Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Kunning Palace.

The Empress sat in the chair at the head of the table, chatting casually with Gu Qianning.

Pei Yingzhu sat in the last chair at the bottom, listening attentively with her head bowed.

Although she came to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager under the name of Prince Heng'an, the Empress Dowager did not give her any face. So, after she went to Funing Palace, she was sent away by the nanny of Funing Palace on the grounds that "the Empress Dowager is not feeling well." She did not even get to see the Empress Dowager.

She couldn't possibly go to the emperor's palace, so she went to the empress's palace to pay her respects.

Fortunately, the Empress, mindful of the bigger picture, allowed her into the palace, though she was rather cold towards her. She simply held Gu Qianning's hand affectionately and spoke to her, asking why she hadn't been to the palace for so long, what she had eaten and drunk recently, and whether she needed any good fabric to make new clothes.

Gu Qianning answered them one by one. After chatting for a long time, she finally brought up the Crown Prince: "I haven't seen my cousin for a long time. I wonder what he's been busy with? He hasn't been writing to me much lately."

The Empress smiled gently: "I don't know what he's been busy with lately. I'm afraid he's been too busy helping his father with official business and memorials to pay attention to you. Don't worry, A-Ning, when he comes, I'll definitely give him a good talking-to."

"No need for that. Aunt, please don't scold my cousin because of me. Otherwise, he'll think I'm picking a fight and he'll be unhappy later."

"He's still unhappy? Impossible! He likes you the most, he'd love for you to come to the palace every day to pick a fight with him, he's afraid you won't come!"

Gu Qianning lowered her head slightly, feigning shyness.

In the past, she believed her aunt's words without a doubt. She also thought that the Crown Prince liked her very much, that he would miss her if he couldn't see her, and that he would look forward to her coming to the palace to see him.

But after experiencing the horrors of her previous life, she no longer believed it.

She didn't know if her aunt was just trying to comfort her or if her aunt genuinely thought the Crown Prince liked her, but none of that mattered anymore.

From the moment she was reborn, all she could think about was revenge!

Killing the Crown Prince would surely break her aunt's heart, but she couldn't care less about that now, because if she didn't kill the Crown Prince, then she and the entire Gu family would be the ones to be killed!

“Aunt, since my cousin is busy with something and can’t come over, how about I go and see him? I’ll just visit him for a little while and then leave. I won’t disturb his business.”

"This……"

The Empress hesitated, not because she was unwilling, but because the Crown Prince was unwilling.

Gu Qianning had visited the Crown Prince's palace before, but he was furious afterward and established a rule that no one was allowed to enter his palace, not even the Empress.

This rule also received the emperor's support.

So now, apart from the Crown Prince's own people, no one dares to run to the Eastern Palace.

Seeing the Empress hesitate, Gu Qianning sighed inwardly. Sometimes she felt that her aunt was also deceiving herself. The Crown Prince was clearly on guard against the Gu family, so vigilant that he even had to be wary of his own mother.

The Crown Prince had established a rule that outsiders were not allowed to enter or leave his palace at will. Gu Qianning knew this, but she was too naive in her previous life and never thought that this rule was specifically for her.

After being reborn, she realized that other women could enter the Crown Prince's palace, but she was the only one who could not.

Gu Qianning didn't make things difficult for the Empress. She stood up to take her leave: "It's getting late, A-Ning should go back now. Aunt, please get some rest."

The Empress nodded and gave Gu Qianning a pile of things, instructing her maid to carry them: "Xiao He, take all of these for your mistress, make sure nothing is lost or missing."

"Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured, nothing will be missing."

"A-Ning, you must come to the palace often to chat with your aunt, so as not to become estranged from her."

"Yes, aunt."

Gu Qianning responded and left with her maid.

Once she left, Pei Yingzhu couldn't insist on staying any longer, so she followed her out.

As for the silk and satin headdresses and beaded necklaces bestowed by the Empress, Pei Yingzhu naturally did not receive any of them.

Since she wasn't a proper relative of the Duke's family, bestowing rewards and elevating her status would be a slap in the face to Madam Gu. The Empress knew that her sister-in-law, Madam Gu, didn't like her, so she naturally wouldn't do anything foolish.

In fact, allowing Pei Yingzhu into her palace was already a great favor to the Prince.

After leaving Kunning Palace, Gu Qianning said to Pei Yingzhu not far away, "You should go back to your residence first. I have some things to attend to, so I won't go back with you. Xiaohe, take Miss Pei out of the palace. It's her first time here, so make sure she doesn't get lost or bump into anyone."

Xiaohe quickly replied, "Yes, Miss, this servant will take Miss Pei out of the palace right away. Miss Pei, this way please."

Pei Yingzhu nodded and followed Xiao He.

Gu Qianning watched their retreating figures, took a deep breath, and walked in the opposite direction.

That direction was clearly the Eastern Palace.

If you want to take revenge, the first step is to figure out the layout of the Eastern Palace.

The emperor will naturally be killed by Gu Qianhan, and what she needs to do is to ensure that Xiao Qingxuan is killed without any mishap!

A quarter of an hour later, Gu Qianning stood outside the gate of the East Palace.

She was blocked from her way.

“Miss Gu, please stop here. His Highness the Crown Prince’s palace is off-limits to anyone without a summons.”

Gu Qianning looked displeased: "What? You're even going to stop me? I'm the future Crown Princess! Get out of my way!"

The two guards at the gate exchanged a glance, both seeing hesitation in each other's eyes.

The Crown Prince did establish a rule a few years ago that outsiders were not allowed to enter the Eastern Palace at will, but in recent years, there have been quite a few people coming and going in the Eastern Palace, and the rule has not been so strict.

Especially given Gu Qianning's special status, the Crown Prince dotes on her and spoils her greatly. When she says she is the future Crown Princess, she is not exaggerating; this is almost universally acknowledged.

"Please wait a moment, Miss Gu. I will go in and inform His Highness the Crown Prince immediately..."

"Hey, what's with the announcement? I'm not an outsider! Are you two treating me like a thief? When I see my cousin, I'm definitely going to give you a piece of my mind! Get out of my way!"

Gu Qianning threw a tantrum and then swaggered inside.

As soon as she entered, she heard a eunuch's shrill voice shout, "Oh my, what brings Miss Gu here? Someone, hurry and inform His Highness the Crown Prince! His Highness has been talking about Miss Gu these past few days, and what a coincidence, she's here! His Highness will be very happy to know you've come!"

A palace maid responded and quickly went to report.

Gu Qianning glanced at the high walls of the East Palace and the people inside and outside. She roughly estimated that there were at least twelve people in the open.