Shen Hechuan remained relatively calm upon seeing the intelligence that had just been sent over.
However, upon seeing Jiang Xianhao poisoned and unconscious, he immediately couldn't sit still.
He rushed out to ride away, but fortunately Gu Jingchun arrived in time to stop him.
"Shen Hechuan, we don't know the situation in Tiandu right now, so we absolutely cannot act rashly."
"Jingchun, step aside. I'll go back first. I'll have them ensure your and Xier's safety."
Gu Jingchun shook his head.
"no!"
“We are still at least ten days away from Tiandu. If you leave now, you will definitely be ambushed on the way, and you may fall into the enemy’s trap.”
Shen Hechuan's eyes were filled with urgency.
“Then I can’t wait any longer, that’s my mother.”
Looking at the urgency in Shen Hechuan's eyes, Gu Jingchun seemed to see himself in the past, rushing to get somewhere.
So she nodded and said firmly, "In that case, let's go together. Don't rush. We'll travel as fast as we can and get back to Tiandu as quickly as possible."
"However, we need to do some preparation beforehand to achieve twice the result with half the effort."
Shen Hechuan looked at Gu Jingchun's determined eyes before dismounting.
Gu Jingchun took advantage of this time to gather everyone together and have them go and purchase things that might be needed.
They replaced their three carriages with two, and divided all the people into three groups to take turns resting.
Two hours later, everyone set off again.
The carriage sped along towards Tiandu amidst the bumps and jolting.
Gu Jingchun sat in the carriage, repeatedly looking at Shen Hechuan's secret report.
Thinking back to the booklet she had just seen, she felt that things weren't so simple.
Sure enough, she soon discovered a hidden message in the secret letter.
A poem with hidden characters.
It clearly states one sentence.
"The poison is curable, don't worry about it."
Upon discovering this, Gu Jingchun immediately summoned Shen Hechuan to the carriage.
Upon seeing this message, Shen Hechuan immediately breathed a sigh of relief and was finally able to think clearly again.
Gu Jingchun took the opportunity to hand him the intelligence she had received and told him her deductions.
"I think the Empress's poisoning is more like a tactic she used to deal with those unfavorable rumors about you in Tiandu."
As she spoke, she handed the booklet to Shen Hechuan.
"Take a close look at this booklet."
"Ever since rumors began circulating in the capital that you are not of the Emperor's bloodline, such booklets have started appearing in the capital."
I carefully examined the contents. Although the names were fake, it was easy to guess that the characters depicted were from the story of the former Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince.
"And now, the only ones who know so clearly about what happened back then are Her Majesty the Empress and His Majesty."
"Therefore, I speculate that this booklet was written by Her Majesty the Empress in response to those rumors."
Unfortunately, the story was too obscure and difficult to understand, making it hard for ordinary people to comprehend, and it lacked a highlight.
It was far less sensational than those rumors, so it didn't cause much of a reaction in Tiandu.
Shen Hechuan hadn't expected that a single booklet could reveal so many things, and he immediately nodded in agreement.
"So what should we do now?"
Gu Jingchun smiled.
"Naturally, we'll find a way to make everyone familiar with the contents of the booklet."
Gu Jingchun winked smugly as he spoke.
"Just you wait, I will definitely turn the tide of those rumors and let you return to Tiandu with a clean record."
Looking at the light in Gu Jingchun's eyes, Shen Hechuan instinctively felt his heart beat faster.
"What are you going to do?"
Gu Jingchun chuckled softly.
"Since they want to drag you down with them, I might as well drag everyone down with me."
When new rumors are everywhere, old rumors naturally go unnoticed.
"When all the white has turned black, then the black has turned white."
"Just you wait and see."
Gu Jingchun acted quickly.
The next day, on the streets of Tiandu, everyone—from ordinary people buying vegetables to vendors selling goods, shopkeepers, and even beggars—gathered together, whispering amongst themselves.
"Hey, have you heard? The Marquis of Yong'an has lost his manhood and is now a eunuch."
"Isn't this something we already knew?"
"Now I know something even more shocking. I heard that the Lady of the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion couldn't stand being alone and went to see quite a few men."
Take that opera troupe for example. They go to the Yong'an Marquis's residence several times a month, and each time they come out, they're all listless. It's clear how badly they've been tortured.
"What's so surprising? I heard that the daughter the Marquis of Yong'an recently found is not his biological daughter."
The news spread from the beggars' quarters to the teahouse.
"Your information is outdated. The latest news is that Prime Minister Wang's daughters are not his biological children. Moreover, I've also heard that Prime Minister Wang seems to have had a relationship with Consort Hui."
"Are you saying that His Highness Prince Rui is possibly the son of Prime Minister Wang?"
...
The news then spread from the teahouse to the mouths of small vendors.
"Hey, have you heard? This Prince Rui is the son of Prime Minister Wang. No wonder Prime Minister Wang has always supported Prince Rui's ascension to the throne. It turns out it was all for his own child."
"Is that so? But I've also heard that our current emperor is a homosexual. He doesn't actually like women. His favorite person is the Censor-in-Chief, Minister Situ."
"Who said that? Our Emperor clearly loved the former Crown Prince, but unfortunately he passed away too early. That's why he married the former Crown Prince's fiancée and vowed to take good care of her in the former Crown Prince's place..."
...
The news then spread from the vendors to various restaurants and teahouses, and became...
"Have you heard? Our Emperor deeply loves the former Crown Prince, and it is for the sake of the former Crown Prince that he is taking care of the Empress."
The Crown Prince was born so that the former Crown Prince's child could inherit the throne and fulfill the former Crown Prince's dying wish.
In the restaurant, Prime Minister Wang, who overheard these words, was so angry that he smashed the wine cup in his hand.
"How dare you speak ill of His Majesty and spread rumors! Guards, arrest all these unruly people who dare to speak ill of His Majesty!"
At Prime Minister Wang's command, everyone who was discussing the matter in the restaurant was arrested.
This action immediately alerted the entire city.
Everyone realized the seriousness of the matter and stopped talking nonsense.
When Prime Minister Wang saw that the rumors were becoming increasingly outrageous, he even posted a notice to tell the people that these were all nonsense, all false, and not to be believed.
If the rumors continue to circulate among the people, all of them will be arrested.
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