Chapter 186

After obtaining the march routes and food supplies of the Wei army, Gong Xiaohua insisted on going alone for this assassination mission.

Qin Chuyuan firmly opposed: "No, it's too risky for you to go alone. I will send Qin family guards to go with you."

"With them around, I will be restricted. Going alone will actually be safer for me."

According to the classification of special operations missions in my previous life, this mission was at S+ level, the highest level national mission with an extremely high mortality rate. Having more people does not necessarily make these kinds of missions easier.

I have not undertaken such a high-level mission for almost two years since I came to Ye Country.

Hearing that Xiaohua said it was dangerous, he was even less likely to let her go alone: "If you insist on going alone, then this mission is cancelled. We will think of other ways."

"Wei Country will not give us much time. Trust me, I will definitely come back safe and sound." Gong Xiaohua looked deeply at Qin Chuyuan, hoping to get his support.

Neither side would compromise. The Duke of Zhen Guo came out to smooth things over: "Xiaohua, this mission is too dangerous. You are still the Protector General of our northern border. If something happens to you, it may affect the morale of our troops. Listen to Chuyuan and take a few guards with you. At the very least, they can help you retreat at critical moments."

"Then let the guards meet me on the outside for assistance. If anything changes, they can help me secretly. This is the biggest compromise I can make."

After they left the tent, the two walked to the tent silently.

Gong Xiaohua secretly gathered He Lianyu and others to discuss plans for tomorrow. After that, only the two of them were left in the tent.

"Are you angry with me?" Gong Xiaohua asked.

Qin Chuyuan did not answer immediately and fell silent.

After a while, he slowly said, "Xiaohua, sometimes I always feel that you are very distant from me, so distant that I feel we are people from two different eras. It seems that there are many things you have seen, heard and done that are unheard of to me. Can you tell me who you really are?"

Gong Xiaohua guessed that with Qin Chuyuan’s intelligence, sooner or later there would be such a day.

She had also struggled with whether or not to take the initiative to tell him the truth, and still did not have an answer until now. She decided to tell him the truth. If she could not come back this time, she wanted him to remember the real her.

"My real name is Nangong Xi. I am from a thousand years in the future. I was killed by the person I trusted the most and my soul possessed this body that I have now."

"A thousand years later?" Qin Chuyuan was shocked and looked up at Gong Xiaohua. Among his guesses about her origin, he had never imagined that the truth would be so incredible and even absurd.

"Yes."

The truth left Qin Chuyuan unable to calm down for a long time, while Gong Xiaohua was also nervously observing Qin Chuyuan's reaction. After a long time, Qin Chuyuan asked, "What about the original young lady from the Gong family then?"

"She left."

"What if you disappear one day too?"

"That probably won't happen."

"That's good, that's good then." Hearing that she would not disappear, he felt relieved.

Seeing Qin Chuyuan's reaction, Gong Xiaohua also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Of course not. I'm very happy to meet you in this world."

"Did you often take on such dangerous missions in that era too?"

"Yeah, and the missions were even more dangerous than this one. So believe in me, don't be angry anymore, okay?"

"How could I be angry with you? I'm just angry with myself. Every time, I can only watch you take on all kinds of dangerous missions, yet I'm powerless."

"It's not your fault. Our responsibilities are just different."

Qin Chuyuan hugged Gong Xiaohua: "Promise me you will definitely come back alive."

Gong Xiaohua hugged him back: "Okay."

On the second night before Gong Xiaohua set off, she instructed He Lianyu again: "When I return, you must immediately send a team of men to pretend to chase and kill the Second Prince of Wei Country. You must make it look real."

"Yes."

Only a handful of people were aware of this mission. Qin Chuyuan and his guards were on standby one kilometer away from the Wei camp.

Time passed by slowly. Following the route provided by the Second Prince of Wei Country, Gong Xiaohua successfully infiltrated the Wei army and, without anyone noticing, killed King Guli and the Eldest Prince.

Then when things went wrong, she burned most of the army’s food supplies and escaped in the chaos.

It was destined to be a restless night.

After losing two important figures, chaos spread throughout the Wei army. The chaos was only settled when the Second Prince, who had escaped from the Ye army, appeared.

Having lost two high-ranking princes and more than half of their food supply, the Wei army had no choice but to retreat.

Then a month later, the King of Wei inexplicably abdicated. The new king who ascended to the throne signed a hundred-year alliance agreement with Ye Country, and the two countries opened their borders for trade.

The sudden change from hostility to alliance between Ye Country and Wei Country had little record in history books. The incident was only referred to as the Wu City Incident.

After the Wu City Incident, the relationship between the two countries remained very friendly. The commercial development of both countries was rapid, and the people were well fed and comfortably settled.

Folk stories of the Wu City Incident were written into various versions of booklets that were widely circulated and praised.

The real truth was only known to a handful of people. As time passed, it was slowly buried in the long river of history. After the Wu City Incident, Gong Xiaohua returned to the capital and resigned from her position as Protector General. People with great merit often do not meet good endings, not to mention she had the Qin family behind her back.

The King of Ye appreciated Gong Xiaohua’s understanding of the times. He took back the power of the Protector General but kept the title for her. She was only in charge of the Xiyuan Army and concurrently appointed to tutor military arts to the Crown Prince. She had little real power but was given supreme glory.

Because of Gong Xiaohua’s existence, the Xiyuan Army became the place that military officials desperately wanted to be assigned to. It slowly developed into the most sought after army in the world.

In the future, the "Eight Generals of Xiyuan Army" within the Xiyuan Army would become famous throughout the world. But that would be the new chapter belonging to the next generation. Five years later.

"Son, why are you here alone? Where is your mother?" Qin Chuyuan had just returned home to see his three-year-old son Qin Zimu sitting on a high tung wood chair in the hall eating snacks.

Qin Zimu didn't even glance at Qin Chuyuan and said, "Mother went back to Grandma's house. She said you plotted against her in the past and told you to reflect on your mistakes here." His tone even carried a hint of gloating.

"What did I plot?" Qin Chuyuan looked at him puzzled and asked.

At this time, the serving maid walked in from outside with a small package in her hand. As soon as Qin Zimu saw it, he jumped off his chair, ran over, took the package from the maid’s hand, swung it onto his back, and said,

"Figure it out yourself. I won't keep you company. I'm going to Grandma's house too." After speaking, he strode past Qin Chuyuan, swaying away.

Seeing him like this, Qin Chuyuan's forehead kept twitching.

He called out towards the outside: "Come in."

"Master.” A guard who was responsible for protecting Qin Zimu emerged from the corner and greeted respectfully.

"What did he say to his mother?" Qin Chuyuan gestured with his eyes at the arrogant child ahead.

"Last time, Young Master accidentally overheard Your conversation with Young Master Lin about how you designed the imperial marriage for Her Majesty back then. He told Madam everything."

Qin Chuyuan held his forehead. How could he let this little demon hear about this? This boy went all out every day to compete with him for Xiaohua’s affection.

He quickly caught up with Qin Zimu, picked him up and said, "Son, do you want a little sister?"

"Yes."

"If you want a sister, you can’t compete with Father for Mother."

"Then I don't want a sister."

Uh, this kid is getting harder and harder to fool, Qin Chuyuan thought as he held Qin Zimu. The two faces, almost identical, each had their own little expressions the whole way.

It wasn't until they arrived at the Gong family residence and saw Gong Xiaohua appear that they regained consistency, smiling at Gong Xiaohua with what each considered their most attractive smile.

Gong Xiaohua watched the daily father and son competing affection game, but didn't let on that she was onto them, simply seeing it as part of their father-son bonding.

"We're here."

"Mm, Zimu and I have come to take you back home!"

Qin Zimu? His hard-won exclusive affection plan failed yet again.

End of Excerpt!