A sudden doubt arose in Gu Jiangli's mind.

This person was clearly not from the Gu family, yet he suddenly and hospitably invited her into the mansion; there must be something fishy about it.

But the father was at home, and with such people guarding the door, he must be trapped.

After exchanging a glance, she and the emperor both understood each other's intentions.

The best course of action now is to enter the government office first.

The man led the way, and the emperor turned his head slightly, giving a glance to the guard dressed as a servant at the end.

The guard immediately obeyed the order, quietly retreating several steps. Instead of following them into the mansion, he disappeared into the crowd on the street.

The man's greasy smile softened slightly as he chuckled and said:

"I have truly neglected our distinguished guests. Master Gu is in the backyard. Why don't we let the servants who are attending to you go and rest first? Otherwise, there are too many people, and it will be difficult for our host family to take care of everyone, right?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Jiangli felt a surge of inexplicable anger.

Their master's?

What kind of person is this man to be considered the master of the house?

She suppressed the rising anger within her and looked at the emperor.

The emperor nodded slightly to her, then raised his hand, and the people following behind him retreated a few steps away in an orderly manner, no longer advancing.

Only Grandpa Qin and Lotus stayed.

Gu Jiangli smiled and said, "These two are our personal caregivers, so they can come with us. There are only five of us; the host family shouldn't be unable to take care of them."

The man chuckled and agreed, then continued leading the way.

Gu Jiangli became increasingly shocked as she walked through the mansion.

My father's official position wasn't high, but the house was still kept in good order.

But now the courtyard is full of withered yellow leaves that no one has swept, and some wooden chairs and tables are placed haphazardly in the courtyard, and they look covered with a lot of dust.

The servants and maids who originally lived in the house had all disappeared.

Everything was completely different from how I remembered it.

If it were Gu Jiangli's first time here, she might have thought this was some impoverished family.

My father is a clean person who always dresses properly and elegantly. He would never allow the house to become like this!

Something must have happened to my father.

And it must be related to the man in front of you.

The emperor gently grasped Gu Jiangli's clenched fist.

She looked up in the direction of the emperor and saw that his lips silently said to her, "I'm here."

She felt much more at ease.

Seeing my father is the most important thing right now.

She looked down to her left again, and Chen'er was also very quiet and composed today.

It seemed that even Chen'er had noticed something was wrong here, so she looked around with her eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

He kept shaking his head and nodding, and even Gu Jiangli couldn't figure out what he was exploring.

Passing by a small pavilion, he poked the red pillar of the pavilion with his hand, then pursed his lips and shook his head very hard.

Although Gu Jiangli was also curious about Chen'er's thoughts, she couldn't ask because there was an unidentified person present. She could only wait until they were alone to discuss the matter.

They followed the shirtless man from the front hall to the backyard.

The man seemed to know the layout of the Gu residence like the back of his hand, as if he had lived there for a long time.

Finally, they stopped in front of a room.

The man said, "Please come in and rest first. I will bring Master Gu over right away."

Gu Jiangli knew that this room was originally an empty room that was rarely used for living, so it was obvious that this person had ulterior motives for bringing them here.

Just as I was thinking about how to refuse, Chen'er suddenly spoke up: "You can't go in!"

He stood with one hand on his hip and the other holding Gu Jiangli's hand, his expression serious and unquestionable.

The shirtless man clearly hadn't expected the boy, who hadn't uttered a word the whole way, to refuse his offer at this moment.

"What does this mean? Why can't we go in?" the man asked.

Chen'er pointed to the corner of the wall and said, "That's a termite hole. Termites have built a nest inside. This house is so fragile now, it could collapse at any moment. How can anyone live here!"

He spoke with reason and evidence, and there was indeed a thumb-sized hole in the direction his finger was pointing, with a few ants occasionally going in and out.

The man seemed skeptical. "Nonsense! How could such a small hole knock down the house? You're clearly here to cause trouble for the homeowner."

It's true!

At this moment, the emperor suddenly squatted down and whispered something in Chen'er's ear. Chen'er immediately stopped making a fuss and asked, "Really?"

The Emperor nodded. "When have you ever lied to Chen'er?"

Then Gu Jiangli understood the emperor's plan and said to the man, "No, that's not true. We'll wait here. Please bring Master Gu here as soon as possible. We have something important to discuss."

The man smiled again, "Coming right away."

He stood still, seemingly waiting for Gu Jiangli and the others to enter the room before he would leave.

The emperor held her hand with one hand and carried Chen'er in the other, followed by Eunuch Qin and Lotus, and they entered the room together.

The moment the door closed, the room was plunged into complete darkness.

They covered the windows completely from the inside with dark black cloth.

Immediately afterwards, a strange fragrance filled the air.

Gu Jiangli was about to say something bad and was about to call for the system when a sweet-tasting pill suddenly appeared in her mouth.

The emperor's reassuring voice came from beside her, "Swallow it, it'll be alright."

Gu Jiangli obediently swallowed it.

"Chen'er, Hehua, and the others..."

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