Gu Jiu was in a bad mood because he lost 100,000 taels of silver after just one trip to the palace.
She walked out of the side hall and saw Liu Zhao waiting for her.
She snorted at him twice to express her dissatisfaction.
"Did the Emperor give you a hard time?"
Gu Jiu pinched him secretly and said, "You are all bad people, bullying the weak and fearing the strong."
Liu Zhao looked puzzled.
"Don't question me, don't ask me why. I'm very unhappy right now and I won't answer any questions."
Gu Jiu looked arrogant and didn't even give Liu Zhao a good look.
Liu Zhao was very tactful. "Okay, I won't ask anything. Whatever you say is what it is."
Gu Jiu: “…” That’s more like it.
Empress Pei brought Liu Yi and Xiao Qin'er out of the hall.
She glanced at Gu Jiu and his wife and said, "Follow me to the Weiyang Palace to talk."
Xiao Qin'er winked at Gu Jiu, as if giving a hint, or as if she was enjoying the show.
We arrived at the Weiyang Palace in silence all the way.
Empress Pei sat up in the upper seat and pointed at Liu Zhao and Gu Jiu. "Don't try to fool me with the same excuses you gave the empress dowager. Tell me, what are you two planning? I don't want to hear about you having no money to support a woman anymore."
Gu Jiu took a half step back and handed the battlefield to Liu Zhao.
Liu Zhao was very straightforward, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, I simply do not want to take a concubine."
Empress Pei sneered, "You are the eldest prince, and you will be granted the title of prince in the future. As a prince, do you think it's reasonable to have no other woman besides your wife?"
Liu Zhao smiled. "It's indeed outrageous. But since I'm a prince, do I need to care about the opinions of others besides my father and mother?"
Empress Pei asked coldly, "But don't forget, the court officials' opinions of you determine your future."
Empress Pei emphasized the word "future," clearly reminding Liu Zhao not to be too willful. As a prince, being willful usually doesn't end well.
Liu Yi lowered his head, pretending not to understand the implication of Queen Pei's words.
Liu Zhao, however, said frankly, "I don't care what the court officials think of me."
Empress Pei's expression suddenly turned gloomy. "Is this what you really mean?"
Liu Zhao nodded.
Empress Pei sneered, "I hope you won't regret it in the future."
"My son never regrets it."
Empress Pei was furious and waved her hand, "You two, leave. I don't want to see you."
Liu Yi was delighted, but a look of worry appeared on his face.
Liu Zhao was silent for a moment, then decisively took Gu Jiu out of Weiyang Palace.
Empress Pei leaned back in her chair, looking tired and angry.
Liu Yi advised, "Queen Mother, please calm down. Big Brother is a little bit left-wing at the moment, but he will come to his senses over time."
Empress Pei's face lit up with sarcasm when she heard this. "Your eldest brother has always had this bad temper since he was young. He speaks bluntly and has always been unpopular. I thought he would have improved with his changed status, but he still has the same bad temper."
Xiao Qin'er said weakly, "I don't know what kind of magic potion my sister-in-law gave to His Highness that made him so irrational."
Empress Pei glanced at Xiao Qin'er and said, "I don't want to hear the same thing again. Be careful with your words when you go out."
Xiao Qin'er was bewildered and aggrieved. It was obvious that Empress Pei disliked Gu Jiu, and she was just saying what she wanted, so why was she being reprimanded?
Liu Yi also glared at Xiao Qin'er, then pleaded for her, "Mother, please calm down. Qin'er didn't mean to gossip about my sister-in-law. I will remind her when I get back."
Xiao Qin'er lowered her head, feeling very aggrieved.
Empress Pei's anger, which had subsided, suddenly flew into a rage when she saw her like this.
"Fourth Brother's Wife, do you feel that you are not wronged and feel quite aggrieved?"
"My daughter-in-law doesn't dare!"
"I can see you're harboring resentment. Do you know why I'm scolding you? Because you're stupid. Do you think you'll gain any advantage by slandering Gu Jiu in front of me? Don't you see what the situation is like now? Are you deliberately trying to stir up a fight between my two parents and sons, so that outsiders can take advantage?"
Empress Pei was furious and showed no mercy.
Xiao Qin'er's eyes were filled with tears, but she didn't dare to cry. She could only look at Liu Yi pitifully.
Liu Yi sighed inwardly, "Queen Mother, please calm down. Qin'er just didn't understand for a moment. After today, she won't dare to speak nonsense again. Qin'er, quickly apologize to Queen Mother."
Xiao Qin'er was very obedient and said carefully: "My daughter-in-law was wrong, please forgive me, mother."
Empress Pei snorted, "It's New Year's Day today, and you're pregnant again, so I won't bother with you. If you do it again, I'll punish you severely."
Xiao Qin'er nodded repeatedly and promised that she would never speak nonsense again.
Empress Pei waved her hand and said, "I am tired. You can all go to the side hall and rest. It's still early before the palace banquet. If you are hungry, I will ask someone to prepare some food for you."
"Take care of yourself, mother. I'm leaving."
Liu Yi led Xiao Qin'er back to the side hall.
As soon as the door of the side hall was closed, Liu Yi raised his hand and wanted to hit Xiao Qin'er.
Finally, the hand stopped in mid-air and did not strike down.
The slap turned into a fist, which fell slowly.
He said angrily: "One day, I will be dragged to death by you."
Xiao Qin'er looked at Liu Yi in disbelief with horror on her face. "You wanted to hit me? You wanted to hit me, didn't you? Hit me, hit me. Hit me in the stomach. Hit me in the stomach if you have the guts."
Liu Yi looked annoyed and took two steps back, "Don't be unreasonable."
Xiao Qin'er cursed, "Liu Yi, do you still have a conscience? Are you a human being? I'm pregnant, and you actually want to hit me. You are not a human being."
Liu Yi's face darkened. "If I had no conscience, if I were not a human being, I would not plead for you at all. Just let the Queen Mother teach you a lesson and see what you can do."
Xiao Qin'er cried and shouted, "Come on, come on, kill me."
She bit her lips, trying to suppress her tears, and angrily accused, "You are not a human being. You have no conscience."
Liu Yi sat down silently without saying a word.
After about an incense stick of time, when Xiao Qin'er had calmed down, he said, "I'll ask someone to bring you a basin of hot water so you can wash."
Xiao Qin'er turned her head and wiped her cheek with a handkerchief. "Just let me die, why bother with my dignity? You're going to beat me anyway."
"I didn't hit you."
"You want to hit me."
Xiao Qin'er stared at Liu Yi with resentment.
Liu Yi was furious. "It's been less than a year since our father ascended the throne, and you're already trying to provoke infighting between my elder brother and his wife. No wonder my mother wants to teach you a lesson. You can't tell right from wrong, and you'll only benefit outsiders."
"I'm provoking internal strife? Haha..."
Xiao Qin'er seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. "Liu Yi, don't forget, you were the one who initially provoked the internal strife. When my elder brother and sister-in-law were impeached by the censor, how dare you say that you had nothing to do with it?"
Liu Yi's face was fierce, with a hint of murderous intent. He said, "If you don't have evidence, don't talk nonsense. Be careful of what you say."
Xiao Qin'er had never seen Liu Yi like this before. She instinctively shuddered, "You, you..."
Liu Yi restrained his expression and said slowly, "Don't forget that husband and wife are one. If you insist on arguing with me, don't blame me for being rude."
Xiao Qin'er clutched her chest tightly, suddenly feeling like she couldn't breathe. "You, you, you scared me."
Liu Yi returned to his usual self, his face gentle, and asked with concern: "How are you? Is everything okay? I'll call the imperial physician."
Xiao Qin'er suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve, "Don't go. You're my cousin, right?"
She asked without any context, but Liu Yi knew what she was thinking.
He smiled gently, raised his hand, and gently stroked Xiao Qin'er's face, "Of course I am your cousin, have you forgotten?"
Xiao Qin'er burst into tears and hugged him, "You scared me just now. I must be dazzled. You wouldn't be so mean to me."
Liu Yi held her in his arms and soothed her softly, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."
…
In another side hall, Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao were chatting.
There was tea and snacks on the table, and it looked like they had already been eating for a while.
Gu Jiu stretched out his foot and gently touched Liu Zhao's leg, "You are being disliked."
Liu Zhao raised his eyebrows. Gu Jiu's tone sounded like he was gloating.
"Are you happy that I'm disliked?"
Gu Jiu's eyebrows curved and his eyes narrowed, "I'm happy!"
Liu Zhao stared at her.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "You are being disliked. No one will bother to send you women anymore. For me, this is naturally a good thing."
Liu Zhao didn't expect that this could be thought of in this way.
"As long as you're happy."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "Are you regretful that you are not surrounded by beautiful women?"
"Don't talk nonsense."
With Xiaojiu, a jealous person, around, how could he dare to dream of being surrounded by beautiful women?
Gu Jiu kicked him lightly again, "Are you secretly cursing me in your heart?"
"How is that possible? Don't let your imagination run wild."
"Hmph! Guess what Fourth Brother and his wife will say after we leave."
Liu Zhao sneered, "It's just what he said. But in the past few months, the fourth brother has made some progress. I guess he won't kick someone when he's down. As for the fourth brother's wife, it's hard to say."
"Then guess what the Queen Mother's attitude is?"
"Even though my mother is unhappy with me in her heart, she will still protect my face in front of others. After all, I am the eldest son and a source of her dignity."
Gu Jiu smiled. "In less than a year, Mother has become even more majestic and more like a queen. If this continues, in two or three years, I'm afraid no one will dare to disobey Mother. If you speak like you did today again, Mother will definitely not just kick you out of the palace."
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao couldn't help but think deeply.
Gu Jiu added, "In a few years, the Pei family will also start to make moves. By then, the palace and the outside world will be even more chaotic."
Liu Zhao pinched the ring in his hand and smiled, "I'm afraid the Duke of Lu can't wait that long."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
