Gu Chengyan was prepared to be beaten up by Grand Secretary Gu.

He hurriedly took Guan Yingying to the south city, reassured her to take good care of the child and not to worry about anything, and then returned to the Marquis's mansion that very night.

No sooner had Gu Chengyan left than Guan Yingying also went out.

He took the jade pendant and went to the Crown Prince's residence.

If she can weather this crisis and obtain the saltpeter, she'll surely make a fortune. Now, she's going to reveal her trump card to the Crown Prince…

After a fierce battle with Guan Yingying, Gu Chengyan felt the water in his brain drain away and his IQ returned.

Murder is not something as simple as killing your own servants.

The best solution is to use power to force Ni Keng to break the contract.

Although my uncle is very fair and strict, we are still family. It's better to be beaten by him than to lose my life.

He returned to the Marquis's residence at dawn, around 1 AM.

Gu Shaoyu's courtyard was different from theirs; it was a separate courtyard on the east side, separated from the main courtyard by a long wall.

The door that connects the two places usually looks empty, but if anyone approaches, a guard will come out to stop them.

Gu Chengyan gritted his teeth and slammed the animal-shaped ring on the door.

Bei Chen immediately opened the door and, seeing it was Gu Chengyan, bowed respectfully: "Young Master Gu?"

Gu Chengyan dared not give him a cold shoulder, and said gently and politely, "I have urgent business with my third uncle."

Beichen: "Mr. Ge didn't come back tonight."

"No reply?" Gu Chengyan felt a sense of despair.

Grand Secretary Gu often discussed matters with His Majesty in the palace all night long. Although it was not common for him to stay out all night, it did happen occasionally.

He was anxiously thinking of what to do. Dawn was approaching, and he had to come up with a solution immediately, otherwise the consequences would be uncontrollable.

Marquis Gu Boyu, his mother, and his grandmother were all useless; they had neither the money nor the ability to solve the problem.

We still need to find Uncle Three.

He rode out on horseback and went to the palace.

At dawn, the palace gates opened, and all the sedan chairs of the court officials, which had been quietly waiting outside the palace, entered the palace in order.

Gu Chengyan saw Xie Anfeng and bowed deeply to him: "Lord Xie, there is an urgent matter at the manor. May I inform my third uncle?"

When Xie Anfeng saw that it was his second son-in-law and that he was looking for Grand Secretary Gu, he immediately nodded in agreement.

Not long after, Xie Anfeng sent out a guard to tell Gu Chengyan that Grand Secretary Gu had left the palace after yesterday's meeting.

Indeed, apart from the emperor and his guards, the entire palace consisted mainly of eunuchs and women. Officials rarely spent the night in the palace, especially in the inner city.

That's strange. He's not in the palace, he's not in the mansion, so where did Third Uncle go?

Gu Chengyan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan when he suddenly heard the respectful voice of the gatekeeper behind him: "Grand Secretary Gu".

Uncle San is here!

Gu Chengyan turned around and saw his third uncle in a purple robe, looking dignified, noble, and imposing.

"Third Uncle, your nephew has something urgent to tell you."

"For official business, talk to your superior; for personal matters, go back to the manor and discuss them with the Marquis."

Gu Shaoyu said sternly that he had to go to court and could not handle family matters at the palace gate.

"Third Uncle, this matter is too serious, I must ask for your help, Third Uncle, please, save your nephew!" He clasped his hands tightly, but dared not kneel down at the palace gate and said loudly.

Seeing that he had dark circles under his eyes and looked haggard, Gu Shaoyu said, "Then wait a moment, I'll go in and say hello to His Majesty."

Gu Chengyan watched Gu Shaoyu go in, his heart filled with anxiety.

Not long after, Gu Shaoyu came out. Without asking what happened, the uncle and nephew rode back to the Pingyang Marquis's residence.

Gu Shaoyu took Gu Chengyan directly to Cien Hospital. Gu Chengyan originally planned to talk to his third uncle in private, but his third uncle was very businesslike and went directly to his grandmother's place.

The old lady was surprised to see Gu Shaoyu return: "Why are you back when you don't attend court?"

Gu Shaoyu entered and saw that the old lady was sitting at the head of the table, so he sat down slightly below her and said to Gu Chengyan, "Young Master, you may speak now."

Crown Prince?

This is truly a business-to-business approach.

The old lady knew something big was going on, and she sat down without making a sound, looking at Gu Chengyan.

Helpless, Gu Chengyan could only say that his ice shop had lost money.

I explained it from beginning to end.

The old lady was so angry she almost fainted, pointing at him and stammering "you, you" without being able to speak.

Three hundred thousand taels of silver!!

After a long pause, she asked Gu Shaoyu pleadingly, "How do you think we should handle this?"

No matter what, Gu Chengyan is the heir of the Marquis's mansion and her own grandson; she cannot send him to his death.

Moreover, 300,000 taels of silver—this must have been a setup.

Gu Shaoyu, however, saw it differently: "Mother, no one deceived him; he was just stupid and arrogant."

The contract was in black and white; no one forced him to sign it, and it had even gone through the government process. As far as the contract itself was concerned, the other party had done nothing wrong.

In addition, the saltpeter must have been acquired by the other party, or at least the other party was aware of it; otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence that the contract was signed one day and all the saltpeter disappeared the next.

Gu Shaoyu said, "We must not make a scene now, and we must not bully others. Invite Ni Keng to the mansion, and we will discuss with him whether to reduce the compensation amount and postpone the process a bit longer."

He looked at the contract, which clearly stated in black and white that "in case of breach of contract, the breaching party shall pay ten times the amount of the breached contract, and the compensation shall be paid within ten days."

To specify even the timing of compensation payments—it's truly incorrigible to sign such a contract.

But when he flipped to the last page and saw the name "Tu Qianyue," he frowned and asked, "Who is this?"

Gu Chengyan lowered his head: "That's my cousin, the daughter of my third uncle from Ouyang."

The old lady frowned: "Your cousin owns a shop in the capital? How come I've never heard your mother mention her?"

“Mother doesn’t want to bother Grandmother,” Gu Chengyan quickly explained. “She was invited by me to help, and I can’t push all the responsibility onto her.”

He took everything upon himself, making himself the party to the contract.

Gu Shaoyu looked at him without saying a word for a long time.

Now, the only thing we can do is use his position to negotiate with him properly.

You also have to agree to some of their conditions.

The old lady knew that Gu Shaoyu was in a difficult position, as these matters could very well jeopardize his official reputation, but what could she do?

"Third Master, this matter has troubled you. I apologize for not properly educating the young master. I will definitely take charge from now on and will not cause you any more trouble."

Gu Chengyan felt a burning pain on his face. His grandmother was speaking to his third uncle like that for his sake, as if the other party was not his third son, but a high and mighty monarch.

At 9:00 AM, in front of the ice shop, a group of people and dozens of large carts were parked, with burly men driving and guarding them.

Ni Keng stepped down from the luxurious carriage at the front, his face beaming with smiles.

The young man from the shop next door asked, "Are you here to buy ice?"

Ni Keng laughed heartily: "I placed the order five days ago and came to pick it up today."