Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 262 Return
Yin Jinggen took out a letter and handed it to Gu Jingnian.

"According to the secret information I received, the reason why the Emperor was in such a hurry to make Lady Wei Empress is because she is already pregnant."

At this point, Yin Jinggen looked at Gu Jingnian and asked a question with some surprise.

"Aren't you surprised?"

“To be honest, Your Highness, I had previously suspected that His Majesty had an affair with the Wei family,” Gu Jingnian said, “but I am still surprised.”

Yin Jinggen smiled bitterly and said, "Father's decree has arrived. It is half-praise and half-criticism of my trip to the southwest. It orders me to immediately release Qu Jizhi and return to the capital. It also orders me to preside over the restoration of the Xihe River. As a result, I will not be able to return to the capital for a year or two. It will be difficult to stop the establishment of an empress."

Following his line of reasoning, Gu Jingnian said, "A year or two later, when Lady Wei gives birth to a child, it might threaten Your Highness's position as Crown Prince?"

Yin Jingheng frankly admitted, "I do have this concern."

It is clear that the conflict between the Yin father and son is rapidly escalating.

Originally, Yin Yuhe had only recently ascended the throne and was in a position to rely on his capable son. However, he preferred to rely on the support of the remnants of the Yue Kingdom and part ways with his son, perhaps because he was frightened by Yin Jingheng's actions in the southwest.

Gu Jingnian then said a few polite words, saying, "Your Highness, could you write a letter back to the capital to explain to His Majesty? After all, Your Highness captured Qu Jizhi and granted amnesty to Mi Sheng, His Majesty is bound to have some concerns."

"You actually said that?" Yin Jinggen shook his head and said, "Don't try to appease people superficially like those others."

"it is good."

“I am unable to return to the capital for the time being, and I would like you to return to the capital to stop the matter of establishing an empress.” Yin Jinggeng asked, “Are you willing to make the trip again?”

Gu Jingnian said, "I am not afraid of hardship, but I think I cannot stop this matter."

“You can lend Wanqing a hand,” Yin Jinggen said. “If you really can’t stop it, at least show me your stance. The Crown Prince must unequivocally oppose the establishment of an Empress. Otherwise, some half-hearted people will find excuses to betray us.”

"Okay, I'll do my best."

Yin Jingheng nodded, smiled broadly, and asked, "And you? Where have you been all this time? You said you had something to say, what is it?"

Gu Jingnian said, "I want to ask you as a friend: is your opposition to alchemy due to a power struggle, or is it out of genuine concern?"

"Why do you ask that?" Yin Jingheng asked, puzzled.

Gu Jingnian didn't hide anything from him and answered frankly, "Because my stance has changed."

"Changed? What are you going to do?"

"Hand over Zhao Boheng to me."

Yin Jinggen asked curiously, "What do you need Zhao Boheng for? To refine pills for you?"

"Yes."

"Are you crazy?"

"I've just figured it out."

"I think you've lost your mind!" Yin Jingheng's face turned stern. "You used to suffer greatly from the persecution of alchemy, and now you want to turn around and persecute others?! Do you remember? Not long ago we said that we should break with the old and establish the new, and sweep away those old guys. Have you turned against us and surrendered so quickly?"

"It is precisely because I remember, and because I do not want to lose to them, that I need to become stronger."

"I think you are..."

"What did Your Highness rely on to capture Qu Jizhi and force Shen Jichi to retreat?!"

Before Yin Jingheng could finish his sentence, Gu Jingnian's tone became equally aggressive.

"At Deer Horn Mountain, we barely managed to win. Was it due to Your Highness's wisdom and military strength, or was it Mi Sheng's surrender that played a decisive role?!"

Yin Jingheng did not answer immediately.

He knew very well that he relied on Gu Jingnian and Ying Yao's powerful supernatural abilities at the time.

If Yingyao hadn't been able to single-handedly defeat Bian Jingzhong, Shen Jichi, and Long Minzhi, he would have been dead.

After a long while, Yin Jingheng sighed softly, his tone softening considerably.

"I don't want to follow in my father's and grandfather's footsteps."

Gu Jingnian said, "Your Highness has not yet answered me. Is your forbidden technique out of a power struggle, or is it your true intention?"

Yin Jingheng was about to answer, but then stopped and asked a question instead.

"This is not an important question."

Gu Jingnian said, "It's very important to me, as it relates to whether we're still on the same side."

"..."

Half an hour later, Gu Jingnian left the main tent.

He did not say goodbye to Hu Jingnan and flew directly back to Lianzhou City.

When his fiery wings appeared above Lianzhou City, birds landed on Fengniang's hands, chirping and telling her what they had seen and heard.

Therefore, when Gu Jingnian landed on the city wall, Feng Niang and the others were already there to greet him.

Upon their long-awaited reunion, the first glance between Fengniang and her eyes revealed a complex and profound mix of emotions: worry, longing, and joy at seeing each other again. However, these emotions were quickly masked by her languid smile.

"I thought you weren't coming back. Where's Yingyao? And..."

"It's a long story," Gu Jingnian asked. "Are you alright?"

Seeing that Gu Jingnian hadn't returned with anyone else, Fengniang asked worriedly, "Where's Anran? She..." "It's fake, that's not Anran," Gu Jingnian said. "My elder sister and the others are still in Rui Kingdom."

Miao Chunniang had been standing behind Fengniang, not daring to step forward. Upon hearing this, her tense expression immediately eased considerably.

When she looked up again, she realized that Gu Jingnian was looking at her.

"Sister-in-law, you must have realized long ago that the child wasn't Anran, right?" Gu Jingnian asked.

Miao Chunniang was taken aback, then adopted the reserved demeanor of an elder sister-in-law and said, "Yes, I do have some doubts, but I was afraid that Eleventh Brother wouldn't believe me, so I didn't dare to tell you."

After saying that, she turned to Feng Niang and said, "I suppose Miss Feng has also been suspicious for a while now?"

“Me?” Feng Niang smiled elegantly and calmly. “I didn’t. I always thought it was you, Madam Gu, who leaked our whereabouts.”

Feng Niang was more cunning than Miao Chunniang, and she simply refused to admit it, so as not to make Gu Jingnian worry about why he hadn't told him back then.

In short, now that we know Gu Caiwei and her daughter are still in Switzerland, we should just rescue them and not think about it any further.

The group then shared their experiences since they last met.

Feng Niang and the others were persuaded by Pei Nian to return to Lianzhou, who said that if Gu Jingnian returned, he would definitely come to Lianzhou to find them.

In addition, Qu Jizhi, Zhao Boheng, Yin Shu and others are currently being held in Lianzhou City.

"I plan to see Zhao Boheng," Gu Jingnian said to Miao Chunniang. "Would you like to come along, sister-in-law?"

"Since we have nothing else to do, I might as well take Shiyilang there."

Seeing that Miao Chunniang was still acting like a sister-in-law, Fengniang found it amusing and decided to go and see what the commotion was about.

The group then headed to the government office. Gu Jingnian showed the token given to him by Yin Jingheng and soon saw Zhao Boheng, who was still unconscious.

According to the guards, Zhao Boheng had never woken up, but he was not dead either, and was kept alive by being fed rice gruel every day.

Gu Jingnian was worried that Long Minzhi would come to take him away, but after inquiring, he found that no one else had come to disturb him recently.

He fed the medicine prepared by the anesthesiologist to Zhao Boheng.

After waiting for a while, Zhao Boheng actually opened his eyes.

"woke up?"

Even Gu Jingnian was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that Ma Shi's medical skills were so superb; he was just trying it out as a last resort.

Zhao Boheng struggled to lift his eyelids, and only after his eyes adjusted to the light could he see that it was Gu Jingnian in front of him.

"We...we saw dragon's beard water..."

"Yes."

"How long have I been unconscious?"

“It’s been about two months,” Gu Jingnian replied.

"what?"

Zhao Boheng was incredulous and sat up in shock. Looking around, he found that besides Gu Jingnian, there were only Miao Chunniang and another beautiful woman present.

Qu Ji and all the masters from various countries have disappeared.

"here it is……"

"Lianzhou City," Gu Jingnian said, "you are now a prisoner of the Crown Prince."

Zhao Boheng was stunned, and his already pale face turned even paler.

Gu Jingnian asked, "There's something I don't understand. You are a descendant of the Yue Kingdom, and you once told me that your greatest enemy in life was Emperor Rui, and that your wish was to eliminate him. If that's the case, why would you cooperate with Shen Jichi, Long Minzhi, and others?"

Zhao Boheng did not answer, but lowered his head and pondered the current situation.

Gu Jingnian added, "Qu Jizhi is also in my hands. The reason I asked you is to give you an opportunity to cooperate with me."

"So that I can be by Emperor Rui's side," Zhao Boheng finally said slowly.

"what for?"

"Matters involving borders must be handled jointly by all nations. This is an alliance that has lasted for hundreds of years. I came on behalf of the Yue Kingdom. When I arrived in Lianzhou, I learned about an even more powerful alchemy method from Bai Yuze. Qu Jizhi then discussed with me the possibility of me going to Emperor Rui's side to assassinate him... If things go smoothly, Shen Jichi will take me back to introduce me to the emperor."

Gu Jingnian asked, "How is the pill refined from Bai Yuze different from the ones you refined before?"

"They are essentially the same, but the effects are worlds apart," Zhao Boheng said. "Something I couldn't figure out before has been solved by a master."

"They are essentially the same, so what's the explanation?"

"It's like they're from the same lineage."

"Did you learn from Shi Xuandao?"

"Yes."

Gu Jingnian then asked, "Do you know Liu Yuchuan?"

"I had never heard of this name before, but his alchemy methods are indeed related to his sect, and he has even surpassed his master."

At this point, Zhao Boheng gave Gu Jingnian a deep look and asked, "Marquis Chengye just mentioned 'cooperation,' what do you want to do?"

(End of this chapter)