Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Chapter 345, Section 345: Discussion
Gu Kaiyuan thought that this hadn't happened in his previous life, so it seemed that the Third Prince was really desperate for money. "He just wants to hoard land, and I'm afraid the Emperor deliberately gave him some information."

No matter what, the Third Prince is the Emperor's own son. While the other sons are rolling in wealth because of the support of their maternal families, it is somewhat unreasonable that this son is penniless.

“Even the imperial family knows the importance of distributing wealth equally,” Bai Suihe said with a click of her tongue. “What do you think would happen if the other princes found out about this?”

They were destined to be on different paths, and Bai Suihe certainly didn't want Rong Ruiyuan to take the position. "You still have people in the capital, right? Is there any way to leak the information to the right people?"

Gu Kaiyuan thought about it seriously for a moment, then said, "That's a good idea."

Bai Suihe said, "If it doesn't work out, don't force it. We don't have many people in the capital, and each one is very important."

She had considered using the Bai family, but the Bai family had many branches and was very complicated. She didn't want to involve the Bai family, fearing that she would end up being controlled by them.

"Don't worry, I won't let my people show up." With the memories of his previous life, Gu Kaiyuan naturally knows better who he can use. He did the same thing in his previous life, and this time, he's just going through the motions again.

As for those he used, they were not innocent people, and he might even be able to save some people in the process.

"Should we also report on the movements of Magistrate Xu?" Bai Suihe had learned about Magistrate Xu's character these past few days. He was a good official who was wholeheartedly for the people. Having someone like him in charge was much better than having Ming Peifeng.

Gu Kaiyuan chuckled, "Chen Dafu went to town today, and he even made an exception and rented an oxcart from the village chief."

Bai Suihe, "...So he'll take care of this?"

"Of course, he represents that person's eyes. Since he saw it, if we don't report it, he'll be the one who suffers in the end."

At this point, even if the emperor himself appointed the crown prince to cause trouble, let alone the third prince, Chen Dafu wouldn't dare not report it for the sake of his own life.

“That’s really good,” Bai Suihe recalled that the book only described the love entanglements between men and women, and the Gu family members, including the villain Gu Kaiyuan, appeared very rarely, let alone the power struggles.

"Won't there be a problem if we hoard so much land?" Bai Suihe thought of the red deeds that Gu Kaiyuan had brought back these past few days. It wasn't just in Zhang County; they had also purchased a lot in other places.

“No problem. I’m not in the court anymore. I was implicated and exiled here. It’s normal for me to acquire a business with the support of the Bai family.” Gu Kaiyuan said, looking at Bai Suihe apologetically. “I’ve been using the Bai family as an excuse all this time. But I used all the money my mother-in-law gave me to buy land and put it in her name.”

They had such a large sum of money coming in and out, and they were afraid of attracting attention, so he tried to use the Bai family's name as much as possible along the way.

Otherwise, given that the third master of the Gu family is a complete failure, the source of this money would be unclear.

Bai Suihe: "That's how it should be, but we should stop before land prices rise."

They are still young and inexperienced, and given the lack of human rights in ancient times, it would be easy for those powerful families to cause trouble for you. Even if the Bai family has a vast network of connections, they probably won't be able to protect them in that situation.

The saying "officials, farmers, artisans, and merchants" is not just a joke; this is why the Bai family has been committed to marriage alliances for so many years.

Every year, a lot of money is given away for nothing, which hurts everyone, but there's nothing that can be done about it.

Fortunately, the Bai family has a good eye for investment, which is why their business has been so successful all these years.

There aren't many people like Gu Baijiang who are so ungrateful and greedy; most people still care about their reputation.

"Will Chen Dafu only go back after all the bandits along the way have been wiped out?" Gu Kaiyuan shook his head. "It won't be that soon. His current mission is probably not finished yet. He's just keeping an eye on the Gu family along the way."

Now, as long as Gu Baijiang is persuaded by the Third Prince and his family goes back to the capital to retrieve the treasure, then he'll be free of trouble here.

What's the point of staring like that?

"Of course, he's afraid that Gu Baijiang, who has so much silver, will be unwilling to hand it over. He's also afraid that Gu Baijiang will be persuaded by others, and then the silver will fall into their hands. The Third Prince won't get anything out of it, and the current emperor will lose a powerful pawn."

"The emperor really has a lot on his mind. If he used these petty schemes in the court, there wouldn't be so many corrupt officials."

Do you think the Gu family will return to Beijing?

Bai Suihe really wanted to get as far away from the Gu family as possible. If they were to return to Beijing, she was even thinking about whether she should buy some firecrackers to celebrate properly.
“We will go back,” Gu Kaiyuan said confidently. “If Gu Baijiang is not injured, he will definitely need some more time to get the Third Prince to make more promises before he goes back with us.”

But now that his face is disfigured, even if he goes back, he has no chance of a career in government, so he will place all his hopes on the eldest son and his daughter.

……

Sure enough, Gu Baijiang was also talking about this matter at the county government office. “Your Highness, this subject’s face is now ruined and he can’t enter the court. But my eldest son can’t be buried here with me.”

“There are too many opposing voices in the court. I have done my best, but I still couldn’t…” Rong Ruiyuan said for a while before sighing and continuing, “Now my brother is eyeing me covetously, and a new prince is about to grow up. They have people all over the court.”

I finally managed to persuade some ministers to help, but most of them were just going through the motions.

Rong Ruiyuan looked at Gu Baijiang with a face full of guilt, "It's still because I'm too useless. I can only persuade them with sincerity, and I can't offer anything else."

Gu Baijiang knew that coming here today would mean facing all of this, which is why he started complaining about being poor as soon as he opened his mouth.

But you can't expect someone to do something for you for free. If it were you, you probably wouldn't do it wholeheartedly either.

"Your Highness is right; these are all the faults of this sinner."

However, regarding the silver in the capital, I must go there myself; only the person guarding that place will..."

"Lord Gu, could you please give me a copy of the letter?" Rong Ruiyuan's eyes lit up. This old fellow had finally stopped avoiding the topic and had brought it up today.

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” Gu Baijiang shook his head. “They only recognize people.”

Rong Ruiyuan glanced at his face discreetly; judging from his appearance, he seemed more like an imposter.

But he wouldn't be foolish enough to say it now. He knew Gu Baijiang would say that, and that he was just trying to find a reason for him to return to the capital.

“Now that Father has pardoned you, and I’ve almost finished my business, let’s go back to the capital together.”

After Rong Ruiyuan finished speaking, he looked at Gu Antong standing behind him with a gentle expression, "I am in love with Miss Gu, and I hope that Lord Gu will grant my wish."

(End of this chapter)