Chapter 1669: Probe (1)
The victory over the Yuan Country in the war did indeed allow the Emperor to breathe a sigh of relief, but he could not fully relax, as the southern region was once again unstable.
The Nanzhao Country has repeatedly clashed with Daxuan's soldiers at the southern border, which is a precursor to war.
Previously, the Crown Prince personally drove away the Yuan army and returned safely, greatly enhancing his prestige. However, for the southern war, he sent Prince Yun instead.
Just now, a decree was issued in the Court, and now the Crown Prince was summoned because the envoy from Yuan Country would be arriving in the capital soon, and the task of receiving him naturally fell to the Crown Prince.
Moreover, Gu Sheng, as the Minister of Rites, is responsible for the reception of envoys as part of his department's duties.
What's more, there's the Lantern Festival during the Shangyuan Festival. Although banquets have been canceled, the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month will still be held to pray for blessings with various lanterns.
These matters were also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.
However, these matters had already been arranged in the Court in front of the civil and military officials, so there were only a few words left to be explained now.
But the Emperor did not seem to intend to let the two men leave.
Gu Sheng felt a bit uneasy; his father had talked to him about Gu Ye yesterday, and today the Emperor's behavior made him even more worried.
At that time, such a major incident occurred, but few people actually knew the truth. It was publicly stated to be just an accident, after all, the Gu Family needed their reputation and could not let their scandal be exposed.
The Emperor also did not know the specific details.
Of course, privately, everyone may have their own understanding.
"Chenchen, I heard that this time Gu Qingheng had significant achievements." Finally, the Emperor, after leisurely drinking a bowl of tea and eating a piece of mung bean cake, spoke.
"Replying to Father Emperor, yes." The Crown Prince hurriedly stood up and respectfully answered, even though it was an obvious question. However, he knew that the Father Emperor intended to give Gu Qingheng a status by asking it, and it seemed that the map played a part.
"Gu Aiqing, what do you think?" The Emperor's gaze fell on Gu Sheng's face.
The Shu Family of Tongcheng is not only a generations-old scholarly family but is also rumored to have produced a genius in the past who could scout mineral veins and left behind a mine map.
The Shu Family gave that mine map to Shu Manzhi as part of her dowry, and later Shu Manzhi handed it to her son before she died, something that might save his life at critical moments. And when Gu Qingheng accepted the olive branch extended by the Crown Prince, he handed over the mine map.
Such an item, anyone would want to claim it for themselves, but after much consideration, the Crown Prince handed it over to the Emperor in Gu Qingheng's name.
Seeing the map depicting an iron mine, a copper mine, and a silver mine, the Emperor was naturally delighted, and at the same time, his suspicions about the Crown Prince were somewhat alleviated.
By this, he also learned of Gu Qingheng's true identity.
The Emperor was no fool; in fact, he was smarter than anyone, having witnessed many such matters. Moreover, he had feelings for the Shu Family, given that Old Master Shu Xing from the Shu Family had once been his mentor.
As for the Gu Family, their development had been somewhat rapid in recent years.
Previously, Gu Ye was extraordinarily talented and brilliant, and after his downfall, the Emperor regretted it for a long time. Now, with the return of Gu Qingheng, he naturally wanted to use him for the Imperial Court. Moreover, the Shu Family withdrew from the court, but it's possible that the skill of exploring mineral veins was passed down to Gu Qingheng.
But first, he wanted to gauge the Gu Family's stance.