Who exactly are you?
Inside a room, Gu Qingling looked warily at Peilan, whose face still bore bruises. "Aren't you Consort Yi's personal maid?"
"From now on, you will be my master."
Pei Lan's expression was respectful, but the smile on her face made Gu Qingling feel inexplicably uneasy. "This servant and the master have been planning for so long, and we have finally found you. You are the new emperor we have chosen."
"gentlemen?"
Gu Qingling was still confused. He was sleeping soundly in the room when he heard a noise coming from under the bed. Then a masked man in black told him that he would die if he didn't leave.
In a hurry, he followed the man in black through the tunnel and escaped from the palace, then left the capital overnight.
“Now, Daqing is searching for you everywhere. Emperor Anping personally killed Deng Yu and announced to the world that you and Deng Yu had conspired to rebel.” Pei Lan told Gu Qingling about the current situation. “In addition, Emperor Anping is poisoned and the court is now controlled by the Empress.”
"Did Father really treat me like this?"
Gu Qingling clenched her fists, then looked up at Pei Lan, "Why me?"
"The Second Prince is crippled in both legs, and the Third Prince is not Emperor Anping's biological son, so it can only be you."
Perrin knelt on the ground, his expression respectful.
Where am I now?
"Lingzhou".
Gu Qingling frowned upon hearing this. "Why did you bring me to Lingzhou?"
Lingzhou is adjacent to both Daqing and Daning, and the Mi River begins to divide the entire Daqing region in two from Lingzhou.
"Have you ever considered dividing the country along the river?" Pei Lan led Gu Qingling into the trap step by step. "Now that the Empress is asking the ministers to find a way to welcome Prince Yan back to the capital, it's obvious that she doesn't like the Second Prince."
"If you could write a letter and raise your voice to explain the fact that Emperor Anping's days are numbered, you would surely win over most of the people's hearts."
"At that time, you will be able to become the new emperor of Daqing step by step."
Seeing that Gu Qingling remained silent, Peilan knew that Gu Qingling had already been moved. "This servant will take her leave now."
Stepping out of the house, Perrin took a deep breath. In Lingzhou, she was closer to her master...
"How is it?" A man with a sword at his waist stood outside the courtyard, slowly unwrapping a sugar cube and putting it in his mouth. He was clearly the man in black who had taken Gu Qingling away that day.
“He’s tempted.” Perrin said with a confident look. “This fool got off easy.”
Hua Qing sneered a few times, "If anyone is to blame, it's Gu Qingfeng, who's utterly useless. Master can only help Gu Qingling to compete with Prince Yan."
The two glanced in the direction of the capital of Da Ning at the same time. "The master said that he will take care of the affairs of the court."
Daning.
While Gu Qingyan was staying at the Yongyi Marquis's residence, Qin Wei was always at Lingxiao Tower, the stronghold of Lingxiao Pavilion.
Almost simultaneously, Qin Wei swung his fist and smashed it into the sandbag.
"Old Qin!" Ling Ku's voice rang out, and Qin Wei raised an eyebrow. "Why did you return to the capital? Aren't you going to stay in Heng County?"
“Daqing has already withdrawn their troops. It’s no fun for me to stay in Hengxian.” Ling Ku put his arm around Qin Wei. “Come on, shall we go get a drink?”
"Walk."
Qin Wei curled the corners of his lips and let Ling Ku hang on him.
An hour later, Qin Wei and Ling Ku were both drunk and slumped on the table.
"Old Qin, you castrated yourself and followed the young master for so many years, have you ever regretted it?" Ling Ku spoke intermittently, and Qin Wei's pupils shrank, and the next second he resumed his drunken state.
"Of course... of course I don't regret it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be alive today."
Yes, otherwise he would have been dead; he had no choice.
He thought that by racking his brains to get into the Prince of Xiang's mansion, he could use his background to gradually obtain what he deserved, but in the end, he became a eunuch.
In that case, the Gu family... should be extinct and go down with him.
"Oh, thank you for your hard work." Ling Ku patted Qin Wei on the back. "You've protected the young master all these years. Don't worry, the master has seen it all."
"I only wish for the safety of my lord and young master, for the life-saving grace I received back then."
Qin Wei scoffed. No, he wanted to support Gu Qingling and ensure that man... left no trace of his bloodline in the world.
......
As the year draws to a close, Lunar New Year's Eve is approaching.
However, the current situation means that the people of Daqing and Beijing will not be able to have a peaceful and happy New Year.
"He shall be buried with the honors due to a noble consort."
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Gu Heng was stunned upon hearing the news of Consort Rong's death, and then spoke softly, "No matter what, she was still your mother."
"If Father says so, then so be it." Gu Qingfeng twitched the corner of his mouth. "Their posthumous appearance is for the living to see."
If they truly cared about Consort Rong being their mother, why did they seal her off and allow Gu Qingling to poison her and make her mute?
It's all just a facade; his father, the emperor, is the most ruthless of all.
"I want to know, why don't you want to be emperor?" Gu Heng asked, still unwilling to give up. "Sitting on the dragon throne, the life and death of everyone is in your hands."
"You can give whoever you want the highest honor, and no one can stop you."
Gu Qingfeng laughed upon hearing this, "To be an emperor? Just like Father Emperor now?"
"You bastard!"
“Once Gu Qingyan becomes emperor, there won’t be any place for you in Daqing!” Gu Heng said with exasperation, genuinely doubting whether Gu Qingfeng was even his son.
"It's alright, I'm a useless person anyway."
Gu Qingfeng glanced outside. He used to be carefree and unrestrained, but now he was without desires or wants.
Zhaoning Palace.
"Is this the solution that the ministers came up with through their collective wisdom?"
Jiang Yu casually flipped through the folded document, her disdain evident in her eyes.
These officials are all neglecting their duties; any person with a brain would know that their methods won't work.
Suddenly, Jiang Yu seemed to have spotted an interesting report.
"Exchange the Second Prince for Prince Yan?"
Jiang Yu was taken aback for a moment, then laughed out loud, "Let me see who submitted the memorial."
A few breaths later, Zhong Wuyi's name suddenly appeared in Jiang Yu's eyes.
It is Kui Ruo.
"To submit a memorial at this time suggesting exchanging the Second Prince for the Prince Yan, you do have some guts." Gu Lin's voice rang out, and Jiang Yu subconsciously pursed her lips.
"Unfortunately, all my strength was used in the wrong direction."
Gu Lin snatched the folded document from Jiang Yu's hand. Upon seeing Zhong Wuyi's name, his face instantly turned crimson. Zhong Wuyi, wasn't that the godfather of that bastard Wei Ruo?
“Since they don’t know Ayan’s true identity, they will naturally think that Gu Qingfeng is more valuable than Ayan.”
To Gu Lin, Jiang Yu's words sounded like she was defending Kui Ruo.
Gu Lin immediately threw the folded document aside, his tone sarcastic, "Ayu, the problem is that they don't yet have the right to know the truth."
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