"Who are you?"
"What’s going on?" Lianxin was a bit worried. This clearly wasn’t the Liang Mansion yet!
If they had arrived, there would definitely be a maid outside waiting to greet them. But they hadn’t heard any sound from a maid, which was very unusual.
"Uncle Yang! What’s happening?" Yao ngxian also sensed sothing was off. She quickly pulled out the hairpin from her head and held it in her hand.
Qing Dai was so frightened that her face turned pale and she shrank into the corner of the carriage.
"Miss! It’s okay, we almost hit soone."
Uncle Yang looked at the young man in front of him and just felt that the young man was really audacious. The carriage was moving so fast, and if they’d hit him, it would have been either life or death!
Just as the driver was about to scold, the young man spoke first.
"Is the third Miss Yao inside the carriage?"
Yao ngxian found the voice surprisingly familiar. She seed to have heard it sowhere before, but now she was panicking, making it hard to recall.
"Who are you? Why did you stop the Duke Zhen’s carriage?"
Lianxin’s heart tightened when she heard the other person ntion Miss Yao’s identity.
However, as a lady of a noble family, she couldn’t casually speak to a man.
Lianxin didn’t directly say who was inside the carriage, but rather used the na of the Duke Zhen’s Mansion to make a point.
"Miss Yao, don’t worry. I am Ming Yan!"
Ming Yan recognized Lianxin’s voice and couldn’t help but smile slightly. This young girl was quite cautious.
Ming Yan? Yao ngxian suddenly rembered that this was Gu Chengyu’s follower!
Thinking of this, Yao ngxian relaxed.
"Is sothing the matter?" She was a bit puzzled. Why would Gu Chengyu have his follower stop her carriage?
Suddenly, the curtain in front of the carriage moved, and sothing was shoved inside.
Yao ngxian was a bit puzzled, watching the curtain sway once more before it stopped.
Lianxin was quick-eyed and picked up the paper that had been shoved in, handing it to Yao ngxian.
She was initially worried that soone outside might harm Miss Yao, so she had deliberately moved closer to the outside of the carriage to shield from anyone outside.
Yao ngxian took the paper and found it was a round flower paper.
Curiously, she opened it to take a glance and found only a few words written in regular script, "et at Yuanxiang Tea House at 2:30 PM."
This left Yao ngxian a bit stunned. She couldn’t quite figure out Gu Chengyu’s intention. Was this actually written by Gu Chengyu? She was a bit uncertain.
After all, it was regular script, and if one wasn’t very familiar with Gu Chengyu’s handwriting, it would be hard to tell who wrote it.
"Ming Yan?" Yao ngxian called out, only to find that there was no response from outside, and the carriage started moving again.
Yao ngxian looked at the round flower paper again and noticed a pure white Qionghua in the bottom right corner.
She suddenly flipped the round flower paper over for a closer look. Indeed! This thod of drawing Qionghua was definitely by Gu Chengyu’s hand.
That day when Gu Chengyu painted the Qionghua, she had the luck to observe it a few tis.
Although the style could be imitated, to paint it so vividly and expressively was likely only Gu Chengyu.
Qing Dai’s eyes were fixed on that piece of round flower paper, her mind extrely shocked.
Could it be, without her knowing, that Miss Yao and Mr. Gu had already connected? Qing Dai’s eyes slightly flickered, and she absently clutched the handkerchief in her hand.
Yao ngxian quickly walked to the main room and was swiftly embraced by an elderly woman.
"Xian, you’re finally out of the mansion." Mrs. Ning choked up, tears filling her eyes as she held her granddaughter’s hand.
"Grandmother!" Yao ngxian hugged Mrs. Ning, feeling equally distressed.
"Enough! You’ve only been apart for a few days, what is this?" Liang Zhirui quickly interrupted, not wanting to delay the important matters.
"Grandfather? How is your health?"
Upon hearing Liang Zhirui’s voice, Yao ngxian quickly turned to look. She found that although the old man seed a bit lethargic, he was still standing firmly in front of her.
She stepped forward and held onto Liang Zhirui’s sleeve, looking him up and down.
"I’m fine, you don’t have to worry. Saying this was just a way to get you out of the mansion. Otherwise, it’s not easy for us to see you even once."
Seeing the concern in his granddaughter’s eyes, Liang Zhirui felt a warmth fill his heart.
The guilt he had felt earlier for pressuring his younger disciple was slightly alleviated.
Yao ngxian noticed that her grandfather’s hair seed whiter than before, and the guilt in her heart deepened.
"It’s my fault for worrying both Grandfather and Grandmother."
Liang Zhirui waved his hand, "Why say such things? Don’t be a stranger."
"Indeed! We’ve called you over today because there is sothing we need to discuss with you." Mrs. Ning gently patted Yao ngxian’s hands.
Although Gu Chengyu was still brooding over his marriage yesterday, he woke up today feeling refreshed and was full of energy throughout the day.
He had co to terms with it. What’s the use of being so tangled up? It’s better to be more open-minded.
What he should be most concerned about now is his official career; he shouldn’t be so troubled by these trivial matters.
When Gu Chengyu arrived at the Hanlin Academy, he heard so news that was beneficial to him.
"I didn’t expect the Emperor to act so swiftly this ti. The corruption case in Hejian Prefecture involves many, and even our Hanlin Academy hasn’t been spared."
Zhang Hai gestured towards the chair opposite, indicating for Gu Chengyu to sit down, then shook his head and sighed.
Gu Chengyu was a bit surprised upon hearing this, "Oh? Are there officials from our Hanlin Academy involved as well? Who might it be?"
Zhang Hai glanced at Gu Chengyu and replied with a smile, "I heard that you and Lord Lu were involved in the Hejian Prefecture case. You should know more about the details than I do, shouldn’t you?"
Gu Chengyu raised an eyebrow and then calmly said, "You may not know, my lord, but Lord Lu knows more about this than I do. I only benefited from being associated with Lord Lu. I know only a little, and probably not as much as you do!"
Gu Chengyu wasn’t lying. When they obtained the evidence, he and Lu Chen each took half.
He hadn’t seen Lu Chen’s half. Since Mr. Zhang said officials from the Hanlin Academy were affected, it must be in Lu Chen’s part.
As for his side, he hadn’t seen it.
"Huang Yu, the Deputy of Hejian Prefecture, has been in office for many years and has amassed quite a bit of wealth. He didn’t get along with Magistrate Liao Cheng from Hejian Prefecture. When Liao Cheng got into trouble, he even fanned the flas. But the people backing Liao Cheng aren’t easy to deal with."
Zhang Hai snorted coldly, "Originally, he was already in a bind. And now he’s offended the wrong people and has been stripped clean inside and out. There’s no chance for him to recover."
Gu Chengyu pondered a mont before asking, "Is Huang Yu closely connected with soone in our Hanlin Academy?"
Zhang Hai nodded approvingly, "The Assistant Lecturer of our Hanlin Academy, Fang Huai, and Huang Yu are brothers-in-law."
At this, Gu Chengyu realized.
But then he recalled that Fang Huai was his examiner during the Provincial Examination, and he had a good impression of him. He hadn’t expected Fang Huai to be involved in the Hejian Prefecture case.
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