When I came out of the Dali Temple, it was already past midnight. The streets were silent, and apart from the night watchmen, there were almost no pedestrians.

The wheels of the carriage made a squeaking sound as they rolled over the road. Gu Yun felt depressed because Xu Youzhi didn't get anything out of his mouth.

Because Li Xu said that the handwritten letter from Qin Huaiyuan was in Su Zhen's hands, Gu Yun brought him back to the Annan Marquis Mansion.

"Think about it carefully, has Li Xu ever given you anything else?" Gu Yun asked.

Su Zhen frowned slightly, but still shook her head.

When leaving the Dali Temple, Gu Yun asked Li Xu if he had ever given her a letter, but Su Zhen had never received any letter.

Yu Qizhe, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked, "Has Li Xiu given you any gifts in the past two months?"

Speaking of gifts, Su Zhen lowered her head to look at her wrist. She gently pulled the hem of her sleeve, revealing a part of her wrist, on which she wore a silver bracelet. She said, "This bracelet was given to me by Brother Li Xiu some time ago."

Gu Yun glanced at it, and his originally indifferent expression paused slightly, as if he suddenly remembered something, and said to Su Zhen, "Take it off and let me see it."

Su Zhen took off the silver bracelet from her slender wrist and handed it to Gu Yun.

Gu Yun put the bracelet in his palm and weighed it. He immediately realized something was wrong. He flicked the bracelet with his fingers and his eyes lit up. "This bracelet is empty inside."

"Let me open it and take a look." After all, it was Su Zhen's thing, so Gu Yun informed her.

Su Zhen didn't hesitate, she nodded in agreement.

She had worn this silver bracelet on her wrist for so long that she naturally knew it was hollow. However, Li Xu did not say anything more when he gave her the bracelet, so Su Zhen just thought that Li Xu was short of money, so he bought her such a hollow silver bracelet.

Su Zhen didn't dislike it and put it on her wrist the day she received the bracelet.

Gu Yun had a very strong grip, and the silver bracelet was originally very soft, so it broke into two in his hand, revealing a very thinly rolled paper, and there was indeed something hidden inside.

Su Zhen was slightly surprised. She didn't expect that someone like Brother Li Xu would do such a meticulous and secretive thing.

Gu Yun pulled the rolled paper out from the bracelet, unfolded it slowly and gently, and smoothed out the wrinkles on the paper.

The piece of paper hidden in the bracelet was indeed a letter. Gu Yun had never noticed Qin Huaiyuan's handwriting and didn't know whether the letter was written by Qin Huaiyuan. However, the content of the letter was indeed threatening Li Xu to secretly switch the official silver on the way from the national treasury to the Ministry of Works.

"If this letter was really written by Qin Huaiyuan, Li Xu did not lie." Gu Yun actually believed what Li Xu said in his heart, but he still felt a little uncomfortable. How could a person who had been the same for decades suddenly become so terrifying?

After putting the letter away, Gu Yun returned the broken silver bracelet to Su Zhen, "You can melt it and make another one of the same."

Su Zhen wrapped the broken silver bracelet with a handkerchief and put it against her chest.

She hesitated for a moment and asked, "Will Li Xiu be beheaded?"

Gu Yun could not answer this question. Although Li Xu was coerced, he was also an accomplice. As for how to sentence him, it would depend on the Dali Temple.

Not hearing a reply, Su Zhen looked a little gloomy. If her father had not insisted on being a minister who gave direct advice in the court and said those outrageous words, the Su family would not have collapsed overnight, all the men in the family would not have been sentenced to exile thousands of miles away, and she would not have ended up in the Music Bureau.

Brother Li Xiu would not commit such a crime in order to save her.

Since the day when the Su family got into trouble, Su Zhen had been feeling aggrieved. At this moment, she couldn't help but blurt out, "Did my father really do something wrong?"

Gu Yun paused and shook his head. "Your father is a man of integrity. As a censor, he is loyal to his subjects by speaking out against the will of others. Although he is a risk-taker, he is also loyal to the emperor. Compared with those who keep silent and are mediocre, Lord Su should praise him as a man of integrity."

Su Zhen was startled for a moment, then with tears in her eyes, she smiled and said, "With what Young Marquis Gu said, my father's death was a worthy one."

Even a dandy like Young Marquis Gu can praise his father as a great master. Why is it that the king of a country closes his eyes and ears, remains speechless, cannot listen to the honest advice that is unpleasant to his ears, and angrily does something unjust to the whole family?

When Su Maoan was convicted, Liu Ci Fu went to the upper study in person to meet Emperor Ming Zheng and plead for him. Emperor Ming Zheng was furious and asked Liu Ci Fu to go home and recuperate for a full half month before summoning him back to the court.

Ever since the Su Maoan incident, there have been fewer and fewer ministers who dare to speak out and make honest comments in the court, while there have been more people who seek fame, flattery, and curry favor with the emperor.

Gu Yun sighed lightly, ordered his servants to prepare a guest room for Su Zhen, and took her downstairs to rest.

"Young Marquis, I'm leaving too." Yu Qizhe said.

"Wait." Gu Yun thought of the Dali Temple and asked, "Why didn't you let me tell Wei Minzhong about Li Xiu's confession?"

Yu Qizhe looked at Gu Yun deeply and asked, "Young Marquis, do you think the people in the Dali Temple can be trusted?"

Gu Yun frowned, not knowing whether to believe it or not.

Wei Minzhong had a close relationship with the Feng family of Dingbei Hou, so logically speaking he should not be involved in this case, but everything went too smoothly in the Dali Temple's handling of the case this time.

Just after Zhou Fang was killed, a Jinyiwei named Lu was captured, and a handwritten letter from Li Xiu was found in his home. However, it was obvious that Li Xiu's handwritten letter had been replaced by Yu Qizhe. The Dali Temple did not even compare the handwriting, but just followed the clues and arrested Li Xiu.

"Since you saw Li Xu's handwritten letter in Lu Jin's house and knew it was a frame-up, why didn't you just destroy the letter, but copied a copy as evidence?" Gu Yun suddenly felt that Yu Qizhe was really stupid. If he had taken the letter directly and not kept the copied one, wouldn't the clues of those people's secret frame-up have been cut off long ago.