Wei Yun arrived at Gu Chusheng’s room, accompanied by Wei Qiu and Wei Xia. Gu Chusheng was kneeling at the table, sipping porridge. He had already bandaged his wound, which was not deep and only affected the skin and flesh, causing no significant harm. Being a meticulous person, and with Chu Yu absent, there was no need to feign illness, so he sat properly while eating. Upon hearing Wei Yun enter, Gu Chusheng quickly rose. Wei Yun strode in and steadied Gu Chusheng, who was about to bow, saying, “Lord Gu, there’s no need for formalities. You’re injured, so please don’t exert yourself.”
Gu Chusheng coughed lightly and said between coughs, “When meeting the Marquis, proper etiquette must be observed.”
Though his words were broken, they were full of sincerity. Wei Yun sighed, helping Gu Chusheng sit down, and said, “I understand your sincerity, Lord Gu. Please don’t strain yourself further. It’s better to conserve your strength for the future.”
Hearing this, Gu Chusheng sighed, “I’ve caused trouble for the Marquis.”
Wei Yun shook his head. After Gu Chusheng was seated comfortably, Wei Yun sat at another small table, quietly waiting for Gu Chusheng to catch his breath. After a while, Gu Chusheng looked up and asked, “Has the Marquis come to inquire about my affairs in Kunyang?”
“I’ve heard some things about Lord Gu’s situation,” Wei Yun said honestly, “But hearsay is no substitute for hearing it directly from you. Understanding what you’ve been through will help us plan our next steps.”
Wei Yun spoke calmly, and Gu Chusheng nodded, having prepared for this. He began slowly, “This matter should start from half a month before the Wei family’s tragedy.”
Upon hearing the words “Wei family’s tragedy,” Wei Yun’s eyes momentarily turned cold, but his expression remained unchanged. He raised his hand and said, “I’m all ears, Lord Gu.”
“I was originally the Magistrate of Kunyang County, responsible for escorting grain and fodder from Kunyang to Baicheng during wartime. Half a month before the Wei family’s tragedy, the amount of supplies I was escorting increased. From the quantity, I deduced that there were nearly 200,000 soldiers in Baicheng at the time.”
The actual number of troops on the battlefield was 190,000, so Gu Chusheng’s estimate wasn’t far off.
Yao Yong had arrived secretly and hadn’t publicized his presence. The fact that he brought 90,000 troops wasn’t widely known either.
For Gu Chusheng to realize the actual number of soldiers on the battlefield based solely on the amount of supplies he was transporting showed that he was indeed capable.
“After the battle at Baidi Valley, I heard that 70,000 of the Wei family’s soldiers had died, and Yao Yong temporarily took command. I knew something was amiss, so I rushed to Baidi Valley that night to investigate. There, I found hoof prints of the Qingzhou army on the mountain.”
As Gu Chusheng spoke, his voice carried a sigh. Wei Yun slowly clenched his fist. Gu Chusheng glanced at him and continued, “I knew this didn’t bode well. Although I didn’t know exactly what had happened, I always prepared for the worst. If Yao Yong and Lord Wei conflicted, the blame for the Baidi Valley battle would surely fall on the Wei family, and Yao Yong would try to exhaust the remaining Wei forces. But with the blame on the Wei family, once Young Marquis Wei was imprisoned, the remaining Wei soldiers wouldn’t stand idly by. They might not do anything to anger the Emperor, but how could they be content to be used as pawns and sacrifice their lives for others?”
Wei Yun remained silent.
At that time, the Wei family had 100,000 troops stationed in Baicheng. 70,000 had died, leaving 30,000. After his imprisonment, there was no contact. Upon his release, his first order to the Wei family’s garrison was to cherish their lives and bide their time.
Gu Chusheng’s ability to guess the thoughts of everyone involved in the situation earned Wei Yun’s admiration.
He sat up straight, took a sip of tea, and continued, “The Wei family has been loyal for generations and won’t become traitors under Wei Yun’s leadership.”
Gu Chusheng didn’t respond. He smiled, looking at the young man with a cold expression before him, not continuing the conversation.
In his previous life, how could Wei Yun have shown any semblance of a loyal subject? If not for, Gu Chusheng, bearing the burden, Wei Yun might have been no different from Cao Aman when the Emperor casually spoke of deposing and enthroning.
He could even berate the Emperor in the Imperial Study: “My Wei family is loyal to the common people and protects the safety of the nine provinces. What right does an Emperor have?” Now, talking about “loyalty” to him, Gu Chusheng found it somewhat laughable.
However, he didn’t show it on his face and continued, “The conflict between Wei and Yao would inevitably affect the common people. Afterward, I escorted the supplies, always keeping an eye on the situation in Baicheng. I observed the battle conditions at the city slope of Baicheng, and I understood that given the situation between Wei and Yao inside the city, Baicheng might not be able to hold. That night, I visited General Qin’s mansion and explained my intentions, asking him to leave 2,000 troops with me when the city fell, to set up ambushes at several key points in the city. I had already contacted the civilians in advance, preparing them to resist the enemy at any time.”
The General Qin that Gu Chusheng mentioned was General Qin Shiyue, the leader of the 30,000 troops the Wei family had left in Baicheng.
Although Qin Shiyue was a retainer of the Wei family, Gu Chusheng hadn’t told Wei Yun about his communication with him.
Wei Yun frowned, and Gu Chusheng continued, “I asked General Qin not to tell Lord Wei yet. I don’t do things without certainty. It would be better to inform Lord Wei after the net was set.”
Wei Yun looked up at him. Gu Chusheng’s expression was calm as if he were merely talking about setting a net to catch fish. He continued calmly, “At dawn when Baicheng fell because neither army was willing to resist, I led the 2,000 Wei family troops and organized the civilians to resist and evacuate. Since the Wei family soldiers were in civilian clothes at the time, everyone thought I had organized the evacuation of the civilians single-handedly.”
Hearing this, things became clearer. Wei Yun roughly understood Gu Chusheng’s strategy and gestured for him to continue.
“Yao Yong would never give me credit for such a great achievement,” Gu Chusheng glanced at his gesture and continued, “I guessed he would surely claim all the credit for himself. After that, he would have two attitudes towards me: either I submit and join him, or he would try to eliminate me. The former would be best, as I could infiltrate his ranks and gather more evidence before making a move. The latter wouldn’t matter either, as I had a second plan waiting for him.”
As Gu Chusheng spoke of these things, his expression unconsciously took on some animation. He picked up his tea and took a light sip, his manner elegant and graceful, showing no sign of having just been pursued by others. He continued, “So I first prepared witnesses and sent them to another location. If anything happened to me, someone would bring them to Huajing. At the same time, I sent someone to offer gifts to Yao Yong’s advisor, Mr. Gong Sun, to probe Yao Yong’s intentions. From Gong Sun’s attitude, I deduced that Yao Yong wanted to kill me. I just didn’t expect him to act so quickly, so I could only let Zhang Deng leave with the evidence first. Then I pretended to comply and followed Mr. Gong Sun to Yao Yong, but halfway there, I hijacked Mr. Gong Sun, jumped into the river, and hid in a concealed spot in the river. I waited in the river for a full day, left some guiding marks, and then went upstream against the current.”
Hearing this, Wei Yun’s face showed a subtle expression. “I heard you were already injured when you fell into the river?”
“Yes,” Gu Chusheng didn’t deny it and honestly said, “I’m not skilled in martial arts. I was hit by a stray arrow when I fell into the river.”
“And you still stayed in the river for a whole day?!”
Wei Yun was quite shocked. The temperature of the river water in December was not something an ordinary person could endure. Although it wouldn’t freeze them to death as martial artists, it certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience. Gu Chusheng looked somewhat helpless: “Yao Yong had many people, and they would surely search for me upstream and downstream. This was his best chance to catch me. If I didn’t stay in the river for a day, coming out at any time would be like a turtle in a jar. I could only wait until after they had searched, then leave the river. Once I got out, it would be much harder for them to find me.”
Gu Chusheng spoke lightly, but Wei Qiu and the others listening couldn’t help but shudder, feeling that this man was truly harsh on himself.
“Lord Gu is truly a great man,” Wei Yun sighed. Gu Chusheng knew what he meant and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
He wasn’t particularly harsh on himself. If you want to talk about real harshness, it would be Chu Lingyang.
“The Marquis overpraises me. I was merely forced by circumstances,” Gu Chusheng smiled and continued, “After I got ashore, I found a cave to hide in. Because I was always prepared to flee, I had some dry food with me. I drank the accumulated water in the cave and didn’t starve to death. Then I waited until Madam Wei came with people. Now I have all the evidence prepared, and the witnesses who can prove that the Wei family troops and I organized the evacuation are on their way to Huajing. I’m just waiting for the Marquis’s order, and I’ll immediately expose this matter, dealing Yao Yong a blow.”
Wei Yun didn’t speak, pondering Gu Chusheng’s words.
If what Gu Chusheng said was true, then his actions were not just helping Wei Yun overthrow Yao Yong, but also helping the Wei family and earning himself a good reputation.
Thinking of this, Wei Yun’s heart couldn’t help but grow cold. He looked up at Gu Chusheng and calmly said, “I’m very grateful for what you’ve done, Lord Gu, but there are a few questions I must ask.”
“Please, go ahead.”
Gu Chusheng seemed to have anticipated what Wei Yun would ask, his expression completely calm. Wei Yun asked directly, “Everything you’ve done seems to be for the benefit of my Wei family. We are neither old friends nor acquaintances. Why would you sacrifice your prospects for this?”
Gu Chusheng took a sip of tea, not answering this question, but instead asked with a smile, “Is there anything else?”
“Your actions, from beginning to end, seem to show no fear of Yao Yong. Even after jumping into the river, you knew someone would come to save you and leave marks to guide the way. Who did you think would come to save you? And weren’t you afraid those marks would be discovered by others?”
Hearing these words, Gu Chusheng laughed lightly.
“To be honest, there are three reasons why I risked my life and prospects to take such actions.”
“Firstly, a person like Yao Yong is not fit to be in charge. The Northern Di is coming fiercely this time, and if such a person is allowed to continue, I fear the Great Chu dynasty will be destroyed by his hands. No matter how base my thoughts might be, I am still a son of Great Chu. If there is no country, what home is there to speak of? Therefore, I wish to join forces with the Marquis to suppress Yao Yong, and I dare to be the Marquis’s vanguard.”
Wei Yun didn’t say anything. These pretty words were never the key to the matter.
Gu Chusheng also knew Wei Yun wasn’t interested in these things, so he continued, “Secondly, I am the son of a criminal official. If I want to steadily climb the ranks from a ninth-rank county magistrate back to my original position as a Hanlin Academy scholar, I might not be able to climb back in a lifetime. I can only take risks. I hope that when the Marquis rises to great heights in the future, he won’t forget my sincerity today.”
“As for that, you can rest assured,” Wei Yun nodded, playing with the teacup in his hand, looking at the candlelight, and calmly said, “I have always been fair in rewards and punishments, and will never shortchange meritorious officials.”
“However, the first two reasons are just the beginning. What made me decide to take such a great risk was that I want to ask the Young Marquis for a person.”
Hearing this, Wei Yun stopped turning the teacup and slowly looked over.
Under Wei Yun’s piercing gaze, Gu Chusheng’s expression remained unchanged. He calmly said, “The Marquis asked why I dared to leave marks. It’s because I guessed that the one coming to save me would surely be Madam Wei. The marks I left were created jointly by Madam Wei and me when we were young, and only the two of us would understand them.”
Hearing this, everyone felt the temperature around them rapidly drop. Gu Chusheng took a step back, spread his sleeves, folded his hands on his forehead, and bowed deeply to Wei Yun. His voice was resolute.
“I am willing to pay any price to ask for Madam Wei’s hand in marriage!”
Wei Yun didn’t speak. Everyone sensed a murderous aura emanating from Wei Yun. Wei Yun held the teacup, his expression calm. Gu Chusheng knelt before Wei Yun, motionless.
After a long while, Wei Yun laughed lightly.
“A mere ninth-rank county magistrate, the son of a criminal official, asking to marry my Wei family’s Madam—”
“Gu Chusheng,” Wei Yun tilted his head slightly, his eyes full of contempt, “Are you worthy?”
Small Theater
Wei Yun: A ninth-rank county magistrate wants to marry my sister-in-law, are you worthy?
Gu Chusheng (pondering): I understand.
(5 years later)
Gu Chusheng: Your Highness, I’m now a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. Do you think I’m worthy now?
Wei Yun: Get lost, sister-in-law is mine!
Gu Chusheng: … You change the rules just like that, don’t you have any principles?!
Wei Yun: In the face of love, there are no principles to speak of.
Gu Chusheng: …