Chapter Thirty-Seven: What's Meant to Come Will Still Come

  He stood on the ground, extremely excited, his face flushed red, and he danced with joy. If Gao Wei were in front of him, he would probably have the urge to pounce on him and take a bite.

  He was delighted, so he instigated Gao Changgong to rebel. He did not rule out the possibility that he wanted to use Gao Changgong's prestige to achieve his goals, but more importantly, he sympathized with Gao Changgong's experience and did not want to see a hero with great ambitions sink like this, nor was he willing to lose this hard-won family.

  Gao Changgong stared at Gao Xing in a daze, his heart filled with shock. When had he ever fully displayed his talents, hoping to gain Uncle's recognition? But his awkward birth made all his efforts futile, and instead provoked the resentment of his cousin Gao Wei.

  He was angry and unwilling, but also helpless. How many times he wanted to go back and fight, but it's not that simple. Chairman Mao said, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun," and only with fists can one speak convincingly. Although Gao Changgong excelled in both literary and military arts, ranking among the top of his brothers, yet he couldn't get promoted due to his birth, having no real power in his hands. How could he fight back? Acting rashly would be nothing but a stupid act of seeking death.

  So he could only hide his resentment and anger deep in his heart, be low-key, and treat others with kindness. However, even so, Gao Wei still regarded him as a thorn in the eye and a stab in the flesh, wanting to get rid of him before feeling at ease.

  "Xing Er, your father knows that the tens of thousands of strong men outside the city who are undergoing strict military training every day are also good fighters on the battlefield. You have been accumulating strength all along, do you want to fight against your father or compete for the Central Plains?" Gao Changgong's tone was very calm.

  He was delighted but also startled, wanting to argue, but Gao Zhang Gong waved his hand and said: "What do you plan to do? Your father doesn't want to know. Since your serious illness, you've changed a lot. You've become more intelligent and sensitive, and your personality has become more open-minded. You're decisive and calm in handling things, and many times I feel that the person in front of me is not my 13-year-old child, but a mature adult who has experienced many storms.

  Although he knew that Gao Zhang Gong couldn't possibly know that he was a transmigrator, his heart couldn't help but feel some tension.

  Gao Changgong continued, "You've started to have many secrets, and inexplicably possess extraordinary martial arts skills. Even the renowned Xiao Moye was defeated by you, and although your win was somewhat unorthodox, it also proves that your actual strength is quite impressive. Your method of training soldiers is unheard of by me as a father, but it's extremely brilliant. A person who has never been on a battlefield would never be able to create such formations and training methods."

  "As for your secret, as a father, I am curious, but more proud. Although you are gentle and kind to people in daily life, you are extremely arrogant at heart, unwilling to yield. For the poor commoners, you are sympathetic, but for those idle officials and nobles, you especially hate them, and when dealing with them, you show no mercy. The big households in the city have been robbed several times, I suppose it's all your doing!"

  "But the more talented you are, the more arrogant your temperament is, and as a father, I am increasingly fearful. I'm afraid that one day you will harbor treasonous intentions and come to no good end! You twice went to assist General Wang Lin, but were you paving the way for the future? And today's words of yours are just probing mine, aren't they?"

  Gao Chang Gong's eyes were calm as water, without a hint of blame, full of kindness, the gaze of a father looking at his son, pride mixed with relief.

  He was happy to explain, but looking at Gao Chang Gong's warm and gentle eyes, he felt something stuck in his throat that he couldn't get out. It wasn't until now that he realized how formidable this father of his was, who had always been mild-mannered and never showed off. With just a few words today, he had already guessed his true intentions.

  It's a relief to think that Gao Changgong has been through so many things over the years, and it's no wonder he can survive in the imperial palace where power struggles are rampant without offending anyone.

  Since Gao Changgong had already guessed, Gao Xing was not going to cover it up. This was an inevitable thing. If he had the help of Gao Changgong, he would have more assistance in Northern Qi.

  He returned to his chair, and after High Long Gong had poured him a cup of tea, he moistened his throat with a sip before speaking: "Father, please forgive me, I've kept so many things from you."

  "Everyone has their own secrets." Gao Changgong smiled warmly and slowly took a sip of tea.

  "It's not that I want to hide it from Father, but the matter is really too strange." Gao Xing furrowed his brow slightly and leaned in closer.

  Gao Changgong glanced at Gao Xing with a look of excitement, indicating for him to continue. Gao Xing said: "The child wants to say that everything the child has learned comes from dreams, do you believe it?"

  "In your dreams?" Gao Zhangkong repeated in surprise.

  "Yes, a very long dream. It was a very long dream, the people in it were similar to us, they seemed to be our descendants of later generations, but there were also great differences in terms of clothing and food. Our era is called the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Great Qi is called the Northern Qi, and the Zhou state is the Northern Zhou. In the dream, my father was killed by Gao Wei in May, and after several years, the world would be unified under the Northern Zhou, but the emperor would not be of the Yuwen clan, but rather of the Yang clan."

  With a happy face and some doubts, he said slowly. Is it a dream or who can tell clearly?

  Gao Chang's face stiffened, and he suddenly remembered that Gao Xing had said he was in trouble when he first recovered from his illness. The fact that they had taken the initiative to plead guilty on Qingming Festival was actually a strategy of retreat for advancement. Now, hearing Gao Xing say that everything came from his dreams also explained many strange things about Gao Xing.

  But Gao Zhang Gong still thought it was unbelievable, since ancient times, no one had ever heard of anyone having such a wonderful dream.

  But soon Gao Changgong furrowed his brow, in the midst of joyful dreams, Northern Qi would be overthrown a few years later, which made Gao Changgong worried. For the foundation laid by his grandfather Gao Huan, he was very fond of it, although Emperor Gao Wei repeatedly made things difficult for him, but he had never truly harbored rebellious intentions, precisely because of his loyalty to Great Qi.

  "Father, looking at the entire Gao clan, only you are a man of both virtue and talent. Only you can bear the heavy responsibility of reviving the prosperity of our Qi state!" Gao Xing's eyes shone brightly as he gazed at Gao Changgong, filled with hope and expectation.

  But the excitement was short-lived, and Gao Changgong's serious expression flashed a hint of sharpness, but it was only fleeting, and he returned to calm. In the end, Gao Changgong let out a long sigh and said: "Xing'er, today's matter will be dropped here, and don't mention it again in the future!"

  He was so excited that he wanted to say something more, but seeing Gao Changgong's face already tired and closed his eyes, he had to stop. Gao Changgong is now in his thirties, but there are wisps of white hair on both sides of his temples, which pained Gao Xing's eyes.

  "Dad, you rest, I still have some things to do, and then I'll be gone!" He said happily and turned around to leave. Before he went out the door, his soft voice once again entered Gao Changgong's ears, "Dad, if you go, Mom won't survive alone either, I don't want to live in this world all by myself."

  Gao Chang's whole body trembled, his eyes opened wide, and he gazed dully at the still somewhat frail figure of Gao Xing. A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Xing'er, you are not only your father's hope, but also the hope of Great Qi! May your father be able to see you reach the pinnacle of life!"

  Kaixing's joyful mood was somewhat gloomy, and Gaozhang indeed disagreed with the rebellion as expected. With only a few tens of thousands of soldiers at present, there is not much prestige, and the chances of winning are almost zero when the external enemy is watching closely. It's just that time is pressing now, and suddenly three opponents have appeared, making Kaixing feel inexplicably in crisis.

  "Young master, there's a young man outside who claims to be Zhao Gou looking for you." Just as he was about to return to his room, Gao Fu came to report.

  "Oh, I see, Uncle Fu." He nodded happily and walked out.

  Delighted to arrive at the gatehouse of Neishi Prefecture, Zhao Gou was already waiting there, his breathing still somewhat disordered, with beads of sweat still hanging on his face.

  "Master!" Zhao Gou immediately paid his respects.

  He smiled slightly and said, "Something's up?"

  Zhao Gou nodded enthusiastically: "Yes, the Emperor sent two envoys southward, one rushed to Yangping, and the other's target is our Xuancheng."

  "What's going on? Is there any news?" He asked with a slightly sinking heart.

  Zhao Gou shook his head and said, "The news is that there was a great victory at Yangping, the emperor was overjoyed, and he sent an envoy to read out the imperial edict of praise, and also to pay respects to His Excellency."

  A gleam of joy flashed across his heart, and he suddenly felt a pang. He let out a soft sigh and said, "What's destined to come will still come, won't it?"