The fake daughter of a fallen ghost is reborn

They suppressed the astonishment in their eyes and looked in the direction of Duke Dingguo.

If the Ninth Prince died of poisoning, then everyone who handled the drug, including Ge Hanzhang, would be suspected...

Although it is not known whether this matter was instructed by the emperor, Gu Shichong must be the mastermind. He wanted to attack the Ge family on the grounds that Duke Dingguo poisoned the prince.

Xue Zhiyi felt a chill down her spine. It seemed that in her previous life, Gu Shichong's betrayal and exploitation of her without hesitation could actually be considered merciful. After all, the Ninth Prince was his brother, yet he could poison him so easily.

But Ge Hanzhang seemed to have noticed something. After looking at the medicine for a moment, he picked up the bowl without hesitation and drank it all!

"Duke!" Mrs. Ge was shocked.

Ge Hanzhang's eyes were a little red. He chuckled, held Madam Ge's hand that was trying to stop him, and looked calm.

Not only was Madam Ge surprised, but Little Weizi also stood there in a daze, and the Ninth Prince was also confused.

Looking at this inconspicuous scene in the bustling Linhua Palace, Xue Zhiyi's mind was working fast.

Chuizhu had been staying in front of their seats for too long. It would be inappropriate to delay any further. She said, "Tell Ge Yuanhui that Gu Shichong poisoned Duke Dingguo."

Chuizhu was startled and looked at Huo Wuyou.

Huo Wuyou also understood her meaning in an instant and said, "Do as I say."

Chuizhu nodded slightly and left Linhua Palace with other eunuchs.

Although Xue Zhiyi remained calm, she felt her hands getting cold and sweat appeared on her palms. She reached out to Huo Wuyou and was caught by his large palm.

The warm and rough touch made her feel a little relieved... She admitted that there was an element of gambling in her behavior, but some things were imminent, and she had to spare no effort to prevent Gu Shichong from ascending the throne.

Over there, Duke Dingguo waved the empty medicine bowl in front of the Ninth Prince and said, "Your Highness, look, this is not bitter at all. It's just a bowl of medicine. Your Highness is already a big boy, so you should be braver."

The Ninth Prince stared blankly, and finally smiled after hearing what he said: "Uncle is right, Ying'er will definitely take medicine well in the future!"

Xiao Weizi was already in a state of panic. The medicine was not swallowed by the Ninth Prince, but entered the mouth of Duke Dingguo instead. What was going on? How should he report back?

Just when he was at a loss, he heard a high-pitched voice from a eunuch: "His Royal Highness Prince Gong has arrived!"

Now that Prince Sheng was gone, Prince Gong's family was the most powerful among the princes. Everyone in the court was speculating when His Majesty would appoint a crown prince, so no one dared to be disrespectful and they all stood up to pay their respects.

Gu Shichong glanced at the guests, his eyes passing over the empty medicine bowl on Ge Hanzhang's table and the Ninth Prince who was smiling at him beside Ge Hanzhang. Gu Shichong's heart tightened, and then in an instant, he breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, he didn't know whether he was more heartbroken or secretly happy this time, but he didn't notice Xiao Weizi, who had a worried face at the moment.

After Gu Shichong took his seat, the formalities were waived and the guests began to talk in low voices with people they knew again. Many court officials also came to Gu Shichong's seat to pay him respectful and flattering tributes.

Among those seated, only Ge Hanzhang's eyes lingered on Gu Shichong from beginning to end, like a vulture eyeing rotten meat.

Xiao Weizi tried to find an opportunity to tell Gu Shichong about this, but soon the emperor, empress and queen mother arrived, the banquet began, and he had no chance to act.

The emperor was just as Huo Wuyou said. Under Sui Yunlang's care, he finally looked less like a dying man. However, his hair turned a lot whiter and seemed to have fallen out a lot. He looked more than ten years older than before he fell ill. He seemed to be the same age as the empress dowager. Although he was in good health, he looked weak.

As the emperor raised his glass and made his speech, the guests shouted "Long live the emperor", and the New Year's Eve dinner officially began.

Delicacies were brought in like flowing water, and there was singing and dancing. Some court officials even performed songs and dances to curry favor with the emperor.

Xue Zhiyi only noticed that Ge Hanzhang's face became increasingly pale, but he was still forcing himself to drink and chat with other court officials, and his face gradually showed an unnatural blush due to drinking.

Not long after the banquet began, the empress dowager felt tired. She was already in poor spirits and disliked such noise. Huo Zhiyu was at an age when she loved excitement, so the empress dowager kept her and took the group back to Jianzhang Palace.

After respectfully seeing off the Queen Mother, the banquet continued with singing and dancing.

Xue Zhiyi didn't realize that in the middle of the hall, among the dozen or so veiled dancers, there was a pair of eyes watching her, like a poisonous snake ready to strike...

Fu Rongxin did not stop dancing, but her face under the veil was almost distorted by hatred. Her eyes followed Xue Zhiyi intently, as if she wanted to bite her to death like a wild beast.

All the misfortunes in her life were because of Xue Zhiyi. It was because of this bitch that her originally bright and brilliant life was ruined to this point!

After being kidnapped from the Fu family, the criminals saw that she was a living dead who had long lost her official status, so they sold her openly. After several twists and turns, she was sold to a brothel...

How ridiculous! She was born with the fate of a phoenix, so even if she had to commit herself to someone of high rank, she should have committed herself to someone of high rank! But she never expected that one day she would be reduced to the same low status as Xue Zhiyi in his previous life, becoming a lowly body that prostituted herself to ordinary people and peddlers!

And Xue Zhiyi, who was supposed to bear all of this, was sitting here, looking so superior, with every part of her body noble... Why! Why did Xue Zhiyi deserve this!

A few days ago, she learned that an official was looking for dancers to perform for the emperor. She was chosen because of her dancing skills that she had practiced hard for two lifetimes. Otherwise, she would not even be worthy of being a dancer in front of Xue Zhiyi... The boundless jealousy made her throat smell bloody and even her chest felt a stinging pain.

In this lively and peaceful scene, suddenly a cry came from somewhere.

"Who is crying?" asked the emperor.

Peng Hui waved her hand, signaling for the singing and dancing to stop. All the dancers in the hall stopped. Fu Rong was preoccupied with something on her mind and almost lost her balance. In order to avoid being noticed, she quickly lowered her head and knelt on the ground with the other dancers.

Everyone looked in the direction of the crying sound and saw that it was the usually dignified Ge Hanzhang who was crying uncontrollably.

Madam Ge stood up and apologized: "My husband lost his temper after drinking and disturbed your majesty's leisure. I beg your majesty to forgive me!"

She lowered her head very low, the sound of her head hitting the ground was clearly audible, and her crouching back was filled with fear... Who doesn't know that the Ge family has lost the emperor's favor? Now the Dingguo Mansion has long lost its former vigor and vitality, and every word and action seems to be afraid of angering the emperor.

But Ge Hanzhang was drunk. He stood up unsteadily and, ignoring Madam Ge's dissuasion, he knelt down with a plop: "Your Majesty! I know I was wrong. Please forgive me for my loyalty over the years!"

He looked so fearful and terrified, like a military commander who had fought all his life but failed to have a good ending. It made people feel a bit tragic.