I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 155 Crown Prince's Grand Tutor
Looking in the direction his father had left, Gu Tingchen recalled the scene in his stepmother's room, and his eyes were filled with anger again.

Over the years, he had always treated his stepmother with the same respect as his own mother, and he loved her two children as if they were his own younger brother and sister. He believed that he was no less than his brother, whether as a son or an elder brother. He never expected that this woman would be so biased.

She went to great lengths to arrange her brother's marriage to Wanwan, but now that it's her turn, she would rather let her cousin marry into the Yongning Prince's Mansion than grant her wish. This shows that she has never treated her like her own flesh and blood.

"Since you are heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless too."

Gu Tingchen clenched his fist in frustration, when he suddenly saw Liu Zhang walking over with a sullen face.

"Has everything been cleaned up?" Gu Tingchen asked in a cold voice.

"The old servants around the Duchess have all been beaten to death."

Liu Zhang frowned and said, "It's because the Third Young Master was injured. I sent a physician over, but he refused to let the physician bandage him. I'm worried."

"If he doesn't want anything to happen to his mother, he'd better behave himself," Gu Tingchen said angrily.

Liu Zhang hesitated for a moment and then nodded, saying, "There is one more thing. His Highness Prince Yan is seeking an audience with the Duke. I have heard rumors in the palace that Prince Yan has colluded with the Yuzhou Garrison Commander to commit crimes of murder for money. It is said that there is quite a lot of evidence. I am afraid that Prince Yan has come because of this matter. Would you like to see His Highness Prince Yan?"

"Is Guan Qing just a useless bum?" Gu Tingchen's brows furrowed. "How did he manage to get the news of the Zhenfu Shisi (a military command) to Lin'an?"

"Guan Qing is not Xue Jiu after all; how could he possibly fight against those people from the Yongning Prince's Mansion?"

Liu Zhang cautiously reported, "It is said that Yu Bai, who was close to the Prince of Yongning, discovered evidence of Guan Qing's corruption and abuse of power. Guan Qing committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Yu Bai followed the clues and investigated the Zhenfu Division, collecting a lot of evidence. Now everyone in the Yuezhou Zhenfu Division is in danger."

Looking at Gu Tingchen, Liu Zhang reminded him, "This humble general is worried that Prince Yan already knows about our tacit approval of Xue Jiu's abandonment of the city, and he will use this to threaten you, young master."

"It's alright, let's go and meet him first."

After Gu Tingchen finished speaking, he personally led Liu Zhang out of the mansion to greet them. As soon as they arrived at the outer courtyard corridor, they saw Prince Yan walking up with a furrowed brow.

"Tingchen, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty have urgently summoned me to the palace. The Prince's residence is now surrounded by Imperial Guards. You and the Duke must save me!" Prince Yan pleaded urgently, his face contorted with distress.

Gu Tingchen rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on: "I wonder how many things Your Highness Prince Yan has been hiding from me all these years?"

Prince Yan was slightly taken aback, and had no choice but to report the truth: "It was all because Xue Jiu was muddle-headed. He took some murder cases on his head in Yuezhou. I thought of his loyalty to me and that he was my brother-in-law, so I covered it up for him. Who knew that he would let someone catch him red-handed."

"Your Highness, you make it sound so easy," Liu Zhang sneered from the side. "To alarm the Imperial Guards, Your Highness must have played a rather complicated role in this."

King Yan was immediately speechless.

Gu Tingchen's eyes flashed with anger as he glared at him fiercely.

After a moment of contemplation, Prince Yan dared not conceal anything further and began to explain in detail: "Xue Jiu has indeed been accumulating wealth for me in Yuzhou for more than ten years, amounting to approximately twelve million taels. Tingchen, you should know my difficulties. In recent years, Prince Qi and I have needed to spend money everywhere in order to win over the court officials. After all, I am not as wealthy as the Yongning Prince's Mansion. The small amount of food I receive each year is far from enough to cover the expenses of my household. I had no choice but to tacitly allow Xue Jiu to act on my behalf in Yuezhou."

"What a convenient way to do things," Gu Tingchen said, laughing in anger. "Your Highness Prince Yan is truly resourceful. I had no idea that the Zhenfu Division had such a lucrative business. No wonder the Yongning Prince's Mansion has been keeping a close eye on Xue Jiu."

Over the years, although he has lived with his cousin in Tongyang, he has heard a lot about Yuezhou.

Looking at the uneasy Prince Yan, Gu Tingchen smiled coldly: "So the imperial envoys sent to Yuzhou to investigate in previous years were all silenced by Xue Jiu."

"Yes."

Prince Yan gritted his teeth and nodded: "Tingchen, you must help me this time no matter what." "How does Your Highness want me to help you?" Gu Tingchen said angrily: "Now the evidence has been presented to His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. Your Highness knows that the old emperor harbors resentment towards you, yet you are still so careless."

After saying that, he immediately gestured to Liu Zhang, "Show the guest out."

"Tingchen, if I fall from power, do you want to just watch Prince Yongning be welcomed into Lin'an?"

Stopping Liu Zhang who was coming forward, the Prince Yan's eyes darkened, and he said with a cold smile, "I have also heard some news about the fall of Qizhou. It is said that you, Tingchen, are involved."

"Trying to threaten me?" Gu Tingchen curled his lips in disdain. "I'm afraid Your Highness will be disappointed. The evidence of Xue Jiu's collusion with pirates is irrefutable. Your Highness should think about how to distance yourself from this."

Prince Yan's heart tightened, and he was about to argue with him again when Zhou Fuhai led the Imperial Guards in.

Zhou Fuhai clasped his hands in a fist salute to the two men and said with a faint smile, "Young Master, I have come here on the orders of the Empress Dowager and His Majesty to arrest Prince Yan. Please do me a favor."

“Please make yourself at Eunuch Zhou,” Gu Tingchen said, stepping aside.

Prince Yan was startled and said loudly, "Tingchen, have you thought this through? You killed two of Prince Qi's daughters. Even if Prince Yongning cannot enter Lin'an, he will not let you go once Prince Qi is made crown prince."

Gu Tingchen sighed silently and waved to the Imperial Guards as if they were nothing: "Take them away."

After Prince Yan was escorted out of the Duke's mansion, Zhou Fuhai came up to him and whispered, "Young Duke, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager have urgently summoned you and the Duke to the palace. The situation in the northern border is unstable right now, and it is a foregone conclusion that Prince Yan will be questioned. Young Duke and the Duke must make plans as soon as possible."

"Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Zhou," Gu Tingchen said with a nonchalant smile. "I will send someone to invite my father to the palace immediately."

After saying this, he immediately gestured to Liu Zhang, asking him to inform his father.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Emperor and Empress Dowager Gu sat side by side on the dragon couch.

Upon seeing Gu An and his son Gu Tingchen being led into the hall by Zhou Fuhai, before Empress Dowager Gu could speak, the Emperor flew into a rage and threw the memorial in his hand fiercely in front of Gu Tingchen.

"Gu Erlang, how dare you! As an imperial censor, instead of advising the garrison commander to resist the pirate invasion, you allowed Xue Jiu to abandon the city, disregarding the safety of millions of people in Yuezhou. What is your punishment?"

Seeing the gloomy expressions on the Emperor and Empress Dowager's faces, Gu Tingchen smiled nonchalantly, slowly knelt down, and said gently, "Your Majesty is mistaken. I had no choice but to take this drastic measure for the sake of the safety of the people of Yuezhou."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Gu's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Tingchen, what do you mean by that?"

"Your Majesty," Gu Tingchen said solemnly, adopting a righteous demeanor, "Xue Jiu colluded with pirates to flood Qizhou. He occupies Qizhou and holds military power, clearly intending to oppose the court. If he leads the troops of the Zhenfu Division to defect, it will inevitably cause even greater disaster. The only way I can stop him from colluding with pirates is to trick him into withdrawing his troops to Yuzhou and strip him of his military power."

"While it may seem like a poor strategy, given the circumstances at the time, it was actually the best possible course of action."

Empress Dowager Gu looked at the Emperor with a face full of relief: "Qizhou has already caused a tragedy. If Xue Jiu were to lead the troops of the Zhenfu Division to defect, it would undoubtedly be the greatest loss to the court. Your Majesty should be gratified that Tingchen was able to make a decisive decision."

These words left the emperor speechless. On the surface, it seemed that the Second Son of the Gu family had indeed averted a crisis for the court.

With a forced smile, the emperor glanced at Gu Tingchen and replied, "In that case, I must reward Erlang properly."

“It is my duty to share Your Majesty’s burdens, and I dare not seek credit for it,” Gu Tingchen said solemnly.

The emperor's mind was not currently on dealing with the Gu family, so he went along with Empress Dowager Gu's wishes: "Draft an edict to promote Gu Tingchen, the commander of the Imperial Guard, to the position of Grand Councilor of the Privy Council, concurrently serving as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and to bestow upon him ten thousand taels of gold and a thousand bolts of brocade."

Upon hearing the appointment of the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, Gu An and his son Gu Tingchen exchanged glances and quickly turned their attention to Empress Dowager Gu.