Seizing the throne, abolishing the adopted son, the imperial concubine rose to prominence

Meanwhile, in Qianming Palace, the Emperor was instructing his secret guard leader, "Go investigate the movements of Prince Liang's Mansion and Ci'an Palace, as well as Taoist Zixu. The more detailed the better."

"I obey my orders."

The leader of the secret guards responded and was about to retreat.

"and many more!"

But as soon as he turned around, he was stopped by the emperor.

"Do you still remember what happened at Huayin Temple?"

"Your subordinate...Your subordinate remembers."

Upon hearing this, the leader of the secret guards' face changed and he immediately knelt on the ground.

"You said you saw Prince Liang coming out of the back hall in dishevel?"

The emperor's voice was very deep.

"Yes."

The leader of the secret guards lowered his head and replied.

"Go down and do some business."

The emperor stared for a moment and waved the man away.

……

This side of Changchun Palace.

Gu Youning sorted out his thoughts for a long time and finally came up with some guesses.

Although this conjecture is somewhat bizarre, if we combine it with the Queen Mother's extraordinary disgust for Xiao Yun'an, the lies woven by Prince Liang, the Queen Mother's determination to send Xiao Yun'an out of the palace this time, and the fact that the Emperor happened to have his finger pricked.

If the emperor's finger was pierced in Ci'an Palace not by the negligence of the palace maid, but was a premeditated act, and not intended to poison the emperor, then there is only one possibility: to draw the emperor's blood.

Although blood can be used in many ways, it now seems that the Queen Mother most likely wanted to perform a blood test to identify her relatives.

Is Xiao Yun'an the blood of King Liang?

Although he guessed this, Gu Youning was not in a hurry to verify it.

Her words today deliberately deepened the emperor's doubts. The emperor will definitely have someone investigate carefully. With the emperor's ability, he may be able to find clues.

However, the emperor did not mention this matter again in the following days, but Gu Youning was already 80% certain of his original guess through indirect hints.

Xiao Yun'an is completely useless.

Another half month passed peacefully, and in the blink of an eye it was already the beginning of the twelfth lunar month.

However, although the harem was calm, the front court was in turmoil.

As Gu Youning had expected, the Lu family had a complete falling out with the Zheng family because of Lu Yunu's incident.

Because Mrs. Lu had a daughter late in life, the couple doted on her very much. The Zheng family had clearly promised to take care of their daughter, but Concubine Zheng in the palace only knew how to use their daughter and get away with it when something happened, without caring about their daughter's life or death at all.

Duke Zheng was used to being the only one in charge, so he was naturally dissatisfied with the Lu family's rebellion. He openly suppressed the Lu family in every way. With the emperor's instigation, Marquis Lu had secretly expressed his intention to surrender to the emperor.

And Shen Huan, under the tenderness and understanding of Yu Lian, and after he completely recognized the true face of Princess Shouchang, finally gave up on Bai Yueguang, whom he had been flattering for many years.

Once this nepotism was severed, the emperor would naturally be able to slowly gain control of Shen Huan, as he was not a bad person to begin with.

The more favorable the previous dynasty's affairs were to the emperor, the more uneasy the empress in Fengyi Palace became.

"My Lady, the current political situation is not favorable to the Zheng family, which is a good thing for you."

"Even if Concubine Zheng has a prince in her hands in the future, she will never be able to surpass you."

Seeing that his master's complexion was getting worse and worse recently, Zhichun advised him in a gentle voice.

"Of course I hope the Zheng family will fall from power, but I hope to see a situation where I can gradually assist the emperor in gaining control of government affairs, rather than the current situation where everything is out of my control."

The queen had won the emperor's trust over the years just because she stood on the emperor's side. In addition, with the reputation for virtue she had built inside and outside the palace, her position as the empress would be very stable in the future, both in the emperor's heart and in the court.

But now the emperor's trust in her has become sparse. If the emperor breaks away from the constraints of the aristocratic family at this time, the one who will benefit will not be her, nor Concubine Zheng who is about to have an imperial heir, but the mother and son in Changchun Palace.

If an emperor is truly attracted to a woman, he will be no different from an ordinary man in the world and will definitely want to offer her the best things.

Moreover, the one in Changchun Palace is not a stupid and brainless Lu Yunu who can be easily exploited by others.

"How is the wound on Gu Youxin's face healing?"

The Queen suddenly asked.

"It's ready."

"The Fourth Miss Gu has been living a very happy life in Changchun Palace these days. I heard from Madam Qu that Consort Gu wanted to lose her temper several times, but she always held it in. She even covered up for her in front of the Emperor. It seems that since Madam Gu entered the palace, things have been going very smoothly."

Holding the Spring Road.

"That's good. I've put so much thought into her, it's time for her to give something in return."

"Issue an order to the six palaces: three days from now, I will hold a banquet for Consort Gu in the plum grove of the Imperial Garden to celebrate her promotion to Consort Gu."

She had been planning for the position of Empress before she even got married, and she has been planning until now. She will never allow anyone to take this position away from her.

"Yes, I will send someone to the harem to pass on the message."

Zhichun was about to agree and leave when the queen called him over and whispered a few words to him.

"Don't worry, Madam, I will take care of it all."

Seeing her personal maid retreat, the queen's eyes became gloomy and paranoid. Unconsciously, her gentle and calm appearance had disappeared in the private space.

She had failed several times at the hands of Gu Youning, so this time she wanted to make sure everything went well, so she had to make double calculations.

……

Qian main hall.

As soon as the eunuchs from Fengyi Palace left, the emperor summoned Cao Zhong to his side and said, "Inform Concubine Shen that three days from now will be a good time."

"Yes!"

……

Changchun Palace.

"The master's enthronement ceremony has been over for several days, and now the Queen has suddenly proposed to hold a promotion banquet for the master. The Emperor has been visiting our palace every now and then, except for going to Cheng'an Palace. Is she trying to make the master the target of jealousy among the other ladies in the harem?"

Tan Yin frowned.

"The Queen wouldn't do something so aimless."

"In the next three days, in addition to keeping a close eye on the side halls, you must also keep a close eye on everything around me. There is a pregnant concubine in the palace."

Gu Youning shook his head.

But she was not afraid. If the queen was willing to take action, she would have something to hold against her.

After a while, Xiao Xiazi came and told the emperor that he would be coming over for dinner today.

Gu Youning specially had someone prepare a mutton hotpot, which was the emperor's favorite food in winter. He also prepared sweet soup and roasted pigeon for his son, and chose a few light side dishes and a bowl of chicken soup porridge for himself.

Since I have a small kitchen, I don’t have to prepare dishes according to the standard portions. I can just pick a few of my favorite dishes and cook them.

After dinner, the emperor took his people in his arms and was about to get down to business.

Gu Youning was a little distracted.

"What's wrong? What are you worried about?"

The emperor stroked Gu Youning's loose black hair and asked in a low voice, suppressing the heat in his heart.

"I would like to ask the emperor for a favor."