Born into a Humble Family

Gu Chengyin boarded the Cui residence carriage and sat calmly opposite Cui Zilu.

The carriage drove smoothly out of the Crown Heir Palace grounds, heading in the direction of the Grand Secretariat.

However, just as they reached a relatively wide intersection, the carriage jolted violently and came to an abrupt halt.

The momentum caused the cabin to sway slightly.

Almost simultaneously, the vigilant shouts of the Cui residence guards rang out from outside, accompanied by another unfamiliar, harsh voice barking orders.

Gu Chengyin reached out and lifted the front curtain of the carriage.

The sight that greeted his eyes caused his gaze to instantly turn icy.

In front of the carriage, several officials wearing different colored official robes, along with a few Golden Imperial Guards, were lined up, blocking the way.

The four guards of the Cui residence had already stepped forward to shield the carriage, their hands resting on the hilts of their blades, locked in a tense standoff with the opposing group.

The leading official, a man of about forty, wore a cyan official robe with an egret rank badge, denoting a sixth-rank official.

Seeing Gu Chengyin appear, he took a step forward, drew a document stamped with a bright red seal from his chest, snapped it open toward Gu Chengyin, and loudly declared:

"Gu Chengyin, I am Xiao Maoqing, Director of the Qingli Department in the Ministry of Personnel."

His voice was booming, deliberately loud enough for everyone around to hear. "It has been discovered that you are suspected of falsifying your background and resume. Your records are fabricated, and your origins are unknown!"

"The Ministry of Personnel suspects you are a spy planted by an enemy state, intending to endanger our Great Luo empire!"

"Under higher orders, please step out of the carriage immediately, cooperate with the investigation, and come with us!"

Xiao Maoqing?

A cold glint flashed in Gu Chengyin's eyes.

The Qingli Department of the Ministry of Personnel specifically handled the auditing of official records and the verification of backgrounds.

Seeing the opposing party holding an official document and accompanied by Golden Imperial Guards, the Cui residence guards hesitated to act rashly, simply guarding the carriage with vigilance.

Gu Chengyin's expression remained unchanged. He raised his hand and gently patted the Cui residence coachman on the shoulder.

Understanding the gesture, the coachman immediately got down, walked quickly over to Xiao Maoqing, and took the document from his hands.

He then hurried back and respectfully handed it to Gu Chengyin.

Gu Chengyin took the document and unfolded it, his eyes quickly sweeping over the text.

It was indeed a document from the Ministry of Personnel. The format was strict and the wording conclusive, claiming that during a routine check of official records, they found the background record of Gu Chengyin, Director of the Internal Affairs Bureau, to be suspicious. After sending personnel to investigate his registered hometown as stated in the files, they found no poor scholarly family matching his file's description in the area. The man seemed to have appeared out of thin air, raising heavy suspicions.

Therefore, according to relevant laws, the Qingli Department of the Ministry of Personnel had opened a case for investigation and requested the involved official, Gu Chengyin, to immediately go to the Ministry of Personnel for questioning.

At the bottom was the striking, bright red official seal of the Ministry of Personnel!

The paperwork was complete, and the procedure seemed perfectly legal.

After reading it, Gu Chengyin closed the document. There was no panic on his face; instead, a faint hint of mockery appeared.

"Director Xiao, I am the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Heir appointed by His Majesty, the Marquis of Equal Standings titled by Her Highness, and the current Director of the Internal Affairs Bureau."

"Whether looking at my noble title, my official rank, or the palace department I serve in, it is not your Qingli Department's place to interfere, is it?"

This rebuttal was well-founded. The Junior Preceptor to the Crown Heir belonged to the Crown Heir's system and was under the jurisdiction of the Crown Heir's Palace.

The Marquis of Equal Standings was a noble title, recorded by the Ministry of Rites.

The Director of the Internal Affairs Bureau was an inner court position, directly under the Emperor or the Crown Heir.

Although the Ministry of Personnel managed the selection, evaluation, ennoblement, and inheritance of all civil officials in the realm, when it came to a complex situation like Gu Chengyin's, which involved multiple identities connected to the inner court and the Crown Heir, their jurisdiction had always been vague and debatable.

For the Qingli Department to directly block the road and arrest someone on suspicion of being a spy procedurally smacked of overstepping bounds and abusing power.

However, Xiao Maoqing had clearly come prepared.

He sneered and retorted bluntly, "Gu Chengyin, stop your sophistry! Our Great Luo's Ministry of Personnel governs all civil officials in the realm!"

"As long as you are an official of Great Luo, receiving an imperial salary and enjoying a Great Luo noble title, you fall entirely within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel!"

"This is the rule set by the founding Emperor!"

He pointed at the document in Gu Chengyin's hand and said sternly:

"When my Qingli Department was verifying the records of all officials, we found your background records to be vague and highly suspicious!"

"Following procedure, we sent personnel to your registered hometown for a detailed investigation. The result was that the poor scholarly family mentioned in your file does not exist there at all!"

"You seem to have popped out of nowhere! A person of unknown origin with fabricated records suddenly appearing by the Crown Heir's side and quickly gaining high position and favor, is this not suspicious?!"

"You must have an ulterior motive. You might even be a spy sent by an enemy state, intending to deceive His Majesty, endanger Her Highness, and shake the foundations of our Great Luo!"

Xiao Maoqing grew more agitated as he spoke, his voice rising higher and higher, as if he had already convicted Gu Chengyin:

"For the safety of Her Highness, and moreover to ensure His Majesty is not deceived by villains, and for the stability of Great Luo's state and society."

"Gu Chengyin, no matter what today, you must return with us to the Ministry of Personnel and explain things clearly!"

"Otherwise, you will be defying orders, which is tantamount to treason!"

His words were aggressive, and the accusations he threw were increasingly severe.

The hands of several Golden Imperial Guards were already resting on their sword hilts, their cold eyes fixed on Gu Chengyin.

As soon as Xiao Maoqing gave the order, they would immediately move to arrest him.

The Cui residence guards instantly became even more tense, drawing their sabers halfway from their sheaths.

Cold light flashed as they guarded the carriage, facing off against the Golden Imperial Guards. A conflict was on the verge of breaking out.

Inside the carriage, Cui Zilu was already pale with fright, her small hands tightly gripping the corner of her clothes.

However, Gu Chengyin, who was at the center of the storm, remained terrifyingly calm.

He narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.

Xiao Maoqing's words revealed several key pieces of information:

The record issue: The other party had checked his file registered with the Ministry of Personnel and claimed to have sent someone to his hometown to verify it, finding discrepancies.

The point of accusation: The file recorded him as coming from a poor scholarly family, but verification showed otherwise.

The objective: Using this as an excuse to suspect him of being an enemy spy and taking him away for investigation.

Gu Chengyin knew his own records perfectly well.

It was created by Shangguan Yunying when Luo Zhao officially appointed him as Director of the Internal Affairs Bureau. His position was registered under the Internal Affairs Bureau, and the Ministry of Personnel only held a backup copy.

He remembered very clearly that the background Shangguan Yunying had set for him was a rustic commoner whose parents had died early, wandering the world.

By a stroke of luck, he was encountered by Luo Zhao in Beihe City and brought along by her side.

In the context and official records of Great Luo, a poor scholarly family usually referred to a family of scholars whose ancestors once held academic degrees or official posts but had since fallen into decline.

A rustic commoner, on the other hand, leaned more toward a pure commoner or peasant.

Xiao Maoqing kept insisting that his background as a poor scholar didn't match, which made the accusation itself somewhat strange.

Unless... someone had altered his official records.

A flash of lightning suddenly struck across Gu Chengyin's mind.

Only one person had ever asked about his origins and background.

And had even said Gu Chengyin came from a poor scholarly family.

Lyu Fang.