The prince stepped on me to get to the top, I angrily flirted with the enemy's hostage

Su Rou looked at Jiang behind her. This Jiang was from the same family as the current queen, but Jiang was only a distant aunt of the queen.

There is a huge difference in identity.

But no matter what, Jiang is the queen's aunt, and my father has to take Jiang with him when he goes out for the sake of the queen's family.

To put it bluntly, this is just to give face to the queen.

The queen came from the Jiang family, and Jiang was just a concubine's daughter from a side branch.

Su Rou said, "I'm fine, Dad, don't worry. I'm not angry, I just want to talk to Prince Yu about something."

Su Rou explained to Su Wan in order to prevent him from worrying, "It just so happened that His Royal Highness Prince Yu helped me with a favor today. I'll go find you and the Madam after I finish talking to him."

Su Wan had no choice but to nod, "Okay...Arou, don't go too far. If Prince Yu bullies you, just call me."

Su Rou grabbed Gong Yu's hand and changed direction, heading towards the back garden. "Did you ask Shen Changming to come and remind me of what happened today?"

Gong Yu said, "Yes, how do you plan to repay me?"

Su Rou and he walked away, and she let go of Gong Yu's hand.

"Thank you?"

Gong Yu raised an eyebrow, and Ying Rui's face showed some helplessness. "That's it? A verbal thank you is enough?"

Su Rou didn't respond and asked him again, "Why did you know today that they would tamper with my horse?"

Gong Yu said, "It's not that they tampered with your horse. They are clearly trying to say that white is black. When my men went to the stables, they happened to see them talking. There is nothing wrong with your horse, but it was indeed selected for you by General Su. They want you to report it to the emperor during the assessment and make sure you can't turn the tables."

If cheating is discovered in the military examination, those noble children in the capital will bring shame to their families.

Even if Su Rou had a father who was a general, she would still be punished for this.

Su Rou said, "How coincidental is that?"

The two people walked side by side on the gravel road, and the moon in the sky illuminated the road under their feet very brightly.

Gong Yu said, "You don't have to beat around the bush. You want to ask me who targeted you during today's assessment, right?"

Su Rou stopped and nodded.

Gong Yu continued, "It's not the prince, but the emperor."

Su Rou was surprised. She thought Xie Yuan was unhappy with her, but she never thought that the emperor would personally order people to deal with her.

No wonder the emperor's attitude was not right today. She thought it was just the emperor's subconscious reaction to protect the little boy Xie Yuan.

So, the emperor saw that she had done too well in the previous tests and didn't want her to succeed in becoming the military examinee?

Has the emperor now completely started to be on guard against the people in the general's mansion?

As for the man who pretended to be a soldier from the General's Mansion, she estimated that she could no longer find any evidence. The emperor would probably tell her next that the soldier had confessed and that it was the Minister of Justice who asked him to do so.

Su Rou said, "I see. If it's the emperor, then it makes sense."

Gong Yu stared at her. "Why do you look like you're not surprised at all?"

The current emperor was indeed wary of the General's Mansion before passing the throne to Xie Yuan, but that was a long time later.

Now she has changed her fate of being tied to death with Xie Yuan, and previously she expressed in front of the emperor her desire to make a name for herself better than men.

How could the emperor not be wary in advance?

However, the emperor also knew that if Xie Yuan succeeded to the throne, he would need the support of a loyal minister. The emperor wanted to suppress the power of the General's Mansion while also wanting to extract value from it.

She couldn't guarantee it in her previous life, but in this life, she guaranteed that Xie Yuan, whom the emperor loved so much, would definitely be the first to die.

Su Rou shrugged her shoulders. "What's so surprising about this? Go back. I've already got what I wanted to know."

As Su Rou turned around, she felt a force on her wrist.

Gong Yu grabbed her wrist and said, "You've used me and left me here alone. You have such a cruel heart."

Su Rou pulled her hand back from his warm palm, "You just want me to thank you, right? I'll send someone to deliver a generous gift to your house tomorrow, okay? It's not right for a single man and a single woman to be so pushy."

In the hidden bushes that Su Rou didn't see, there was a person crawling in the darkness.

Gong Yu took her hand and held her in his arms. He suddenly lowered his voice, "Shh, don't move, someone is eavesdropping."

Su Rou's body stiffened. Didn't anyone hear what she and Gong Yu said just now?

Gong Yu suddenly leaned over, his warm breath falling on her neck.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she pushed Gong Yu away and quickly distanced herself from him, "You're a hooligan!"

Gong Yu smiled playfully, "Let's go back. General Su must be waiting anxiously. But I thought I could see the lady today, but why is it someone else who came?"

Although Su Rou was not feeling well physically, she was still dragged back by him.

"The one visiting today is the eldest lady of the general's mansion. She is the one you should be having tea and chatting with." Su Rou said this reluctantly.

Although she was unwilling to admit it, Jiang's identity was there.

She couldn't disobey.

Su Rou grabbed Gong Yu's sleeve and said, "Can you do me a favor? I need to talk to Xie Yuan. Can you help me think of a way to lure him out of the palace?"

Gong Yu reached out and pinched her cheek, "Do you really treat me like a servant?"

Su Rou laughed, "Not really...it's just that your status as Prince Yu is much easier to command than that of a servant."

If she asked Xie Yuan to leave the palace, Xie Yuan would probably refuse, but Gong Yu often went in and out of the palace, so he could have a few words with Xie Yuan, right?

There was singing and dancing in the brightly lit palace. Su Rou returned to sit next to Su Wan and Jiang.

Su Wan lowered his voice and handed the wooden box to her. Although he lowered his voice, he could not suppress his joy. "Arou, when you were not here just now, your father went to get the emperor's decree on your behalf, and awarded you the position of Zhiguo Xiaowei."

Su Rou frowned and glanced down. The golden yellow brocade was extremely expensive. Was it worth it just to give her a seventh-rank position?

Su Rou asked, "Except for me, there are nine people in total. Where are the others?"

Jiang chuckled, "Miss, others hold official titles of the seventh rank and above. The emperor has given you a position of the seventh rank, so you should be content. You are just a woman, and there is no precedent for women serving in the court. It is enough that the emperor can make this exception for you. As long as the general is happy, that's all."

Su Rou glanced at Jiang, and with her slender fingers she grabbed the wooden box and rubbed it a few times in front of Jiang.

"Look, you can only marry my father and become his wife. Why don't you become the first woman to serve as an official in the imperial court?"

Seeing that she hadn't been choked, Jiang Shi stopped pretending, "If the Fourth House had any dignity, they wouldn't have raised you to be like this! What kind of good daughter would show her face in public?! If you really join the military camp in the future, you'll see which man would be willing to marry you!"

Su Rou picked up some grapes from the table and stuffed them into her mouth. She looked at Jiang and smiled, "No good daughter in any family has the ability to become an official in the court."