"Third Prince, everything is ready."
Inside the study, Gu Qingyan quickly wrote the memorial, waiting only for Gu Heng's order to begin.
"Third Prince, will the Emperor... allow us to take direct action?" Chang Qing was a fierce general under the command of the Marquis of Dingyuan, so he naturally put himself in Gu Qingyan's camp.
"Don't worry, Father will." Gu Qingyan handed the memorial to Chang Qing. "Send the memorial to the capital as fast as possible."
With his mother and uncle paving the way for him, and his father harboring murderous intentions towards Wei Sheng and the Fan family, he would naturally be happy to see the results of this investigation.
After everyone had left, Gu Qingyan lowered his head and lay down on the desk.
It has been three days, and Brother Huo has not shown up.
Is he leaving without saying goodbye...?
"Third Prince, the final outcome of the Heng County matter depends not on the truth, but on the Emperor's attitude. Only with the Emperor's support can you seek justice for the missing woman in Heng County."
"Don't rush, rushing makes mistakes. You should lie low until you are sure you have a clear understanding."
"If the Third Prince disregards his own safety, has he considered the Empress in the palace?"
Gu Lin's words floated into Gu Qingyan's mind. Gu Qingyan pursed his lips. So, after Brother Huo taught him how to handle this matter, he left?
"Third Prince, as you instructed, this servant has discovered a courtyard. The owner of the courtyard seems to have left just a few days ago." Qin Wei, Gu Qingyan's personal eunuch, stepped into the study. "Would the Third Prince like to take a look?"
Qin Wei was sent by Gu Qingyan to find Gu Lin, and only now has news of him arrived.
"Lead the way."
Gu Qingyan pushed open the courtyard gate, and the strong smell of medicine made him frown subconsciously.
“Brother Huo is not injured. This should not be Brother Huo’s courtyard.”
Gu Qingyan scanned the surroundings again and only noticed the bellflowers blooming in the corner.
"Qin Wei, what kind of flower is this? I don't think I've ever seen it in the palace before." Gu Qingyan leaned closer to smell it; the scent was delicate and refreshing, quite pleasant.
"Your Highness, this is a bellflower." A hint of pain flashed in Qin Wei's eyes. "In common parlance, bellflowers are often used to symbolize love between men and women, but this white bellflower carries a sense of despair, so it is not appropriate to plant it in the palace."
White bellflowers symbolize hopeless love.
Qin Wei watched Gu Qingyan's retreating figure. He had been ordered by his master to go through countless hardships to become the young master's personal eunuch. His life was dedicated to protecting the young master.
"I see." Gu Qingyan nodded. "Go and look again to see if you can find Brother Huo's whereabouts."
"This servant will take care of it immediately."
My young master, this is the master's courtyard.
......
When the memorial was presented to Gu Heng, Gu Qingfeng happened to be in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
“Feng’er, look at the report Yan’er presented. He really got to the bottom of things in Heng County.” Gu Heng’s expression was a half-smile. “It turns out that Wei Sheng had been harboring treacherous intentions all along.”
Gu Qingfeng pondered Gu Heng's thoughts and hesitated for a long time before speaking, "I think it's because Third Brother has many capable people around him who have investigated this matter for him."
"Oh? You think Yan'er is incapable of investigating this matter?"
"Of course!" Gu Qingfeng seemed to have regained his former arrogance. "Even if I went there myself, I wouldn't be able to find out the details of such a complex situation. If Father doesn't believe me, just ask if Uncle also helped."
"Hahahaha!" Gu Heng laughed loudly, all the wariness he had felt towards Gu Qingyan vanished. "You really dare to say anything out loud."
“What can’t I say before Father?”
Gu Qingfeng helped Gu Heng sort through the memorials for a while before casually asking again, "Does Father Emperor intend to settle scores with the officials involved?"
Gu Heng did not answer Gu Qingfeng immediately.
Gu Heng had no hesitation about Wei Sheng, and was even more satisfied that Wei Sheng was included in the investigation results.
But the Fan family... Gu Heng's eyes flashed. He might be able to use the Fan family to ease his relationship with A Yu.
He wanted to win back Ayu's heart and have her give birth to a true legitimate son for him.
Zhaoning Palace.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Cen Hai's shrill voice shattered the tranquility of Zhaoning Palace. Gu Qingyao immediately became alert and tried to stop Gu Heng at the palace gate, but was stopped by Jiang Yu.
[Right now, Ayan is still waiting for Gu Heng's approval. If Gu Qingyao is allowed to block Gu Heng at the door and provoke him, it will not do anything good for Heng County.]
Gu Qingyao didn't leave either, standing beside Jiang Yu and staring intently at Gu Heng.
"Ayu, I've come to tell you something." Gu Heng looked worried as he told Jiang Yu about how the Fan family had also been implicated in the Hengxian case.
“But the Fan family is related to you by blood, Ayu. If you care about this kinship, I will let the Fan family off lightly.” Gu Heng’s hypocritical appearance was so bad that even Gu Qingyao couldn’t bear to look at him. “I’m thinking of stripping them of their titles, but keeping the lives of the Fan family members alive.”
[Using the Fan family to blackmail me—if I still have even a shred of sympathy for the Fan family, I'll fall into Gu Heng's trap.]
The feeling of being threatened in her past life resurfaced. Jiang Yu clenched her fists, letting her nails dig deep into her palms.
"I know that you made the Marquis of Dingyuan impeach the Fan family in court for my sake, and I am very pleased." Gu Heng reached out to touch Jiang Yu's arm, but Gu Qingyao stopped him.
"Father, Mother once taught me that the women of the inner palace must not interfere in politics."
Gu Qingyao lowered her head and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "You used to always reprimand the Empress Dowager for speaking out about the affairs of the previous dynasty."
Gu Heng's expression froze on the spot, and he subconsciously avoided looking into Jiang Yu's eyes.
Why is Gu Qingyao always speaking up for me in everything?
Jiang Yu was somewhat puzzled, but she didn't take it to heart. She kept Gu Qingyao in Zhaoning Palace precisely to deal with Gu Heng.
“Your Highness is right. I was once reprimanded by the Emperor for speaking out against the state.” Jiang Yu’s face turned slightly cold. “Your Majesty need not let me influence your decisions. My relationship with the Fan family ended many years ago.”
"Ayu!"
Gu Heng still cared about Gu Qingyao, but there was a hint of melancholy in his eyes. "I have already humbled myself so much to win you back. Why can't you forget everything from the past and start over with me?"
A constant stream of gifts was sent into Zhaoning Palace. He only went to see Consort Yi's pregnancy, and he still had to see all the concubines in the harem. Wasn't that enough to satisfy the person in front of him?
"Your Majesty hasn't been drinking, so why are you talking nonsense?"
This life never even began, so how can we talk about starting over?
"Since the Empress thinks I'm drunk, then let's pretend I never came to Zhaoning Palace today." Gu Heng turned and left, his voice filled with anger.
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