Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

Chapter 693: Chapter 532: The Huaheng Clan’s Bold Bet

Following the carriage, the Dark Night Army responded in unison, and in an instant, the crossbow arrows were strung, each arrowhead bound with a fist-sized black object!

The atmosphere was tense, with swords drawn and crossbows cocked, a battle ready to erupt at any moment, when a voice called out from the city tower, ”Hold on.”

It was an old woman’s voice, carrying with it authority and the oppressive force of a superior.

The guards atop the city tower immediately bowed and cleared the middle space, even Huaheng Mantian took a respectful step back and bowed, ”Grandmother, why have you come out?”

”Hmph!” Huaheng Cangyue glared at her, her aged face full of authority, then turned and slightly bowed toward the carriage below, ”Prince Changsheng, please forgive her, my granddaughter is young and ignorant. I beg you, on account of this old woman, to show leniency and not hold it against her!”

Gu Changsheng furrowed his brow, waving his hand to stop the movements of his subordinates of the Dark Night Army, and looked up sharply at the old woman who appeared.

She appeared to be about sixty years old, her hair also half-gray. Behind her followed a row of elegantly dressed women, old and young. Clearly, this old woman was the head of the Huaheng Clan!

To think that such a vast city and this fertile land were controlled by an old woman, the Southern Borderlands truly held women in high esteem!

Gu Changsheng couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the man who lay casually on a soft couch, looking utterly idle.

This man, ever since he entered the Southern Borderlands, had adopted this manner, under the pretense that the Southern Borderlands was a battlefield for women, and he wanted to be a qualified supportive spouse!

Gu Changsheng was quite speechless about this. She really wanted to ask Zhou Mu, ”Damn, was it like this when you campaigned in the Southern Borderlands ten years ago?”

While Gu Changsheng was observing the people on the city tower, Huaheng Cangyue was also sizing up the two people below.

This woman standing on the carriage, with an imposing demeanor, a burning mark between her eyebrows, and eyes proud and devastatingly beautiful, must indeed be an orphan of the Phoenix Clan. And that man reclining, akin to a Heavenly God fallen to dust, looked indulgently and dotingly at the woman in front of him...

Such a pair, truly watched over by the Heavenly Gods!

Huaheng Cangyue’s old eyes deepened, and seeing Gu Changsheng silently not speaking, she finally again spoke up, ”I am Huaheng Cangyue, greeting the people of the Phoenix Clan!”

”Grandmother! Why are you greetings her?” Huaheng Mantian, standing beside her, immediately stomped her foot and spoke discontentedly.

”Silence! Step back!” Huaheng Cangyue sternly scolded.

Seeing her own grandmother truly angry, Huaheng Mantian did not dare resist, tears swirling in her eyes as she stepped back, feeling aggrieved. She glared unhappily at the woman below—it was all because of her, because of her, that her grandmother would scold her! Her grandmother had always adored her, never berating her so fiercely before!

Gu Changsheng leisurely watched the people above, her eyebrows lifting almost imperceptibly.

This grandmother and granddaughter, indeed putting on a good act! She wondered what other tricks Huaheng Cangyue had up her sleeve.

”Prince Changsheng, my Huaheng Clan has served the Phoenix Clan for generations. I, too, once served before the former Phoenix Emperor...,” Huaheng Cangyue began nostalgically, her gaze distant in remembrance. ”Back in the day, the Phoenix Clan governed the Southern Borderlands, ensuring peace and stability all around. Despite being a land of harsh mountains and rivers, the people lived in peace and prosperity. However, the accursed Xiangka Tianji plotted to usurp the throne, tearing the kingdom into the fragmented state we see today!”

”So?” Gu Changsheng asked, her voice light and breezy.

”Thus, Prince Changsheng, if you wish to pass through Red Sun City, I will not obstruct you!” Huaheng Cangyue stated gravely, her voice resolute.

”Not obstruct? Ha, ha... You are indeed much smarter than your foolish granddaughter!” Gu Changsheng burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Not obstruct! Just a simple ’not obstruct’ to dismiss her, Gu Changsheng? Seriously?

Damn, they’d have to have the ability to stop her first!

”Prince Changsheng, my Huaheng Clan has served as the Phoenix Clan’s servants for generations. During the past chaos, my clan was heartbroken. The Xiangka Clan has tried to recruit us multiple times, but I have sworn never to ally with such treacherous and unfaithful scum. My clan has resisted the Xiangka Clan for over twenty years. Now that you have returned to the Southern Borderlands, sure to revitalize the Phoenix Clan, my Huaheng Clan is willing to commit everything, offering up Red Sun Valley and an army of two hundred thousand to help Prince Changsheng overthrow the Xiangka Clan and take control of the Southern Borderlands!” Huaheng Cangyue looked down at Gu Changsheng resolutely, concealing her calculations beneath her gaze.

”Grandmother! Grandmother, what nonsense are you talking about!” Huaheng Mantian exclaimed in disbelief upon hearing those words, ”Grandmother, our Huaheng Clan has controlled Red Sun Valley for hundreds of years, accumulating an army of two hundred thousand strong through centuries. Even facing the Xiangka Clan, our Huaheng Clan is nearly their equal, and yet you wish to hand it all over to Gu Changsheng? How can this be possible!”

Listening to her granddaughter’s words, Huaheng Cangyue lowered her eyes and surprisingly did not interrupt.

”Grandmother, we control half of the Southern Borderlands, and now, you just hand it over to someone else? And to her?” Seeing that her grandmother did not react, Huaheng Mantian stepped forward, pointing a finger at Gu Changsheng with contempt, ”Just because she is an orphan of the Phoenix Clan? Just because she bears the Phoenix Clan’s mark on her brow?”

”Grandmother, don’t be foolish, the Phoenix Clan has vanished from the Southern Borderlands for over twenty years. Even if their clan was once illustrious and peerless, that time has passed! Our Huaheng Clan never conspired with the Xiangka Clan, we have fulfilled our duty of loyalty and obligation fully, it makes no sense for us to suffer in silence now just because a woman who might be from the Phoenix Clan has appeared!” Huaheng Mantian, gripping Huaheng Cangyue’s sleeve pleadingly, continued, ”Grandmother, she just attacked your granddaughter, and moreover, the Phoenix Saintess has been lost for over twenty years. Who knows if this woman is truly her daughter? What if she is not, what if she is an impostor of the Phoenix Clan? Grandmother, are you worried about the scrutiny from everyone in the world, fearing they would accuse our Huaheng Clan of treachery? Yet, times have changed, grandmother, how could she, a mere woman, restore the glory of the Phoenix Clan? In this world, the strong rule; what is she in comparison!”

Huaheng Mantian vented at length, her face a clear display of reluctance, and her animosity towards Gu Changsheng was evident. The guards on the tower, clearly shocked by Huaheng Cangyue’s willingness to hand over half of the Southern Borderlands, shared a look of disbelief.

Only Gu Changsheng, listening to Huaheng Mantian’s endless words, appeared impatient, rubbing her forehead.

”My love, what do you think they mean by this?” Behind her, Zhou Mu shifted to a more comfortable position, lying back down and eagerly watching the scene unfold.

”Pfft! You’re asking me? Who should I ask? I only know they’re performing quite the dramatic duet!” Gu Changsheng turned back, unable to hold back a snort.

Huaheng Mantian’s seeming spoiled petulance aside, her words meticulously analyzed the situation in the Southern Borderlands and highlighted the importance of her clan!

Being able to keep the Xiangka Clan at a standstill for over twenty years without falling into a disadvantageous position, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say the Huaheng Clan controlled half of the Southern Borderlands—it was entirely fitting!

”Dearest mother, please consider this carefully. Your daughter understands that you want to remain loyal to the Phoenix Clan, your loyalty is known to the heavens and clear to everyone on earth, but you must not be so hasty in giving away everything our Huaheng Clan has!” Huaheng Cangyue’s daughter also stepped forward, earnestly persuading.

”Please rethink this, revered mother,” the several women following Huaheng Cangyue also stepped forward, their faces somber as they spoke.

Above on the tower, it was lively with everyone making comments.

Below the tower, Borjigin Nian tugged at Yue Xilou, crouching at the edge of the carriage, and spoke hesitantly to Gu Changsheng, ”Hey! Gu Changsheng, what exactly is the old lady hatching inside her gourd? Are we still fighting this battle or what?”

”I have no idea!” Gu Changsheng responded with an air of indifference, shaking her head, glanced up at the chaos on the tower, and raised her eyebrows, ”Although I don’t know what kind of potion that old lady is concocting in her gourd, I do know this: heaven won’t drop pies, especially not big ones, and if it does, unfortunately, it might kill someone!”

”Uh...” Borjigin Nian fell silent upon hearing this, only to click her tongue incredulously moments later, ”Red Sun Valley stretches a thousand miles, housed with two hundred thousand troops; that pie is indeed massive, the Huaheng Clan’s gamble is truly grand!”

”Isn’t that the truth? But with a pie so large, there’s bound to be some risk of choking!” Gu Changsheng raised an eyebrow, her smile teasing.

”Young lady, what are you implying?” Yue Xilou’s face darkened, his voice cold as he queried.

Hearing this, Gu Changsheng straightened her expression, ”What I mean is, no one rises early for a trifling profit. This Huaheng Cangyue is clearly a cunning and seasoned individual; having ruled Red Sun Valley for many years, she definitely wouldn’t undertake a business at a loss!”

As she spoke, Gu Changsheng looked up to the tower, observing the family who were going all out in their performance, a sharp glint flickered in her eyes, ”For rulers, manipulating power is like a fierce gamble; she dares to wager Red Sun Valley and the two hundred thousand strong army, her aim must definitely be something greater, nothing less!”

What could be a larger scheme than Red Sun Valley and its two hundred thousand troops?

The people by the carriage, upon hearing this, were momentarily startled, all frowning and falling silent.

Gu Changsheng watched her equally perplexed family, lifted her foot and kicked the man beside her focused on picking jujube seeds, wholly oblivious to the surroundings, ”Hey! My dear spouse, why don’t you say what they might be plotting? What does our family possess that they would gamble so heavily for?”

This addressing as ”my dear spouse” successfully elicited a collective twitch on the faces of those by the carriage. Yuan Bao immediately convulsed, collapsing to the ground lifelessly, and Si Xi, who had been on alert with an iron whip, stumbled, nearly falling flat on her face...

The mighty Undefeated War God of Great Zhou, akin to a Heavenly God’s iron man, had unexpectedly become a figure more pliant than a tender vine, twisted around one’s finger—this was utterly preposterous!

Ironically, the person in question seemed to relish it, appearing completely content and pleased with herself...