Listening to Gu Gaoxu, Lu Yuan blinked.

’Hey, you know what?’

’He actually had a point.’

’With Gu Gaoxu around, he was basically a safety net.’

’As long as he was there, the Da Xingzi absolutely couldn’t harm anyone.’

’Forget him—even the Officials in Taiping City made the Da Xingzi wary.’

’And who was Gu Gaoxu?’

’He was a bona fide imperial grandson—a Legitimate Imperial Grandson, at that!’

’In all the days they’d spent together, the kid had never put on airs.’

’At times, Lu Yuan really did forget the kid’s identity.’

’So, let the kid go?’

’But the original problem remained: Lu Yuan really didn’t want to get involved with him.’

’Things would just become a tangled mess, impossible to sort out.’

’But... even though he said he didn’t want to get involved...’

’...given the current situation...’

’...how could he possibly avoid it entirely?’

’Things had already come to this; it was too late to get out of it.’

Lu Yuan was simply resigned.

’Damn it all, why did it have to be the second son of King Yan...?’

’If he were the Crown Prince of Yan, how great would that be.’

’If he were the Crown Prince of Yan, I might have even met that ’Good Saint Grandson’ by now.’

’If I played my cards right, I might even have become an Imperial Tutor.’

After thinking it over, Lu Yuan finally said:

"Alright. Go home and get some sleep. Come back at eight tonight."

But Gu Gaoxu was a sharp one and immediately replied:

"Isn’t the West Wing empty?"

"I’ll sleep in the West Wing."

Lu Yuan looked completely baffled.

"Don’t you have a home?!"

But Gu Gaoxu just grinned widely and chuckled.

"No way."

"What if you say eight, but you all actually leave at six?"

"Trying to trick me?"

"Nope. I’m sleeping in the West Wing. Don’t even think about ditching me!"

With that, Gu Gaoxu turned and walked straight to the West Wing.

Lu Yuan stood there stunned for a moment, blinking, before a grin spread across his face.

’Heh. This kid.’

’You know, the little guy is actually pretty interesting.’ 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He mulled it over.

’Ah, forget it. So be it.’

’No point in deliberately trying to distance himself from Gu Gaoxu anymore.’

’It was impossible.’

’All I can do now is, in the future, when I meet the Young Master Heir and that ’Good Saint Grandson’...’

’...I’ll have to make sure I get on their good side.’

’If I can build a good relationship with them...’

’...then if something really happens in the future...’

’...and I stay out of it, perhaps the ’Good Saint Grandson’ will remember our old connection and leave me alone.’

’Besides, looking on the bright side...’

’...Gu Gaoxu is only seventeen, a year younger than even Su Changliang.’

’He’s still just a kid.’

’If he hangs around me for a few more years, who knows? Maybe I can change his mind.’

’With a little persuasion, maybe he’ll give up on the idea of rebelling.’

’Isn’t it good to be a Prince, second only to one and above all others?’

’From what I know, the ’Good Saint Grandson’ never wanted to move against his foolish uncle in the first place.’

’It was Gu Gaoxu who insisted on courting disaster, and he did it multiple times.’

’Well, that’s a problem for the future.’

After Gu Gaoxu left, Lu Yuan put an arm around his wife and continued whispering about tomorrow’s front-page headline.

...

「That night, after dinner.」

Lu Yuan finished getting dressed, attended to by the women of the household.

Outside, the old steward and Gu Gaoxu were already waiting.

"Honey... do you have to go?"

Su Liyan said worriedly, straightening her husband’s clothes.

Su Liyan had already told her mother about the Da Xingzi.

Surely, by now, her mother had already located it.

She reckoned the matter would be resolved in another two or three days.

There was no need for her husband to go at all.

However, Su Liyan couldn’t say this outright.

Aunt Song and Aunt Zhao, standing to the side, also chimed in worriedly:

"That’s right... You don’t have to go in person for something like this."

"Just send Li Fu with some men..."

In truth, Lu Yuan hadn’t planned on going at first.

There really was no need for him to go.

After all, this operation to capture the Xingzi relied on firearms and mortars.

Not on Lu Yuan’s *Celestial Master* abilities.

It really didn’t matter whether Lu Yuan went or not.

Especially since the Zhao Family’s Firearms Team was already proficient from their daily training.

There was absolutely no need for Lu Yuan to go and command them.

But then Gu Gaoxu had shown up, hadn’t he?

He had to go and keep an eye on the boy.

So, it wasn’t a big deal to go. As for danger, there was little to none.

After all, it wasn’t as if Lu Yuan was going to shoulder a firearm and charge in himself.

It just meant suffering the cold for one night.

Just then, at the entrance to the East Wing, Gu Gaoxu grinned at the women in the room and laughed.

"Don’t you worry, my three sisters-in-law! With me here, that Da Xingzi won’t be able to harm Brother Lu!"

Gu Gaoxu had been waiting outside excitedly for a while. Seeing Lu Yuan dawdling and taking forever to come out, he had come back to see what was going on.

When he arrived and heard them talking, he finally understood the hold-up.

He immediately gave his assurance.

Of course, Gu Gaoxu had no idea that if it weren’t for him, Lu Yuan wouldn’t have planned on leaving the house at all that night.

Gu Gaoxu’s words, however, did a great deal to put the three women at ease.

After all, he was a Legitimate Imperial Grandson. Even if the Da Xingzi was incredibly formidable...

...with a Legitimate Imperial Grandson present, no major disaster could truly occur.

Finally, Lu Yuan finished dressing and led the men out.

「Meanwhile, the Zhao Family’s Travelers had all finished gearing up.」

For many of them, it was their first time handling firearms and mortars.

There was no time to train them.

Besides, they didn’t really need much training; it wasn’t the first time they had seen these two contraptions, after all.

Even if they had never eaten pork, hadn’t they at least seen a pig run?

Of course, there was one person who had, in fact, never seen a pig run.

That person was Gu Gaoxu. He was staring at the long "sticks" slung over everyone’s backs, his face a mask of utter confusion.