Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 496 - 332 Guo Moruo

Guo Moruo turned her gaze to Gu Chengyu upon hearing the voice, though the other party deliberately lowered his voice, she could still discern that the speaker must be young. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"This humble woman, Guo Moruo, greets her benefactor."

Gu Chengyu raised an eyebrow, "Did your grandfather tell you the truth?"

Since she called him a benefactor, she must know the matter in great detail; it seems this woman is not as fragile as she appears on the surface.

Indeed, to be chosen by Old Master Guo and to be the one they’d protect, how could she be a mere commoner?

Gu Chengyu admired the wisdom of Old Master Guo. He must have already known that his son wouldn’t listen to advice, acting stubbornly and had long been prepared.

Tonight, he surely would not return empty-handed.

"Since Miss Guo already knows the ins and outs of the matter, let’s speak plainly. What do you require of me, Miss, requesting my presence?"

Guo Moruo seemed to recall the matters of the Guo Mansion, her expression sorrowful, but she held back her tears.

"You must have met my father before, benefactor? Yet it seems that apart from the matter of corruption, you didn’t gain any significant clues from his hands."

Gu Chengyu was somewhat surprised upon hearing this; this young lady knew quite a bit! Who told her these things?

It couldn’t have been Guo Shi since after Guo Shi was captured by him, he was handed over to Hu Maoshen, leaving no chance for contact with family. The only person was Old Master Guo.

Gu Chengyu couldn’t help but become interested; he wondered what important information Old Master Guo had left behind.

"The young lady is correct."

Guo Moruo glanced at Gu Chengyu and bit her lip slightly, "It’s not unreasonable to hand these clues to the benefactor, but I have a favor to ask, which is also my grandfather’s wish before we siblings departed."

Guo Moruo would certainly not hand over those letters easily to this person; now, their siblings are unsupported.

Though they couldn’t leave the courtyard nor know the current status of their family, it’s not hard to imagine, her father committed such a grave misdeed, thereby implicating the entire family in execution.

Furthermore, her grandfather once told her, in the political game, it matters little whether one is wronged or has indeed done wrong; as long as they can pull you down, they’ll spare no effort.

Her father was entrenched in it; all this could be blamed on his impatience for quick gains, becoming a pawn for others, used and discarded carelessly; also on her father’s loss of conscience, having no limits, ultimately harming both others and himself.

It just implicated the family, and she didn’t know how her mother and grandfather fared; it was feared this life they’d never meet again.

Guo Moruo’s face was pale, hands tightly clenched, her two younger brothers were the hope of the Guo Family; she must protect them, they mustn’t come to harm.

Since Gu Chengyu entered the room, he hadn’t seen the other two little ones, presumably they were asleep. The request must be to take care of their siblings?

Guo Shi’s situation differed from Wan Xue Nian’s group; Wan Xue Nian and them were wronged, if substantial evidence was gathered, overturning the case in the future wouldn’t be impossible.

Actually, evidence was clear as day, yet the Emperor sheltered them, leaving others helpless. It can only be pursued in future by finding another opportunity.

Guo Shi’s charges were, however, concrete; he falsely accused two officials of involvement with the scandal; they weren’t wrongly accused.

Hence, Guo Moruo’s request was surely not about overturning the case, but merely about caring for their siblings. Gu Chengyu originally planned to send them to a place far from the Capital, to fulfill his promise.

Presently, if he wished to obtain the items in the young lady’s possession, many troubles would arise subsequently.

"Miss, why not say it aloud for me to hear."

Guo Moruo felt somewhat uneasy, knowing that they siblings were indeed a bother. Caring was no mere spoken word; they were relatives of a convict; to live incognito required new registration, which was a hassle.

Moreover, the charge of harboring convict’s relatives would hang overhead, fearing someone might discover it in future.

Yet she herself was young, the two younger brothers weren’t to be mentioned; even if they reached a remote mountain valley in future, survival would be difficult. One reason was lack of residency proof and travel permit, the other was susceptibility to opportunistic bullying.

After deliberating for a while, she finally spoke, "Please, benefactor, look after our siblings for ten years, just for ten years."

After the ten years, Lian would be grown by then, able to take charge and support a family.

Gu Chengyu was certainly not surprised by this request, yet ten years was too long; these three siblings were indeed a heavy burden, the worth of which depended on the items Guo Moruo presented.

"This depends on Miss Guo’s sincerity."

Guo Moruo didn’t speak, instead she pulled out a sealed letter from her bosom; the seal was blank and the seal was already open. It seemed this was written by Old Master Guo, the last trump card left for the Guo Family.

Ming Mo stepped forward to take the letter from Guo Moruo’s hand, then handed it to Gu Chengyu. Gu Chengyu received it, extracting the paper from the envelope, the paper was thin, and he quickly began reading.

Guo Moruo had already observed Gu Chengyu’s hand when he took the letter; it was a pair of white and slender hands, confirming he was not a military general, but rather a scholar.

The letter was written by Old Master Guo, detailing every interaction between Guo Shi and a mysterious person, along with a lengthy analysis. Old Master Guo concluded that this person might just be the influential Xia Qing.

Of course, there was no evidence to prove it; the letter merely stated it as a conjecture, yet Gu Chengyu felt it highly likely. Finally, at the letter’s end, a crucial passage spoke of Old Master Guo once encountering Xia Qing meeting privately with the Fourth Prince.

That occurred two years prior, and afterward, Old Master Guo commissioned an investigation into Xia Qing and the Fourth Prince to see if they had already colluded.

But until his dying day, Old Master Guo never found out anything, although he was deeply confident in his judgment.

His conclusion was that the Fourth Prince and Xia Qing had long since colluded.

The Fourth Prince barely left his residence, appearing in court roughly once a month yearly, showing no apparent interactions with Xia Qing. Yet, this didn’t deter Old Master Guo’s judgment, understanding this he never spoke it to Guo Shi.

He clearly understood his son’s nature, impulsive and greedy, and easily deceived; thus Old Master Guo kept it a secret until now.

Gu Chengyu put down the paper, his mind awhirl with thoughts. He felt Old Master Guo’s judgment was both right and wrong. However, this was yet to be verified, requiring further careful observation.

Xia Qing and the Fourth Prince meeting privately suggested their relationship was definitely not merely as it appeared. However, claiming they were intimate allies, as close as grasshoppers on the same string, he found hard to believe.

How cunning was Xia Qing? The circumstances of the Fourth Prince don’t need elaboration; would Xia Qing favor the Fourth Prince? Even if betting everything, longing for merits from serving a future emperor, he likely wouldn’t tie himself entirely to the Fourth Prince’s ship; this could be discerned from his demeanor.

Gu Chengyu had never met the Fourth Prince, thus could only speculate in his heart, knowing there were merely two possibilities.