The birth of the child brought about many changes for the emperor.
His smile widened, and his gaze towards Gu Jiangli softened.
He never refused any medication or acupuncture treatment, as if he were already living life earnestly.
Doctor Wu and Physician Lü were very pleased with the emperor's change. Every time they came to Jinghe Palace, they would examine the three of them one by one.
Gu Jiangli was weak after childbirth, but she recovered quickly.
As for the young prince, both Imperial Physician Lü and Doctor Wu made several diagnoses and reached the same conclusion.
It's a miracle; the little prince truly has no heart disease and is a perfectly healthy child.
Aside from attending court, the emperor spent his days at Jinghe Palace with them and didn't go anywhere else.
Everything seems to be moving in a positive direction.
But what made Gu Jiangli feel bad was that Jinghe Palace had become as dark as usual.
Gu Jiangli gave birth to the child in the bright night, believing that the emperor was no longer afraid of fire.
But she discovered that the emperor had not overcome his fear, but rather forced himself to forget it.
He never mentioned the candlelight at Jinghe Palace on the day his child was born again, as if the incident had never happened.
Gu Jiangli didn't pressure him; everything had to be done gradually.
The emperor is improving, which is a good thing.
As for the Empress Dowager, there has been no movement.
The entire palace was celebrating the emperor's son, but the empress dowager made no mention of it.
The Cining Palace was unusually quiet, as if someone had ordered them not to discuss the matter.
However, both Lotus and the guards said that after the Empress Dowager heard that the little prince had been born safely, she smashed many teacups and porcelain in the room, which showed that she was very angry.
Gu Jiangli could easily guess why the Empress Dowager was angry.
Her favorite daughter died, and the son her daughter had given birth to also died. To make matters worse, the son she disliked the most had a child. How could she not be furious?
The Empress Dowager is finally going to unleash her trump card.
However, Gu Jiangli was not afraid, and she had also prepared a gift for the Empress Dowager.
————
Gu Jiangli's health is recovering well.
In just over two weeks, her complexion returned to almost normal.
A message came to her from her secret guards in Qizhou:
"The mission is complete, and we will be able to return to the capital soon."
Gu Jiangli held the note and smiled.
very good.
The Empress Dowager's gift is already on its way.
The emperor happened to enter and, seeing her joyful expression, asked, "What makes you so happy?"
"It is indeed a joyous occasion, but His Majesty should have already heard the news."
The emperor pondered for a moment, then asked in return, "You mean it's the prime minister's business?"
Gu Jiangli smiled faintly: "It seems that even without the secret guards, His Majesty still has the means to obtain information in the first instance."
"On his way back to the capital, the prime minister encountered refugees from Qi Prefecture who were fleeing to the capital. Upon seeing the prime minister, they found an outlet for their pent-up resentment."
"It is said that some people have been vehemently criticizing the prime minister for serving in the court but for not caring about the people at all, saying that he is not worthy of being the prime minister of a country."
"The prime minister got angry and ordered the group of disaster victims to be arrested, which resulted in a fight."
"I never expected that the Prime Minister's personal guards would be defeated by those disaster victims."
Gu Jiangli nodded; it was pretty much as she had imagined.
It's likely that those secret guards infiltrated the disaster victims, deliberately stirred up trouble, and then took the opportunity to complete their mission.
"Perhaps this is what they mean by 'the barefoot are not afraid of those wearing shoes.' When disaster victims are driven by anger and lose their minds, they fight and kill without any regard for the consequences."
"Your Majesty should be happy. With the prime minister dead, there is one less enemy."
Upon hearing her words, the emperor suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked, "I didn't say the prime minister was dead. How did you know?"
Gu Jiangli was taken aback. "He's not dead? Didn't His Majesty say that the Prime Minister's personal guards couldn't defeat those disaster victims?"
"It's truly uncertain whether he's dead or not. The prime minister's personal guards went to nearby prefectures and counties to request reinforcements, but by the time the reinforcements arrived, the prime minister had vanished. That's the information I've received. Do you have any further details?"
Gu Jiangli suddenly didn't know how to respond.
She not only had more information, but she was also convinced that the prime minister was dead and his body was torn to pieces.
She took a deep breath, clenched the small piece of paper in her hand, thought for a moment, and then confessed.
"Alright, Your Majesty, actually, I was the one who killed the prime minister."
"You?" The emperor was somewhat surprised.
“Yes, I put all the secret guards His Majesty gave me to good use. Didn’t His Majesty also want the Prime Minister dead? They disguised themselves as disaster victims and infiltrated the area, taking advantage of people’s unpreparedness to strike in secret.”
The emperor frowned and thought for a moment, "So, you sent out the secret guards while you were still pregnant."
"right."
The emperor was not angry; instead, he looked remorseful and said, "I shouldn't have let you worry about these things. You've helped me again."
"How can this be considered helping? Since His Majesty arranged for the Prime Minister to go to Qizhou, he must have made preparations. In fact, even without those secret guards, the Prime Minister would not have been able to return to the capital alive. I was just one step ahead of His Majesty in making my move."
"So the prime minister's disappearance was actually due to his murder by the secret guards."
"Yes, Gengwu just sent word that their mission was successful."
"Very well, I will then issue a message that the Prime Minister died unexpectedly in a conflict with disaster victims on his way back to the capital."
"Your Majesty might as well add one more sentence."
"Add something."
Gu Jiangli smiled shrewdly and said, "If the prime minister dies at the hands of disaster victims, people in other places will inevitably harbor resentment towards the people of Qizhou. Therefore, the prime minister must die a just death."
"Your Majesty might as well pretend to conduct an investigation first, and then announce the results widely:"
"The prime minister embezzled a sum of disaster relief funds. On his way back to the capital, he was discovered by the fleeing disaster victims. The victims accused the prime minister of corruption and being heartless. The prime minister was furious that his secret had been exposed. In a fit of rage, he decided to kill them."
"But the number of disaster victims was too large, and the prime minister was outnumbered and died unexpectedly."
"Once the news gets out, the prime minister's death will be a cause for great celebration."
"People from other places will think that the disaster victims of Qizhou did a good deed, killing a vile corrupt official for my Yunsheng."
This was a strategy that Gu Jiangli had come up with long ago.
If the secret guards chose to disguise themselves as disaster victims, she would suggest this to the emperor.
If the secret guards were disguised as bandits to commit the crime, then the emperor could use this as an excuse to send troops to wipe out the bandits, which would also help him win over the hearts of the people.
Regardless of who killed the prime minister, she had to ensure that the emperor benefited.
The emperor listened silently, and his admiration for her grew even stronger.
"I believe that someone more suitable to be the emperor is someone else than myself."
Gu Jiangli was startled, but immediately laughed it off, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't joke like that."
The emperor smiled and said, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore."
He then changed the subject and asked, "However, you've even thought about what will happen after the prime minister dies. Is I worth you worrying so much about?"
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