The Emperor deeply agreed, it was very likely that court officials were colluding with these people.

"Father, since those people are not appearing, why don’t we take the initiative to strike? Since they want to assassinate Mr. Gu, it must be because his presence has offended their interests. Why don’t we use Mr. Gu as bait to lure these people out first?"

The Crown Prince felt that investigating like this wouldn’t uncover much; by the time their opponents revealed themselves, they would be in a passive situation.

Gu Chengyu was a very good bait, but now he could only be aggrieved.

The moment Gu Chengyu looked at the Crown Prince, his eyes turned fierce; he had countless curses to say.

Why don’t you offer yourself as bait? The Crown Prince’s identity should be more useful than his, right?

Upon receiving Gu Chengyu’s hostile look, the Crown Prince quickly said, "Mr. Gu, don’t worry, I will send experts to hide in the shadows to ensure your life is safe!"

Gu Chengyu almost exploded with profanity; "I don’t believe you at all."

He said with a forced smile, "Crown Prince, don’t you know that those people have long abandoned the plan to assassinate me? Killing me might just be incidental for them. But Your Highness should be careful, those people might have already arrived in the Capital and could be looking for an opportunity to assassinate you. You must carry more Hidden Guards around to avoid giving them any chance!"

Seeing Gu Chengyu’s sharp white teeth, the Crown Prince was momentarily speechless.

He then said, "Really? They’ve given up? That’s too bad. You don’t have to worry about my safety; I will certainly be cautious."

Gu Chengyu let out a cold snort; anyone being so blatantly calculated against would not be happy.

"Alright, let Gu Aiqing handle this matter! Quickly capture these people and find out their purpose for coming to Dayan."

At this point, the Emperor felt a bit weary and was impatient to continue listening to the two verbally sparring. He waved his hand, indicating for both to retreat.

Gu Chengyu and the Crown Prince left Chengqian Palace, one after the other. Gu Chengyu glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, whispered, "Your Highness, how often do the people you sent to follow the Tianji Taoist report back?"

The Crown Prince then observed his surroundings and replied, "Every five days!"

Gu Chengyu pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, haven’t you noticed that the Emperor’s spirit has been increasingly poor? Although the Imperial Physician can’t diagnose anything seriously wrong, I believe the Emperor’s exhaustion isn’t due to daily toil."

The Crown Prince turned to look at Gu Chengyu, "I heard Director Zhang wants to find herbal medicine experts among the people, everyone brainstorming together should be able to identify the Emperor’s ailment. At present, Father is only somewhat lacking in spirit, with no other symptoms showing, so we can’t blame it on the Tianji Taoist."

Gu Chengyu understood the Crown Prince’s meaning: the Emperor was getting old, his spirit slowly declining was very normal, even without these matters.

To insist that it was the Tianji Taoist’s plot seemed somewhat far-fetched.

As they spoke, they walked towards the Eastern Palace, "Father may have sensed his physical condition, which is why he became more eager for the Tianji Taoist’s Lifespan Extension Pill, otherwise he wouldn’t have sent the Taoist out of the palace to seek medicine."

Gu Chengyu also felt helpless at these words; based on his observations, even if the Emperor recovered, he couldn’t be as energetic as before.

It seemed he needed to quickly find a source of support. He glanced at the Crown Prince, then weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Initially, he thought the Crown Prince was indecisive, but still had a benevolent nature. Naturally, he wasn’t lacking in strategy, otherwise, he wouldn’t have become the Crown Prince.

But the Crown Prince’s recent behavior still left him feeling uneasy, using him as bait; in the minds of those in power, it didn’t seem like a big deal.

Nowadays, although Gu Chengyu was at the Standard Fourth Rank, with his abilities, he could rise higher in the future. His recent words undeniably held a sense of disdain for him.

Indeed, once one becomes a person wielding great power, life begins to be treated with indifference.

If the Crown Prince were to become King someday, would he become like the current Emperor, full of schemes and suspicious in nature?

Gu Chengyu felt the Crown Prince already showed such signs; no wonder they were father and son, the Crown Prince was already mastering the Emperor’s methods. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Though as a King, he must focus on the big picture and should not act with a soft heart, he must also consider who he is dealing with.

Gu Chengyu, having just entered officialdom, had already made considerable contributions to the court. The Crown Prince’s previous words inevitably left Gu Chengyu feeling disheartened.

Sensing the scrutinizing gaze behind him, the Crown Prince turned around and smiled slightly at Gu Chengyu, then said, "Earlier in the palace, I entrusted Mr. Gu with taking a risk out of necessity, I hope Mr. Gu doesn’t mind. I am indeed concerned about Mr. Gu’s safety, and had originally planned to shift some Hidden Guards to protect Mr. Gu. But then I thought it’s not very stable, so this matter was set aside!"

The Crown Prince’s eyes were fixed on Gu Chengyu’s, his face full of apology.

Gu Chengyu raised an eyebrow, "Your Highness speaks too seriously, it is my duty to share the court’s burdens. It is just that this group has already abandoned the plan to assassinate me, otherwise there wouldn’t have been no movement for so long. To find these people, we need to look for other ways."

No matter what the Crown Prince’s reasons for apologizing were, it was ultimately a superficial acknowledgment given to Gu Chengyu.

Whether it was insincere or genuine, resentment had already formed and wouldn’t easily fade.

The Crown Prince fixed his gaze on Gu Chengyu and then sighed, "I hope Mr. Gu can understand my difficulties, come, after a while I’ll order an interrogation of Man Niu, I would like Mr. Gu to be involved."

Seeing Gu Chengyu’s smiling face, but with an attitude evidently more distant than before, the Crown Prince realized this had been taken to heart.

He was indeed struggling as well! Although he currently oversaw the government, his father hadn’t completely transferred power. The purpose of these Daxing people infiltrating Dayan was unknown, if they intended to collaborate internally and externally with Daxing over there, Dayan would be in chaos.

And the border was still an uncertain situation, if it had already colluded with Daxing, it’d truly be internal and external trouble, impossible to defend against.

Were those brothers just living peacefully in their territories? The Crown Prince’s Hidden Guard brought news that Prince Gong and Prince Jing were indeed engaging in numerous maneuvers. During the Jiangnan disaster relief, both sent people there.

Perhaps they wanted to raise grain prices to seize the opportunity to earn more Silver. Fortunately, this matter was stopped by Gu Chengyu, otherwise, these two could have really pocketed a fortune.

For what purpose are they accumulating Silver? Is that even a question?

Which is why the Crown Prince was quite worried recently, feeling a lingering depression in his heart that wouldn’t dissipate.

"Please, Your Highness, spare Man Niu’s life, this person might still be useful. He is ultimately Daxing people, once Lord Yin reaches the border, he might make use of him."

Recalling the previous commitment, Gu Chengyu immediately spoke up.

The Crown Prince nodded and then moved forward. Looking at the Crown Prince’s desolate figure, Gu Chengyu suddenly felt the Crown Prince seemed to live even more wearisomely than the Emperor.