"Is that really true?" Gu Jiangli was even more surprised.
She remembered that a few days before the Double Ninth Festival family banquet, she had intended to come to Jinghe Palace to warn the emperor to be careful of Lan Huier, but she was unable to meet him each time because ministers were discussing matters with the emperor.
So, it turns out that the ministers who came to discuss matters with the emperor back then were talking about this very thing?
The emperor nodded slightly and began to explain in detail:
"It is an open secret among the court officials that my lifespan is nearing its end."
"The imperial concubines have not yet announced any pregnancy, which has greatly worried the ministers."
"I have no children. If I were to suddenly pass away one day, who would be the rightful successor to the throne would become their biggest concern."
Gu Jiangli was furious. The emperor was still young, and these people were already thinking about what would happen after the emperor died. It was really going too far.
"Your Majesty can now tell them with a clear conscience that I am pregnant and that the Yun Sheng Dynasty has a worthy successor. They no longer need to worry about this."
The emperor raised a slight lip. "Now, of course, no one mentions the matter of establishing a crown prince anymore. But I'm wondering, besides being concerned about the successor to the throne, are these people suddenly rushing to submit their petitions to establish a crown prince, or is someone secretly urging them to submit these petitions?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jiangli understood completely.
"Does Your Majesty mean that someone bribed these ministers to deliberately bring up the matter of Lifang Xun being made crown prince in front of you?"
"I did indeed think that way."
Gu Jiangli also fell into thought, "If Fang Xun ascends the throne, it won't be hard to see who the mastermind is by whose interests are involved. The eldest princess is the first beneficiary, and her husband is the second beneficiary."
"Not only that, there is also an indirect beneficiary," the emperor said slowly.
Gu Jiangli was taken aback, then understood.
The two said in unison, "Prime Minister."
Gu Jiangli felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart when she mentioned this person.
She spoke of people who were all relatives of the emperor.
In the royal family, so-called kinship is completely useless and only adds to one's distress.
The reason why the prime minister supported Fang Xun made her even more upset.
It was simply because, in the prime minister's view, the emperor's days were numbered. Rather than supporting a useless emperor whose life was nearing its end, it would be safer to find a young emperor with a longer lifespan to support.
In their eyes, the emperor was never considered a family member.
Even the Empress Dowager, who held a high position, was no exception.
They were so ruthless, yet the emperor was an extremely kind person.
What an ironic joke.
Gu Jiangli made a secret decision: she would ensure her child was born safely and that the emperor would sit securely on the throne.
"Your Majesty, now that we know their intentions, we should strike as soon as possible."
The Emperor seemed completely unperturbed. After hearing Gu Jiangli's words, he asked directly, "Does Consort Chen have a plan?"
Gu Jiangli nodded, "The Prime Minister has a high reputation in the court, so it's inconvenient to target him directly. Let's start with something simple. The Princess's husband's family is in business, so he must be quite wealthy. He probably provided the money to bribe those ministers. In that case, let's start with him."
"Businessmen are indeed easy to deal with."
Gu Jiangli smiled faintly, "Just find any excuse and have the Ministry of Revenue investigate his taxes! As for taxes, go ahead and investigate, he won't say a word."
The emperor chuckled at her confident expression. "Your Consort Chen knows all this; it truly broadens my horizons."
"Your Majesty will know in the future that I have much more to offer. As long as I can help Your Majesty, I will certainly not hide my talents from you."
The emperor was slightly taken aback; her bright eyes seemed to be shining, dazzling and mesmerizing.
He felt a warmth in his chest and seemed to have gained a lot of strength.
"Consort Chen, as long as I live, I will protect you and the child."
Gu Jiangli replied firmly, "Your Majesty, as long as I live, I will do my best to prevent anyone from bullying you."
Whether it's the Empress Dowager, the Eldest Princess, or even the Prime Minister whom they've never met, if they want to harm the Emperor, they'll have to get past her first!
The emperor looked at her face, his posture more relaxed than ever before.
He replied with a single word: "Okay."
————
The following day, Gu Jiangli received a summons that had never been issued since the founding of Yun Sheng.
The emperor bestowed upon her the title of Imperial Noble Consort and sent her directly to Jinghe Palace.
Yun Sheng had never conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort before, nor had he ever allowed any concubines to reside in Jinghe Palace.
Gu Jiangli, in one fell swoop, made these two unprecedented things readily available.
For a time, all the concubines in the harem were green with envy, but none of them dared to be so eager to cause her trouble.
After all, she has now become the most powerful person after the Empress Dowager.
That very night, the emperor explained to her that he had intended to make her empress, but the process was too complicated and he could not make a decision on her arbitrarily. He could only make her an imperial concubine first, and then promote her to empress in a few days.
Gu Jiangli didn't care about any of that. Whether she was an Imperial Noble Consort or an Empress, it was all unimportant to her.
But she could clearly see the emperor's desire to protect her.
After moving into Jinghe Palace, even if the Empress Dowager wanted to harm her, it wouldn't be so easy.
The emperor has made plans for her, and she should accept them with peace of mind.
As for dealing with the Princess's husband's family, the Emperor did not hide anything from her and told her about all the progress.
The emperor appointed the most upright and incorruptible Minister of Revenue to handle this task. He did not specify that the task was to target the Fang family, but simply instructed him to thoroughly investigate all shops, large and small, in the city, and to begin the investigation on an equal footing.
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