Chapter 576 The Eldest Princess's Request

"Husband!" Ji Shi couldn't help but call out, trying to stop him.

She knew it must be because of the slip of the tongue she had made that morning that her daughter had become suspicious. But even so, Madam Ji didn't want to reveal the matter.

"Madam, the children were bound to find out sooner or later. We knew this day would come, didn't we?"

Gu Jin comforted Ji Shi for a while, and seeing that Ji Shi lowered her head in silence, Gu Jin then revealed the secret that had been hidden in his heart for many years.

More than 20 years ago, Gu Jin became pregnant with her first child not long after marrying Ji Shi.

The entire Gu family was overjoyed, with everyone from the oldest to the youngest eagerly anticipating the child's arrival. However, perhaps due to too many blessings, or perhaps because the child was too unlucky to bear it, the baby showed signs of miscarriage at only five months in the womb.

According to the doctor, the baby cannot be saved and it would be best to terminate the pregnancy while it is still early in the pregnancy.

Just as Gu Jin and his wife were hesitating, the Eldest Princess arrived at the Gu family with the Fourth Prince's Consort Yun, who was not yet Consort Yun at the time.

At that time, the eldest princess had given birth less than three months prior. When Gu Jin and his wife saw her helping Consort Yun, who was also heavily pregnant, arrive, they were both puzzled.

They thought it was just an ordinary visit between women, but little did they know that this day would change their lives forever.

After dismissing all the servants, the Princess immediately helped Consort Yun kneel before Gu Jin and his wife.

"Young Master Gu, Young Master's wife, please save my child!" Before the two could react, Consort Yun kowtowed to them.

One was the only and most beloved royal princess of the late emperor and empress, and the other was a highly anticipated royal daughter-in-law. Ji Shi was overwhelmed by such a grand gesture and immediately wanted to step forward to help Consort Yun, but was stopped by the eldest princess.

"Young Master Gu, Xiang Wan, I know that you two are upright people, and the Young Master is an old friend of Bai Xu. We have no other choice but to come to you for help. Please help us no matter what."

The two men came to plead with him, and even mentioned their good friend Su Baixu. Even if they wanted to refuse, they couldn't bring themselves to say it.

"It's chilly down there, Princess and Crown Princess, you should get up before we talk!"

Gu Jin's tone softened somewhat, and both the Princess and Consort Yun were delighted, quickly standing up from the ground.

Under questioning from the two, the eldest princess slowly explained her purpose to Gu Jin and Madam Ji. It turned out that the eldest princess had somehow learned of Madam Ji's situation and knew that Madam Ji's child might have to be aborted, so she rushed to their door to beg them not to remove the child.

As for the reason, the eldest princess guessed that once the fourth prince ascended the throne, he would no longer keep Consort Yun's child. In order to protect that innocent child, she hoped that Lady Ji would insist on giving birth to the child.

In exchange, the daughter born to Lady Ji later became the fiancée of the eldest princess's son, the Crown Prince of Anguo. Furthermore, the eldest princess gave Lady Ji the phoenix hairpin that her mother wore during her coronation as a gift to her future daughter-in-law.

Upon hearing such an unreasonable request, Lady Ji immediately wanted to refuse. Although the doctor had determined that her child would not survive, since it was already in her womb, how could Lady Ji possibly abandon her child for the sake of a marriage alliance with the Princess's family?

Before Ji could speak, Gu Jin said, "Years ago, I went out to train and got lost in a dangerous place. I had run out of food. If it weren't for Brother Su passing by and saving my life, I would have been dead by now. Today, since the Princess and the Crown Princess are asking my wife and me for help, how could I refuse?"

Gu Jin agreed without any further discussion, and Ji Shi naturally had a private argument with Gu Jin about it, almost to the point of divorce.

What truly changed Ji's mind was that one day, as Ji was taking a walk in the courtyard as usual, she suddenly felt a pain in her lower abdomen, and blood slowly flowed down her thigh.

Never before had Ji felt so clearly that her child was about to leave her. She knew that the child could not be kept after all, and she closed her eyes in despair.

Just then, the eldest princess arrived at her side with a man. The man had her put down, examined her body, gave her a pill, and then sent her back to her courtyard.

In the end, Ji's child was saved, but unfortunately the man told her that he could only ensure the child was born so that he could see her one last time.

The feeling of losing her child was too vivid. Ji had thought she would lose him before she even saw his face. But now this person told her that she could see her child, even if it was just for a fleeting moment between mother and child, Ji was content.

As a result, under the man's careful care, Lady Ji's belly grew bigger and bigger, and similarly, Consort Yun's belly also became more and more protruding day by day.

Finally, the bloodshed of the nine princes raged in the capital, and the Gu family, with its strong foundation and neutrality, became one of the few major families to survive.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, the fourth prince's wife, who was originally his principal wife, was given the title of Consort Yun, while the woman who was originally the fourth prince's concubine became the empress.

However, Consort Yun didn't care about this at all. She just hoped that she could give birth to her child safely before that man was busy dealing with his remaining brothers and didn't turn his attention to her.

After waiting and waiting, Consort Yun finally saw the day when Lady Ji would give birth. As soon as the news from the Gu family reached the palace, Consort Yun immediately took the labor-inducing medicine that had been prepared in advance.

As the saying goes, nothing is more coincidental than a story. Just as Consort Yun gave birth, the Seventh Prince, the only one who had not been executed by the new emperor, led a group of men and stormed into the palace.

With chaos outside, the emperor had no time to attend to Consort Yun, which gave her ample time to send her child away.

Everything was going smoothly until Consort Yun gave birth to a child, when news came that the Seventh Prince had been annihilated.

Consort Yun knew that if she took off her clothes again, none of the children would be able to leave the palace. So, she made a firm decision and asked the eldest princess to take one of the children and leave first.

The eldest princess was initially worried about Consort Yun, but she couldn't resist Consort Yun's repeated pleas, and in the end, the child she gave birth to was sent to the Gu family, where he became the eldest son of the Gu family.

As for the second child, the princess had people secretly search for him for a long time, but they could not find any trace of him.

As for the child from the Gu family who died young, he was buried in the imperial mausoleum along with Consort Yun, in the tomb of the Second Prince.

Later, Su Baixu got into trouble, and the eldest princess was also murdered. By a twist of fate, Yun Yichen found Xu Yunzhi, who had been driven to madness by the old man. On the contrary, Gu Renjie, who was born into the Gu family, received the best protection.

"No, how could this be? How could my elder brother be the dead Second Prince!"