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

But Gu Debai showed no sign of stopping.

"At that time, the imperial court and powerful clans were all spreading the same message: the Great Qi had left behind a secret treasure, and whoever possessed it would gain control of the world."

"Therefore, the four great clans began to arrest former officials of the Great Qi dynasty. The Cui family was in charge of Jiangnan, the Liu family managed the capital region, the Jia family kept an eye on the northern border, and the Wang family swept through the Western Regions. Anyone who had any connection with the previous dynasty, regardless of their official rank, was arrested and brought back for interrogation."

Gu Mingli frowned. "Interrogate what?"

"The whereabouts of the treasure map."

Gu Debai narrowed his phoenix eyes, recalling the scene from that time.

"When the Great Qi Dynasty was destroyed, Emperor Guangxian transferred all the gold and silver confiscated from corrupt officials and powerful families, totaling seven hundred million."

"That's enough money to independently build a large army and establish a country."

"The four major clans all want to find that money first."

"Later, even the late emperor could not sit still. He issued an edict saying that all former officials of the Great Qi who voluntarily surrendered would be pardoned and even granted official positions."

Gu Mingyue frowned slightly.

She could tell that the so-called "amnesty" was nothing more than a search and arrest operation disguised as something else.

The late emperor wanted to use appeasement to lure out those old officials who were hiding in the shadows.

"The four major clans have found a clue: the treasure map might be in the Lu family's possession."

"That's why the late emperor transferred your maternal grandfather to the Jiangbei camp to be monitored by the Dragon Scale Guard. After that, the powerful clans began to investigate him."

"Investigate his Lu family army, investigate your maternal grandmother's identity."

"The late emperor searched for three years before he finally found some clues about the eldest princess."

"This is all thanks to the birth mother of the reigning emperor."

Gu Mingli suddenly looked up, his pupils trembling.

"You mean... Xiao Ye's mother?"

Gu Debai nodded, his expression already grim.

"Xiao Ye's maternal grandmother was once the personal maid of the Eldest Princess. Only she knew about the Eldest Princess's escape and her encounter with Lu Lin."

"Later, the eldest princess gave that palace maid a large sum of money as a resettlement fee, allowing her to go far away."

"More than a decade later, in his search for the treasure map, the late emperor finally found the palace maid's daughter and promised to make her his empress."

"But on the condition that she must get the whereabouts of the eldest princess from her mother."

Gu Mingli felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Xiao Ye had told him about this before, but Xiao Ye said that his mother hadn't gotten any clues before she died.

But now, Father is telling a different version.

If it was indeed the late Empress who denounced the Eldest Princess, ultimately leading to the execution of the entire Lu family, then the Gu family and the royal family would indeed have a blood feud.

Gu Debai ignored his son's reaction and continued:

"During the years the Eldest Princess was in Jiangzhou, she secretly sheltered thousands of former officials of the Great Qi and their families, helping them escape capture by powerful clans. She also used the name of the Jiangbei Camp to help them hide and live in Jiangzhou."

"Your maternal grandfather was not unaware of the danger. He considered taking his wife and daughters away from Kyoto and returning to the western border to live a peaceful life in seclusion."

"But the late emperor also foresaw this, and with a single order, he dispersed all 200,000 Lu family troops in the western border, distributing them to the trusted generals of the four major clans. Only 80,000 soldiers were left to guard the western border."

"Later, the late emperor's Dragon Scale Guards, through information provided by the late empress, located the Lu residence."

Gu Debai placed the empty cup on the table, and the bottom of the cup made a soft tapping sound.

"My godmother was already very scared at that time."

Gu Debai looked down at the mooncake crumbs on the table and flicked them with his fingertips.

"She could manage during the day, but at night she was so terrified that she couldn't sleep. My godfather told me that my godmother seemed to have something on her mind, and she woke up from nightmares several times, covered in cold sweat."

One evening, my godmother called my godfather to her study.

She knelt down and said that she was the eldest princess of the Great Qi Dynasty. She asked her godfather to hand her over in exchange for the lives of her entire family.

"Before my godfather could even finish speaking, he helped my godmother up. Then he said, 'You are not the Princess of Great Qi, you are just my wife.'"

Gu Mingyue's nose suddenly stung with tears, and she quickly lowered her head, gently rubbing her eyes a couple of times.

Gu Debai sighed softly.

"My godfather started making arrangements for his future from that day on."

"He summoned several of his most trusted deputy generals from the Jiangbei camp and ordered them to secretly relocate the families of former Qi officials who had been protected by his godmother to more remote areas in batches."

"But my godmother was still worried."

Gu Debai's gaze fell on the two children's faces.

"At that time, I had just passed the imperial examination with top honors and was working as an editor in the Hanlin Academy. My godmother was afraid that it would implicate us."

"Then I discussed with my godfather about betrothing his daughter, Jing Shu, to me. Then I had someone pull strings to get me transferred to an official post far from the capital."

"Your maternal grandfather initially disagreed. He was reluctant to let his daughter marry so far away. But your maternal grandmother said that the farther away the better. In the end, he nodded in agreement."

"On the day I married Jing Shu, we didn't have a big celebration."

"There was only one family feast. My godfather sat at the head of the table and drank a lot. My godmother accompanied Jing Shu as she changed into her wedding dress. When she came out, her eyes were swollen."

"On the third day after the wedding, my godmother called me to her room."

She handed me a wooden box. It wasn't big, about the width of a palm and half a foot long. It was wrapped in two layers of oiled paper and sealed with wax.

She said, "If the house is at peace, the box must not be opened."

Gu Mingyue and Gu Mingli exchanged a glance, and they seemed to have guessed what was in the box.

Gu Debai made no attempt to hide anything and continued speaking.

"I took the box without asking what was inside."

"On the fifth day, the transfer order came down, and I was transferred to Anyang County in the northern border as the magistrate. Even the files of the Ministry of Personnel were changed. Apart from the Minister of Personnel at the time, no one knew that I was Lu Lin's son-in-law. From then on, I had no connection with the Lu family at all."

"At the northernmost edge of the northern border, further north lies the Northern Barbarian Grasslands. It's a remote and impoverished place; the court officials are too lazy to go there."

"But if something really happens, it's quite easy to escape from the territory of Dayong."

"On the day I took Jing Shu to say goodbye to my godfather and godmother, my godfather stood at the gate of the mansion to see us off. He patted my shoulder and said, 'Take good care of Jing Shu, and come back when things have calmed down.'"

"Her godmother stood behind him, smiling as she wiped away tears. As she left, she slipped a bag of silver into Jing Shu's sleeve, saying, 'Buy some good food on the way, so you won't go hungry.'"

That was the last time I saw my godfather and godmother.

Gu Mingyue sniffed quietly and asked in a hoarse voice:

"And... what happens after we arrive in Anyang?"

Gu Debai glanced at his daughter and paused for a moment.

"When we arrived in Anyang, your mother and I didn't dare stay in the county town."

"If the imperial court ever discovers the identity of the eldest princess, her family members will be the first to be investigated."

"So I took your mother and went to a small village in the far north of Anyang. I rode to the Anyang government office every day, so no one knew who my family was."

"Later, Li'er was born. The three of us lived happily in that small town for five years."

At this point, a tender look returned to Gu Debai's eyes.

"During those years, news kept coming from Jiangzhou. It was all sent by Deputy General Xu of the Lu family army through secret agents."

"My godfather protected Jiangzhou very well. He opened the granaries to distribute grain during floods and organized military settlements during famines. The local people called him the Great Benevolent Man Lu."

"In the western border region, although my godfather has been transferred, the 80,000-strong Lu family army he left behind still has considerable combat strength."

"Those soldiers were trained by my godfather; they are brave, skilled in battle, and extremely loyal. Foreign enemies dare not easily invade the border."

"Jing Shu and I both thought that the events of the previous dynasty should be over soon. Sometimes we would sit in the courtyard at night and look at the stars. She said that when the child is a little older, she would take him back to Jiangzhou to see his maternal grandparents."

At this point, Gu Debai pursed his lips.

He picked up his wine glass and found it was empty. Gu Mingli quickly took the wine pot and filled it for him.

Gu Debai drank it all in one gulp, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly.

"Until one day, a letter arrived."