Xiao Shoufu clenched his hands tightly in his sleeves, feeling that there were wolves in front and tigers behind him. He tried to appear calm on the surface, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings:
He thought that this matter was a sure thing, and he would be able to save the Feng family, and maybe even use the situation to save the Yu family.
Unexpectedly, the eldest prince took an unconventional approach and used such a move, which was equivalent to letting himself overturn all their doubts about Feng He's assassination.
If the eldest prince was on their side today, he would also cheer for him, but the other party stood on the opposite side of their family.
The eldest prince's scheme is truly horrifying.
Prime Minister Xiao's eyes were uncertain.
"Lord Xiao?" Chu Yi called again in an urgent tone, picked up another black piece from the chess box, and played with it between his fingers.
Xiao Shoufu felt a flash in the corner of his eyes again, and a silver light pierced into his right eye. He subconsciously turned his head and glanced in Jiang Lun's direction, who was stroking his sleeves with a smile.
Prime Minister Xiao had no doubt that as long as Chu Yi gave the order, the eunuch named Jiang Lun would pounce on him like a mad dog again.
And this time, can he still survive by chance? !
Is it worth it for the Feng family and the Yu family?
The black jade-like black dot was spinning between Chu Yi's slender fingers. Suddenly, his fingers slipped and the black dot was about to fall off...
Xiao Shoufu's heart skipped a beat, and the pain in his neck became even more intense. He blurted out, "Your Highness is right."
Once these five words were spoken, the rest of the words suddenly became much simpler.
Chief Minister Xiao took a deep breath and continued in a stiff tone: "Captain Gu is loyal to his master. He must have discovered that Feng He did something wrong, so he took action to protect the emperor."
Feng She and Mr. Feng Sanye both looked terribly disappointed.
Chu Yi smiled faintly, neither saying good nor bad, and still played with the black piece between his fingers.
The hair on the back of Xiao Shoufu's neck stood up, and he could only repeat in a positive tone: "Feng He assassinated Your Highness, which was disloyalty, and Gu Yuan saved the emperor."
What a pity! Mu Sheng sighed inwardly with a little disappointment.
But it was just a sigh. He looked at Chu Yi by the window thoughtfully and saw a glimmer of hope.
During the reign of the previous emperor, he valued aristocratic families, and every prime minister appointed by the previous emperor was from an aristocratic family.
The current emperor is willing to promote young people from poor families, but unfortunately he is weak and too kind-hearted, so he is powerless.
On the contrary, this young prince, judging from what he said and did today, is obviously not an incompetent person.
Maybe, I can earn the credit for following the dragon.
Only by letting the positions occupied by the aristocratic families be vacant can he move to the next level.
Mu Sheng's eyes flickered, and he quickly calmed down and said nonchalantly, "That's right."
"This matter couldn't be simpler. At that time, there were so many people in the Chengtian Gate area as witnesses."
After he said this, the upright censors nodded repeatedly, and they also felt that it was true.
With so many people seeing it in public, how could the eldest prince slander Feng He?
In other words, these noble families banded together and, for the sake of the Feng family's reputation, they had to throw dirty water on Gu Yuan.
Madam Gu and Gu Jian stood there in a daze, their minds blank.
Since even Prime Minister Xiao admitted that it was Feng He who assassinated the eldest prince, then Madam Gu's letter of apology became a huge joke.
In fact, Gu Yuan was also a little confused.
His sister told him to keep quiet and not argue, so he did. But how did things develop to this point?
He remained kneeling with his head half lowered, his expression concealed very well.
In the eyes of the upright censors around him, they felt that although Gu Yuan was young, he was extremely calm and decisive, and this time he was just enduring humiliation.
The emperor patted the parrot, and the parrot cried heartlessly: "You are a great help! You are a great help in saving me!"
The parrot's resonant voice spread throughout the water pavilion, like needles piercing Prime Minister Xiao's heart.
The emperor silently decided to give the parrot a snack later. He laughed out loud and praised, "Gu Yuan, you have done a great job in protecting the emperor. Get up now."
This was the first time that the emperor called Gu Yuan by his name in public instead of Captain Gu. This meant that the name Gu Yuan caught the emperor's attention, and even if he did not get promoted, things would be different from now on.
Gu Jian and Madam Gu naturally understood this, and the faces of both mother and son darkened.
The clan leader had a look of delight and pride on his face.
The people in the water pavilion were divided into two halves, one half was happy and the other half was gloomy.
Thinking of what his sister had said before she left, he did not rush to get up, but turned to look at Madam Gu who was kneeling beside him.
The young man's determined eyes suddenly changed.
This glance contained admiration and sadness.
For Gu Yuan, there is no need to pretend, he can express himself naturally.
Before knowing the truth about the "substitute", Gu Yuan's feelings towards Madam Gu were indeed so contradictory, and he was just expressing his past emotions at this moment.
Naturally, the other people around also saw it, and they couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Gu Yuan, especially Patriarch Gu.
Gu Yuan had made great contributions in saving the emperor. As his grandmother, Madam Gu should have stood by him, supported him, and even refuted those doubters with him when he was questioned. However, Madam Gu chose to stab her grandson in the back, and almost put Gu Yuan in a position of disloyalty and injustice.
It almost ruined Gu Yuan.
This is not a grandmother at all, she is an enemy!
“…” Madam Gu’s heart sank, and her graceful face could not hide her old age.
She had been kneeling for too long, her knees were numb as if they did not belong to her, cold sweat dripped from her forehead, and she knew that she had completely lost this move.
She opened her lips slightly and couldn't help turning to look at Feng She and Mr. Feng Sanye with the last glimmer of hope, only to find that the Feng brothers had already knelt down at some point.
The Feng family is finished.
The hope in her heart was completely extinguished. She pursed her lips and said nothing.
Gu Jian also felt the condemning gazes from all around him being cast upon Madam Gu and himself. He looked at the Madam with anxiety and expectation, hoping that she could do something more.
However, Madam Gu did not move a muscle, like a body with its soul taken away, she was as still as a wooden chicken.
Gu Yuan slowly stood up from the ground. His every move was agile and nimble, like a young leopard, forming a sharp contrast with the decadent Madam Gu and her son.
The emperor's eyes passed from Gu Yuan to Madam Gu, and he said to the chief eunuch, "Zhao Rang, what was written on the memorial that Madam Gu just handed over?"
As he spoke, the emperor casually picked up a white piece from the chess box and slowly placed it on the chessboard.
He finally figured out how to make this move, and well, it was a good move.
The emperor stroked his beard with satisfaction and looked at Chu Yi across the chessboard with a smile.
Chu Yi was holding a blue and white porcelain teacup and took a sip.
He just sat there drinking tea, but he had an elegance like the breeze and the bright moon.
Zhao Rang on the side responded respectfully and quickly took out the letter of apology from Madam Gu.
Gu Jian's heart skipped a beat and his body instantly stiffened like ice. He wished he could fly over and snatch the letter back from Zhao Rang's hands.
But he could do nothing but listen with fear and trepidation as Zhao Rang slowly read out the memorial.
In fact, this memorial was drafted by Gu Jian on behalf of Madam Gu, and it was written by Madam Gu's hand. He knew every word and sentence in the memorial by heart.
But at this moment, this memorial drafted by him personally was like a knife stabbing into his heart, and the knife kept stabbing in and out of his heart, making his whole body tremble.
Time seemed to be slowed down infinitely, and Gu Jian felt extremely tormented.
The emperor and Chu Yi were playing chess on their own. After three or four moves, the emperor was stumped again and frowned in thought.
Madam Gu's memorial was not long, and even though Zhao Rang habitually dragged out his words, he still finished reading it quickly.
The water pavilion was silent for a while. The emperor finally raised his head from the chessboard and looked back and forth at Gu Yuan and Madam Gu. He said with some displeasure in his doubts: "Gu Yuan has done a great service in saving the emperor. Why is Madam Gu so confused about right and wrong?"
Zhao Rang gently closed the memorial, coughed dryly, and seemed to be in embarrassment and hesitation, but still reported: "Your Majesty, I just heard from Madam Gu that the late Marquis Gu Ce was not her son, and his biological mother was the old Marquis' concubine."
Zhao Rang's voice happened to be heard clearly by everyone present.
Everyone was shocked, and looked at Madam Gu with doubt.
This is a major event concerning the title of the Marquis.
The emperor's expression changed immediately. He casually threw a chess piece between his fingers back into the chess box and raised his voice slightly: "Is this true?!" These four words could not hide his displeasure.
Madam Gu and Gu Jian's mother and son were suddenly startled, especially Madam Gu. The wrinkles between her brows were so deep that they could almost pinch a mosquito to death. She realized that this matter did not seem to be good.
The emperor stroked his beard and looked at Gu Yuan who was standing quietly beside him again. He looked him up and down, as if he was thinking about something.
After a while, the emperor shook his head and sighed meaningfully: "No wonder..."
(End of this chapter)
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