Chapter 511

Chen Guanlou stayed at the Zen monastery for two days, confirming that Grand Tutor Zhuang had senile dementia and was not faking an illness.

If he were faking an illness, one could only say that Grand Tutor Zhuang was no ordinary person; exhausting his heart and mind, laboring his muscles and bones, and starving his body would not be enough to express one ten-thousandth of it.

He sent the news back to the capital, waiting for Sun Daoning's next instructions.

Sun Daoning's instruction was just one sentence: "Quickly bring the Grand Tutor back to the capital and settle him in the Imperial Manor."

Having received the order, Chen Guanlou revealed his identity and official documents to Huangmen Liang.

He had expected the other party to make things difficult, but he did not expect the other party to have an expression of relief.

"You finally came. I have been serving the Grand Tutor every day with fear and trepidation. Now that the dust has settled, I can also report back to my superiors."

"The Late Emperor has passed away, who are you reporting to?" Chen Guanlou asked casually.

"Naturally, I am reporting to the palace. Official Chen, please take the Grand Tutor away quickly. The Grand Tutor's illness can only be treated in the capital. Don't look at how luxurious the temporary palace is built; you can't find a decent physician within dozens of miles. The Grand Tutor's condition is getting worse and worse."

"Was the Grand Tutor ill when he first arrived?"

"Yes! When he arrived, his mind was already confused; every day he was topsy-turvy, not even knowing who he was. I was waiting every day for someone from the capital to come. If something were to happen to the Grand Tutor, I wouldn't be able to report back."

"Was it the Late Emperor who settled the Grand Tutor here?"

"I don't know about that. I am just a low-ranking manager, only doing things according to the instructions from the palace. As for who specifically settled the Grand Tutor in the temporary palace, you have to ask the great eunuchs in the palace, or those around His Majesty."

This revealed quite a bit of information.

Could it be that the Grand Tutor's disappearance was not the work of the Late Emperor?

Emperor Jian Shi had not been deposed at that time, but he had already been suspected by the Late Emperor and was in a very difficult situation; it was impossible for him to cut off his own arms.

Forget it, this is not something he needs to worry about.

He is only responsible for finding the person and bringing him back.

Chen Guanlou asked Huangmen Liang to prepare a carriage and arranged for two young eunuchs to take care of the Grand Tutor's daily life on the road. He didn't know how to take care of people; he only knew how to carry people and gallop all the way. The Grand Tutor's body certainly couldn't take that, so he could only travel to the capital by carriage.

Huangmen Liang agreed readily.

He prepared two carriages and arranged for a coachman and young eunuchs. When asked if he wanted palace maids to serve, he declined because he found it troublesome.

Huangmen Liang's expression looked a bit regretful, "The palace maids serving at the temporary palace are all quite pitiful. If you could take two back, and speak to the palace later, maybe they could leave the palace early. Even if they couldn't leave the palace, they would likely be able to serve in the capital, which is better than serving at the temporary palace."

Upon hearing this, Chen Guanlou did not change his mind.

The road ahead was long, and bringing palace maids along while rushing back to the capital was truly troublesome. He would have to divide his attention to look after them.

He was in a hurry to return to the capital and did not stay long; once everything was prepared, he set off.

He had official documents on him and ate and drank at the post stations along the way.

The common people of the world were destitute, the imperial court had no money, and the conditions of the post stations were clearly trending downward. On the road, he encountered several groups of officials returning to the capital to report their duties; they would order dishes at the post station, but one would be unavailable, then two would be unavailable. What was there? Only some local specialties; even game was much scarcer, and one had to rely on luck.

He remembered that when he escorted prisoners to the south last time, he also stayed at post stations, and at that time, the conditions were quite good. The food was quite good, and there were all kinds of game.

Only a year had passed, and the post stations had reached a point where they could barely sustain themselves.

The situation in the world was deteriorating too quickly.

The old Emperor did not die unjustly.

If the old thing continued to live, this world would continue to be ruined. The most miserable ones were still the ordinary people.

There were many bandits and thieves on the road, and there were robberies all along the way. With Chen Guanlou there, these small fry were nothing to fear. However, considering the Grand Tutor's health, they couldn't keep traveling, so they had to stop and go, and the journey was infinitely prolonged.

Passing through large cities along the way, they also had to find physicians for the Grand Tutor to see and prescribe medicine, delaying the journey again.

By the time the group returned to the capital, it was already ten days later.

After a dusty journey, following Sun Daoning's instructions, he settled the Grand Tutor in the Imperial Manor. Chen Guanlou still couldn't leave; he had to see Sun Daoning and personally hand the person over to him, completing the handover of this mission, before he could leave.

It was impossible for just anyone to come and take the Grand Tutor away.

If an accident happened later, and there was finger-pointing, the matter would not be clear.

Therefore, from the very beginning, all accidents had to be prevented.

After waiting for a day, Sun Daoning rushed to the Imperial Manor.

Chen Guanlou told him, "The Grand Tutor likely has senile dementia; you go in and see the situation. We'll talk about the specifics later."

Sun Daoning nodded and hurriedly entered the room to visit Grand Tutor Zhuang.

Chen Guanlou kept watch in the courtyard. He noticed that Sun Daoning had brought several people who were clearly eunuchs this time. People of Emperor Jian Shi?

Sun Daoning seemed to be highly valued by Emperor Jian Shi, as even such secretive matters were entrusted to him.

After half an hour, Sun Daoning walked out of the room with a solemn expression and waved his hand; the several eunuchs from the palace entered the room together, closed the door, and it was unknown what they were going to do.

Sun Daoning sighed deeply, feeling very emotional, "I really didn't expect that the Grand Tutor would actually... sigh... thank you for your hard work this time. Thanks to you, the Grand Tutor was able to return to the capital smoothly."

Chen Guanlou sneered, mocking the other party for their obvious guilt.

"I found the Grand Tutor at the temporary palace in the east. Such a living person, locked in the temporary palace, I don't believe no one in the palace knew the situation. His Majesty wanted to find the Grand Tutor, could there be no movement in the palace? It required you, Official Sun, to come forward, and you came to me again. Taking such a big detour, why?"

"You ask me, but who can I ask? Someone in the palace knowing the truth does not mean His Majesty knows. His Majesty entrusting this matter to me is his trust in me. And me entrusting this matter to you is likewise my trust in you. As for the inside story, neither of us should inquire; knowing too much is no good."

Chen Guanlou hummed twice.

"Fine, I won't inquire about the inside story, I'll just be a fool and a deaf person. Where is my reward?"

"Jiang Tu is not dead yet, what are you in such a hurry for." Sun Daoning looked impatient.

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow, "Official Sun, you wouldn't be thinking of crossing the river and tearing down the bridge, would you?"

"Nonsense. You have been dealing with me for so many years, when have you ever seen me go back on my word or not keep my promise? In the officialdom, the most important word is: Trust! Keep promises, keep faith, only then can one last long."

Yes, yes, yes, keeping faith is enough.

"I'll trust you once, Official. I've been out for so many days, and Jiang Tu is still not dead; you all have quite a lot of patience."

"In the officialdom, if you don't have patience, you won't last long. Take Jiang Tu for example, ten years ago the court officials wanted to drink his blood and eat his flesh. Because the Late Emperor protected him, they endured for ten years. Until now, they finally have a chance to settle the score. If it were someone else without patience, they would have been framed by Jiang Tu and thrown into prison long ago, and maybe the grass on their grave would already be a person's height. You, you still have a lot to learn."