Clouds and Moon Shadow

"Master, Yue Ling has arrived," Jiang Wan whispered at the door.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyue jumped up.

"Where?" Gu Qingyue came out of the house and saw Yue Ling, dressed in a 'special outfit', under the eaves of the corridor.

"You... came out of the chimney?"

The lights under the eaves have been put on, and the design looks very three-dimensional under the lights. It's dark, but it looks quite nice!

'Pfft------' Jiang Wan, who had been trying to hold back her laughter behind Gu Qingyue, finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Gu Qingyue glanced back at her, and she immediately fell silent.

"Your Majesty, it didn't come out of the chimney, it went in through the chimney," Yue Ling said solemnly, bowing with his hands clasped.

"Come and sit down." This guy looks exhausted; I wonder what great thing he did.

As Gu Qingyue spoke, she walked towards the small stone table in the courtyard.

After the two sat down, Yue Ling cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Master, we have discovered something important!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyue's heart skipped a beat. She raised her hand to stop Yue Ling from speaking, looked around, and only when she saw that Jiang Wan was the only one in the courtyard did she signal him to continue.

After Yue Ling finished speaking, Gu Qingyue remained silent for a long time.

Yue Ling said that he did indeed take the young man from Yueying Pavilion to follow Marquis Jing'an last night, and Marquis Jing'an went to that villa outside the city.

He only stayed at the villa for half an hour before quietly leaving, leading his men on horseback into the mountains outside the capital.

Yue Ling and the others naturally followed.

······

Marquis Jing'an met a person in the mountains, who was addressed as a member of the Su Shou Alliance.

Marquis Jing'an reprimanded the man, saying he had failed in his duties and ordered them to continue assassinations... This time, they had a new target: in addition to the old Duke, there was also Gu Qingyue.

Marquis Jing'an will pay three times the price.

This is not over yet.

Later, the Marquis of Jing'an went into a very inconspicuous mud house deep in the mountains. Yue Ling and the others could not get close. In order not to alert him, he flew onto the roof and went in through the chimney.

And so, I overheard an important conversation.

The two men who met with Marquis Jing'an introduced themselves as General Qian and Lieutenant General Fu. They reassured him that their men had already entered the capital in batches, and the rest would be ready to go through fire and water at the Third Prince's command…

"What about Marquis Jing'an? Have you made a move yet?"

Gu Qingyue asked.

She had just finished speaking when she started thinking: if she let Marquis Jing'an get injured and lie in bed now, would it alert the enemy?

It seems that the Third Prince has already colluded with some people in the military, and they will soon take action.

"Not yet, let me ask for Master's opinion first," Yue Ling said.

"Okay, go back and wash up first, and wait for my message," Gu Qingyue said as she stood up.

She has just made a decision; she wants to discuss it with her father and the others first.

So, in the study of the second branch's main courtyard, Gu Changling, Gu Yuanjin, the four brothers, and Gu Qingyue, except for Qin Shi, all gathered.

Gu Qingyue recounted in detail what Yue Ling had discovered by following them.

Everyone was startled!

What? The Marquis of Jing'an wants to hire someone to assassinate him?!

And he even wanted to kill Yue'er?

"Then what do we do? Should we strike first?"

Gu Yuanen was the first to stand up. He was anxious. He had inquired about the Su Shou Alliance today; their assassins were ruthless. What if they set their sights on his grandfather and younger sister again…

Grandfather is still not well!

What are your thoughts, Moon?

Gu Changling remained silent for a moment before speaking.

Gu Qingyue paused for a moment, "There might be a major upheaval in the capital. Father, should we take everyone away to avoid this?"

"Avoid it?" Gu Yuanjin didn't quite understand.

My sister just mentioned that the Third Prince and the Marquis of Jing'an's family have colluded with people in the military and are planning something big, probably mainly targeting the Emperor. What does this have to do with the Duke of Zhenguo's family?

Thinking of something, he pressed further, "Does my younger sister mean she's afraid that chaos in the capital will harm the people in the manor?"

Gu Qingyue nodded; that was exactly what she meant.

If they are the Third Prince's men, once they instigate chaos in the capital, they will likely not let Mu Yun Chu and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion off the hook.

After all, his grandfather and father still had influence in the army. What if he wanted to prevent trouble and sent people to kill the people of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?

It's not impossible.

“But…” Gu Yuanjin wanted to ask more, but Gu Changling raised his hand to stop him.

"Leaving aside what happened after they stirred up the chaos in the capital, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion will naturally find a way to protect itself."

"Speaking only of the present situation, I'm not entirely clear on the Su Shou Alliance, but it's obvious that Marquis Jing'an has hired them to target you and your grandfather. Do the people around Yue'er know how to handle this?"

Although Gu Changling was unfamiliar with the Su Shou Alliance, he knew that anyone who could command such a high salary from the Marquis of Jing'an, a man who had spent his life on the battlefield, was certainly no small fry.

His biggest worry right now is the safety of the old Duke and Gu Qingyue; nothing else matters to him.

Even if the Third Prince wanted to collude with people in the army to rebel.

After sixteen years of living in a daze, his unwavering loyalty to the Great Chu and the emperor had faded.

People are selfish, so at this moment, his father and daughter are naturally the most important.

"Father, don't worry about that. I've already thought of a solution," Gu Qingyue waved her hand dismissively.

"Should we transfer some more bodyguards to Yue'er? We can bring back a batch of bodyguards who are currently training," said Gu Yuanchen.

In the Great Chu, the royal family stipulated that, according to rank, a Duke's mansion could have 150 guards.

Of course, all families openly followed this rule, but the number of secret guards they trained was hard to say.

The emperor turned a blind eye, and as long as it wasn't too outrageous, he wouldn't interfere.

Therefore, like other families, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion naturally had its own secretly trained personnel.

There weren't many before, just enough to protect the people in the mansion.

Since Gu Qingyue returned, the old Duke has secretly increased the number of people and is stepping up training.

"No need," Gu Qingyue waved her hand again.

"How can that be? If the Su Shou Alliance gathers experts to deal with you and your grandfather, the few people you have by your side are still too few."

Gu Yuanming echoed Gu Yuanchen's suggestion, feeling that his younger sister had too few people around her. Even though Gu Qingyue was skilled, it would still be dangerous if a group of highly skilled assassins from the Su Shou Alliance came.

"Does the little sister have any other ideas?" Gu Yuanjin asked, seeing Gu Qingyue's confident demeanor.

"Cut off the fuel supply from under the cauldron!" Gu Qingyue said.

"You're going to kill Marquis Jing'an and the Third Prince?" Gu Yuanen was astonished; his younger sister was incredibly audacious.

"No, wipe out the Su Shou Alliance!" Gu Qingyue said calmly.

Of all the assassin organizations currently entrenched near the capital of the Great Chu, the Su Shou Alliance is the strongest and most evil!

I've heard that the leader of the Su Shou Alliance is ruthless. When accepting missions, he not only treats his targets cruelly, but also often wipes out entire families.

Assassins were prevalent in several kingdoms during this dynasty, but they generally still adhered to some code of honor, making it a way to make a living.

They all accepted orders, targeting only the intended recipients, not others.