Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside Chapter 1563: Something Strange

Kunzi also brought people to see Duan Changling and the others off. Seeing the two scared away, he was very happy, but he was also puzzled in his heart; who on earth killed Vice General Ye and Chief Commander Hu?

Could it really be that Emperor Jingyuan sent the Juntian Guards to kill them?

These days, Kunzi kept wondering about the truth of the rumors, but he couldn’t be sure if it was the Juntian Guards who did it. After all, the Juntian Guards were too mysterious and hadn’t appeared for many years. Yet, Emperor Jingyuan sending the Juntian Guards to assassinate Vice General Ye and warning General Dai before their westward journey seemed very reasonable.

Regardless of who did it, the result was good; Duan Changling and General Dai finally set off to fight the Rong people.

Kunzi, being open-minded, dropped the matter at that point. He never imagined that the one who did this was Qin San Lang!

Qin San Lang originally wanted to tell Kunzi, especially since with the help of the Lei Family’s Trading Team, it would be easier for You Ping and the others to hide. But thinking of Gu Jinli’s reminder and Ah Ji’s relationship with the Lei Family’s Trading Team, he ended up not informing Kunzi.

Meanwhile, You Ping and You Xi had already led their subordinates, carrying the Northwest Map, and took the smaller paths to chase after Qin San Lang and his team.

Although they set off seven days later, You Ping and his group weren’t burdened by families and could travel swiftly. By the time Qin San Lang and his group arrived at Xing’an Prefecture, You Ping and his group caught up, changed their disguises, cleaned up their trails, and met Qin San Lang at night.

"Master, everything went smoothly. Duan Changling seems somewhat capable, but is no match for General Xu. When the rumors spread, he got scared. Once Chief Commander Hu died, he immediately broke camp and set off. Now he’s following behind," You Ping reported to Qin San Lang, detailing the assassination, rumor-spreading, hiding and avoidance, and Duan Changling’s reaction.

Qin San Lang listened and was fairly satisfied, "Not bad."

He added, "You all stay out of camp for now, regroup after leaving Xing’an Prefecture. There are many spies in Xing’an Prefecture from various forces."

Xing’an Prefecture was chaotic too, but compared to Yongcheng Prefecture, it was still better. At least no soldiers dared to linger here for long because General Xu was in Long’an Prefecture, too close for the soldiers to act recklessly.

This was precisely why Duan Changling and his group stayed in Yongcheng Prefecture and not Xing’an Prefecture.

"Understood," You Ping and You Xi responded. After saying a few more things about Xing’an Prefecture, Qin San Lang watched them slip away under the cover of night.

Returning to the tent, Gu Jinli asked, "How did it go?"

Qin San Lang, knowing she was anxious, nodded with a smile, "Very smoothly, Xiao Yu, no need to worry."

After all, they were masquerading as the Juntian Guards to assassinate the Kangrong Generals, and two people really died. With General Dai still having backing, she was worried that if things were not done well, it would implicate him.

Gu Jinli was relieved after hearing this, patting the edge of the bed, "Come over and sleep, it’s late at night."

Now it was already March, and the weather was not so cold. They no longer slept in the carriage but stayed in the tent.

Nanny Tao was quite capable, leading the servants in setting up the tent well, building beds with wooden planks, and pounding the ground flat with stakes. They covered it with thick hay and coarse burlap, making it very clean to step on.

"Okay," Qin San Lang responded, undressed, and after washing his hands and face, got into bed.

Gu Jinli laughed at this; he did this every time he came back. She praised him, calling him a clean and tidy young man, but he replied: In the past, during mountain training, he wasn’t this particular, but he didn’t want to dirty her, so he acted this way.

Gu Jinli was very pleased to hear this.

"Still giggling, go to sleep now," Qin San Lang said while watching her smile to herself. He smiled as well, held her in his arms, covered them with a goose down quilt, gently stroked her hair, and coaxed her to sleep, although he himself lay with eyes open, lost in thought.

"Why aren’t you sleeping, what are you thinking about?" Gu Jinli looked up at him.

Qin San Lang returned to his senses, smiled, and replied, "It’s nothing, just thinking it’s odd that after the Rong people seized three city fortresses in Longshan Prefecture, they suddenly stopped their attacks for several months."

This matter was extremely unreasonable since the Rong people were impulsive, enjoying a victorious pursuit and conquest. Yet, in these few months, apart from looting towns in Long’an Prefecture, they hadn’t besieged any cities.

There were rumors that the Rong people were busy migrating, but Qin San Lang understood that even if they were busy migrating, it wouldn’t prevent them from plundering and besieging cities.

Moreover, this was the time when Old Duke Xing had perished, the Great Chu army had lost hundreds of thousands, and General Xu was critically injured.

"They have no reason to miss such an opportunity; if they pursued their victory, they could have long taken over Xing’an Prefecture and seized the mines there."

Gu Jinli said, "Why are you still thinking about this? We’ve analyzed it already: there are two possibilities. One is internal instability within Da Rong, with tribal conflicts over migration causing internal strife. The second is that the Rong people are planning a bigger attack, intending to strike directly at Beicang Prefecture and fully occupy the Northwest, then seize the path leading to the Central Plains."

They discussed this while in Beicang Prefecture, and they both leaned towards believing in both possibilities.

"Come on, don’t think about it, go to sleep quickly," Gu Jinli urged him, making Qin San Lang laugh, leaned over to kiss her, and said, "Alright, let’s sleep."

These troublesome matters could wait until daylight.

With that said, Qin San Lang was the first to close his eyes. Only then did Gu Jinli contentedly close hers, nuzzling back into his chest to sleep.

...

They stayed in Xing’an Prefecture for a day, repairing vehicles, replenishing supplies, tending to the accompanying families, and treating injured soldiers and relatives.

Guo Daming’s hand had healed well, and when they reached Long’an Prefecture, his arm should be much better.

Madam Guo was still taking medicine to recuperate. Initially, she wanted to stop because she felt the medicine was too expensive and would need to be taken for years, wondering how her family could afford it. It was only after Guo Zhou knelt and begged that she continued taking the medicine to recover.

After resting, Qin San Lang led the army to continue their journey towards Long’an Prefecture, with You Ping and his team following behind. After two days, they merged into the ranks.

The Northwest was vast, with the area of each Prefecture being more than twice larger than those in the south. After leaving Xing’an Prefecture, Qin San Lang and his group traveled for six days before reaching the border between Xing’an Prefecture and Long’an Prefecture.

"Set up camp here. Tomorrow, after traveling for over half a day, we’ll enter Long’an Prefecture." Seeing it was already evening when they reached the barren land scouted by the scouts, Qin San Lang ordered to set up camp.

Everyone was cheerful, and Mrs. Kuang, in a loud voice, said, "After months on the road, we’re finally nearing Long’an Prefecture. Any more traveling, and I’ll be buried on the road."

Niu Dabao displeasedly replied, "There you go again, saying something inauspicious. Go settle the families and get everyone to start cooking."

"It’s been months, and they’ve long developed some skill. Why do they need my attention?" Mrs. Kuang retorted before turning her robust figure to gather the families to dig a pit and cook.

Gu Jinli, with Nanny Tao and Aunt Xiong, didn’t need to do these chores, but she was just as happy as Mrs. Kuang... Finally reaching Long’an Prefecture, it wasn’t easy!

Seeing her happiness, Qin San Lang came over and watched her, lifting the curtain of the carriage to look out, and asked, "Do you miss your hometown?"

Gu Jinli paused for a moment before remembering, oh right, she was from Gu Family Village in Gaoshui County of Long’an Prefecture. Now she was back home.