Lu Jinchen felt the blood dripping drop by drop. Frowning, he looked up. "Let go. I don't need your help. Let go and climb up!"
The Prince of Liang shook his head. "You always blame me for being partial, but you're my son, my only legitimate son. It's you who will inherit the throne in the future. I've placed high hopes on you. How could I indulge you like I do your half - brothers?"
Lu Jinchen's eyes shrank. "Why are you saying this? You're the Prince of Liang, the prince of the whole country. Uncle the Emperor is still waiting for you to return to the palace to assist him in governing. Don't worry about me!"
The Prince of Liang struggled to raise his head, glanced upwards, then looked down at Lu Jinchen and gave a bitter smile. "Yes, I've always remembered that I'm the Prince of Liang. I know my elder brother is in poor health, so I have to help him more... But I'm also your father... Jinchen, I've never regretted anything in my life. Between family and the country, I chose the country. But now I regret it. If I had shown a little more care and patience towards you and your mother, would things not have turned out like this..."
"Stop talking nonsense. Let go! Let go!" Lu Jinchen was greatly frightened and desperately tried to break free from the Prince of Liang's hand.
But the Prince of Liang was quicker. He let go, picked up a loose rock on the cliff, and threw it straight at Qi Manyan's face. Qi Manyan went limp and fell.
At the same time, the Prince of Liang kicked with both legs and threw Lu Jinchen up into the air. But due to the recoil of the force, he himself quickly fell into the river.
The Prince of Liang's personal guard leaped up, caught Lu Jinchen, and put him on the ground.
Lu Jinchen crawled to the edge of the cliff on all fours and shouted wildly, "Father! Father!"
But the river roared on. There was no sign or sound of anyone.
...
Gu Liyue had been missing for a day. Jiang was extremely worried. She kept it from her in - laws and Gu Chengzhi, who was recuperating in the courtyard.
She was in a complete mess, not understanding why such things were happening to the Gu family. Her in - laws were old and in poor health. If Liyue couldn't be rescued in time, how could they bear it?
Just then, Qin rushed over. "Sister - in - law, something's wrong, sister - in - law..."
Jiang's eyelids twitched. "Weren't you supposed to take care of Yinyin and Yunxi? Did something happen to them?"
Qin shook her head. "It's Yunxi. She ran to find Zhier when I wasn't looking... But Zhier is nowhere to be found."
Jiang looked up and saw Lu Yunxi dragging a servant of Gu Chengzhi by the ear and throwing him into the main hall.
"Quickly tell me, where has your Fourth Master gone?"
The servant was so scared that he trembled. He knelt down and kowtowed, spilling everything out. "Fourth Master received a bamboo slip. It seemed to be a distress letter from the convicted official Xu Nian. After he received the letter, he took the secret guards and left."
Jiang frowned. "You mean he didn't go to look for Liyue but to rescue Xu Nian?"
The servant nodded, then suddenly reacted and asked, "Has something happened to the young lady?"
Just as Jiang was about to speak, she heard a violent cough at the door. It was Lord Gu.
She quickly stepped forward to greet him and carefully helped her father - in - law in. "Father - in - law, when did you come?"
It took Lord Gu a long time to catch his breath. "Such a big thing has happened in the family. How dare you keep it from me!"
Jiang quickly knelt down. "Father - in - law, it's my fault. But we don't know the situation yet. Telling you would only make you worry. It won't solve anything."
Lord Gu looked at her and asked, "Liyue is missing? And where's Zhier?"
Lu Yunxi immediately told Lord Gu exactly how Gu Liyue was abducted by Qi Xuan.
The veins on Lord Gu's forehead bulged. He slapped the table and said, "The Qi family is going too far. Do they think there's no one in the Gu family? Servants!"
A servant came in. "General."
Lord Gu waved his hand. "Go and get my token. I still have nearly a hundred elite guards in the suburbs. Mobilize them now and surround the Qi family. No one is allowed to enter or leave!"
The servant ran back shortly after. He said anxiously, "General, the token is missing..."
Lord Gu paused. "What do you mean it's missing?"
The servant knelt down and said, "General, it was Fourth Young Master who stole the token. Not only the token, but Fourth Young Master also stole your... armor, the one bestowed by the Emperor himself."
Lord Gu was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath. Jiang quickly stepped forward to help him calm down.
"Father - in - law, don't be too angry. Zhier is just a naughty and ignorant child. He received a distress letter from the convicted official Xu Nian and went to rescue him."
It took Lord Gu a long time to recover. He leaned back in his chair and frowned in thought.
Jiang carefully asked, "Father - in - law... Although it's wrong to rescue a convicted official, but... Xu Nian was escorted out of the capital by the Second Brother on the order of the Empress and was lost in the Second Brother's custody. Zhier going to look for Xu Nian is also to share your worries. It shouldn't be considered... breaking the law, right?"
Lord Gu squinted his eyes and asked, "You mean Xu Nian sent a letter to Zhier... That is to say, Xu Nian didn't escape from prison but was kidnapped?"
Jiang was stunned for a moment and then reacted. She pondered and said, "It seems so."
Lord Gu rubbed his fingers. "The matter of Xu Nian is very strange. There have been too many rumors about Lu Jinchen recently. This matter must be related to Lu Jinchen. Liyue's disappearance is probably also closely related to Lu Jinchen."
Jiang asked, "What should we do now?"
Lord Gu stood up and stared at Gu Chengzhi's servant. "Do you know where your master has gone?"
The servant said nervously, "It seems to be... Cangshan."
Lord Gu nodded. "Servants, help this general change clothes. And spread this general's order. Mustering a thousand troops and heading to Cangshan."
Jiang's eyelids twitched heavily. "Father - in - law, the Emperor is still in a coma. Mustering troops at this time may..."
Lord Gu was bestowed a special edict by the former Emperor, which allowed him to muster troops on his own in case of an emergency. But for so many years, Lord Gu had always obeyed the Emperor's orders and never acted privately.
Now that the court was in turmoil, such a decision might arouse the actions of those with ulterior motives.
Lord Gu sneered. "If I don't act now, those people's hands will only reach out further!"
As he was about to go out, Lu Yunxi immediately followed behind. "General Gu, I'm going too."
Hearing the delicate voice of a young girl, Lord Gu instinctively wanted to refuse. But when he turned around and saw it was Lu Yunxi, he laughed heartily. "So it's Yunxi. Your parents are both heroes on the battlefield. You must be no worse. Let's go."
Jiang followed them out of the door and asked worriedly, "Father - in - law, what about Liyue?"
Lord Gu just waved his hand. "Liyue is a lucky person. Just remember, no matter if they are sons or daughters, no one can bully the descendants of the Gu family. You just wait at home for their return."
Jiang felt a little more at ease. Yes, both Gu Chengzhi and Gu Liyue would be safe and sound.