The warriors behind Yelv Guza glared angrily, seemingly about to draw their knives from their waists to fight.

General Jin just smiled while gently stroking his bushy beard.

Someone behind him laughed and said, "Back when the hostage was at the Northern Border, he even challenged the old student in a battle of wits. It should be no difficult task for him to compose a poem... hahaha..."

Everyone laughed loudly again.

The people behind Yelv Guza could barely contain themselves.

"Don’t cause trouble," Yelv Guza whispered to stop them.

General Jin provoked a few more times, seeing Yelv Guza enduring shame with determination not to retaliate, reluctantly left with his men.

As they walked away, he tossed a remark, "I thought he would be tougher; wanted to challenge him to a life-and-death game."

"A defeated general dare come again?! Hahaha..."

Yelv Guza stared at their backs, his gaze ominous and fierce. At that moment, the man who went to gather information returned and reported: "Young Master, the Gu Family’s carriage has left through the main gate."

Yelv Guza hatefully said, "That Gu is truly cunning; given that, let’s go!"

A group of people galloped back to the Hostage Mansion.

After dismissing the servants, a guard beside Yelv Guza angrily said, "These young punks are too much; if we weren’t unfamiliar with Central Plains horse polo, how could we lose!"

Everyone was indignant.

Yelv Guza stood with his hands behind his back, staring silently at the curling smoke from the brass incense burner on the table.

He knew with Gu Jinghui involved, they would never win, no matter what.

But now was not the time to boost others’ morale and diminish their own.

After everyone had vented their anger, he said leisurely, "Our Yelv Family has a saying: the last one to laugh is the happiest. Now, don’t mind their arrogance; they will have their time to cry in the future."

"What the Young Master says is true!"

Yelv Guza continued, "Besides, even if we could win today, we shouldn’t. The Emperor of Daxing is here; if we beat them, would the Daxing Emperor be happy? We came to Daxing from far away, and, like Wu Zixu and Gou Jian recorded in Central Plains history, with deep-seated hatred, we should wait for the right moment to strike them fiercely. But outwardly, we must enjoy their Central Plains lifestyle like Liu Chan. Only then will they be lulled into complacency and overlook us."

"Right, the Young Master is wise!"

Everyone was invigorated again, vowing to hide their strength and seize the chance to wash away the disgrace.

Yelv Guza left the incense burner, walked to the desk, and sat down, saying angrily, "Originally, I wanted to provoke the little girl from the Dingbei Marquis Mansion to do something foolish, but midway something changed—Dingbei Marquis got involved, even alarming the Daxing Emperor. Future actions must be more cautious, and we also need to think of ways to restore our reputation among the scholars."

After the polo match, he and his clan waited under the stage for some time without having the chance to say a word before the Emperor. However, Sixth Master Gu got the Emperor’s favor and recited poetry for a long time.

It was clearly a silent rebuke from the Emperor.

Tried to steal the chicken but ended up losing the rice, Yelv Guza was beyond annoyed.

A tall, ugly man with a dark face, upturned nose, curly yellow hair, suddenly spoke, "Brother-in-law, could it be that that boy Xu Tang betrayed us?"

"Right," others echoed.

Yelv Guza gasped and said, "We gave him so many treasures..."

The ugly man said, "Appearances can be deceiving; these Central Plains people are the most cunning of all."

Yelv Guza frowned in thought.

The ugly man spoke again, "None of today’s plans succeeded; could it be the Gu Family got the news in advance?"

This man was Yelv Guza’s cousin-in-law, named Yelv Yongxian, extremely ugly, but skilled in archery and having slain the Wolf King, thus earning the favor of Yelv Guza’s uncle, who gave his daughter in marriage to him.

It was supposed to be a great leap forward, but Yelv Guza’s cousin had liked handsome men since childhood, and after marrying Yelv Yongxian, she was unhappy, dying not long after.

Since then, Yelv Yongxian has followed Yelv Guza, becoming an indispensable confidant.

Upon hearing, Yelv Guza said, "Speak your mind."

Yelv Yongxian glanced at others, implying he wanted to speak privately.

Yelv Guza raised his hand and instructed, "You all go back, change clothes, and eat something; it’s getting late, and it’s been a long day."

After everyone left, Yelv Yongxian said, "Today we failed to intercept Gu Jinghui, and he seized the opportunity to return to the Dingbei Marquis Mansion, capturing our men. The assassination was never sure to succeed, but those tasked with intercepting only reached his guards, which seems odd."

Yelv Guza pondered, "You mean..."

Yelv Yongxian continued, "Our people went to the Gu Mansion, thinking it was a sure thing. Gu Jingcheng goes to the Five Cities Military Department every day to serve his post, and his wife helps daily at the Marquis Mansion, leaving only an unfavored old concubine with no authority at home. Everything seemed perfect; who knew it would all backfire?"

Yelv Guza frowned and said, "Could it be Gu Jinghui himself, cunning and suspicious, immediately suspected we would strike during a funeral after an assassination attempt? If he can always win, he must be extraordinary."

Yelv Yongxian considered and said, "Not impossible. But his timely arrival at the Imperial College was very opportune!"

He clapped his hands in frustration, "It was supposed to be such a great chance, but it got messed up this way. Who could have alerted the Daxing Emperor?"

It felt like they were trapped instead.

If it weren’t for knowing Gu Baoshu’s personality well in advance, angering her spontaneously, Yelv Yongxian would suspect it was a trap set by crafty Gu Jinghui.

Yelv Guza raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you suspecting King Jin? Or the Crown Prince?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Yelv Yongxian hesitated for a moment.

"King Jin hides behind the Crown Prince and Prince Qi, aiming to be the one who laughs last. Can such a person be trusted? The Crown Prince is weak and pretends to be lenient to his siblings before the Daxing Emperor, refusing to dirty his hands. He will only use us. With the Daxing Emperor promoting and using Gu Jinghui, who knows if it’s them?"

Yelv Guza smiled wryly, "Prince Qi and Gu Jinghui are trustworthy, but will they rely on us? Since you are my confidant, I’ll say a demoralizing thing; if these princes are truly kind and filial sons, what chance do we have?"

Yelv Yongxian was stunned, unsure of what to say.

Yelv Guza continued, "I know you’re a hero, naturally sympathetic to heroes. I also disdain the actions of Crown Prince and King Jin, and the Northern Border has an ancient saying: the enemy’s weakness is our opportunity. Our goal is to weaken Daxing."

At this time, the Dingbei Marquis Mansion’s carriage was blocked on the avenue leading north of the city on Horizontal Street. Sixth Master Gu looked curiously at the Duke Zhen’s Mansion carriage blocking in front and asked, "Third brother, when did we provoke the Yu Family?"