Shen Tang counted the time on her fingers.
She exclaimed, "The appointment letter came so soon?"
Gu Ren was amazing! His efficiency was incredible!
Gu Chi hadn't expected this unexpected delight to come so quickly, or so suddenly. "Indeed. It arrived a full ten days earlier than the earliest estimate."
According to the plan he'd discussed with Qi Shan and the others, they should receive their appointment letters around the end of the month. By then, the bandits they'd gathered would at least be presentable. This sudden turn of events left them caught between delight and alarm; it was hard to say whether it was good or bad...
As her joy gradually ebbed, Shen Tang regained her composure and couldn't help preparing for the worst. Uneasily, she said, "As they say, 'When things go awry, there's a demon lurking.' We have no one at court, and we came from the Alliance Army. Given Zheng Qiao's temperament, he shouldn't have handled this so promptly—or sent it a full ten days early. Could this be a trap? Gu Ren and Wu Xian wouldn't go so far as to screw me over..."
Still, one could never be sure.
When the word "profit" entered the picture, there was no shortage of fathers and sons turning against each other or brothers coming to blows. Shen Tang and those two were only "brothers" in name, on friendly terms, and they hadn't known each other long. If the two of them had come up with something, then suddenly turned around and stabbed her in the back...
Shen Tang's mind filled with visions of Gu Ren and Wu Xian betraying her. Conspiracy theories bubbled up like ink, and she became so engrossed that poor Gu Chi was subjected to a close-range assault of her inner thoughts. Only after