Chapter 1290: Chapter 1126: Should Avoid Suspicion

Several people split up to take action, and when Gu Chengyu arrived at General Chang’s residence in the city, the two Imperial Censors were not yet awake from their drunken stupor.

Gu Chengyu and his group arrived at the two men’s courtyard and saw that there was no gatekeeper. They simply stepped inside.

"Well, this saves me a lot of trouble!" Gu Chengyu sneered coldly, looking at the two men passed out on the Imperial Concubine’s Couch, consciously ignoring the two disheveled dancing girls.

"Wake them up!" Gu Chengyu instructed Ding Jiu beside him.

A large bucket of water was poured over the two men’s heads, soaking them thoroughly and waking them from their stupor. They shivered and then jumped up from the couch.

"What, what’s going on?" Jiang Lan suddenly sat up from the couch, his face drenched, unable to open his eyes.

"Who are you? Daring!" The other Imperial Censor, Jin Yunsun, also wiped the water from his face and then looked around the room with bleary eyes.

Upon seeing Ding Jiu and his team standing not far away holding buckets, he immediately furrowed his brows and glared angrily, "How dare you, who are you a servant of? You blind fools, how dare you splash water on an official, have you grown tired of living?"

"What audacity you both have! What is this? Are you dissatisfied with me?" Gu Chengyu sneered coldly, giving Ding Jiu a look.

Ding Jiu tossed the bucket aside, wasted no words, and went ahead to tear off their belts, tying them up tightly.

"You, you, Mr. Gu?" Jiang Lan’s mind was bewildered, but when he saw Gu Chengyu, he immediately came to his senses.

"This general has discovered you accepting bribes, and now will temporarily detain you, awaiting the Emperor’s verdict." Gu Chengyu was more concerned with the progress on Chang Yuan’s side and did not pay much attention to these two.

Although these two held low ranks, their identity as Imperial Censors would make Chang Yuan’s actions constrained. Gu Chengyu also held the identity of an Imperial Censor; his action was justified and more appropriate.

"Based on what, Mr. Gu, everything requires evidence. We’ve been at the border for over two years, always dutiful. You arrive and want to throw us in prison; it inevitably makes me doubt your motives!"

Jiang Lan was somewhat unconvinced. This Mr. Gu came to the border and was only seen once. It was also recently heard that he was promoted in rank, now to Standard Third Rank, and is the marshal of Yuhe Pass.

But he hasn’t been at the border for long; how could he discover their bribery? They made sure to do it very covertly!

"To arrest you, naturally there’s evidence. The Emperor sent you to monitor the border generals, but you not only accepted bribes but also abetted wickedness, falsely accusing Lord Yin, an unforgivable crime. This general has already delivered your evidence to the Capital; await the Emperor’s judgment!"

Gu Chengyu was unwilling to waste words. These two were cowardly and greedy. After taking Silver, they turned a blind eye to things clearly amiss.

They even participated in the false accusation against Yin Kun.

"Lock them first in the dungeon, find reliable people, and guard separately!" Although these two were not very skilled, their close ties with Qi Huan Yu made them valuable as witnesses, and they should come to no harm.

...

"Emperor, please rest for a while?" Pang Chu looked at the Emperor with concern, his eyes were somewhat swollen and teary.

Since failing to obtain the antidote, Pang Chu had been in tears for several days. He had served the Emperor for over twenty years, becoming his eunuch since the Emperor was five; naturally, their relationship was deep.

Knowing that the Emperor’s days were numbered, how could his heart be at peace?

Moreover, if the Emperor truly suffered untimely demise, his own days would be numbered. Now he could finally empathize with De An’s feelings; out of sight, out of mind.

Looking at De An’s current plight, Pang Chu thought he might not even surpass De An. After all, De An was the palace Grand Steward, whereas Pang Chu was not even close.

No one knew who would succeed the throne if anything happened to the Emperor. The Eldest Prince was still young, and whether he could ascend the throne smoothly was uncertain. Thinking over this, Pang Chu felt his future bleak.

Such anxious feelings persisted for several days, leaving him tormented and haggard.

In contrast, the Emperor was more diligent than before, and Pang Chu could not understand it. At this point, shouldn’t the antidote be most important, why was the Emperor seemingly unworried?

The Emperor placed the memorial he was holding into the pile of unissued ones, then rubbed his eyebrows, his expression filled with fatigue.

"Does Shen Aiqing have anything else to report?"

"Emperor! The evidence against Yin Kun colluding with Da Xing to assassinate General Chang is conclusive. Why does the Emperor delay sending out the impeachment memorial? If news spreads, it might appear as if the Emperor is showing favoritism, which could lead to the Inspectorate’s censors impeaching again."

Shen Shikang glanced at the Emperor. Many in the court were already discontented with the Emperor’s actions. The Emperor had held that memorial for more than half a month, keeping it withheld, leaving his intentions unclear.

In recent days, many officials in the court had already impeached Yin Kun, yet the Emperor dismissed the memorials, not paying attention. Having just ascended the throne, handling court affairs cautiously was expected, but now his decisiveness disappointed the courtiers.

"There are too many suspicions in this case; convicting someone solely based on these witnesses and some dubious evidence would be rash. I have already ordered Gu Aiqing to thoroughly investigate this matter; we will speak further once he concludes."

The Emperor took a sip from the teacup beside him, the bitter tea streaming down his throat, more bitter than usual.

Recently, everything seemed bitter, bitter enough to move to tears, bitter enough to be draining.

"Emperor! Gu Siqing is the junior to Imperial Censor Yin, they are closely related; Gu Siqing should avoid involvement, why did the Emperor assign him to investigate this case? It’s against the law!"

Shen Shikang’s face darkened; the Emperor seemed intent on cover-up. Yin Kun was Gu Chengyu’s senior, and by law and common sense, Gu Chengyu should avoid involvement.

The Emperor’s actions would inevitably result in a flood of impeachment memorials in the court the next day.

"Gu Aiqing is at the border; I trust he will be impartial and just. The Capital is far from the border; sending someone from the court would take too long. This matter is settled, and until news comes from the border, there’s no need to discuss further."

The Emperor placed the teacup on the Imperial Desk, clearly indicating Shen Shikang should take his leave. But Shen Shikang was reluctant to withdraw, either oblivious or determined not to leave until achieving his goal.

"Emperor, your way of handling this is inappropriate. Moreover, Gu Siqing currently holds military power, which is even more inappropriate. I believe Gu Siqing is ambitious; although he has earned military achievements, it just proves his deep scheming. I request the Emperor to immediately revoke his military power, appoint him Deputy General to assist General Chang in guarding the border."

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