Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity

Chapter 944 - 780: Do Not Act Rashly

Even such rumors can’t seriously harm the Second Prince, but they are utterly disgusting. Moreover, the Emperor is naturally suspicious, and the other Princes are also his sons.If it were just one, and if it involved poisoning the Second Prince, the Emperor naturally wouldn’t care about familial bonds.

But once it involves two Princes, or more than two, would the Emperor still trust the Second Prince? He might become suspicious.

"Indeed! Food needs to be eaten bite by bite, and you can’t be too hasty. Your Highness has been patient for so many years, so why rush now? Come tomorrow morning, you will become the much-admired Crown Prince. Are you worried you won’t be able to deal with those lurking, restless spies in the future?"

Jiao Ling also expressed agreement, as it’s more prudent to advance steadily.

The Second Prince fully understands the logic behind it; he simply feels it’s a pity to miss such a good opportunity.

"I understand; I just feel somewhat regretful! Rest assured, I am not someone who is rash and irritable."

Toward these advisers, the Second Prince is quite satisfied. Not only are they skilled strategists, but their character is also decent.

Even if there are occasional quarrels amongst them, they can set aside their prejudices at crucial moments and jointly resist foreign enemies.

Being able to discern priorities is already considered rare.

The Second Prince doesn’t fear those beneath him vying for influence; rather, he fears they all lack ambition. If they all lived in harmony, then he’d have reasons to worry!

"That You Family, Your Highness should assign people to watch over them properly, perhaps something can be uncovered," Su Yilian reminded.

Gu Chengyu tossed and turned in bed, then sat up, thought for a moment, and called out towards the door, "Ming Mo!"

Gu Chengyu usually doesn’t keep servants in the room while on duty, but sometimes he gives orders at night to avoid being unable to find people.

Ming Mo and the others created a room in the adjacent chamber, taking turns with Ming Yan to keep watch at night for Gu Chengyu’s orders.

Ming Mo, being a light sleeper when on duty, quickly rose and dressed after hearing Gu Chengyu’s call.

"Master! It’s not yet the hour; is there anything you wish to instruct?"

Ming Mo found it strange, as his master never needed serving when waking at night, and it wasn’t even time for duties yet!

"Go and ask Ding Ba and the others if there is anything unusual about the Yin Mansion tonight. Has Yin Kun left the mansion, or has any suspicious person entered? Report everything to me, no detail too small. Remember! Be cautious not to be discovered."

Gu Chengyu felt that something major might happen today, even though it had nothing to do with him. But Yin Kun is his senior brother, and he had always cared for him, so naturally, he can’t watch Yin Kun risk himself.

He had already assigned people to monitor the Yin Mansion beforehand. A couple of days ago, from his conversation with Yin Kun, he keenly sensed that Yin Kun seemed to have some thoughts.

With the affairs concerning the Second Prince still unclear, court upheaval was imminent, and one shouldn’t act rashly at this moment.

He feared Yin Kun might be persuaded by someone to have thoughts he shouldn’t.

Therefore, since yesterday, he had Ding Ba and others closely monitor the Yin Mansion.

"Yes! I’ll go find Ming Yan!" Knowing his master was deeply concerned about Lord Yin’s affairs, Ming Mo didn’t delay and hurriedly left the room.

Gu Chengyu got up, pushed open the window, and looked at the sky outside. Figuring he couldn’t sleep anyway, he decided to get up early to practice calligraphy while waiting for news from Ming Yan.

Ming Yan raced back to the mansion and saw the inner study already lit, knowing his master was waiting for his report, and quickly made his way to the study.

"Master! Lord Yin has not left the mansion till now, nor has any unusual person entered. But just now, Ding Ba intercepted a carrier pigeon. Ding Ba transcribed the note; here it is. The pigeon was released back to the Yin Mansion, but thereafter there was no particular movement nor any reply from the mansion."

Ming Yan took a step forward and handed the small note in his hand to Gu Chengyu.

Gu Chengyu quickly took it, spread it out, and glanced at it, "The situation has changed, come quickly to meet."

There are only eight characters on the note, not specifying what it refers to, nor mentioning any location. Such a vague message, likely only Yin Kun understands.

Perhaps a meeting place was arranged beforehand, which wasn’t mentioned in the note.

But the tone seems very urgent; could there have been a change at the Second Prince Mansion? And this person happened to get involved, hence the urgent need to see Yin Kun?

But since restrictions hadn’t been lifted yet, even if Yin Kun was an official, if he had gone out now, he would certainly be questioned by the Military Department.

He might even be linked to the Second Prince poisoning incident, and Yin Kun wouldn’t be able to clarify the situation even if he had a mouth. It’s fortunate Yin Kun seems to have heeded his advice, not planning to respond to them.

"Have Ding Ba and the others continue to monitor the Yin Mansion closely, always report any abnormalities."

Gu Chengyu finally felt relieved. Today, the succession ceremony was set to be held, and he still needed to prepare in advance.

Usually, he wore regular clothes when attending the Hanlin Academy, as they were more convenient for official duties. But today was the succession ceremony; even though his rank wasn’t high, he still was a court official and naturally had to attend.

This time, he had to wear the official uniform, which was more cumbersome to dress in, requiring much more time.

Therefore, Gu Chengyu had his morning meal half an hour earlier than usual, with Lichun already busy with Banxia and wintergreen rapidly.

Finally, dressing in the official uniform was quite challenging, requiring the help of Lichun and wintergreen.

The official attire for civil and military officials didn’t differ much; the biggest difference was in the accessories and the beam crown.

He wore the beam crown, underneath was a blue-necked white gauze middle gown, above was a blue-edged red robe. Below was a red knee cover, with a red and white bordered large silk belt.

Since Gu Chengyu was promoted to Secondary Fifth Rank, he naturally wore a fifth-rank official uniform.

The beam crown was three-beamed, with a silver belt engraved with flowers. At the waist was the King’s jade, with pan-carved flower brocade made of yellow, green, red, and purple woven together, finished with a blue silk net and gold hoop.

Finally, he had to take the ivory tablet, completing his outfit.

The clothes were just ironed with a bronze iron while Gu Chengyu was having his morning meal. Seeing not a wrinkle in sight, Gu Chengyu felt reassured.

Since the note indicated a change in circumstances, Gu Chengyu believed today’s succession ceremony would proceed smoothly.

Therefore, there mustn’t be any errors in the details of these ceremonial attire.

When Gu Chengyu arrived at Taihe Palace, many officials were already waiting outside the palace.

Unaffected by the dim lighting, Gu Chengyu scrutinized the gathered officials.

He noticed that quite a few officials’ inner sentiments might be restless; maybe they didn’t believe today’s ceremony would proceed smoothly.

Because not only were they gathering in small groups, whispering, but from their slightly disorganized and slightly wrinkled official uniforms, Gu Chengyu could see their perfunctory attitude.