Gu Chengyu felt that he must be scheming sothing bad, and wondered whether it was his earlier refusal that had angered this person and made him want to deal with him.
Or, perhaps, this person suspected him and wanted to extract the whereabouts of the treasure map from him.
"Hmph! I’ve only just arrived in Hejian Prefecture for a few days? Lord Liao, your words are sowhat alarmist, aren’t they? The charges against the Qu Family only reached my ears tonight. Before, I was either living in rented quarters or staying at the Yi Mansion, completely unfamiliar with the Qu Family. I’m now forced to suspect that Lord Liao has ulterior motives!"
Gu Chengyu stood with his hands behind his back, and Liao Cheng thought that at this mont, Gu Chengyu indeed displayed the aura of Lord Imperial Envoy, his official prestige magnificent and dignified.
Liao Cheng’s heart sank, and as he glanced at Ming Mo and the others, he indignantly said, "Mr. Gu, don’t assu that the Emperor is far away and that by virtue of being an imperial envoy, you can do whatever you want in Hejian Prefecture."
He had just seen the short sword in Ming Mo’s hands and was certain it wasn’t the Imperial Sword.
An imperial envoy without the Imperial Sword — what was there to fear about him?
As long as he could gather "evidence" of Gu Chengyu’s cris and hand it to the power behind him, that would surely be a great achievent!
If Gu Chengyu indeed possessed the treasure map, then his rise to prominence would be even more assured.
Thinking of the treasure map, Liao Cheng rembered the Yi Family.
He hadn’t expected Yi Lanshan to have a stroke, and the matter of the treasure map was left unresolved.
Yi Lanshan was really so faint-hearted! Did Yi Lanshan have a stroke because the person at the Yi Mansion refused to trade the treasure map for Yi Yuanmin?
This was quite possible!
No, he had to co up with another way to make the Yi Family obediently hand over the treasure map.
After thoroughly analyzing the Yi Family’s situation in his mind, Liao Cheng focused on dealing with Gu Chengyu before him.
"Mr. Gu, you and I serve at the sa court, and should know that officials must be fair and honest, enforcing the law impartially. Mr. Gu happened to be staying at the Qu Mansion, and if I don’t clear Mr. Gu’s suspicions, what will I tell the people?"
One had to admit, Liao Cheng spoke with righteous conviction, and with that honest yet helpless expression, he made it seem like Gu Chengyu was forcing him to act unjustly.
Lu Chen was sowhat surprised, not expecting that Liao Cheng would dare to act against even the Lord Imperial Envoy appointed by the Emperor.
"I only ask Mr. Gu not to make it difficult for . I will report this matter, and in due ti the court will appoint officials to Hejian Prefecture to clear Mr. Gu’s suspicions. I ask Mr. Gu to endure for so days. Once this matter is resolved, I will certainly beg forgiveness from Mr. Gu!"
Liao Cheng appeared steadfast and upright at this mont, and those unaware of the situation would surely be deceived by his façade.
"Is Lord Liao bent on making things difficult for ?" Gu Chengyu frowned, his expression tense, showing great anger.
"Look how Mr. Gu speaks, we are all serving the Emperor and the court, we should understand each other."
Having said that, Liao Cheng turned and waved to the governnt officials waiting on the side, "Quickly, escort Mr. Gu to the governnt office!"
The officials hesitated; they weren’t fools.
It was obvious that their lord wanted to trouble the imperial envoy, but they were just minor officials. If in the end Mr. Gu was released, what would happen to them?
Would the Lord Imperial Envoy then turn his anger toward them? Or would they end up taking the fall for Lord Liao?
Ultimately, they didn’t dare disobey their lord’s orders and had to brace themselves for it.
"To the governnt office? Naturally, I will go." Gu Chengyu sneered, then turned around and smiled slightly at Liao Cheng.
Liao Cheng was a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected Gu Chengyu to suddenly beco so agreeable.
Lu Chen wasn’t worried, as he seed to already understand Gu Chengyu’s intentions.
He saw the officials prepare to seize Gu Chengyu, yet he didn’t move from place.
Ming Mo and Ming Yan were anxious, stepping forward to stand in front of Gu Chengyu.
Liao Cheng squinted his eyes, could Gu Chengyu be planning to resist?
Gu Chengyu waved his hand, "You all back down!"
Ming Mo and the others exchanged glances; since their lord had said so, there must have been another plan.
They glanced at Lu Chen, seeing Lu Chen remain motionless, feeling greatly dissatisfied.
The Emperor had dispatched Lord Lu to protect their lord, and yet Lord Lu had other motives.
Not only trying to seize their lord’s treasure map but also doing nothing in this situation — one can’t rely on outsiders!
Their lord had previously gone out of their way to save him, but he turned out to be an ingrate.
Lu Chen didn’t realize Ming Mo and the others were very dissatisfied with him. He saw Gu Chengyu place his hand into his chest.
"The Imperial Gold dal granted by the Emperor is here. Let’s see who dares to be reckless!"
Gu Chengyu flashed the glittering gold dal, almost blinding Liao Cheng.
He widened his eyes, incredulous as he looked at the gold dal before him.
Gu Chengyu raised the gold dal high, "Seeing the gold dal is as if the Emperor is personally present!"
The crowd, upon hearing this, all knelt down, except for Liao Cheng, who hadn’t yet recovered from this sudden change.
"What? Does Lord Liao have any displeasure toward the Emperor?" Gu Chengyu sneered coldly, mocking.
"I dare not!" Liao Cheng was awakened by Gu Chengyu’s words, and he quickly followed suit by kneeling.
Gu Chengyu looked at the gold dal in his hand and couldn’t help but apologize to it in his heart.
Earlier, he had said it was of no use, and now here it was! Privileges were indeed worthwhile!
"Lord Liao, I’ve co this ti regarding the treasure map. The Qu Mansion is connected to the treasure map. Prioritizing the treasure map, I must interrogate Qu Huaiyun about the map’s whereabouts tonight. I ask Lord Liao to lead the way; let’s go to the governnt office!"
Gu Chengyu was still thinking about bringing down Liao Cheng, since their enmity had already been established.
If he didn’t finish off Liao Cheng this ti, he would not have peace when he returned to the Capital.
Dealing with Xia Qing was troubleso enough; he didn’t want another enemy waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Liao Cheng took a deep breath and then smiled broadly, "The previous incident was indeed a misunderstanding. Mr. Gu serves honestly and always shares the worries and difficulties of the people, the court, and the Emperor. Could I have misunderstood Mr. Gu’s collusion with the Qu Family? Mr. Gu is a large-hearted person. It was all due to my inadequate consideration before!"
Liao Cheng rose, first explaining a couple of sentences to Gu Chengyu, seeing that Gu Chengyu’s expression hadn’t softened.
On the contrary, Gu Chengyu looked at him with mocking eyes, which made Liao Cheng very angry.
Unfortunately, Gu Chengyu actually had the Imperial Gold dal, which he hadn’t expected before.
If he were to act against Gu Chengyu now, it would be blatant rebellion, which he wouldn’t dare, nor would the power behind him have the courage.
In fact, this couldn’t be entirely blad on him, who could have known Gu Chengyu had the gold dal but didn’t show it earlier?
He could have flaunted the gold dal in authority; who would dare not give face to the Lord Imperial Envoy? But Gu Chengyu stubbornly chose to act low-key.
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