The situation was more or less as Gu Chengyu had anticipated, and Gu Changbai was also unsure of who was behind the scenes.

Gu Chengyu had long expected this situation, after all, the people interacting with Gu Changbai were naturally not the master, but certainly the subordinates. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Gu Changbai couldn’t contact them either, and could only wait for those people to take the initiative to reach out to him.

After all, Gu Changbai hadn’t moved into the Gu Mansion yet, and those people had no tasks assigned to him, so there was naturally no need for Gu Changbai to contact them, to avoid exposing their whereabouts.

Gu Chengyu sighed; those people were indeed cautious, perhaps they overestimated him.

"This time when you return to the Capital, act as usual, wait for them to contact you. Don’t worry about anything else, just make sure you don’t give yourself away."

Gu Chengyu planned to send some skilled people to follow when those people went looking for Gu Changbai.

As long as it was known which family’s mansion those people belonged to, there’d be ways to handle the subsequent matters.

"But if they ask why I haven’t moved into your mansion, how should I respond? What should I say?"

Gu Changbai did not know how to answer those people; they seemed hard to deal with, and whether his nephew could handle them was unknown.

Gu Chengyu had already considered this; he certainly didn’t want Gu Changbai moving into his mansion.

Furthermore, if Gu Changbai did move in, those people might not show up immediately.

Those people would only appear when there was a task assigned to Gu Changbai, and waiting too long wasn’t something Gu Chengyu had patience for.

"You can tell them I agreed to let you move in, but rest assured, those people might seek you out as soon as you stay at an inn; just respond casually to them."

Anyway, he was going to confront the people behind the scenes later on, so it didn’t matter if Gu Changbai was exposed.

Gu Changbai had a bitter expression, "Can you rescue Xiao Yao?"

He was full of distrust towards Gu Chengyu; how old was Gu Chengyu, and how long had he been a public official?

Besides, the Gu Family was just peasants; how could they compare to such aristocratic families?

"I can only say I’ll try my best." Gu Chengyu didn’t give any guarantees, since encountering ruthless and brutal people might lead to them killing Xiao Yao out of anger if something went wrong.

Furthermore, if Xiao Yao died, Gu Chengyu wouldn’t be able to stir up trouble, and the matter would only end in nothingness.

"That’s not acceptable! If they find out that I told you these matters, what if they kill Xiao Yao?"

As soon as Gu Changbai heard Gu Chengyu’s words, he immediately started panicking.

He regretted deeply at this moment; had he known earlier, he wouldn’t have spoken of this to Gu Chengyu.

Gu Chengyu frowned in displeasure, "Do you still not understand your own situation? Even without speaking, I have ways to make you talk. Besides, you have to care for Fang, right? I heard from the teacher at the private school that he is very diligent in his studies and has great potential to become a scholar in the future. Can you bear to give up Fang?"

With Gu Chengyu saying this, Gu Changbai fell into a dilemma immediately.

Xiao Yao was certainly important, but his grandson was even more important.

If he truly provoked Gu Chengyu and brought harm to Fang, then wouldn’t he lose both grandsons?

Moreover, he understood Gu Chengyu’s meaning; as long as he cooperated obediently, Fang’s future wouldn’t be too bad.

One side was Xiao Yao, the other was Fang, making his scalp feel like it was about to explode.

Gu Chengyu didn’t care about Gu Changbai’s dilemma; there are many times in life when you have to make choices.

You can only choose one path, and once chosen, you must follow it to the end.

Whether the end is darkness or light depends on your decision.

"I trust you know how to choose." Gu Chengyu simply responded coldly and had Ming Mo take him away.

In truth, there was no real choice at all, for Xiao Yao’s fate was already uncertain in the hands of those people.

Even if Gu Changbai followed their demands, how could it guarantee they wouldn’t harm Xiao Yao?

Moreover, Gu Changbai had a grandson almost reaching adulthood, with some talent in studies. Xiao Yao, on the other hand, was still a young child whose future character was unknown.

In this dynasty, these two couldn’t really be compared.

The importance of a grandson to the ancients needs no explanation, especially when this grandson wasn’t lacking in potential.

Gu Chengyu shook his head. In fact, the Gu Changbai family suffered an undeserved disaster, with things stemming from him.

So be it! As long as Gu Wanfang isn’t a useless Ah Dou, there would be compensations in Gu Wanfang’s side in the future!

Gu Chengyu was truly busy since returning home, and Zhu Pang and others, knowing Gu Chengyu’s family matters were many, didn’t wait for him and went directly into the mountains for hunting.

Gu Chengyu was worried they’d encounter wild beasts, repeatedly instructing them not to enter the inner area, and called Ming Mo and Ming Yan to go protect them before feeling assured.

"Sir! There’s the Clan Leader of the Ye Family requesting to see you outside." Ming Mo and Ming Yan weren’t around, so Gu Chengyu had Dashun attending him.

Gu Chengyu was momentarily surprised and then had Dashun bring the person in.

Unexpectedly, this Ye Clan Leader was so anxious, yet he’d stay in Jingyuan Prefecture for at least twenty more days.

Originally, he planned to go to the county today. Last time, Manager Liu of Huichun Hall waited for him during a banquet, surely there’s something to discuss.

Later, his family held a funeral, and Manager Liu wasn’t in town, Huichun Hall only sent someone to mourning.

Manager Liu had taken good care of the Gu Family before, and although he had become a court official, he still remembered the favor of help in difficult times.

"Ye Clan Leader! My lord invites you inside!"

Dashun eyed the small and frail old man in front of him, despite the man’s poor coarse clothing, Dashun didn’t dare to neglect him.

Anyone whom the lord invited inside was beyond his ability to offend.

Today, with the lord’s two followers absent, it was his chance to show off.

Dashun aimed to impress the lord within the short month he stayed in Shangling Village, hoping to accompany him back to the Capital.

"Ah! Thank you, young man!"

The Ye Clan Leader, along with his eldest son and three young boys from the clan, nodded and bowed to Dashun.

When Gu Chengyu saw the Ye Clan Leader, he felt slightly shocked.

Ye Zhiqiu had once mentioned that the Ye Family was quite poor, even the Clan Leader’s family had no excess grain.

Upon seeing the Ye Clan Leader today, Gu Chengyu realized Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t exaggerating.

Even the Ye Clan Leader was wearing patched coarse clothing; usually, when visiting someone’s house, one would wear their best clothes. It seemed he didn’t even have new clothes.

It was said the Ye Clan Leader had studied for two years in his youth, but later his right hand was injured, unable to write, thus couldn’t continue studying.

"Old man greets my lord!" As soon as the Ye Clan Leader entered the room, before clearly seeing the person sitting at the head, he pulled the three young boys and his eldest son to kneel down.

"No need for excessive courtesy, Clan Leader! Please rise quickly."