Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Cui Ming's eyes drooped slightly, and his expression was sinister.

Zhou Qiao was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head, not daring to even breathe, for fear of incurring bad luck.

Cui Ming sneered.

He flicked the prayer beads twice with his thumb, producing a crisp clinking sound.

"That girl named Gu Mingyue from Pujitang is really something else; she's really broadened my horizons."

"However, all of her projects are inseparable from her brother, Gu Mingli."

"If we kill Gu Mingli, we can both teach the young emperor a lesson and severely damage Gu Debai."

"In the end, if Pujitang wants to operate again, it can only rely on the Ministry of Works and be used by my Cui family."

He slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the gray-clad swordsman standing in the shadowy corner of the study.

"Those assassins who tried to kill the employees last time were too weak."

Cui Ming narrowed his triangular eyes, which resembled those of a venomous snake.

"This time, you will personally select three people skilled in assassination."

"I heard that Gu Mingli has been spending all his time at the construction site lately. Although he is accompanied by the shadow guards of the inner court, the market is a large place with many people and eyes, making it the easiest place to take advantage of the chaos."

"Passing by and then delivering a fatal blow from the shadows—that's not hard to do, is it?"

……

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

The scorching afternoon heat seeped into the hall through the cracks in the window frames.

Even with ice cubes placed in all four corners, it still felt a bit stuffy.

Xiao Ye casually placed the vermilion brush on the brush holder, picked up the celadon teacup beside him, took a sip of cool tea, and frowned.

It's so quiet in this hall.

It was so quiet that you could hear the sound of ice melting and dripping water clearly.

Xiao Ye picked up the next memorial and opened it, but his gaze lingered on the memorial for a long time without reading a single word.

My gaze involuntarily drifted toward Gu Mingli's rosewood desk.

At this moment, the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table are neatly arranged and spotless.

Xiao Ye felt inexplicably irritable.

Liu An, being very perceptive, promptly brought over a bowl of mung bean soup, bowing slightly as he said:

"Your Majesty, this mung bean soup is refreshing and helps to cool you down. Please try it."

Xiao Ye took the soup bowl without thinking, but didn't bring it to his mouth.

"This Gu Mingli has missed two days of duty again! He's clearly disregarding my words!"

Liu An bent over, his smile perfectly timed, without a single flaw.

"Your Majesty, Lord Gu did submit a leave slip according to regulations the day before yesterday."

"They say they're going to expand something like... oh right, a 'wholesale market' over there in the West City Logistics Park."

"Lord Gu said that although the project needs to start urgently, the planning drawings need to be produced before the competition."

"He has to personally survey the terrain at the construction site and stay up all night drawing maps."

Xiao Ye snorted coldly.

Liu An, observing the situation, immediately added another sentence.

"I heard from the servants at the construction site that Lord Gu has been working from dawn till dusk these past two days. He's been squatting on the dusty construction site eating dry rations every day, and hasn't even changed his clothes. He's been so busy that his feet barely touch the ground, and he's working very hard."

Xiao Ye didn't reply, but simply picked up the mung bean soup in his hand and took a small sip.

Then he picked up the vermilion pen again and continued to annotate the folded paper.

The white sunlight outside the hall gradually turned into a gentle, warm orange hue.

The setting sun shone through the carved window lattice, casting long shadows inside the hall.

Xiao Ye finally slammed the last folded book shut and tossed it into the vermilion box marked "Read".

He raised his head, his gaze passing over the imperial desk, and took a deep look out the window.

"Liu An".

"Your servant is here."

"Prepare casual clothes."

Liu An was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard.

He looked up hesitantly, "Your Majesty, what are you going to do now...?"

Xiao Ye stood up and straightened his black robe with a calm expression.

"Let's go out of the palace and take a look."

The sun had not yet completely set by late afternoon, and its golden-red afterglow shone on the snack street in the west of the city.

Gu Mingli was standing on a high platform at the end of the snack street, looking very unceremoniously at the location of the future wholesale market.

With a blade of grass in his mouth and a charcoal pencil in his hand, he was drawing on the paper on the wooden board.

He was dressed very casually today, in a slightly worn, grayish-blue short jacket with the sleeves haphazardly rolled up to his forearms, revealing his fair arms stained with a few mud marks.

Finished drawing the last stroke on the drawing.

Gu Mingli lifted the wooden board, squinted at it for a moment, and then blew off the charcoal ash with satisfaction.

He stood up and casually brushed the dust off his knees and the hem of his clothes.

Standing on this high point, I glanced towards the main street of the food street.

It was lunchtime, and the market was at its busiest.

The wide main road was crowded together, and as far as the eye could see, it was a sea of ​​black heads.

The rich aroma of sizzling roasted meat, the spiciness of Pujitang braised duck neck, and the rising steam from freshly steamed meat buns mingled together.

The scent of the odor drifted down the street on the evening breeze, making people's mouths water.

The vendors' desperate cries, the acrobats' gongs, and the laughter and curses of the people catching ducks all blended together.

Noisy and bustling.

Gu Mingli was about to turn around and walk off the observation platform.

When my gaze inadvertently swept over the crowded people below again, I suddenly froze.

My gaze traveled through the crowd.

He saw a familiar figure.

That was a group of people who had just stepped into the entrance of the food street.

The young man at the head.

She wore a dark blue long robe with subtle patterns, and her jet-black hair was tied up high with a jade crown.

He was tall and slender like a pine tree, and his gait was calm and unhurried.

He possesses an aloofness that transcends all others, making his demeanor quite striking.

Pedestrians strolling through the stalls were shoulder to shoulder.

Mischievous children were laughing and playing nearby.

But the man didn't care and walked straight into the crowd.

The "servants" following him were like a powerful protective barrier.

Even in the most crowded places, it can prevent passersby from touching even a single corner of the master's clothes.

Gu Mingli stared blankly for a moment.

The man seemed to sense something.

Across the bustling crowd and swirling smoke, I slightly raised my eyes.

His deep, sharp gaze precisely met the person on the high platform.

The foxtail grass that Gu Mingli was holding in his mouth fell to the ground with a "thud".

Holy shit! !

Xiao Ye?!

How did he get out of the palace?!