After my luck was stolen, I led my whole family to defy fate and change our destiny.

With guards clearing the way on both sides, Chu Yuan, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, walked directly from outside the government office to the main seat and sat down.

"Free gift"

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

The crowd slowly rose, and the people stood respectfully outside, without the initial clamor and noise. They were so close that they could only hear the emperor's voices and could not clearly see his face.

"Ignore me, continue the interrogation."

"Yes"

The servants quickly served tea and set up a temporary table for Lord Zhang.

Lord Zhang bowed to Chu Yuan before sitting down.

"Exhibits of evidence"

The official presented a letter, which Lord Zhang opened. He had already seen it during the investigation, so this was just a formality.

The informant said, "My lord, these are letters between Gu Mingtang and General Zheng of the border. When the letters were delivered that day, Lord Gu was not there. The messenger said they were from the border. I immediately felt something was wrong. Lord Gu is a first-rank minister. If he has dealings with people from the border, that's fine. But if he has other intentions, wouldn't that be like a wolf in sheep's clothing?"

"Although I am Lord Gu's subordinate, I am also His Majesty's subject. How could I allow such a thing to happen? Even if the probability is very small, I, who am paid by the Emperor, will certainly clear all obstacles for His Majesty. Therefore, I opened the envelope."

"I was furious when I read the contents. It turns out that Lord Gu and General Zheng were planning to embezzle this batch of military funds, and this letter is their evidence."

"I am truly heartbroken. Even though Lord Gu has always treated me well, I must expose Gu Mingtang's ugly face. Even if the people call me an ingrate, I don't care. For the sake of Daqing, for His Majesty, and for the people, I am willing to be an ingrate."

The people agreed with what they heard.

"Lord Chen, you're not an ungrateful wretch; the court needs good officials like you."

"Yes, it would be a blessing for the people if the court had more officials like these."

"But I still don't believe that Lord Gu is that kind of person."

"Even if someone was a good official before, that doesn't necessarily mean they are now. Who doesn't embezzle when they have power?"

"Fortunately, Lord Chen has such a kind heart, and he is willing to expose the rumors despite the rumors."

With the emperor present, the common people dared not discuss it loudly, but most of them could still hear it.

Chen He narrowed his eyes upon hearing the people's praise, looking quite pleased with himself.

What a moving and inspiring speech! It's the first time I've heard someone portray an ingrate as so noble.

Gu Linglong was complaining about Chen He, who was Gu Mingtang's most capable subordinate. Back then, Chen He was unsuccessful and had just entered officialdom. He had no family support and was bullied everywhere.

He was dumped with all the work that others couldn't finish, and he often worked until midnight. If he did well, the rewards went to others; if he did poorly, he was the one who got punished and scolded.

Later, when Gu Mingtang saw him working late into the night, he paid more attention to him and discovered that many good proposals were put forward by this young man.

He gradually came to admire this person, and he stood up for him when he was bullied. In this way, Gu Mingtang brought Chen He under his wing and trained him.

Gu Mingtang heard the heart-wrenching words from his former subordinate and gave a bitter smile. His gloomy mood brightened a little when he heard his daughter's heartfelt words.

His daughter is here?

He looked around but didn't see anyone. He quietly wiped his face with his sleeve. "Sigh, I should have saved more money to wash my face this morning."

I wonder if his appearance has affected his image in his daughter's eyes.

Gu Linglong nestled in the Fourth Prince's arms, her face almost puffed up with anger.

[Shameless scoundrel. What he seems to be saying to Lord Zhang is actually all for the Emperor's ears. Tsk, what a male green tea.]

Chu Jingyan gently patted Gu Linglong's forehead to comfort her; this little girl was still in a pretty bad mood.

Gu Mingtang said, "Since you say that I conspired with General Zheng, which is a matter of life and death, why didn't I send a message by carrier pigeon to my residence and have it delivered to my office? That doesn't make sense."

Chen He choked: "You...you probably think you're a first-rank official, and that the people inside are all your subordinates who wouldn't dare open your letters, that's why you dare to be so arrogant."

Gu Mingtang smiled.

Chen He's heart tightened: "What are you laughing at?"

"People sometimes laugh for no reason when they're extremely speechless. Try it next time."

"I know you're complaining about me now, but I have to do this. Aunt Daqing can't have a parasite like you."

Gu Mingtang smiled again.

Chen He felt that the other party was completely ignoring what he said, which annoyed him.

"you……"

"Silence! No one may speak of anything unrelated to this case in court."

Chen He swallowed the rest of his sentence and just glared at Gu Mingtang.

Gu Mingtang: "May I see the letter?"

Lord Zhang nodded, but Chen He quickly stopped him, saying, "No, sir, if he tears up the evidence, won't we have no evidence left?"

Gu Mingtang glanced at him speechlessly. Was he an idiot?

Destroying evidence in court—does that mean the emperor doesn't exist?

Gu Mingtang took the letter from the official and examined it carefully: "This handwriting really does look like mine."

Chen He immediately became excited: "Your Majesty, Your Excellency, did you hear that? He said it himself, the handwriting is his, he admitted it."

Gu Mingtang rolled his eyes at him: "What are you getting so worked up about? Which ear of yours heard me admit that I wrote this letter?"

"You just said that yourself."

"If your hearing isn't good, go get it checked, lest you become a laughingstock. There are so many people here. What I just said was that the handwriting looks like mine. What do you mean by 'looks like'? Does Lord Chen not understand?"

"You..." Gu Mingtang seemed to say that, blaming himself for being too agitated.

"Lord Zhang, although the handwriting is very similar, it could still be a forgery."

Lord Zhang nodded: "Summon Zheng Jun."

"Greetings, Your Majesty, Lord Zhang."

Chu Yuan nodded: "General Zheng, please rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

Lord Zhang asked, "Someone has reported that you conspired with Gu Mingtang to embezzle military funds. Do you have a defense?"

Zheng Jun saluted again: "Your Majesty, please forgive my rough speech at the border."

Chu Yuan waved his hand: "It's alright, just tell the truth."

Zheng Jun sneered, "Was it this bastard who reported it?"

Chu Yuan's eyelids twitched; he really was rough and uncouth.

Chen He's face immediately turned bright red: "How dare you curse someone in front of the Emperor?"

"So what if I scold you? His Majesty has already pardoned me. If His Majesty weren't here, I would have liked to hit you."

Chen He was furious but couldn't retaliate, so he flicked his sleeve and said, "Ignorant barbarian!"

Cultured people even use refined language when they curse.

Zheng Jun scoffed, "Let's not even talk about whether I, Zheng Jun, am that kind of person. Even if I were, wouldn't it be better for me to take out a small portion of the hundreds of thousands of taels of military pay to appease my soldiers and keep the rest for myself? Why should I share it with Lord Gu?"

"Besides, I hadn't even seen Lord Gu before today, so where did this letter come from? Isn't that ridiculous?"

The others hesitated, but it seemed to make sense.

Seeing that things were not going well, Chen He retorted, "You're all in cahoots. Right now, you're definitely trying to distance yourself. You're just afraid that if things come to light later, you'll have someone to protect you."