What a Charlatan

Lao Mu returned home at dawn and told Gu Ling and Su Liang that there were no assassins in the palace last night.

Su Liang asked Lao Mu to rest. Cen Man went to Min's Mansion to monitor Min Rui again. Although it seemed that Min Rui was not capable of doing anything, his father-in-law might look for him again.

Gu Ling was at home, and he and Su Liang made breakfast together.

After breakfast, Ji Xiaoshu said that he promised Mr. Qin to go to the Duke's Mansion to climb a tree today, but he also promised the emperor's uncle to visit the palace today. What should he do?

"You choose one, and I'll take the other one." Zheng'er said calmly.

Ji Xiaoshu immediately shook his head, "That's not possible, the secret will be exposed. I want to go to Qin Taigong's place in the morning, and go to the palace in the afternoon. Is it okay?"

"No." Gu Ling shook his head and handed Gu Xiaonuan to Su Liang. While standing up, he picked up Ji Xiaoshu who was sitting on the stool next to him and walked out.

Ji Xiaoshu waved in Gu Ling's hand, "Master, help me, Master is going to throw me away!"

Zheng'er: ...while shouting for help and smiling broadly, there was no one left.

Su Liang chuckled, "Your master is taking you to the palace to play. Don't run around. This is a secret operation."

Ji Xiaoshu's eyes lit up, and he was immediately thrown onto Gu Ling's back. He wrapped his small hands around Gu Ling's neck and smiled, "Master, let's go quickly! What is the secret mission? Are we going to assassinate the emperor's uncle? Is he a sanctimonious hypocrite and a bad guy? It's not appropriate to assassinate him in broad daylight, right?"

Gu Ling patted Ji Xiaoshu's buttocks and said, "Quiet."

Ji Xiaoshu shouted, "Master's wife, master is beating someone! Sister, your father is beating me!"

The sound quickly faded away, and the surrounding area became quiet. Su Liang lowered his head and saw Gu Xiaonuan smiling at her, eyes narrowed.

Zheng'er came over and said, "Sister, do you want to go out to play? I'll take her there."

Su Liang put Gu Xiaonuan in the stroller, and Zheng'er pushed her out. Now Zheng'er is not so keen on going out for fun. He has been to all the places in the capital that can be played, including the Qin Duke's Mansion and the Imperial Palace. Ji Xiaoshu's entertainment items are basically leftovers from Zheng'er's play, so naturally it is impossible to compete with him.

While Su Liang was cleaning the dishes alone, she was thinking about how to interrogate Mrs. Min and Min Rou's mother and daughter. They were brought back last night and locked in a secret room in the underground maze of Yuanming Pavilion. They should not be awake at this time.

Gu Ling entered the palace again to see if the black mist between Duanmu Chen's brows was still there. The enemy is very strong and its action plan cannot be fully deduced, so you need to be cautious.

…

Min Mansion.

Early in the morning, Master Min received a report from his servants that Min Rou was missing. There were no signs of fighting in the room, and the bedding was neat, but some of Min Rou's clothes and the books that Mr. Min had given her were missing.

Old Minister Min immediately felt a thump in his heart and hurried to Min Rui's place.

Min Rui looked bad because he didn't sleep much last night and had been waiting for Mrs. Min to come back. According to the original plan, only Min Rou was leaving, but Mrs. Min was nowhere to be seen until dawn, so Min Rui guessed that he had been deceived. It was possible that Mrs. Min had no intention of leaving, but He Wei insisted that both mother and daughter leave. It is also possible that Mrs. Min decided to leave with Min Rou after meeting He Wei, but deliberately lied to Min Rui that she would come back.

Min Rui felt it was the former for a while, and was sure it was the latter for a while, with mixed feelings.

Old Minister Min entered the door and saw that Min Rui was the only one in the room. His face immediately darkened, "Where are Rou'er and her mother?"

Min Rui shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I don't know."

Master Min frowned, "How could you not know?"

"I went to bed early last night. I don't know when Madam disappeared." Min Rui sighed deeply, "I guess it was because of the marriage gift yesterday that Madam decided to run away with Rou'er. Her biggest wish in this life is hope. Rou'er lives a carefree life, and her father should know what will happen if she marries someone she loves. I didn't mention that Qianqian knows martial arts, and Rou'er has also learned some."

Old Minister Min has calmed down, "She really didn't discuss it with you?"

Min Rui shook his head, "No. They were afraid that I would stop them. After all, they ran away, and the emperor blamed them, and it was the Min family that suffered. If she had asked me beforehand, I would have disagreed, but after they left, I was relieved. Take it easy. I am just a daughter. I hope dad can understand my feelings. If the emperor blames me, I will bear all the responsibilities. "

Old Minister Min shook his head, "Now that the matter has come to this, what are you talking about? I will go to the palace to plead guilty."

Min Rui suddenly mentioned Mr. Qin, "Why don't you go and discuss with Uncle Qin to see if he can help intercede? His only daughter was also given a marriage and died in a foreign land. He should be able to understand my wife's move."

Old Minister Min frowned again when he heard Min Rui mentioning old things. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head again, "That's inappropriate. This is a matter of the Min family. If you bring your relatives in rashly, I'm afraid it will anger the emperor even more. What happened has already happened. Only by sincerely apologizing can the emperor be given a lighter punishment. If he tries to deceive me again, it will only be worse."

When Min Rui heard this, he got out of bed, "It's my turn to apologize. I'm feeling better and can go out."

Old Minister Min sighed again, "That's fine, you can come with me."

When the Min family father and son were riding a carriage to the palace, Gu Ling had already brought Ji Xiaoshu into the imperial study.

The two of them came in secret. Ji Xiaoshu did not change his appearance today. When he saw Duanmu Chen, he lay on Gu Ling's back and waved happily, "Uncle Emperor, I'm here!"

Duanmu Chen yawned mid-laughing. Thinking there would be an assassination last night, he didn't sleep much.

Ji Xiaoshu looked at Duanmu Chen's yawning with his lips raised, and suddenly felt that this uncle had become much cuter and less pretentious.

Ji Xiaoshu got off the ground, ran to the dragon throne, climbed up with his hands and feet, sat down, picked up a book on the dragon table, and did not open it. He just looked at the embossed patterns on the book, touched it with his little hand, and said with a smile, "This is different from my father's. Ours has smaller patterns."

Duanmu Chen hugged Ji Xiaoshu and laughed twice, "Which one looks better?"

Ji Xiaoshu raised the book in his hand, "The emperor's uncle's is better."

Although it was just a comparison and praise from a child that was meaningless to the previous Duanmu Chen, Duanmu Chen felt very happy at the moment. Even if Ji Xiaoshu sat on his dragon throne, he only thought that the child was cute, nothing else.

"Your master has gone back, and you came to see if I am okay?" Duanmu Chen's tone was a little teasing. It feels really good to be cared for, especially for Gu Ling, who seems to care about no one except his family.

Gu Ling did not answer Duanmu Chen's question. His eyes were fixed on Duanmu Chen's eyebrows, and the black fog was still there.

Ordinarily, he would continue to wait for the assassin tonight, but Gu Ling thought of what happened last night. Madam Min met her father outside the city, and the old man did not accompany Madam Min back, nor did he send his granddaughter away. Obviously, he had something to do last night, and it was an important thing.

Gu Ling did not follow the old man and did not know what he did last night. But if that person's mission was to kill Duanmu Chen, he did something last night, but he did not enter the palace to assassinate him. Could it be that he planned to kill Duanmu Chen in another way?

Change the method... Gu Ling thought it was very likely. After the failed assassination a few days ago, most of the group was killed, and the possibility of assassinating in the same way again was very small. What method would it be?

Gu Ling was thinking, Duanmu Chen said to Ji Xiaoshu, "Look at your master, he is motionless, like a sculpture."

Ji Xiaoshu asked seriously, "Will it fall if I push it?"

Duanmu Chen patted Ji Xiaoshu on the shoulder, "Go and try to push it."

"Why doesn't the emperor uncle go? If I go, I will be beaten by the master, it's terrible." Ji Xiaoshu said he would not be fooled.

Duanmu Chen coughed lightly, "I might be beaten if I go."

"Wow! My master dares to beat even the emperor uncle? He is so bold! Then he must dare to beat my father, I am looking forward to it!" Ji Xiaoshu has long been adept at pitting his father.

Duanmu Chen laughed, saying that he was also looking forward to it.

"Gu Ling, what are you thinking about?" Duanmu Chen asked.

At this time, a report from Chang'an came from outside the door, "Your Majesty, the Minister of Works and his son are outside the palace to ask for an audience."

Duanmu Chen was stunned for a moment, "What are they doing here?"

Gu Ling said, "Min Rui's wife and daughter disappeared last night."

Duanmu Chen frowned. He didn't really like Min Rou. Business matters were more important, and he wouldn't feel embarrassed because Min Rou ran away. But when he thought of Gu Ling's constant staring at Min Rui and his wife, he asked him, "You didn't do anything and let them run away?"

Gu Ling shook his head, "They didn't run far. They are at my house."

Duanmu Chen's mouth twitched slightly, "Okay. Hurry up and interrogate them and see what you can find out."

"Min Rui thought they had left the capital." Gu Ling said again.

Duanmu Chen nodded, "They really wanted to run, but you intercepted them halfway? Then I know what to do. The rest of the Min family is fine, how about putting Min Rui in the Tianlao and executing him on a chosen day?"

Gu Ling shook his head, "Don't deal with Min Rui for the time being, let him go home." He Wei said last night that he wanted to deal with Min Rui, but he hasn't done it yet, which means he is busy doing something and can't get away. If Min Rui is in the Tianlao, He Wei will break into the Tianlao to kill people, and it is inevitable that innocent people will be hurt.

"You have the final say." Duanmu Chen blurted out, thinking that this should not be what he, an emperor, said to his subjects, but then he thought again, why should he use the "experience" of those emperors in history who mostly did not end well to restrain himself? There is no point in showing the emperor's majesty in front of Gu Ling, and it will look ridiculous. Gu Ling did not regard him as an emperor, nor did he regard himself as a de facto emperor, but just talked as a friend.

Duanmu Chen said loudly to the outside, "Chang'an, let them come in an hour."

Chang'an took the order and left.

"You..." Gu Ling glanced at Duanmu Chen's eyebrows again.

"You what?" Ji Xiaoshu asked.

Gu Ling did not answer, but stood up and walked to the window, pushed open the window, and saw that the sky was overcast, and there might be a thunderstorm today. The dark clouds in the sky and the black fog between Duanmu Chen's eyebrows intertwined, making Gu Ling feel very bad.

"Don't stay in the palace tonight." Gu Ling closed the window and turned to Duanmu Chen. He was worried that the group would attack again, and they might use the explosive weapons he had initially thought of, which would make things much simpler. But for Duanmu Chen, it would be much more dangerous.

Duanmu Chen's face immediately froze, "Am I in danger tonight? More dangerous than last time?" He felt that hiding in the secret room, carrying a nail gun for self-defense, and being protected by many secret guards, it would be difficult for the enemy to succeed. But Gu Ling thought about it for so long, and asked him to change places tonight, there must be dangers that he could not think of.

Gu Ling explained, "I suspect that one of the group of people has fought with me before, and he has a very terrible weapon."

Duanmu Chen was shocked to hear the word "terrible" from Gu Ling for the first time.

"In short, you should not stay in the bedroom tonight, and avoid staying in the imperial study during the day. It is best to go to a place where no one knows as soon as possible." Gu Ling said.

"You mean, I will hide from now on?" Duanmu Chen felt very uneasy.

Gu Ling nodded, "There is a secret passage somewhere, go in and don't come out again."

Duanmu Chen understood, "Okay, I will go back to the palace later, and then go to the library through the secret passage."

Gu Ling also knew for the first time that there was a secret passage leading to the library in the emperor's palace. He didn't know who dug it, but it would be useful.

Ji Xiaoshu looked surprised, "What about us?"

"You can come with uncle." Duanmu Chen took the initiative to invite Ji Xiaoshu.

Ji Xiaoshu immediately slid off the dragon chair and ran towards Gu Ling, "Master, let's run quickly. It's so dangerous in the palace!"

Duanmu Chen: ...it was the wrong payment after all...

But Gu Ling is leaving. If the other party wanted to use explosives, staying by Duanmu Chen's side would not only be of no help, but would also put himself in danger.

After Gu Ling and Ji Xiaoshu left secretly, Duanmu Chen reviewed two more memorials. Feeling really uneasy, he asked Chang'an to bring the Min family father and son over.

When Old Minister Min and Min Rui saw Duanmu Chen, they noticed that the atmosphere was tense, but they did not know that Duanmu Chen was not angry because Min Rou ran away, but was worried about the danger that might come at any time.

Old Minister Min had typed up the manuscript. He had just said a few words when he was interrupted by Duanmu Chen, "I have a headache today. I don't want to hear this. You can go back."

Mr. Min was confused, and when he went back... was something wrong or was everything okay?

"I already know about Min Aiqing's granddaughter." Duanmu Chen said with a cold face, "Min Rui, if your wife and daughter never set foot in Qian Kingdom again in this life, I will never let me know about them. ! "Back off!"

Min Rui was dumbfounded. Although he thought that Duanmu Chen would not really do anything to the Min family, he didn't expect to let them go so easily? Especially him. He originally thought that Duanmu Chen would suspect that he was an accomplice in the disappearance of Mrs. Min and Min Rou. He had thought of how to defend himself, but it was useless.

Old Minister Min pulled Min Rui, who was stunned, and the two of them bowed their heads and exited after thanking the emperor.

After they left, Duanmu Chen called Chang An in and said, "I have a headache. I'm going back to the palace. Please bring these notes with you."

Chang'an responded, packed up the memorial, and followed Duanmu Chen out of the imperial study and back to the palace.

Duanmu Chen rarely spent the night with his concubines recently, and always stayed in his own palace. After he entered, he ordered no one to disturb him, and then took Chang An to the library pavilion through the secret passage. It was always a forbidden area and few people could enter. Su Liang often went to the library to borrow books, which was a privilege given by Duanmu Yi.

The reason why Duanmu Chen did not take the Queen Mother and concubines with him was because the assassin was clearly only targeting him. Gu Ling didn't say that others were in danger, which meant that there was no need to think so much.

…

As soon as Gu Ling returned home with Ji Xiaoshu, he heard thunder and it was going to rain.

Ji Xiaoshu lay on Gu Ling's back, looking up at the sky, "Master, will the Emperor's uncle be okay?"

"I don't know." Gu Ling put Ji Xiaoshu down and entered Yuanming Pavilion.

Ji Xiaoshu hurriedly ran to catch up, "Master's wife, I'm bringing master back!"

But Su Liang was nowhere to be seen on the first floor, and even on the second floor.

"It's going to rain. Where are my wife and sister?" Ji Xiaoshu turned around and asked Gu Ling, but saw no one behind him. He rubbed his eyes, Gu Ling was clearly there just now.

"Is Master really a god and can he become invisible?" Ji Xiaoshu muttered and ran downstairs again.

Zheng'er happened to push Gu Xiaonuan through the door, "Xiaoshu, you're back! It's going to rain outside, but my sister is not afraid of thunder at all. She is more afraid of thunder than me. I was afraid of thunder before."

"Senior Brother, where is Senior Wife?" Ji Xiaoshu asked.

"Master Wife has business to do, down below." Zheng'er pointed to the ground.

Ji Xiaoshu understood instantly, "Master must have gone too, let's go too!"

"That's not possible, we have to take care of our sister." Zheng'er looked serious.

Ji Xiaoshu lay down next to the stroller and asked Gu Xiaonuan, "Sister, are you a god?"

Gu Xiaonuan stretched out her little hand and waved it with a smile, "Yeah!"

Ji Xiaoshu looked surprised, "Elder brother, you heard it, my sister said she is a fairy!"

Zheng'er:......

…

In the secret room below, Su Liang sat opposite Min Rou, looking at her calmly.

Min Rou had woken up for a while, and Su Liang asked her a question, "Where is your home?"

But Min Rou didn't say a word, she just looked at Su Liang coldly.

Su Liang looked indifferent, "Gu Ling went to give your father acupuncture before. After leaving, he went to the Duke of Guo's Mansion to visit Grandpa Qin. As a result, he accidentally discovered that your mother had sneaked into the Duke of Guo's Mansion secretly and didn't know what she was going to do. Then she stared at She heard something from every move. The first thing is that your parents conspired to kill Grandpa Qin. "

Min Rou frowned when she heard this, "Impossible! You are slandering others! You are talking nonsense without any basis! We have no grievances. I don't know what your purpose is in arresting me, but I don't believe a word of what you said!" "

Su Liang nodded, "It's not surprising." After saying that, he stood up and said, "If you don't believe what I say, let your mother say it herself."

When Min Rou heard Su Liang's words, her expression suddenly changed, "What do you mean?"

Su Liang didn't answer, and closed the door after going out. After a while, Min Rou heard her mother's voice coming from the next door, "Su Liang? What are you going to do? Why are you arresting me? Where is Rou'er?"

Min Rou suddenly felt uneasy, but it was not because she was worried about her own safety...

In the next room, Su Liang looked at the tied-up Madam Min and said calmly, "Gu Ling accidentally discovered that you were secretly entering and leaving the Duke's Mansion, so he followed you and heard some things. This is why you were arrested."

Mrs. Min looked at Su Liang in disbelief, "You... I didn't do anything! I just don't want my daughter to be one of the emperor's many women! What's wrong with that?"

"Indeed. You just planned other things and haven't waited for the opportunity to do it." Su Liang said, "You want to kill Mr. Qin, just for this, I can kill you."

Mrs. Min's face was dark, not knowing how much Su Liang and Gu Ling had eavesdropped, and she pursed her lips and said nothing.

"You didn't refute, so you acquiesced?" Su Liang snorted.

In the next room, Min Rou's face suddenly turned pale.

The next moment, Mrs. Min's angry voice was heard, "Since you are monitoring me, you should know that it is not me who wants to kill the man surnamed Qin, but Min Rui. I was forced by him! And I didn't do anything! Even if someone is responsible for this, you should kill him instead of making trouble for me!"

Min Rou seemed to be hit by a club. She was sitting upright with her back straight, but her shoulders collapsed weakly...

On the other side, Gu Ling was about to enter the underground secret room of Yuanming Pavilion when he heard a thunder, followed by a rumble from the direction of the palace.

Gu Ling closed the entrance to the secret room and climbed onto the roof of Yuanming Pavilion. He saw thick smoke in the direction of the palace. His premonition came true. The group used explosives to blow up Duanmu Chen this time. And with their strength, it is easy for them to sneak into the palace in broad daylight without being noticed, just like Gu Ling.

So Gu Ling suspected that the group did not use explosives in the first assassination, perhaps because they were confident in their strength and did not have explosives on hand. The explosives used this time were secretly made in the past few days after the last failure. In this case, the matter makes sense.

The palace is very large. Judging from the sound and smoke, there is only one explosion, which should be Duanmu Chen's bedroom. Gu Ling felt that Duanmu Chen was always cautious. After listening to him, he should avoid it, but still decided to go to the palace to confirm it.

At this time, in the palace, Duanmu Chen stood at the highest point of the library, staring at the smoke in the direction of the bedroom in amazement, holding the table with his hand, his face pale, and after a long while, he sighed softly, "Gu Ling, you are really a charlatan who can predict the future."

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