Chapter 569: Chapter 405: Supervision
Gu Chengyu had no affection whatsoever for Gu Changbai and was really impatient with him. If it werenât for the fear of trouble from being watched by those Imperial Censors, Gu Chengyu wouldnât bother at all.
Ming Mo opened his mouth but finally just replied, "Yes." Actually, he wanted to say that they needed to find a proper way to handle this matter, as Gu Changbai clearly intended to cling to his master. Now that the master was an official, his actions were more restricted.
"Master! He even brought up Miss Ji." Ming Mo was still a bit angry remembering this; Gu Changbai implied that there was something improper between his master and Miss Ji, which violated ethical norms and was simply outrageous.
Fortunately, his master was upright and didnât touch Ji Fuhu at all. But even so, if these words spread out, others surely wouldnât believe it. The thought worried him. What if this affected his masterâs reputation? What then?
Who would have thought it would be such a coincidence? Randomly saving a girl in a brothel, who turned out to be the masterâs cousinâs daughter.
Gu Chengyu suddenly paused in arranging his robe, pondered for a moment, sent the three maids away, and then said to Ming Mo, "Send someone to watch Ji Fuhu in secret, and donât let anyone find out."
Gu Chengyu was previously quite vague in his understanding of matters between men and women, and so he mishandled the situation. Unexpectedly, saving Hua Lian ended up causing so many issues.
"Master?" Ming Mo was somewhat taken aback, finding it hard to understand why Gu Chengyu suddenly wanted someone to watch over Ji Fuhu.
"First, have someone keep an eye on her, and wait for news from the Yingnan Mansion before I give the next instruction. Make sure she is kept safe and there are no slip-ups."
Initially, Gu Chengyu didnât take Gu Changbaiâs matter to heart, but now he couldnât afford not to pay attention. If someone was indeed behind Gu Changbai, what could be their motive? He saved Ji Fuhu, and although he was innocent with her, others wouldnât necessarily think so.
Moreover, now that Ji Fuhu had become his cousinâs daughter, the situation became even more complicated. A court official having a scandal with his cousinâs daughter would certainly indicate a lack of virtue, and those Imperial Censors would never spare him.
When he redeemed Ji Fuhu, many people saw it. Others wouldnât believe that he purely wanted to save her.
Therefore, Ji Fuhuâs chastity was crucial. If she remained untouched, even if some messy things occurred later, he could claim that he had known all along she was his niece.
But if she wasnât pure, no matter how eloquent he was, he couldnât explain it away. So, he had Ming Mo send someone to ensure Ji Fuhu didnât lose her innocence.
Of course, he was just being cautious. It would be better if the person behind Gu Changbai didnât have such intentions. Even better if no one was behind him, and he wouldnât need to be so overly vigilant.
"No! You should send someone to find a place to keep Ji Fuhu secure until news comes from the Yingnan Mansion before making further plans!" Gu Chengyu thought about it and decided it was safer to keep her detained first.
The more he thought about it, the more suspicions arose. When Ji Fuhu initially approached him, could she have had ulterior motives? Gu Chengyu didnât know, but he had decided that afterward, it would be best to send Ji Fuhu far away and find someone to marry her off.
From any perspective, Ji Fuhu couldnât recognize Gu Changbai and the others. Moreover, going back to the Gu Family, it wouldnât be good for the familyâs reputation, and the members of the Gu Family wouldnât tolerate her existence.
Gu Chengyu frowned slightly, not expecting that saving someone would lead to such trouble. In the future, he must speak cautiously and stay away from women to prevent unnecessary troubles.
"Yes!" Ming Mo saw his masterâs serious expression and knew the matter was grave, so he immediately took the order and went out to make arrangements.
Gu Chengyu took the record he brought back yesterday and asked Ming Yan to drive the carriage to the Hanlin Academy for attendance.
"Gu Chengyu, a subordinate, pays respects to Mr. Zhang!" As soon as Gu Chengyu reached the Hanlin Academy, Qian was already waiting there at his office.
"Come in!" When Zhang Hai heard it was Gu Chengyu, he quickly invited him inside to discuss the matter of the catalogue.
"Mr. Zhang, this is the record I proofread yesterday, please have a look." Gu Chengyu, upon entering, placed the books and records in his hands onto Mr. Zhangâs desk.
Zhang Hai was momentarily stunned, nearly forgetting about this.
"Itâs only been two days, and youâve finished already? Impressive!" Zhang Hai was somewhat surprised, not expecting Gu Chengyu to complete it in just two days.
The work of proofreading historical books is no easy task, with so many materials to reference, and Gu Chengyu finished in two days. If all Hanlin officials worked at his pace, the Academy wouldnât have so much backlog.
Seeing Zhang Haiâs surprise, Gu Chengyu couldnât help but chuckle inwardly. He had clearly been told to finish in two days, and now Mr. Zhang was acting like this, what did he mean? Could it be Qian had set him up?
"Mr. Zhang said to have it by today, so I worked burning the midnight oil these past two days and finally finished all the proofreading. I found an error in it and have made corrections. Please review."
Gu Chengyu wouldnât remain quiet; he had indeed worked hard these past two days. Though he didnât actually work overnight, during the daytime, he hadnât stopped for a moment.
He didnât want Zhang Hai to think he had completed it effortlessly in two days.
If Zhang Hai later continuously pressured him, wouldnât he be exhausted?
"Ahem! Indeed, it was my omission, only telling you to try to finish it in two days." Zhang Hai glanced at Gu Chengyu and, seeing him vigorous without any shadow under his eyes, knew it was Gu Chengyuâs pretext.
He took the record, and when Gu Chengyu pointed out the error, Zhang Haiâs face turned somewhat grim.
He snorted coldly, noting that this place could make mistakes, and even if only passing over briefly, making such an obvious error certainly showed a reluctance to look for relevant records.
This is the "Jia Ren Chronicles," and this man Xue Haozhen, he had seen him when he first entered the Hanlin Academy, so he knew some of his stories.
If a mistake appeared here, and later the "Hui Ming Annals" needed to mention this, wouldnât it be contradictory?
The record must not have errors, and the person who compiled it, heâd need to check later and strictly punish.
Seeing Zhang Haiâs bad complexion, Gu Chengyu knew the compiling officer would surely get reprimanded and might even be punished.
Itâs not that officials couldnât make mistakes, but this error was quite unreasonable, merely requiring more record referencing.
He certainly wouldnât ask who that officer was; either way, it had nothing to do with him, as he was just doing his duty!
Zhang Hai, with Gu Chengyu present, had to set this issue aside and talk about the catalogue index.