"It’s all right, I’ve already found an excuse for you. You can say Doctor Li is homesick, and you’ve gone home to visit relatives."

As a court official, Gu Chengyu would have some sway if asked about it later, and those people would still need to give him some face.

"Then we should pack our bags and leave tomorrow!" Gu Chengchi, hearing what Gu Chengyu said, understood how dangerous this matter was and decided to heed Xiao Bao’s advice to leave and avoid trouble.

The next day, Gu Chengyu resignedly submitted his plaque to enter the palace again. Helplessly, the people from Daxing had infiltrated the territory yesterday and he hadn’t had time to report to the Emperor. It’s something that couldn’t be clearly explained in a memorial.

After all, a memorial would have to be reviewed by the Cabinet before being presented to the Emperor or the Crown Prince. Wouldn’t that mean Xia Qing and others would know about it?

Gu Chengyu couldn’t quite trust Xia Qing; who knew if this person would, out of revenge, cover up and not report this issue?

Furthermore, the fewer people who knew about this matter, the better, so it was more appropriate to report it in person.

The Emperor didn’t keep him waiting long. An hour after he arrived at the Dali Temple, the Emperor summoned him.

"Speak! Was there something yesterday that went unreported?" Perhaps because he had gotten up too early, the Emperor looked very tired.

"Your Majesty, there was something yesterday that I haven’t had the chance to report. Please have a look!"

Gu Chengyu handed the memorial to De An. The Emperor glanced at Gu Chengyu, then opened it to read.

Moments later, the Emperor sat up on his couch, "Last time you sent a message about this, suspecting spies from Daxing were moving in Jiangnan. Judging by the current memorial, can you now confirm these people are indeed spies from Daxing?"

Gu Chengyu nodded, "Exactly! Among the people I captured, one person was from Daxing. His name is Man Niu, and he was sent to assassinate me. After I captured him, he confessed to quite a bit of information."

The Emperor’s eyes, which had been somewhat clouded, now became particularly sharp. "What is this business about the Young Master mentioned here? Who is this person? Who else do they intend to kill?"

Countless thoughts spun in Gu Chengyu’s mind. Reporting about the Young Master was certainly necessary. But the people they were looking for – that couldn’t be reported to the Emperor.

This was because it would involve Xue Miao. As a member of the Xue Family, Xue Miao wasn’t supposed to exist in this world.

The Emperor was old; even if he knew the Xue Family had been wronged, the chances of overturning the verdict were slim. Hence, Gu Chengyu wasn’t going to bring this up now.

Whenever he thought of Xue Miao, Gu Chengyu couldn’t help but recall what Xue Miao had said that day. On his journey, his heart had been restless, eager to quickly return and ask Liang Zhirui about the truth of that year.

But upon returning to the Capital, Gu Chengyu hesitated. No matter what happened back then, a teacher is ultimately a teacher. He would never push his teacher forward to exonerate the Xue Family.

To speak coldly and selfishly, what did the Xue Family have to do with him? Isn’t a teacher more important?

Besides, he had more faith in his teacher’s character; his teacher would never do such a thing.

After understanding these things, Gu Chengyu was no longer anxious about it.

When he saw Liang Zhirui yesterday, he didn’t even mention it. This matter had passed, while Xue Miao’s claim that the teacher had colluded with foreign countries was simply nonsense.

If the teacher had colluded with foreign countries, he definitely wouldn’t have resigned so freely back then and stayed hidden in Jingyuan Prefecture all these years.

Unless Xue Miao was lying for ulterior motives, or there was a misunderstanding. Meanwhile, the urgent matter was still to find that Young Master.

"This person’s rank is not high, so he only knows a little about these events."

The Emperor was somewhat disappointed hearing this, "Then why haven’t they sent someone again to assassinate you after the failure?"

"Their urgent task is also to find that so-called Young Master. Perhaps due to insufficient manpower, or maybe for other reasons, they’ve temporarily abandoned their plan to assassinate me."

Gu Chengyu has now lost track of these people, not knowing where they are.

"This Young Master is key. Do you think they might have come to the Capital?" The Emperor, holding the memorial, stared intently at Gu Chengyu.

"I really do not know. Since my return to the Capital, I haven’t noticed anything unusual."

Gu Chengyu feared that if those people hadn’t given up, they might come back for revenge, implicating his family. What then?

Thus, he arranged for people to secretly protect his family, and so far, no suspicious individuals had been discovered.

"It’s best to capture these people early. If they dared to break into Dayan’s borders, what were the guards at the border doing?"

The Emperor was somewhat angry. Intruders had come into the heart of the nation, yet those people were completely unaware.

"Your Majesty, regardless of how they snuck in, it is indeed a dereliction of duty on the part of the border guards. Please send someone to investigate thoroughly. We must find the source. If not, more people from Daxing will invade. Wouldn’t Dayan be in danger?"

Gu Chengyu believed this matter must be dealt with severely. The court should immediately send people to investigate. Surely there are officials among them colluding with foreign countries.

"Furthermore, tracking these people is rather difficult, so it’s better to investigate the source. Once we know these people’s identities, we will understand their intentions."

The Emperor closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, "De An, summon the Crown Prince to my chamber!"

The Emperor’s energy was waning, yet he forced himself to perk up. This issue differed from others—it pertained to the foundation of the nation.

"I will send officials to carefully investigate at the border. Since those people want to kill you, be cautious. They might make another attempt. Prepare yourself well, and if possible, capture them alive so that we can interrogate them for information."

Gu Chengyu’s smile instantly stiffened. Was this suggesting he act as bait?

"Your son pays respects to Father! Has Father been feeling better today?"

The Crown Prince found it odd to see Gu Chengyu in the Emperor’s chamber, but upon seeing the memorial in the Emperor’s hand, he felt a strange sensation.

Father indeed still didn’t trust him; otherwise, he wouldn’t allow Gu Chengyu to submit a plaque to enter the palace for an audience.

"Rise!" The Emperor had De An help him up and place a pillow behind him. Even this slight movement left him somewhat breathless.

Gu Chengyu frowned; was the Emperor’s health this severe?

"Explain these matters to the Crown Prince and listen to his opinions on how to resolve them."

Gu Chengyu recounted the situation once again. The Crown Prince was silent for a long time after hearing it.

"That person was subjected to severe torture and only disclosed such information?" The Crown Prince cast his gaze toward Gu Chengyu, with an unusual look in his eyes.

Gu Chengyu felt a bit unhappy at the words; what did they imply? Was it suggesting he was hiding something, or that he couldn’t extract information from Man Niu?

"Man Niu has been escorted back to the Capital by Lord Lu, as Your Highness is aware. I am a scholar, so my methods might be gentle. Perhaps Your Highness would like to have someone interrogate him again to see if more useful information can be extracted."