Chapter 121 - 121 Unworthy

121 Unworthy

Gu Jian had indeed handed a memorial to the palace, which was sent to the emperor that day and also to Chu Yi.

Lanterns were lit in the East Warm Pavilion. The candlelight shone softly, making it as bright as day.

“What do you think, Chu Yi?”

The Emperor, who was dressed in a bright yellow robe with a golden plate and dragon patterns, looked up at the white-robed young man sitting on the other side of the coffee table, then turned to look at the small red clay stove beside him. There was a purple sand pot on the stove, which emitted a faint sound of boiling water.

When the water boiled, the Emperor skillfully began to heat the cups, wash the tea, brew, seal the pot, divide the cups… The entire set of tea-making actions was smooth and elegant.

The multicolored parrot on the brass bird rack chirped. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed.

Chu Yi sat upright on a rosewood armchair. He held the memorial in his right hand and skimmed through it.

The handwriting on the fold was delicate and neat, but when it reached the signature, the handwriting became distorted. It was obvious that the text and the signature were written by two people.

Beside the signature was a big seal representing the Marquis of Dingyuan, as red as blood.

This memorial was written by Madam Gu in Gu Jian’s tone. At the beginning, she passionately expressed her loyalty to the Great Jin Dynasty and the Emperor. Then, she got to the point. She revealed that Gu Yuan was the sinner, Gu Ce’s son, that Gu Ce had made things difficult between the enemy and the country back then, and that the late Emperor did not pursue Gu Ce’s crime. However, the Gu family did not dare to forget. Although Gu Ce’s son had some martial arts strength, he was brave but unwise. He was also extremely naughty and difficult to bear a heavy responsibility in the Divine Arms Battalion.

There was a long paragraph written on the memorial. Most of it was hypocritical nonsense that could be summarized into a sentence. It meant that the mother and son felt that Gu Yuan was not worthy and wanted to reject the position on his behalf.

“Gu Yuan?” Chu Yi’s indifferent gaze landed on the word “Gu Yuan” on the memorial, as if he was deep in thought.

Chu Yi did not recognize Gu Yuan.

However, from this memorial, it could be seen that Gu Yuan was the son of the Marquis of Dingyuan, Gu Ce.

Gu Yanfei was Gu Ce’s daughter, which meant that they were biological siblings.

“Gu Yuan!” The parrot learned his words quickly. Its voice was so loud that the air seemed to tremble.

Chu Yi looked at the fat parrot flapping its wings on the bird stand and smiled. His narrow eyes shone in the candlelight, and his smile was pleasant, gentle, and meaningful.

At this moment, the Emperor had also brewed tea and happened to take in this scene.

It was rare to see his son show such an expression. The Emperor raised his frosty eyebrows as he picked up one of the cups of tea and blew at the froth floating on it. He took a shallow sip and raised his eyebrows in satisfaction.

Because his son liked tea with a stronger taste, he had added five more tea leaves. It was just right.

“Father, what position did Gu Yuan have originally?” Gu Yuan casually placed the memorial on the coffee table. His slender index finger gently hooked the parrot’s fluffy chin twice. The parrot was very good at acting coquettishly and rubbed against Gu Yuan’s finger obediently.

Gu Yuan was just a small sixth-grade military official and could not enter the Emperor’s eyes at all, so the Emperor was also not too sure.

The eunuch serving at the side had always been good at sensing the Emperor’s heart. He immediately took the initiative to say with a smile, “Your Highness, Gu Yuan was originally a sixth-grade company commander in the West Mountain’s Jiuxiao Battalion.”

After a pause, the eunuch continued to explain, “Gu Yuan’s promotion to the Divine Arms Battalion this time was Imperial Duke Wei’s idea. Two years ago, when Gu Yuan followed the Jiuxiao Battalion to the coast to eliminate the pirates, the bandit leader led 30% of the remaining bandits to escape with the plan of a golden cicada escaping its shell. Gu Yuan saw through it and brought people to wait on the ship. He captured them all in one fell swoop and made the greatest contribution…”

Before the eunuch sent this memorial to the East Warm Pavilion, he had already investigated the ins and outs of the matter in order to deal with any inquiries the Emperor might have.

At this point, the eunuch’s gaze shifted. It was not appropriate to continue talking about why Gu Yuan did not receive a reward for his contributions the year before last. After all, this matter involved the previous Emperor. Even the current Emperor could not criticize the previous Emperor.

After the eunuch finished speaking, the East Warm Pavilion fell silent.

Only a faint crackling sound came from the gauze lamp beside him. A faint smell of candle oil floated out and was instantly suppressed by the elegant incense in the air.

The Emperor handed Chu Yi another cup of tea that had just been brewed. The fragrance of the tea entered Chu Yi’s nose, and he quickly recognized it as his favorite green tea.

Chu Yi smelled the fragrance of the tea and hit the nail on the head. “The Marquis title.”

“If the virtue of the current Marquis is not good, there will surely be future trouble.”

Chu Yi’s tone was casual, and he did not name anyone, but he demoted Gu Jian to dust with a single sentence.

Gu Jian kept saying that Gu Yuan was “undeserving of his position”, but in fact, the person who was really “undeserving of his position” was himself.

The eunuch at the side listened and lowered his head silently. He naturally understood.

If the person who inherited the Marquis title was morally unfit, he would feel guilty and afraid in that position. He would always be worried that someone would come and snatch his title. From this, suspicion would arise, and even unnecessary attacks would cause chaos inside and outside.

As the Emperor stroked his beard, he nodded in agreement at Chu Yi with a loving smile.

He was smart and knew the details. He had never seen Gu Jian before, but he had seen through him with this memorial.

Gu Jian was indeed inferior to Gu Ce.

It should be said that the Gu brothers could not be compared at all. One was in the sky, and the other was underground.

In the past, he only felt that Gu Jian was mediocre and incompetent. Now, it seemed that he had to add “no tolerance”.

“Gu Ce back then… What a pity.” Thinking of the past eight years ago, the Emperor felt a little emotional. His gentle eyes revealed complicated emotions.

When his gaze landed on Chu Yi, his sorrow was swept away, and he was glowing again. Fortunately, Chu Yi had returned safely!

After Chu Yi took a few sips of tea, he put down the teacup and looked at the Emperor steadily. “What do you think of Gu Ce’s surrender back then, Father?”

“…” The Emperor was slightly stunned. His lips pursed, and his originally relaxed and lazy figure instantly tensed.