Wonderful, wonderful

For a fleeting moment, Gu Cheng had the thought of running away, but then he thought again, he hadn't done anything wrong, so why should he run away? So he quickly calmed down, straightened his back, and looked at everyone.

Su Yan'an, who had been eavesdropping with the eldest prince while hiding behind Prime Minister Su, stood up and said with a smile, "The original departure time was Chenshi (7-9 AM), but the time has not yet arrived, and the accompanying military doctor has not come. Why is Commander Gu in such a hurry?"

The eldest prince chimed in, "If Commander Gu has nothing better to do, he might as well go and count the number of people again and check the silver seals."

Gu Cheng was a top-ranking military scholar last year. His father, General Weiyuan, used his influence to secure him a position as a centurion in the Imperial Guard. Although he was starting from the bottom, with the protection of a powerful family, as long as he worked steadily, it was only a matter of time before he was promoted to the rank of commander of the Imperial Guard, a third-rank official.

The Capital Garrison, under the jurisdiction of the Five Military Commissions, was responsible for the defense and agricultural settlements of Shengjing (Mukden), and was the main force of the capital. Unlike the Five Military Commissions, whose power was gradually diminished, the Commander of the Capital Garrison directly participated in the defense and deployment of the capital, wielding real power. It could be said that becoming the Commander of the Capital Garrison was equivalent to controlling the lifeline of Shengjing.

This reveals the Gu family's ambition.

Su Yan'an's words made Gu Cheng feel a little embarrassed.

He only saw the group of people huddled together whispering, and sensing something was wrong, he spoke up to stop them, completely unaware that not everyone had arrived yet.

He was both ashamed and angry, and said in a choked voice, "In that case, I will check the silver seal again."

He fled on horseback.

Su Yan'an clicked his tongue and turned back to give his grandfather a look that said, "Please continue, sir."

Prime Minister Su stroked his long beard, not bothering to hide it from the eldest prince and Su Yan'an, and said, "These past few days, this old minister has been ordered by His Majesty to approach Cheng Guangyan, the Minister of Revenue, and found that this man is extremely shrewd. When I talked to him about the state affairs, he complained to me about his marital discord. When I tried to talk to him about human relationships, he said that the Ministry of Revenue was so poor that it couldn't even afford to eat. He is truly impervious to reason."

"This old minister has tried to entice him with benefits, reason with him, and appeal to his emotions, but all have ended in failure. This old minister is truly at a loss, and I have also discovered that the Third Prince's men have been frequently in contact with Cheng Guangyan these past two days, so I have come to ask for Your Highness's opinion."

Prime Minister Su looked helpless.

You Lu understood. His father had mentioned Cheng Guangyan to him, saying that he had discovered signs of corruption in the man and asked him to help calculate whether to keep him or get rid of him as soon as possible.

He didn't go into too much detail at the time, only saying that it was essential to win him over. He hadn't thought of any methods then, so he didn't mention them. It seems the Emperor couldn't wait, so he directly sent Prime Minister Su to win over Cheng Guangyan.

However, Prime Minister Su is too upright. For someone like Cheng Guangyan, who is neither completely bad nor entirely good, it is useless to negotiate with him directly. You have to use some methods, preferably some underhanded methods.

A deer's eyes darted around, and a plan came to mind.

"The most important thing now is not to win over Cheng Guangyan, but to prevent others from winning him over. When I was still in the business world, I heard that Cheng Guangyan liked to smell his own foot odor and that he was very averse to people talking about his private matters. We can use this to discourage our competitors."

Prime Minister Su's eyes lit up. "Does Your Highness mean to spread rumors about Cheng Guangyan's peculiarities and then frame others who want to win him over?"

"As expected of the Prime Minister, his mind is truly sharp!" You Lu sincerely praised.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" Prime Minister Su stroked his long beard and laughed.

Xu Zheng nodded thoughtfully: "Although the methods weren't exactly honorable, they were indeed ingenious."

The eldest prince and Su Yan'an, who were eavesdropping silently, sighed inwardly. "How ruthless! So ruthless!"

"We can't control Cheng Guangyan for the time being. Let's eliminate this potential enemy first, and that will be a victory. We can deal with the rest slowly," Youlu concluded.

"This old minister knows what to do," Prime Minister Su said with a smile and a nod.

Youlu patted him on the shoulder again and said, "You're getting on in years, don't try to do everything yourself. You'll wear yourself out, right, Brother Su?"

As she spoke, she raised an eyebrow at Su Yan'an.

Since we've overheard this, let's get to work!

Su Yan'an, who had been conscripted, laughed and said, "Of course! Even if I'm exhausted, I'd never let my grandfather get tired!"

"Hahaha!" Prime Minister Su laughed heartily. As expected, the young prince knows how to take care of people.

On the other side, Gu Cheng, under the guise of checking the silver seal, strolled up to Cang Shuyue and casually struck up a conversation: "It's been a few days since I last saw you, Your Highness. You seem like a different person. When we used to play together, you were always gentle and polite, and very kind to others. But today you're much sharper. Perhaps it's because you suddenly have a brother and can't accept it."

His tone was full of concern for the eldest prince, and he sounded as if he were very close to the eldest prince.

Cang Shuyue lifted her eyelids and glanced at him. "Are you talking to me?"

Meeting his icy gaze, Gu Cheng felt a chill run down his spine and quickly cupped his hands, saying, "This humble official has been rude."

Cang Shuyue didn't look at him again and said calmly, "Think before you speak."

"Yes." Gu Cheng lowered his head, though he was drenched in cold sweat despite being bathed in sunlight.

Watching Cang Shuyue ride away on horseback, Gu Cheng let out a long sigh of relief.

He was careless for a moment and dared to show off his limited skills in front of the Duke of Zhenguo. Fortunately, the Duke of Zhenguo is now the deputy escort appointed by the Emperor, so he can't do anything to him. Otherwise, he might not be able to save his life.

He still has a mission to complete and cannot afford to lose his life so easily. It seems that he will have to find another way to make the Duke of Zhenguo dislike Xiao Yunlu.

The Pixiu circled the thirty armored trucks several times, smelling the silver to its heart's content, before reluctantly returning to Youlu's side, not forgetting to complain.

[Just now, Gu Cheng tried to sow discord between Cang Shuyue and others, implying that Gu Cheng was corrupting the Crown Prince, only to be mocked by Cang Shuyue for being brainless. It's truly laughable!]

It's not surprising at all that Lu was mentioned. [Don't let our brother-in-law's cold exterior fool you; he can be quite sharp-tongued, but he's good at it, I like it.]

Xu Zheng and Prime Minister Su coughed lightly, thinking to themselves that this was not something to be pleased about.

Judging that it was about time, Cang Shuyue rode his horse to the outside of the pavilion, nodded slightly to Prime Minister Su, and said coldly, "It's about time to set off."

When Youlu saw the majestic chestnut horse beneath him, his eyes lit up instantly. He shoved the jade box containing the melon into the First Prince's arms, then ran over, stretched out his hand, and shouted, "Brother Imperial Uncle, I want to ride a horse too!"

The eldest prince was horrified and ran up to grab him. "This is my uncle's mount, Hongfu. It has a very fierce temperament and doesn't allow anyone but my uncle to ride it. If you want to ride a horse, when we get to the next post station, your eldest brother will find you a more docile one."

What he couldn't say was that his uncle loved horses more than anything, and anyone who touched his horses, except for the people who were specifically responsible for raising them, would have their hands chopped off. He didn't want his adorable younger brother to have his hands chopped off.

Even the Pixiu, a master of pouring cold water on things, muttered: "In ancient times, a man's horse was like a modern man's car—it was their concubine. You couldn't just ride it casually! I advise you not to daydream… What a joke!! You actually rode it?!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped in the face. The Pixiu was shocked and bewildered.

The eldest prince was equally shocked.

Could it be that he isn't his uncle's biological nephew? Isn't it the seventh brother?