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Chapter 630 Where is our hands-off boss going next?

The next morning, when Chu Ruohan woke up feeling sore all over, the sunlight outside the window was already quite dazzling.

The man beside her had already stood up, wearing a loose-fitting undergarment, and was sitting at the table drinking tea, looking refreshed and with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

Chu Ruohan glared at him, annoyed.

She really couldn't accept last night's "reward".

Gu Junze put down his teacup, walked to the bedside, and in a very good mood helped her up. He personally dressed her and combed her hair, his movements were incredibly gentle.

Just as the two were preparing to have breakfast, the innkeeper knocked on the door.

"Sir, there is a young lady named Liu downstairs. She said she was going on a long trip early this morning and left a package for you two."

Chu Ruohan and Gu Junze exchanged a glance.

Gu Junze went downstairs to retrieve the package.

Upon opening it, there was no gold or silver jewelry inside, only a letter and a detailed list.

The letter was written by Liu Yingying. Her handwriting was beautiful and her words were earnest. She said that she had written down the "rewards" and names of those people as instructed by the lady.

Thank you, Madam, for sending someone to rescue her brother. She is going to reunite with him and then leave for distant lands, never to return to the capital again.

The list contained more than a dozen names written on it.

Leading the group was none other than the political rival of the Ministry of Revenue official who had been brought down by Gu Lü, and the current Vice Minister of Rites.

Subsequently, several officials in the imperial court were also implicated.

These people were all those deeply entrenched old forces that Gu Junze had pointed out during Gu Lu's chess game that night.

"Will Liu Yingying encounter any danger?"

"Don't worry! I've already made arrangements."

Chu Ruohan picked up the list filled with names and gently traced the first few words, "Zhang Zhengzhong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites," with her fingertips.

"It turned out to be them."

Her voice betrayed no emotion, only a hint of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both joy and anger).

"They are all well-known figures in the court. They look respectable on the surface, but I never expected them to be like this behind the scenes."

Gu Junze took the list from her hand, folded it casually, and said indifferently, "A cornered dog will always jump over the wall. I gave them a chance, so naturally they will seize it."

"So what do you plan to do with it?" Chu Ruohan poured him a cup of tea and pushed it in front of him. "Send this list back to the capital and give it to Lawyer Gu?"

"Ah."

Gu Junze picked up his teacup, his eyelids lowered, and his long eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyes.

“I gave him a knife, so I should also give him a whetstone. Otherwise, wouldn’t this long journey have been in vain?”

Chu Ruohan laughed upon hearing this: "Aren't you afraid that this whetstone is too hard and will chip his knife?"

Gu Junze looked up at her, a smile playing in his eyes: "My knife isn't so easy to break."

He put down his teacup, took out a small bamboo tube from his bag, and then took out paper and pen.

Chu Ruohan naturally got up, walked to his side, and ground ink for him.

The faint scent of ink filled the room.

Gu Junze didn't write a single extra word in the letter; he simply copied the list, but his handwriting had an even stronger, more forceful quality than before.

He rolled up the copied list into a thin roll, stuffed it into a bamboo tube, and sealed the opening with wax.

After doing all this, he walked to the window and let out a very soft bird call.

A moment later, a grayish carrier pigeon flew out from some corner of the inn and landed lightly on the window frame, tilting its head and looking at Gu Junze with its small, black bean-like eyes.

Seeing this, Chu Ruohan couldn't help but tease, "You're really well-prepared for this trip, even carrying a carrier pigeon with you."

Gu Junze tied the bamboo tube to the pigeon's leg with practiced ease and gentleness.

"Better safe than sorry," he replied without turning his head.

He stroked the carrier pigeon's feathers, as if giving a silent command.

Chu Ruohan walked to his side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Do you think those people in the capital now believe that you and I are just traveling and enjoying ourselves, and have forgotten the storms in the imperial court?"

"That would be best," Gu Junze said softly. "Only when the lion is asleep will the fox dare to come out of its den."

He let go.

The carrier pigeon took flight, circled once above Yanxia Town, then identified its direction as north, turned into a tiny black dot, and disappeared into the horizon.

The two watched silently in the direction the carrier pigeon had disappeared, neither of them speaking.

After a long while, Chu Ruohan finally looked away and turned to look at the man beside her. The lines on his face appeared slightly softer in the morning light.

"Alright, the whetstone has been delivered." She chuckled softly. "Where's our hands-off manager going next?"

Gu Junze turned around, took her hand, and all the coldness in his eyes disappeared, leaving only tenderness.

"Go wherever you want to go."

Capital, Gu Mansion.

Gu Lu stood by the window of his study, looking at the willow tree in the courtyard. He had been standing there for almost an hour.

After my uncle and aunt left the capital, the entire Zhenguo Duke's mansion fell silent.

But the imperial court was more noisy than ever before.

Those officials who used to be trembling in fear in front of their uncle now seemed to have found an outlet, and openly and secretly tripped him up in countless ways.

Memorials impeaching him for being young and impetuous and acting rashly appeared on the emperor's desk almost daily.

His new policies faced soft resistance from various departments, who made excuses and feigned compliance while secretly opposing them, making it difficult for him to move forward.

Gu Lu knew that this was a test left to him by his uncle.

In his absence, he became the face of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion in the imperial court, and the primary target of all forces that wanted to shake the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.

He cannot retreat, nor should he be allowed to.

Just then, the sound of flapping wings interrupted his thoughts.

A dusty gray carrier pigeon landed on the windowsill and began preening its somewhat disheveled feathers with its beak.

Gu Lu's eyes narrowed.

He recognized the carrier pigeon; it belonged to his uncle.

He walked quickly over, carefully removed the wax-sealed bamboo tube from the pigeon's leg, waved it to fly into the room, and personally sprinkled some millet and water for it.

After doing all this, he returned to his desk, pried open the wax seal with a knife, and poured out the extremely thin strip of paper inside.

The note was unfolded; it contained neither a greeting nor a word of advice.

There was only a dense list of names and their respective official titles.

Zhang Zhengzhong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Wang Qinian, Councilor of the Court of Judicial Review...

These people are the old ministers who have been attacking him most fiercely and causing him the most trouble in the court recently.

He had only vaguely sensed that there seemed to be an invisible net behind these people, but he had never been able to see the whole picture.

Now, his uncle has laid out this net completely before him.

Gu Lu's breathing became slightly rapid.

He got it.

My uncle wasn't sightseeing.

My uncle was using himself as bait to lure these venomous snakes, which were hiding deep beneath the water, out of their holes one by one.

And he, Gu Lu, is the knife responsible for severing the snake's head.

A surge of heat rushed from my chest to my brain.

All the previous depression, frustration, and helplessness in the face of the predicament were swept away at this moment by this light and airy list.

Instead, there was an unprecedented sense of trepidation and excitement.

He brought the list close to the candlelight, watching each name curl up in the flames, turn black, and finally turn to ashes.

The firelight illuminated his young and resolute face. In his eyes, there was no longer any confusion, only a sharpness and calmness like a blade.

"Someone come here," he said in a deep voice.

Outside the door, the butler immediately entered in response: "What are your orders, young master?"

Prepare your court attire.

"I want to go to the palace and meet the emperor."

The butler was taken aback, then bowed and agreed.

Uncle, you just watch carefully.

You didn't sharpen this knife incorrectly.