Chapter 1100: Chapter 936: Unworthy of Being Human

"Are you just going to ignore the matter of the assassin? If we go back like this, won’t the clues be lost?"

When Lu Chen heard that Gu Chengyu wanted to return to the Capital, he quickly spoke anxiously.

"Those people have already abandoned their mission to assassinate me, haven’t you noticed? Staying in Yingnan Mansion is no longer useful; just let Mr. Hu stay a few more days."

In reality, he was worried that the Emperor couldn’t hold on and might pass away. If that happened when he was not in the Capital, who knew what changes might transpire.

"But the people of Da Xing residing in our Dayan certainly have ulterior motives. If we don’t capture them, who knows what kind of chaos they might stir up. And that Young Master, I have always felt he’s a key figure; we can’t just stand by and watch these people cause havoc in Dayan! Under the collapsed nest, no egg is unbroken. As officials of Dayan, it’s our duty to eliminate dissidents."

Lu Chen’s words were filled with righteousness, leaving no room for rebuttal, portraying the image of a good official working for the country and the people.

Gu Chengyu inwardly scorned, nearly deceived by him; he sounded so genuine.

He raised his eyebrows, then nodded, "What you said is indeed correct. So, do you have any news about that Young Master now? Or any news about those people?"

Gu Chengyu’s words left Lu Chen speechless. Isn’t this nonsense? If I had any, why would I still be pestering you? I would’ve already sent someone to investigate.

"No! But you’re so smart, you should be able to figure something out." Lu Chen looked at Gu Chengyu with an expression of trust, making Gu Chengyu only want to chuckle.

Such wishful thinking! Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.

"Lord Lu holds Gu in too high regard. If I had a good plan, I wouldn’t be going back to the Capital like this." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Gu Chengyu shook his head, speaking with a look of regret.

Lu Chen gazed suspiciously at Gu Chengyu for a while, and upon seeing Gu Chengyu’s sincere expression, he laughed and said, "Weren’t we saying earlier that we would form an alliance? If you learn anything, you must not keep it from me."

"Naturally!" Gu Chengyu raised his eyebrows, full of certainty.

...

"Sir! It has been confirmed that he is indeed the Young Master, but he has already returned to Jingyuan Prefecture. What are your plans now?" the Map Master asked the cloaked man for instructions.

"Confirmed? Hmph! This time, it must not be wrong, or it will be on you," the hoarse voice of the cloaked man rang out again, greatly displeasing the Map Master.

Hmph! This person considers himself an old hand beside the master and is the one in charge of this trip to Dayan, which makes him somewhat arrogant.

Such arrogance will surely lead to major mistakes sooner or later.

"He returned to Jingyuan Prefecture and will not be going back to the Capital?"

The Map Master shook his head, "It has been inquired about, he is just returning for a month’s family visit. After a month, he will return to the Capital. However, the Young Master has been back in Jingyuan Prefecture for over half a month, if we were to really chase after him, we probably wouldn’t make it, it would be better to head directly to the Capital and wait."

The cloaked man pondered for a moment, "Then let’s set off for the Capital immediately, there’s no need to go to Jingyuan Prefecture. Leave Canglang and some men, find him quickly, the master cannot allow this person to live any longer."

The Map Master agreed and then spoke of another matter. This matter had been weighing on his mind for two days, keeping him up at night.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to probe the cloaked man’s thoughts further.

"The matter of Man Niu, are you really planning to ignore him? If he knows more than we anticipated, wouldn’t our plan be at risk of being known by the enemy? Moreover, finding the Young Master is crucial, if it gets leaked, the outcome would be unimaginable."

The Map Master seemingly unintentionally glanced at the cloaked man, feeling somewhat uneasy.

"The matter of Man Niu, haven’t we discussed it before? Each of these people has their duties. Man Niu handles the assassination plan, which has nothing to do with the Young Master. Even if Gu Chengyu knows we want to kill that person, what’s the big deal? We can’t find the person, can Gu Chengyu? If he could, so much the better, it saves us the trouble of searching. Have Canglang keep a close watch on Gu Chengyu’s every move and kill that person before he finds them."

The cloaked man thought this was an excellent idea, saving manpower and eliminating the person quickly, while ensuring the Young Master’s matter remains undisclosed.

Luckily, Man Niu is involved in assassination work and is unaware of tasks like finding the Young Master.

"But, I still have some concerns." The Map Master opened his mouth but dared not disclose that he had once shared information about the Young Master with Man Niu.

Otherwise, the master would surely put the blame on him.

"Gu Chengyu did this to lure us into a trap, if we go to save Man Niu and more of our people get caught, won’t the information get leaked all the more? Only you would do something as foolish as that. Hmph! This matter shall not be brought up again, have the subordinates prepare, we will set off for the Capital."

The cloaked man sneered at the Map Master’s foolish actions, even though the master said the Map Master was calculating and skilled in martial arts, requiring heavy use, he found the Map Master to be quite mediocre.

They had not even reached Jiangnan when they faced Gu Chengyu, only to be defeated and escaped in disarray, and then had to send subordinates to save him.

Both plans were executed by the Map Master but were dismantled by Gu Chengyu one by one. In addition, they lost several capable subordinates.

The Map Master, worried the cloaked man might notice something, dared not speak further.

Forget it, Man Niu was a Death Warrior he had raised from a young age, he wouldn’t babble indiscriminately.

It’s a pity Man Niu didn’t bite the poison sac earlier, now suffering torture and accused of possibly betraying the master.

He regretted revealing information about the Young Master to Man Niu; it was because he had seen Man Niu grow up and had a different bond with him.

Sigh! It is what it is, hopefully, Man Niu can withstand it. Given the current situation, they should leave Jiangnan as soon as possible.

...

"Your Highness, this official believes that the officials responsible for reinforcing the Jiangnan river embankments earlier this year embezzled funds, disregarding the lives of the people, and are truly parasites of the Dayan Dynasty, absolutely unforgivable!"

Yin Kun particularly detested such officials, for taking bribes was normal for officials.

Throughout the court and the public, where could one find a completely incorruptible official who never accepted a bribe?

But which money should be touched, and which should not, don’t they have any awareness?

The Silver Tael allocated by the court at the beginning of the year was for reinforcing the river embankments. These people, blinded by Silver Coin, committed such heinous deeds without conscience.

"Your Highness! In this Changtian Prefecture flood, how many people lost their lives? How many were displaced with nowhere to go? These despicable hypocrites treated this with such contempt; they are unfit for office, unworthy of being human!"

Left Deputy Imperial Censor Qian Licao was also enraged. He glanced at Xia Qing from the corner of his eye, coldly sneering within.

The Ministry of Industry’s officials sent to Jiangnan were led by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Peng Yuhao. Peng Yuhao was part of Xia Qing’s clique. He didn’t believe that with the Silver Tael allocated by the court to reinforce the river embankments, Xia Qing didn’t benefit from it.