"Someone come here!"
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Gu Heng reached out and grabbed the bed curtains; he needed to order someone to stop the Empress from interfering in politics.
He absolutely could not tolerate the Empress and Gu Lin's child inheriting the throne.
No matter how Gu Heng called out, there was no response except for Gu Qingfeng, who was holding a military book and reading it. Even Cen Hai was nowhere to be found.
“Father, Mother says that even the leader of the Imperial Guard has harbored rebellious thoughts, so there’s no guarantee that there won’t be others with malicious intentions.” Gu Qingfeng said, turning a page. “So Mother is investigating for you.”
"Did her investigation result in the disbandment of my Imperial Guards and the subsequent house arrest of me?"
Gu Heng's vision blurred; Jiang Yu was clearly placing him under house arrest.
"Household confinement? Father, you're exaggerating. Mother is only concerned for your safety. If the guards outside the palace have ulterior motives, wouldn't they be putting you in danger?"
Gu Qingfeng didn't even raise his head. "The guards outside are all secret guards from the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence. Father, rest assured, they won't let Gu Qingling take the opportunity to harm you."
"Gu Qingfeng, your surname is Gu, not Jiang!"
Gu Heng gritted his teeth and asked, "Has my son been brainwashed by the Empress?"
Gu Qingfeng stopped responding, and Gu Heng, after a few moments of impotent rage, also quieted down from exhaustion.
Lying in bed, Gu Heng stared at the bed curtains. Things had come to this point; the entire palace was now under the control of the Empress, and the Empress also knew about the affair between the old Marquis of Dingyuan and his wife.
The Empress must hate him and the Gu family to the extreme.
What should he do...?
The next day, the morning court session began.
Just as the officials had expected, Gu Heng did not appear in the court, nor did Gu Qingfeng.
Only Cen Hai, pale-faced, held a whisk.
"His Majesty is unwell and unable to attend court today. His Majesty has decreed that all officials should offer their advice on how to welcome Prince Yan back to the capital."
As soon as Cen Hai spoke, none of the officials dared to utter a sound: Didn't the Second Prince just return to the capital?
Jiang Yu didn't care about the opinions of the officials. When the Imperial Guards were in chaos because of Deng Yu's killing, Gu Lin sent people to control them. Gu Lin swaggered into the palace with Mei Chu.
"Congratulations, Ayu."
Gu Lin smiled, but his gaze never left Jiang Yu. Only after confirming that Jiang Yu was unharmed did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. "The matter between the Gu and Jiang families..."
"Gu Heng already knows that I know about this."
For some reason, with Gu Lin present, Jiang Yu inexplicably lowered her guard, and a sense of exhaustion immediately overwhelmed her.
"This morning at court, I had Cen Hai bring up the matter of welcoming Ayan back to the capital. I wonder what methods the court officials can come up with."
Jiang Yu leaned against the eaves, her hands red from the cold.
"Why don't you bring a hot water bottle?"
Gu Lin reached out and took Jiang Yu's hand, breathing on it repeatedly to warm it.
“Now that the palace is under our control, keeping Gu Heng alive is only to make Ayan’s ascension to the throne more legitimate and to make Gu Qingling’s death more clean.” Gu Lin looked at Jiang Yu reassuringly. “Also, I have already sent people from Lingxiao Pavilion to look for Gu Qingling.”
“These past few days have gone by so fast.” Jiang Yu pursed her lips, without withdrawing her hands. “It’s as if something that has been weighing on my heart for many years has disappeared overnight. Gu Lin and Gu Heng will not be willing to write an edict to let A Yan inherit the throne.”
"He has no choice but to agree."
A hint of malice flashed in Gu Lin's eyes. "Ayu, right now all the outside world knows is that Gu Qingling and the other two are not your children. As for Ayan's identity and the long-standing feud between the Gu and Jiang families, the outside world doesn't know yet."
"you mean......"
Jiang Yu and Gu Lin exchanged a glance, and the next second Gu Lin's hand covered Jiang Yu's eyes. "The dark circles under your eyes are so obvious, go to sleep for a while."
Amidst the sound of raindrops, Jiang Yu drifted off to sleep.
Gu Lin stayed by Jiang Yu's side for a long time. Only after confirming that Jiang Yu was sound asleep did he pick her up and place her steadily on the bed in the inner room. "Granny, don't disturb her."
After the court session, outside the palace gates.
"General Bai, why do you think Her Majesty wants to welcome Prince Yan back to the capital?"
As soon as the court session ended, the officials surrounded General Bai, trying to find out what Jiang Yu was thinking.
"I can't guess what the Empress is thinking."
General Bai involuntarily glanced at the guards standing at the palace gate, who had been transformed from the Imperial Guards into secret guards of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence. "Have any of you colleagues considered something?"
"What is it?"
"Since the eldest prince, the second prince, and the princess were not born to the Empress, then where did the children born to the Empress go?"
The atmosphere fell silent in an instant.
......
On the other side, in Daning.
"Young Master, this is a letter from the Daqing Imperial Palace." Zhuo Yi handed the letter to Gu Qingyan, who put down his spear and took it.
In the letter, Jiang Yu recounted in detail all the recent events that had occurred at the Daqing Imperial Palace to Gu Qingyan.
After Gu Qingyan read it, the letter was handed to Zhuo Yi, who said, "The Prime Minister should also take a look."
Gu Qingling has disappeared without a trace, Gu Heng doesn't have many days left to live, and the identities of Gu Qingling and the others have been revealed to the world.
"Her Majesty the Empress means that the Prince can decide for himself whether or not to return to the Daqing Palace."
Zhuo Yi quickly read through the letter, then looked up at Gu Qingyan, "Your Highness has a special status. If you return to Daqing now, have you considered your situation afterward?"
Is he inexplicably burdened with the same infamy of usurping the throne as Gu Qingling?
Gu Qingyan's face turned green at the thought of this. "What brilliant idea does the Prime Minister have?"
"Her Majesty the Empress instructed the officials of Daqing to devise a plan to welcome the Prince back. If the Prince does not wish to return to Daqing, we will simply refuse," Zhuo Yi said casually. "I would truly advise the Prince not to return to Daqing."
Why?
Even Zhong Yi put down his work and secretly raised his ears.
"Now that the Empress controls the entire palace and holds the truth about the feud between the Gu and Jiang families, if the Prince does not return to Daqing, the Emperor of Daqing will inevitably have to choose an heir before his death."
"The second prince is unwilling, and the first prince is plotting rebellion."
"Therefore, this person can only be Your Highness."
Zhuo Yi's calculations were flawless; he had a keen understanding of human nature. "As long as you wait until you have the decree to establish an heir before returning to Daqing, Your Highness will not be branded as a usurper. On the contrary, everyone will only see you as a savior."
"A savior?" Gu Qingyan murmured.
"Pfft—" Zhong Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud. Zhuo Yi, that old fox, was truly ruthless. If you offended him, you'd never have a peaceful death.
"Furthermore, I have a suggestion: we can expose the feud between the Gu and Jiang families in this way..."
The more Zhuo Yi spoke, the brighter the light shone in Gu Qingyan's eyes.
"I will reply to the Empress Dowager immediately."
Zhong Yi shook his leg. "Sure enough, only shameless people can do some shameless things."
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