I became the God Brother of the Regent King after Transmigration!-Chapter 367 - 285: Leave Room for Retreat
A group of people clashed for a while, and before Gu Lan could exchange blows with the Black-clothed Commander, she heard him shout:
"It’s pointless, retreat!"
The black-clad, masked men immediately regrouped and disappeared into the dense forest.
It was as if a band of bandits had passed through, leaving nothing but corpses and wounded soldiers unable to move.
Gasping for breath, Gu Lan turned back to see that of the more than thirty imperial guards who had escorted her from the capital, only about ten remained on horseback; the rest were on the ground, injured, half-alive.
In contrast, the thirty-odd guards of the Empress Dowager, though initially frightened out of their wits, only suffered some light wounds.
It seemed these black-clad men’s target was herself, but they hadn’t expected that she and Rong Heng would be so formidable, forcing them to flee mid-battle. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
This play is not entertaining.
She thought she might witness a betrayal between grandmother and grandson, but instead, she became the target?
Does she look like the praying mantis caught unawares in the story of the mantis stalking the cicada?
"They’re gone," said Gu Lan, dismounting and helping up an injured imperial guard. "The people from Mu City who were supposed to meet us must have encountered some problem; otherwise they would have arrived by now."
"Th-Thank you, Young Master," the guard said gratefully.
Empress Dowager Su seemed to have noticed the silence outside and lifted the curtain. Her thin face was drained of color, clutching tightly to a lotus pink embroidered handkerchief as she spoke, still shaken:
"Thank you, Young Master, for saving my life. Who exactly sent these... these people? It’s terrifying."
Gu Lan glanced at Zhao Cheng and Lu Ping, who had put away their swords and returned to guarding the Empress Dowager, and said, "With such skilled protectors by the Empress Dowager’s side, there would be no danger even without me."
Failing to pursue after an ambush, with more than half of the men dead, left Gu Lan in low spirits.
If she didn’t have to protect the Empress Dowager, she would have chased them down today to see who that familiar-voiced masked person was.
The imperial guards who accompanied her were only meant to escort the Empress Dowager to Mu City and then return to the capital with her; now, half of them were dead here.
Rong Heng dismounted to tend to the injured ones who could still be saved.
"The Empress Dowager doesn’t know who they are?" Gu Lan sheathed her sword, took out a handkerchief, and meticulously wiped the blood from her hands.
Empress Dowager Su shook her head innocently: "I genuinely don’t know; the Su Family has offended so many over the years: the Minister of Justice, the Minister of War, governors and inspectors of various states, numerous generals... Perhaps they dare to be this bold because I am a mere woman, now cast out of Yan Capital."
Gu Lan’s expression remained unchanged, speaking blandly:
"The casualties on the Empress Dowager’s side don’t seem as numerous as among the imperial guards."
Empress Dowager Su’s expression stiffened; seeing the blood-soaked scene, her face showed a touch of sorrow as she quickly added:
"Could it be that these aren’t the enemies of the Su Family but rather foes of your Gu Family? Yes, that must be it. If something happened to you, they could frame it on the political enemies of the Su Family."
This reasoning...
Gu Lan didn’t buy it. Previously, during the Qiangrong assassination attempt and on the battlefield, her martial prowess was nearly known to everyone in Yan Country. If they truly wanted her dead, sending a large group would easily attract the city guards in Mu City, since it’s close to the capital. Sending too few... as awkward as just now.
"I have an interesting hypothesis: perhaps these assassins are your people, Empress Dowager, feigning an assassination attempt on you, but actually aiming for me... It seems more reasonable without the convolutions, doesn’t it?"
Gu Lan gently questioned, locking eyes with the Empress Dowager.
Was it more plausible that they were disguised enmities of the Gu Family trying to blame Su’s enemies for her death? Or that they were sent by the Empress Dowager herself?
Only, unwilling to expose herself, hesitant about the potential losses, she ordered them to withdraw.
Empress Dowager Su lowered her eyes, her voice softened a few degrees: "Young Master jests. Why would I send people to kill you? As I said, I still rely on the Gu Family’s reputation to continue this path, and besides, I was also in the midst; with so many arrows, what if I got hurt accidentally?"
Exactly to avoid accidental injuries, Zhao Cheng and Lu Ping are there for protection.
Gu Lan pursed her lips, saying no more.
For now, the Empress Dowager could only offer such an explanation. Then, she would take two captured assassins back for interrogation.
Most likely, the assassins would not confess. Even if it were proved later that it was a charade directed by the Empress Dowager, she could easily shift the blame, for the Su Family indeed had many enemies.
As the sun set and the surroundings dimmed, a gust of evening wind brushed strands of hair from Gu Lan’s forehead. She suddenly turned, looking towards the dense forest on both sides.
"Quickly pack up, take the injured and the bodies, we return to the capital immediately."
Gu Lan couldn’t shake off the feeling of being watched from the shadows, perhaps those people hadn’t truly left.
But up ahead lay the boundary of Mu City; she could just leave the Empress Dowager here and return to the capital.
Empress Dowager Su’s grip on her handkerchief tightened: "Gu Lan, you can’t just abandon me."
Gu Lan untied her bow, wrapped the tip of an arrow in flammable oilcloth, lit it, and shot it into the sky.
A streak of fire broke through the dim sky of dusk as Gu Lan said, "The Empress Dowager has skilled protectors, besides, the Holy Decree only instructed me to escort you to this point. Mu City’s guards are not blind; they will soon send someone over."
The Empress Dowager’s sharp, gaunt cheeks drooped, her eyes reflecting the orange glow, her expression suddenly darkened.
Her slender, withered hands clenched the handkerchief tightly, veins popping on the back of her hands.
"What about Little Cheng and Lu Ping..."
Little Cheng and Lu Ping quickly dismounted, but Gu Lan frowned and said, "Since they are trusted skilled experts of the Empress Dowager, and it’s not easy to cultivate one, keep them for your own protection."
The Empress Dowager awkwardly chuckled: "If you don’t take them with you, people will think that the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion doesn’t want me alive; how will I manage along the way—"
Gu Lan raised her hand, interrupting the Empress Dowager.
She gazed into the woman’s long, narrow eyes with fine lines, showing a cold smile, baring her white teeth, and said each word with precision:
"Oh, but I actually don’t care whether you live or not."
When did she ever promise to protect her on behalf of the Gu Family?
Gu Lan’s peripheral vision caught Rong Heng off in the distance helping heal the wounded imperial guards, her clear eyes flickering with a tinge of crimson.
This woman in front of her, with her wicked and mad heart, had, back in the day, bribed the real little eunuch Jiu to poison Rong Heng’s mother consort, Xiao Ning, with a slow-acting toxin, something she had not forgotten.
If she represented the Gu Family by showing the intention to protect Empress Dowager Su, wouldn’t that make things difficult for Rong Heng?
Upon hearing Gu Lan’s words, Empress Dowager Su nearly poked her neck out of the Phoenix Carriage, exclaiming:
"Gu Lan, I have no enmity with you; wasn’t it Su Family and Li Yuanju who caused trouble for those Southern Border soldiers? I truly know nothing... at the very least, take Zhao Cheng and the others; leave some space for the sake of future encounters."
Young Master Gu glanced at Rong Heng, then stepped back several paces, distancing herself and denouncing with a tone of self-righteous disdain:
"Pervert, who wants to have any future with you?"
