"Great!" Bei Mingxuan's laughing voice reached Chang'an's ears. "Your words were extremely clever. You used General Gu's so-called selfishness for his own family to dispel the Emperor's concerns about the General's Mansion becoming too powerful."

Similarly, Gu Xiong was quite satisfied with Chang'an's words.

He never thought that Chang'an would understand the emperor's thoughts so well and know what the emperor feared most.

After Changan heard Bei Mingxuan's voice,

From the corner of his eye, he could clearly see that Bei Mingxuan was drinking the wine in front of him wholeheartedly, without even looking at him.

From a distance, he looked lazy and unruly, as if he had no interest in anything in front of him except wine, and seemed to be a person out of this world.

After hearing Chang'an's words, the emperor looked at Gu Xiong in surprise, "So the old general was trying to protect his own family, not the country?"

The old general pretended to be terrified and said, "Your Majesty, I know my crime. I was wrong."

"You are already old, what crime can I punish you for? Well, get up."

"I thank the Emperor for not punishing me."

"Yes." The emperor nodded with satisfaction. "I wonder if General Qingyun has the same selfish motives as you do."

"When I return, I will definitely tell Qingyun not to..."

The emperor asked this question with great thought, and General Gu Xiong wanted to evade the question, but he never expected that Gu Shijia would speak up and interrupt the old general.

"Your Majesty," Gu Shijia said, "This subject's father always remembers the honor Your Majesty has bestowed upon him."

Regarding the topic of the General's Mansion, everyone present thought that it should have reached a stage. However, who could have imagined that the general's eldest daughter, the future Crown Princess, would suddenly speak without the Emperor asking any questions, and especially interrupted her own grandfather.

Such an action made some extremely particular old ministers frown.

The emperor still had a smile on his face, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Instead, the Queen beside her suddenly spoke up, smiling gently, and slowly said, "Old General, it seems your eldest granddaughter has a different opinion. Why not listen to her? After all, she is the daughter of a great general, so what she sees and hears must have some truth to it. Your Majesty, don't you agree?"

What is the Queen thinking? Gu Shijia is the future Crown Princess, not her son Bei Mingye's concubine. Naturally, she wants to embarrass Gu Shijia and arouse the Emperor's dissatisfaction and suspicion.

"The Queen is right." In front of all the ministers, the Emperor had to give the Queen some face.

Even if the emperor knew what was going on, the queen must be targeting Gu Shijia when she spoke.

Gu Shijia is the future Crown Princess. To suppress Gu Shijia is to suppress the Crown Prince. If Gu Shijia loses face, the Crown Prince loses face.

The old general laughed, but didn't know what to say, so he could only sit obediently in his seat.

"Shijia, the Queen asked you to speak, so just speak." The Emperor's smile remained unchanged, but his words contained a slight reminder, "You will soon be married to the Crown Prince. The Queen is your mother, and I am your father. Don't be nervous, just treat it as a casual conversation between family members."

"Yes." Gu Shijia looked happy, and at the same time, he looked at Chang'an with great pride.

As Gu Shijia looked at Chang'an with a slightly contemptuous look, the emperor, the queen, and even everyone present looked at Gu Chang'an.

The Queen glanced at Chang'an with great interest, then said to Gu Shijia, "Shijia, your father is a general in the current dynasty. He must have rewarded meritorious service and punished mistakes in the army. He was a man who clearly distinguished right from wrong. I think you and Chang'an must have different ideas."

"Of course." Gu Shijia was not at all on guard and continued speaking along with the Queen's words, "What's the point of having merit or not? Chang'an has been timid and submissive since he was a child. He's too petty.

Merit is merit, no matter what, I dare not admit it. My father taught Shijia since he was a child that wrong is wrong and right is right, and that you should do things openly and honestly.

"That's right." The Queen smiled gently. "Old General Gu Xiong and General Qingyun are the pillars of our Shu State. What do you think? If your father were gone, how could the Emperor and I sit on this high throne?"

It was obvious that the queen's last words were a trap.

However, Gu Shijia didn't notice it.

She looked very proud and thought that the queen was praising her. "The queen is right."

After hearing what Gu Shijia said, General Gu, who was standing by, looked extremely embarrassed and frightened. He secretly glanced at the emperor a few times.

The Queen's smile grew even brighter after hearing what Gu Shijia said. She was especially happy when she caught a glimpse of the suppressed anger on the Emperor's face. She then turned to look at the woman her son was about to marry, "Shirou, do you think what I said is right?"

Gu Shirou never thought that someone here would notice her, a daughter born out of wedlock.

Gu Shirou walked to the middle and knelt down, "Queen, Shirou doesn't know how to say it. I'm afraid it won't go well."

The Emperor spoke immediately, deliberately speaking before the Empress could say anything, "What's so awkward about that? Today is a family dinner. No matter what you say, I will clear you of the charges. Do you share the same sentiments as your elder sister?"

Chang'an suddenly spoke, smiling, and glanced at the emperor mischievously, "Yes, Sister Shirou, the emperor is very kind. Before, the emperor spoke to me. He was worried that a little girl like me might be timid, so he specially issued an imperial decree that no matter what I said, I would be innocent."

The emperor was quite cooperative at this time, slightly annoyed but without any intention of blaming others. "We agreed that this is a secret and cannot be told. How could you forget it, little girl?"

Chang'an immediately acted as if he had said something wrong, pouted his lips, and stood aside obediently without saying a word.

However, no one knew that at this moment, Chang'an was sending a message to Shirou, "You just need to say the opposite of what Shijia just said and directly say that the Queen is wrong. Only in this way can you please both the Emperor and the Queen at the same time."

The emperor glanced at Chang'an and saw that she lowered her head with a slightly aggrieved look on her face. He said, "Don't worry, I don't blame you."

After saying that, he looked at Gu Shirou, seemingly dissatisfied with her performance, "Are you so timid? Fortunately, you are not the future Crown Princess. Get up and go back. Compared with your elder sister, you are far inferior. Go back and sit down."

It was obvious that the emperor was deliberately belittling Gu Shirou for everyone to see.

He had the same attitude towards the Fourth Prince Bei Ming Ye, and told everyone that he was optimistic about the Crown Prince, so he was even more optimistic about the future Crown Princess Gu Shijia.

But how could the queen let it go after hearing what the emperor said?

The Queen immediately said, "The Emperor didn't even give Shirou a chance to speak. Shirou and Shijia are both daughters of generals, and Shirou is the Fourth Prince's unmarried wife."