Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 566 - 402 Xue Family

The Xue Family had two Advanced Scholars; his eldest son, Xue Shiqian, also became an Advanced Scholar at the age of twenty-one. From then on, the Xue Family was extremely prominent, unmatched by others. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. In the fifty-first year of Dayan, which was the nineteenth year of Huiming, Xue Haozhen and his father were found to have colluded with Da Xing.

Once verified, naturally, the Nine Families were executed, and not only were the entire family executed, but even the Xue Family ancestors’ graves were exhumed; the blood at the execution by the Meridian Gate could run like a river. However, such events were not recorded in the Jia Ren Chronicles.

At that time, Xue Haozhen had just been appointed as the third-place scholar by Emperor Jia Ren, so there were naturally only a few words about him in historical records. Gu Chengyu discovered these details from other historical and unofficial accounts.

To learn more, one must delve into other historical texts. Even if the Hui Ming Annals have already compiled this matter, it will not be written in much detail. Moreover, Gu Chengyu suspected that this matter had not even been compiled in the annals yet.

However, Gu Chengyu’s interest in this text was not solely due to Xue Haozhen’s biography. It was because the officer responsible for compiling it made a mistake, turning Xue Haozhen’s appointment as third-place scholar into an Advanced Scholar, what a significant error!

The records in the annals mustn’t contain errors, of course, unless instructed otherwise by the Emperor.

When Xue Haozhen and his son committed such a grave mistake, later texts dared not document it in great detail, so finding these records was challenging. But Wenhua Pavilion wasn’t without them, and without careful examination, such errors could slip through. If Gu Chengyu failed to identify them, he would also bear the responsibility if others noticed.

In fact, regarding the Xue family’s collusion with Da Xing, Gu Chengyu found it intriguing at the time, so he scrutinized many historical texts and unofficial accounts, sensing inconsistencies. There were ample witnesses and material evidence, but Gu Chengyu felt they were too perfect. Indeed, the evidence chain was so complete that he could find no loopholes.

However, those were events of the past. The books documenting this event were few, and Gu Chengyu only got a vague understanding. The only place with detailed records would certainly be the Dali Temple.

This case back then required a joint trial by the Three Ministries, so logically, the Ministry of Justice and the Inspectorate would have relevant archives. Gu Chengyu had an interest in such ambiguous cases, but as a mere Secondary Sixth Rank minor official, he could not access classified archives. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

His interest stemmed from the fact that after the Xue Mansion was entirely executed, his teacher assumed the role of Grand Secretary, and Xia Qing happened to be Vice Minister, serving as Minister of the Ministry of Justice at the time. He always felt that this matter might be related to them both, though it was only a gut feeling.

He shook his head, deciding to deal with the matter at hand first. He found himself slightly overwhelmed as he looked at the history book in his hand, unsure of which official had compiled it, fearing he might offend someone. Yet, this was unavoidable; if he missed the error, he would take the blame.

He marked the error at the noted spot, indicating a mistake, and knew that this book needed to be transcribed again. He would report it to Zhang Hai the next morning.

"Mr. Gu! Is it already time to dismiss!" Gan Dianji enthusiastically approached Gu Chengyu, who was still meticulously proofreading, to remind him.

In fact, it was his turn to be on duty tonight, so it did not matter how late Gu Chengyu stayed; it didn’t affect him. But except for those on overnight duty in the Hanlin Academy, once the hour hit, they had to lock up.

He kindly stepped forward to remind him, fearing that Gu Chengyu might miss the hour.

Gu Chengyu had just finished proofreading when he noticed Gan Dianji standing in front of him with a fawning smile. He realized it was indeed time to dismiss. Fortunately, he had completed the proofreading; the books in Wenhua Pavilion couldn’t be taken out, so they had to be finished at Hanlin Academy.

If it hadn’t been finished, Mr. Zhang would surely admonish Gu Chengyu tomorrow.

"I didn’t realize it was time to dismiss, so I delayed Gan Dianji’s meal time. Thank you for your trouble today, climbing up and down to find books for me. Let’s gather when we have time."

Gu Chengyu packed up the things he brought, feeling relieved that he could submit the report tomorrow.

"Mr. Gu is too kind; isn’t this my duty? It just reached the hour of dismissal; it’s not late, not even time for dinner yet!" Gan Dianji felt a bit embarrassed at Mr. Gu’s consistent politeness.

Being a minor official at the Secondary Eighth Rank, Gan Dianji found Mr. Gu’s politeness, without arrogance, very likable, and his fondness for Gu Chengyu increased manifold.

Gu Chengyu also felt within that, despite Gan Dianji’s somewhat sleazy appearance, he was quite enthusiastic and respected him. Since he would often visit Wenhua Pavilion for books in the future, he needed to remain courteous.

"The day is late; I must take my leave now. We shall gather another day." Gu Chengyu suddenly remembered that Ye Zhiqiu might be waiting, so he had to hurry to the palace gate.

"Then I bid you farewell, Sir!" Gan Dianji saluted and watched Gu Chengyu leave Wenhua Pavilion.

Gu Chengyu headed directly toward the palace gate. He planned to bring these books back to the Hanlin Academy tomorrow. Thinking about how Ye Zhiqiu might already be waiting, he felt this arrangement somewhat inconvenient.

After all, they would undoubtedly both be busy in the future, and if they shared a carriage, one would have to wait, wasting time and eating into mealtime. But Ye Zhiqiu absolutely refused to have another carriage from the mansion pick him up.

Ming Mo had already looked inside several times but hadn’t seen his master yet. By this time, he should have arrived, causing some concern.

"Master!" Seeing Gu Chengyu approaching, he sighed in relief. Apart from delivering meals, he couldn’t go inside and had to wait outside.

Ye Zhiqiu also lifted the curtain, looking toward Gu Chengyu. Today, Gu Chengyu was a quarter of an hour later than usual, making him anxious. He was about to go back to find him, not knowing what delayed Gu Chengyu.

"Why so late today? Was there something?" Ye Zhiqiu quickly stepped forward to take the stack of books Gu Chengyu was holding.

"It’s nothing, just took longer checking the texts. Didn’t I take on a proofreading task yesterday? Had to finish it today, fortunately, I managed it in time."

Speaking of it, Gu Chengyu thought of the list he submitted to Zhang Hai yesterday, uncertain if it was feasible. Since Mr. Zhang hadn’t mentioned it today, Gu Chengyu figured he might have to wait a couple of days.

"You really finished proofreading? That was fast!" Ye Zhiqiu couldn’t help but admire, knowing Jinyu’s broad reading; his quick completion was due to prior familiarity.

"It took quite an effort; these past two days of reading have left me dizzy," Gu Chengyu candidly admitted. Over the past two days, he had no idea how many books he had searched through. Proofreading was a tough task, hardly easier than compiling them.