Aunt Du never imagined that she would one day have the opportunity to leave the Prince's Mansion.
"Your Highness, I can never repay your kindness..."
Aunt Du made a move to kneel down, but Gu Jiangli grabbed her and said, "Don't kneel down so easily. You have the potential to be a doctor. You shouldn't be confined to a small palace."
She hoped that the concubines in the back courtyard would all leave the palace and find their own lives.
The prince has probably wanted to dismiss the inner court for a long time, but he just hasn't found the opportunity yet.
Aunt Du repeatedly thanked her, her words of gratitude endless.
That night, Gu Jiangli told Prince Yu her thoughts.
Prince Yu's reaction was exactly what she expected.
“If it weren’t for the purpose of continuing my lineage, my mother would never have found so many concubines for me, and they would have no reason to stay in the Prince’s mansion.”
Gu Jiangli hooked her arm around Prince Yu's neck and said with a coquettish smile, "I knew that's what Your Highness was thinking."
"Actually, I could let them go right now."
“No need to rush,” Gu Jiangli advised, “Let’s wait until the baby is born. I’m already quite familiar with Aunt Du, and I hope she will be the one to deliver the baby.”
Gu Jiangli also knew that there were already three midwives living in the Prince's mansion, all prepared in advance for her childbirth.
But she liked Aunt Du, and she felt more at ease having someone skilled in medicine by her side.
Then, after she told Prince Yu about her desire to find a doctor to teach Aunt Du medicine, he readily agreed.
He never refused any of Gu Jiangli's requests.
Prince Yu, with gentle eyes, placed his hand lightly on her pregnant belly, saying, "If you feel good about it, then that's good."
"Your Highness is so kind," Gu Jiangli said coquettishly.
She rarely saw the prince blush or become shy because of what she said anymore. It seemed that he had completely gotten used to her words and style, whereas before, a little teasing would have been enough to make him blush.
Gu Jiangli secretly felt a little regretful.
After spending some time cuddling with her, Prince Yu suddenly said to her solemnly, "I plan to stop going to the mine starting tomorrow and stay at home with you until the baby is born, then we'll make further arrangements."
Gu Jiangli raised her head. "Your Highness, you don't need to do these things for me. Just do what His Majesty has arranged for you properly, or he might use it to find fault with you."
"How could he dare to find fault with me? Besides, he has already arranged for the Crown Prince to go to the mine. Although the Crown Prince is young, he is steady and reliable. It is reassuring to entrust things to him."
Gu Jiangli thought about the crown prince; he seemed to be only a little over ten years old.
Is such a small child capable of undertaking such a heavy responsibility?
Gu Jiangli thought it over and over but still felt it was inappropriate. "Your Highness, it is precisely because the Crown Prince is young that you cannot carelessly entrust the mining business to him. Mining jade veins is inherently dangerous. If something happens to the Crown Prince, wouldn't the Emperor blame you?"
Prince Yu's eyes darkened.
How could he not know what the princess was saying?
“Your Highness, you are about to give birth, and I really don’t want to leave. When my mother gave birth to Lan Shuang, she had a difficult labor and almost lost both her and her unborn child. Childbirth is always fraught with danger for women, and I must stay by your side.”
Seeing how serious he was, Gu Jiangli couldn't bear to refuse him.
However, the emperor's actions were truly baffling. The emperor was ruthless, and it was not incapable of him to use his own son as bait to put a crime on Prince Yu's head.
Therefore, at least before the child is born, Prince Yu must be cautious about every step he takes.
She certainly didn't want her child to lose all his wealth because of the emperor's schemes as soon as he was born.
"Your Highness, you know that the Emperor is not a simple man. He sent a young prince who hasn't even grown up yet to replace him at the mine. He must have ulterior motives."
"How about this? There's still a little over a month until I give birth. After that, you can leave the mine to be with me, okay?"
Prince Yu looked reluctant, but Gu Jiangli had already put it that way, so he had no choice but to agree.
“Okay, I’ll arrange for a few more people to take care of you, and I’ll also have your mother move to the next room so it will be easier for her to look after you.”
At this moment, Gu Jiangli could only nod.
During the past few months of pregnancy, she has spent almost all her time eating, sleeping, and playing, and hasn't used her brain to think about anything for a long time.
Today's encounter with the emperor's affairs has set her mind racing again.
The emperor is not to be underestimated.
When they're not making any moves, they're definitely plotting something!
Suddenly, she realized something she had forgotten.
"Your Highness, something's not right!"
Prince Yu looked flustered. "What's wrong?"
"There's someone I seem to have overlooked the whole time. He seems to keep appearing in other people's conversations, but I've never actually met him."
Prince Yu remained silent for a long while, then asked, "You mean... Lan Shuang's husband?"
"Yes! Lotus told me about Lan Shuang and this man before, saying that he rarely stayed at the Prince's Mansion. He spent his days at the gambling den and his nights at the brothel."
"He only came back to the Prince's Mansion to get money from Lan Shuang to continue gambling, and Lan Shuang helped him out without complaint."
"But Lan Shuang has been a nun for almost half a year now. Logically speaking, it's impossible that he hasn't finished gambling away all his money in half a year."
“If he loses all his money, he can’t go to the nun Lan Shuang for more money, nor can he quit gambling just because he has no money. But what about him?”
"Lan Shuang, such a fine ATM... no, such a fine money exchange, has been taken to a nunnery without him even asking a question! He hasn't come to the Prince's mansion to ask for the money back either. That's very strange."
Prince Yu frowned.
He overlooked this point as well.
Since the princess entered the palace, he has never cared about that man's affairs again.
Only occasionally would the housekeeper come to report that Lan Shuang had taken some more money.
He also knew that Lan Shuang usually gave the money to this man.
But ever since Lan Shuang went to Yue Lu Mountain, he, like the princess, has unknowingly forgotten the existence of this man.
“Your Highness, you are right. Gamblers will not quit gambling. The fact that he did not come to the palace to ask for money, nor did he quit gambling, means that someone is helping him behind the scenes and giving him money to spend.”
Gu Jiangli nodded slowly, "Moreover, once you've gambled big money, you won't care about small money anymore. The fact that he can gamble peacefully without causing trouble at the Prince's Mansion shows that the person behind him is also very wealthy."
Prince Yu took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then opened them again, his sharpness undisguised.
Having gone this far, how could he not guess who was behind it all?
"The emperor is still not giving up."
Gu Jiangli frowned as well, "But I don't know what the emperor wants to do yet, so what's the point of protecting this scumbag?"
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