Chapter 101 Preparations for Taking Up His Post.

When Chu Heng returned to the capital, it was already early September. He first ordered someone to send the gifts he had brought back back to the Prince Duan's residence before entering the palace to meet the emperor.

Accompanying them on this trip were officials who were being escorted back to the capital for punishment; naturally, the disaster relief funds they had embezzled were also brought back with them.

In Haiyan Palace, the emperor, seeing that the evidence of their crimes was irrefutable, first sternly rebuked these corrupt officials for taking the emperor's bounty while disregarding his grace and deceiving the emperor, demanding that they be severely punished. Afterwards, he greatly praised Chu Heng and his group, with Chu Heng receiving even more rewards.

After that, the emperor didn't give them a chance to speak further, only saying, "You've just returned, and you haven't even had time to go home yet, have you? You've been away from the capital for several months, so go home and rest first, and we'll deal with other matters tomorrow!"

The emperor appeared to be a benevolent ruler who cared for his subjects, but Chu Heng secretly grimaced. He knew the emperor would break his promise.

Fortunately, he had an unexpected gain this time, which might help his family leave Beijing.

The most urgent task is to return home as soon as possible. From the moment he boarded the ship leaving the capital, Chu Heng was already eager to go home.

Inside the Prince Duan's residence, Daiyu was already standing under the eaves waiting. When someone came to announce her arrival, she wanted to go out the second gate to greet her, but little Chu Yang was babbling and looking for his mother. It was windy today, and she was afraid that the child would not be able to withstand it, so she had to patiently go inside first.

"Yu'er!" Chu Heng rushed forward, not even having time to change his clothes, and embraced Daiyu with both hands.

When Daiyu heard Chu Heng's voice, she stood up and he was already in front of her. She then fell into his familiar and warm embrace.

Even though there were a lot of maids and nannies in the room, Daiyu couldn't care less about being shy at this moment; she missed Chu Heng terribly.

"Ah!" Xiao Chuyang was squeezed between his parents, but he couldn't feel their longing for each other at all. He just felt suffocated and immediately started moving his arms and legs haphazardly.

Chu Heng and Daiyu had no choice but to separate. Chu Heng looked at Daiyu and said, "This little guy is getting more and more mischievous as he grows up. You must be exhausted. Come on, let me hold him." Only then did he glance at the little guy, "He has grown quite a bit. I think he has gotten fatter. You must be tired."

Daiyu shook her head and smiled, "I'm not tired. You're the one who has had a hard journey."

Having not seen his father for nearly two months, Xiao Chuyang no longer remembered him, but he was not afraid of strangers and just curiously looked at the person holding him.

Chu Heng pulled Daiyu down to sit, staring at her intently as if he couldn't get enough of her: "You look thinner. Was it because the summer heat was too intense the other day and you couldn't eat anything?"

“I eat on time every day, and you’ve lost a lot of weight, yet you’re criticizing me.” Daiyu touched his face. “You’ve not only lost weight, but you’ve also gotten darker.”

Chu Heng touched his face as well: "I didn't notice either, is it very dark?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "You look healthier than before. You still prefer to be a little whiter. You'll be whiter after you cover yourself up in winter."

Chu Heng nuzzled her hand: "It depends on what you like. Do you prefer me now, or did you like me more when I was fairer?"

Daiyu blushed and scolded, "You've only just returned and you're already so unseemly!" She turned to get up, saying, "Wash your face and change your clothes first, I'll have someone bring you the meal."

Chu Heng held her hand tightly, saying, "I haven't seen you for over a hundred years. Please stay with me a little longer."

Daiyu asked in confusion, "What do you mean by more than a hundred years? What are you talking about?"

Chu Heng said matter-of-factly, "A day apart feels like three autumns, but we haven't seen each other for several dozen days, which feels like more than a hundred years!"

Daiyu couldn't help but laugh: "We still have decades to go, what's a little bit more?"

"Sit down first." Chu Heng still wouldn't let her leave. "My hands and clothes aren't very clean, you should wash up and change your clothes too, and this kid too..."

Little Chu Yang was clutching the embroidery on his father's court robe when he was suddenly picked up. His little legs kicked incessantly, and Chu Heng and Daiyu both laughed at the sight.

“He’ll definitely be a mischievous brat when he grows up.” Chu Heng handed the child to the wet nurse. “Give him a clean smear and change his clothes.”

Soon, the family of three finished washing up and sat down at the table for their meal. Little Chu Yang was now able to eat some egg custard and rice cereal.

Daiyu asked someone to bring a pot of wine: "This is the osmanthus wine we brewed the year before last. We didn't get to drink it last year, but now that the osmanthus is in bloom, let's have a taste."

"Hmm." Chu Heng smiled and sniffed lightly, "It smells quite nice."

The two clinked glasses, each took a sip, and both said it was very good. Neither of them were connoisseurs of wine, so they only took a small sip. The remaining osmanthus wine was carefully stored away to be drunk again when they enjoyed the snow in winter.

After putting down their wine glasses and finishing their meal in silence, little Chu Yang had already been taken away to sleep by his nanny.

Chu Heng and Daiyu nestled together on the soft pillows, talking. Chu Heng talked about the scenery outside and would also mention the politics of the court, while Daiyu talked about things in the capital. Little Chu Yang had many interesting stories, while the Emperor and Empress Dowager had nothing to say.

"It's best if nothing happens," Chu Heng said with a smile. "This makes things convenient for us."

Daiyu asked in surprise, "How can you make things convenient for us? What exactly are you planning to do?"

Previously, when Chu Heng said he had a solution, Daiyu thought he was just trying to comfort her. But now, judging from his tone, he seemed to have a plan in mind.

When Chu Heng whispered these words in Daiyu's ear, Daiyu frowned and said, "Isn't this too risky?"

"No," Chu Heng said firmly. "Once I've met with Fifth Sister, we'll act according to the opportune moment. We must leave no room for retreat, otherwise His Majesty will never allow us to leave the capital."

The emperor is now comfortable using Chu Heng, and Chu Heng's repeated resignations have displeased him. He will only agree to let Chu Heng go to his fiefdom if he can no longer face Chu Heng.

Daiyu nodded slowly and said, "Let's think it over again, so that the Emperor won't find out that we've done something wrong."

Chu Heng gently stroked Daiyu's long hair that was loose over her shoulders and said softly with a smile, "This matter cannot be rushed, and it won't be resolved in a short time. We'll talk about it slowly later."

"Why are you still so slow? Aren't you going to meet the Emperor tomorrow?" Daiyu turned to look at him in confusion, but suddenly fell silent when she met his eyes.

Chu Heng lowered his head and gently kissed her lips, saying vaguely, "There are other important matters to attend to right now..."

...

The next day, Chu Heng went to the palace to meet the emperor.

The emperor was in a good mood and spoke casually: "What is it now? Isn't the government office busy today?"

Chu Heng said, "Your Majesty, there is something that concerns Gu Xun, but I was unable to say it yesterday."

Gu Xun was He Jia's eldest son. Previously, he had been entrusted by the emperor to Chu Heng to work at the Imperial Clan Court. This time, Chu Heng went to the south, and He Jia saw this as an opportunity, so he asked the emperor to let Chu Heng take Gu Xun with him.

He Jiaben had no other intention than to broaden her son's horizons and make him more shrewd. She also conveyed this idea to the emperor, requesting that Gu Xun not be given a real position and that Chu Heng not assign him any tasks. In this way, the emperor would not need to reward him afterward; it would be as if Chu Heng had brought along an extra servant.

Since her own sister had been so humble, and it was such a trivial matter, the emperor couldn't bear to offend her, so he had Chu Heng take Gu Xun with him.

The emperor had assumed that with Chu Heng watching over things and Gu Xun having no real power, nothing would go wrong on this trip. However, upon hearing Chu Heng's words, he subconsciously frowned and asked, "What trouble has Gu Xun gotten himself into?"

Chu Heng gave a wry smile: "It's nothing serious. I just received some silver notes from convicted officials, and I've already taken them all back."

The emperor pressed further, "How much did he take?"

Chu Heng hesitated for a moment, then honestly replied, "Twenty thousand taels."

"Twenty thousand taels..." the emperor sneered, "My nephew certainly has quite the appetite."

Chu Heng lowered his head and remained silent. It was precisely because Gu Xun was the emperor's nephew that he was able to accept a bribe of 20,000 taels of silver, but he had failed to live up to He Jia's good intentions.

Even if Chu Heng didn't say anything, the emperor could guess that Gu Xun must have revealed his identity to those people, otherwise who would give so much silver to the Prince Duan's attendants for nothing!

Chu Heng was right to keep quiet. The emperor had agreed to let Gu Xun go with him, but Gu Xun was using his status as the emperor's nephew to amass wealth, which was a slap in the emperor's face.

The emperor rubbed his temples. Although he was furious, he couldn't punish Gu Xun for the sake of his reputation, which was truly frustrating!

"You..." The emperor pointed at Chu Heng, "Go to He Jia's residence and tell her everything. Tell her to discipline her good-for-nothing son properly, and if he can't be disciplined, she's not allowed to leave the house again!"

Chu Heng replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will go immediately."

When Chu Heng arrived at He Jia's residence after leaving the palace, he happened to find the family chatting together. When Chu Heng entered the room, Gu Xun lowered his head, not daring to look at him.

He Jia smiled and said, "You two young couples are even more reunited after being apart for so long. Fifth Brother, what brings you to my residence?"

"There's something I need to discuss with Fifth Sister in private," Chu Heng said bluntly.

He Jia's smile faded, and she dismissed everyone in the room, leaving not even the servants behind: "This matter... is it related to Xun'er?"

Chu Heng nodded and said calmly, "Fifth Sister, did you know that your son has joined the Second Prince's faction?"

He Jia was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise: "What did you say?"

Chu Heng said, "He is accumulating wealth for the Second Prince and also trying to win over local officials for the Second Prince. I don't know how many benefits the Second Prince promised him, making him disregard his own life and fortune."

He Jia placed one hand on the couch and clenched his sleeve with the other. He took a deep breath before asking, "Does His Majesty know?"

"His Majesty only knows that Gu Xun accepted a bribe of 20,000 taels of silver by using his nephew's name," Chu Heng said. "Fifth Sister, if His Majesty knew the details, it wouldn't be me who came to see you today."

He Jia was born a princess and never cared about gold and silver. For her, these things would never be lacking.

As the princess's eldest son, Gu Xun was no stranger to good things; he shouldn't have been so easily swayed, but...

He Jia had repeatedly warned him not to get involved in the struggle for the throne, and that he couldn't use money to curry favor with the second son at home, so he came up with some crooked and unethical methods.

It was He Jia himself who helped him accomplish these things.

When He Jia understood the cause and effect, her vision went black. Despite her best efforts to prevent it, she still couldn't stop her son from being bewitched. If she had known this would happen, she would have preferred not to send him to court!

Chu Heng poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her: "Fifth Sister, calm down. I asked Gu Xun, and the Second Prince has no evidence of their collusion. This is also the first time he has worked for the Second Prince. It's not too late to cut ties completely."

He Jia looked up at Chu Heng: "Fifth brother, you have helped my mother and me so much, even at the cost of deceiving the emperor. How can I repay you?"

Chu Heng put down his teacup and smiled slightly: "If Fifth Sister is so sincere in repaying this kindness, I can only accept it out of politeness."