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Chapter 711 Cao Tianbao

Zhu Yu and the others didn't move, listening intently to the sounds from afar.

Soon, torches were lit over there, and Zhu Yu saw Lu Qing and Fu Wen in the distance, along with General Cao who was with them. The three of them took the lead and walked at the very front.

Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and went to greet them together with Fu Lu.

Lu Qing had already removed the fake skin from his face, probably to reunite with Cao Tianbao. When he saw Zhu Yu, he waved to her, and Zhu Yu naturally walked over and stood beside him.

Cao Tianbao still had a slightly dazed expression on his face. He looked at Zhu Yu wearing the fake skin, and then at her natural posture standing next to Lu Qing, and immediately understood her identity.

"Greetings, General Cao." Zhu Yu, dressed in men's clothing, bowed to Cao Tianbao with clasped hands in a gesture of respect.

Cao Tianbao nodded to Zhu Yu, looked her over, and seeing that she was also perfectly fine, he couldn't help but sigh, "I really didn't expect that you two would both be alive and well in this world."

I thought I'd been incredibly lucky my whole life, only to run into a ghost at this age!

"General, why don't we rest here for a while and catch up before continuing our journey?" Lu Qing gestured to the roadside, "After all, the bandits who were lying in ambush here have all been wiped out, and this place is peaceful for the time being."

"But things might be different if we go any further."

“Yes, that makes sense.” Cao Tianbao, a soldier by training, was decisive in his words and actions. He nodded after hearing Lu Qing’s suggestion and turned to the captain beside him, saying, “Give the order to rest on the spot and remain on guard.”

The captain clasped his hands in a fist salute, jogged over to deliver the order, and the men behind him immediately sprang into action, resting in a well-trained manner by the roadside, leaving only a portion of them to deal with and bury the bandits they had just killed.

The three of them sat down under the big tree where Zhu Yu had rested earlier, with talismans and two soldiers standing guard beside General Cao.

Zhu Yu's mind was filled with General Cao's astonishment at that they were still alive. She was very curious as to why even General Cao took it for granted that they were dead.

Immediately, as if reading her thoughts, Lu Qing asked Cao Tianbao, "Where did the General hear about my and Zhu Yu's deaths?"

"In court, not only me, but all the civil and military officials heard it." Cao Tianbao snorted. "His Highness Prince Shu reported to His Majesty that after Prince Xiaoyao was demoted to a commoner, he and his wife left the capital for another place, but unfortunately encountered a black inn run by bandits and died at the hands of those bandits. Even his body was burned to a crisp, and it was impossible to transport it back to the capital. He could only be buried on the spot."

If His Majesty believes this, how can we, as his subjects, have any doubts?

I had only just found out that the Chief Secretary Yu who had exonerated my good-for-nothing nephew was actually the Princess Consort of Xiaoyao. Before I could even recover from the shock, I heard that you two were both dead…”

Cao Tianbao shook his head, sighed, and looked at Lu Qing and Zhu Yu, clearly relieved that they were both alive and well.

After pausing for a moment, he seemed to realize that such sentiments would make him, a great general, appear a bit sentimental, so he cleared his throat and abruptly changed the subject, saying to Zhu Yu, "I really didn't expect that your dull-witted father, obsessed with weapon forging, could have given birth to a daughter with such astonishing courage and skill!"

Zhu Yu paused for a moment, then laughed and nodded to Cao Tianbao: "To be honest, even my father probably didn't think of this." Cao Tianbao was amused by her words and laughed heartily, saying "Good" three times in a row.

"Actually, I was indeed very sorry to hear about your deaths." Cao Tianbao, who used to treat Lu Qing with a cold face and practically looked down on him, was showing such sincerity and frankness for the first time. "On the one hand, you helped my good-for-nothing nephew get out of such a big trouble and also preserved the reputation of the Cao family. You have done me a favor."

On the other hand, I was also blinded by Zhao Bi in the past and believed his words, so I have a prejudice against you.

Until Zhao Bi fell from power, everyone was afraid of being implicated by him. I was shocked by many things, not just you, but others as well. After his downfall, different voices gradually dared to speak the truth. That's when I realized how long I had been fooled by him.

I've always prided myself on being upright, but in the end, I've just been led around by the nose like an ox.

Including things in your family…

He glanced at Lu Qing, paused, and sighed: "I've been blindly trusting you all these years, I'm sorry!"

Thinking about it carefully, although the rumors about you are unsavory, I have never personally witnessed you behaving indecently or doing anything to bully men and women.

besides……"

He glanced at Zhu Yu sitting next to Lu Qing: "To marry a woman like this, not only without fear or taboo, but also like a precious jewel, how could he be an ordinary playboy? He must have both courage and vision."

"It doesn't matter. I don't care what others think of me anyway." Lu Qing smiled faintly, her tone sounding nonchalant. "I'm also fortunate to have that despicable reputation over the years, otherwise I might have died many years ago."

Cao Tianbao sighed heavily.

After Zhao Bi's death, people in the capital became increasingly uninhibited, and many secrets that had been kept hidden in the past were gradually revealed. In addition to the fate of Lu Qing's family, there were also stories about how Consort Zhao had used underhanded methods to eliminate dissidents in the palace, harming other concubines of lower rank and young imperial heirs.

Just hearing about these things made Cao Tianbao's heart pound with fear, as if the inner palace was even more dangerous than the battlefield.

"Why did that group of thieves ambush and attack the General?" Zhu Yu originally wanted to ask Cao Tianbao and his group what they were doing, but he was afraid that they would be too afraid to tell him, so he changed his question.

Cao Tianbao's thoughts were pulled back from the past to the present. He turned his head to look at his subordinates who were burying corpses in the woods in the distance, and snorted: "You have not been in the capital these days, so naturally you are relatively out of touch with the news."

Previously, the King of Jie was furious because His Majesty forbade his daughter from divorcing Prince Yi, and he had been making trouble on the border. As a result, not long ago, Prince Yi was sent by His Majesty to guard the border, and somehow, he ran into the King of Jie at the border.

After a fierce battle, Prince Yi was ultimately no match for the warriors under King Jie and was captured by King Jie.

Now, the King of Jie is using Your Highness as a hostage, forcing His Majesty to exchange you for Princess Yi.