After all, Gu Mu believed that Shen Ling was not the kind of person who would easily fall for someone.
The male lead's value does not refer to the female lead's affection level towards him.
Rather, it refers to the person who will have the last laugh in this female-oriented novel.
Since the goal is to have the last laugh, someone like Gu Mu, who can increase Shen Ling's favorability and boost the male lead's value, is naturally more advantageous than those who take the career path.
Unless—he is killed by Shen Ling, or by someone else, and dies early.
This pastry chef could indeed put a slow-acting poison in his pastries, killing him without anyone noticing.
Once Gu Mu dies, it will become a female-centric novel without a romantic pairing again. Other male lead candidates can become the male lead as long as they focus on their careers and increase their screen time.
But... would a street vendor selling pastries, even with good skills, really pose a threat to him?
Having transmigrated into a female-oriented novel, Gu Mu has learned to "judge people by their looks." Generally speaking, those who are good-looking are unlikely to be cannon fodder.
The better-looking they are, the more screen time they get.
Gu Mu pictured the vendor in his mind: his simple, honest smile, thick forehead wrinkles, and a face full of creases when he laughed.
Would someone like that really be a candidate for the male lead in a female-oriented novel where "appearance is everything"?
Gu Mu adopted a cautious attitude.
Holding Shen Ling's face in his hands, he continued gently, "When you were shopping, did you kill those people who wanted to harm me?" Since they were all dead, they couldn't possibly be threats.
Meeting Shen Ling's gentle gaze, Gu Mu continued, "Besides bringing that vendor back, did you encounter anything else unusual?"
Shen Ling thought for a moment, shook her head, and then suddenly said, "I didn't encounter anything special on the street, but I did encounter something unusual in the manor."
Shen Ling recalled, "Since I was little, I had a better relationship with my eldest brother, Shen Ci. As for my second brother, my relationship was always lukewarm because I felt that he always had a cold face and was not easy to approach."
"And my second brother seems to dislike me and never speaks to me on his own initiative."
“But when I returned home this time, my second brother suddenly gave me a bracelet, saying it was to celebrate me becoming empress. My mother said that I should always wear this kind of gift from family members.”
"It's strange, though. My second brother doesn't seem like the kind of person who would curry favor with the powerful. And he's never given me any gifts for my birthday before. But this time, since Mother said so, I accepted it and have been carrying it with me ever since."
Shen Ling raised her head and asked with her sharp wit, "Your Majesty seems to care so much about what's happened to me lately, but these are the only things that seem special. Is there something wrong with this bracelet?"
Shen Ling's second brother is the young and promising Inspector Shen, Shen Chao.
He is a rare literary genius.
Even when the late emperor was still alive, he spoke of his views on politics at a young age, which won the late emperor's appreciation.
However, perhaps because of his young age, and because the officials of the same rank around him were all a generation older than him, he hardly interacted with those officials. He was almost always alone, whether in court or not.
However, geniuses are often solitary, and no one takes them to heart.
What's more—Shen Chao's face is truly handsome.
Although Gu Mu had previously summarized the "judging people by their looks" rule in female-oriented novels, at the time, he assumed that everyone in Shen Ling's family was good-looking.
Now it seems that it may be more than that.
Before Gu Mu could speak, Shen Ling knew everything from his expression.
He immediately took off the bracelet and handed it to Gu Mu: "If Your Majesty thinks there is anything wrong with the bracelet, you may take a look."
Shen Ling raised her face, adopting the demeanor of a virtuous empress: "After all, being able to help the Emperor is the greatest blessing for this concubine."
In public, she always pretended to be virtuous, well-mannered, and admirable.
At this moment, Shen Ling was thinking: Second brother, your unsolicited kindness is suspicious, but I know a little about unorthodox methods and I believe there's nothing wrong with the bracelet you gave me, which is why I listened to Mother and wore it—
But if you're aiming for the Emperor, and you're my second brother, I naturally can't betray you for the greater good. However, I will make sure you never have the power to touch the Emperor again!
Shen Ling raised her face and smiled charmingly: "Has Your Majesty noticed anything?"
But Shen Ling's smile quickly froze on her face: No, the bracelet is fine—
But the spices used to scent the emperor's clothes—
It would be like a slow poison, gradually eroding the emperor's mind and body, eventually causing him to become listless, depressed, and unwell, leading to an early death.
She hadn't noticed this detail before, but when the Emperor asked, she realized it. So she asked with a serious face, "Your Majesty, has the fragrance on your clothes been changed? I don't think it's the same as before."
“The palace has changed the maids, and the perfumes for fumigating clothes have also been changed. I don’t care about these things, but these maids are too particular—” Gu Mu said, then realized, “Is there something wrong with the perfumes?”
Shen Ling gritted her teeth and nodded.
So, the other male lead candidate is not the pastry vendor, but Shen Ling's second brother?
Because he tampered with the bracelet he gave to Shen Ling, and also bribed the maid who dressed Gu Muxun,
Moreover, the combination of these two will destroy a person's physical and mental health.
Moreover, it's a slow-acting poison; the effects won't be immediately apparent, but once Gu Mu is poisoned, his mental state will undoubtedly be devastated.
At this point, the antidote pill has neutralized the poison in the body.
It's not so easy to calm down mentally either.
Because Shen Chao used such ruthless methods, intending to kill Gu Mu directly, Shen Chao's male lead value is higher than Gu Mu's.
Gu Mu looked at Shen Ling and suddenly realized the problem.
Shen Chao is Shen Ling's older brother, and Shen Ling certainly wouldn't want to watch her loved one die.
As for Gu Mu, keeping Shen Chao around would always be a problem, and even if he imprisoned him, accidents would still happen.
They had to be killed.
In this way, he will harm Shen Ling's family, just like the original owner.
Shen Ling seemed to have guessed something as well.
They looked at each other, speechless.
study.
The flame of a candle flickers continuously.
Eunuch Cheng was grinding ink for Gu Mu at his desk.
In front of Gu Mu lay all of Shen Chao's information.
Before secretly uncovering all of Shen Chao's information, Gu Mu had the sheepskin scroll run an errand to ask the young man in the green robe and the big fish what year the written exam was.
"Four years ago." This was the answer Gu Mu received. He read it softly, then turned to the information about Shen Chao four years ago.
He slowly read the words aloud: "Four years ago, Shen Chao suddenly fell seriously ill, and even the slightest breeze would cause him to cough incessantly."
"Therefore, he took leave, stayed at home, and remained bedridden."
"Six months later, Shen Chao had just recovered from a serious illness, but he had visibly lost a lot of weight and his face was pale."
"But he was devoted to the country and, before he had fully recovered, he started attending court on time again."
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