Chapter 57 Chapter 56 Get up
Gu Cheng returned home with a sad face. Liang Qiulan saw how dejected he was and quickly walked over to him. She took his official uniform and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
He glanced at his wife, who had finally regained some popularity. If possible, he really didn't want her to know about this matter. It would only cause her trouble for no reason. But the fact that Gu Shiyan was going to the palace could not be concealed. He took Liang Qiulan's hand, sighed deeply, and said, "Your Majesty has appointed Yan'er as the Minister of the Court. Starting tomorrow, he will enter the palace."
Liang Qiulan glanced at him, her eyes as if to say, "That's it?" Liang Qiulan glanced at Gu Cheng and chuckled, "Are you worried about Yan'er? Don't worry. Today, the maid from my aunt's palace came to the mansion specially. It was my aunt who took the initiative to bring this matter up to His Majesty."
Seeing Gu Cheng's confusion, Liang Qiulan continued, "Aunt is trying to find a good future for Yan'er. Although I don't understand officialdom, it's naturally good for Yan'er to be with His Majesty. As parents, we shouldn't worry too much."
Gu Chengcheng was not worried about this at all. He lowered his voice and said, "The palace has many rules and regulations, and Yan'er is new to the capital..."
In reality, his concerns went beyond this. The emperor's moods were capricious, yet the position of Shizhong (Patriarch) was a highly sought-after position. In previous dynasties, Shizhong were close ministers to the emperor, wielding immense power. At their peak, their authority rivaled that of the prime minister. However, since the founding of the Daliang dynasty, the Shizhong's power had been gradually weakened, becoming a nominal position.
Even so, the faction minister was able to enter and leave the palace freely and was always by the emperor's side, which meant that others would consider him a member of the emperor's faction. The factional disputes in the capital were intensifying, and the situation was turbulent. If possible, he really didn't want Gu Shiyan to be involved.
The emperor's decree had already been issued, and the Gu family could no longer resist it. It was pointless to worry about these things at this point, so it was better to let things take their own course. He had originally wanted to teach Gu Shiyan some palace etiquette before he entered the palace, but Liang Qiulan stopped him.
The latter leaned close to his ear and lowered her voice, "My aunt said that His Majesty is in need of someone new right now. If one day His Majesty doesn't need you anymore, the Gu family will be seen as overly successful and threatening the emperor. So she specifically instructed that if Yan'er doesn't know anything, then that's fine. But if he's incredibly talented, then he needs to hide his shortcomings in the palace."
Only then did Gu Cheng give up his thoughts. Everyone said that they were old foxes, but the truly scary ones were those who could survive in the deep palace.
On the other hand, Gu Shiyan also knew that he would enter the palace tomorrow.
Hua Ling looked at him with some concern, "He doesn't know your identity already, does he? If he doesn't know, then if he finds you in the palace..."
"Why are you panicking?" Gu Shiyan looked at Hua Ling with some confusion. He didn't understand what the other party was worried about.
Hua Ling turned away with a guilty conscience, not daring to meet Gu Shiyan's gaze. She naturally wasn't worried about Gu Shiyan's safety. She was just worried that if something happened between Gu Shiyan and the emperor in the palace, she wouldn't know. But she would never dare to say such a thing.
She hesitated for a moment, but finally made up her mind and said shyly, "Can I accompany you to the palace, sir? I'm worried about your safety."
Gu Shiyan ignored her. He really didn't understand what had happened to make Hua Ling, who was usually well-behaved, become like this.
In fact, he was somewhat reluctant to enter the palace. Mu Congmo had only asked him to enter in order to completely tie Gu Cheng to the same fate. Moreover, he had to get up early to enter the palace, and he was a little worried that he would kill the emperor with a single sword. The palace guards should not be able to stop him. He could only hope that the emperor would be more sensible.
The next day, it was just dawn.
Hua Ling cautiously came to Gu Shiyan's bedside. She did not wake him up directly, but lingered beside the bed. Finally, as if she had finally made up her mind, she tentatively called out a few times: "Master, Master, it's time to get up."
Gu Shiyan, who was sleeping soundly, seemed to have heard the call and turned over lazily, burying his head in the quilt. The moment Gu Shiyan moved, Hua Ling ran away. Finally, she found that it was a false alarm and returned to Gu Shiyan's bedside, repeating the same action.
It wasn't until Gu Shiyan sat up that Hua Ling spoke first: "You have to go to the palace today, so you can't delay any longer."
These words completely woke Gu Shiyan from his sleep. He sat on the bed a little irritably, while Hua Ling was wiping his face with a hot handkerchief.
After everything was ready, Gu Shiyan had breakfast and boarded the carriage to the palace. The only thing that comforted him was that he only needed to get to Chengming Hall before Mu Congmo left the court. After seeing Gu Shiyan off, Hua Ling finally had a moment to breathe. Now it was she who was living in fear every day.
Because of palace regulations, only the emperor and his concubines could ride in the palace; everyone else had to walk. Gu Shiyan's carriage stopped at the palace gate, and a servant beside him warned, "Sir, you'll have to walk the rest of the way on your own."
Gu Shiyan could hear the worry in his tone. He was puzzled as to why everyone thought that this palace was like a den of dragons and tigers. The image of Mu Congmo flashed through his mind. He didn't look like someone who would eat people.
The servant watched Gu Shiyan walk towards the palace gate as if nothing had happened, and he sighed in his heart, "This young man is indeed a descendant of the Duke's Mansion. He can keep his composure even on his first visit to the palace." But he didn't know that Gu Shiyan had already met the emperor and even visited the palace at night.
The position of Shizhong didn't have a specific official uniform, and the maid from the palace had specifically instructed him to wear only casual clothes, so today Gu Shiyan wore a light blue robe and a jade pendant with a cloud pattern around his waist. He handed the black iron token, a symbol of his status, to the guard at the palace gate.
After checking it, the other party returned the token to him with a quite polite tone: "It turns out to be the Minister of the Court, I have heard a lot about you." He had already looked at Gu Shiyan before. Now the news in the capital was spreading like wildfire, saying that the child of the Duke of Ying who was raised in the countryside since childhood was named the prince as soon as he returned, and he also received the job of Minister of the Court in front of the emperor. Gu Shiyan was the most famous person in the capital for a while.
This young man was dignified and a bit aloof, but he didn't look like someone who had been raised in the countryside. The man was puzzled. Then he respectfully extended a hand toward the palace gate and introduced him to Gu Shiyan, saying, "That's Eunuch Xiao Huazi, the apprentice of General Manager Hu. He's here to pick you up. Just follow him."
Gu Shiyan thanked him and headed towards Xiao Huazi. Seeing him approaching, Xiao Huazi hurried to greet him. Before coming, Hu Xian had repeatedly reminded him to be polite to this Mr. Gu. After all, he had a great-aunt who was the Empress Dowager in the palace, so Xiao Huazi naturally didn't dare to slack off.
"You must be Mr. Gu, please come with us." Although Xiao Huazi was not flattering, he was polite.
"Thank you, eunuch." Gu Shiyan said in a light tone.
The two of them walked along the solemn red walls and yellow tiles, on the bluestone slabs steeped in history. Gu Shiyan's aura was so outstanding that Xiao Huazi couldn't help but look back at him as he led the way. He had originally thought that this young master, having just arrived in the capital and entered the palace for the first time, would inevitably be a little nervous, but Gu Shiyan was calm and composed, without a trace of abnormality.
Soon, the two arrived at Chengming Palace. Xiao Huazi took Gu Shiyan to a side hall and said, "Young Master, please rest here for a while. His Majesty will summon you after the court session."
This was a special instruction from Mu Congmo. Although he did not have any expectations for this suddenly appearing Prince of England, for the sake of the Queen Mother and the Duke of England, he would not make it too difficult to deal with him.
Moreover, it was the Empress Dowager who initiated this matter, and he was merely doing a favor. The Minister of the Court had no real power, and the so-called honor and favor was only at the Emperor's whim.
Xiao Huazi found a chair for Gu Shiyan to sit on, and then ordered the servants to bring some cakes and tea. Gu Shiyan was a little dazed, and he began to doubt what he was doing in the palace.
The palace snacks were delicate and small, practically one bite at a time, without the worry of getting food residue on them and causing disrespect in front of the emperor. However, having just finished breakfast, Gu Shiyan had no interest in these snacks. He extended his fair and slender hand, picked up the white jade teacup, and took a sip of tea.
Gu Shiyan's movements were dignified and languid, even more pleasing to the eye than those of the carefully nurtured sons of aristocratic families. Xiao Huazi stood respectfully beside him, and for a moment, he couldn't help but wonder if this young man had truly been raised in the countryside for so long.
Gu Shiyan put down the teacup and sat quietly on the chair, not looking nervous at all. Xiao Huazi noticed the untouched pastries. He thought that Gu Shiyan didn't like them, so he secretly kept it in mind and decided to ask the imperial kitchen to prepare some different styles next time.
After about half an hour, a eunuch came to announce that His Majesty had left the court and asked the Minister of the Court to go to the main hall of Chengming Palace.
Gu Shiyan stood up and followed the eunuch to the so-called Chengming Palace. Before he entered the palace, he smelled a faint scent of ambergris.
Since Chengming Hall was where the emperor handled his official business, its decoration was not luxurious but focused on comfort.
The imperial desk made of rosewood was piled with today's memorials. Mu Congmo changed out of his heavy imperial robes and put on a light blue casual suit. The clothes looked no different from Gu Shiyan's. The only difference was that Mu Congmo's clothes were embroidered with dragon patterns in silver-white silk thread, which showed his imperial status.
As for why Mu Congmo suddenly fell in love with such light-colored clothes, it was because some people insisted on claiming that they were a perfect match with others and even had to wear similar clothes.
Seeing that the emperor was lowering his head to deal with memorials, Gu Shiyan walked straight to the imperial desk and knelt down.
After about half an incense stick of time, Mu Congmo finally raised his head from the memorial. He gave the person kneeling on the ground a condescending look, his tone devoid of emotion: "Get up."
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