C234

The cold wind swept the sand across his face, causing him a ghastly pain. Even though he was wrapped in a thick veil, he was still unable to withstand the terrible weather. "Cough cough, Daddy, how long do we have to walk for?"

The carriage had long since ceased to function, and they changed to horseback riding.

Even though riding a horse wasn't difficult for Gu Qingyi, she had studied diligently for a long time in order to become a qualified lady of a noble family in her previous life.

She thought that she could pass the test of horsemanship, but she couldn't bear to ride on such a long distance. If she continued like this, her legs would break.

At first, she was very happy. After all, this was a place she had never been to before. All she could see was scenery that she had never seen before. If she didn't follow her father, she might not have been able to see this scenery for the rest of her life. No, it could be said that she would never see him again in her entire life. Of course, this made her the happiest. Along the way, her relationship with her father slowly became closer.

They were only father and daughter, and he was only the father of himself. He was no longer the lofty prince, nor was he the general who carried the lives of countless people on his shoulders, nor was he the father who had hurt his wife because of his concubine having a child, nor was he the father who had lost his child …

He was just his father. A simple father.

A father who would comfort himself, who would notice his safety, who would protect him in his arms.

To be honest, this was the first time Gu Qingyi had come so close to Gu Yinian, the first time she had avoided the danger in his embrace, the first time she had felt the warmth of his embrace. With the strength of his heartbeat, it seemed like all the dangers could be avoided in his embrace. Gu Qingyi had never known that she would have such a feminine side to her. All along, she had felt like she was a blade of grass that could grow easily.

It was the same in his previous life and the same in his current life.

Although she tried her best to walk out of the shadows of her previous life, she had never thought of relying on anyone. This was because she was lacking in experience and no one could be relied on. Relying on the results of others was something he couldn't bear. Just like in his previous life, he had worked hard to disguise himself as a lady from a noble family, trying his best to get closer to her just because he liked her. But later on, he realized that whether or not he liked her was not something he could control.

Sometimes, no matter how much you do or how much you change, it's useless if people don't like it.

"We'll be there soon. We'll be there by the time we cross that mountain." Gu Yinian urged his horse forward and turned to help Gu Qingyi remove some dust.

He came back every year this season.

However, this time, it was exceptionally difficult to walk. In the past, he was always alone, so he was already used to all sorts of bad environments. Thus, he naturally did not care about such small difficulties. However, it was different this time, because Gu Qingyi was with him. Although she was dressed lightly, there were still around ten to twenty people here. Not only were there guards, there were also maidservants and the like.

Of course, as a person who was used to sloppy and sloppy, he would not follow the group properly.

He had long since disappeared without a trace after they left the pass and only left Gu Qingyi with three signal detonators, repeatedly warning her not to look for him unless it was something important.

This was the first time they had been so close, the first time they had spent so much time together.

In the beginning, he was not used to it. After all, the person he had the most contact with in his life was killing, followed by cold soldiers. Naturally, a group of men would not be soft together, so he had long since gotten used to it. In his understanding, everything he said was nonsense. No matter how much he said, he would rather do it with his actions. It was the best way to say it, but he forgot that sometimes it was important to say it.

Perhaps this was the greatest haze his childhood had left him.

The woman had hummed warmly and patted his back, telling him that she would be with him for the rest of her life.

But then that woman left without a word, and she never came back, and that man had once hugged her and chatted with her, then taught her to read and write, always praising himself with a smug smile: My son is a real genius, and our family will depend on you from now on.

However, later on …

In his memory, he never saw that person smile again, and that person's face slowly turned ferocious.

In the end, it became something he didn't want to think about anymore.

Later on, in his daily life by himself, what he worried about the most was where his meal was going to be. Not to mention that no one could listen to him anymore, even if there were people, he would have no time to say anything. What he needed to do was to search everywhere for something that could fill his stomach.

Then on the battlefield, there were indeed many people around him, and there were also many who were willing to listen to his words.

However …

No one knew who those people were. They were still standing together with him, and they were still alive. But what about the next moment?

The next moment, they might turn into cold corpses.

Such a short time together was too cruel. Slowly, he didn't like to talk anymore.

That was because sometimes, the more one understood, the more uncomfortable it would be for the heart to see those people they knew die one by one. That feeling was truly difficult to bear. Rather than feeling this pain again and again, he might as well just keep his distance from these people. With this distance, no one would be able to recognize him. Even if he died, he wouldn't feel anything.

His heart was filled with guilt towards his daughter. If it wasn't for his lack of resolution, his daughter's family wouldn't have been lost, and the princess might not have died.

So many years had passed, and every time he recalled his dreams at midnight, he would dream of that familiar face, and every time it was the first time he saw her. She was still that lively and adorable girl, smiling and waving at him innocently.

He did not know what this dream represented, but every time, he would wake up in fright.

Every time he woke up from the shock, he would break out in a cold sweat.

He didn't like being in the palace. Everyone thought he was a man who wholeheartedly cared about his country. Even the high and mighty felt that he was a very dutiful person.

But only he himself knew clearly in his heart that the reason why he didn't stay in the estate was because he wasn't even willing to return …

It wasn't because he cared about the military power, nor was it because he wanted to serve the people.

Speaking of which, he was ashamed. From his youth until now, he had never been willing to enter the battlefield, and every time he had been forced to do so by helplessness. If he had a choice, he would rather never go to the battlefield, far away from the bloody battles and the weakness that made him afraid.

Those who have not been to the battlefield will never know that on the battlefield, no matter what kind of person you are, no matter what identity you have, you will still have the same mortal body, and your life will always be fragile. A single mistake would cause him to fall forever, and he would never be able to get up again …

The more he experienced, the deeper the feeling.

Back then, many people thought that the emperor marrying the princess was a way of seizing power, even that woman … Everyone thought that he would be unwilling and angry … If he wasn't afraid of being seen by others, he would have jumped up and shouted loudly. This was great, this was great, he finally didn't need to go to the battlefield, he didn't need to risk his life.

As the princess' husband, in addition to his previous glorious military exploits, he no longer needed to do anything.

His surname was Wang and he was the prince consort. Such an identity was enough for him and his descendants to live a peaceful life for several lifetimes.

He had been ecstatic when the princess was pregnant, and it would have been better if he had been a boy. After all, everyone in a high position feared people who were powerful enough to shake the world. Even though they had known each other since they were young, and knew each other well, there weren't many people in the entire dynasty that could be compared to him.

But...

He even thought that if he were his son, he would hand over the military power as soon as possible. That way, he would be able to become a king with nothing to do.

However …

"Hu! Hu! Hu! Hu!" A gust of wind blew up the sand...

"Hiss …"

"Hiss …"

Although these horses had undergone special training, they were still inferior to the war horses. The frightened horses roared and raised their front hooves crazily …

A wave of people immediately fell flat on their horses.

When he saw that Gu Qingyi had turned pale and was about to be dismounted from her horse, he immediately flew out of the horse's body like a bolt of lightning and ran towards her. He grabbed onto Gu Qingyi and rolled several times on the ground while holding her in his arms …

"Are you alright?" Gu Yan Nian shouted loudly, his face ashen.

Just now, he seemed to have … It was as if he had gone back many years ago. She clearly didn't look like An Ping at all, except for her eyes. That was the reason why he didn't show himself when people suspected that she wasn't An Ping and his bloodline.

Even though he had searched for her for so many years to find her.

But... However, he couldn't find even the slightest bit of peace on her body, so it was impossible for him to not entangle his heart.

That was why he didn't say anything.

But just now, he felt as if he had seen the same peace as many years ago.

"Cough, cough, cough …" Nothing, nothing! Daddy, you? Are you okay? "

Although she was almost thrown off, Gu Qingyi was quite frightened. However, when Gu Yinian rushed over to save her, she couldn't help but be excited. To be honest, she never thought that he would take the risk to save her. Although their relationship seemed to have improved quite a bit after being alone together, she still didn't feel that she was that important to him.

In his memories, his father was a very cold and detached person. Not to mention him, even when dealing with Gu Xi, he had always been cold and indifferent.