The emperor just doesn't treat everyone equally, and it's none of my business!

In a small county town in the south of the Great Xia Dynasty, at this moment, many people gathered at the gate of the county town. They carried baskets in their hands, which contained eggs, duck eggs, vegetables, fruits, sesame cakes, etc. They looked around from time to time, as if waiting for someone to come.

A moment later, a carriage came out of the city, and someone in the crowd immediately shouted, "Here he comes, Lord Gu is coming out."

The common people gathered around in an orderly manner, holding the things in their hands and trying to put them into the carriage.

"Thank you, Master Gu."

"Thank you, Master Gu. If it weren't for you, my Dalang would not have been saved."

"Master Gu, when will you come again?"

"Master Gu, these are the oranges I grew myself. Please eat them on the way."

"Sir, this is the sesame cake I made. Please take it."

"grown ups……"

"grown ups……"

Gu Yulin came out of the carriage and looked at the grateful faces of the people, feeling deeply moved.

"Dear fellow villagers, Yulin would like to thank you all." After saying this, Gu Yulin bowed to express his gratitude.

He had originally planned to leave quietly today, but somehow he was discovered by these ordinary people.

Many ordinary people bent down together.

"Thank you, Master Gu."

Gu Yulin didn't want to take things from the common people, but they surrounded him and wouldn't move away. In the end, Gu Yulin only took some fruits and sesame cakes to eat on the way.

The carriage started moving again, and some ordinary people's eyes became moist as they watched the carriage go farther and farther away.

"Master, it's really not easy for these people." Gu He, Gu Yulin's personal servant, leaned his head out of the window to take a look, then turned back and said.

"Yes, it's not easy." Gu Yulin sighed. Ordinary people depend on the weather for their livelihood. A drought this year means that these people will not have a good life this year.

Gu He saw Gu Yulin's mood and changed the subject, "Finally, we can go back. Madam will definitely be very happy. You have been away for such a long time."

Gu Yulin nodded. He also wanted to go back as soon as possible. Since he became an official in the capital, he had never been away from home for so long.

The county town that Gu Yulin arrived at was called Ming County, which was the place most severely affected by the drought. Later, a locust plague even occurred. Gu Yulin had been staying in this small county town since he came to the south, so he dealt with the locusts in time as soon as they appeared, so that the few remaining grains in the fields could be preserved.

He was born in a farming family and knew some ways to deal with locusts. If someone who didn't know how to deal with them were to do it, the locusts would probably only increase in number.

After leaving Ming County, Gu Yulin ordered the coachman to speed up and return as soon as possible.

He only brought a groom and four horseback guards, and those four guards were given to him by the emperor.

"Here it comes." The leader hiding in the dark said as he looked at the approaching carriage.

The men under his command immediately covered their faces with black cloth.

When the carriage came to view, the people on both sides pulled up ropes and knocked down the two horsemen, and the other men in black immediately rushed out.

There were about a dozen men in black. Although these guards were given by the emperor and were agile, they were no match for the other side's large numbers.

"Sir, please run quickly." Gu He looked at Gu Yulin anxiously.

Gu Yulin did not leave. He had long guessed that the journey would be troublesome, so he naturally took precautions.

At this moment, a man in black broke through the protection of the four guards and walked up to Gu Yulin with a sword in his hand.

Seeing this, Gu He quickly opened his arms and stood in front of Gu Yulin.

The man in black stabbed towards Gu He with his sword, but was suddenly blocked by another sword.

He was wearing a dark blue robe, had a tall figure and handsome appearance. If you looked closely, you would find that he was somewhat similar to Gu Yulin and Gu Shijin.

With this person's participation, the situation was quickly reversed. In just half a quarter of an hour, all the men in black were captured.

Gu Yulin then got off the carriage, looked at the man again and again, and said, "Chengfeng, are you okay?"

The person who came was Gu Yulin’s eldest son, Gu Chengfeng.

Gu Chengfeng shook his head to indicate that he was fine.

The story of why Gu Chengfeng is here started a few months ago.

After leaving home three years ago, Gu Chengfeng joined the army under General Zhennan. Over the years, he has climbed up step by step with his military merits and is now a fifth-rank captain.

He was able to be promoted so quickly because of his courage to fight. Two years ago, when he was fighting bandits, the bandit leader ran away. Gu Chengfeng chased him for a whole day before he caught him. However, he himself was covered in wounds and almost could not be saved.

Lu Junze had noticed Gu Chengfeng as early as when he asked Su Deyuan to investigate the Gu family. He admired him very much and sent him to the south.

Two months ago, Gu Chengfeng suddenly received a secret order from the emperor, asking him to lead a team of soldiers to the south to protect the imperial envoy. At first, Gu Chengfeng didn't know that the person he was to protect was his own father, and only found out after he met the envoy.

After the two met, they were filled with emotion. Finally, they decided that if Gu Chengfeng did not show up and protected him in secret, they could find out more things.

"Tie them up." Gu Chengfen said, looking at the people on the ground.

The people who came with Gu Chengfeng immediately took action. These were people Gu Chengfeng brought from the army, and they were all his trusted subordinates.

I don’t know if the person behind the scenes was too confident in his subordinates, but the journey back to Beijing was smooth all the way without anyone blocking the way.

Gu Yulin and Gu Chengfeng returned to the capital before the New Year.

As soon as Gu Yulin stepped into the city gate, the prime minister received the news.

"Useless." The Prime Minister slammed the table and roared, "What did you tell me at the time? You said there was no need to worry and that you would never let Gu Yulin return to the capital alive. Then who is this person who appears in the capital now? Is it a ghost?"

The prime minister was really furious. He would never do such an inappropriate thing under normal circumstances, but this time was different. If Gu Yulin brought the evidence back to Beijing, the emperor would definitely not let the Shangguan family go.

When the emperor criticized Shangguan Yan some time ago, wasn't he also criticizing him?

Although these things will not deal a fatal blow to the Shangguan family, they will eventually affect the careers of the Shangguan family's descendants.

The middle-aged man standing in front of the prime minister also said in frustration: "Sir, Gu Yulin did not come back alone this time. He has troops with him, so the talents under his command did not succeed."

The prime minister was shocked: "What? The army?"

After Gu Yulin and Gu Chengfeng arrived in the capital, they went home to change their clothes and then went straight to the palace to report to the emperor.

"I am here to see you, Your Majesty."

"No need to greet you, my dear ministers."

Lu Junze looked at the tiredness on their faces and said, "Thank you for your hard work in this disaster relief effort."

Gu Yulin: "It is not hard for me to work for the emperor."

"This matter has been handled very well. As for those people you have captured, hand them over to the Ministry of Justice. I will definitely give you justice." Lu Junze said.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gu Yulin took out an account book from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the account book I found."

In Ningyu Pavilion, Gu Shijin was preparing for a nap when Su Deyuan came to tell her to go to the Yangxin Palace to accompany the emperor.