Chapter 92

“Your Majesty, since ancient times there have been cases of people going to war in place of their fathers. Now, I, having a lowly position, am willing to go to war in place of my uncle. I earnestly ask that Your Majesty grant me permission.”

“This is simply nonsense. Since Daye was founded as a nation, there has never been a case of a young lady going to the battlefield," one of the ministers said in disagreement.

“Your excellency, just because there were no such cases in the past does not mean there will be none in the future. Moreover, Daye does not explicitly prohibit women from going to the battlefield."

"You!"

"Little Hua, on the battlefield, swords and spears are merciless. It's not like your usual one-on-one fights," Lord Li anxiously said.

“Your excellency, my mind is set, no need to dissuade me further.” “Deputy Marshal Qin, what are your thoughts on this?” asked King Ye, who sat in the seat of honor.

“In response, Your Majesty, I support the royal guard general’s proposal.”

“Since this is the case, Royal Guard General shall go to war in place of her uncle. The rewards promised shall remain unchanged, Li Zichen will resume his original post."

"Minister Lin, do you have any opinion on this?"

"Your Majesty is wise."

After the court session:

“Qin Chuyuan, thank you for speaking up for me in the main hall just now.”

“Because I know I can't stop you. When do you plan to set off?”

“At the first light tomorrow. There are still some things I haven't taken care of. Right, there are some things I'd like to ask you to help me with.”

“Don't worry. I will send people to keep an eye on the Gong family."

“Great, thanks a lot!”

“It’s nothing. It is because of me that you got involved in this.”

After all, he played a role in pushing for the marriage arrangement awarded by the holy emperor.

However, it would be a long time before Gong Xiaohua learned the truth. By then, what awaited Qin Chuyuan were months of cold violence.

"The holy emperor arranged the marriage, if there's anyone to blame, it can only be myself for being too weak."

“The Lin family will definitely set traps against you on the battlefield. Be very careful.”

“Got it. I'm leaving first then.”

“Wait.” “What’s the matter?”

“Mother knew that you’ve returned to the capital and asked when you’d be back to the Qin’s. You know she doesn’t know about the agreement we had privately.”

“Let’s talk about it after I return from the battlefield. You can explain it to my aunt yourself.”

“Alright.”

By the time Gong Xiaohua left the Ministry of Justice, the holy emperor's order had been conveyed to the entire Ministry of Justice.

Among the arresting officers of the Inspection Division, there was currently no commander. They would now be led by Gong Xiaohua.

Yang Shu and Li General had won places in the wrestling competition, and were thus transferred to the Ministry of War to serve as fifth-rank generals.

When Lord Li returned from his business trip this time, he promoted Yu Wei to the position of General, while Xiao Fu and another colleague each received rewards of a hundred gold pieces.

The families of the other two who died received considerable bereavement compensations from the ministry.

Since Gong Xiaohua was about to leave for the borders, her position as commander would be temporarily assumed by Yu Wei.

Before leaving the Ministry of Justice, Gong Xiaohua quickly recalled in her mind the methods and tools for bone-setting surgeries she read about in the numerous medical books from her previous life.

She sketched diagrams of all the tools and passed them to Xiao Fu, asking him to help inquire of his father who worked in the Ministry of Works, whether the tools could be forged.

The ten thousand gold rewards were also converted by Gong Xiaohua’s request into “white deer skin coins” and secretly given to Madam Gong.

About going to the frontier, Gong Xiaohua did not make it clear to Dad Gong and Mother. She only said that she was sent by the Ministry of Justice to capture fugitives, and her uncle had also resumed his original post. Only then were Madam Gong and Dad Gong relieved of their worries.

The next day before dawn, Gong Xiaohua packed up and set off alone towards Xu Mountain on the frontier.

Soon after her departure, two secret guards dispatched by Qin Chuyuan followed her out of the capital city. But they were discovered not long after and were sent back by Gong Xiaohua.

Traveling day and night all the way, when Gong Xiaohua arrived at Xu Mountain frontier, the frontier had just experienced a tragic battle.

With the letter from the capital in hand, she found General Wei Wu's troops and reported her purpose.

When General Wei Wu saw the contents of the letter, with contempt written all over his face, he said: "A young lady should behave like a young lady. The army is no place for her embroidery works. Assign her to the vanguard battalion."

“General, you must not do that. This is a secret letter from Minister Lin. Please take a careful look.”

General Wei Wu took the secret letter and read it through, then gestured a throat-slitting motion at his subordinate.

His subordinate nodded.

“Since that’s Minister Lin’s intention, we shall act accordingly.”

“Yes sir, I will go make arrangements immediately.”

So Gong Xiaohua was taken to the stormtrooper battalion. The scene there was utterly miserable.

Seeing such a situation, Gong Xiaohua felt increasingly uneasy.

Asking every soldier who passed by: “Brother, do you happen to know Li Zichen? Do you know where Li Zichen is?”

Everyone shook their heads. Gong Xiaohua’s heart sank further.

When they arrived outside a large camp tent, the soldier leading the way said to the guards in front: “The general has assigned this person to the stormtrooper battalion. She's here to report. Please notify the officer." “But this is...” The guards were puzzled to see it was a woman.

“What? You dare defy the general’s order?”

“Dare not. Please wait.” One of the guards entered the tent to report.

Soon they were granted permission to enter the tent.

Inside was only one man, very tall and burly. He ate big chunks of meat and drank big gulps of wine, completely undisturbed by the miserable scene outside.

As soon as the guide soldier entered, he walked over to the man and whispered something in his ear.

Don’t know what he said, but it made the burly man glance at Gong Xiaohua frequently.

“Commander Gong, this is the captain of the stormtrooper battalion. He will assign you to a squad later. I shall take my leave now that my job is done.”

“Thank you for your work. Might I ask if soldier Li Zichen mentioned in the letter has been reassigned by the general?”

“Of course.”

“Before his reassignment, may I request a meeting with him?”

“Bastard, how dare you question the general’s arrangements?” The captain beside interrupted angrily.

“Someone come!”

“Yes sir!”

“Take her to stormtrooper team one.”

“Roger that!”

“You, follow me.” The soldier said to Gong Xiaohua.

Looking at the smug captain and the soldier who led her all the way here, Gong Xiaohua could guess their intentions even if she was dim-witted.

They probably never intended to transfer back her little uncle to begin with. Oh well, the whole army was under their control. Pushing the matter would not benefit her. The priority now was to find little uncle first.

Following the soldier, she arrived at team one. The scene here was even more miserable than what she saw earlier.

“Old Wei, here's a new recruit assigned to your team. Help receive her.”

“Coming, coming.” An middle-aged man with an eye-patch came out from the tent. Seeing Gong Xiaohua, he said,

“What is this? How can they assign a woman here? No, no, take her back quickly!”

“This arrangement is from Captain.”

“Captain knows very well that my team is the spearhead in battles! When fighting starts, we'd have to protect this little lady as well? Isn't that deliberately dragging us down?”

“If you have any complaint, go tell Captain yourself. I'm leaving her here. Gotta run.”

“Hey, you..."

Watching as the guard left without even turning his head, Old Wei felt a headache coming as he looked at the woman left behind.

“Go on, tell me, what grave mistake did you make that got you demoted to the notorious suicide squad, which is also the number one suicide squad?”