Chapter 126

General Guo glanced from a distance, and the jade looked very familiar to him.

His heart jumped suddenly, forgetting to discipline Guo Gaoyi. He hurriedly stepped forward and took the green jade, instantly brightening up.

“Where is the distinguished guest?”

The gatekeeper, upon hearing this, secretly breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t delayed matters. He quickly replied, “Just outside the gate, wearing a hood, so I couldn’t see their face clearly!”

General Guo became even more convinced of the visitor’s identity upon hearing this. He turned around and gave Guo Gaoyi a fierce glare. “I’ll deal with you later!”

After saying this, General Guo strode out.

Seeing this, Mrs. Guo and the old lady breathed a sigh of relief, quickly helped Guo Gaoyi up, and took him to apply medicine, calling him “darling” as they did so.

General Xiao had only waited for a moment when the gate of the mansion creaked open again.

“Come in.”

The low voice was very familiar, making General Xiao’s heart leap with joy.

Sure enough, behind the door, General Guo was waiting with his hands behind his back.

“Don’t say anything yet, follow me.”

General Guo turned and left, and General Xiao followed without a word.

They walked all the way to the study, where there was no one else present. General Xiao took off his hood and immediately knelt down in front of General Guo.

“Master!”

Seeing General Xiao, General Guo felt a mixture of emotions but was filled with relief.

Years ago, he had noticed the great potential in Qiao Zhongguo and Xiao Hongda. However, it was taboo for generals to form cliques, so he had to secretly nurture the two of them.

At that time, due to the need for secrecy, conditions were especially difficult. After several years of being together, these two children were already like his own.

Later, when the two of them had achieved success and went to the battlefield, he split a green jade in half and gave it to them.

At that time, he had foreseen the future achievements of the two of them and left a sentence behind.

“The royal family fears the bond between military commanders. From now on, when you meet in public, pretend not to know each other!”

Lost in thought, General Guo helped General Xiao up and returned the half piece of green jade to him.

“Hongda, get up quickly. There’s no need for such formalities between us.”

Tears welled up in Xiao Hongda’s eyes. “Master.”

General Guo patted Xiao Hongda on the shoulder and, seeing him come at night, couldn’t help but ask worriedly, “But what urgent matter has arisen?”

Although Xiao Hongda didn’t want to cause distress to General Guo, this matter couldn’t be delayed any longer. So he said seriously:

“Master, there is indeed a major issue. Did the young master of the Guo family return home injured today?”

General Guo’s face changed suddenly. “How do you know about this?”

Xiao Hongda had already organized his thoughts on the way here, so he said in a deep voice:

“Master, your disciple is about to relinquish military power. You are the most suitable candidate for the position of Grand General. Now someone has set their sights on you!”

“The secret guards who rescued the young master today are from our mansion. The reason we were prepared so early is because I received some incredible news yesterday!”

General Guo didn’t want to involve Qiao Zhongguo, so he had to tell a small lie to completely exclude the Qiao family.

General Guo already had a very bad premonition in his heart. “Hongda, tell me, what foolish thing did he do?”

Xiao Hongda took a deep breath, grabbed General Guo’s arm, and slowly said:

“Master, someone informed me that… that our young master was involved in tampering with the Chunwei examinations and bought a ranking from Sheng Qishan!”

When General Guo heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then his whole body swayed, and his face became extremely ugly.

“Master!”

Seeing this, Xiao Hongda was filled with worry.

After experiencing countless storms, General Guo closed his eyes slightly, then suddenly grabbed Xiao Hongda’s hand tightly and said in a deep voice:

“Hongda, is the information accurate?”

Xiao Hongda hesitated slightly. Without implicating Old Qiao, he couldn’t reveal the exact source of the information.

But before Xiao Hongda could answer, General Guo sighed deeply with exhaustion.

“Misfortune has befallen our family. At the time, I was puzzled. His academic performance was not good, how did he manage to pass the exam? I thought I had underestimated him.”

“I didn’t expect him to be so unscrupulous, actually committing such despicable acts!”

Xiao Hongda looked at General Guo with a troubled expression, apologizing, “Master, now someone has set their sights on the young master. If this matter is exposed, it may truly be irreparable.”

“Master, speaking frankly, besides entrusting the military power of the southern border to you, my disciple cannot trust anyone else.”

“The people of the southern border are innocent and simple. I really can’t bear to see them suffer the hardships of war again!”

General Guo tightly grasped Xiao Hongda’s hand, his face filled with sorrow.

He understood Xiao Hongda’s compassionate heart better than anyone else. After all, he had personally nurtured him into an excellent disciple.

He had already mentally prepared himself to go to the southern border. As long as the emperor gave the order, he wouldn’t hesitate.

Who could have imagined that his own son would be so cunning and spineless, committing such heinous acts!

Facing Xiao Hongda’s concerned gaze, General Guo took a deep breath, his face gradually showing a determined expression.

“Hongda, go back. Master knows what to do.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongda knelt down before General Guo.

With the master’s intelligence, how could he not understand the deeper meaning of this trip?

“Master, I—”

General Guo patted Xiao Hongda’s head, stopping him from saying anything further.

“Hongda, you don’t need to say more. You are not at fault in this matter. The fault lies with him.”

“However, I don’t know if there will be another chance for me to go to the southern border. Everything depends on the emperor’s decision.”

“You should go back quickly. Don’t let anyone discover you. Be careful.”

Xiao Hongda looked up at General Guo, seeing the genuine concern on his face, feeling a pang of pain in his heart.

He kowtowed deeply to General Guo before putting his hood back on and quietly leaving the Guo residence.

General Guo sat quietly in the study for a while, gazing at the flickering candlelight, his eyes tinged with redness.

The next moment, he walked resolutely towards the inner courtyard.

Inside the room.

Mrs. Guo and the old lady were busy applying medicine and serving tea, being extremely careful. When they saw General Guo coming in, they instantly became nervous.

“Xiuyun, you are not allowed to hit Gaoyi again! Look at his arms!”

The old lady was the first to start lecturing.

General Guo didn’t erupt in anger as usual. His gaze swept over the three of them, then suddenly settled on Guo Gaoyi’s face.

“Someone told me that you bought your rank in the Chunwei exams.”

This statement caused a commotion.

Guo Gaoyi jumped up from the couch, his face turning pale with fright.

Mrs. Guo and the old lady also froze in place, almost forgetting to breathe.

Seeing this scene, General Guo’s heart was filled with sadness, disappointment, anger, and powerlessness. Several emotions surged up all at once.

“Mother, wife, did you secretly help him? Otherwise, how could he have the courage and resources to do this?”

Mrs. Guo trembled all over, scared speechless.

General Guo shook his head slowly, his face full of sorrow.

“Guo Gaoyi, if you have any sense of responsibility left, follow me to the palace now!”

“Otherwise, tomorrow, if this matter is exposed, our entire Guo family will be ruined, and you will bear the consequences!”