Half an hour later, all the dishes on the long mahogany table were swept away, especially the dishes brought by Tao Ti, which were all eaten up.

Gu Zhihong leaned back in his chair, lazily touched his stomach and burped, "It's so delicious, my stomach is about to burst."

Fu Xirui thought to himself: Almost two-thirds of that plate of roasted chestnut pork went into your stomach, could you not hold back, young man?

Complaining inwardly, Fu Xirui opened another food box containing after-meal desserts and took out several snacks from it. "The Crown Princess said that if you are full, drinking a bowl of hawthorn soup is the best way to relieve greasy and digest food."

"My cousin's wife is really considerate." Gu Zhihong took the hawthorn soup and took a sip, and felt much better in his stomach.

Seeing that he was sitting in a sloppy manner, Gu Qu scolded him with a sullen face, "Sit properly, you are as stupid as a fool. What are you talking about?"

Gu Zhihong smiled bitterly, and the mouse immediately sat up straight like a cat.

Pei Yan said calmly, "Uncle, you don't have to be so strict with Ah Hong. We are all family, so you should relax a little."

Gu said, "Your Highness, you don't know how stubborn and unruly he is. His grandmother and mother have spoiled him. If I don't take care of him anymore, this mess will probably get out of hand."

After a pause, he looked at Gu Zhihong seriously and said, "Chang'an is not like Shazhou. You can be a wild monkey there, but you have to behave yourself here. Remember what I said to you on the way here."

Gu Zhihong replied in a low voice, "Yes, son knows. After entering Chang'an, we, the Gu family, must be careful in what we say and do. We must not cause trouble for the Eastern Palace. We must do our best to help the Eastern Palace..."

He listened to these words over and over again all the way, and his ears were ringing.

Gu Qu got angry when he saw him like this, and told him to go to the side hall and not to bother him anymore.

Gu Zhihong didn't want to continue listening to his father's teachings, so he left happily with a cup of hawthorn soup and a bowl of steamed chestnut flour cake with osmanthus sugar.

"A loving mother often spoils her children." Gu Qu shook his head and sighed, then turned to look at Pei Yan. His originally serious expression softened a lot.

Without anyone else around, the uncle and nephew, who hadn't seen each other for years, could finally chat freely.

After talking about the recent situation, Gu Qu asked about the arrangements for the political situation in the court, and Pei Yan briefly explained his plan.

Gu Qu stroked the wall of the cup and pondered, "Since the Zhou family is already panicking, we might as well add fuel to the fire and make them desperate."

"Uncle, you just returned to Chang'an. Are you being too hasty?"

Gu Qu shook his head, "No hurry, for the past sixteen years, I have always wanted to bring down the Zhou family to avenge myself."

Pei Yan lowered his eyes, and after a moment, he asked, "So what are your plans, uncle?"

Gu Qu spoke out his thoughts without reservation. He had been planning for so many years and knew the Zhou family's insidiousness and cunningness. The longer he delayed, the more difficult it would be to deal with the Zhou family. It would be better to take advantage of the Zhou family's carelessness and cut off the mess with a sharp knife.

Before I knew it, half an hour had passed and the teapot on the table was empty.

Gu Qu suddenly remembered something, "Your Highness, after this is done, how do you plan to deal with the Yongwei Marquis's residence and how do you plan to arrange for the Crown Princess?"

In the correspondence over the past two months, the nephew occasionally mentioned the Crown Princess. Although it was only a few sentences, it was enough to show the status of the Crown Princess in the nephew's heart.

Even Gu Feng, who usually did not smile much, praised the Crown Princess a few times.

Unfortunately, Marquis Yongwei is a short-sighted fool who chooses to stand on the side of the Third Prince and the Zhou family and is determined to become an enemy of the Eastern Palace.

Pei Yan's deep eyes were very firm, and he opened his thin lips slightly, "She is the Crown Princess who will be lonely forever, and also my only wife."

Hearing this, Gu Qu's eyes moved slightly, "Then the Yongwei Marquis' Mansion..."

"Zhang has already divorced Marquis Yongwei."

"I also heard about this when I returned to Chang'an." Gu Qu narrowed his eyes, thinking of the impetuous little girl who loved to wear red clothes.

Many years ago, Susu, Yueniang, and... Yuanyuan, these three little girls with different personalities always loved to get together, appreciate flowers, drink tea, and fight weeds with pots. They were carefree, as if they had gathered all the happiness and beauty in the world.

When they see him, they will sweetly call him brother.

Later, Yuanyuan entered the palace and Yue Niang got married. Susu kept delaying until she was almost twenty years old and became an old maid. Only then did she reluctantly agree to Tao Bosong's pursuit and marry into the Yongwei Marquis's mansion.

Back then, Tao Bosong put a lot of thought and effort into marrying Susu, and he even swore to treat her wholeheartedly.

I never thought that people's hearts are fickle. The initial love gradually faded away over time, and in the end only resentment was left.

Fortunately, the strong will in Susu's bones has not been extinguished. Now that they are divorced, they can be regarded as getting out of the quagmire in time.

Seeing that Gu Qu was absent-minded, Pei Yan gently reminded him, "Uncle?"

Gu Qu came back to his senses and said bitterly, "I just recalled some old memories. You also know that Zhang and your mother were good friends... Now that she is divorced, you must respect her more and don't look down on her because of this."

Pei Yan said, "This is natural. If you don't make decisions when you should, you will end up in chaos. I admire Zhang's move to make peace with the family."

Gu Qu felt relieved and said, "Leaving aside Zhang, Marquis Yongwei is the biological father of the Crown Princess. If you kill him, there will be a grudge between you and the Crown Princess."

"Don't worry, uncle. Ati is sensible and knows what's going on." Pei Yan paused and said calmly, "Besides, I don't have to kill him."

He had no reason to kill Tao Boshong. As long as the Marquis's Mansion collapsed and the Zhou family fell, Tao Boshong would be just an insignificant and lowly ant.

Considering their blood relationship, Pei Yan could let him live.

If Tao Bosong didn't know what was good for him, Pei Yan could make him die of "accidental illness" at any time, in prison or on the road to exile.

Seeing that Pei Yan had already made a plan, Gu Qu was relieved and patted his shoulder. "Since you have the Crown Princess in your heart, you should be more considerate of her when it comes to her. Don't hurt the relationship between you two."

There was a hidden meaning in his words. Pei Yan pursed his lips and hummed softly.

At dusk, the Gu family left the palace.

As soon as Gu Zhihong saw his sister, he couldn't wait to show off, "Sister, do you know how delicious the dishes cooked by the Crown Princess's cousin are? Wow, I'm so exhausted today that I can't even walk!"

Gu Minglan looked at him like a fool, "I went to the Crown Princess's Palace with my grandmother, mother and others. How could I not know that the food she cooked was delicious? Look at you, you useless kid, making so much noise, as if you haven't eaten in eight lifetimes. Don't say you are my brother when you go out. It's embarrassing!"

Gu Zhihong uttered a "tsk".

Seeing that the siblings were bickering again, Mrs. Bai tapped Gu Minglan's forehead and said, "You, you still have the nerve to criticize your brother? You ate a lot of the river shrimp and chicken wings stew today. The chicken bones and shrimp shells on the plate were piled so high."

She even pointed with two fingers.

Gu Zhihong burst into laughter and imitated Gu Minglan's tone, saying with a squinting look, "It's like you haven't eaten in eight lifetimes. Don't tell others that you are my sister when you go out. It's embarrassing!"

Gu Minglan was embarrassed and clenched her fists to hit Gu Zhihong, who then held his head and cried loudly.

Bai sighed helplessly. Were these two children really born from her belly? Why didn't any of them have the same temperament as her?

After making a lot of noise, the two finally calmed down. Gu Zhihong asked, "Sister, what does my cousin's wife look like? Is she pretty?"

Bai scolded him, "Disrespectful."

Gu Zhihong curled his lips, "I'm just curious. After all, my cousin the Crown Prince looks like a fairy. If his Crown Princess isn't as pretty as him, then my cousin would be at a disadvantage."

Gu Minglan said, "Although the Crown Princess is not as pretty as the Crown Prince, she is also a beauty with bright eyes and white teeth."

Gu Zhihong uttered "Oh" twice and changed the topic back to food, "Sister, which dish do you think is the best at noon? I like the chestnut braised pork the most. The meat is so fragrant, fat and lean, salty and delicious, and it is endless aftertaste. If I can eat that braised pork every day, I would rather die than do it."

"Tsk, you eat it every day, you are so proud of yourself."

At this point, Gu Minglan pulled out a delicate and shiny VIP card from her pocket and couldn't help showing off, "You can't eat braised pork every day, but I can drink milk tea every day."

Gu Zhihong also heard of Milk Tea's reputation and immediately asked where the card came from.

Gu Minglan explained, and Gu Zhihong was also shocked, "I didn't expect my cousin's wife to be so amazing!"

Here, the brother and sister were happily discussing taking their VIP cards to Taotie Pavilion to buy milk tea early tomorrow morning. In another carriage, Gu Qu and Old Madam Gu were chatting about Pei Yan, and they were quite emotional.

"Your Highness looks a lot like Yuanyuan, but his temperament...his temperament is more like the emperor's."

"It's not easy for this child. He grew up all alone in the palace. If he didn't have a tough temper, he would have been eaten to the bone."

Madam Gu sighed, her loose eyelids drooping, her voice hoarse, "But I think the daughter-in-law your sister chose is an excellent one. I thought she would be like Su Su when she was young, a little hot pepper. I never thought she would be a gentle, delicate, considerate and sensible child. And I saw that she cared a lot about Yan'er in her words. She is really good."

Gu Qu echoed the sentiment and sighed, "I just hope Yan'er won't be as stubborn as his father..."

When Madam Gu thought of what Emperor Zhaokang had done in the past, she clenched the honey-wax beads in her hand, but the hatred in her heart could not be calmed!

At night, a faint fragrance lingered in the curtains. Tao Ti leaned in Pei Yan's arms and talked about Gu's family.

"My grandmother is very kind, my aunt is very gentle, and my cousin from the Gu family is straightforward. They are all easy to get along with." Tao Ti put her ear against his chest and asked, "Your Highness, what are the personalities of my uncle and cousin?"

Pei Yan put his hand on her waist and closed his eyes, saying, "My uncle looks cold but he's warm-hearted. My cousin is a lively guy with a bit of wildness, but he's kind-hearted. Next time I have a chance, I'll take you to the Gu Mansion so you can meet him."

Tao Ti said yes, hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help asking, "Your Highness, did the Gu family really rebel at that time?"

The reason why the Gu family was banished to the north was that they secretly stored weapons and intended to rebel.

Rebellion was a capital crime punishable by the confiscation of all property. However, Emperor Zhaokang took Empress Gu into consideration, so he did not confiscate the property or behead the prisoners. Instead, he demoted the Gu family and exiled them.

Tao Ti had not thought much about this matter before, but today she saw how polite the women in the Gu family were in dealing with others, especially old lady Gu, who was neither humble nor arrogant, and was indifferent and generous. It was really hard to associate her with rebellion.

In the darkness, Pei Yan slowly opened his eyes and said coldly, "It's not rebellion, it's... regicide."

Taoti, "???"

Pei Yan's voice was low and slow. "My mother passed away, and the Gu family was deeply saddened. My uncle was resentful and had an argument with my father. He stabbed my father in the chest with his weapon..."

Taoti, "!!!"

"My father wanted to suppress this matter, but it got out anyway. The censors of the Imperial Court knelt in front of the Taiji Palace and asked my father to punish the Gu family. Not long after that, my grandfather left a will, blaming himself for not educating his son strictly and dying to apologize. In order to rectify the government and calm the emotions of the court officials, my father finally exiled the Gu family..."

Tao Ti was silent for a long time, not knowing how to respond.

I just feel that in this ancient time when imperial power was supreme, the Gu family was miserable.

Pei Yan lowered his head and took a deep breath into her shoulder, then said softly, "Back then, the Zhou family did a lot of behind-the-scenes fanning the flames. If it weren't for my father's affection for my mother, the Gu family... would have been wiped out long ago."

Tao Ti only felt that the past was like a fog, especially the relationship between Empress Gu and Emperor Zhaokang.

Everyone says that Emperor Zhaokang deeply loves Empress Gu, but is this really the case?

If they were deeply in love, why did Empress Gu choose to commit suicide by taking poison, and why did Uncle Gu be so blinded by anger that he entered the palace to assassinate the emperor.

There was a moment of silence in the tent.

After a long time, Tao Ti raised her head and gently kissed Pei Yan's chin, "Your Highness, don't think about those unhappy things."

She said in a soft voice, "I will always be with you."

Pei Yan raised his hand to ruffle her hair and kissed her face, "Well, go to sleep."