The prince loves me like his life, but I force him to rebel

"Of course it's the Third Prince. I can be 100% sure that the Third Prince has nothing to do with this matter. Of course, we cannot let an innocent person be wronged."

Defei smiled.

"That is to say, the Third Prince is far more important to you than Cen Yu?"

Gu Nian was stunned.

This question has completely deviated from the purpose of her visit today.

"I don't know why Madam Defei asked this question."

Concubine De did not answer.

After a moment of silence, Concubine De said, "Cen Yu knew from the beginning that you were a girl."

Gu Nianzhi was not surprised by this. After all, Cen Yu had called her "Miss Gu" to her face last time.

"so what?"

"Cen Yu risked his life to enter the palace wearing his prosthetic limbs that day just to see you. He wanted to explain some misunderstandings to you, but you didn't want to listen."

"Yes. That was exactly what happened that day."

"I have known Cen Yu for many years. He never cares about how others see him. This is the first time I have seen him so eager to explain something to someone. So... I can be sure that you are much more important to Cen Yu than to others. He should be..."

As Concubine De was speaking, she heard a commotion outside the door.

"Her Majesty Defei is resting. Her Majesty, please allow me to pass on the message before..." The eunuchs in Her Majesty Defei's palace were trying their best to stop them.

"Get out of the way! How dare a servant like you block the way of the Empress?" From the voice, it was Rong Mama who was beside Empress Xian.

The door was pushed open with a bang.

Aunt Rong stood at the front, a graceful and elegant woman standing outside the door, looking at Concubine De and Gu Nianzhi in the room.

"Empress, these two are really alone in the inner room. I wonder what they are doing."

Gu Nianzhi looked at the woman, and it turned out that this was Imperial Noble Consort Xian.

The woman was heavily made up, with her hair full of pearls and jewels. Her seemingly expressionless face showed a sense of pride.

Gu Nianzhi muttered to herself, "Although he's a villain, could you not make him look so stereotyped? He's a bad guy that can be seen at a glance. It's really a waste of makeup..."

"You are so bold, Concubine De, that you actually keep a lover secretly?!" Imperial Noble Concubine Xian glanced at Madam Rong, who immediately understood what she meant and started to attack her like a spokesperson.

"Mianshou?" The last time I heard this word was in the TV series "The Legend of Wu Mei Niang".

Gu Nianzhi looked left and right, but there was no handsome man in Concubine De's room.

When she saw Empress Xian and Madam Rong fixed their eyes on her, she suddenly realized that the "confidant" was referring to her.

Defei already knew that Gu Nianzhi was a girl, so she was naturally not panicked.

She stepped forward, smiling.

"I didn't know that the Queen was coming. I'm sorry for not welcoming you."

"Don't try that on me. Concubine De, I've sent someone to invite the Emperor to come with me to the Renxin Hall to have some tea and reminisce with my sister." Empress Xian glanced at Gu Nianzhi standing aside, feeling that this time Concubine De would be unable to turn the tables, and declared triumphantly.

"Why should His Majesty make such a trip for such a small matter?" Concubine De deliberately provoked Imperial Noble Concubine Xian: "Sister, I'm afraid your intention is not as simple as drinking tea and reminiscing about the past, right? Sister, don't you think about it? If it is true that the emperor's concubine has a 'face-to-face lover', where would the emperor's face be? The emperor has had a lot of worries recently, and you still..."

"I know you are good at speaking. But today, so many people saw you two close the door and do something dirty in the inner room. I want to see how you explain it to the emperor and how you confuse right and wrong."

"Sister, the Emperor knows that Mr. Gu and I are old friends. Today, we were just having tea and chatting. Why are you being so aggressive?" Concubine De knew that the more she begged for mercy, the more certain Empress Xian would be that she was in the wrong, and the less likely she would forgive her. "Mr. Gu, is that right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I just came to the palace to chat with Your Majesty, and there is nothing improper going on." Gu Nianzhi explained quickly.

Concubine De was not panicked, but she was nervous.

Either she would be labeled as a "face-servant" by Empress Xian, and be determined to have had an affair with Concubine De, and both of them would die a miserable death; or she would admit that she was a woman, and would be spared the crime of being a "face-servant", but would her disguise as a man constitute the crime of deceiving the emperor, which would also be a dead end?

"Let's chat?" Empress Xian smiled sarcastically. "Is the Renxin Hall so small that the two of you can only chat so close to each other in the inner room?"

Gu Nianzhi's mind raced.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report to Your Majesty. This matter concerns your brother, General Bai, and I dare not let anyone else hear it."

Queen Xian frowned slightly.

Recently, Bai Mo has indeed done a lot of things to pave the way for the Second Prince to become the Crown Prince. Could it be that some of them were discovered by Gu Nianzhi?

Defei laughed secretly.

She had already guessed what Gu Nianzhi was going to do.

With such a smart head, it's no wonder that Cen Yu can't forget her.

Concubine De said to everyone: "You may leave first. Mr. Gu has something to report to the Empress."

Madam Rong and others looked at Empress Xian.

Queen Xian hesitated and said nothing.

"Sister, if other people hear this, it will be very disadvantageous to the general."

Empress Xian waved her sleeves.

"Everyone, stand down."

Everyone retreated to the edge of the garden, and Queen Xian walked up to Gu Nianzhi.

"If I find out you're playing tricks on me, watch out for your head."

"I dare not. Today I heard that General Bai Mo went to see Shu Huaiyuan privately yesterday. It is said...it is said..."

Gu Nianzhi pretended to be timid and didn't dare to speak out.

Concubine De said, "The Queen has always been fair and impartial. She would never show favoritism or protection to General Bai just because he is her own brother. Just tell me the truth."

"I heard that the explosion was a trap set by the Bai family. The purpose was to kill the crown prince and put all the blame on the third prince. Yesterday, General Bai went to find Shu Huaiyuan specifically to make him provide a false confession..."

"Nonsense!" Queen Xian knew that what Gu Nianzhi said was all true. She lost her temper and quickly stopped her.

"That's what I said too." Concubine De stepped forward at the right time and pretended to hold Empress Xian's arm. "I told Mr. Gu that the Bai family is full of loyal and brave people and would never do such a dirty thing. I was just saying that when my sister happened to come."

"What Gu said is absolutely true. General Bai went to see Shu Huaiyuan late at night yesterday, and someone indeed witnessed it..."

"Since Mr. Gu doesn't believe it, why not wait for the emperor to come and have him send someone to investigate? Wouldn't that make everything clear?"

"No!" Empress Xian knew that what Gu Nianzhi said was true, so she interrupted Concubine De's words immediately: "The Crown Prince has just passed away, and the Emperor is already worried. He has countless political affairs to deal with every day. How can we let the Emperor get angry over these groundless things?"

"Yes, sister, I think so too. General Bai is a very capable person, how could he do such a despicable thing?" Concubine De continued with Empress Xian's words and gave Gu Nianzhi a wink.

Gu Nianzhi quickly understood what Concubine De meant.

"But Madam Defei, if I don't explain this matter clearly, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain why you and I kept the door closed. If the emperor gets angry, I'll have to tell him everything..."

"Since we are talking in secret about this matter, it is understandable." Empress Xian swallowed nervously, "I just sent someone to invite the emperor to come and have tea with us sisters. As long as no one mentions it, who would talk about this matter? Concubine De, don't you think so?"

Concubine De smiled and said, "Of course, I am very happy to have tea and chat with you."