The queen is spoiling the king and madly criticizing him for spoiling her

Judging from the emperor's attire, it was obvious that he wanted to accompany her out of the palace.

This was something Gu Jianchu never expected.

"I'm worried about letting the Queen leave the palace alone, and there's nothing important happening in the court." After Xie Ci'an finished speaking, he took out a food box from his side and handed it to Gu Jianchu.

"They've sent Zhongfeng to protect me, and people from my Nanping Marquis Mansion are also present at the scene. What's there to worry about? Are they afraid that I'll run away?"

Gu Jianchu only dared to complain secretly in his heart and did not dare to show it on his face.

Xie Ci'an frowned when he heard Gu Jianchu's ridicule.

It's not that she ran away, but she heard that the opening of Gu Jianyue Embroidery Workshop was very lively today, and many dignitaries in the capital went there for the sake of Nanping Marquis's face.

He followed for another purpose.

It’s just not convenient to tell the Queen now.

I can only endure Gu Jianchu's complaints silently.

Gu Jianchu cautiously opened the food box, which contained exquisite meat dragons, fried dumplings, and a portion of her favorite osmanthus cake.

[The Emperor is quite kind, knowing that I haven't eaten.]

Xie Ci'an: I still want to thank the Queen for her compliment.

Gu Jianchu usually gets up late, and today he got up early, which was rare for him. He must have not eaten anything, so he asked Cheng Song to ask the imperial kitchen to prepare some food.

Xie Ci'an was dealing with the contents of the secret letter, while Gu Jianchu sat obediently beside him eating dumplings, and the two did not make any noise to disturb each other.

After finishing a small plate of dumplings, Gu Jianchu's eyes fell on the osmanthus cake. Just as he put in a piece of osmanthus cake, Gu Jianchu choked. Xie Ci'an immediately brought the tea at hand to Gu Jianchu.

Gu Jianchu picked it up and took a few sips, trying to wash down the osmanthus cake that was stuck in his throat.

"Eat slowly, no one is competing with the Queen for the food." Xie Ci'an's tone was filled with indulgence and pampering.

The wheels of the carriage passed through the busiest Suzaku Street and arrived in front of the busiest shop in the east of the city.

My parents originally planned to help Gu Jianyue open an embroidery workshop on Zhuque Street.

Zhuque Street is the most bustling and prosperous area in their capital, where dignitaries often come and go.

But she was rejected by Gu Jianyue. She just wanted to run an embroidery workshop in peace and stability, and didn't really want to hang out with those powerful ladies all day long, so she chose a three-story attic shop in the east of the city as her embroidery workshop.

My sister did not accept the money given by her parents. She used the savings she had accumulated over the years in the Cao family to barely pay the rent for the shop.

The carriage stopped at a corner of the street. When the curtain was lifted, one could see the Chunshui Embroidery Workshop across the street, which was hung with red silk. The sound of gongs and drums filled the entire street. Dragon and lion dances were performed in front of the shop, attracting nearby residents to stop and watch.

Gu Jianyue, the proprietress of Chunshui Embroidery Workshop, was wearing a crescent-colored dress and standing in front of the door, greeting customers to enter the store.

"Your Majesty, please wait in the carriage for a while. I'll go see my elder sister and will be back soon." Gu Jianchu asked, looking at the man beside him.

The man rubbed the jade ring on his hand and said, "I'm with you."

Xie Ci'an had followed them out, so Gu Jianchu had nothing to worry about, and besides, his elder sister was familiar with them.

As soon as Gu Jianchu lifted the curtain of the car, he saw Wen Zhu rushing over in a hurry.

When Wen Zhu looked at her, there was an expression in her eyes that wanted to say something but hesitated. Gu Jianchu looked at Wen Zhu and then at Xie Ci'an, and said awkwardly, "I'm afraid Wen Zhu has something important to report. I will get off the car and wait."

Xie Ci'an grabbed Gu Jianchu's wrist, preventing her from getting out of the car. "Don't be evasive, just say it directly."

It was one thing for her to secretly eat melons, but if she participated in the harem's politics, she would be nailed to death in the report by those censors. She suspected that the emperor was deliberately trying to harm her and their Gu family.

Gu Jianchu was like a quail, trying to reduce his presence as much as possible.

Wen Zhu glanced at Gu Jianchu with some doubt. He dared not disobey Xie Ci'an's order. "Your Majesty's guess is correct. The West Camp is indeed using the name of suppressing bandits to collect money from the court. Not only that, they also lied about the number of soldiers and the number of soldiers who died in the suppression of bandits to defraud the court of pensions. They also lied about the loss of weapons."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I don't have any solid evidence to convict the young Protector of the Nation. However, I have already left Tinglan to monitor the vicinity of the West Camp. I will also find other ways to quickly obtain evidence of the young Protector of the Nation's corruption."

[Your Majesty is clever. I only briefly mentioned this to you the night before last, hoping to pique your suspicions about the young Protector General's bandit suppression efforts. I didn't expect your Majesty to not only become suspicious, but also uncover his involvement in accumulating wealth within just one day.]

The young general who protected the nation was a cunning man with three burrows. He always did things in a very careful manner, rarely leaving any evidence for his arrest. He even hid the money he collected in the pond in his mansion for fear of being discovered. Even his wife was unaware of these things.

As for the bandits, they were all hired by him. They usually operated in Dongzhuang and looked no different from farmers. Upon receiving orders from the National Defense General, they would harass the villagers, burning, killing, and looting. Once the villagers reported the incident to the authorities, he would lead his men to suppress the bandits, and the cycle would repeat.

[As long as we can prove that those bandits were the young general's protégés, we should be able to convict him.]

Xie Ci'an: Yes.

Gu Jianchu's source of information was much faster than Wen Zhu and the others' investigation.

This is also the purpose of Xie Ci'an letting Gu Jianchu know these things.

According to the Queen's character, she couldn't help but be curious and wanted to explore.

Just as Gu Jianchu was racking his brains to think of a way to alert the emperor without being exposed, Xie Ci'an spoke first, "Since the young general who protects the country relies on suppressing bandits to make money, it is impossible for bandits of a certain scale to appear all the time. Follow this clue to investigate."

"The money collected by the Protector of the Nation General would definitely not be kept elsewhere. Such corrupt officials would definitely keep the collected money under their noses and watch it every day. Order people to search the Protector of the Nation General's mansion thoroughly and don't miss any corner."

People from the Imperial City Bureau infiltrated everywhere, including the homes of officials in the court.

[I didn't expect the Emperor to react so quickly. I'm completely useless now.]

The Queen has many uses.

Wen Zhu, who received the order, immediately disappeared into the crowd.

When Chongfeng moved the small wooden ladder behind the carriage to the front of the carriage, Zhuxi immediately stepped forward to help Gu Jianchu get off the carriage.

Since the two of them did not intend to reveal their identities, they could not address each other as emperor and empress, and naturally they had to change to the folk name.

Gu Jianchu took Xie Ci'an's arm and quickly came to the Chunshui Embroidery Workshop. In addition to his sister, there was also an embroiderer taken in by his sister waiting outside to entertain guests.

Gu Jianyue led a lady to the shop and handed her over to the other sisters for hospitality. When she came out again, she saw the emperor and empress standing in front of the door. Gu Jianyue was startled at first. Just as she was about to salute, she was grabbed by Gu Jianchu's hand and said, "Sister, we left the palace quietly."