My father, Gao Huan, is an invincible prince!

Chapter 40 Openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass!

Before the two had finished speaking, Gao Longzhi, his face beaming with delight, reached out and pulled out the top secret letter.

He immediately opened the letter while laughing, "In any case, the item has been retrieved. I'd like to see what this Gao Erlang has found out these past few days."

Having said that, he lowered his head and looked at the letter.

Unexpectedly, upon seeing this, his smile vanished abruptly, his face turned deathly pale, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his fingers trembled violently.

He immediately exclaimed in a panicked tone, "How could this be... how could this happen?"

"Brother Gao, what's wrong?"

Seeing Gao Longzhi's state, the rest of the group were also taken aback and quickly asked him questions.

Gao Longzhi did not respond, but stared intently at the hemp paper in his hand, his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost.

Seeing this, the group became even more puzzled.

Sun Teng snatched the secret letter and looked down at it, but after just one glance, his face turned ashen.

The reason was that it was a blank sheet of paper, a blank sheet of paper without a single word.

"this......."

Sun Teng gasped, quickly flipping the item over. The other side was also spotless, without a single ink stain. He was shocked: "How could this be?"

Seeing this, Gao Yue and Sima Ziru also realized that something was wrong.

He quickly grabbed the remaining letters and opened them one by one.

However, as each secret letter was revealed, the color drained from their faces at a visible speed.

The table was covered with secret letters, all of which had lost their ink.

Only blank sheets of hemp paper seemed to mock their incompetence and naivety.

Gao Yue was the first to succumb to the shock, abruptly standing up and shouting, "This is impossible! How could Gao Zijin have known about our plans?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Longzhi was so angry that he trembled all over.

He slammed the sheet of white paper on the table and shouted angrily, "That brat dares to try and fool us with a pile of blank paper? Unbelievable!"

"Well done... well done, Gao Zijin!"

Sun Teng gritted his teeth, his face contorted with rage: "At first I thought he was just a dull and ugly fool, but who would have thought he was so good at hiding his shortcomings and feigning weakness, secretly plotting and scheming. Very good indeed."

Sima Ziru remained silent, staring intently at the stack of white papers for a long time, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

After a long while, he closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath, his voice hoarse as he said, "We... have fallen into their trap."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Gao Yue's face turned ashen. He staggered back two steps and collapsed onto the couch, muttering, "He...he was only thirteen years old. How could he possess such a deep and cunning mind?"

He recalled how he had just mocked Gao Yang for being "young and impatient," and now he felt a burning sensation on his face, as if he had been slapped countless times.

"He did it on purpose."

Sun Teng's voice was filled with barely suppressed shock and anger as he gritted his teeth and said, "He pretended to fall into the trap, but in reality, he used himself as bait to lure us into it. Those servants scattered and fled, while the one carrying the secret message deliberately went to his death. It was clearly all a show put on for us!"

Sima Ziru opened his eyes and sighed, "If I am not mistaken, the evidence of authenticity has probably already been sent elsewhere by a trusted confidant."

"Send it elsewhere?"

Sun Teng was taken aback, then his expression changed drastically: "Could it be that this brat has already sent the evidence to Jinyang?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the four of them felt a chill run down their spines.

If the evidence of their corruption, bribery, and selling of official positions were truly delivered to King Gao, no matter how much King Gao favored them, how could Gao Cheng and his ilk possibly forgive them?

Gao Longzhi was both shocked and furious. He slammed his fist on the wall and shouted, "I'll go and capture that brat right now, torture him severely, and force him to reveal the whereabouts of those secret letters!"

"stop!"

Before he could take a step, Sima Ziru shouted to stop him: "He is the eldest son of King Gao. If you dare to lay a finger on him, King Gao will wipe out your entire family in an instant!"

Gao Longzhi suddenly stopped in his tracks, his face turning pale and then bluish, his chest heaving violently.

But in the end, he didn't dare to take a step. Instead, he angrily slammed his fist on the door frame, sending dust flying.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Then, a servant rushed in, stumbling and crawling, and knelt on one knee, reporting in a trembling voice: "Gentlemen... there's an urgent report from outside the city! The Crown Prince's carriage has arrived twenty miles outside Ye City and will enter the city no later than sunset!"

"What?"

Upon hearing this, the four men all changed color once again.

Gao Longzhi exclaimed in surprise, "How could it be so fast? Weren't we still on the Taihang Mountain road just the other day? How could it be so fast?"

Gao Yue was also filled with shock and disbelief: "It usually takes at least ten days to travel from Fukou Pass to here, but he arrived in just three or four days. Did he fly here with wings?"

Sun Teng's face was ashen as he said, enunciating each word clearly: "Those two, Gao Zihui and Gao Zijin! One feigned an attack while the other secretly crossed the Chencang pass; one used himself as bait, while the other traveled day and night... They truly outmaneuvered us to the core!"

Upon hearing this urgent news, Sima Ziru's expression of shock and anger gradually subsided.

He then took a deep breath, slowly stood up, straightened his disheveled clothes, and put on his usual calm and composed demeanor.

He said to the three men in a deep voice, "Things have come to this point, and there's no point in holding grudges. Now that Gao Cheng has arrived, we should go out of the city to welcome him as soon as possible, no matter what. Gentlemen, please calm yourselves down and don't let that brat make a fool of himself."

Upon hearing this, Sun Teng and the other two, though unwilling, knew that this was not the time to lash out.

He had no choice but to suppress his anger and fear, straighten his clothes, and prepare to greet the emperor.

Sun Teng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gritted his teeth, saying, "Fine, let's go and meet this young master, and see what he's capable of that dares to wade into this mess in Ye City."

Having said that, the four men turned and left, heading quickly towards the south of the city.

......

......

As the sun began to set, it bathed the towering city walls of Ye City in a golden glow.

Outside the Yunlong Gate in the West City, the area was already packed with people.

All the nobles of Ye came out in full force. Sun Teng, Sima Ziru, Gao Yue, and Gao Longzhi stood at the forefront, followed by dozens of important court officials. Wei Jing, Kudigan, Yuan Bi, Duan Shao, and Huli Guang were also among them. Further back were hundreds of imperial guards in full armor, their banners fluttering and their armor gleaming.

The pomp and ceremony were undeniably grand and meticulous.

The smiles on the faces of the four leaders, however, looked somewhat stiff.

Just then, at the end of the official road, a cloud of dust suddenly rose up.

"They're here."

Upon seeing this, Gao Yue solemnly reminded everyone in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked up and saw three blue cloth carriages slowly approaching from the end of the official road, escorted by dozens of plainclothes guards.

There were no elaborate processions, no thunderous drumming and music; it was so shabby that it hardly resembled the pomp and circumstance of the Crown Prince of Bohai.

However, everyone present immediately became solemn, and not one of them dared to show the slightest contempt.

A short while later, the carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the group.

Liu Taozhi, who was driving the carriage, was the first to get out of the carriage, lifted the curtain for Gao Cheng, and whispered a reminder: "Your Highness, Your Highness, the entire court of civil and military officials has come out."

Upon hearing the sound, Gao Cheng bent down and climbed out of the carriage, landing steadily on his feet.

Today he wore a moon-white brocade robe, with a white jade belt around his waist and a golden crown in his hair. He was truly born extraordinary, possessing divine and martial prowess, and was also composed and elegant, with a face as beautiful as jade and a red brocade as lovely as a flower.

Although he was only a fifteen-year-old boy, his gaze swept over the crowd and exuded an imposing aura that commanded respect without anger.

When Gao Cheng alighted from the carriage, everyone greeted him in unison, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Gao Cheng raised an eyebrow, his gaze precisely locking onto Sun Teng, who was standing at the very front.

He immediately strode up to Sun Teng and stood in front of him, cupping his hands in greeting and saying with a smile, "What merit do I have to deserve such a warm welcome from you all? You are too kind."

Sun Teng remained calm and simply replied, "Your Highness is too kind. Your Highness is entrusted with overseeing the affairs of Ye by the King, which is a matter of great importance to the nation. We should welcome you."

Sima Ziru smiled and said, "Your Highness must be tired from your journey."

Seeing this, Gao Yue and Gao Longzhi also spoke up, exchanging polite words.

Gao Cheng responded with a smile to all of this, but after quickly scanning the crowd, a look of doubt suddenly appeared on his face.

"what?"

After a short while, he let out a soft exclamation, his face full of surprise and doubt, and said, "My second brother, Gao Yang, arrived in Ye a month ago on the king's orders. Why is he not here to greet me today? Could it be... that you gentlemen look down on him and did not inform him that I am entering the city today?"