Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 411 - 247: Moving Away Overnight

"Chengyu, when are you going back?" Sun Xian suddenly asked.

Gu Chengyu pondered for a moment, "I haven’t decided, maybe in a couple of days."

"Then I should head back first. I miss Xiao Baozi." Sun Xian was actually too embarrassed to say he also missed his wife.

"Brother Ziyuan, who is Xiao Baozi?" Zhu Pang asked curiously.

Ye Zhiqiu thought of Xiao Baozi and smiled knowingly.

"That’s his son, quite amusing! Chengyu gave him that nickname, and I find it very fitting." Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t married yet, so he was very fond of the chubby Xiao Baozi.

"I see!"

Gu Chengyu recalled that Zhu Pang and Zheng Lun were both nineteen years old this year and still unmarried.

Zhu Pang resisted marriage because he didn’t want a wife controlling him, so he was always against matchmaking. However, last year, his father disregarded his objections and betrothed him to the legitimate eldest daughter of Kong Jin, the National Academy Sacrificial Officer.

As for Zheng Lun, his elders wanted to arrange a marriage for him, but his father rejected it. Their second lady wanted to match her niece to Zheng Lun, which infuriated his father greatly.

The second lady’s family was also prominent, a scholarly aristocratic family from the Yingnan Mansion. But she was proposing a marriage with a concubine-born daughter from her family. How could Zheng Lun’s father not be angry?

This was clearly an insult. The fourth master’s son was legitimate, while he was illegitimate. Moreover, he valued Zheng Lun the most among his sons, so how could he let him marry a concubine-born daughter and ruin his prospects?

This was the most intense opposition Zheng Lun’s father had shown, insisting that they wait until Zheng Lun passed the Advanced Scholar examination before discussing marriage.

Gu Chengyu knew about this from a time when Zheng Lun got drunk and told him. There were many grievances in aristocratic families, and illegitimate sons were not regarded highly. In such families, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate was clear. Because of this, Zheng Lun faced many slights in the Marquis Mansion, enduring much injustice from childhood.

"Then Brother Sun should go back first! If you don’t, my second sister will come to question my conduct!" Gu Chengyu joked with Sun Xian as he came back to his senses.

Sun Xian just smiled without refuting.

Ming Yan stood in the outer courtyard and glanced towards the east wing room. Gu Chengyu happened to see this and knew there was something to report.

"You all stay here; I have something to attend to and will be back shortly." Having said this, Gu Chengyu stood up and walked towards the door.

Ming Yan silently followed Gu Chengyu back to the main house. As soon as they entered, he reported the news he had gathered to Gu Chengyu.

"Young Master! I just went out to investigate, and sure enough, there are many Hidden Guards around our estate. I estimate this area is under the control of the Eldest Prince."

Gu Chengyu frowned, knowing he might have to stay on the estate for a few more days.

"Be clever and don’t let those Hidden Guards discover you. Keep a close watch for the next few days. They haven’t noticed you, have they?"

Ming Yan quickly shook his head, "I was very careful; they probably haven’t noticed."

Gu Chengyu nodded. In gathering information, Ming Yan was sharper than Ming Mo, which put him at ease.

"Continue to keep watch and have Ming Mo keep an eye on Hui An, preventing him from secretly meeting with accomplices and avoiding the Hidden Guards discovering us."

Hui An had a booklet in his possession, and Gu Chengyu feared Hui An might not hold back and try to secretly hand it over, which would be crucial to guard against.

"Young Master is well-intentioned, but Hui An is a big trouble. Won’t what he’s done implicate you?" Ming Yan grew worried, as he had heard that Hui An’s master worked for the Emperor. Wouldn’t this implicate his young master?

"There was no better way at the time; we couldn’t just hand him over, could we? We saved him, and now there’s no point in regretting it."

Gu Chengyu shook his head, feeling that although he hadn’t entered the court, the court’s struggles had already laid a wide net for him, truly indefensible.

Sun Xian and Ye Zhiqiu left together in the afternoon. Zhu Pang, quite carefree, felt unrestricted at the estate. He didn’t meet the steward sent by his family to fetch him, simply lounging around and refusing to leave.

Zheng Lun found peace at Gu Chengyu’s place and didn’t want to return to the mansion. So, the two conspired to stay at Gu Chengyu’s estate for a couple of days, claiming it was to keep him company, fearing he might be lonely.

The sky gradually darkened as Gu Chengyu read in the study.

Ming Yan hurried in from outside, "Young Master! I discovered there are movements among the Hidden Guards nearby, so I followed them to another courtyard. It seems there’s some large activity there; they’re moving stuff."

"Oh? Did you see what it was?" Gu Chengyu put down his book and looked toward Ming Mo.

"Boxes, a lot of them, and some with seals on top. I saw them carrying them out of the other courtyard. However, I couldn’t see clearly what was written on the seals, so I didn’t dare get too close. Those men, although they don’t know Qinggong, are skilled in martial arts. I thought it was best to be cautious."

Gu Chengyu nodded, "Well done; caution is paramount in all matters."

Then, he recalled the boxes, "Besides the boxes, was there anything else?"

"When I was there, I only saw the boxes. But there were quite a few carriages nearby." Ming Yan recalled the carriages parked at the gate.

Gu Chengyu began to ponder; these carriages were surely for transporting these boxes elsewhere. What could require nighttime transport? Could it be something illegal? The boxes had seals, similar to when hiring an escort agency.

Suddenly, Gu Chengyu remembered two years ago, when they hired the Wu Men Escort Agency on their return to the capital. They had taken on a delivery, which consisted of large boxes. Although Chengyu didn’t see the contents, he guessed they were mostly Silver.

Could the boxes from the Eldest Prince’s courtyard be the ones escorted by the Wu Men Escort Agency? Didn’t Mr. Han suggest he could introduce him to his master? If his master was the Eldest Prince, it would all make sense.

Was Hui An going to the Eldest Prince’s courtyard just for a booklet? No, perhaps it was related to the Silver.

And two years ago, Hui An followed Hu Maoqing to investigate the bandit case. Could this Silver be the loot stolen by the bandits?

When he returned to the capital two years ago, the Eldest Prince claimed to be ill, a rather coincidental timing. Could it have been to avoid the spotlight? Because at that time, Hu Maoqing was already closing in on him, wasn’t he?

Gu Chengyu suddenly felt a chill. Those past merchant movements belonged to the citizens of Dayan. Did the Eldest Prince truly order the harm of these innocent folks for the sake of Silver?

But these were all his speculations; perhaps the reality wasn’t as he imagined. He took a deep breath, reminding himself of his teacher’s words—Dayan might truly be rotting from within.

According to Ming Yan, the Eldest Prince was certainly planning to move the batch of Silver. Perhaps they would all be gone by tonight, considering the Eldest Prince had already announced a date for his return to the capital.

Yet he wondered, if those boxes were indeed Silver, what were they intended for? Could it be...

Gu Chengyu was gripped by fear at the thought and then dismissed it as impossible. The Eldest Prince was so favored; he shouldn’t be doing such things.

He sighed softly, realizing that not being in the court left him privy to too little information, leaving many clues unconnected.