Chapter 64: Father

In the wild woods outside the city of Wuwei.

Tang Zhao was carried down from the horse by Gu Ci. She waddled with a duck-like gait to a sheltered spot and sat on a stone that the guards had specifically sought out for her.

Gu Ci handed her a piece of dry cake. Looking at the woman's pale complexion, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Tang Zhao glared at him. *How much endorsement fee did Liu Liu Mei give you?!*

*Don't you know damn well whether I'm alright or not?*

Gu Ci gave a light cough and turned his head to avoid her gaze. "The guards have boiled hot water. I'll go fetch a bowl for you."

Tang Zhao stared hatefully at his retreating back, wishing she could kick him but unable to do so.

The distance from Wuwei to Lanzhou was nearly six hundred li; even a fast horse would typically take three days to arrive. Yet, this beast Gu Ci had insisted on driving the horses relentlessly day and night, covering the distance to Wuwei in just two days.

He and his soldiers were used to rough living and naturally didn't care about such hardship, but the poor Eldest Miss Tang was delicate and precious. By that very night, the skin on the inside of her thighs had been chafed raw and was seeping blood.

Gu Ci had given her Wang Buliu Xing, a medicine claimed to be a miracle in the army, which had excellent effects for stopping bleeding and reducing inflammation.

It was just that this fellow hadn't mentioned one fatal flaw: it hurt!

The moment Tang Zhao applied the medicine, the pain was so intense she nearly fainted, and she stubbornly refused to use it again.

Gu Ci was a man of few words and ruthless actions. He glanced at the wound on her leg, closed his eyes, pinned her down with one hand, and used the other to pick up the medicine bottle. He sprinkled the medicine on the wound and wrapped it up with cloth in no time at all.

Then, he hoisted her back onto the horse to continue the journey.

Aside from fixed times for resting and applying medicine, Tang Zhao had not dismounted once every day. The wound on her leg fluctuated between getting better and worse, a process comparable to being tortured.

As if to vent her anger, Tang Zhao took a bite of the dry cake, but it wouldn't budge.

Gu Ci brought two bowls of hot water and pushed one toward her.

Tang Zhao stared at him for a long while before taking it without any dignity; she was hungry.

She soaked the dry cake in the water, waiting for it to slowly soften.

Gu Ci sat beside her, his eyes wandering. "How is your wound?"

Tang Zhao looked up at him sideways and said irritably, "I'm not dying."

Gu Ci:...

Gu Ci explained the preciousness of Wang Buliu Xing to her. In the army, it was only used by soldiers with extremely heavy injuries, such as those suffering from massive hemorrhaging or lost limbs. For minor injuries like hers, military doctors would usually just give them some herbs to chew on and apply themselves to get them to leave.

Tang Zhao expressionlessly took a large bite of the softened cake. "Am I supposed to thank you then?"

Gu Ci:...

That wasn't what he meant.

"Remember to apply the medicine after you finish eating," Gu Ci said, taking a bite of his own cake. "If you don't, I'll do it for you."

Tang Zhao sneered. "I won't give you another chance to touch my thighs."

Gu Ci:...

After finishing his cake and water, Gu Ci obediently went outside to keep watch.

Enduring the cold wind, Tang Zhao rolled her trousers up to her upper thighs, exposing the half-scabbed wound, and sprinkled the medicine on it.

Gu Ci stood with his back turned thirty paces away, but the sound of the woman's sharp, hissing breaths kept drilling into his ears.

*Too delicate,* Gu Ci thought.

Suddenly, a fleeting image of her white jade-like skin flashed through his mind, and he felt her delicacy was not without reason.

Realizing what he was thinking, Gu Ci's head throbbed, and the tips of his ears turned red again.

Once Tang Zhao had finished applying the medicine and straightened her clothes, she walked over again with her duck-like gait. Bypassing the man who was standing there dazed and foolish, she walked straight toward Hong'er, the red-eared creature, and stuffed the last piece of peanut candy she had carried into its mouth.

Eating the candy, Hong'er kept pushing its large head toward Tang Zhao's hand.

With the help of the peanut candy, Tang Zhao had established a deep revolutionary friendship with Hong'er in just two days.

When Gu Ci arrived and saw Hong'er's spineless behavior, his lip twitched.

Half an hour later, Gu Ci helped Tang Zhao onto the horse, and the group headed straight for the military camp dozens of li away.

Inside the main tent of the Northwest Great Camp, Prince Xuan was reading a family letter sent by Consort Han. Aside from the useless parts, the summary of the remaining content was: the only daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong still single-mindedly admires Gu Ci, and her son would rather be a lifelong widower than a "living turtle" (a man without a wife).

Prince Xuan crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it into the brazier. He turned to the expectant Marquis of Zhongyong beside him and said, "Old Bai, let's talk about the matter of our children's marriage in a couple of days."

Prince Xuan calculated that in two days, the family letter from the Marquis of Zhongyong's estate should also arrive.

The Marquis of Zhongyong was indeed a man who had held the title of "Number One Husband" for decades. Just like the Marquis's wife, he had set his sights on Prince Xuan's second son, Gu An, and chose a day that would make Prince Xuan happy to bring up the matter.

He had thought victory was in his grasp, but he hadn't expected Prince Xuan not to agree immediately.

Just as Bai Wei was about to press for more, a soldier reported that scouts had discovered traces of men and horses ten li away.

Prince Xuan's eyes lit up at the thought of Gu Ci's letter. He stepped past Bai Wei out of the main tent and led two personal guards out of the camp on horseback.

The left-behind Bai Wei was bewildered. Just as he was hesitating whether to follow, a soldier reported that the family letter from the Marquis of Zhongyong's estate had arrived.

Bai Wei headed straight back to his own military tent.

Ten li away, Tang Zhao was wrapped in a cloak by Gu Ci, stubbornly poking her head out.

Gu Ci reached up to press her head back down, and Tang Zhao poked her head out again.

Gu Ci:...

As the two were in a standoff, the sound of galloping hooves came from the distance. Three tall, magnificent horses appeared before them in an instant.

"Yuanye!"

A hearty, booming voice erupted like thunder in their ears. Tang Zhao whipped her head around to see a middle-aged man with a full beard leaping down from his horse.

Gu Ci held Tang Zhao as they dismounted to greet him.

Looking at the girl Gu Ci was carefully protecting in his arms, Prince Xuan recognized her at a glance. "This must be Zhao Shan, right?"

She truly had a Song-family face.

The moment Tang Zhao saw her "Client Grandpa," the shrewdness of a merchant ingrained in her bones instantly took over her soul. She broke free from Gu Ci, ran forward with a wide grin, and said in a crisp voice, "Daddy, it's me!"

Gu Ci:...

Everyone else:...

Prince Xuan laughed heartily. He raised a hand as large as a fan, but it was blocked by Gu Ci before it could land on Tang Zhao's shoulder.

Gu Ci gave his father a cold look.

Prince Xuan felt awkward. Looking at the girl's frail shoulders, he silently withdrew his hand.

Gu Ci turned to look at the fawning Tang Zhao. "What did you just call Father?"

Tang Zhao said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Daddy!"

Prince Xuan responded happily, "Good daughter-in-law!"

Tang Zhao shook her head. "Daddy, you're being too formal."

Gu Ci:...

Prince Xuan:???

Calling her a daughter-in-law is being too formal? Then what should he call her? Prince Xuan glanced at his son.

"As the old saying goes, a son-in-law is half a son; by that same logic, isn't a daughter-in-law also half a daughter?"

"Back then, when Daddy studied martial arts under my maternal grandfather, Grandfather treated Daddy like his own son. Doesn't that make Daddy my grandfather's son? Then wouldn't Zhao Shan be Daddy's half-daughter?"

"Add both sides together, and it makes a whole," Tang Zhao argued logically. "So, of course I must call you Daddy."

Prince Xuan did the math carefully. Hey, that actually made sense!

What a clever girl; she was just as shrewd as her grandmother.

Tang Zhao blinked her large, doll-like eyes and said pitifully, "Daddy, can Zhao Zhao call you that?"

Prince Xuan's rugged, macho heart was instantly struck. "Call me! Call me whatever you want! Zhao Zhao can call Daddy whatever she likes!"

Gu Ci:...

In his twenty-plus years of life, he had never experienced this much speechlessness in just a few days.

*Zhao Zhao's first step to clinging to a powerful thigh: first, acknowledge him as Daddy.*