Chapter 21: The Treacherous Minister and the Unfilial Son

  The princess "summoned" him when it was still dark, and the world was quiet and cold, with a gray mist.

  Mulan gently shook him awake from his dream, a terrible nightmare. In that brief dream, he dreamed of walking on the dark prairie, endless grasslands. He was naked and barefoot, hobbling along, surrounded by a pack of wolves with glowing green eyes, strong as oxen, baring their sharp teeth, making low growls in their throats. He wanted to run away, but his body wouldn't obey. One wolf pounced on him, tearing and biting him, playing with him like a cat with a mouse. Then, a round moon peeked out from the clouds, and under its light, a silver-white wolf king howled at the sky, causing all the wolves to retreat. The silver wolf seemed to have asserted its dominance over him, slowly approaching him with an air of superiority, its eyes cold and arrogant. Ah! It finally pounced on him, biting his neck without hesitation. His neck was covered in blood, and he only heard a tearing sound before falling into endless darkness.

  Then he was shaken awake from his nightmare by Mulan.

  As he opened his eyes, the pack of wolves surrounding him had vanished without a trace, and the silver giant wolf was nowhere to be seen. Only the several bonfires rising around him remained, one of which stood beside a woman with silver hair and white robes, her back turned to him. It was his newlywed wife, Gao Qianshuang, but when he saw her silhouette, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat dripping down his face. He instantly recalled the silver wolf that had bitten through his throat, and in this lifetime, he had never been so terrified.

  Except now.

  Although his previous experiences were also unbelievable, he suddenly came from modern times to ancient times and was seriously injured as soon as he arrived, almost dying. However, these did not give him too much of a shock, and he had not truly felt the closeness of death until now. Now, he finally felt this terrible aura of death.

  Pursuit, escape, rebellion, ten evils unpardonable, extermination of nine clans, beheading and public display...

  He never thought that one day he would be in such a situation. Even if he found himself waking up and crossing into the Sui Dynasty, he didn't think he would end up like this.

  The people of Gaojiazhuang were divided into several groups, hastily relocating to other secret and safe locations. He and Gao Qiansheng were in one group, with fewer than 50 people when they set out, but after walking for half the night, they merged with several other groups on the road, and by the time they stopped to rest at midnight, their numbers had swelled to over 200. However, these people were not from Gaojiazhuang, and he had never seen them before in the village. Moreover, they didn't look like ordinary people; their attire made one feel uneasy. They were all young adults, both men and women, mostly between 18 and 30 years old, and even their clothing was diverse and varied.

  To the left of Lingyun, a group of about fifty men and women sat in front of a bonfire, all wearing leather armor. Regardless of gender, they wore cowhide jackets of varying ages on the outside, tied with belts and wrapped around their calves. What was even more striking was that each man had a long knife hanging from his waist, and a large spear stood beside him. The robust women, on the other hand, had smaller cross-knives at their waists, longbows on their backs, and quivers of arrows at their sides. Both men and women tied their hair into high buns on top of their heads, securing them with red cloth strips. They sat casually around the campfire, laughing and chatting as they devoured a dish made with pepper and mutton, washing it down with large gulps of barley wine. This scene appeared particularly unusual to Lingyun's eyes. He even wanted to shake his head, hoping that he was just not fully awake.

  Gao Mingyue sat on the other side, wearing a brand new red leather armor, with a jade-encrusted sword hanging from her waist. Qian Shu's son, Xiao Qian Guan Shi, and Gao Bo's son, Xiao Gao Guan Shi, sat beside her, both also fully armed with leather armor, swords, bows, and arrows. In front of them was a group of completely unfamiliar men, their attire varied and disorganized, with an assortment of weapons, including knives, guns, spears, and bows and arrows, men and women alike, resembling a gang of bandits. On the periphery of this temporary camp, many shadowy figures were moving about, these were the guards arranged earlier to keep watch. There were around forty or fifty people, all dressed like the original guards of Gao Family Village.

  This large crowd of people is here, so unusual, yet seemingly very harmonious.

  Lingyun's mind was in a state of utter confusion, and being surrounded by such a crowd, he felt an unprecedented sense of disorientation and fear.

  Even if Lingyun was extremely careless and oblivious, he would have noticed it a long time ago. These people were neither hunters nor guards, nor bandits. They were clearly the men of Princess Gao Qianshuo of Northern Qi. Moreover, this was only a small part of them. A single high house could have 200 well-trained guards. With Princess Gao's identity, if she had been managing carefully, she would definitely have a private army that was not small in scale. According to Lingyun's observation and judgment, when Princess Gao lived in the High House Village, she must have arranged for these warriors to be scattered around the village to protect its safety at all times. Moreover, judging from their gathering speed, it is very likely that only a part of this Northern Qi force appeared here.

  Let's think again about what Gao Yan said earlier. They have been in Jiangnan for only a year, and judging from their past activities in the north, it can be inferred that their true strength will only be greater. What we see now may just be the tip of the iceberg of this unyielding force.

  The Northern Qi dynasty has been extinct for over twenty years, yet they still possess such a powerful force. Isn't the significance obvious? Lingyun had comforted himself countless times on his journey, hoping that Gao Shanshu was just a princess of the fallen Northern Qi state, but it was clear that he was deceiving himself. Gao Shanshu was not only a princess of the fallen Northern Qi state, but they were also operating a powerful force, and their influence was not small. Adding to this, considering Gao Ding's serious injury and return, Gao Yi's departure without return, and then their sudden decision to relocate, the mist gradually lifted, and Lingyun dared to confirm that Gao Shanshu and his group were rebelling against the Sui dynasty, and it was even possible that they were planning to restore their state. The thought of being involved in such a treasonous crime made his heart feel cold and numb.

  He is a modern man, who can be clearer about the current situation than him. The Sui Empire is now in its heyday, under the prosperous era of Kaihuang, the world is at peace, and the population of the Sui Dynasty has more than 40 million people, with a territory of over 9,000 miles from east to west, and over 14,000 miles from north to south. Although the Sui Dynasty has been in peace for several years and has reduced many garrison troops, there are still more than 600,000 regular garrison troops, and its war mobilization capacity is even more astonishing, with the ability to mobilize up to 1.5 million soldiers nationwide at any time.

  Although Lingyun also knew better than anyone else that the Sui Empire, which was now at its peak, would soon reach its zenith and then decline. However, no matter how bad it got, a massive empire like the Sui couldn't possibly collapse overnight. A dying centipede still doesn't stiffen, and a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Yang Guang currently can't even become the crown prince, let alone emperor. Once he becomes the crown prince and then emperor, the Sui Empire will continue to prosper for several more years before suddenly erupting into chaos. Even if the people of the world were to rebel, it would be at least seven years from now, which is still thirteen years away. And by the time Yang Guang is killed in Jiangdu, there will still be twenty whole years left.

  Twenty years, how many black mushrooms have been obtained, how many bananas have become soft, and how many grapes have turned purple.

  At least at that time, Lingyun and Gao Shansheng would have been about to become grandfathers if they had worked hard to have children twenty years later.

  The so-called leading rafters rot first, the gun shoots out the leading bird. Now is not the time to plot a coup d'etat? Isn't that like Old Laozi hanging himself because he's tired of living too long?

  Just now, all the way, Lingyun had thought several times that he should think of a way to leave. After all, he didn't have any big ambitions, and since he couldn't return to his own era, he might as well try his best to survive and find ways to live more comfortably. As for things like marrying a princess, becoming a royal son-in-law, being a great general, becoming an emperor, reaching the pinnacle of life, leaving a name in history, founding an empire, or unifying the world, he hadn't thought about them even a little bit, not even a little bit.

  As more and more people gathered along the way, four teams joined halfway, and there were more and more people. He followed Gao Qianshuai's side and was directly protected in the middle, without any chance of leaving.

  Besides, even if he leaves, where can he go? He still hasn't figured out his own identity yet. Without an identity, and penniless, where can he go? Most importantly, he has already married Gao Shansheng, they have gone through the three letters and six rituals, with this ancient mindset, from now on he is a member of the Gao family in life and death. And treason is something that would lead to the extermination of nine clans, even if he wants to run, he can't escape.

  He tried hard to maintain a smile, but his facial muscles were stiff as death, and his heart kept sinking.

  "Darling," Mulan told him, "the young lady is asking for you."

  "Alright." Lingyun nodded upon hearing this.

  Actually, Lingyun didn't sleep for long and just dozed off for a while. They walked for most of the night yesterday, and now it was the dark hours before dawn. The group stopped to rest and eat, then they would head to another place that he knew nothing about.

  Although they came out in a hurry, there was no shortage of food. Those who rushed to the middle were well-prepared. Just now when he was dozing off, many dishes had already been prepared. Dish after dish was placed in front of him, with fragrant roasted meat, thick sausages, even delicious fish soup, as well as salted eggs and ham slices. But facing all this, he didn't have the slightest appetite, not wanting to eat anything, his stomach was already full.

  Gao Shanshu seemed to understand his mood at this time and didn't say much. He personally helped him bring over a carefully prepared meal, and then stopped disturbing him. As a result, Lingyun could only feel that he was wrapped in cotton like a cocoon, unable to exert himself anywhere. In the end, he snatched a wine pouch from in front of Gao Bo's son, raised it and took several big gulps. While drinking, he thought to himself, "When we reach the mountain, there will be a way. I must be able to turn bad luck into good fortune!" After another fierce gulp, his heart couldn't help but roar, "Damn it! I've traveled from modern times to the Sui Dynasty, what's more unbelievable than this? Screw it, when soldiers come, we'll defend; when water comes, we'll dam it up - that's all!"

  PS: Seeking recommendation votes, brothers. When reading, please take the time to cast your precious recommendation votes, they're all free. If you don't vote today, it will refresh again tomorrow. During the new book period, every single vote is extremely valuable, thank you!