She tried to call out to the Emperor, but her mouth was covered, and she could only make muffled sounds, her voice pitifully soft.
Tears rolled down silently, dripping onto the rough, uneven stone bridge surface.
Her delicate face was scraped and chafed from being pressed hard to the ground.
She only regretted that her voice wasn't loud enough, so that Lu Xingjian, who was so close, wouldn't notice that she was there.
He treated her so well, how could he bear to let someone else treat her so rudely?
...
The imperial physician took her pulse for a long time, and finally said, "Her Majesty is not seriously ill."
"The pulse is stable, and the fetus is safe."
Su Wanwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not time to have an abortion yet.
She hopes this pregnancy will last as long as possible.
With the "royal offspring" in her belly as a target, suspicious eyes will not fall on Yan Ge'er.
Lu Xingjian's tightly furrowed brows showed no sign of relaxing:
"She was shot in the abdomen, is she really alright?"
The imperial physician was somewhat helpless. "There seems to be no problem at the moment. If abdominal pain occurs later, it is likely due to organ damage and bleeding."
Lu Xingjian's face grew even uglier, his expression chilling:
"Continue to examine her carefully; the Empress must not suffer even the slightest injury."
The imperial physician meekly withdrew and wrote a prescription.
Su Wanwan sat up and asked, "How is Second Madam Gu?"
Lu Xingjian helped her lie down again, his voice a little fierce: "Don't move around, get some rest."
"They've been detained; the Gu family must give us an explanation."
He wouldn't let someone who dared to set a trap to harm the Empress go easily.
The Gu family must give an explanation.
Su Wanwan froze instantly, grabbed Lu Xingjian's arm tightly, and looked at him sharply:
"Can't!"
Lu Xingjian's face was extremely cold, and his voice was fierce: "I am the Son of Heaven, and I will allow others to bully me to my face?!"
Su Wanwan stood her ground, "They want to enrage you and make you destroy your own foundation!"
The Gu family was Lu Xingjian's ballast in the army.
The stability of both the Beijing army and the border army depends on Gu Jia.
A deeper and broader verification of the nine borders is about to begin.
If the emperor and the Gu family become estranged, once the news gets out, whether the investigation can proceed smoothly becomes uncertain.
Whoever orchestrated today's assassination attempt, it was intended to provoke Lu Xingjian's anger and tear a rift in the solid relationship between him and the Gu family.
Although Wen Shuyi has only been married into the Gu family for a short time, as the daughter-in-law of the Gu family, she is inextricably linked to the Gu family.
Lu Xingjian knows best how much effort was put into the successful verification of the border reserves in Xuanfu and Datong last time, and how much importance was placed on appeasing the Gu family.
He even had to vigorously promote marriage alliances between border generals and capital troops, something that could easily arouse suspicion and apprehension.
Lu Xingjian met her gaze with a cold expression.
The resentment in my heart kept piling up.
Su Wanwan had no choice but to soften her tone and pull his hand to her abdomen:
"Neither I nor my child were injured; it was just a false alarm."
"How about we make a big problem small, and a small problem nothing at all, hmm?"
Lu Xingjian naturally understood the reasoning Su Wanwan was making.
But he couldn't get over his own hurdle.
What man could stand by and watch his pregnant wife be murdered in his own home, nearly stabbed to death, and do nothing?
The fire that Su Wanwan experienced in Jiangye back then was something he was powerless to do when he was still young and inexperienced.
Now, more than three years after ascending the throne, he is still in such a state.
The guilt in my heart is even greater.
He thought that after defeating the Zhang and Wang families and crushing the rebellious forces of the Prince of Jin's lineage, the palace would be much safer.
Unexpectedly, the danger came from the Gu family, whom he had always trusted and valued.
...
Gu Ziyu did not expect that Su Wanwan would arrange for her most trusted palace maid to bring a royal physician to see him, along with various precious medicinal herbs.
Since becoming empress, Su Wanwan has always been careful to avoid suspicion and has never taken the initiative to associate with him.
Even when he saved her from near death last time, she didn't express any gratitude whatsoever.
On the contrary, Lu Xingjian rewarded him with many good things and promoted him.
He Ying subtly mentioned, "It was Second Madam Gu who came to our Ladyship, saying that Second Master Gu had vomited blood, and our Ladyship specially sent this servant to visit him."
Gu Ziyu paused.
After accidentally calling out Su Wanwan's name in front of Wen Shuyi that time, he felt extremely guilty and tried his best to avoid Wen Shuyi.
I never expected her to go to Su Wanwan.
After a long silence, he simply said, "My wife is young, and if she has offended Your Majesty in any way, please forgive her."
He Ying naturally understood the entanglement between them, and seeing that Gu Ziyu was very protective of Wen Shuyi, she didn't say anything more.
"The Emperor and the Empress both hope that Second Master Gu and Second Mistress Gu will live in harmony and mutual affection. Knowing that you two are of one mind and considerate of each other, they are naturally happy."
Gu Ziyu's handsome face flushed slightly.
Looking back, I can offer her comfort and reassurance, putting her mind at ease.
It was his fault.
After He Ying left with the imperial physician, Gu Ziyu instructed his servant:
"If Second Madam returns, please let me know."
He took a bullet for Su Wanwan, which was a way of repaying the kindness of Su Wanwan who risked her life to save him back then.
Now that he sees Lu Xingjian's genuine care for Su Wanwan, he feels much more at peace and just wants to live a good life with Wen Shuyi.
Although we may not be able to love each other to the core, we can still live in harmony and mutual consideration.
Wen Shuyi returned to the Gu family home when it got dark.
The servant came to report with a solemn expression: "Second Madam did not return to her courtyard, but went directly to the main courtyard of the Old Ancestor."
Our ancestor was the wife of the Duke of Baoguo, Gu Ziyu's grandmother.
Gu Ziyu found it strange.
Grandmother is always kind and would never make things difficult for the younger generation. Why not let Shuyi go back to the courtyard to rest after a long day?
Could it be that there's something wrong with Shuyi's pregnant belly?
He couldn't sit still any longer and asked someone to help him to his grandmother's courtyard.
Outside the courtyard of the Duchess of Baoguo, a group of maids and servants stood, along with the servants of the Duke of Baoguo and his heir.
Everyone was trembling with fear, not daring to utter a sound.
Gu Ziyu's expression immediately changed.
The gatekeeper was the Duke of Baoguo's most trusted chief steward, who solemnly allowed Gu Ziyu to enter, giving him a single instruction:
"Second Master, watch your words."
Gu Ziyu's expression grew increasingly serious.
Clearly, something extraordinary has happened, causing the Gu family masters to be on such high alert.
From inside the main room came Wen Shuyi's heart-wrenching sobs, faint and indistinct.
Gu Ziyu walked a few steps quickly and entered the room to find a scene that was almost like a "joint trial by three judicial departments".
Grandparents sat upright, with parents and eldest brother and sister-in-law standing on either side, while Wen Shuyi knelt in the center of the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
Grandmother was trembling with anger and questioned her sharply:
"Mrs. Wen, do you even remember that you are a member of the Gu family?!"
"You've been married into the family for several months now. Has anyone in the Gu family ever said a harsh word to you or made things difficult for you in the slightest?"
"Are you only satisfied when you bring utter destruction upon the Gu family?!"
Gu Ziyu stepped forward and knelt down straight:
“Grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, elder brother, and sister-in-law, if Shuyi has done anything wrong, it is because I, as her husband, have not taught her well.”
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