Qi Chenglang watched Prince Wen skip away, expressing his innocence.
He has just returned from a long journey and is about to be sent to work by His Highness. Is there anyone who can speak up for him?
Fortunately, Granny Xu noticed in time and said with a smile, "Guard Qi, you must be tired from your journey. Go back and rest. Today, this old servant will personally cook for you so you can have something good to eat."
Qi, the guard, unconsciously licked his lips. If there was one hardship he had to endure on this journey, it was eating that he found most unbearable.
Even speaking and finding a place to stay required caution while escorting goods. Qi Chenglang's nerves were constantly on edge the whole way, so he couldn't possibly eat properly.
He chuckled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Granny. You know, I really miss your cooking when I'm away from home. I wish I could enjoy your cooking anytime I'm traveling."
Qi Chenglang said it casually, but Granny Xu stood there, wringing her hands in surprise.
Qi, a palace guard with a sword, is a high-ranking official of the third rank. Now he can go to the escort agency to deliver goods without any worries. Should I not be thinking so much?
But her status was different from that of Guard Qi, and moreover, she was a woman...
In an instant, Granny Xu suppressed her restless thoughts.
Gu Yuzhi returned to his study, opened the letter, read it through, marked the characters he recognized, and combined this with his mother's usual writing habits to roughly guess the contents of the letter.
Shu Xiaohan listened and nodded, and only after Gu Yuzhi finished reading the letter did she say, "Your Highness is really amazing! In just a few short months, you can actually read letters by yourself! Your teacher believes that in two more months, around the New Year, Your Highness will be able to write letters to Consort Tai Xian by yourself!"
Gu Yuzhi was embarrassed by Shu Xiaohan's praise. He pursed his lips tightly, but after a while he couldn't help but smile again: "It's time to rest. I'll have Chief Secretary Xie read it to me again when he comes back tonight."
Chief Secretary Xie will surely be very surprised to learn that he can read letters.
However, Gu Yuzhi's plan failed today, because it wasn't until three days later at Hai Shi (9-11 PM) that the two of them braved the wind and snow to return to the house. After entering the house, they did nothing but fall asleep and didn't wake up until the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM) the next day.
After Gu Yuzhi finished his lunch, Xie Changshi stepped forward to request an audience.
"Chief Secretary Xie!" Gu Yuzhi excitedly stepped forward and pulled Chief Secretary Xie up. Just as he was about to drag him to read the letter, he looked up and saw Xie's pale face and the bruises under his eyes. He looked much thinner than before he left.
Gu Yuzhi was startled by Xie Changshi's haggard appearance and said anxiously, "Mingli, quickly go and find Imperial Physician Qin! Xie Changshi is sick!"
His voice was tinged with tears, which reminded me of my father's appearance before his death.
Mingli was startled by Gu Yuzhi and turned to run out, but was stopped by Chief Secretary Xie: "Your Highness, I am fine. I am just a little tired these past few days. I will be fine in a few days."
Gu Yuzhi pouted at him, clearly disbelieving: "Chief Secretary Xie, you must be afraid of drinking bitter medicine to say that!"
He turned his head and saw Zhang Yuankai again, whose face was obviously bluish and looked even more terrifying than Xie Changshi.
He snorted and looked at Mingli: "Hurry up and go!"
Mingli then hurriedly ran towards Judge Qin's room.
Chief Secretary Xie sat down: "Your Highness, thanks to the efforts of Guard Zhang over this period of time, we have finally investigated the background of these mountain bandits."
As he spoke, Zhang Yuankai handed over the evidence. Gu Yuzhi glanced at it briefly before looking away, since he couldn't understand most of the testimonies anyway.
"These bandits are not villagers from Quanzhoujing Township as they claimed, but deserters from the Northern Desert Army..."
Gu Yuzhi's eyes widened in surprise as he exclaimed, "A deserter?"
Even at a young age, he knew what desertion meant; if caught, it was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.
Gu Yuzhi still found it hard to believe, her little face scrunched up like a bun: "With so many deserters, doesn't the Northern Desert Army know about it?"
"Guard Zhang secretly investigated and found that these people were registered as killed in action in the Northern Desert Army."
Gu Yuzhi scratched his head, somewhat puzzled: "But isn't dying in battle the same as being dead? Why would they escape?"
This matter involves too many aspects, making it very difficult to investigate.
Looking at Gu Yuzhi's youthful face, Chief Secretary Xie tried to explain as simply and directly as possible: "Your Highness should remember that these bandits said they were villagers from Jingxiang, so I suspect that they swapped the identities of the villagers from Jingxiang with those of these deserters who died in battle."
Switch identities?
Gu Yuzhi pondered the meaning behind Xie Changshi's words carefully for a while before saying, "Xie Changshi, do you mean to say that this matter was also done by my brother, the prince?"
He felt extremely angry and slammed his hand on the table. A sharp pain shot through his palm. Gu Yuzhi pouted and thought to himself, "Even the table is bullying me."
Chief Secretary Xie was still thinking about how to shift the blame to the prince when he heard that His Highness had already realized what was going on. He felt a surge of fatherly relief: "I do have such suspicions. Prefect Qi wanted to report this matter, but I stopped him."
Gu Yuzhi nodded, quickly realizing something was wrong: "Why did you stop us? Shouldn't we tell my brother about this?" He frowned, looking very conflicted, "But, but Chief Secretary Xie said before that we can't keep it from my brother, otherwise it would be deceiving the emperor..."
He scratched his head, unable to understand why Xie Changshi, who was appointed by his elder brother, would want to conceal such an important matter.
"I don't mean to hide anything," Chief Secretary Xie smiled slightly. "It's just that I feel it's not safe to report through Prefect Qi. Your Highness's escort agency has already been established, and I was thinking of using the agency to pass the news to His Majesty."
Gu Yuzhi blinked: "Pass it on to my brother through the escort agency?"
He felt like he had overlooked something...
Xie Changshi suddenly lifted his long robe and knelt down: "Your Highness, what I say is by no means alarmist. The person behind the scenes who can make the fallen soldiers of the Northern Desert reappear must have great ambitions for the Northern Desert. Every move of the Northern Desert is very likely under that person's surveillance. If Prefect Qi submits a petition, I'm afraid the letter will be intercepted before it even leaves the Northern Desert."
Zhang Yuankai, who had remained silent until now, also knelt down: "Your Highness, Chief Secretary Xie's concerns are not without merit. I secretly went to Quanzhou these past few days, and the people behind it used the same method to wipe out three remote villages in Quanzhou, forcing nearly a thousand soldiers from the northern desert to die in battle. I suspect that these people have changed their identities and are hiding in various corners of the northern desert."
Xie Changshi and Zhang Yuankai looked extremely grim. After all, they believed they had made thorough preparations before coming to Mobei, but they hadn't expected the situation there to have deteriorated to this extent.
That person used a fake death to transfer so many troops from the Northern Desert Army, not to mention that there were spies of that person in the Northern Desert Army!
Chief Secretary Xie lay prostrate on the ground, cold sweat pouring down his face...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
