"Did His Majesty send this specially to congratulate me on my pregnancy?"

"right."

The emperor was quite caring towards his subordinates.

"But why did the Emperor make you bring it to me? If he wanted to give it to me, couldn't he just bestow it upon me?"

Prince Yu smiled faintly, "It's not very convenient, because His Majesty is in the Prince's residence."

"Huh?" Gu Jiangli was taken aback.

The emperor lived in the prince's palace, practically under the same roof as them. How could no one know about such a big thing?

"Only a few ministers in the palace know that His Majesty has left the palace this time. Staying in the Prince's Mansion will firstly keep him out of sight, and secondly, if His Majesty also wants to go to the mines, he can go with me, which will be more convenient."

Gu Jiangli nodded thoughtfully, "So he's been secretly living in the Prince's mansion. Why is he being so cautious? Is something wrong at the mine?"

During this period, Prince Yu was almost never at home; he was always at the mines.

Logically speaking, a prince like him shouldn't need to be so personally involved in mining.

It now seems that the Emperor simply made him do it personally.

There must be something important in the mine that prompted the emperor to take such action.

Prince Yu nodded. "Back then, I gave the royal family three mines in exchange for a prince's position. I originally thought they were three gold mines, but a few months ago, they unearthed expensive mutton-fat jade underground."

“The value of jade is no less than that of gold. Some craftsmen say that the piece of mutton fat jade was not obtained by chance, and there may be a huge jade vein underground.”

"The jade vein stretches far and wide, possibly connecting several mountains. If this is true, then the value of the mine will increase several times over."

"In order to prevent such uncertain matters from spreading, the emperor suppressed the news and waited until the specific route of the jade vein was determined before announcing it."

"So during this period, in order to be able to go to the mine with me from time to time and get good news as soon as possible, the Emperor will be less noticed when he leaves the Prince's Mansion than when he leaves the Imperial Palace."

Gu Jiangli was secretly astonished. Although she already had some understanding of Prince Yu's wealth, she was still secretly astonished when he talked about the mines and jade veins.

Mutton fat jade is indeed very valuable, and a complete jade vein is especially precious to the royal family.

It's no wonder that the Emperor and Prince Yu have been so concerned about the mines lately.

"I see... Should I go see the Emperor? Pay my respects or something?"

Prince Yu smiled and said, "No need. His Majesty doesn't want people to find out that he's living in the Prince's Mansion. The fewer people who go to see him, the better."

“Alright,” Gu Jiangli readily agreed. She didn’t really want to see the emperor, nor did she want to follow those tedious kneeling rituals. “Then where does the emperor live?”

"The easternmost wing in the backyard is the most secluded place, where no one will disturb you."

The remote location made it difficult for people to discover, which also met the emperor's requirements.

The Prince's mansion is so large that hiding one or two people would be quite easy.

Since Prince Yu said he wouldn't bother the emperor, she didn't bring up the matter in front of him.

The next day, Prince Yu got up very early and left, having been awakened by the commotion outside.

Gu Jiangli walked to the window with a puzzled look in her eyes, only to find that not a single flower remained in the small courtyard, and several craftsmen were digging holes and digging soil back and forth.

She called Lotus over, utterly puzzled, "What are they doing?"

Lotus smiled brightly, "Your Highness, they are planting trees."

"Planting trees?"

“Plant ginkgo trees,” said Prince Yu. “Leave a walkway in the middle and plant ginkgo trees on both sides.”

Gu Jiangli: "......"

There's no need to take such a sentence to heart!

Gu Jiangli sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. The competitive nature of men was truly an eye-opener for her.

Prince Yu's execution ability was truly unmatched.

Just then, two servants carried in a small box, which was filled with gifts from outsiders.

"Ah, here we go again," Lotus sighed.

The gifts were laid out on the table, a dazzling array of boxes of all sizes.

"Lotus, don't rush to open the box yet. Let's see if there are any letters or anything like that."

Lotus immediately obeyed the order, searched the room, and sure enough, found the envelope.

"There really is!"

Gu Jiangli waved her hand dismissively, "No need to give it to me, just look at what's written on it."

Lotus opened the letter and read it aloud, word by word:

Seeing that you are well brings me comfort. If fate allows, may we meet again?

"What...what does this mean? It gives the impression that you and he are still corresponding?"

Lotus had a bad feeling; the phrase "Seeing you well" was clearly something that person had written after receiving a reply.

Gu Jiangli scoffed, "I didn't reply to him, so naturally someone else did."

You mean...?

Gu Jiangli's single glance conveyed a meaning that was self-evident.

Receiving the letter was not an accident or a coincidence, but rather something someone deliberately did.

She wasn't surprised at all by this trick.

With Lan Shuang's brain, this kind of despicable method is probably the only thing she could come up with.

But this is good, because it will allow the mistress and Prince Yu to see Lan Shuang's disgusting true colors.

"Lotus, don't burn today's letters. Find a box and put them away, and keep them safe."

Seeing the princess's composed demeanor, Lotus knew that she had a plan in mind.

"OK!"

Gu Jiangli touched the jade pendant given to him by the emperor and muttered to himself:

"Since you're in the Prince's residence, you should naturally be of some use."

Unexpectedly, the system, which had not been online for a long time, suddenly spoke up.

[Just a friendly reminder, we don't recommend handling this jade pendant for extended periods of time.]

Gu Jiangli's expression hardened, and he thought to himself, "What's going on?"

This jade pendant isn't good for the fetus. Although you've already taken medication to prevent miscarriage and the baby can be born smoothly, wearing this jade pendant for too long can still affect your health.

Gu Jiangli placed the jade pendant on the table, took a deep breath, and his expression gradually turned cold.

"Could there be a problem with a jade pendant given by the emperor?"

[There are some problems, but they can be avoided for you. Just keep the jade pendant far away, and you'll be fine.]

Prince Yu wouldn't lie to her; if he said it was a gift from the Emperor, then it must have been a gift from the Emperor.

The jade pendant given by the emperor was given directly to Prince Yu, and no one else handled it in between.

If there's a problem with the pendant, then the problem originated with the emperor.

Gu Jiangli was utterly helpless and sighed repeatedly.

"Zizai, if I didn't take the pregnancy-preserving pills, and I always kept this with me, what would happen? Would I miscarry?"

[Yes, dear. Without the help of pregnancy-preserving pills, you will miscarry within three months.]

Gu Jiangli closed her eyes, feeling utterly exhausted.

Lan Shuang is after her family fortune, but is the emperor also after the prince's family fortune?