blazing with determination. He waved his hand. "Bring me paper and a pen."
After scribbling a few lines, Lu Jinchen carefully put away the paper in his hand and handed it to Marquis Lin. "Please, Uncle, pass this on to Aunt. Uncle, you've been upright all your life. I'm afraid I won't be able to get out of this alive this time. I can't ignore my adoptive father's kindness in raising me. I can only fight to the death to save his life. If he can live safely, please, Uncle, clear the Xu family's name."
Marquis Lin held Lu Jinchen's hand. "Jinchen..."
Lu Jinchen shook his head. "Uncle, don't say anything more. Also... I've let Liyue down. I can never repay her in this lifetime. But I won't let the Qi family off. Uncle, there's a record of the private troops bestowed on me by the emperor on the paper. Please, Uncle, pass those private troops on to General Gu... I want the entire Qi family to be buried with Liyue!"
His eyes were bloodshot. At this point, because of his extreme excitement, he couldn't catch his breath for a long time.
Marquis Lin nodded seriously. "Jinchen, don't worry. I'll fulfill all your requests one by one."
Lu Jinchen's face was ashen. He got out of the carriage, led the horse in front, and mounted it. He said to Marquis Lin, "Uncle, take good care of yourself."
Just then, the sound of horse hooves came from ahead, and there were definitely more than one horse.
After a moment's daze, Lu Jinchen saw Gu Chengzhi galloping towards them on horseback. There were more than a hundred elite soldiers behind him.
Gu Chengzhi was wearing armor, but it was still obvious that his left hand and left leg were inconvenient. He dismounted and handed a bamboo slip to Lu Jinchen.
"Jinchen, we're sworn brothers. How could you fight alone? This was sent out by Xu Nian against all odds. He asked me to pass it on to you. He said for you not to worry about him. He just asks you to clear the Xu family's name. And he's managed to send the evidence of Lu Jinxuan's crimes into the palace."
Gu Chengzhi was full of energy. He patted Lu Jinchen on the shoulder. "But I know you're not the kind of person who will listen obediently. He's your adoptive father. You can't just sit back and do nothing. Look, I've even brought men for you! Let's go. I'm going to raid Lu Jinxuan's lair today!"
But after looking around, it seemed that he didn't see the look of gratitude in Lu Jinchen's eyes. Gu Chengzhi looked back curiously. When he saw Marquis Lin, he greeted him. "Lord Lin, do you want to go with us?"
Only then did Marquis Lin tell Gu Chengzhi everything in detail.
Gu Chengzhi was shocked. "You mean my sister is missing? Where is she? I'll go and save my sister!"
Marquis Lin quickly grabbed him and said in a deep voice, "The messenger said that only Jinchen should go alone. Otherwise..."
Gu Chengzhi stopped and frowned. "Jinchen, what's your decision?"
Lu Jinchen pursed his lips and didn't say a word. He just held Xu Nian's bamboo slip. Half of the words on the bamboo slip were carved with a sharp tool. The latter part was probably written in finger - blood in a hurry.
His adoptive father had always been strong. He had endured so much humiliation for so many years just to find out the truth about the frame - up of the Xu family back then.
Just a little bit, just a little bit...
Seeing Lu Jinchen's reaction, Gu Chengzhi understood. He punched Lu Jinchen on the nose. "Lu Jinchen, what do you mean? Is your adoptive father more important than my sister? My sister has always been thinking about you. When she heard you were in trouble, she desperately told me it must be false. When they said you weren't the real son of the Prince Liang, she even said that she liked you as a person, not your status. But what about you? You actually want to abandon her? Don't you care about her at all?"
Marquis Lin tried his best to stop Gu Chengzhi from continuing to attack. "Chengzhi, calm down. For such a difficult choice, I ask you, what would you choose? Jinchen is forced to do this..."
"What forced? He's forced, so he just ignores my sister? He keeps saying that my sister is the one he loves most. I spit on that!"
"Yes." Lu Jinchen hadn't resisted all this time. Only now did he speak. "Yes, because it's her... Because I only dare to let her down."
Gu Chengzhi stared blankly at Lu Jinchen. Then he slapped him on the shoulder. "What are you still standing there for? Get on the horse!"
"What?"
Gu Chengzhi adjusted his armor and raised his eyebrows. "Lu Jinchen, we've been brothers for 21 years. I'll never let you let anyone down! You lead a team to save Liyue. I'll go and save Xu Nian!"