Chapter 395: 395. Really a swindler

Translator: 549690339

Old Mu returned home at dawn, informing Gu Ling and Su Liang that no assassin had appeared in the palace last night.

Su Liang asked Old Mu to get some rest. Cen Man went back to keep an eye on Min Rui at the Min Mansion, even though Min Rui seemed incapable of doing anything, but his father-in-law might try to find him again.

Gu Ling was home, and he made breakfast together with Su Liang.

After breakfast, Ji Xiaoshu said that he had promised Old Master Qin that he would go climbing trees at Duke Qin’s mansion today, but also promised Uncle Emperor that he would go play in the palace today. What should he do?

“You choose one, and I’ll go to the other one,” Zhengzheng said calmly.

Ji Xiaoshu immediately shook his head, “That won’t work, it will give me away. Can I go to Old Master Qin’s in the morning, and then go play in the palace in the afternoon?”

“No, you can’t.” Gu Ling shook his head, handed Gu Xiaonuan to Su Liang, stood up and picked up Ji Xiaoshu, who was right next to him, to go out.

Ji Xiaoshu swung in Gu Ling’s hand, “Mom, help! Master is going to throw me away!”

Zhengzheng: … he is calling for help while his face is all smiles, truly, there is none like him.

Su Liang chuckled, “Your master is taking you to play in the palace, don’t run around, this is a secret mission.”

Ji Xiaoshu’s eyes lit up, and then he was tossed onto Gu Ling’s back by Gu Ling. His little hand accordingly hugged Gu Ling’s neck and laughed, “Master, let’s go quickly! What’s the secret mission? Are we going to assassinate Uncle Emperor? Is he a big villain disguised as a gentleman? Is it appropriate to assassinate him in broad daylight?”

Gu Ling patted Ji Xiaoshu’s buttock, “Quiet.”

Ji Xiaoshu shouted, “Mom, master is hitting me! Sister, your dad is hitting me!”

His voice quickly faded, and the surroundings quieted down. Su Liang looked down to see Gu Xiaonuan smiling at her, her eyes squinting with joy.

Zhengzheng came over, “Does sister want to go out and play? Let me take her.”

Su Liang put Gu Xiaonuan in the baby buggy, and Zhengzheng pushed her out. Now, Zhengzheng is not as enthusiastic about going out to play as before. He has been to all the places that could be played in the capital, including Duke Qin’s mansion and the Imperial Palace. Most of Ji Xiaoshu’s play projects are leftovers from Zhengzheng’s, so of course, he would not compete with him.

When Su Liang was cleaning up the dishes alone, she was considering how to interrogate Mrs. Min and her daughter Min Rou. They were brought back last night and locked up in the secret room of the underground labyrinth of the Yuanming Pavilion. They should still be asleep by now.

Gu Ling went to the palace again to see if the black fog on Duanmu Chen’s brow was still there. The enemy was strong, and it was impossible to fully predict their plans of action, so they had to remain cautious.

The Min Mansion.

Early in the morning, Master Min got a report from a servant saying that Min Rou was missing. There were no signs of a struggle in her room, the bedding was neat, but several of her clothes and the books that Master Min had given her were all gone.

Master Min’s heart thumped in his chest, hurrying to Min Rui’s.

Min Rui looked bad, because he had not slept much last night, waiting for Mrs. Min to return. According to the original plan, only Min Rou should have left, but Mrs. Min went missing until dawn, and Min Rui guessed that he had been duped. It’s possible that Mrs. Min didn’t plan to leave, but He Wei insisted that both mother and daughter must leave. Also, it’s possible that after seeing He Wei, Mrs. Min decided to take Min Rou away, but deliberately lied to Min Rui that she would come back.

One moment Min Rui thought it was the former, the next he was convinced it was the latter. His emotions were complex.

Master Min walked in, saw that only Min Rui was in the room, and immediately looked grave, “Where is Rou and her mother?”

Min Rui shook his head bitterly, “I don’t know.”

Master Min frowned heavily, “How could you not know?”

“I went to bed early last night, I don’t know when Mrs. Min disappeared.” Min Rui sighed deeply, “I guess that because of yesterday’s imperial marriage decree, Mrs. Min decided to run away with Rou. Her greatest wish in life has been for Rou to live carefree and to marry someone she loves in the future. You should also know very well what it would be like to enter the palace. I didn’t mention it before, but Qianqian knows martial arts, and Rou has learned some.”

Master Min had calmed down “She didn’t discuss it with you?”

Min Rui shook his head, “No. She probably feared that I would stop her. After all, if they run away, the emperor would blame the Min family. If she had asked me beforehand, I definitely would not have agreed. But now that they’re gone, I feel relieved. I only have one daughter. I hope you understand my feelings. If the emperor blames us, I will take all the responsibility.”

Master Min shook his head, “What’s the use of talking about this now? I will go to the palace and apologize.”

Min Rui suddenly brought up Old Master Qin, “Father, why don’t you discuss it with Uncle Qin and see if he can help? After all, his only daughter was also given away in marriage and died in a foreign land. He should understand Mrs. Min’s actions.”

Upon hearing Min Rui mentioning the past, Master Min frowned again, thought for a moment, and shook his head again, “Not appropriate. This is the Min family’s issue. If we rashly bring our relatives into this, it could further anger the emperor. Now that it has happened, only a sincere apology might lead the emperor to deal leniently with us. Any more deception will only make things worse.”

At these words, Min Rui wanted to get out of bed, “If anyone is to apologize, it should be me. My health is a bit better now, I can go out.”

Minister Min sighed again, “Alright, you can come with me.”

While father and son from the Min Family were on their way to the palace, Gu Ling, escorted by Ji Xiaoshu, had already entered the Imperial Study.

They came secretly. Ji Xiaoshu didn’t disguise herself today. When she saw Duanmu Chen, she waved cheerfully from Gu Ling’s back, “Uncle Emperor, here I am!”

Duanmu Chen chuckled, then yawned in the middle of his laughter. He hadn’t slept much; he thought there would be an assassination attempt last night.

Seeing Duanmu Chen yawning with a light smile on his lips, Ji Xiaoshu suddenly found this uncle a lot cuter and less pretentious.

Ji Xiaoshu jumped down and ran to the Dragon Throne. With some effort, she climbed and sat on it. She picked up a book from the desk, didn’t even open it, just touched the embossed patterns on the cover and laughed, “This is different from my father’s. The flowers on our books at home are smaller.”

Duanmu Chen, holding Ji Xiaoshu, chuckled, “Which one looks better?”

Ji Xiaoshu lifted the book in her hand, “Uncle Emperor’s is prettier.”

Even though it was just an insignificant compliment from a child, Duanmu Chen felt extremely happy. Even though Ji Xiaoshu sat on his Dragon Throne, he found her just adorable and nothing else.

“Your master has already gone back, yet you specifically came to check on me. Are you okay?” Duanmu Chen taunted. It felt really good to be cared for, especially by someone like Gu Ling who seemed to care about no one outside his family.

Gu Ling didn’t answer Duanmu Chen’s question. He fixed his gaze between Duanmu Chen’s brows where the black fog still lingered.

In theory, they should keep watch tonight waiting for the assassin as usual. But thinking of what happened last night when Lady Min met with her father outside the city, the old man didn’t accompany Lady Min home nor did he send his granddaughter away. Clearly, he had other important things to do last night.

Gu Ling had not followed that old man, so he didn’t know what he had done later that night. However, if the old man’s mission was to kill Duanmu Chen, and he did something last night instead of making an attempt on Duanmu’s life in the palace, could it be that he intended to switch tactics?

Switch tactics… Gu Ling thought that was highly probable. After the failed assassination attempt a few days ago, their group had lost over half its men, the possibility of them using the same method to assassinate Duanmu would be very small. Then what could be their next possible method?

While Gu Ling was deep in thought, Duanmu Chen said to Ji Xiaoshu, “Look at your master. He’s so still, just like a statue.”

Ji Xiaoshu asked earnestly, “If I push him, will he fall over?”

Duanmu Chen patted Ji Xiaoshu’s shoulder, “Why don’t you go and give it a try?”

“Uncle Emperor, why don’t you go? If I go, my master will hit me. That would be scary.” Ji Xiaoshu expressed that she won’t fall for it.

Duanmu Chen half coughed, “If I go, I might also get hit.”

“Wow! My master even dares to hit Uncle Emperor? He’s really bold! Then he definitely would dare to hit my dad too! I am looking forward to seeing that!” Ji Xiaoshu had quickly mastered the art of causing problems for her father.

Duanmu Chen broke into laughter, indicating that he was also looking forward to it.

“Gu Ling, what are you thinking about?” Duanmu Chen asked.

Just then, Chang’an’s voice could be heard from outside the room, “Your Majesty, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and his son are seeking an audience outside of the palace.”

Duanmu Chen was stunned for a moment, “What are they here for?”

Gu Ling spoke, “Min Rui’s wife and daughter went missing last night.”

Duanmu Chen frowned, he never actually liked Min Rou. Official matters took precedence, and he would not lose face just because Min Rou had run away. However, considering that Gu Ling had always been watching the Min couple closely, he asked, “You did nothing and just let them run away?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “Not far. They’re at my place.”

Duanmu Chen’s lips twitched, “Alright then. Interrogate them quickly to see if we can learn anything.”

“Min Rui thinks they have left the capital,” Gu Ling added.

Duanmu Chen nodded, “So they were genuinely trying to flee but were intercepted by you halfway? Then I know what to do now. As for the others of the Min Family, keep things as they are, throw Min Rui into the Heavenly Prison and decide on an execution date later, how does that sound?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “Let’s not deal with Min Rui for now. Let him go home.” He Wei said last night that he wanted to deal with Min Rui, but he hadn’t acted yet which meant he was too busy doing something else. If Min Rui were thrown into the Heavenly Prison, He Wei would have to break into the prison to kill him, which would inevitably harm the innocent.

“You have the final say,” the words tumbled out of Duanmu Chen’s mouth. He thought to himself that such words shouldn’t be said by an emperor to a servant. But then again, why should he constrain himself with the experiences of other former emperors, most of whom ended badly? Putting on an emperor’s grandeur in front of Gu Ling would be pointless and even ridiculous. Gu Ling didn’t treat him like an emperor, and he didn’t treat himself like a de facto emperor either. They were talking as friends.

Duanmu Chen shouted to the outside, “Chang’an, let them come in an hour.”

Chang’an took his order and left.

“You …” Gu Ling glanced again at Duanmu Chen’s brow.

“What about me?” Ji Xiaoshu asked.

Gu Ling didn’t answer, he got up and walked to the window, opened it, and saw the sky was full of dark clouds, there might be a thunderstorm today. The dark clouds on the sky interweaved with the black fog in Duanmu Chen’s brow, made Gu Ling feel a very bad premonition.

“Don’t stay in the Sleeping Palace tonight.” Gu Ling closed the window and turned to Duanmu Chen and said. He was worried that those people might use the explosive weapons he initially thought of, which would make things simpler. But for Duanmu Chen, it was much more dangerous.

Duanmu Chen immediately turned pale, “Will I be in danger tonight? Is it more dangerous than last time?” He thought that hiding in a secret room with a nail gun for self-defense and many secret guards to protect him would make it difficult for the enemy to succeed. But when Gu Ling thought so long and asked him to change places tonight, there must be dangers that he could not foresee.

Gu Ling explained a word, “I suspect that one of those people had fought against me before, and he has a terrifying weapon.”

It was the first time that Duanmu Chen heard Gu Ling say the word “terrifying”, he was shocked.

“In short, don’t stay in the Sleeping Palace tonight, and try to avoid staying in the Imperial Study during the day. It’s best to go to a place that no one knows about as soon as possible.” Gu Ling said.

“You mean I should hide from now on?” Duanmu Chen felt very uneasy.

Gu Ling nodded, “Choose a place with a secret passage and don’t come out once you go in.”

Duanmu Chen understood, “Okay, I’ll go back to the Sleeping Palace later, and then go to the Library Pavilion through the secret passage.”

Gu Ling also found out for the first time that there was a secret passage from the emperor’s Sleeping Palace to the Library Pavilion. He didn’t know who dug it, but it was useful enough.

Ji Xiaoshu looked surprised, “What about us?”

“You can stay with Uncle.” Duanmu Chen took the initiative to invite Ji Xiaoshu.

Ji Xiaoshu immediately slid down from the Dragon Throne and ran to Gu Ling, “Master, let’s run quickly, it’s very dangerous in the palace!”

Duanmu Chen: …I trusted you in vain…

But Gu Ling was going to leave. If the opponent uses explosives, staying by Duanmu Chen’s side would not only be ineffective, but would also put himself in danger.

After Gu Ling left secretly with Ji Xiaoshu, Duanmu Chen reviewed two more memorials. Feeling too restless, he asked Chang’an to bring the Min family’s father and son to him.

When Ministry of Industry Shangshu Min and Min Rui saw Duanmu Chen, they felt the atmosphere was very tense. They didn’t know that Duanmu Chen was not angry because Min Rou had run away, but was worried about the imminent danger.

The well-prepared vouchers from Ministry of Industry Shangshu Min were only spoke two sentences and Duanmu Chen interrupted him, “I have a headache today and don’t want to hear these things, you guys go back.”

Ministry of Industry Shangshu Min’s face was stunned, go back… is there or is there not trouble?

“I already know about your granddaughter’s matter,” Duanmu Chen said with a cold face, “Min Rui, if your wife and daughter never set foot in Qian Country again, then let it be. But based on your news, I will never let them go! Dismiss yourself!”

Min Rui was dumbfounded. Although he thought that Duanmu Chen would not really do anything to the Min family, he didn’t expect him to let them go so easy? Especially him. He had always thought that Duanmu Chen would suspect that he was complicit in the disappearance of Mrs. Min and Min Rou, and had thought about how to defend himself, but in the end, it wasn’t necessary at all.

Ministry of Industry Shangshu Min tugged at the startled Min Rui, thanked the emperor for his grace and then bowed their heads and exited.

After they left, Duanmu Chen called Chang’an in, “I have a headache, I will go back to the Sleeping Palace. Take these memorials with you.”

Chang’an agreed, packed up the memorials, and followed Duanmu Chen out of the Imperial Study and returned to the Sleeping Palace.

Duanmu Chen has been staying in his Sleeping Palace recently instead of staying with his concubines. After entering, he ordered not to be disturbed, and then took Chang’an to the Library Pavilion through the secret passage. That place is usually a forbidden area, and very few people can enter. Su Liang often went to the Library Pavilion to borrow books before, which were special privileges given by Duanmu Yi.

The reason why Duanmu Chen didn’t take the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and Song’s concubines was because the assassin obviously only targeted him alone. If Gu Ling didn’t say that others were in danger, it means that he didn’t need to consider too much.

As soon as Gu Ling took Ji Xiaoshu back home, he heard the thunder. It was about to rain.

Ji Xiaoshu lay on Gu Ling’s back, looked up at the sky, and said, “Master, will Uncle Emperor be alright?”

“I don’t know.” Gu Ling put down Ji Xiaoshu and entered the Yuanming Pavilion.

Ji Xiaoshu quickly ran after him, “Mother, I brought Master home!”

But Su Liang was not found on the first floor, nor on the second floor.

“The rain is about to fall, where have my master and sister gone?” Ji Xiaoshu looked back to ask Gu Ling, but found nobody behind him. He rubbed his eyes, for Gu Ling was just there a moment ago.

“Could my master really be a fairy, capable of becoming invisible?” Ji Xiaoshu muttered to himself, then ran downstairs.

Zhengzheng was just pushing Gu Xiaonuan through the door, “Xiaoshu, you’re back! It’s going to rain outside, but sister isn’t afraid of thunder at all, she’s even braver than me. I used to be scared of thunder.”

“Older brother, where’s master?” Ji Xiaoshu asked.

“Master has important matters to attend to, she’s downstairs.” Zhengzheng pointed at the floor.

Ji Xiaoshu understood immediately, “Master must have gone there too, let’s go too!”

“No, we need to take care of our sister.” Zhengzheng said seriously.

Ji Xiaoshu leaned over to the stroller and asked Gu Xiaonuan, “Sister, are you a fairy?”

Gu Xiaonuan stretched out her little hand, cheerily waving it, “Ya!”

Ji Xiaoshu looked surprised, “Older brother, did you hear that? Sister said she is a fairy!”

Zhengzheng: …

In the secret chamber below, Su Liang sat across from Min Rou, calmly looking at her.

Min Rou had been awake for a while now. Su Liang asked her a question, “Where is your home?”

But Min Rou remained silent, staring coldly at Su Liang.

With a serene expression, Su Liang said, “Earlier, Gu Ling went to give your father an injection. She then went to visit Old Master Qin at the Duke Mansion and inadvertently discovered that your mother sneaked into the Duke Mansion with a suspicious demeanor. She then monitored her every action and discovered some things. The first thing, your parents plotted to kill Old Master Qin.”

Upon hearing this, Min Rou frowned, “Impossible! You’re falsely accusing us! You’re talking nonsense without evidence. We have no grudges or enmity. I don’t know what you’re hoping to achieve by capturing me, but I don’t believe a word you’ve said!”

Su Liang nodded, “Just as I expected.” With that, she rose to her feet. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll let your mother tell you in person.”

Upon hearing Su Liang’s words, Min Rou’s face dramatically changed, “What do you mean?”

Su Liang didn’t answer. After exiting the chamber and closing the door, Min Rou heard her mother’s voice from the adjacent room after a while, “Su Liang? What are you trying to do? Why have you captured me? Where’s Rou?”

A feeling of unease crept into Min Rou’s heart, but it was not for her own safety…

In the neighboring room, Su Liang looked at Lady Min, who was tied up, and calmly said, “Gu Ling accidentally discovered that you’ve been secretly coming and going from the Duke’s Mansion, so she started keeping an eye on you and heard things. This is why you were captured.”

Lady Min looked at Su Liang in disbelief, “You… I didn’t do anything wrong! I just didn’t want my daughter to become one of the Emperor’s many women! What’s wrong with that?”

“Indeed. As for the other matters, you had only planned them and haven’t had a chance to carry them out yet.” Su Liang said, “You planned to kill Old Master Qin, and just for that, I could kill you.”

Lady Min’s face darkened, not uttering a word; she wondered how much Su Liang and Gu Ling had overheard.

“You’re not defending yourself, so you’re admitting it?” Su Liang scoffed.

Inside the adjacent chamber, Min Rou’s face suddenly turned pale.

The next moment, they heard Lady Min’s angry voice, “Since you’ve been monitoring me, you should know that the person who wants to kill the Qin family is not me, but Min Rui. I was forced by him. I haven’t done anything yet! If someone has to be held responsible for this, you should kill him, not trouble me!”

Min Rou felt as if she had been hit with a sledgehammer. From sitting upright, her shoulders suddenly slumped down in resignation…

Meanwhile, Gu Ling, who was about to enter the secret chamber beneath the Yuanming Pavilion, heard a thunderous roar, followed by an explosion from the direction of the Imperial Palace.

Gu Ling closed the entrance to the secret chamber, went up to the roof of the Yuanming Pavilion, and saw smoke billowing in the direction of the Imperial Palace. His hunch turned out to be true; the villains had directly used explosives to attack Duanmu Chen. They could easily infiltrate the Imperial Palace in broad daylight without being noticed, just like him.

Therefore, Gu Ling speculated that the villains didn’t use explosives during their first assassination attempt because they were confident in their abilities, and probably didn’t have explosives on them. The explosives they used this time must have been secretly prepared in the past few days following the failed attempt. This explanation made sense.

The Imperial Palace was vast; given the sound and smoke, only one location had been blown up. It should have been Duanmu Chen’s sleeping quarters. Gu Ling thought that Duanmu Chen—who was always cautious—would have avoided it after hearing his warning, but he still decided to go to the Imperial Palace to confirm it.

Meanwhile, within the Imperial Palace, Duanmu Chen stood at the top of the Library Tower, speechlessly staring at the billowing smoke in the direction of his sleeping quarters. With his hand on the table, his face turned pale. After a long while, he softly sighed, “Gu Ling, truly a soothsayer, isn’t he.”