Chapter 276 The Newly Conferred Princess Anping
The vermilion palace walls are towering.
Chu Ruohan entered the palace, but was told that the emperor had something to do and asked her to wait outside the imperial study.
wait.
One word, like a blunt knife, slowly wore away her patience.
She knew what was hidden behind this waiting.
The emperor clearly wanted to use Gu Junze's life as a threat to force Duan Qingye to submit.
But she had read the letter left by Princess Anyang.
Knowing that man's ambition, he wouldn't be easily blackmailed.
The eldest princess's strategy to defeat the enemy...
Instead of passively defending, it is better to take the initiative.
The heavy palace door was opened with a creaky sound.
A figure walked out from the door.
Chu Ruohan looked up, her pupils shrinking slightly.
Du Ruoling.
She was wearing a gorgeous palace dress, with her hair tied up high and surrounded by pearls and jade, which was very different from before.
"You're not dead."
Du Ruoling's voice was flat, and no emotion could be heard from it, but her eyes were scrutinizing as they fell on Chu Ruohan's dusty dress.
Chu Ruohan ignored her and looked past her at Manager Ma next to her.
Manager Ma put on his usual cautious smile, took a step forward, and spoke in a voice that was neither too loud nor too low.
"Madam Gu, this is the newly appointed Princess Anping by the Emperor yesterday."
"Princess Anping offered a brilliant plan to repel the enemy and resolve the border crisis. This will benefit the nation and the people for generations to come."
A good strategy to repel the enemy? Chu Ruohan was puzzled. In her eyes, Du Ruoling was just a crazy woman. Wasn't she entangled with that Minister Liu?
How did she suddenly become Princess Anping?
Chu Ruohan's eyes turned colder and she looked at Ma Fuhai again.
"Eunuch Ma, the emperor is free to see me now."
Ma Fuhai looked embarrassed and lowered his voice even more.
"Young Madam, the war is intense at the front, and the Emperor is worried about this matter."
Chu Ruohan took a deep breath and stopped beating around the bush.
"Here I have a handwritten letter from Princess Anyang."
"In the letter, there is a strategy for defeating the enemy that the eldest princess had formulated before her death."
The smile on Ma Fuhai's face froze instantly, "Young Madam, please come with us."
In the imperial study, the scent of sandalwood curled up, but it could not dispel the heaviness and anxiety that permeated the air.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne with a frown on his face, a mountain of memorials and military reports piled in front of him.
Chu Ruohan handed over the letter, which bore the marks of time, with both hands.
The emperor took the letter, his eyes met the familiar handwriting, and his fingers trembled slightly.
He unfolded the letter and read it word by word.
Time seemed to stand still.
After an unknown amount of time, a suppressed sob broke the silence.
Tears as big as beans rolled down and hit the bright yellow dragon robe, staining a small dark area.
"It was me...it was me who forced my elder sister to death..."
The interweaving of regret and pain made the emperor appear vulnerable in an instant.
Chu Ruohan watched quietly, but her heart was calm.
Even the love of close family members cannot withstand suspicion!
Today's tears are also false...
After the emperor calmed down a bit, Chu Ruohan spoke, "I beg Your Majesty to spare Gu Junze for the sake of the eldest princess."
The emperor raised his red-veined eyes and looked at her, the sadness in his eyes quickly replaced by a complex and indistinguishable emotion.
He was silent for a moment, and his voice regained its imperial majesty.
"I have my own considerations on this matter."
"You go back first."
Chu Ruohan's heart sank.
Go back first?
Own considerations?
The most ruthless are the imperial family.
In the end, is he still unwilling to let Gu Junze go easily?
He is still weighing and calculating.
Chu Ruohan hesitated and left the imperial study. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the palace wall, dyeing half of the sky red.
But it couldn't shine into her heart.
Manager Ma followed closely behind, looking at Chu Ruohan's straight back and sighing in his heart.
"Young Madam, please stay." Butler Ma suddenly said.
Chu Ruohan stopped and turned to look at him with a questioning look in her eyes.
Ma Zongguan looked around and made sure that no one was around. Then he lowered his voice and said, "Young Madam, don't worry. The Emperor..."
"Eunuch Ma, there's no need to explain." Chu Ruohan interrupted him, a cold look in her eyes, "I understand the emperor's intention."
Steward Ma hesitated to speak, and finally bowed slightly: "This old servant will escort the young lady out of the palace."
As soon as she walked out of the palace gate, Chu Ruohan saw Doctor Qian waiting outside.
Seeing her come out, Doctor Qian hurried forward and asked, "Young Madam, how is the situation?"
Chu Ruohan shook her head: "The emperor said he has his own considerations."
"This..." Doctor Qian frowned. He had expected this result.
The two walked towards the carriage in silence.
Before getting in the car, Chu Ruohan suddenly asked, "Doctor Qian, do you know what strategy Du Ruoling offered to repel the enemy? How could the emperor confer her the title of Princess Anping?"
Doctor Qian looked serious. “I don’t know the specific details, but I heard it was a firearm that could cause mass casualties.”
"firearm?"
Chu Ruohan's brows furrowed even deeper, and a trace of uneasiness passed through her heart.
Doctor Qian lowered his voice and continued.
"Also, Du Ruoling reported Minister Liu of the Ministry of Personnel, exposing him for amassing wealth under the pretext of conscription."
"The Emperor was furious and had Minister Liu thrown into the Heavenly Prison."
Chu Ruohan's eyes flickered slightly, and the doubts in her heart grew even stronger.
Du Ruoling's actions are really puzzling.
Didn't she already cling to Minister Liu and give up Gu Cheng'an?
Why did he turn around and send Minister Liu to jail?
Do you regret it?
Or is there another conspiracy behind this?
While I was thinking, a familiar voice sounded behind me.
"If you're so curious, why not ask me directly?"
Chu Ruohan and Doctor Qian turned their heads at the same time.
Du Ruoling was standing not far away, wearing a brand new princess's dress, but there was no smug look on her face, but instead a kind of indescribable complexity.
She was clearly waiting for Chu Ruohan here on purpose.
Chu Ruohan signaled to Doctor Qian to be patient and went to meet him.
The two of them found a relatively quiet inn nearby and asked for a private room.
After sending the waiter away, Du Ruoling went straight to the point without any greetings.
"Where's Gu Cheng'an?"
Chu Ruohan picked up the teacup and gently blew away the foam without even lifting her eyelids.
"have no idea."
"Who are you trying to fool?"
Du Ruoling's voice suddenly rose, and she suddenly took out a jade pendant from her bosom and slammed it on the table.
The jade pendant has a smooth texture and is engraved with familiar patterns.
Chu Ruohan's eyes narrowed slightly in an instant.
This jade pendant was given to the conscription leader by Gu Cheng'an out of helplessness in order to save Old Man Li.
Unexpectedly, it fell into Du Ruoling's hands.
No wonder she was so sure.
Du Ruoling stared at Chu Ruohan closely with an aggressive tone.
"I sent people to Niutou Village to check."
"The villagers said that a young woman and Gu Cheng'an pretended to be a couple and lived there for several days."
"Do you dare to say that the woman is not you?"
Chu Ruohan put down the teacup with a slight sound, raised her eyes to meet Du Ruoling's gaze, and a hint of sneer appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Aren't you already having a hot affair with Minister Liu?"
"Now that Minister Liu has just been imprisoned, why are you so concerned about Gu Cheng'an?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
