Being deceived was merely a convenient excuse to extricate himself, one Gu Cheng'an used casually without a second thought.
Suddenly confronted with the question, he froze momentarily before regaining his composure, swiftly scanning his mind for potential scapegoats to pin the blame on.
Before he could settle on anyone, the collar of his robe was abruptly seized, and he was dragged forward unceremoniously. Gu Cheng'an, who would summon the imperial physician if he so much as kicked a stone while walking, felt his knees burning with pain.
Fortunately, he wasn't dragged far. Just as he was about to seize the opportunity to lodge a complaint and divert attention, his hair was yanked backward violently, sending a numbing pain across his scalp. Instinctively clutching his head, Gu Cheng'an opened his mouth to scream, but the sight of the object on the window transformed his outcry, his tone shifting dramatically: "The totem of the Chao Li Tribe!"
Gu Yanxi released his grip and retreated behind the Emperor.
"How could the Chao Li Tribe's totem appear in the imperial palace?! This is…" This was Consort Yi's bedchamber! Gu Cheng'an's legs gave way beneath him. He now understood the crime Tong Yi had committed—and he wished he didn't!
Their very first lesson in the imperial study had been about the history of the previous dynasty. During that period, their assignment had been to assemble various shapes into the Chao Li Tribe's totem.
The Chao Li Tribe worshipped the wolf as their guardian deity, and traces of their totem were ubiquitous in their daily lives. Newborn children, before even opening their eyes, were required to pay homage to the wolf god. It was said that every member of their royal family had a companion wolf from birth, raised alongside them, and whoever's wolf became the alpha would be crowned their king.
It was a nation where absolute strength reigned supreme. Ten soldiers of the Great Qing Dynasty could hardly match one of theirs. Yet, perhaps because of their individual prowess, their reproduction was relatively more challenging compared to the Central Plains people. Even after occupying the Central Plains for a century and enjoying immense wealth, their population had not significantly increased. Had it been otherwise, they might not have been driven out of the Central Plains all those years ago.
In his handwritten final decree, the Great Ancestor Emperor placed vigilance against the Chao Li Tribe's resurgence as the top priority. Throughout the Great Qing Dynasty's succession, even the most foolish, incompetent, or disgraceful princes and princesses were required to memorize this by heart.
Gu Cheng'an was no exception, which was why he understood all too well the severity of being implicated in such a matter.
Crawling and stumbling to the Emperor's feet, Gu Cheng'an pleaded in panic, "Father, I admit I've been useless and committed many wrongs, but I have never had any dealings with the Chao Li Tribe. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth!"
"Now you admit to your many wrongdoings? Did you consider the consequences when you sent assassins after Hua Yizheng? When you poisoned Wu Yong? When you colluded with forces beyond the borders, did you ever stop to think you might be inviting a wolf into your own house?"
The Emperor kicked him over. "I had no desire for a bloody purge. I didn't want to spend my final days having to eliminate my own sons one by one. I pretended not to see that mountain of evidence, thinking confinement would suffice, that I'd release you once you recognized your errors. Ha! And what happens? Right here, under my very nose, you brought a remnant of the Chao Li Tribe into my palace—and I shared a bed with her every night…"
His voice cut off abruptly. The Emperor suddenly clutched his throat, looking up with difficulty at the person he trusted most at that moment, grasping his hand tightly. "I feel terribly unwell. Have I already fallen victim to her schemes?""Summon the physician!" Gu Yanxi forcibly removed his imperial uncle's hand from his throat while checking his pulse. "The Chao Li Tribe isn't skilled in such methods. Your Majesty shouldn't frighten yourself."
"Even if they aren't skilled, couldn't they obtain such things from elsewhere?" The Emperor's breathing grew increasingly labored, to the point where he seemed on the verge of losing consciousness.
Having confirmed from the pulse that there were no signs of poisoning, Gu Yanxi signaled Lai Fu to press the Emperor's philtrum while retrieving a pill from his robes and placing it in the Emperor's mouth. Soon, the Emperor's breathing visibly stabilized.
Everyone in the room broke out in a cold sweat from the scare. Gu Cheng'an slumped to his knees, lowering his gaze to conceal the regret in his heart—if his father had just passed away like that...
The Emperor still tightly gripped his nephew's hand, hoarsely asking, "Have I been poisoned?"
"You are unharmed."
The Emperor naturally didn't believe him. "Then why did I just..."
"I merely gave Your Majesty a blood-tonifying pill."
"..." The Emperor stared at him. The tense atmosphere from the commotion had eased, allowing him to notice Yanxi's displeasure.
The Emperor understood that this displeasure had likely been brewing since he suppressed all matters. Patting his nephew's arm, he turned to the second son whom he had once considered dealing with leniently. "Did the Tong family offer Tong Yi to enter the palace, or did Consort Hui request her after returning home?"
Gu Cheng'an didn't dare be careless, carefully considering before replying, "It was when Old Madam visited Mother in the palace and mentioned it herself. She said Tong Yi had been meticulously trained by them and, being from the Tong family, would surely assist Mother."
"Is that all?"
Not daring to conceal anything, Gu Cheng'an bowed his head lower. "Old Madam said no princes or princesses had been born in the harem for years, and for Tong Yi to establish herself in the palace, she would have to rely on Mother and me. That's why Mother... Father, I don't know the Tong family's situation, but Mother has been in the palace for over twenty years, rarely leaving. It's impossible for her to be connected to the Chao Li Tribe. I beg Your Majesty to see this clearly."
The Emperor snorted lightly, stood up, and took a few steps forward to gaze at the glaringly conspicuous window. Fond of Tong Yi, he had visited this side palace frequently lately, yet he had never noticed the window's hidden mechanism. The Chao Li Tribe had already infiltrated the imperial palace. While Tong Yi was confirmed to be a remnant of the Chao Li Tribe, was she the only one in the palace?
No, certainly not. There must be accomplices still in the palace. The Emperor's eyes darkened, his heart filled with a violent rage that only bloodshed could quell.
Gu Yanxi glanced at Lai Fu, who understood and stepped forward to attend to the Emperor.
Though disappointed, Gu Yanxi didn't dare relax his vigilance in the slightest. Preventing the resurgence of the Chao Li Tribe was etched into their bones. Among the common people, those dark times had gradually faded from memory under court intervention, but the imperial family preserved several records documenting everything clearly.
The Chao Li people were tall, robust, and possessed ox-like strength. Even after ruling for a century, they never shed their inherent brutality and savagery. Rather than merely guarding against the Chao Li Tribe, it was more accurate to say they feared that race. The founding emperor had been exceptionally heroic, yet even with his combat prowess, he could only withstand six or seven of them attacking at once—let alone ordinary soldiers, who stood no chance against them in battle.None of them dared to imagine whether they could still drive the Chao Li Tribe back if they were to breach the pass again. The world had enjoyed prolonged peace, military generals had dwindled, and the army's combat strength was no longer what it once was.
Moreover, the Gu family no longer had the War God Gu Ningpei, and the Hua family no longer had the military strategist Hua Jingyan.
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