Chapter 1345 Ready to Go

Gu Die'er was surprised when she heard her mother's words, but there was no panic in her eyes. She pretended to be worried and asked:

"Mother, you don't have to do this for me."

Mrs. Gu just raised her hand to smooth her daughter's hair, and then she spoke:

"Die'er, you are my only daughter. You married into the palace for the Gu family. I originally thought that we were on the side of the prince, and he would treat you better because of the Gu family's dedication. Unfortunately, I underestimated the cruelty of the women in the palace, and you lost your fertility.

You are destined not to have children in this life. Now the emperor is willing to visit your palace because of your youth and beauty, but when you are old and ugly, it will be easy to be forgotten in the harem.

You have paid such a great price for the stability of the Gu family. I will pave a stable path for you even if I have to spend money. Now, as long as the emperor sees what the Gu family has done, he will treat you better and you can live more comfortably.

If the emperor returns triumphantly from the expedition this time, with your contribution as an escort and the efforts of the Gu family, you should be able to be promoted to a concubine. I will then work hard for you. After you are promoted to a concubine with a title, you will have to look after fewer people in the palace."

After Mrs. Gu finished speaking, she secretly squeezed Gu Die'er's hand. Gu Die'er immediately understood, and then threw herself into Mrs. Gu's arms, choking with sobs to thank her mother for all her plans for her.

These words were heard completely by Su An soon after, and naturally by the emperor at last. Xin Yuan was moved by the good intentions of the Gu family for their daughter.

However, as a beneficiary, he did not mind giving some benefits to his loyal subjects who provided money and food, otherwise it would discourage the people below him, so he had already begun to think about what title to give Gu Dieer after the expedition was over.

Gu Die'er stayed at Gu's house for one night. Before dawn the next day, she set out with the team carrying the silver to meet up with the main force. Everyone was very alert along the way and did not encounter any stupid people. It took them a day to catch up with the marching team.

After listening to Su An's report and personally checking the silver, the emperor felt more confident. He then took out his precious time to visit Gu Die'er, praised her, and made it clear that when she returned to Beijing after this expedition, he would make an exception and give her a promotion.

Gu Die'er hid the annoyance in her eyes and bowed politely:

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. It is only natural for my family to do all this. Without Your Majesty, there would be no peaceful and prosperous times. How could the Gu family do business without any worries? Now we are just repaying Your Majesty's kindness in a different way."

After listening to what Gu Die'er said, Xin Yuan felt more and more that she was sensible. Although she was indifferent to him on weekdays, she was still willing to stand by him at the critical moment and support him with the whole family. He was happy and had lunch with Gu Die'er.

This performance further confirmed to the people accompanying the team that the emperor favored Concubine Gu.

"How can the Emperor not favor Concubine Gu? Even if it's just for the money, he will take good care of Concubine Gu. If the Gu family throws money into the water, they should hear a sound, right?"

Immediately, the guards started discussing.

Only Qi Shaohang did not participate, but he didn't want to be too eccentric. Although he didn't say anything, he was listening with his ears perked up.

At this time another person also said:

"Of course. Our team was responsible for transporting that silver back. I have never seen so much silver in my life. It seems that the rumors that the Gu family is rich enough to rival a country are true."

"Tsk, even if you are as rich as a country, you can't afford to spend like this. It looks good now, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future."

Some people hold different opinions and some are pessimistic about the Gu family.

Qi Shaohang frowned after hearing this. He felt that the rumor that the Gu family was rich enough to rival a country was not a good thing. What the deputy commander said just now was also true. War was the most money-consuming thing. If the war lasted for a long time, it could indeed drag down a family.

For some reason, Qi Shaohang felt even more sympathy for Concubine Gu. If this speculation became a fact, the only one who would suffer actual harm would be Concubine Gu.

After Concubine Gu saw the emperor off, she went straight to the carriage to take a morning rest, using the excuse of being tired, so as not to delay everyone's departure.

Only after she felt the team was back on the road did Gu Die'er open her eyes and raised her hand to take off a hairpin on her head. This was the hair accessory that Mrs. Gu had specially helped her to hold when she left home. She understood that this was a hint from her mother.

Sure enough, the gem at the end of the hairpin can be removed, and a wax ball is sealed in the base where the gem is inlaid.

Gu Dieer crushed the wax ball and found a note inside with the words written in tiny calligraphy: Faking your death to escape, Lianyi will help you.

After reading it, Gu Dieer sat up, put the note in her mouth, then picked up the tea beside her and drank it all. Then she calmly put the gem back in, inserted the hairpin into her bun again, picked up a book at random, and started reading.

Although Gu Die'er would turn a page of the book after a while, her mind was full of the contents of the note. She didn't expect that her good sister would dare to take such a big risk to help her, but the note did not mention any specific plans, which made her a little nervous.

Thoughts were flying in her mind, making Gu Dieer a little anxious. This time when she came back home, she just wanted to see her mother and confirm the situation at home. She didn't dare to say anything extra.

Because she knew very well that the emperor had placed secret guards around her, and her every word and action would be heard by the emperor. She could not show the slightest abnormality. If she aroused the emperor's suspicion, the Gu family would be doomed, and she could not bear such a result.

But her mother hinted to her that the Gu family had already made the decision to retreat while the going was good, and that they would do it cleverly and without flaws. She just needed to wait for the right opportunity and cooperate.

On the other side, Lianyi avoided some eyes and met Mrs. Gu in a teahouse.

Mrs. Gu looked at the burly man standing behind Lianyi in surprise, then signaled with her eyes what was going on.

Lian Yi said lightly:

"This is Boss Feng. When I was a traveling doctor, he tried to rob me of my money and my body, but I robbed him back. Now he is my subordinate and follows my orders."

After hearing this, Boss Feng's mouth twitched, and he gave Madam Gu a smile that was uglier than crying, causing Madam Gu to laugh softly and say:

"Then this is his fault. He didn't know the value of a piece of gold and jade. It's too good for him to be your subordinate."

Boss Feng immediately stopped smiling and tried his best to act as a background.

Lian Yi also pursed her lips and smiled, then said:

"Mrs. Gu is right. His strength is not that great, but his appearance is intimidating enough. Standing next to me can save me a lot of trouble."

Then they ended the small talk and turned the topic to Gu Dieer and the Gu family.

"Lianyi, I have already set up the game. Now I am just waiting for Die'er's cooperation."

"Ma'am, rest assured. I will be responsible for Die'er's affairs to the end."

"Okay, I trust you. Just ask me if you need anything."

"No, I will act according to circumstances. Madam, just make sure that after the incident, the Emperor can't find anything in the Gu family."