Let Me Go, I’m Not Pregnant - Chapter 48

“Who goes there? State your name.” Lady Gu casually twirled a knife in her hand. Though she hadn’t wielded a blade in years, having focused on cooking, the familiar grip brought back a bit of an itch.

 

On the opposite wall, three figures dressed in black slowly emerged.

 

Lady Gu thought, these must be the remnants of the former chancellor’s faction that General Gu had mentioned.

 

The three black-clad figures frowned upon seeing someone within the residence capable of martial arts.

 

They had chosen to infiltrate when General Gu was away, but now that they had been discovered, a direct fight might wake Luo Shen, forcing them to flee immediately.

 

But if they gave up, this person would inform Luo Shen, leading to a hasty departure.

 

Should they give up?

 

The three exchanged a glance, then simultaneously drew their swords.

 

They planned to kill Lady Gu as quickly as possible and then eliminate Luo Shen before he could escape!

 

A flash of white light gleamed off the sword tips as Lady Gu, unarmed, glanced around and snapped a vine branch from the trellis in the courtyard. With a hum, she blocked the first incoming blade, kicked the attacker away, countered a strike from the side, and dodged an ambush from behind.

 

Her movements were fluid, as if she were dancing—graceful yet forceful. Each step was calculated, leaving no opening for her opponents. Despite their efforts, they couldn’t land a single blow on her.

 

Frustrated, the three rushed forward together.

 

Lady Gu smiled gently—a warm, soft smile, as though she were facing not assassins but children.

 

The three paused, momentarily stunned.

 

In that instant, a long staff whistled through the air near their ears. All they saw was a blur of white before one by one, they collapsed.

 

Lady Gu used the staff to flip them over, pulling off their masks.

 

She sighed, “Little brats, at your age, I was already out there conquering the world.”

 

She had been a commander from a young age, leading troops on campaigns. Even now, she wasn’t someone a few youngsters could easily defeat.

 

Lady Gu took the rope used to secure the vine trellis and swiftly tied the three together.

 

Once done, she pondered whether to throw them in the woodshed or leave them outside. When she turned around, she saw Changxin standing nearby, holding a sword.

 

It was clear Changxin had intended to help but hadn’t had the chance.

 

Lady Gu, rarely flustered, suddenly felt nervous.

 

Even Gu Xingzhi had only seen her fight as a child, and over the years, her gentle demeanor had hidden her martial prowess. She had worked hard to maintain the image of a virtuous wife and mother, afraid of scaring Changxin and making her even more distant.

 

But tonight…

 

Lady Gu awkwardly smiled, feeling unusually restrained. “Uh… Xiao Xin, actually… I didn’t…”

 

Changxin, expressionless, walked over.

 

Lady Gu panicked inside. Was she angry?

 

Unable to read anything from Changxin’s face, Lady Gu’s fingers twisted together nervously. “Um… Xiao Xin, Xiao Xin?”

 

Changxin looked up, staring seriously at her.

 

Lady Gu fell silent, closing her mouth and lowering her head, bracing herself for words of disappointment.

 

The next second, a clang rang out.

 

Startled, she looked up, only to see that Changxin had dropped her sword.

 

Just as she was about to ask what Changxin was doing, she saw her walk over to the trellis, break off another branch, and then turn around, pointing the tip of the stick at Lady Gu.

 

“Let’s spar.”

 

Lady Gu: “???”

 

Seeing Lady Gu’s shocked and dazed expression, Changxin frowned.

 

Unwilling?

 

Then what should she do?

 

After thinking it over, she said, “If you beat me, I’ll acknowledge you.”

 

Lady Gu’s eyes lit up.

 

“Really?” Lady Gu tried to remain composed, but her fingers pressed over her pounding heart. After all these years, she had given up hope of winning Changxin’s acceptance, having tried countless methods without success.

 

But tonight, just like this?

 

She was both excited and nervous.

 

Changxin nodded solemnly. “Yes!”

 

With that, she struck the air with her staff and lifted her chin. “Come on!”

 

Lady Gu no longer held back. She charged forward, and their long staffs clashed in midair with a resounding thud, forcing them both to retreat several steps before engaging again.

 

The two of them danced around the courtyard, while the three men on the ground groggily regained consciousness. Looking up, they saw a long staff looming before them, the tip wavering as if it might jab them at any moment.

 

Terrified, they shrank back.

 

Lady Gu gradually gained the upper hand, quickly overpowering Changxin. She was confident she would defeat her, but as they fought, something about Changxin’s style felt oddly familiar.

 

“Xiao Xin, who taught you this staff technique?”

 

Changxin parried Lady Gu’s staff with a swift motion and thrust forward. “My master!”

 

“Who is your master?” Lady Gu dodged the direct strike, circling behind Changxin to aim for the back of her neck.

 

“The late emperor.” Changxin ducked and spun, avoiding Lady Gu’s attack, and slashed downward with her staff, targeting Lady Gu’s legs.

 

Lady Gu frowned. What could the late emperor have taught, with his flowery but ineffective techniques?

 

She asked, “Who trained you the longest?”

 

Changxin hesitated slightly, and in that moment, Lady Gu exploited a flaw in her defense, pressing the staff to her throat.

 

Panting, Changxin let her staff drop to the ground, admitting defeat. “General Gu.”

 

The late emperor taught her the “108 Quick Techniques for Secret Guards” and acknowledged her as his disciple, while General Gu taught her martial arts.

 

However, at that time, she hadn’t officially acknowledged General Gu as her master, so when people asked Changxin who her master was, she would only mention the late emperor.

 

Lady Gu thought, as expected, the martial arts General Gu practiced were purely offensive and not meant for defense. His techniques were aggressive, focused solely on attack without guarding, which made them easy to exploit.

 

But his natural talent and mastery of offense made him nearly untouchable.

 

However, for Changxin, things were different.

 

The physical difference between her and General Gu was significant, and the techniques she learned weren’t adapted to her own strengths. While hard to counter, if one could outlast her, they could eventually defeat her.

 

Lady Gu said, “From now on, I’ll personally teach you.”

 

Changxin nodded. “Yes, Master.”

 

Lady Gu nodded in response.

 

Then she froze. “What?”

 

Changxin called out again, “Master.”

 

Lady Gu: “…”

 

She felt a bit wronged. “Changxin, didn’t you say you wanted to acknowledge me as your mother?”

 

Changxin responded blankly, “I said I would, and I already have.”

 

Master, isn’t that right?

 

Lady Gu’s enthusiasm was dampened as if doused with cold water. She regretted not clarifying before starting the fight. A master? No way!

 

She didn’t want that!

 

She considered fighting again to make Changxin change her address, but when she looked up, she saw that Changxin seemed tired, her eyelids drooping, and she even yawned.

 

The words she was about to say were silently swallowed back.

 

Then, she turned and fiercely glared at the three men who were about to escape.

 

A cold wind blew through, making the three of them shiver as they felt a chill down their spines, as if they might lose their heads at any moment.

 

The next day, when Luo Shen got up, he heard about what had happened the night before.

 

Curious, he walked to the courtyard and observed the three men tied to the trellis.

 

Lady Gu said, “Last night, I already interrogated them and obtained their plan.”

 

She pulled out a piece of paper, detailing all the information she had gathered from the interrogation.

 

Luo Shen’s journey was fraught with danger, and the enemy had already set their plans. These three were merely pawns sent to probe him, so the information they had was limited. All they knew was that the enemy planned to strike in Shahe Town, where the ministers would begin their actions, and in the ensuing chaos, they would have the best chance to act.

 

Luo Shen looked up at the trellis where the three men were stacked on top of each other, tied to the same post, so high that he couldn’t even see the face of the man at the top.

 

He inwardly marveled at Lady Gu’s prowess.

 

Lady Gu continued, “These three are of no further use, but I’m unsure how to deal with them, so I wanted to wait for Your Majesty’s decision.”

 

According to her usual rules, as they were captured enemies, they should not be allowed to live. But they were not in the frontier, and she still had to follow her son-in-law’s wishes.

 

Luo Shen, who seemed gentle, made Lady Gu worry that he might not have the heart to make a decisive call.

 

Changxin suddenly drew her sword. “Your Majesty, allow me to kill them!”

 

Just then, Liu Kuang opened the door of the house and saw, not far away, Luo Shen gazing at the men with a faint smile, while Changxin raised her sword to strike.

 

He was so startled that his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

 

Luo Shen heard the noise and looked over in confusion. Liu Kuang shivered again, hurriedly scrambled to his feet, and shut the door!

 

He leaned against the door, panting in fear.

 

He thought, as long as he pretended not to see anything, he might just survive!

 

Resting his head against the door, clutching his wildly beating heart, he was silent for a moment.

 

Wait… Did he just… close the door in front of Luo Shen?

 

Wasn’t that disrespectful?

 

Realizing this, Liu Kuang’s expression turned to horror.

 

Outside, Luo Shen suddenly had an idea.

 

He said, “Liu Kuang is the son of Chancellor Liu. Chancellor Liu was one of the founding officials of the dynasty, and he holds significant power. Back then, to counter the former chancellor, we promoted him to the position of chancellor. The former chancellor’s faction likely harbors a grudge against Chancellor Liu.”

 

Lady Gu said, “The situation with the Liu family remains unclear. Although they profess their loyalty to Your Majesty, their true allegiance is unknown.”

 

After all, there’s still that connection with Chang Qing, which makes people wary.

 

Luo Shen then said, “Later, have Liu Kuang take these three men to report them to the authorities.”

 

Lady Gu’s eyes brightened slightly.

 

By having Liu Kuang bring these men to the authorities and declare them as remnants of the former chancellor’s faction, the authorities, given his status, would have no choice but to act. Once this news spread, the former chancellor’s faction would turn their attention to Chancellor Liu. To avoid being implicated, Chancellor Liu would have to take action.

 

If the Liu family began hunting down the former chancellor’s remnants, how could those people stay calm?

 

Lady Gu immediately agreed and went to fetch Liu Kuang.

 

At that moment, General Gu returned home. After hearing about the situation, he volunteered to handle the task of escorting the prisoners.

 

When they arrived at the local government office, the county magistrate, upon hearing of Liu Kuang’s arrival, rushed out to greet him personally.

 

“Young Master Liu, I haven’t heard of you causing any trouble lately. What brings you here today?”

 

Liu Kuang’s lips twitched. He tried to step back, but Changxin pressed the hilt of her sword against his lower back. The cold, hard metal scraped against his waist, making him shiver all over, almost in tears. “I, I… I’m here to… to report a crime.”

 

The magistrate noticed Liu Kuang’s pale face and trembling body. Then he looked at the three burly men behind him, disheveled with suspicious red marks on their exposed skin.

 

The magistrate’s mouth fell open, and he stared in shock. Recalling Liu Kuang’s earlier expression of shame and reluctance, he suddenly blurted out, “Young Master Liu, you… you were… assaulted?!”

 

Liu Kuang: “???”