Chapter 885 Journey to Wei (Part 7)

The two had once shared hardships and friendships, but now they seemed so estranged.

Seeing that she said that, Gu Shuyan didn't say anything more and let the palace maid lead her to her seat.

The banquets in Wei were no different from those in Zhou, consisting of nothing more than fine wine, delicious food, songs, dances, and other ordinary entertainment.

Gu Shuyan looked at all this, so bored that her eyelids drooped, as if she could fall asleep at any moment.

Suddenly, a palace maid came up and called her name. Gu Shuyan was jolted awake.

Looking at the young palace maid, she said, "Madam, my mistress requests your presence."

After listening to the maid's words, Gu Shuyan asked, "May I ask who your mistress is?"

In the palace, Bai Moqin, the new emperor, currently only has one concubine, the empress. However, the retired emperor had quite a few concubines. Since the retired emperor still lives in the palace, those concubines naturally also live in the palace.

Upon hearing Gu Shuyan's words, the palace maid replied, "My lady is the Empress. Please come with me."

When the Empress summoned her, Gu Shuyan had no choice but to comply.

Since the banquet today is all men, Gu Shuyan, being a woman, already felt uncomfortable. Now, she's just passing the time by going there.

Gu Shuyan was led to a palace not far away. As soon as she entered, she smelled a faint sandalwood fragrance, which meant that the Empress must be here now.

"Your Majesty, Lady Yun has arrived!"

The palace maid reported to the person behind the screen, and then a rustling sound came from inside.

A moment later, a woman dressed in elegant attire and wearing a phoenix crown came out.

"Sister-in-law is here, come inside quickly."

The Empress beckoned to Gu Shuyan, who slightly curtsied and then followed her behind the screen.

The Empress had already prepared tea, and as soon as Gu Shuyan sat down, she immediately had tea and snacks served.

The Empress's actions startled Gu Shuyan, but seeing that she meant no harm, Gu Shuyan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister-in-law, are you wondering why I called you specifically?"

Having succinctly revealed Gu Shuyan's thoughts, Gu Shuyan readily nodded, "Please enlighten me, Your Majesty!"

Gu Shuyan spoke modestly, and the Empress's expression remained unchanged. She simply said, "Actually, I was summoned by His Majesty as an assistant. His Majesty said that my sister-in-law would be bored alone, so he asked me to come and keep her company. He also said that we are both women of the Great Zhou and have endless topics to talk about. Now it seems that His Majesty was overthinking things."

The Empress didn't blame Gu Shuyan, but Gu Shuyan immediately stood up after hearing this.

"Your Majesty, this humble woman dared not have any disrespectful intentions. Please forgive me."

Gu Shuyan's sensitivity made the Empress think even more highly of her.

"Sister-in-law, you've really misunderstood! Back in the Great Zhou Dynasty, I heard quite a bit about you. In fact, you're a role model for me!"

The Empress's words were clearly made without any attempt to hide anything from others; rather than gossiping with Gu Shuyan, it seemed more like she was deliberately trying to elevate her.

As a subject's wife, Gu Shuyan didn't want to be accused of disrespecting the Empress. Seeing the Empress continue talking about her past in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Gu Shuyan simply knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I was young and ignorant back then, and I am truly unworthy of such praise. In truth, Your Majesty yourself is a model of womanhood in every action and word."

"It is a blessing that I, a humble woman, can now see Your Majesty's face."

After Gu Shuyan finished speaking, she kowtowed to the Empress. Her appearance was so devout that no one dared to utter a single word.

Seeing Gu Shuyan like this, the Empress sighed helplessly. It seemed that she was going to disappoint the Emperor again.

Although she had long anticipated this outcome, what if there was still a glimmer of hope? With this thought in mind, the Empress still spoke these words.

Now that she has done everything she could, there's nothing she can do if Gu Shuyan doesn't fall for it.

The Empress personally helped Gu Shuyan up and said, "Sister-in-law, you must be tired from traveling these past few days! I have prepared a feast, let's go and have some!"

Gu Shuyan didn't know if the Empress had really prepared a feast, but she figured the Empress wouldn't do anything to her, so she nodded and followed.

The banquet lasted for a full hour before it finally ended.

When Gu Shuyan was sent back to the banquet, Jiankang had just woken up. As soon as he saw his mother, he opened his arms and asked her to hug him.

Yufei placed the young master into Gu Shuyan's arms and asked, "Is Miss alright?"

Yufei rarely sees Miss Gu Shuyan these days. Just now, when Gu Shuyan was called away, Yufei wanted to go with her, but Gu Shuyan was worried about the child, so she asked Yufei to stay with the child.

"It's nothing, Her Majesty the Empress just wanted to have a drink with me."

As Gu Shuyan spoke, she gave Yu Fei a reassuring look. Seeing that Gu Shuyan didn't seem to be lying, Yu Fei finally felt relieved.

"It's getting late, let's head back!"

Yun Yichen then bid farewell to the emperor and slowly walked towards them.

No one said anything along the way, as if the banquet had really exhausted them. It wasn't until they returned to the residence that Yun Yichen immediately asked Gu Shuyan, "Did the Empress say anything?"

Gu Shuyan raised an eyebrow and looked at Yun Yichen, "Husband, what do you think Her Majesty the Empress will say?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Yichen knew that the Empress had indeed spoken to Gu Shuyan, but judging from Gu Shuyan's expression, the Empress had clearly not been trying to please her.

"Looks like I wasted my time."

Yun Yichen felt much more relaxed, and even his sitting posture became more comfortable.

Seeing this, Gu Shuyan glared at him and said, "Aren't you afraid I'll fall into their trap?"

"With my wife's intelligence and wisdom, I believe that the young man's wife could never have gotten the better of him."

Yun Yichen glanced at Gu Shuyan sideways, not even blinking at her, looking as if he trusted her to handle things, which left Gu Shuyan speechless.

Looking at his nonchalant attitude, Gu Shuyan's eyes lit up and she immediately made up her mind.

"Who said I didn't get any advantage? That wife of Mo Qin forced me to kneel down. Back in the Great Zhou Dynasty, my sister-in-law never made me kneel, but now my sister-in-law has given me a hard time. I feel so wronged."

After speaking, Gu Shuyan turned away sadly, and even wiped away non-existent tears.

Seeing how convincingly she acted, how could Yun Yichen not cooperate? He quickly sat up straight and feigned surprise, asking, "Is what you're saying true, Madam? Did the Empress really treat you like this?"

"How could it be fake? But it's also my fault for being incompetent. In Wei, I was just a commoner. I had to kneel and bow before the Empress."

Gu Shuyan deliberately sobbed twice as she spoke, making it seem to anyone who didn't know better that she had suffered a great injustice.