After my luck was stolen, I led my whole family to defy fate and change our destiny.

After Zhao Fu left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he was stopped by Empress Shufei in an empty corridor.

"Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress, Greetings to Her Majesty the Consort Shu"

The Empress offered a helping hand.

"Father-in-law, you may dispense with the formalities."

The Empress asked softly, "Eunuch, is His Majesty in good health? Why did he suddenly become so angry?"

"This……"

The group talked as they walked.

Zhao Fu curtsied and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said it was a case of sudden anger affecting the heart. As for the anger itself... well, the emperor's mind is unfathomable, and this servant does not know either."

The Empress's eyes flickered slightly: She really is an old fox. Does she want to hear about being "angry and suffering from heart disease"? If she wants to hear about being "angry and suffering from heart disease," why doesn't she go to the imperial physician?

Consort Shu glanced at the Empress discreetly, adjusting her magnificent dress. It was laughable that she wanted to extract information without offering anything in return.

Consort Shu smiled gently: "Eunuch, may I have a word with you?"

Zhao Fu curtsied to the Empress and walked to the other side: "Your Highness, please speak."

The Consort Shu's head maid handed over a money bag, saying, "Our Ladyship invites you, Eunuch, for tea."

The head maid deliberately left the bag open so that Zhao Fu could see what was inside.

Wow, a whole bag of gold melon seeds! That's quite a generous gift. Usually, when concubines reward people, they give them loose silver or silver melon seeds; it's rare for them to give them cash.

No wonder he came from the Prime Minister's residence.

Zhao Fu's eyelids twitched, feeling a little regretful. At this critical juncture, he dared not accept anything from any of the concubines.

The emperor is behaving very unusually today. If he gets involved, it will be a huge loss; his life is worth far more than a golden melon seed.

Zhao Fu smiled and declined, "Oh, Your Majesty, you flatter me. Please ask me any questions you may have, and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge."

Consort Shu led him a step further away from the Empress before whispering, "It's nothing. I was just too worried about His Majesty and wanted to check on him. I wonder how His Majesty was feeling before, and why he suddenly vomited blood?"

How was your health before?

This isn't concern for His Majesty; you're probably asking how serious His Majesty's condition is and how much longer he can live, aren't you?

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, His Majesty is fine. He is simply overworked. The imperial physician has already prescribed a remedy to help him recover."

Consort Shu's eyelids twitched. Was this what he wanted to hear? "Then, have you heard His Majesty praise my Second Prince recently?"

"Naturally, the Second Prince possesses both virtue and talent..."

Consort Shu's lips curled into a smile, but before she could even feel happy, Zhao Fu added, "His Majesty not only praised the Second Prince, but also the First Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Sixth Prince, and the Seventh Prince."

Consort Shu withdrew her smile.

What a cunning old fox! You really know how to avoid offending anyone, dragging all the princes out for a spin.

What's with the attitude? The moment my son ascends the throne, you'll be the one replaced.

"Hehe, is that so?" Consort Shu touched her hair at her temples awkwardly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Consort Shu, this servant must take his leave now as I need to draft the decree."

Consort Shu's heart leaped into her throat: "What is Your Majesty's decree?"

Zhao Fu thought for a moment and decided there was nothing he couldn't say: "His Majesty has decreed that the entire country search for the strange beast, and those found will be executed immediately."

The Empress and Consort Shu both looked puzzled. What kind of strange decree was this?

Shouldn't we observe strange beasts more closely? If they are auspicious omens, shouldn't we worship them?

Consort Shu left when she couldn't get any further information from him. She needed to write a letter to her father, along with His Majesty's strange decree.

The Prime Minister left the palace and entered his carriage, his previous obsequious demeanor completely gone. As he straightened his sleeves, he instructed, "The Second Prince should be back by now. Send several men to fetch him back, and make sure his safety is guaranteed."

"Yes"

The Prime Minister really do care for the Second Prince.

At this time, all the princes' residences received visiting cards from ministers, and out of caution, they all arranged to meet outside.

The fourth prince, Prince Qi, received the invitation, probably to find out which side he was on. His chances of winning might be two points higher if he stood on that side.

Chu Jingyan and the Fourth Prince did not attend court. The news of the Emperor vomiting blood came a little late; the first to arrive were the letters from the ministers.

Both of them were completely bewildered when they received the post, but their intuition told them that something bad might have happened...

……

Chunhe handed Gu Linglong to Douzhu, who then rolled up her sleeves and angrily kicked the rooster: "I'll kick you to death! How dare you pounce on the young lady! I'll skin you alive and whip you to death!"

Not satisfied with just one kick, she kicked it several more times, expecting the rooster to retaliate. She was prepared to fight, but the rooster didn't budge at all.

"Huh, did I kick this chicken and make it stupid? Wasn't it flying quite well just now?"

The servants rushed over and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the rooster lying quietly on the ground. They quickly grabbed the rooster and said, "I'm sorry, young master, the poultry in the manor have been very restless today for some reason."

Gu Yu'an nodded, showing no sign of blame: "Catch him, kill him, and make soup."

"Yes, Young Master."

The servants quickly took the chicken away, but fortunately the eldest son was understanding and did not blame them or deduct their pay.

"See? I told you not to run, but you insisted on running anyway. Now you're going to be stewed!"

Chunhe breathed a sigh of relief and quickly checked Gu Linglong to see if she was injured. Fortunately, she only had a slight blush.

He hurriedly went inside to find the ointment.

Are the poultry restless?

After listening to what the servants said, Gu Linglong looked at the sky again.

No wonder this rooster dared to offend her; it probably flew unconsciously into her arms due to the influence of the Earth's magnetic field, thinking that Gu Linglong could protect it.

Hehe, you're wrong, aren't you? You'll die even faster now!

No wonder the poultry are restless, the chickens won't return to their coops, the swallows are flying low, and the clouds on the horizon are increasing; rain is sure to come within three days—heavy rain, torrential rain.

I wonder how Lin Xiaoxiao's harvest is going. I hope it can withstand this heavy rain and doesn't sprout, hahaha!

Gu Yu'an lowered his eyes and pondered. It would rain in three days, so let's go for something big!

Gu Yu'an went to his study and wrote a letter to Chu Jingyan, which he then had his servant deliver.

At dinner time.

Gu Yu'an drank several bowls of chicken soup and ate half a chicken, gritting his teeth as he ate.

You dare bully my sister? I'll eat you up!

"Was the chicken soup well made today? I've had so many bowls."

Su Xiuran also served herself a bowl.

Chunhe covered her mouth and laughed, "Madam, this is the eldest young master avenging the young lady."

"Revenge? Revenge for what?"

"Today, for some reason, the chicken suddenly flew onto Miss. No matter how hard she tried to shoo it away, it wouldn't get off. Finally, Miss screamed in fright, and only then did the chicken fly away."

Su Xiuran's hand tightened: "Miss, are you injured?"

"Don't worry, Madam. Miss's skin is delicate; it's just a little red. I've already applied mugwort ointment."

Su Xiuran was relieved and turned to serve herself a bowl of chicken soup with broth and meat.

Gu Liyao also disliked the chicken, and piled the bowl full of it.

Gu Ziming also asked Chunhe to fill his bowl to the brim. He ate until he was burping, but he kept eating. "Dare to bully my sister? I'll show you all of this in my mouth!"

And just like that, the whole chicken, soup and all, was devoured by the family, leaving not even a single side dish.