After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 212 Gu An – Grandson of the Marquis of Zhenbei?

is the day.

During the monthly break at the prefectural school, Gu An returned home. Since arriving in Youzhou Prefecture, everyone in the family had been extremely busy. Even Gu An, who was studying, had no free time. He was either at the prefectural school or going to the countryside for practical experience. Upon hearing that Gu An had returned, Gu Lin was about to get up to see him when he heard footsteps outside.

A moment later, Gu An's voice came through the door: "Uncle Gu, I'm back."

"come on in."

As soon as Gu Lin finished speaking, the door opened.

Gu An entered the house, took a few steps forward and bowed to him. Seeing this, Gu Lin's face showed a hint of helplessness: "We're not outside, there's no need for such formalities among family members."

Gu An did not stop. After bowing, he stood up and said, "Uncle Gu is an elder, and we must not disregard etiquette."

Shaking his head slightly, Gu Lin thought back to when Zheng Hao was studying. He worried that Zheng Hao would become a teacher who emphasized rules and etiquette, but Zheng Hao did not. Instead, Gu An was the one in the family who emphasized etiquette and rules the most.

However, he also knew that Gu An was not rigid and inflexible, but rather respected him.

Gu Lin gestured for Gu An to sit down, and looking up, he noticed the boy was still wearing his school uniform and asked, "Are you going out to other places later?"

As is the boy’s habit, he would immediately change into his everyday clothes after returning from outside. Noticing that Uncle Gu’s gaze was on his clothes, Gu An said, “I also need to send an official document to the military camp.”

Is it urgent?

Gu An shook his head slightly.

Seeing this, Gu Lin said, "Since there's no rush, you can finish your meal first, take a bath, change your clothes, and take a nap before you go."

Listening to Uncle Gu's arrangements, Gu An did not object. For more than a month, he had been spinning like a top between the academy, the government office, and the military camp. Although he never said he was tired, his body and mind were always in a tense state and he really needed to rest for a while.

Gu Lin told him to go back to the courtyard to bathe and change first, and then have the kitchen staff deliver the food directly to Gu An's residence.

In the afternoon, Gu An slept for half an hour, then went to Zheng Hao's study to retrieve official documents, and then rode his horse out of the city to the Zhenbei Army camp in the suburbs.

Since the young prefect took over military affairs, Gu An's tasks have increased. In addition to his original trips to the prefectural school, government office and countryside, he now has to go to the military camp to observe military affairs every ten days.

Gu An arrived at the gate of the military camp.

Because of the strict discipline and heavy guard of the Zhenbei Army, even though Gu An had come several times and was familiar with the guards, he could not enter or leave at will. He had to follow Da Zhuo, who was holding a token, inside.

"Master."

Da Zhuo bowed to Gu An, who nodded in response.

After the soldiers verified their identities and names, the two entered the military camp.

As Da Zhuo walked, he said to Gu An, "My lord and the Marquis have important matters to discuss. Before you came, my lord instructed you to observe and learn how to handle military affairs, just like last time."

Gu An listened and nodded as he followed Da Zhuo toward the office.

Neither of them noticed that a general had been following them not far behind, standing a dozen paces away with his eyes fixed on Gu An's back.

Ping Jin remained expressionless, but his eyes flashed with astonishment, surprise, and shock. Even though the boy not far ahead had already entered the tent, he still did not look away.

He had excellent eyesight and could shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, so he did not doubt that his eyesight was faulty and that he had misjudged the other person's appearance.

The boy's appearance was very similar to that of the deceased young general, Rong Lie, the only son of the Marquis of Zhenbei. At first glance, they looked almost identical.

Pingjin did not act rashly. After Da Zhuo left the camp, he turned around and instructed his confidants to keep a close eye on Gu An inside the camp, while he himself went to find the Marquis of Zhenbei.

However, upon arriving at the commander's tent, Ping Jin did not see the Marquis of Zhenbei. The Marquis's personal guards replied, "General Ping, the Marquis and Lord Zheng have gone to inspect the military camp."

Upon hearing this, Ping Jin frowned but said nothing and turned to leave.

Seeing the other party coming and going in a hurry, the personal guard of the Marquis of Zhenbei couldn't help but scratch his head, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

Although General Ping was about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old and not as senior as other generals, he was always calm and collected and was highly valued by the Marquis. Otherwise, he would not have been promoted so quickly.

In the past, when the Northern Barbarian army approached the city, General Ping always appeared calm and composed. When has he ever been so anxious? I wonder what urgent matter he has to report to the Marquis.

As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, the Marquis of Zhenbei not only had to pay close attention to the enemy situation and military affairs, but also had to take care of the army's logistics. After entrusting the logistics to the young supervisor, he was both trusting and testing him. Seeing that the other party did not show any dissatisfaction and had led his subordinates to manage the logistics in an orderly manner in just a few days, the Marquis of Zhenbei did not say anything, but he was increasingly satisfied in his heart.

Today, he specially invited the young military supervisor to inspect the barracks together, hoping to let the other party gradually become familiar with the Zhenbei Army.

Halfway through the patrol, seeing a tall figure surrounded by a group of generals not far ahead, the Marquis of Zhenbei smiled, and his personal guard asked, "My lord, should we rescue Lord Zheng?"

Marquis Zhenbei waved his hand: "Let them go, let's go look elsewhere."

It was rare that the soldiers in the army had a good relationship with the military supervisors in the court. The Marquis of Zhenbei had a long-term vision and a broad mind. He was unaware of Zheng Hao's wolfish ambitions. He only knew that if the generals and the military supervisors got along well, they could work together in the future.

After saying this, he led his personal guards to the military officers' tents where they handled official documents.

The military camp was mostly populated by roughnecks. Many generals were good at fighting but had no patience for dealing with tedious official documents. Therefore, each of them would have an officer under them who was somewhat literate.

The guards stepped forward and lifted the tent flap, and the Marquis of Zhenbei stepped inside.

The subordinates, who had been working with their heads down, immediately put down their official documents and stood up to bow respectfully when they saw the commander-in-chief arrive.

Marquis Zhenbei raised his hand: "No need for formalities. I have just finished my inspection. You may continue with your work."

Hearing what the Marquis said, the officials didn't react much, acting as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Then, one by one, they sat down and continued to process official documents. Gu An, seeing this, didn't change his expression and continued to process the documents he hadn't finished.

As the Marquis of Zhenbei walked forward, watching everyone diligently processing official documents, he was about to turn and leave when he caught a glimpse of a young subordinate sitting in the corner of the tent. The Marquis of Zhenbei froze and stopped in his tracks.

This pause wasn't due to surprise that there was such a young officer among the troops. The Marquis of Zhenbei stared blankly at the young man with his usually sharp, eagle-like eyes, his lips trembling as he called out, "Lie'er?"

The tent was very quiet, with no other noise except for the sound of people turning pages while processing official documents. Therefore, the Marquis of Zhenbei's call of "Lie'er" was quite eye-catching.

Everyone looked up. At first, Gu An didn't know that the Marquis of Zhenbei was calling him. But as the other man walked towards him, calling out with surprise and disbelief, Gu An realized that the other man was calling him.

He looked up at the other person and saw that the Marquis of Zhenbei was staring at him in a daze not far in front of him. He put down the official document in his hand, stood up and bowed: "This humble subject greets Your Majesty. My name is Gu An and I am not the Lie'er that Your Majesty mentioned. Your Majesty must have mistaken me for someone else."

When the young man introduced himself, his expression was very firm. Even though the person he was facing was the commander-in-chief of the three armies, Marquis Zhenbei, he did not pause or back down in the slightest.

Faced with the boy's firm denial, the Marquis of Zhenbei looked somewhat bewildered. However, seeing the boy's striking resemblance to his son who had passed away many years ago, the Marquis of Zhenbei was certain that he could not have mistaken the person for someone else.

Lie'er doesn't look like him, but he combines the best qualities of his wife and mother. Although he is a military general, he is also a refined and cultured man, and is known as a scholar-general throughout the court.

The young man before him, if not exactly identical to Lie'er, at least bore an 80% resemblance. The Marquis of Zhenbei spoke, his voice hoarse: "If Lie'er were still alive, he would be nearing forty. You are naturally not Lie'er, but your appearance is extremely similar to Lie'er's, so you must be related to Lie'er."

Upon hearing this, Gu An frowned, his handsome face showing a hint of displeasure, clearly disliking what the other person had said.

Apart from Uncle Gu and the others, he had no other connections.

When the guards around the Marquis of Zhenbei saw that something was wrong, they immediately dismissed the officials in the tent and told them to leave. He paced back and forth outside the tent. Having followed the Marquis for several years, he knew that the Marquis had lost his wife and son in his early years and was unwilling to remarry. Now, however, a person who looked very similar to the young general had appeared. He didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

As he paced anxiously back and forth, he saw General Ping and Supervisor Zheng approaching together in the distance.

He quickly went to greet him: "General Ping, something big has happened. When the Marquis was inspecting the military camp, he found a young subordinate who looked similar to the young general who had passed away many years ago. He suspects that the young man is related to the young general and is talking to that subordinate inside."

Upon hearing this, Ping Jin's heart sank. He recalled that the young officer had been brought in by Zheng Hao's men. He turned to look at the man, only to see the young supervisor frowning slightly, seemingly unaware of anything. He then asked his personal guard, "Is that young officer eight feet tall, with fair skin and a refined and gentle appearance?"

The guard immediately nodded: "Yes, judging from his demeanor, he is a proper scholar."

Ping Jin watched as Zheng Jianjun beside him frowned slightly. Then, Zheng turned to him and said, "General Ping, I will not lie to you. That young subordinate is a member of my family. Every ten days, I send him to the military camp to observe military affairs. Now, I don't know what is happening inside the tent. I need to go in and find out what's going on."

Ping Jin said, "This humble general will go in with Lord Zheng."

Zheng Hao nodded without refusing and took the lead in going inside.

As soon as he entered the tent, he heard Gu An speak, his voice cold and slow: "Your Excellency has mistaken me for someone else. As far back as I can remember, my surname is Gu."

Seeing that the young official did not budge an inch and even looked at him warily, as if he were someone with ill intentions.

The Marquis of Zhenbei twitched his lips, but his smile was bitter: "Child, I could not possibly be mistaken. You are my grandson. When my daughter-in-law gave birth to my grandson, she sent a message to the front lines through Lie'er, saying that you look quite like your mother and grandmother, and that you have a red birthmark resembling a tiger on your inner thigh. Is that right?"

As soon as the Marquis of Zhenbei finished speaking, Gu An paused slightly.

Others may not know the specifics of his physical condition, but how could Gu An not know? He does have a birthmark on the inside of his thigh. When his uncle and aunt helped him bathe when he was little, they joked that he would definitely grow up to be as fierce as a tiger.

Gu An's originally calm heart gradually became chaotic. He looked up at the Marquis of Zhenbei, whose eyes were full of expectation. But the young man who had just been somewhat moved spoke up: "There are so many people in the world who look alike. Similar appearances and birthmarks do not mean anything. I have family. Your Excellency has mistaken me for someone else."

Seeing that the young man still refused to acknowledge him, the Marquis of Zhenbei looked puzzled.

He didn't understand why the other party still denied that he was his grandson.

"Don't you acknowledge me, or your parents?"

The Marquis of Zhenbei was all alone. He finally found his grandson, but the grandson was so heartless that he refused to acknowledge him as his grandfather.

Upon hearing the word "parents," Gu An's memory became hazy. He still retained a vague impression that his adoptive parents treated him very well at first after adopting him, but they abandoned him after having their own biological child.

Marquis Zhenbei was a member of the imperial family, and his son and daughter-in-law were of extremely high status. Even if he lost one child, he would still have a continuous stream of his own children.

Gu An's expression remained unchanged, but his thoughts drifted away. He was adopted by Uncle Gu, who raised, protected, and treated him extremely well. Moreover, Gu An learned from the imperial physician that Uncle Gu had difficulty giving birth.

Gu An's lips moved slightly, about to say something, when he saw two figures walking towards him from not far away.

Leading the group was a young military supervisor dressed in official robes. The two men looked slightly somber, clearly having been inside for a while and overheard their conversation.

Zheng Hao looked at Gu An and said, "You go back first."

Gu An did not hesitate and left. Ping Jin frowned and raised his hand to stop him, but was stopped by the Marquis of Zhenbei: "Let him leave."

Gu An was able to leave the camp.

Then, the Marquis of Zhenbei turned to look at Zheng Hao. Unlike his previous sorrow and grief, his gaze was deep and serious: "Lord Zheng, I have something to discuss with you."

The young military supervisor looked back without the slightest hint of guilt or evasion: "I feel the same way."

Without lingering there, the three left the camp and headed to the commander's residence.

After the Marquis of Zhenbei summoned everyone out, he ordered his personal guards to stand guard outside the tent, leaving only Zheng Hao and Ping Jin behind.

When it came to his grandson who had been missing for many years, the Marquis of Zhenbei found it difficult to remain calm and probe the young military supervisor in front of him.

He looked at Zheng Hao and asked in a deep voice, "Lord Zheng, could you tell me why my long-lost grandson, whom I have been searching for in vain, is with you?"

Zheng Hao showed no nervousness in the face of the question from the Marquis of Zhenbei.

He looked up at the other man, his expression calm: "My lord, there is no need to suspect that Hao has ulterior motives. Hao is of commoner origin. If he had not entered the court through the imperial examination, he would never have had any interaction with you in his life."

Upon hearing this, Ping Jin's expression shifted.

Indeed, Zheng Hao was not from a prominent family but was of commoner origin. It was impossible for him to have deliberately abducted the Marquis's grandson for many years, just to make him recognize the Marquis more than ten years later and then manipulate the Marquis.

Originally, after finding his grandson, the Marquis of Zhenbei felt that the young military supervisor who had interacted with his grandson had ill intentions and was wary of him like a lion whose territory had been offended.

Seeing the young military supervisor remain calm and provide a reasonable explanation in the face of his questioning, the Marquis of Zhenbei slowly calmed down: "That child is my grandson. Regardless of his relationship with Lord Zheng, I will bring my grandson back."

"Because Lord Zheng has taken care of my grandson for many years, I will repay him with a great treasure and grant him three requests."

As soon as the Marquis of Zhenbei finished speaking, the young military supervisor below remained unmoved and replied indifferently, "I am afraid I cannot agree."

[Zheng Hao's main focus is on acting that will bring you to tears!]