Chapter 1118: Chapter 954: How Can You Allow Yourself to Fall So Low?
The teenager in the carriage was so startled by the person who suddenly barged in that he jumped. When he saw clearly who it was, he drew his brows together and glared, staring wordlessly at the intruder for a long time.
The teenager turned his head away. "I already said, Iâm not your Young Master. Youâve got the wrong person!"
The man sighed. "Why must Young Master be so stubborn? Weâve been searching for you for eighteen yearsâhow could we possibly mistake someone else for you? Besides, with that item and the birthmark on your body as proof, it is absolutely impossible weâre wrong."
The teenager pressed his lips together, and only after a long moment did he say, "I donât want to go with you to do any so-called earthâshaking great deed. I donât have that kind of ability. I just want an ordinary life. The days I have now are exactly what I want. Since youâre the ones who say you lost me for eighteen years, then just pretend you never found me."
"If it hadnât been for treacherous villains scheming back then, how would Young Master have been carried off? Now those people are all fighting themselves redâeyed for that seat, but that position was yours to begin with. How can you just hand it over to others and be willing to stay here doing menial work serving people? You bear the blood of the Da Xing Royal Family! How can you willingly debase yourself?"
The manâs eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the teenager, his gaze filled with disbelief and fury.
"You are the son of the Central Palace. If Her Ladyship hadnât been persecuted by villains back then, you would have long since become Crown Prince. Do you really not wish to acknowledge your ancestors and return to your clan? Youâd rather live under the name of a commoner? And this place is Da Xingâs enemy nationâDayan!"
"Why not? Iâve grown up among the common folk of Dayan since I was little. Iâm already used to this life. I donât want to go to that place youâre talking about."
The teenager couldnât help but roar this out, and the coachman outside the carriage heard the noise.
"Young Master! Do you have any orders?" The coachman turned his head and listened carefully, thinking his master inside had called for him.
The teenager calmed his agitation and hastily said, "Nothing. Just keep your eyes on the road!"
"I beg Young Master to think twice! Even if youâre unwilling to return to Da Xing right now, you cannot let Da Xingâs people suffer, nor leave the Imperial Family exposed to danger."
The man lowered his voice and gripped the teenagerâs arm tightly.
The teenager could hear the urgency in the manâs tone, and he felt the pressure on his arm. The spot where he was being grabbed hurt a little; it showed just how much force the man was using.
He hesitated for an instant, then finally let out a deep sigh.
"Uncle Yang! I just remembered I still have something to do. Letâs go back first. Weâll go to the Gu Mansion later this evening." Gu Wanqian raised his voice and shouted toward Uncle Yang, who was driving the carriage.
"Whoa!" Uncle Yang hurriedly pulled tight on the reins, bringing the carriage to a halt.
"Young Master, weâre not going to the Gu Mansion anymore, so are we heading back now?" Uncle Yang looked at the Gu Mansion just up ahead, a bit puzzled.
His Young Master had been urging him to hurry to the Gu Mansion. How was it that now theyâd arrived at the Gu Mansion, the Young Master suddenly wasnât in a rush anymore?
But this was the masterâs order; he just had to follow it. The carriage immediately turned around and headed back the way they had come.
For some reason, the teenager also couldnât help but feel a breath of relief in his heart.
"Tonight at the third quarter of the 5 PM hour, we will still wait for Young Master at the usual place!"
Seeing the carriage had already turned around, the man tossed out this sentence and leaped out of the carriage window.
The teenager leaned on the window, wanting to call him back, but the other man had already mounted his horse and galloped off in a cloud of dust.
Sitting back inside the carriage, the teenager closed his eyes to rest. In truth, he didnât want to go at all, but these people simply wouldnât give him a chance to refuse.
Thinking of Gu Chengyu, the teenager couldnât help but feel another weight settle on his heart.
A quarter of an hour later, the carriage turned into another alley and drove straight into a small courtyard.
"Is that Brother Qian back?" An old lady came out of the house at the sound, just in time to see her grandson alighting from the carriage.
"Granny! Iâm back." The teenager smiled at the old woman.
"Didnât you say youâd be back late today, that you had something to do at your Little Uncleâs place? How come youâre back so early? Isnât it not yet the hour for your Little Uncle to leave his post?"
With hair half black and half white and a face full of wrinkles that made her look very old, the woman stepped up and seized her grandsonâs hand, asking in puzzlement.
"Granny! Little Uncle has business today and might be back late. Iâll go find him tomorrow instead. Itâs nothing that urgent anyway."
Supporting the old ladyâs arm, the two of them walked toward the house together.
"You must have a sense of propriety when helping your Little Uncle with things. Donât always decide everything on your own; you should ask your Little Uncle more. Your Little Uncle is capable. If he hadnât taken you in back then, you and your granny might have starved to death already. How would there be these good days now? Your Little Uncle is a good man! We must not forget our roots..."
The teenager listened carefully to the old womanâs endless nagging, nodding along in agreement beside her. The sound of their footsteps and their voices slowly faded into the distance.
"My health has not been well of late. For some time I may be unable to attend court to deliberate on government affairs. If you have matters, submit a visiting plaque to enter the palace; I will summon you."
The Emperor reclined at an angle against a brocade bolster, and his expression as he looked at Gu Chengyu carried a hint of satisfaction.
This timeâs disaster relief in Jiangnan, Gu Chengyu had done quite well.
There had been no outbreak of riots among the disaster victims, he halted the rise in grain prices, prevented the occurrence of epidemics, and even found a way for the victims to earn Silver.
And all this had not used much of the courtâs Silver. The fiftyâthousand taels allocated by the court at the time were now all being used for the construction of the river embankment.
Originally only fiftyâthousand taels were allocated for disaster reliefâthat was far from enough.
But Gu Chengyu had managed to do so many concrete things without the court disbursing disaster relief funds. Even with the Emperorâs picky temperament, this matter was handled most admirably.
"I had my eye on you long ago, which is why I overcame all obstacles to promote you three grades in a row. For this, the court was in an uproar. I bore the pressure from all the ministersâtruly difficult! But you performed well this time. My heart is greatly comforted!"
The Emperor nodded repeatedly, expressing his great satisfaction.
Gu Chengyu only felt like laughing dryly. Not spending the courtâs Silverâof course the Emperor would be satisfied.
However, even while dragging his sick body, he still summoned him to learn about the courtâs situation. It showed that, in fact, the Emperor was not entirely at ease with the Crown Prince either.
Gu Chengyu did not believe that the Crown Prince would make every decision on his own without first seeking the Emperorâs instructions. Even so, the Emperor still felt uneasy and had to plant him at the Crown Princeâs side.
He made up his mind that, unless absolutely necessary, he would never submit a plaque to enter the palace.
"As for the matter of the merchant guild, although officials from the Ministry of Revenue have already been sent down, you must still put in more effort. Those useless fellows are used to living at ease in the Capital. Ask them to do a bit of work and they shirk and drag their feet, scared of wolves in front and tigers behind. You must draft a set of regulations for me."
Hearing this, Gu Chengyu raised his brows. The Emperor really did not miss a single chance to squeeze him dry.
"I have already drafted the detailed rules for establishing the merchant guild, Your Majesty. Today I just had the Crown Prince look them over. This is a copy for you; please review it."
Seeing the look of satisfaction appear on the Emperorâs face, Gu Chengyu knew he had done the right thing.
Fortunately, he had prepared two copies precisely to deal with a situation like this.