Gu Jiangli knew about this.
That was the emperor's first lost child, but everyone only knew that the empress dowager had aborted the child, and no one knew what happened to the maid.
"Your Majesty, what happened to that maid afterwards?"
"After the child was lost, she went crazy. Song Wanshan took care of her the whole time. Later, Song Wanshan said she was dead and even held a funeral for her herself."
Gu Jiangli fell silent.
Song Wanshan had always maintained a dignified and polite persona. Her ability to remain composed in the face of the insane maid who became pregnant with the emperor's child but miscarried was a testament to her ability to uphold her persona.
However, Song Wanshan harbored malicious intentions from the moment she entered the Crown Prince's residence.
She boldly hypothesized that Song Wanshan did not bury the maid at that time.
Or perhaps the maid didn't die at all.
“Your Majesty, if Song Wanshan started lying to you from that time, then that maid should still be alive.”
"Does Li'er mean that the maid that Song Wanshan is hiding in the harem is that maid?"
The emperor's eyes clearly wavered slightly.
Gu Jiangli understood that the woman had once carried the emperor's first child.
Moreover, the emperor ordered the empress dowager to abort the child.
For the emperor, this woman also held an extraordinary position.
"Your Majesty, if we find that woman, what are your plans for dealing with her?"
That woman was not, strictly speaking, a member of the imperial harem, and had no official status, so it would be difficult for her to survive.
Seeing the emperor remain silent, Gu Jiangli offered a solution:
"Your Majesty, if the woman we find is indeed the maid who once served in your Crown Prince's residence, and she was also the mother of your...lost child."
"Why not give her a title, make her a concubine or agree to do so?"
Gu Jiangli couldn't figure out why the woman had disappeared on her own initiative. She just felt that having her by her side would make it easier to observe her in real time and would be safer.
But the emperor showed a panicked expression.
"Li'er, I have said that I will not take any new women into the harem."
“But she is not a new woman; she is a woman who once had an affair with His Majesty.”
The emperor shook his head, as if afraid that Gu Jiangli would misunderstand, and began to explain.
"She has no affection for me. Her pregnancy back then was just an accident."
"Oh?" Gu Jiangli looked at the emperor with an inquiring gaze.
An unplanned pregnancy—that must be incredibly unexpected.
The emperor saw through her thoughts and said:
"I was drugged, and I happened to be passing by that maid's room, and then... she became pregnant."
“Li’er, as you know, back then, it wasn’t a good thing for a maid’s child to be born in the Crown Prince’s residence, so you know what happened afterward.”
Gu Jiangli sighed inwardly.
This child's arrival was truly unexpected.
It was even something the emperor passively possessed.
But then she thought about it again and realized that something was wrong.
"Your Majesty, although you hadn't ascended the throne yet, you were still the Crown Prince. Giving you that kind of drug... that's a serious crime, isn't it? Who was so bold as to do that?"
"It's her, that maid named Yuegui." The emperor's deep eyes seemed to recall the past, and his voice was somewhat low. "She was originally a maid by Song Wanshan's side, but she didn't want to be subordinate to others for long, so she came up with this plan."
"If she becomes the Crown Prince's concubine, she can also obtain the status of a concubine when the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future."
"That's what she was planning, which is why she took action."
"While I was dining with Song Wanshan, she put the medicine into my bowl and plate."
"She knew I wouldn't stay overnight in the Crown Princess's room, and she had also calculated the time it would take for the medicine to take effect, so she waited for me on the path I would inevitably take back to my room."
"As soon as I passed by, her scheme succeeded."
Gu Jiangli's eyes were opened.
There are quite a few cunning people here.
From the Empress, who reigns supreme over the land, to the nameless maidservant, everyone harbors their own thoughts and schemes against others.
That's truly amazing...
This rose is especially amazing; it actually got pregnant.
She had calculated everything, but she hadn't anticipated that this child would come at such an inopportune time.
The emperor could not keep him, which also led to her being hidden away by Song Wanshan for many years.
She leaned back against the emperor's shoulder and sighed, saying:
"His Majesty has always been a good person."
The emperor was taken aback, not expecting her to say something like that, and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Isn't it obvious? His Majesty knew that Yueji had given you medicine and used such despicable means to rise to power, yet you didn't kill her or punish her. In the end, it's because your heart is soft."
The emperor's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not answer.
Gu Jiangli glanced at his expression, then at the moonlight outside.
"Your Majesty appears cold, like the moon, unattainable. But your heart is warm, burning even towards things you do not love."
The emperor paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Is Li'er praising me?"
His eyes shone brightly in the moonlight and candlelight.
Gu Jiangli did not deny it and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, in my heart, you are the warmest person."
Nestled in his arms, even in the dead of winter, you wouldn't feel cold.
————
Gu Jiangli always kept Yueji in his heart.
She was waiting for the emperor to find this person and then give her a title.
All her previous scheming was ultimately for the position of a concubine in the imperial harem.
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