The wedding date for Marquis Guo Xun of Wuding and Mei Lu was quickly set before the end of the year. At the same time, the imperial edict appointing Guo Xun as the Commander-in-Chief of Guangdong and Guangxi was also delivered to the Guo family.

When He Ying heard the news that Guo Xun was getting married, he was completely stunned.

This prestigious position of the Marquis's wife should rightfully belong to her.

But she wanted more.

In the end, he had nothing.

What's the difference between her and Yan Rong?

The news of Yan Ge'er's disappearance was kept completely secret, and He Ying was unaware of it.

However, unlike the Guo family's joyous celebration, the Duke of Baoguo's mansion was filled with mournful cries.

Dressed in mourning clothes, Gu Ziyu gripped Wen Shuyi's neck, his eyes bloodshot:

It's you, it's all you!

He was anxious at the time, thinking that Yan Ge'er and the others wouldn't be able to return to the palace so soon, so he left for a while and took the imperial physician back to the mansion to see his grandfather.

My grandfather remained bedridden as always, with no significant changes.

On the contrary, Wen Shuyi's brother arrived. He had been impeached for killing innocent people and claiming credit for them, and he was in a great hurry to ask Gu Ziyu for help.

Gu Ziyu was so entangled that he couldn't get away until Gu Ziyu finally turned hostile and was able to leave.

When he rushed back to the Su family, he heard that the child had already returned to the palace.

Next came the news that the child had gone missing.

Upon learning this, the Duke of Baoguo was so shocked that he passed away.

Wen Shuyi's eyes rolled back as she was pinched, and she kicked her legs wildly.

Lady Baoguo sent someone to pull Gu Ziyu away. "Second Master is tired. Help him down to rest. Someone, find a doctor to examine Second Madam."

Gu Ziyu's eyes reddened: "Grandmother, I am guilty. If anything happens to the two children, I should pay with my life!"

"I'm the one who killed my grandfather!"

The Duchess of Baoguo slammed her dragon-headed cane on the ground, her face cold and stern: "We haven't reached a dead end yet!"

After everyone had left, the wife of the Duke of Baoguo's heir, with tears in her eyes, advised, "Mother, our family has suffered misfortune; we cannot allow this calamity to continue!"

When the Duchess of Baoguo closed her eyes, she suddenly looked ten years older.

"How could I not know?"

"I thought that since she had given birth to a boy and was pregnant again, she might gradually change her mind and prioritize taking care of her family."

Little did anyone know that he would do something so absurd as to use his grandfather's serious illness as an excuse to call Gu Ziyu away.

They even allowed someone to take advantage of the situation and harm Empress Su's two children.

If something happens to the two children, I'm afraid the Gu family will also be implicated!

She instructed her personal maid to bring out a medicine, her eyes filled with malice: "Make sure to eliminate the problem completely, leaving no trace. You go and do it yourself."

The next morning, news spread from the Gu family that the second grandmother, Wen Shuyi, had suffered a miscarriage and hemorrhage and died.

The news didn't cause much of a stir in the capital, but it gave Wen Ruyi's brothers quite a fright.

They definitely wouldn't dare confront the Gu family; their greater anxiety was how to exonerate themselves.

After much deliberation, he set his sights on Ma Ang's younger sister, who was still in the capital.

...

Su Wanwan sat there in a daze, holding the calligraphy copybook that Yan Ge'er had recently copied.

The room was dark, with no lights on.

Without her noticing, Lu Xingjian appeared behind her.

"Don't worry, they'll be alright." The man's voice was terribly hoarse.

Su Wanwan did not answer.

He simply covered the letter with a calligraphy copybook without making a sound.

This is a letter that Heying asked someone to deliver to her today, saying that Yanrong has something to discuss and wants to meet her.

Yan Rong is already dead; she died in the Rong Prince's Mansion in Changde.

Clearly, it was someone from Prince Rong's faction who wanted to see her.

"Go to sleep early." The man placed his hand on her shoulder, not noticing the letter.

"It's my fault," Su Wanwan said dejectedly.

The longer there is no news of the child, the slimmer the hope of their safe return becomes.

"What does this have to do with you?" Lu Xingjian wiped away her tears, his calloused hands rubbing her cheeks until they ached.

"Born into an imperial family, enjoying wealth and honor, one must also endure extraordinary dangers from a young age." Lu Xingjian took a deep breath.

Therefore, whether a person born into royalty can grow up depends on fate.

Su Wanwan fell silent again.

A strong sense of weariness welled up in my heart.

This empress, she's done enough.

...

The letter instructed her to go alone, or she would have to bear the consequences.

Su Wanwan agreed.

However, as soon as she arrived at the location, a note appeared informing her that she needed to change her destination.

She had to rush to the next location designated by the other party.

Finally, the meeting place turned out to be the same place where Su Wanwan last visited Yan Rong's sister, Diexin.

Diexin is still very fat, and her hair is already in her fifties. But her face, which used to be full of hostility, is now just a deathly stillness.

He sat in the yard basking in the winter sun, wearing a worn-out, puffy cotton-padded coat, with two crutches beside him.

Seeing Su Wanwan appear, he remained calm and said, "You're here."

If it weren't for Diexin serving Su Wanwan closely for many years, Su Wanwan would find it hard to connect the slender and graceful maid of yesteryear with the dejected, obese, and disabled woman before her.

"Where is Prince Rong?" Su Wanwan stood motionless at the door.

Die Xin glanced blankly into the inner room.

The room was dimly lit.

Sunlight streamed through the window cracks, and dust particles danced freely in the beams of light.

"Wanwan, how have you been?" The man coughed a few times.

Su Wanwan then noticed Prince Rong sitting in a dark corner.

After several years, he looked much more haggard, and his skin had a sickly paleness.

"How did it get like this?" Su Wanwan frowned.

Prince Rong gave a sarcastic sneer, "Didn't you send someone to stab me?"

Su Wanwan paused for a moment, but did not deny it.

Back then, when Liu Qi went to Changde and stabbed Prince Rong in the back, she thought Liu Qi was very capable.

Although Liu Qi acted on his own initiative, he did make a good move.

Why didn't you stab him to death right then and there?

If they had been stabbed to death, Yan Ge'er and Yan Ge'er wouldn't have suffered this calamity today.

"Then you still dare to return to the capital?"

Prince Rong chuckled sinisterly a few times.

"Wanwan, have you never truly loved me?"

Su Wanwan calmly surveyed the furnishings inside the room.

The room was very simple, with not much stuff inside.

There was only a dusty screen behind Prince Rong.

"I liked him at first too," she said calmly.

No princes or nobles may enter the capital without an imperial edict; otherwise, they will be treated as treasoners.

The fact that Prince Rong dared to show up here certainly wasn't to gossip from eight hundred years ago.

"Why did you stop liking it later?" Prince Rong asked with regret.

Su Wanwan's voice took on a serious tone.

"If Your Highness had truly loved me back then, you wouldn't have flirted with my maid in private."

"Since you are so heartless, why should I insist on hitting a brick wall?"

Prince Rong: "You won't even lie to me anymore."

"Where are the children?" Su Wanwan didn't want to beat around the bush with him anymore.

Prince Rong, on the contrary, became much calmer and said, "What's the rush?"

"Name your conditions, all I want is for the child to be safe," Su Wanwan said decisively.

Prince Rong burst into hearty laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha."

"Talking to smart people is so reassuring."

He slowly emerged from the shadows.

The sunlight fell on his face, making one half bright and the other half dark.