After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

"You were also poisoned that day, don't you know what happened?" Gu Ce instructed An Wu to give him an antidote before sending him away.

This guy needs to rest for a few more days before he can get out of bed. He's too weak. How dare he even dream of having designs on his wife? Dream on.

"Is it your stepmother who wants to harm Miss Rong?" Li Xuanye didn't think any further.

Gu Ce paused for a moment, then poured himself another cup of tea.

"Lord Gu, aren't you utterly useless? You can't even protect your own wife. You might as well just get a divorce and stop harming innocent women." Li Xuanye spoke his mind with a nonchalant air.

Gu Ce suddenly stared at Li Xuanye, his eyes turning sinister: "Are you coveting my wife?"

"So what if she is? She's my savior, isn't it only right that I repay her with my body?" Li Xuanye returned the gaze provocatively, but with a mocking smile on his face.

"You'd better put away your filthy thoughts. Her marriage to me was arranged by imperial decree. If you dare to ruin her reputation, see how I deal with you," Gu Ce warned.

"I was just joking, why are you taking it so seriously? I'm still waiting for her to save my life." Li Xuanye stopped joking and became more serious.

He was just testing Gu Ce's attitude when he said those words. He was inevitably disappointed that he couldn't find out whether Gu Ce had feelings for the young Taoist priest. Gu Ce's behavior was just a natural reaction after a man's pride was threatened.

The fact that the young Taoist priest asked him for help when she wanted to leave the Gu residence shows that the young Taoist priest did not have deep feelings for Gu Ce, a point he was absolutely certain of.

Thinking of this, Li Xuanye smiled faintly again. Anything is possible, and he can wait.

"You'd better be joking." Gu Ce plopped down. "You did a good job investigating the matter I asked you to handle; you passed my test. Are you sure you're just here to run errands for me?"

Gu Ce was very satisfied with his investigation into the matter of the Third Master of the Gao family. He was given half a month, but he only spent ten days to find out the results, which showed that the people under his command were quite capable.

Prince Li has two more years in the capital. If Prince Li can do things for him during these two years, he will be able to secure his position as prime minister in no time.

"Of course I'm sure." If he didn't stay by Gu Ce's side, how could he have more opportunities to see the young Taoist priest?

"Alright, since you're sure, then I'll accept you as my chief secretary. Move into the outer courtyard of the Gu residence and assist me whenever you need to." Gu Ce said very seriously.

The chief secretary, appointed by the prime minister himself, oversees all subordinate officials and holds the highest position, equivalent to the chief of staff. Although he has no official rank, he wields great power and represents the prime minister when he goes out.

If he is indeed a prince, then he will inevitably become mortal enemies with the crown prince in the future.

Today he already knows the Emperor's attitude towards the Prince of Liao's residence; the Emperor's tolerance for others is far beyond what the Crown Prince can match.

The Liao Prince's Mansion is the greatest protector of Southern Xia against Northern Cang; it is best to be on good terms with them, not to become enemies. By employing Li Xuanye, he is paving the way for the future.

With the support of the Prince of Liao and his adoptive father, the Duke of Zhenguo, the Crown Prince's ambition to ascend to the top depends on whether the Duke allows it.

"Gu Ce, are you crazy? You're just a third-rank official, a vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and you dare to appoint a chief clerk? Aren't you afraid the emperor will punish you?" Li Xuanye thought he had misheard.

Gu Ce simply smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and then poured more tea for Li Xuanye.

"Just say it already," Li Xuanye said impatiently, seeing his inscrutable expression. "Are you serious?"

Gu Ce remained silent, wanting to see if the boy was paying attention to the court.

Suddenly, Li Xuanye slammed his hand on the coffee table, causing several cups on the table to bounce up and fall heavily back onto the table.

As a result of exerting himself, he felt uncomfortable all over, as if his energy had been suddenly drained.

"Ouch, I can't take it anymore." Li Xuanye quickly took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket, took out a pill and swallowed it. It took him a while to recover.

"Your body is so weak, you should take it easy and not exert yourself recklessly. My coffee table hasn't done anything to offend you." Gu Ce shook his head with amusement.

"Gu Ce, give me a straight answer, is the Emperor going to promote you to Prime Minister?" Li Xuanye finally asked the question he wanted to ask.

"Not bad." Gu Ce raised an eyebrow. The heirs of the Liao Prince's mansion are all carefully cultivated, so the fact that he guessed it so quickly speaks volumes.

"You're something else." At this moment, Li Xuanye felt a pang of jealousy. "Tell me, what's your secret to winning the Emperor's favor?"

If only the Emperor would dote on him like that.

For so many years, the Liao Prince's Mansion has kept to its proper place, but it still requires members of the Li family to remain in the capital as hostages, preventing the family from being reunited.

"Would you like to take this position as Chief Secretary?" Gu Ce asked instead of answering.

"Of course I'll do it. The Prime Minister's Chief Secretary, though without official rank, combined with my status as the heir of the Liao Prince's Mansion, makes me someone who can do whatever I want in the capital." Li Xuanye had no reason to refuse, and he could also see the young Taoist priest frequently.

"In that case, I'll give you another task." Gu Ce ordered a patient suffering from a rare poison without any hesitation.

The two discussed what they needed to do next in the study.

The next day.

A major event has occurred in the capital.

Rong Yingluo brought Gu Qingyin to Honghao Restaurant for a meal, her purpose being to hope that Gu Qingyin would bump into Zhou Haitao.

We arrived a bit late; many diners had already finished their meals and left, so Honghao Restaurant wasn't as lively as it is during mealtimes.

Just as I sat down in the private room on the second floor, I heard a group of soldiers rushing past downstairs.

Rong Yingluo found it strange and specifically asked Yinghong to inquire about it.

Now, when Rong Yingluo goes out, she is secretly followed by her four guards. Yinghong naturally went to Ling Feng and the others to inquire.

Not long after, Yinghong returned.

"Miss, this is wonderful news!" Yinghong's face flushed with excitement.

"What good news? Tell me quickly." Rong Yingluo immediately became interested when she heard that it was good news.

"It was the son-in-law and the Prince of Liao who invited each other to dine at Mingyue Tower. As a result, the son-in-law and the Prince of Liao drank Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at Mingyue Tower, and the Prince of Liao suddenly fell ill with poison."

Fortunately, the Crown Prince of Liao always had a physician with him, and the timely rescue saved his life.

The doctor immediately discovered that the soup had been boiled with a large amount of poppy seeds.

The doctor said that this substance, if used in excess, becomes poison, and even a small amount can cause addiction. No wonder Mingyue Tower is doing so well.” Yinghong said cheerfully.

This will definitely have a huge impact on Mingyue Tower's business.

"What does that have to do with the soldiers who just ran past?" Gu Qingyin was a little confused.

"Of course, it was the two young masters who reported it to the authorities. Just now, Magistrate Tan of the Capital led a team to seal off Mingyue Tower. They want to thoroughly investigate whether Mingyue Tower used any improper means to operate." Yinghong's eyes sparkled. Now, her young mistress's Honghao Tower business would definitely be better than before. "Miss, why don't we go and see what's going on?"

Yinghong really wants to go and see it.

"Let's go." Rong Yingluo had this plan all along. She didn't care about going hungry for a while just to watch the excitement.

Just as they were about to go downstairs, they saw Zhou Haitao coming out of the accounting room.

Zhou Haitao recognized Rong Yingluo at a glance and immediately stepped forward to bow and greet her: "Greetings, Madam Gu."

"Young Master Zhou, are you done with your work?" Rong Yingluo asked with a smile.

"Young Master Zhou," Gu Qingyin called out shyly.

Zhou Haitao straightened up and looked at the woman beside Mrs. Gu: "Miss Gu?"