"certainly."

"They think that having a grandson of the emperor means they can rest easy, but they are sorely mistaken."

Now, Prince Rui was even more confused.

"Mother, what do you want to do?"

Consort Hui chuckled softly.

"What if the crown prince wasn't the crown prince?"

This shocked Prince Rui.

"What do you mean? What do you mean by 'the crown prince isn't the crown prince'?"

"How could the Crown Prince not be the Crown Prince?"

Consort Hui offered no explanation, only muttering, "If the Crown Prince isn't the Crown Prince, then what is this eldest grandson of the Emperor worth!"

"Then, tell me, whose throne will it be?"

Prince Rui was completely bewildered by these words.

Consort Hui did not explain, but only murmured, "Just wait and see, you will understand soon."

******

Time flies, and several days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The palace has remained calm these past few days.

Shen Hechuan also seemed to be busy.

Gu Jingchun almost never sees anyone.

After failing to find Shen Hechuan several times, she realized that he was deliberately avoiding her.

This made her sigh.

In addition, Emperor Rongcheng visited Gu Jinxi more often during this period.

Therefore, in order to legitimize his eldest grandson's status, Emperor Rongcheng began to consider giving Gu Jingchun a proper title.

He originally intended for her to be the Crown Prince's concubine.

However, the Empress Dowager refused, saying that Gu Jinxi was too clever and would surely become the Crown Prince in the future.

However, if Gu Jingchun becomes a concubine, his status will become awkward.

Over the course of their time together, Emperor Rongcheng had come to realize that Gu Jinxi was a rare genius.

A child like him is destined to inherit the throne in the future. If we miss out on this opportunity because of his status, wouldn't that be a great loss for Dacheng?

Therefore, despite Emperor Rongcheng's reluctance, he began to arrange for Gu Jingchun and Shen Hechuan to get married.

However, if Gu Jingchun wants to get married, his social status will definitely be a major hurdle.

He frowned immediately upon hearing that Gu Jingchun had been expelled from the manor by the Marquis of Yong'an.

He then thought of issuing an imperial edict to the Marquis of Yong'an, ordering Gu Jingchun to return first and then proceed with the marriage.

Only in this way can it be the fastest and most convenient method.

However, he recalled the actions of the Marquis of Yong'an during this period and feared that this move would make the Marquis of Yong'an arrogant again.

For a moment, I hesitated.

Hesitating for a moment, several more days passed.

Soon, the Lantern Festival arrived.

This day was also the day for the palace banquet.

Today, all the officials' wives are to enter the palace; the scene is truly grand.

This meant that Emperor Rongcheng, Jiang Xianhao, and Shen Hechuan all had to be present.

Therefore, Shen Hechuan got busy early in the morning.

However, he now enjoys this busy time, fearing that if he becomes idle, Gu Jingchun will come looking for him to inquire about his departure from the palace.

He had no answer and could only hope that this day would come later.

Because the palace banquet was so grand and there were so many people coming and going, the palace maids and eunuchs were inevitably kept very busy.

Gu Jingchun, being a female official, was soon pulled aside to arrange various matters related to the palace banquet.

While she was busy instructing the various palace maids, the noble ladies from aristocratic families arrived.

Looking at the somewhat familiar figures, Gu Jingchun, adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, intended to leave quietly, but was unexpectedly stopped by someone.

A woman in a sky-blue dress stopped Gu Jingchun.

"Miss Gu? It really is you! I heard you entered the palace as a lady-in-waiting, but I didn't believe it at first. I didn't expect it to be true."

Gu Jingchun nodded.

I first bowed to him, then said a few words of greeting, before I was about to leave.

However, whether intentionally or not, the woman pulled Gu Jingchun aside and began to talk about what had happened outside the palace recently. This attracted even more women to stop and watch.

Looking at Gu Jingchun, she couldn't help but ask another question.

Gu Jingchun didn't care about her status, nor did she feel that female officials were inferior, nor did she feel ashamed of her status.

She's just afraid of trouble.

But ironically, what she feared most came to pass.

At this moment, Situ Mingji walked over slowly, surrounded by people.

She was always dignified and polite, and even though she looked down on Gu Jingchun from the bottom of her heart, she never had a direct conflict with him.

However, news has been circulating in the palace these past few days that her marriage to Shen Hechuan is likely to fall through.

Even Emperor Rongcheng intended to arrange a marriage between Shen Hechuan and Gu Jingchun.

Emperor Rongcheng even prepared to issue an imperial edict to allow Gu Jingchun to return to the Yong'an Marquis's residence so that the two could get married.

This infuriated Situ Mingji, and all his years of self-cultivation were in vain.

Seeing Gu Jingchun now almost made him lose control of his expression.

She also knew that this was not the time to provoke Gu Jingchun.

After all, she was well aware of Shen Hechuan's protection of her.

But she just couldn't swallow her anger.

Upon seeing Gu Jingchun, he inexplicably didn't let her leave, but instead had her stand beside him, serving her tea and wine, and taking good care of her.

She wanted everyone present to know that Shen Hechuan's future Crown Princess was so humble that she personally served her tea and wine.

This is a matter of course. Although Gu Jingchun is a female official, she is also a servant and would certainly not refuse.

However, Gu Jingchun actually declined.

In front of everyone, she slowly bowed before saying:

“Miss Situ, I am a female official with my own duties, so I am afraid I cannot pour you wine. Please forgive me.”

As she spoke, she pointed to a palace maid beside her and said, "However, I have also carefully selected a palace maid for you to serve you exclusively."

Situ Mingji did not expect that Gu Jingchun would have such audacity, showing her no respect whatsoever.

His expression immediately changed.

However, in front of so many people, she could only nod in agreement with Gu Jingchun, her face cold, and let the palace maid serve her.

However, Situ Mingji was displeased because his face was offended, so he took his anger out on the palace maid. He quickly turned cold because the palace maid had not done a good job.

The palace maid then knelt down and begged for mercy.

Situ Mingji, however, changed his previous leniency and did not let the palace maid off directly. He also implied to the palace maid that all of this was because of Gu Jingchun.

Her reaction alerted those present to the unusual situation.

She also vaguely sensed that there seemed to be some kind of grudge between her and Gu Jingchun.

There are no secrets that stay hidden forever, and soon everyone guessed the reason.

"Have you heard? The marriage between the Situ family and the Crown Prince is probably going to fall through."

One of them spoke in a low voice, which immediately attracted the attention of those around him.

Why?

"Why else could it be? It's naturally because of Gu Jingchun!"

"I don't know what methods she used to bewitch the Crown Prince so much that even the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are on her side now. Naturally, Situ Mingji's marriage is off."