Chapter 486 Tell the Empress

Led by her maid, Gu Shuyan was taken to a secluded courtyard.

The courtyard didn't look big, but it was quiet and elegant, clearly showing that someone had taken good care of it.

The maid asked Gu Shuyan and Pearl to wait in the courtyard for a moment, while she herself pushed open the door and went into the small house.

Before long, a woman in fine clothes came out of the room. However, to Gu Shuyan's surprise, the woman who came out was not Luo Yuying, the Fifth Prince's wife.

"Lady Hou?"

Gu Shuyan was very surprised to see the former Crown Princess!

Since being sent to the Imperial Ancestral Temple by the Emperor, Gu Shuyan had never seen the former Crown Princess again.

Unexpectedly, she came to the tea garden gathering today and even came specifically to find me.

"What? Miss Gu didn't expect that it wasn't your second sister who invited you, but me?"

The former Crown Princess looked at Gu Shuyan with a half-smile, her eyes gentle but filled with barely concealed hatred.

Gu Shuyan naturally knew what the former Crown Princess hated her for. If she hadn't interfered back then, the Crown Prince wouldn't have ended up in this state, and she would still be the high and mighty Crown Princess, instead of being afraid of being pointed at and laughed at when she went out.

"Madam is too kind. I just didn't expect you to come looking for me."

After a moment of surprise, Gu Shuyan immediately put on her ever-present fake smile.

Upon hearing this, the former Crown Princess glanced at her, then raised her hand and instructed the maid beside her, "Serve tea!"

After speaking, the former Crown Princess took the lead and sat down on the stone bench to the side. Seeing this, Gu Shuyan sat down opposite her at the former Crown Princess's gesture.

"Miss Gu, are you wondering why I summoned you here today?"

The former Crown Princess got straight to the point, taking the tea brought by the maid and personally handing it to Gu Shuyan, "Actually, I'm not here to cause trouble for Miss Gu today, but rather to ask for your help."

In Gu Shuyan's memory, the former Crown Princess was no kind person. Even now that she was down on her luck, she wouldn't have to come begging to her.

What could possibly make her swallow her pride and ask me for help?

In the brief moment that Gu Shuyan was stunned, the former Crown Princess had already guessed her thoughts.

"Hehe." The Crown Princess chuckled self-deprecatingly, then said, "To be honest, Miss Gu, I'm not as comfortable as a concubine as I am as the principal wife. Ever since the Marquis was adopted into my uncle's family by imperial decree, he has blamed all the blame on me, a mere woman. Although I still hold the title of a wife on the surface, I live a life in the mansion that is worse than that of a maid."

What the former Crown Princess said was true. Lu Tianhua was an extremely lecherous man, and even when he was the Crown Prince, the former Crown Princess did not have a very happy life.

Now that the Duke of Anguo's mansion has married its second daughter to the fifth prince, it is clear that the Duke of Anguo's mansion has switched sides and is now on the side of the fifth prince. As a result, Luo Yuping, the former crown princess, has naturally lost her usefulness.

However, even if life is tough, it's highly unusual for the former crown princess to talk to her about these things.

"Madam, you flatter me. No matter what, you are still the wife of the Marquis of Yongshou. Who would dare to wrong you?"

Gu Shuyan listened quietly to the former Crown Princess's complaints, but didn't respond to her.

The former Crown Princess was surprised by Gu Shuyan's wariness. After taking a small sip of tea, she sighed softly.

"I know it's inappropriate to say these things to Miss Gu, but I really can't find anyone else in this vast capital to say these things. Besides, I actually have something else to say to Miss Gu today."

"Please speak freely, Madam."

Gu Shuyan smiled politely at the former Crown Princess, appearing all ears.

"Actually, I've come here today to ask Miss Gu for help. As you probably know, since the incident last time, my Marquis has lost his status as a prince. But no matter what, the Marquis is still His Majesty's biological son. If he were to be adopted by someone else, wouldn't he be a laughingstock?"

"So, Madam means that you want Marquis Yongshou to be reinstated as Crown Prince?" Gu Shuyan asked thoughtfully.

The former Crown Princess hadn't expected Gu Shuyan to be so perceptive. After listening, she quickly nodded and said, "That's right, that's exactly what I meant."

"Then you should tell Her Majesty the Empress what you said as soon as possible. If you wait any longer, it may become difficult to handle."

Gu Shuyan suddenly realized, and looked as if she was thinking of the former crown prince.

"No, what does this have to do with Her Majesty the Empress?"

The former Crown Princess was puzzled. The reason she talked so much with Gu Shuyan today was to ask Gu Shuyan to do her a favor and say some good words for Marquis Yongshou in front of Yun Yichen.

After all, among all the officials in the court, the emperor listens to Yun Yichen the most. If Yun Yichen is willing to intervene, the emperor might just agree to let Lu Tianhua sit on the throne as crown prince again!

“It’s related, how could it not be related? The Empress is the Marquis’s birth mother. If the Empress could speak up for the Marquis of Yongshou before His Majesty, His Majesty would surely allow the Marquis to return to the position of Crown Prince out of respect for the Empress.”

Gu Shuyan looked completely innocent, a stark contrast to her previous arrogant demeanor. In particular, every word she uttered was so perfect that Luo Yuping couldn't find a single fault with it.

Luo Yuping rolled her eyes upon hearing this. If the Empress were useful, would she still only be a Marquis of Yongshou?

"No, Miss Gu, you've misunderstood me. I wanted to ask Miss Gu for help..."

The former Crown Princess was about to speak, but before she could finish, Gu Shuyan interrupted her, saying, "My daughter? Madam really thinks too highly of my daughter. My daughter is just a young lady from the Marquis's mansion. How could she possibly help Madam? Besides, my daughter can't even see His Majesty. Instead of asking my daughter for help, Madam would be better off going directly to Her Majesty the Empress."

Gu Shuyan wouldn't let her finish speaking.

She had gone to great lengths to bring down the Crown Prince, so why would she help them? Besides, why would they think Yun Yichen would agree? What benefit would that bring them?

As if she could hear what Gu Shuyan was thinking, the former Crown Princess immediately said, "Miss Gu, I guarantee that as long as you help us this time, we will reward you handsomely when the Marquis achieves great things in the future."

"A generous reward?" Gu Shuyan couldn't help but scoff. "Does Madam think I need your measly reward?"

Putting aside her current status as the Grand Secretary's fiancée, just the fact that she is the legitimate daughter of a marquis's family means that Gu Shuyan has everything she could want. Why would she need a deposed crown prince like Hou Xie who has been out of power for eight hundred years?

"If Madam has nothing else to say, I will take my leave now."

Although Gu Shuyan didn't say anything to embarrass the former Crown Princess, she didn't offer her any special treatment either.