When Gu Qingfeng was sent to Lingxi Palace, Consort Rong held Gu Qingfeng and wept with joy, saying, "Feng'er has suffered so much. Let me see where you are injured."
Gu Qingfeng subconsciously covered the wound on his wrist. "That person cut my wrist, trying to torture me by bleeding me out."
"If it weren't for Marquis Dingyuan going alone, I would have made sure that thief never returned." Gu Heng was also extremely distressed. Gu Qingfeng's skin had never been broken since birth, except for being punished by Jiang Yu a while ago, and then being kidnapped this time.
"Your Highness Consort Rong need not worry about me."
As soon as Gu Qingfeng finished speaking, the entire Lingxi Palace fell silent as if lifeless, and everyone looked at Gu Qingfeng in disbelief.
"Feng'er, how could you be so rude to your mother, Consort Rong?" Gu Heng thought to himself, "This is bad. Could it be that the time I spent at the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence has changed this boy's personality?"
“Lately, I’ve been unable to stop thinking about the past, and I’ve realized that I was quite disrespectful to the Empress Dowager. As a son, I treated someone else as my mother, which was too cruel to her.” As he spoke, Gu Qingfeng avoided meeting Rongfei’s gaze.
"Your Majesty, I..." Consort Rong looked like she had suffered a great blow and ran into the inner room crying. Gu Heng scolded Gu Qingfeng for his lack of respect for his elders and followed him into the inner room to comfort Consort Rong.
"Second brother seems to have changed a lot." Gu Qingling was more silent than usual. "All the care that Consort Rong has given you over the years is worthless to you."
“Brother, sometimes what seems like kindness to us isn’t really kindness.” Gu Qingfeng also gave a helpless smile. “On the contrary, the ones we hate the most are the ones who truly care about us.”
"Brother, just assume I've lost my mind."
Gu Qingfeng staggered out of Lingxi Palace. Even if that woman never forgave him, he would not stay in Lingxi Palace any longer and learn any underhanded tricks.
Looking at Gu Qingfeng's straight back, Gu Qingling was a little dazed. So soon, did her second brother regret it?
......
"Brother, how did you get hurt?" Inside the Dingyuan Marquis's residence, Jiang Yu saw the wound on Jiang He's wrist and quickly ordered someone to bring medicine. "You're out there all day long and don't you know how to take care of yourself?"
"I only need to feel sorry for you and Ayan."
Now, whenever Jiang He sees Jiang Yu, his heart is filled with a dense, throbbing pain, and a huge boulder is pressing on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
[The wound is neat and located on the wrist, so it's probably not an accidental injury. However, since my brother won't say, I don't need to pry.]
"Uncle, please don't hurt yourself easily in the future. Ayan and Mother will be heartbroken." Gu Changyan carefully applied ointment to Jiang He. "Mother said that it's almost the end of the year, and she should take me back to the palace."
Jiang He was taken aback. "It's been less than a month since you returned to the Marquis's residence. Why are you in such a hurry to return to the palace?"
“If I don’t return to the palace, my brother will be the subject of gossip at the New Year’s Eve banquet.” During her time at the Marquis of Dingyuan’s residence, Jiang Yu’s health has fully recovered. “Besides, after the New Year, I can still bring Ayan back.”
"If Your Highness has another conflict with the Crown Prince and the others after returning to the palace, you need not be tolerant." Jiang He desperately suppressed the urge to tell Jiang Yu the truth. "After all, Your Highness is my own sister."
Having spent time in the Marquis's residence, Gu Changyan had developed more of a childlike nature. He pouted and thought, "My uncle is like this; he can only have eyes for the Empress Dowager. I'm just a nephew who comes along by chance."
"Brother, rest assured, after going through so much, those three are no longer important to me."
On the day Jiang Yu returned to the palace, Consort Rong, unusually, brought Gu Qingling and Gu Qingyao to Zhaoning Palace to pay their respects.
No one knows what method Consort Rong used to coax Gu Qingyao into becoming even more dependent on her.
"Your Majesty, we pay our respects to the Empress." Gu Qingling and Gu Qingyao stood behind Consort Rong, clearly trying to distance themselves from Jiang Yu.
Where is Gu Qingfeng? It's obvious Consort Rong came today to declare war, to tell me that my three children are closer to her. How come one of them is missing?
Consort Rong was anxious.
“During my absence from the palace, Consort Rong has managed the affairs of the inner palace very well.”
The departure of the sickly Jiang Yu and the return of the healthy Empress, along with Gu Qingfeng's unusual behavior, instilled in Consort Rong an unprecedented sense of crisis.
"This is what I should do. I often urge Your Majesty to visit Consort Rong more often in Zhaoning Palace, but Your Majesty is concerned about Consort Rong's health." Haste makes waste. Looking at Consort Rong's expression at this moment, Jiang Yu silently made a deduction.
"Your Highness Consort Rong's words are presumptuous," said Granny Ling with a faint smile. "His Majesty is the supreme ruler; how could he possibly listen to the words of a mere concubine?"
Instantly, Rongfei's face lit up with a variety of colors, making Jiang Yu unable to stop smiling.
"Consort Rong only made a slip of the tongue. I apologize to the Empress Dowager on her behalf." After saying this, Gu Qingling stared intently at Jiang Yu's expression, seemingly expecting Jiang Yu to become angry.
"I never intended to pursue this matter." Jiang Yu's smile never faded. "If there's nothing else, you can take the Crown Prince and the Princess back."
Currently, everyone only knows that the Crown Prince and his two brothers are close to Consort Rong. But if one day everyone knew that they were raised by concubines and not raised with the proper upbringing of the Jiang family, would they still protect Consort Rong like this?
Gu Qingling and Gu Qingyao paused at the same time, then pretended to be nonchalant and followed Consort Rong out of Zhaoning Palace.
That night, Consort Rong in Lingxi Palace was particularly proactive. Cen Hai counted that she called for water four times in a row in the inner room and still hadn't stopped. His old face was all scrunched up.
"Rong'er seems a little different today." Inside the pear blossom tent, Gu Heng felt the warmth of jade beneath his hand. "And the fragrance is especially pleasant today."
Her soft, boneless arms climbed up Gu Heng's neck. "Your Majesty remembers saying that you wanted me to have another child for you..."
Gu Heng's eyes instantly darkened, and his hands began to move erratically. "Does my beloved consort mean to discontinue that medicinal soup?"
"Your Majesty, I wish to give birth to a child that truly belongs to me and Your Majesty." Consort Rong closed her eyes to conceal her ambition. With Gu Qingfeng's betrayal as a precedent, she dared not gamble on whether Gu Qingling and Gu Qingyao would remain consistent in their attitude towards her under such circumstances.
Since there's no turning back now that the arrow has been shot, she can simply have another one.
"Then I will satisfy my beloved concubine."
Indulging in pleasure for a while almost caused Gu Heng to miss the morning court session.
The news from the capital quickly reached Daning, alarming the fierce tiger that no one dared to approach easily.
"Your Majesty, it seems that Marquis Dingyuan is investigating the matter of the Empress's childbirth back then."
A low chuckle rang out, "The Pei family has indeed made a good move. Now that Marquis Dingyuan has started investigating, we should help him at the appropriate time."
“I have been like brothers with him, and I really can’t bear to see him kept in the dark.”
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