Unexpected guest

  Snow fell gently in the night, and the gate of the grand hall was pushed open by someone. An old man dressed in brocade and wearing a thin cloak walked in.

  This was the first time Gu Yunxue had met her father-in-law, Sun Yu, who was the birth father of the current empress. He was a former general who had commanded hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and now held the title of Duke of National Grace. Despite his advanced age, he still had control over 100,000 troops from Sichuan Province. What surprised Gu Yunxue was that such a powerful figure in the capital could be so refined and cultured.

  "The guilty minister wishes the Emperor good health."

  Sun Yu's figure was still straight, only slightly trembling when he knelt down, Emperor Lie's gaze fell on Sun Yu, without saying a word.

  Sun Yu's face was as usual, his eyes scanned the faces of the people in the hall and then looked at the corpse lying in the hall.

  At this time, Yang Wei's eyes were already closed, and only the arrow was deeply embedded in his chest. The dark red blood had congealed around his mouth and nose, a terrifying sight to behold at first glance.

  "Reporting to Your Majesty, this crossbow arrow is indeed from the bow and crossbow in the hands of young Master Sun. The depth of the wound and the force of the crossbow are highly consistent. In my humble opinion, it can be concluded that..."

  The speaker was a yamen runner from the Ministry of Justice, who had finished examining the wounds and everything was settled. Yang Jin stood on one side, watching with eyes that were already red, now gazing at Sun Yu kneeling in the hall with an eerie gaze, his eyes filled with resentment and fear.

  Liezhu didn't look at Sun Yu again, and upon hearing this, he coldly snorted, "Bring that little rabbit up here!"

  The foreign envoys had long since been sent back to their residences, and the young masters and misses of the capital had also left early. Those who remained in the hall were all high-ranking officials close to the emperor. Gu Yunxi stood behind Gong Sunmo and Gong Sun Chenglin, not drawing much attention to herself. The crown prince and princess were also present, while Gong Sunlongjing looked anxious, his eyes constantly scanning the entrance of the great hall.

  Sun Zhuo was brought out with bloodstains on his clothes, his eyes filled with panic, and suddenly seeing Sun Yu appear in the hall, his eyes lit up, "Grandfather!"

  Sun Zhuo rushed towards Gu Zhang, his 15 or 16-year-old body kneeling in front of Sun Yu, explaining hastily, "Grandfather, you believe me, Sun Er didn't kill Yang Wei, there was no arrow inside the crossbow, that crossbow is mine, I just wanted to scare him, just wanted to scare him——"

  Sun Zhuo repeated these words to Sun Yu in a unclear tone, and Lin Zhu, the commander of the Imperial Guard beside him, shook his head slightly. "Report to the Emperor, when I found Young Master Sun behind the main hall, he was holding a bow and arrow, looking extremely frightened. He refused to follow me to see the Emperor, so I had no choice but to use force to bring him back."

  Sun Yu's eyes were heavy as he looked at Sun Zhuo, a man of great talent and virtue, but it seemed that heaven had taken away his only son, leaving behind only this one grandson. He had given him the best wealth and glory, paving the way for him, but he had not lived up to his expectations.

  "Imperial Uncle, what do you think?"

  "Gongsun Lie finally began to ask him, Sun Yu raised his head, 'Please Your Majesty forgive the crime, this old minister only has one son, he may be a bit unruly but he would never dare kill someone. Since he said he didn't kill Yang Wei, there must be a reason for it. Please Your Majesty investigate clearly and give my son a fair trial!'"

  Gongsun Lie's mouth curled up into a cold smile as he turned to look at Yang Jin, "Yang Jin, you are Yang Wei's father, what do you say?"

  Yang Wei immediately knelt down, and the originally tall and majestic man suddenly looked ten years older due to this sudden pain of losing his son. His gaze swept over Yang Wei's body, closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, they were no longer as cold and stern as before. "Your old minister has already been unfortunate enough to lose his son; if there is indeed another reason behind this matter, please, Your Majesty, investigate clearly."

  As soon as the words came out, the surrounding crowd was in an uproar. The crown prince let out a sigh of relief, and his eyes finally stopped being so nervous. Gong Sunlie smiled and said, "It seems that Yang Shangshu is not in a hurry, okay, first put Sun Zhuo in the Ministry of Punishment's great prison, and then slowly investigate?"

  Sun Zhuo heard Yang Jin's words and was overjoyed, but when he heard Gong Sunlie say that he would be taken to the great prison, his whole body trembled. He looked at Sun Yu with pleading eyes, but the latter could only comfort him with a glance.

  Sun Zhuo was immediately taken away, and Lie Di looked at the scene in the grand hall with a shake of his head. He seemed exhausted as he gazed down at the two kneeling below, "Since that's the case, Duke Guo can return home to rest and recover from his illness. Yang Jin, take your son back home and give him a proper burial. I grant you three days' leave from court, attend to the funeral arrangements."

  Sun Yu and Yang Jin thanked him together, and this farce was about to come to an end. Emperor Lie waved his hand for everyone to disperse, but his eyes fell on Gong Sun Mo, "Mo Er..."?

  Gongsun Mo heard this and immediately responded, turning his head to glance at Gongsun Chenglin and Gu Yunxi, who followed behind Gongsun Lie.

  "Your Majesty."

  From the Ronghua Hall to the Hanguang Palace, there was a distance. Gong Sunlie walked in front and Gong Sunmo walked behind. In the more than 20 years that had passed since then, Gong Sunmo had never had the opportunity to stand so close to his father's throne. Gong Sunlie let out a deep sigh, "What do you think?"

  Gongsun Mo slightly hesitated, "Yang Jin has a vendetta against his son right in front of him yet he doesn't retaliate. I think the Duke's intimidation towards him is somewhat excessive."

  Just now, Gong Sunlie gave Yang Jin an opportunity. With Ou Zuo and Lin Zhu in the scene, the situation at the time of the case was already very clear. As long as he was a bit more severe, Gong Sunlie could have made a conclusion on this matter, but unfortunately, he didn't.

  Gongsun Lie continued, "What are you going to do?"?

  "If we are going to investigate, then let's investigate thoroughly. If Sun Zhuo is indeed guilty of this crime, I think he should be punished according to the law."

  Gongsun Mo's voice was deep and low, Gongsun Lie nodded upon hearing his words. "Since that's the case, I'll have you take care of this matter. Lately, there have been many things happening around Guozhong, it seems like many people think he has gone too far."

  Gongsun Mo was somewhat surprised that Gongsun Lie would entrust this matter to him, and after a moment of stunned silence, he naturally agreed, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty."

  "Right."

  Gongsun Lie suddenly stopped in his tracks, "I have agreed to let Luoxiao return to Nanyue."

  The cold wind whistled by, and Gong Sun Mo quietly stood behind Gong Sun Lie, waiting for the next sentence. After a long time, Gong Sun Mo only heard Gong Sun Lie say in a stern tone, "But now I think it's better for him to stay in Yan State, and it's best if he stays there forever, dead or alive."

  Gongsun Mo was taken aback for a moment, while Gongsun Lie stood there as if waiting for his response. He quickly regained his composure and hastily lowered his head, "Your son understands."

  "Alright, it's chaotic tonight, let's head back to the mansion."

  As he watched the figure gradually disappear into the night, Gong Sun Mo's eyes deepened slightly. He couldn't help but recall the scene where Gu Yun Xi received his reward that night and rushed to the Yunlan Palace. His mother, while writing powerful characters, said to him, "To become an emperor, one must have the deepest thoughts and the most ruthless means. I see everything about you too clearly, and yet the ten years of extreme cold in the north haven't taught you how to write the word 'ruthless'. Mo Er, you've disappointed your mother."

  ——?

  The news of the young master of Guo's family killing the son of the Minister of Works at the royal banquet had spread throughout the entire capital city of Yanjing almost overnight. Gu Yunxi listened to the various versions brought back by Zilan from the streets and couldn't help but laugh and cry. Just as Zilan was speaking with great enthusiasm, a loud footsteps echoed outside the courtyard, she frowned, and it turned out that the one who entered was Gu Zi Xuan.

  The young man's face was filled with anger, his thick eyebrows and big eyes staring fixedly at Gu Yunxi, as if suppressing something.

  Gu Yunxi calmly sipped her tea, ignoring the angry gaze of the newcomer. Zi Lan and Yue Niang exchanged a look, then finally couldn't bear the scene and retreated out the door. Luo Qingyi was currently in the courtyard drying plum tea, so they could go help her.

  After a long time, just when Gu Yunxi thought that Gu Zixuan was going to glare at him for the rest of his life, he suddenly spoke up, "Was Yang Wei's death your plan? You wanted me to deliver the bow and crossbow that originally belonged to Sun Zhuo!"

  The questioning words were indeed as she had expected, Gu Yunxi put down the teacup in her hand, raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when she saw a bright red robe standing at her door, that enchanting woman didn't know when she stood there, at this moment, facing her gaze, "As soon as I came, I heard such interesting words, Miss Gu is really unexpected by Luo Ran——"

  By the way?

  Background release