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

"I dare not take credit for it. It was the eunuch in charge of Ci'an Palace who saved the prince. The prince is safe because of the Queen Mother's kindness and protection."

"You are a good talker. I should reward you."

Xiao Yunyan is the lifeblood of Empress Dowager Cui, and Gu Youning's words really touched her heart.

"Mother, today's incident was indeed caused by He Chongyuan's inappropriate behavior. Your son asked her to apologize to you."

Xiao Heng's slightly cold gaze swept across Gu Youning's face, and then he leaned forward slightly and spoke to Empress Dowager Cui above.

"Apologize? The Emperor must be joking."

"Yan'er is your nephew. He was almost killed by something like this today, and you just said that so casually."

"He is truly my good son."

Queen Mother Cui casually flicked the scalding teacup beside her to the ground, her face full of anger and dissatisfaction.

Chen Yufei dodged subconsciously, and Gu Youning certainly wouldn't stand there alone. However, after taking a few steps back, she knelt down behind Chen Yufei, looking terrified.

"Mother, please calm down..."

Xiao Heng quickly stood up.

"Empress Dowager, what happened today was not my fault, and it has nothing to do with the Emperor."

The emperor's words were interrupted by He Chongyuan.

"you……"

Queen Mother Cui obviously didn't expect that someone would dare to refute her words so rudely, and the anger on her face became even more intense.

"No nonsense."

Xiao Heng's face turned cold and he turned around and scolded him lightly.

"Your Majesty, I am not trying to defend myself. I just want to clarify the matter with the Queen Mother."

He Chongyuan stood proudly, covered in tea leaves. "Your Majesty, you don't know. The Crown Prince just had the Second Prince trapped in the lake. If I hadn't intervened, the Second Prince would have died."

"Now, although the Crown Prince was a little surprised, he is now safe thanks to the careful care of the imperial physician and the palace servants. However, the Second Prince outside the palace caught a cold and fainted while kneeling. We don't know how he is now."

"The Second Prince is the Emperor's biological son. The Emperor is a loving father and is already worried. How could the Empress Dowager have the heart to criticize the Emperor any further?"

Queen Mother Cui listened and covered her chest in anger: "You...you are so bold."

Gu Youning hid himself behind Chen Yufei, with a slight smile on his lips. He Chongyuan did not disappoint him.

In his previous life, Zheng'er had also been bullied by the domineering Xiao Yunyan, but the Queen Mother punished Zheng'er by making him kneel on the cobblestone road for half a day. His little knees were swollen to twice their size, and he couldn't get out of bed for half a month.

She had other intentions when she followed over to "save people".

Firstly, she didn't want Xiao Yun'an to get into trouble at this time. According to her memories from her previous life, it would take another three years for another prince to be born in the harem. Before that, her Zheng'er, as the only prince, was too eye-catching. Secondly, she knew that with He Chongyuan's personality, it would be easy for her to quarrel with the arrogant Xiao Yunyan, which would definitely attract the attention of the Queen Mother Cui, who loved her grandson and protected her. Then she could find an opportunity to curry favor with the Queen Mother Cui, and make He Chongyuan suffer, or even temporarily block her path to promotion.

Gu Youning always remembered that in her previous life, she was under house arrest and Zheng'er caught typhoid fever but no one treated her. She begged desperately for help and passed by the palace gate. He Chongyuan, who had been promoted to the head of the nine concubines and had the power to assist in managing the six palaces, only received a light sentence: Life and death, fortune and misfortune are all determined by heaven.

"Emperor, this is the good concubine you have taken in. Even I have been taught a lesson!"

The extremely angry voice of Empress Dowager Cui was heard from above.

"It seems that some people have long been dissatisfied with my living in Ci'an Palace."

"Come here, pack your things. I'm going to live in Prince Liang's mansion now."

Da Zhao ruled the country with filial piety, and Queen Mother Cui obviously wanted to control her eldest son.

As expected, the emperor immediately bowed and apologized, personally carrying the freshly brewed tea that the palace maid had brought up. "Mother, please calm down and don't get yourself sick from anger. I love Yan'er the most, so how can I not make the decision for him?"

"Don't play dumb with me. This He family has no respect for the emperor and has harmed the royal family's heirs. Even banishing her to the cold palace would be a bargain."

Empress Dowager Cui was determined to severely punish He Chongyuan.

When Chen Yufei heard that she was banished to the cold palace, she could hardly suppress the smile on her face, but Gu Youning knew that the emperor would not agree.

really.

"Mother, He Chongyuan is just a bit straightforward. I would never dare to disrespect you, let alone intentionally hurt Yan'er."

The emperor frowned slightly, as if hesitating, but he continued, "Yan'er has indeed been wronged today. As his uncle, I must comfort him. So, I will issue an edict tomorrow to confer the title of Rong Junwang on Yan'er."

Prince Rong!

Everyone in the hall, including Gu Youning, was a little stunned. As the prince of Liang, Xiao Yunyan would definitely inherit the title of Liang in the future. Now that he was granted the title of Rong Junwang, the Liang Palace would have two princes in the future.

Even the emperor's son can't compare to him.

"Is the Emperor serious about this?"

Queen Mother Cui was obviously a little bit unconvinced.

"I dare not lie to my mother. I will ask the Secretariat to draft an edict when I return."

"Your Majesty is so kind! With this good news, Yan'er will surely recover soon."

It was rare for Empress Dowager Cui to be kind to her eldest son.

Chen Yufei, who was standing in front of Gu Youning, was so jealous that her hands hidden in her wide sleeves began to tremble.

Gu Youning sighed inwardly. If today's events were to be spread, not only would Chen Yufei, who was already brainless, all the women in the harem would probably be so jealous that their eyes would turn red with envy, and they would want to eat He Chongyuan.

But Xiao Heng was not an emperor who could compromise for a woman. Gu Youning raised his eyes and vaguely caught a glimpse of a gloomy look that flashed across the emperor's smiling eyes.

A light flashed through her mind, and she suddenly remembered her past life, and she lowered her eyes secretly.

This is probably a two-birds-with-one-stone move for the emperor.

In her previous life, Xiao Yunyan was not injured, so apart from being reprimanded for offending the empress dowager, she was not crowned king. But a month later, the empress dowager brought up this matter in front of all the ministers on her birthday, and the emperor had to agree out of filial piety.

Since conferring the title on Xiao Yunyan was a must, and He Chongyuan's father and brother were both newly promoted confidants from humble backgrounds from the emperor, his actions today seemed to be to protect He Chongyuan's safety. Minister He's family, and even the other ministers from humble backgrounds in the court would be grateful and remember his kindness.

The emperor is ultimately unintentional.

But He Chongyuan didn't believe it at this time. Even Chen Yufei was sad and jealous of the emperor's "deep love".

"The Emperor has rewarded Yan'er generously, so don't treat the Second Prince poorly."

"The Second Prince's mother died young, and he has been left uneducated for all these years. He is truly unruly. It just so happens that He Chongyuan has a humble family background, holds a high position, and has no children, so she has the perfect opportunity to raise the Second Prince by her side."

Although her beloved grandson was granted the title of Prince, Empress Dowager Cui obviously did not want to let He Chongyuan go so easily.

Raising a prince is a good thing, but the second prince's mother was of humble origin, and because of what happened in the past, the emperor disliked her, so none of the concubines in the harem had any ideas about him.

"Queen Mother..."

"Mother, be kind. This matter is as you wish."

Xiao Heng interrupted He Chongyuan with a smile.

"One more thing. I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Gu has done a great service in saving Yan'er today, and she has given birth to the eldest prince. I must reward her. Since the emperor hasn't issued an edict to confer the title on her yet, I will give her the title of Concubine."

When mentioning Gu Youning, Queen Mother Cui's tone became better.

"It is her blessing that the Queen Mother likes Gu, and I will naturally obey her."

Xiao Heng glanced at Gu Youning casually, somewhat lacking interest.

"I thank the Queen Mother for the Emperor's grace and reward."

His knees were sore and weak, and there was no one to support him in the hall, so Gu Youning simply crawled to the middle of the hall and kowtowed in gratitude.

When Empress Dowager Cui saw this, she was even more satisfied with Gu Youning's respect.

With my forehead resting on the back of my hand, I felt a sense of peace and joy in my heart.

Jieyushi is only one step away from being one of the nine concubines.

In her previous life, she offended the Queen Mother in order to save Xiao Yun'an, and ended up only getting the position of a talented person. In this life, everything is different.