The Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.
Jiang He and Gu Lin squatted together by the lake, each holding a fishing rod, but no fish took the bait for a long time.
"How can you catch fish if you're not focused?"
Jiang He kept his eyes fixed ahead, not even glancing at Gu Lin.
Gu Lin chuckled bitterly a few times, "She hasn't responded since she received my letter."
Since he woke up, Ayu has barely given him a second glance... He's getting impatient.
Ah Yu bled so much blood to detoxify him, but until now, he hasn't even had the chance to thank her in person.
"What kind of reaction do you expect from the Empress?"
Jiang He sighed softly, "You are the ruler of Da Ning, the long-deceased Prince Xiang of Da Qing, and the Empress is the Empress of Da Qing. What do you think her reaction will be?"
"The overall situation is still uncertain. If Your Highness makes a wrong move, not only Your Highness will suffer... but also Prince Yan and the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion will all be implicated."
Mentioning these things, Jiang He felt a pang of pain in his heart. Wasn't it the same way that the Empress Consort deliberated again and again before telling him and his father that he could not marry into the royal family?
"But I feel sorry for her."
Gu Lin spoke in a low voice, "Jiang He, no matter how many difficulties there were in what happened back then, it was always her who was hurt."
In that dream, Ayu really suffered a lot...
Jiang He did not speak again. Whether they would be a perfect couple or a bitter one depended on their future fate.
That evening, Wanji brought many medicinal herbs to the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.
"Her Majesty is worried about the Marquis's health, so she specially sent me to bring some medicine." Wanji said, taking a letter out of his sleeve. "This is specially for the Marquis from Her Majesty."
Jiang He and Wan Ji exchanged a glance and immediately understood the purpose of the letter.
Wanji left in a hurry, and Jiang He took the letter and walked to Gu Lin's courtyard.
In the courtyard, Gu Lin was examining the jade pendant, which had been broken into two pieces, by the moonlight.
"It's already broken, yet you treat it like a treasure." Jiang He threw the letter on the stone table in annoyance. "This is a letter that Wan Ji just delivered."
Gu Lin shuddered, and Jiang He tactfully left, leaving Gu Lin alone.
Unfold the letter; there is only one line of text:
"Gu Lin, I don't blame you."
The neat and elegant small regular script, with its somewhat sharp strokes, felt so familiar, as if I had seen it just yesterday.
With reddened eyes, Ayu looked at the letter over and over again and said, "It's not his fault."
At the same time, Jiang Yu was also sitting in the courtyard of Zhaoning Palace, looking up at the scattered stars in the sky.
During this time, she kept thinking about what had happened before, and she knew... that Gu Lin had no other choice in that situation.
In other words, she was very fortunate that the person who stepped into Zhaoning Palace that night was Gu Lin.
Thank goodness it was him.
That's how Ayan came to be.
Given the current situation, she would never refuse a father who is willing to treat Ayan well, but that's all.
As for love and romance, given Gu Heng's experience, she dared not even dream of it anymore.
Right now, all she wants is to live her life with Ayan.
......
Jinwu Palace.
When Peilan was released back to Jinwu Palace, she was covered in wounds. Consort Yi stood up in fear, "They...they actually dared to treat you like this!"
"This servant almost thought I would never see Your Highness again."
Perrin knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
“They tortured the servants, forcing them to confess to things they had never done.” Pei Lan stretched out her hands, her fingers twisted in a strange way. “Later… when they realized they couldn’t get the servants to talk, and with Eunuch Cen present, they had no choice but to release them.”
Consort Yi personally helped Peilan up. She had entered the palace alone, powerless and helpless, and could only rely on the Empress's charity to survive. Only Peilan remained loyal and followed her closely.
"Perlan, rest assured, I will definitely seek justice for you."
Consort Yi's breathing became rapid. In the past few days, she had been repeatedly ridiculed by Consort Li, and even Noble Lady Qi had a few words to say to her!
It's simply because she has no family background, so everyone can take advantage of her.
But she was a concubine, and she was pregnant with the emperor's child. Once she gave birth to the prince, who in the harem could be more honored than her, except for the empress?
"Your Majesty, didn't you say... we must listen to the Empress and never oppose her again?"
A glint flashed in Perrin's eyes, but it was quickly drowned out by tears.
"I have been bullied to this extent... If I continue to tolerate this, I'm afraid the entire palace will look down on me as Consort Yi!"
Consort Yi clutched her stomach tightly, her face revealing a ferocity completely different from her usual submissive demeanor.
"hiss--"
Hearing Peilan's cry of pain, the maidservant applied the medicine even more gently. "Sister Peilan, please bear with it."
"fine."
Pei Lan stared intently in the direction outside the door. This time, Consort Yi would definitely not stand on the same side as the Empress.
Despite the pain, Pei Lan managed a slight smile. Her mistress would surely think she was acting impulsively, but Consort Yi was soft-hearted and timid. If she didn't push Consort Yi a little, how could Consort Yi harden her heart?
She would absolutely not allow anyone to jeopardize her master's grand plan.
......
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Cen has gone there with the Emperor's decree. Peilan has already been returned to Jinwu Palace."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu put down the bamboo tube in her hand. "Didn't you get anything out of me?"
"Your Majesty, they only gave me trivial instructions," Wanji said softly. "They don't seem to be spies from the Di Kingdom, as they know nothing about the Di Kingdom."
Jiang Yu frowned subconsciously. For some reason, she felt that there was something wrong with Pei Lan.
Did you notice anything unusual during the questioning?
Seeing Wanji shake his head, Jiang Yu's intuition grew stronger. How could a palace maid not show any unusual behavior during the interrogation?
It takes a lot of courage for a palace maid to try and sow discord between her and Consort Yi; no ordinary palace maid would dare to do that.
Gu Lin encountered almost the exact same situation.
"Is Qin Wei truly without any problems at all?"
Gu Lin also frowned. He had ordered an investigation into Qin Wei, believing him to be the most likely traitor.
"Your Majesty, I have thoroughly investigated Qin Wei's affairs over the past ten years and found no problems." Ling Hai said seriously, "On the contrary, Qin Wei almost lost his life several times while protecting the young master."
Gu Lin nodded. "I understand."
Now that Qin Wei has gone to Daning with A Yan, he has also sent people to keep a close watch on him.
Gu Lin still felt something was strange. Who else but Qin Wei could have direct contact with A Yan and A Yu in his dream and have a lot of say in them?
Could it be that Qin Wei really wasn't a traitor?
If that's really the case, then who is the traitor?
Gu Lin let out a heavy sigh. "Investigate all the people we've stationed in the capital."
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