The following day, Zhou Gu accompanied Su Xingze to pay a visit to Minister of Personnel, Shen Xian, at the Shen Residence.
Shen Xian had just returned home from the imperial court, and was planning to go out after changing into casual clothes. As he was walking to the door, he ran into Zhou Gu and Su Xingze who were coming to see him.
Shen Xian naturally recognised Zhou Gu, and after receiving Zhou Gu’s greeting, he nodded without any expression and asked,"What brings you here?"
Zhou Gu answered, "I’m accompanying someone."
"Hmm?" Shen Xian turned his gaze to Su Xingze.
Su Xingze stepped forward and greeted him, introducing himself, "My name is Su Xingze, son of Su Xu, a student of Xie Yuan. I’ve come to the Capital City for the imperial examination. Before leaving, Xie Yuan instructed me to pay a visit to Master Shen."
Shen Xian was taken aback for a moment, he immediately turned around, saying: "Come in with me!"
Thus, they followed Shen Xian into the Shen Residence.
Shen Xian led the two to his study, and said to Su Xingze, "Let’s see it!"
Su Xingze took out the recommendation letter from Xie Yuan from his sleeve and handed it to Shen Xian.
Shen Xian opened and read the letter, then let out a cold laugh,"This Xie Yuan, no news for many years, and now all of a sudden he sends the news, and he sure knows how to cause me trouble."
He put down the letter, looked Su Xingze up and down, and asked him, "How many days have you been in Capital City, and where are you staying?"
Su Xingze answered each question.
Shen Xian raised his eyebrows and said, "You’ve been in the Capital City for more than ten days and you haven’t come to find me. If it weren’t for the Crown Prince coming to you yesterday, would you have no intention to come find me?"
Su Xingze looked ashamed, "I did not want to trouble you, Sir."
Shen Xian snorted, "Why would Xie Yuan give you this letter if he didn’t think you would need me once you are in the Capital City? Why did he tell you to come find me?"
Su Xingze lowered his head, "I’ve misjudged."
Shen Xian let out another cold snort, "It’s good behavior for a young man not to trouble others. But don’t overdo it. Why insist on taking the long way around if you can avoid it?"
Su Xingze listened respectfully, "You are correct, sir. I have learnt my lesson."
As a student of Xie Yuan, it was not inappropriate for him to call himself a student in front of Shen Xian.
Shen Xian’s expression lightened a bit and he looked at Zhou Gu.
Zhou Gu winked at Shen Xian, reiterating, "Master Shen, I’m here with Su Xingze."
The implication being, this matter has nothing to do with me.
Shen Xian seemed to have nothing to say to Zhou Gu, he waved his hand at him, "You may leave!"
Zhou Gu let out a surprised "Ah?" Getting rid of him so bluntly, what kind of move was this? He looked to Su Xingze, "What about Su Xingze?"
"From now on, he’s staying at my residence." Shen Xian was not a person who turned a blind eye to the happenings of the world. He was obviously well-informed about what was happening in the Capital City, "The Imperial Examination is just around the corner, and Grand Tutor Qin has been unable to locate you. It’s not a good look. You should go back."
Zhou Gu: "..."
He stood still, at least for now he couldn’t leave immediately. He still had to make things clear. He asked, "Master Shen, there’s a fear that the Crown Prince might target Su Xingze and prevent him from participating in the Imperial Examination. If Su Xingze stays at your residence, can you ensure his safety?"
"Quit talking nonsense! If I tell you to leave, you leave." Shen Xian waved his hand dismissively.
Zhou Gu touched his nose, bargaining, "I can leave, but the guards protecting Su Xingze must stay."
Shen Xian gave him a glare, "I won’t cover their meals."
This was not a refusal!
"You don’t need to cover their meals." Zhou Gu turned and started to leave. After couple of steps, he looked back at Su Xingze, "I’m leaving, Su Xingze."
Su Xingze hadn’t expected that Shen Xian would ask him to stay at his residence. Moreover, the decision was made directly without even discussing it with him. He was not ungrateful and naturally went along with Shen Xian’s arrangements. He nodded his head at Zhou Gu, "You may leave."
And so, Zhou Gu had to leave.
After Zhou Gu left, Su Xingze said, "All of my things are still at the Xie Residence in Dong Si Hutong."
"Just send someone to go collect them," Shen Xian responded without a care, then he called over the housekeeper and instructed, "Inform my wife that a courtyard needs to be prepared. From today onwards, he will stay in our residence."
After he finished giving instructions, he turned to Su Xingze and said, "From today, until the Imperial Examination, you’ll be staying in my residence. Just focus on your studies. You don’t need to worry about anything else or go out to meet anyone. Just concentrate on the Imperial Examination."
This suggestion was right up Su Xingze’s alley, "Yes, Sir."
Zhou Gu had initially assumed he would be staying with Su Xingze until examination day, but unexpectedly just after more than ten days, Su Xingze moved into Shen Xian’s residence. Remembering that he should inform the Crown Prince about this matter, he decided to visit the Eastern Palace.
In the Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Yan Huisheng was reading a personal letter written by Su Rong, which was brought by Yun An.
The letter was not long, but its meaning was quite clear. Yan Huisheng read it three times before asking Yun An, "Tell me about her!"
Yun An reported, "Lady Su Qi suffered severe injuries, inflicted by assassins from the Nanchu sect. She barely got out of bed after lying there for three days, and her wounds have yet to fully heal..."
"Doesn’t she have someone watching over her?" Yan Huisheng frowned, "Didn’t I instruct you in my last letter to guard her for the time being?"
"Lady Su Qi originally had a protector, but on the day she was injured, she was escorting Lord Zhou out of the city. No one expected that in broad daylight, an entire team of assassins would attack her directly." Yun An apologized immediately, "Please, punish me."
Yan Huisheng waved his hand dismissively, "Was it the Nanchu Queen who sent the assassins?"
"Likely so."
"How many of them?"
"Reportedly, twenty suicidal fighters."
"And they’ve all been dealt with?"
Yun An nodded, "All handled by Lady Su Qi, reportedly no one survived."
Yan Huisheng’s face lightened slightly, "The Nanchu Queen has lost patience, staging an attack under the open sky? Or has something changed in the Nanchu Dynasty? Has it made her desperate?"
He tapped on the table, pondered for a moment, and instructed, "Take some men and go to Nanchu to investigate the situation there in secret. I would like to know if the Nanchu King is aware that he has a daughter."
Yun An agreed.
"Your highness, Lord Thursday has arrived." Someone outside announced.
Yan Huisheng paused, waved at Yun An to dismiss him, and carefully put away a folded letter into a hidden compartment. "Let him in," he said.
At his words, the study door opened, and Zhou Gu stepped in.
He greeted Yan Huisheng, then took a seat, "Your Highness, my future brother-in-law has moved into Minister of Personnel Shen’s residence."
Yan Huisheng was surprised, "Shen Xian?"
"Yes."
"What has happened?" Yan Huisheng inquired.
Zhou Gu sighed, "Before he came to the capital, Xie Yuan gave him a letter of recommendation to visit Shen Xian. He had initially planned not to pay a visit before the Imperial Examination, but since the Crown Prince has targeted him, if you were to intervene or even if the Duke Residence intervened, it would likely attract the Emperor’s attention. He had no choice but to seek shelter at Shen’s residence. Without a word, Minister Shen took him in."
Yan Huisheng seemed thoughtful, "Xie Yuan and Shen Xian were old acquaintances?"
"And quite close."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "This could be beneficial. With Shen Xian controlling the Ministry of Personnel, his protection should prevent the Crown Prince from acting rashly. Compared to what we could do, Shen Xian’s approval is indeed more valuable, guaranteeing him complete safety."
Zhou Gu grimaced, "If my fiancée were to find out that I couldn’t protect even his elder brother and ended up relying on someone else, she would definitely find me useless."
Everyone spoke highly of the Duke Residence, yet Zhou Gu was often powerless to act. Most of the time, he had to restrain his temper, fearful that he would provide the Emperor with an excuse to move against the Duke Residence. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
As Yan Huisheng watched him, he recalled that Su Rong had mentioned in her letter that she would annul her engagement to Zhou Gu and would come to the capital soon. Perhaps having realized that Zhou Gu was a follower of the Eastern Palace, she wanted to notify him in advance out of fear that he would not agree?
Yan Huisheng couldn’t deduce what Su Rong was thinking. After all, he had not met her in person yet. The blurry memory from when she saved him was not enough to infer her thoughts. However, he doubted she would find Zhou Gu useless.
After all, Yun An had said Lady Su Qi was extremely smart, and smart people would generally understand what actions could be taken, what couldn’t, and what the potential gains and losses would be.
Zhou Gu looked at Yan Huisheng, seeing that he didn’t say anything, he complained with a gloomy face: "Your highness, before the exam do we all have to walk on eggshells, regardless of what the Crown Prince does?"
Yan Huisheng nodded, "We’ve been too active recently and have already upset the Emperor. Before the exam, tolerate as much as you can!"
Zhou Gu looked dispirited, "I wish the exam was tomorrow, once it’s over, we won’t have to put up with this nonsense in the capital anymore."
Yan Huisheng did not respond. Zhou Gu could go on a tour and leave the capital. However, as the crown prince, he could not and would not leave.
Thankfully, Su Rong had said she would come to the capital soon to help him. So it seemed, if Zhou Gu decided to leave, Su Rong would come in his stead. It felt much like divine providence.
Looking at Zhou Gu, Yan Huisheng asked calmly, "Have you asked your father how your engagement came about?"
Zhou Gu shook his head, "I forgot to ask."
Yan Huisheng thought to himself, it seemed Zhou Gu was not too dedicated to Su Rong, otherwise he would have definitely demanded an explanation. To this day, Zhou Gu did not know the true identity of Su Rong, and the old Duke had been keeping him in the dark about it.
Furthermore, it appeared that the Duke’s Residence had still not learnt of Su Rong being the target of the Nanchu Queen’s assassination attempt.
He could understand the old Duke’s dilemma. Burdened with running the Duke Residence, he had to plan cautiously for Zhou Gu’s future and the long-term interests of the Duke Residence. What if Su Rong’s true identity jeopardized Zhou Gu?
Therefore, looking at it this way, Su Rong’s decision to annul the engagement seemed the right one.
Yan Huisheng waved his hand, "Go see Grand Tutor Qin. Since you returned to the capital, you’ve been absent; Grand Tutor Qin has already been upset with you for several days."
Zhou Gu deflated, stood up, and tugged at his hair in frustration, "Alright, I’m going now!"
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