In fact, how could the Emperor not have understood? Last time when Gu Chengyu submitted the treasure map, Lu Chen was unaware, which shows that Gu Chengyu did not trust other officials.

Since Gu Chengyu repeatedly assured there would be no risk to life, the Emperor let him decide.

After all, Gu Chengyu was not the kind of reckless person, and the Emperor could tell from Gu Chengyu’s usual behavior that he cherished his life greatly.

Since Gu Chengyu already had a plan, the Emperor simply awaited good news in the Capital.

The waiter saw that the people had gone, and even the dust raised on the ground had settled, and only then dared to murmur.

"Those two were really strange, not mute, yet didn’t say a word." He shook his head, tidying up the dishes on the table.

Hearing this, Gu Chengyu couldn’t help but become interested, perhaps he could gather some useful information.

"My friend, did those two not speak at all after they arrived?" Gu Chengyu asked the waiter with feigned curiosity.

"Yes! You wouldn’t know, sir, but those two have been here for two hours. When they ordered, they left me completely befuddled. I named the dishes, and they didn’t respond for a while. Finally, I just brought four dishes on my own, and they didn’t object. Strange, isn’t it?"

This waiter was quite talkative and seeing Gu Chengyu’s interest, he eagerly engaged him.

"So taciturn, indeed very rare!"

Gu Chengyu smiled a little, only four dishes, not much, yet those two spent two hours eating.

For travelers, that was indeed too long a time.

Even if they wanted to stop for a rest, it wouldn’t take this long, right? It sounded more like they were waiting for someone.

"Isn’t it? Both of them not talking, just sitting there, the old man continuously drinking water, and the man barely touched his chopsticks. See? The dishes are barely touched. I took the liberty of wrapping up the leftover braised rabbit, otherwise, it would be wasted."

The waiter recalled the man earlier and couldn’t help but commend his generosity.

He gave two taels of silver, paid for the meal, and there was still a tael and three coins left! He didn’t mention packing the uneaten food on the table, just told me to buy more rabbit meat with the leftover silver.

Such strange people, even on this busy official road, were very rare.

Hearing the waiter’s words, Gu Chengyu was more convinced they were indeed waiting for someone, perhaps even himself.

Ming Mo and his companions also noticed something was amiss. The fact that their leader was asking these questions meant the two from before were problematic.

The three exchanged glances, each becoming more vigilant.

Meanwhile, the four people at a nearby table also exchanged looks, and their leader was pondering that those two might indeed have been waiting for someone.

Who were they waiting for? Could it be them? But their master had sent them to Jiangnan on a secret mission, could it be someone among them leaked the information?

The leader glanced at the other three, and they immediately shook their heads like rattles.

They had been with their leader for many years, and could naturally guess his thoughts.

The leader thought for a moment, then shook his head, impossible! These three were his confidants, they had shared hardships for so many years, how could they betray him so easily?

He cast his gaze toward Gu Chengyu’s side, a sudden flash of insight, could it be they were waiting for them?

...

Qian Hui Chun looked blankly at the surging river ahead, slumping on the ground, devoid of any joy from surviving a disaster.

"My lord! What should we do? The river embankment must have collapsed entirely, look, there’s water everywhere!"

Chen Zhao scanned the surroundings, they had no choice but to climb uphill to escape the flood.

During this, their horse refused to climb the mountain, leaving them no choice but to abandon the horse and climb on foot, and who knows where the horse was swept away by the river later.

Chen Zhao thought of his family, the embankment collapsed so suddenly, although his home was on higher ground, this flood was relentless!

His youngest was only five months old, along with his parents, wife, and eldest son, they might have already perished in the floodwaters.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but be overcome with sorrow. Wiping tears with his sleeve, he gnashed his teeth with hatred towards the sudden flood.

Qian Hui Chun was in a daze, what to do? He truly didn’t know what to do!

His parents and wife and children were still in the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office backyard, and that place would have been flooded too. But being farther from the river embankment, perhaps one or two of his family members might have survived.

As for the young ones and his wife, he dared not think, didn’t want to think.

He consoled himself, maybe death is better! After such an incident, the court would definitely not spare him. Not only would he be executed, but his family would also not escape.

Qian Hui Chun suddenly remembered the message he previously sent to that person, now that Changtian Prefecture’s embankment had breached again, even if that person wanted to protect him, it was beyond his power.

Who else could save him now? No one, there was no one left to save him.

"My lord! When we fled, there were Government Officials who ran with us, they must still be alive. Let’s wait a bit more, they might come looking for us."

Chen Zhao was eager to know whether his family survived, but with water all around, how could they find anyone?

No response from Qian Hui Chun, Chen Zhao had no time to care, he contemplated for a moment longer.

"We can’t, my lord! We’ve been here for four days already, if we wait any longer, we’ll either starve or freeze to death. Let’s head to the other side of the mountain, it’s definitely unaffected there. Once we leave the mountain, we’ll seek a carriage and go to Lijiang’s State for help!"

Chen Zhao couldn’t wait anymore, he didn’t want to continue waiting.

"It’s over! It’s all over!" Qian Hui Chun suddenly stood up, waving his arms, seemingly frantic.

Chen Zhao was startled, not understanding why his lord suddenly became so frantic.

Clearly, he’d been despondent before, but still normal! "My lord! What’s wrong with you?"

Qian Hui Chun began to laugh and cry, with his disheveled hair and wrinkled official uniform, he looked like a madman.

Chen Zhao’s heart sank, had his lord gone mad? If so, what was he going to do?

"It’s all over!" Qian Hui Chun laughed and cried for a while, then seemed to tire out and slumped back to the ground.

Chen Zhao sighed in relief, his lord couldn’t have an accident now! He needed to go back and take charge, the unscathed citizens might have already fallen into chaos.

"My lord! Let’s go! Over the past two days, we’ve eaten everything available around here. I have no weapons, hunting is impossible, and the nights are so cold, we’ll freeze to death here."

This was the mountain, and at night the temperature plummeted. With water all around and no warm clothes, fire alone couldn’t dispel the chill on their bodies.

Qian Hui Chun gazed steadily at Chen Zhao, then closed his eyes and lay on the ground.