Before Lu Yanzhao could speak, Chu Luoxun clapped his hands, and the door was opened from the outside, with Gu's father walking in looking disheveled.
His hair was disheveled and charred in some places, and there were faint traces of bloodstains in the tattered parts of his clothes.
Lu Yanzhao rushed forward and grasped Gu Qingyan's hand. He looked him up and down and, seeing that he was unharmed, burst into tears of joy: "Father-in-law, you're alright!"
"I'm fine. It was His Highness the Crown Prince who sent people to rescue us. By the way, where's Jiaojiao?"
Lu Yanzhao paused and said, "She was so heartbroken that I lit some calming incense and arranged for her to sleep at the inn."
Gu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a pang of heartache: "Go back and tell her that I'm fine, and that her stepmother and Qingqing are fine too."
"good!"
Lu Yanzhao raised a polite smile and bowed to Chu Luoxun: "Your subject thanks Your Highness the Crown Prince for saving my family in time."
Chu Luoxun slowly stood up and said casually, "You were acting like you were going to interrogate me just now, but now you're thanking me. If it weren't for me, you and your family would be separated by death."
Lu Yanzhao pursed his lips, and finally knelt down to pay his respects: "If Your Highness ever needs my help in the future, I will certainly do my utmost, even at the cost of fire and water."
Gu Qingyan also knelt down, expressing his loyalty with earnest words.
Chu Luoxun was very satisfied with the performance of his father-in-law and son-in-law. What he wanted was for them to be grateful to him. It seems that the policy of appeasement is still the most effective.
Now that he has been saved, how can Lu Yanzhao repay this life-saving grace? Of course, he will serve Chu Luoxun wholeheartedly.
However, Chu Luoxun underestimated Lu Yanzhao's cunning.
Because Lu Yanzhao would never be a passive puppet, nor would he be willing to be controlled by others.
Especially after what happened tonight, he realized the importance of power, so he will definitely do everything he can to climb to the top.
"Your Highness, my wife is still at the inn, I..."
Lu Yanzhao was anxious, and so was Gu Qingyan, who wanted to return to the inn as soon as possible to tell Gu Nanjiao that they were safe and sound.
Chu Luoxun suddenly interrupted Lu Yanzhao: "Minister Lu, please calm down. Since Gu Nanjiao is already asleep, let her rest a little longer. I have already sent people to guard the area around the inn, so you and your son-in-law don't need to worry."
Mr. Gu breathed a sigh of relief, but thinking back on what had happened today, he couldn't help but feel a wave of fear.
He murmured, "Who is trying to harm me? I've never offended anyone since I entered the capital and followed all the rules."
Lu Yanzhao frowned and looked at Chu Luoxun.
Chu Luoxun picked up a piece of paper from the table and handed it to Gu Qingyan: "According to reports from our spies, the people who have been following Gu Nanjiao and the people behind the arson are all from the Ministry of Rites."
Gu Qingyan took the document and was immediately shocked: "It's been so many years, and you still won't let me go. I just don't understand why you have to resort to such cruelty, even to Jiaojiao."
"It's because your daughter looks exactly like someone, and they were afraid, so they killed her to eliminate her completely."
Gu Qingyan slumped to the ground and whispered, "Is the daughter of an unfavored concubine worth them going to such lengths to kill?"
Chu Luoxun frowned in confusion. Gu Qingyan didn't know the reason behind it?
Looking at the night outside the window, Gu Qingyan couldn't help but recall the events of that year:
"When I went to the capital to take the imperial examination, I was very down on my luck. Later, I was noticed by Minister Zhou and entered his household as an assistant to the accountant. I worked in the household while waiting for the examination."
But then, I was suddenly kidnapped to Qingyun Peak. A fierce-looking masked guard held a knife to my neck and said that the second young lady of the Zhou family had taken a liking to me. She did not want to enter the palace and asked me if I would like to elope with her.
Of course I wouldn't want to; that's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. I wouldn't dare even if you gave me a hundred lives.
But the guard forced me to drink a bowl of medicine, and when I regained consciousness, I was already lying on the bed of the second young lady of the Zhou family.
Although the second young lady was only a concubine's daughter, her every word and action exuded nobility. The furnishings, clothes, and jewelry in her room were extremely extravagant. It was said that her aunt was very favored in the mansion, so it was normal for her to be so extravagant.
For half a month, I was locked in the house, spending my days in close proximity to her, indulging in revelry.
Later, I had a different thought. This rich and noble young lady was so fond of me. What if we eloped?
When I had romantic thoughts about her, she said I was delusional and had me beaten half to death and thrown into the river.
I was on the verge of death, but my life was spared, and I was rescued by a farming couple at the foot of Qingyun Peak.
Later, rumors spread throughout the capital that the second young lady of the Zhou family had eloped with a scholar surnamed Gu. Minister Zhou was furious and vowed to capture the two of them.
I was terrified and stayed at the foot of Qingyun Peak, too scared to go out.
Nine months later, a woman came to me carrying a baby girl, saying that my second daughter had given birth to my child, but she had died in childbirth.
She took the child and we hid far away, but she died a few years after arriving in Luozhuang Town. Before she died, she told me not to return to the capital for fifteen years. The farther away the better. If I still wanted to take the imperial examinations in the future, I should wait until the child was older, by which time Minister Zhou wouldn't even remember me.
I had no doubts and came to the capital again.
After Gu Qingyan finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent.
Lu Yanzhao never expected that his father-in-law had such a past. However, he was puzzled as to why, if it was just the child of an illegitimate daughter, why, after seventeen years, Minister Zhou was still unwilling to let go and insisted on killing the man and child who had eloped with his daughter before he would be satisfied.
He didn't believe that Minister Zhou, who stood at the pinnacle of power, would care about such trivial matters in the inner quarters, unless there were other hidden stories about what happened back then.
Chu Luoxun's eyes flickered. He felt that this matter was getting more and more interesting. His intuition told him that Gu Nanjiao was Zhou Qiyue's daughter, and the illegitimate daughter was just a scapegoat for her affair.
So, his good younger brother, Cheng Wang, was actually a bastard.
He actually dared to try to seize the throne, without even considering whether he was worthy of it.
Chu Luoxun suppressed his elation and said calmly, "Minister Zhou is ruthless. After tonight, he will think you are all dead. For your safety, I suggest you leave the capital."
Lu Yanzhao thought for a while and agreed with Chu Luoxun's words.
But Gu Qingyan hesitated. He had finally passed the imperial examination and become an official, and his fourth aunt and daughter's shop had also stabilized. He didn't want to live in hiding for the rest of his life.
As if he had made up his mind, Gu Qingyan said solemnly, "Rather than living a cowardly life in hiding, it is better to resist decisively."
Chu Luoxun laughed loudly: "That's ambitious!"
He wanted them to rise up and fight back. You can never imagine how powerful someone can be when they're pushed to the brink.
Lu Yanzhao frowned, feeling uneasy. He had a feeling that Chu Luoxun was plotting something!
But he was clueless. Now that he had no power or influence, he had no way of investigating anything.
He needs to find a way to get close to the emperor, because that's where power is. If he can gain the emperor's favor, he won't be controlled by others.
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