My daughter was sold, I want to divorce her and go back to my parents' home to escape the famin

230. Miscalculation in the plan causes Qingxue to be frightened

After a while, a man in tattered clothes and with a panicked look was brought in.

When the man saw Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu, he fell to his knees with a plop and begged for mercy: "Please spare my life, gentlemen. I am just a poor hunter who accidentally stumbled into this place. I have no ill intentions."

Gu Jinyu stepped forward and looked at him coldly, "If you are a hunter, why are you wandering here so late at night? Tell me the truth, or don't blame me for being rude!"

As he spoke, he drew the sword from his waist, and a cold light flashed, scaring the man so much that he trembled all over.

The man hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "I dare not hide anything. To be honest, I was instructed by someone to come here to check on the princess. The person said that if I could find out whether the princess was dead or alive, he would give me 100 taels of silver. My family is so poor that we can't even afford to eat, so..."

"Who instructed you?" Gu Jinxuan asked sternly.

The man lowered his head and muttered, "I don't know. The man was masked and his voice was deliberately low. He just told me to gather information near the camp tonight and then report to the dilapidated temple west of the city before dawn tomorrow."

Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu exchanged a look, and Gu Jinyu said, "Brother, it seems that the person behind this is still paying attention to Xiaoya's situation. We might as well take advantage of their trick."

Gu Jinxuan nodded in agreement. He said to the man, "If you want to live, do as we say. Tomorrow you will report to the ruined temple on time and say that the princess is... dead. Remember, if you dare to play tricks, your whole family will die!"

The man was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly and said, "I will do as you say and I will never dare to play tricks."

After arranging the man, Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu began to deploy the next plan. They decided to secretly send someone to follow the man to see if they could follow the clues and find out the mastermind behind the scenes.

However, Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu had made all the calculations, but they missed one step, which almost caused the two brothers to regret their lives.

At the same time, in other tents in the imperial manor, some people with ulterior motives were also closely watching Gu Xiaoya's situation.

After they learned that Gu Xiaoya was injured but not dead, some of them looked anxious, while others were secretly thinking about their next move.

Among them, a middle-aged official dressed in gorgeous clothes paced back and forth in the tent with a worried look on his face.

His personal servant said cautiously, "Sir, now the matter has become serious. The emperor has already imprisoned Sir Li. Should we..."

The middle-aged official glared at the servant. "Shut up! This matter has nothing to do with us, so don't talk nonsense. However, you still need to keep a close eye on the Gu family and report any news immediately."

The servant nodded quickly and didn't dare say another word, for fear of incurring the wrath of his master.

In another tent, a young man was leisurely playing with a folding fan in his hand, with a faint smile on his face.

The counselor beside him whispered, "Sir, I'm afraid the Gu family won't let us off easily this time. Should we make some preparations in advance?"

The young master sneered, "What are you afraid of? Even if they find out something, they may not be able to do anything to me. However, I still have to be careful and not let them catch me."

The young master has the confidence and strength, but the people around him do not, so even if the young master does not give orders, his subordinates will quietly clean up the mess.

However, it would have been better if these people hadn't moved. As soon as they made a move, they were caught red-handed by the brothers Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu who were waiting for them.

The two brothers followed the clues and found the young master, but they did not make any move. They just quietly handed the evidence to the emperor.

Of course, to be on the safe side, the two brothers secretly kept a copy for the Duke of Huguo and Princess Anyang.

As younger generations, the two brothers could not and dared not confront the emperor head-on, but their biggest trump card was Princess Anyang. What were they afraid of?

If the current emperor dares to protect that young man, let Princess Anyang make a fuss. Don't think that Princess Anyang beating the emperor is just a rumor, it really happened.

As the night deepens, undercurrents surge among various forces in the imperial manor, and a bigger storm seems to be brewing quietly. Gu Xiaoya's fate and the truth of this conspiracy become increasingly confusing.

The next morning, the hunter, feeling uneasy, walked towards the dilapidated temple in the west of the city as instructed by Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu.

Behind him, Wen Ling and several nimble secret guards followed quietly. They hid in the mountains and forests, their eyes fixed on the man's every move.

After arriving at the dilapidated temple, the man lingered at the door for a moment, then walked in cautiously.

The dilapidated temple was dark and damp, filled with a lingering smell of decay. As the man entered, he heard a deep voice coming from the darkness: "How is the matter going? Is the princess dead or alive?"

The man trembled with fear and quickly said according to the prepared lines: "Reply... reply to your Excellency, the princess is dead. I saw it with my own eyes. They carried the princess's body back to the camp."

There was a brief silence in the darkness, and then the voice sounded again: "Are you sure?"

The man nodded hurriedly, "I'm sure, it's absolutely true."

At this moment, there was a sudden noise of footsteps outside the dilapidated temple, and then a group of men in black rushed in like ghosts.

The man's eyes widened in horror, at a loss as to what to do. The man in black rushed towards him without saying a word, the sharp blade in his hand flashing with a cold light.

The man wanted to call for help, but the man in black covered his mouth. After struggling for a few times, he became silent.

Wen Ling saw this and thought to himself that something was wrong, so he hurriedly led the secret guards to rush in. The man in black saw that the situation was not good, turned around and started a fierce fight with the secret guards.

While Wenling was fighting hard, he was also paying attention to the movements around him, trying to find the person who was speaking behind the scenes.

However, after a search, they found that the man had disappeared without a trace.

Wen Ling was upset. After cleaning up the battlefield with the secret guards, he hurried back to the camp and told Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu about it.

After hearing this, the two brothers' faces became even gloomier.

Gu Jinxuan slammed his fist on the table. "These people are too cunning. They actually killed people and silenced them right under our noses!"

Gu Jinyu pondered for a moment and said, "Brother, although we failed to catch the person behind the scenes this time, we have obtained some clues, and the evidence has been submitted to the emperor uncle. I believe there will be a result soon."

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the tent, and a guard hurried in to report: "My two lords, someone has come from the palace, saying that the emperor has an order."

Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu looked at each other, straightened their clothes, and left the tent.

A middle-aged man dressed in eunuch attire stood in the center of the camp, holding a bright yellow imperial edict. Seeing this, the Gu brothers quickly knelt to receive the edict.

The eunuch cleared his throat and read aloud, "By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have ascertained the truth of the incident at the Imperial Farm. All those implicated will be severely punished. The Duke of Protectorate is ordered to immediately escort them back to the palace for personal interrogation. Furthermore, for the heroic defense of Princess Zhaoya, I hereby commend her with a reward of one hundred taels of gold and one thousand pieces of silk. This is my decree!"

After expressing their gratitude, Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu stood up.

Gu Jinxuan was puzzled. The emperor found out the truth so quickly. It seemed that there was something hidden behind it.

He looked at the eunuch and asked, "Sir, I wonder how Your Majesty found out the truth?"

The eunuch smiled slightly and said, "Master Gu, there's no need to ask any more questions. His Majesty is wise and will have his own solutions."

After saying this, he hurried away with his men.

Gu Jinxuan and Gu Jinyu returned to the tent and were discussing their next move when Princess Anyang walked in.

She looked at the two brothers and said solemnly, "I just received news that the emperor made such a quick decision this time because there is a mysterious force in the court pushing them secretly, and they seem to be eager to put an end to this matter."

Gu Jinyu frowned, "Mysterious force? Could it be..."

Princess Anyang nodded slightly. "It's most likely those forces that have always been against our Gu family. They are afraid that the matter will escalate and implicate more people, so they want to settle it as soon as possible."

Gu Jinxuan pondered for a moment and said, "No matter what, we can't let our guard down. Since the emperor has issued an order, my father must have already taken action. We must ensure Xiaoya's safety. At the same time, we must continue to dig deeper into the conspiracy behind this and never let those people go unpunished."

At this time, Gu Xiaoya slowly woke up in her tent.

Princess Anyang, who was guarding the bed, saw this and quickly held her hand. "Ya'er, you're awake. How do you feel?"

Gu Xiaoya looked at Princess Anyang and said weakly, "Grandma, I'm fine. I'm sorry to have worried you."

Princess Anyang had tears in her eyes. "I'm glad you're okay, I'm glad you're okay. We were really scared this time."

Gu Xiaoya struggled to sit up, and Princess Anyang quickly supported her and sat up. She asked, "Aunt, how are my two sisters? Also, what's going on with those bandits and the men in black?"

Princess Anyang briefly told Gu Xiaoya what had happened. She would never keep everything from her grandchildren just because they were young, or hide everything in the name of doing it for their own good.

After hearing this, Gu Xiaoya was filled with anger. "How dare someone plot against us like this? I will never let them go!"

Princess Anyang looked at Gu Xiaoya's determined eyes and felt secretly relieved. "Ya'er, take good care of yourself and let us handle these matters. Don't worry, we will definitely give you justice."

However, just when everyone thought that the matter was about to come to an end, an anonymous letter quietly appeared on the emperor's desk.

Looking at the letter in his hand, the emperor slammed his hand on the table and roared, "These people really don't take the royal family seriously. I must kill them."

"Your Majesty, please calm down. The Duke of Protectorate has been secretly investigating these matters and will give you an explanation soon," Eunuch Li said softly, pouring a cup of tea for the emperor.

"My sister is a master of tricks. She first made me issue an imperial decree to stop investigating this matter, but secretly allowed her husband to continue the investigation. It's obvious that she wants to get to the bottom of this matter and catch the person behind it. Those people thought I really let this matter go. They underestimated me too much."

The emperor said angrily. Not to mention Lin Qingxue's ability, based on his relationship with Princess Anyang, he would never let anyone slap Princess Anyang in the face like that. Otherwise, what would he do if Princess Anyang came to beat him up?

Even though he is the emperor now, he was able to sit on the throne because Princess Anyang took the initiative to marry the Duke of Huguo, and with the help of the Gu family, he fought wars everywhere to stabilize the safety of Da Zhao. He would never allow anyone to bully his own sister.

Besides, if he didn't help his sister, not only would the Queen Mother scold him, but Princess Anyang would rush into the palace and beat him up.

"Your Majesty, the most important thing right now is to hold those people back so that the Protector of the Country can investigate this matter thoroughly."

Eunuch Li whispered that as a bystander who had witnessed Princess Anyang beating her disobedient brother several times, he said that he was also afraid of Princess Anyang.

"Yes, you are right. Let's leave it at that for now!" After hearing what Eunuch Li said, the emperor left it alone and went to seek comfort from his queen.

On the other side, in the Duke of Huguo's Mansion, Xuanxue Garden, Lin Qingxue got up early in the morning, had breakfast, and drank a bowl of pregnancy-maintaining medicine. Only then did she feel her stomach felt a little better.

Just as he was about to instruct Chuntao to prepare some medicinal herbs to be sent to the imperial farm, he heard a commotion coming from the front yard. Lin Qingxue rubbed his forehead and quickly asked someone to bring the noisy people over.

"What's the matter that made you disregard the rules and fight in the mansion? You don't want to live, right?"

Lin Qingxue, who was already furious about her daughter's affairs, could no longer suppress her anger when she saw these two servants. She slapped the table as she spoke.

"My dear Princess, it's not that I want to argue with him. I just came back from shopping and heard people outside talking about how Princess Zhaoya of our mansion fell off a cliff and died. They were talking about it in great detail. I wanted to report it to the Princess as soon as I got back, but I was stopped outside."

After hearing what this person said, Lin Qingxue's brain exploded with a bang, making her dizzy and dazed. She didn't even notice that her amniotic fluid had broken.

She stared blankly at the servant who was speaking, but could not hear a sound. After a while, she finally spoke: "Falling off the cliff and disappearing? ... Didn't they say he was fine? Didn't they say he was just injured?"

As she was speaking, Lin Qingxue came to her senses, but her stomach started to hurt.

"Dong He, please ask the imperial physician and the midwife to come over. My stomach hurts and I feel like I'm about to give birth."

Lin Qingxue touched her belly helplessly and sat in the chair blankly. She seemed to have lost her soul and spoke instinctively.

"Is she about to give birth? ... Quickly go get the imperial physician and the midwife, and have someone else go get Nanny Jin and tell her that the Crown Princess is about to give birth. Have the kitchen prepare plenty of hot water, and have a servant ride to the imperial farm to inform the Princess and the others that the Crown Princess is about to give birth."

Donghe finished speaking in one breath, and then she and Chuntao supported the dazed Lin Qingxue on both sides and went into the inner room to lie down.

The two men felt uncomfortable seeing Lin Qingxue like this. Since Lin Qingxue got married, the lives of servants like them have become much better. As long as they do their job well, they will be rewarded.

Chun Tao glanced at Dong He, gritted her teeth, and leaned close to Lin Qing Xue's ear, whispering, "Princess, can you hear me? Didn't Wen Ling say yesterday that Princess Zhao Ya was fine? Don't worry, with the Prince and the Second Master here, and with so many guards and secret guards, the princesses will be fine. Your water has broken now, so why not give birth to the baby first? If you continue like this, the baby in your belly will be in danger."