Gu Gaoxu didn’t dare touch the food on the table with his chopsticks, genuinely afraid that his grandfather might have slipped him a potent concoction.
The Emperor watched Gu Gaoxu’s blatant show of disrespect.
Even Crown Prince Gu Biao and King Yan Gu Di had never been so brazen.
If the Emperor placed food on their plates, they would eat it imdiately without a second thought.
’What in the world is this little rascal thinking? Surely he can’t believe that I, his own grandfather, would poison him?’ the Emperor thought, though he said nothing aloud.
He wanted to see what Gu Gaoxu would do next.
’No way, it can’t be... This food isn’t actually poisoned, is it?’ Gu Gaoxu thought. Of course, he couldn’t possibly ask that aloud.
In the end, Gu Gaoxu threw caution to the wind and ate it.
If the Emperor truly wanted him dead, there was no way he could escape.
The two finished their lunch in the Emperor’s chambers and exchanged a few more pleasantries, after which Gu Gaoxu took his leave.
’Does that grandson of mine really have the ability to handle this matter? I find that hard to believe.’
The Emperor was no foolish old man. How could he possibly be deceived so easily by his grandson?
This was the man who had started with nothing but a beggar’s bowl and gone on to establish the Divine Ling Empire.
How could he possibly be an ordinary man?
The Emperor, of course, had his own thods.
The Emperor summoned the eunuch at his side. "Go. Summon the Jinyiwei Commander to the study."
The eunuch heard the order and didn’t dare to delay. He quickly and silently withdrew from the room to relay the Emperor’s command.
Having served the Emperor for so many years, this personal eunuch knew that the Emperor would never summon the Jinyiwei Commander unless it was for sothing important.
The Commander-in-Chief was the supre leader of the Jinyi Guard, answering directly to the Emperor.
The Jinyi Guard was in turn divided into the Northern and Southern Town Patrol Departnts, each led by a Garrison Commander.
Beneath the Northern and Southern Town Patrol Departnts were five divisions: East, South, West, North, and Central.
Besides being in charge of different regions, the greatest distinction between the Northern and Southern Town Patrol Departnts was their personnel.
The Northern Town Patrol Departnt was composed mainly of soldiers from the Empire’s army.
The Southern Town Patrol Departnt, on the other hand, was primarily made up of Travelers, Spirit Binders, and even Celestial Masters.
The Garrison Commanders of both the Northern and Southern Town Patrol Departnts were personally appointed by the Emperor, and both were subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief.
The Commander-in-Chief held imnse sway over a Garrison Commander’s future prospects, so the Garrison Commanders also answered to him.
Of course, the most important thing was to show deference to the Emperor.
The Northern and Southern Town Patrol Departnts had always been at odds, which was another mark of the Emperor’s cunning.
「In the Emperor’s study.」
The Jinyiwei Commander, Mao Xiang, stood to one side.
The Emperor walked over and said, "Lord Mao, I want you to find out who Gu Gaoxu has been associating with lately. Report back to within two days."
Mao Xiang accepted the order. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
To Mao Xiang, this task from the Emperor couldn’t have been simpler. ’Summoning the Commander-in-Chief just for this...’
’...Isn’t that making a mountain out of a molehill?’
After leaving the Emperor’s chambers, Gu Gaoxu felt no discomfort at all and ran off like a colt let out to pasture.
...
In the courtyard, Su Liyan sensed several Xingzi, each with hundreds of years of power, loitering near their residence.
For the mont, these Xingzi showed no hostile intent toward Lu Yuan’s group.
These Xingzi were completely imperceptible to ordinary people.
As long as these Xingzi wished to conceal their movents, not even a Celestial Master could easily detect them.
Su Liyan wondered, ’Could these Xingzi be the ones Mother raised?’
’I don’t rember seeing them back in Changliu Village.’
’It’s strange,’ she thought. ’How can there be Xingzi wandering around here in the Imperial Capital?’
Su Liyan ran to her mother’s room. Before she could even speak, she just gave her a aningful look.
Su Liyan’s mother understood imdiately and remained silent.
Back in Changliu Village, whenever Su Liyan wanted to prevent the little girl who loved to float instead of walk from eavesdropping, she would set up so Dharma Artifacts to shield the room.
This kind of Dharma Artifact only made it so that Xingzi outside the room could neither see what the people inside were doing nor hear what they were saying.
It had no effect on ordinary people, however.
The little girl back then was such a glutton; if there were any delicious treats in the house, she would always manage to overhear and find out.
Then she would pester Su Liyan’s mother, calling out "Granny, Granny" nonstop, refusing to give up until she got a taste.
Su Liyan quickly set up the Dharma Artifacts in the corners of the room, then lit a candle and placed it on the table.
As long as the candle remained lit, they were safe. If it went out, it ant a Xingzi had drawn near and entered the room, or that the Dharma Artifacts had been destroyed.
Su Liyan asked, "Mother, are the Xingzi wandering outside the courtyard so that you’ve cared for?"
Su Liyan’s mother had obviously sensed the Xingzi’s presence as well, which was why she had remained silent earlier.
Once the room was shielded by the Technique, Su Liyan’s mother spoke. "They aren’t any that I’ve cared for. The Xingzi from Changliu Village are all behaving themselves and staying put."
"That’s strange. Where did these Xingzi co from, then? It feels like they’re targeting us," Su Liyan asked, confused.
Su Liyan’s mother said, "You don’t think they’re part of that fortune-telling Daoist’s group from the other day, do you?"
Su Liyan said that was impossible. She had single-handedly left that group in complete disarray, and Lu Yuan had finished off the last few stragglers when he arrived.
That group was either dead or grievously injured; they couldn’t possibly co to make trouble again so soon. Besides, they knew they weren’t nearly strong enough to be a threat.
Therefore, these Xingzi couldn’t possibly be related to that group.
After the incident at Thirty Li South of Yandu City, Lu Yuan had witnessed Su Liyan’s true capabilities.
Furthermore, Su Liyan’s mother had previously told Lu Yuan that if he ever ca across any Techniques in the *Celestial Master* book that he didn’t understand, he just had to ask Su Liyan.
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