Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 337 The Nanzhao Kingdom: The Thief Cries "Stop Thief!"

Gu Qingyue didn't know which family it belonged to, but she didn't bother to investigate further.

Guided by the palace guards, the families had already gathered and headed towards the palace gate.

Half an hour later, the main hall was completely empty.

As they walked out of the palace gate, Gu Qingyue quickly helped Qin Shi into the carriage.

Qin had never seen such a scene before, and she was now ashen-faced with fright.

Upon returning to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, a large group of people crowded into the central hall of the old Duke's courtyard.

This place is very open.

Although it cannot compare to the Thousand Autumns Palace, it is still about one-third the size.

It is said that this place was once the site of a grand banquet held by the Duke's Mansion.

But since my grandmother passed away, no guests have come here anymore.

At this moment, the hall was filled with solemnity. Apart from the grandchildren, concubines, and illegitimate daughters of each household, almost everyone else was gathered here.

The old Duke sat in the seat of honor, looking up at the faces of the crowd, some panicked and others pale with fear, his brows furrowing even more.

"Boss, what's your take on tonight's events?"

Looking at his eldest son, whose face was ashen, the old Duke felt a surge of inexplicable frustration.

Speaking of which, all three of his sons were trained to be military generals from a young age, but in the end only the second son, Gu Changling, became a military general and went to the battlefield.

The eldest and third sons are far inferior to the second son in terms of both talent and hard work.

But now, fate has played a cruel trick on us, and the only ones left by our side are these two good-for-nothings.

Everyone can hide from what happened tonight. What the old Duke least wants is for the heir of the Duke's mansion to hide behind others like a rat.

But reality gave him a harsh slap in the face.

At that time, the only people standing in front of his family to protect him were his grandsons and granddaughter. He felt utterly hopeless.

Since he was a teenager, the old Duke had been on the battlefield for over forty years, braving wind and rain, until he relinquished the military power of the Gu Family Army for the sake of his family's lives.

He was a hero throughout his life, a hero in the hearts of many, but in his old age, he didn't even have a promising son to inherit his mantle. How could this not make people sigh with regret!

The old Duke looked at his eldest son, who was deep in thought, and his third son, who was trying to hide himself. He squeezed the cup in his hand, and a wave of sorrow washed over him.

However, seeing Gu Yuanming's worried face and remembering that he at least had this grandson who could fight bravely on the battlefield, he felt a little comforted.

"Alright, you may all leave. You've all been frightened today. The young men from the second branch and Yue'er, please stay," the old Duke said wearily, waving his hand as he looked around at the various expressions on everyone's faces.

"Yes, Father/Grandfather."

Everyone bowed their heads in agreement. Gu Qingyue raised her head slightly and caught a glimpse of a sinister glint in Liu Shi's eyes.

A slight thought crossed her mind.

Today, Madam Liu acted very strangely. There was an assassination attempt at the banquet tonight, so she probably hasn't had time to plot against the second wife yet.

However, Gu Qingyue was determined to keep a closer eye on Liu Shi and not let her have any chance to cause trouble again.

"Sit down," the old Duke said, gesturing for the group to sit down and talk as they left.

"Jin'er, what do you think of what happened tonight?"

The old Duke looked at Gu Yuanjin and asked.

Gu Yuanjin pondered for a few moments, then looked at Gu Qingyue and said, "Grandfather, it's more likely that tonight's assassination was carried out by another country, though we can't rule out the possibility that Nanzhao Kingdom itself did it."

"Another country?" Gu Yuanen exclaimed in surprise.

“Well, judging from the actual situation, the people they wanted to assassinate were the Nanzhao delegation. But there are plenty of opportunities to assassinate the Nanzhao delegation. Opportunities can be found everywhere, on the streets and in the embassy. Why choose the least likely place, such as a palace banquet? Moreover, why not sneak into the heavily guarded palace first? This method, which could be exposed beforehand, is the least advisable,” Gu Yuanjin said, then lowered his head in deep thought.

"Does Third Brother know anything about the progress of these negotiations?"

Gu Qingyue suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone's train of thought.

"I heard that the negotiations are basically over. Princess Lianfu will marry into the Great Chu, Nanzhao will cede three cities, and Nanzhao will compensate the Great Chu for the military expenses incurred during this war. The marriage of Princess Qing'an, which was originally planned, has not yet been finalized. Other details are unknown," Gu Yuanming said in a low voice.

"Little sister, what do you mean by asking this?" Gu Yuanchen was a little puzzled. Weren't we just talking about the assassination attempt tonight?

Gu Qingyue rubbed her fingers together and said calmly, "There are two possibilities for tonight's assassination attempt. The first is, as my elder brother said, it was carried out by another country."

They did not want to see the Great Chu and Nanzhao shake hands and make peace, so they deliberately plotted to kill them at the final banquet.

It would be best to kill the Nanzhao delegation, thus making it impossible for the two countries to form an alliance and sowing discord between the Great Chu and Nanzhao.

If they fail to kill anyone, it will cause Nanzhao to become dissatisfied with Da Chu. In subsequent negotiations, Da Chu may have to concede some more benefits, which would not meet Da Chu's expectations for the negotiations, and the alliance would become unstable.

Gu Qingyue paused, then said, "The second possibility is that Nanzhao is dissatisfied with the outcome of this negotiation and is staging a self-inflicted tragedy. If someone in the Great Chu palace is injured, such as Princess Lianfu who was injured this time, Great Chu will likely make concessions during the final negotiations, given that it is in the wrong. This would allow Nanzhao to preserve more of its interests, achieving a win-win situation."

After Gu Qingyue finished speaking, she looked up and saw five pairs of eyes staring intently at her. Gu Qingyue raised her hand and touched her face, not understanding what they were looking at.

"What? Did I say something wrong? Everyone can add to it," Gu Qingyue said awkwardly.

"Grandpa is very pleased that Yue'er has grown up!"

The old Duke even wiped the corner of his eye while speaking.

He thought that his granddaughter, who grew up in the countryside and had a cheerful and generous personality, was already a blessing for the Gu family.

I never imagined that this seemingly witty and adorable granddaughter would have such insight. May our ancestors bless her!

“What Yue’er says makes sense, but how things will be resolved tonight depends on the Emperor’s attitude. For now, we should just observe.” After saying that, he looked at Gu Qingyue with affection.

He was very pleased, truly pleased, and had already forgotten how he felt when he saw his two troublesome sons just fifteen minutes earlier.

If Gu Qingyue knew how the old Duke was feeling right now, she would probably be very proud of herself.

She wasn't a naive and innocent girl to begin with!

Seriously, that's just appearances!

“Little sister, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. Regardless of the truth, Princess Lianfu was injured right under the Emperor’s nose. It seems there’s still a chance for these negotiations to change.” Gu Yuanchen said thoughtfully.

"In short, no matter what, it has no impact on our Duke's Mansion at the moment, but... little sister, what's the deal with that Princess Lianfu? Have you ever offended her?" Gu Yuanchen asked again.

Gu Yuanjin, Gu Yuanming, and Gu Yuanen couldn't help but look at her; they all had the same question.

Gu Qingyue looked at her brothers and then at her grandfather, and found that they were all looking at her with concern.