First annul the engagement, then sever ties with the empress; the empress reigns supreme.

The day after Gu Junxi died, her soul drifted back to the Prime Minister's residence, where a birthday banquet for her twin brother was being held.

Her face was contorted, and her clothes consisted of only a few tattered pieces. She drifted slowly along the covered walkway in the backyard.

As you brush your fingers across the red ribbon tied into a firework display, the black ash instantly fades, and the red ribbon turns bright red once more.

Two maids hurried past carrying utensils, their conversation filled with envy.

"His Highness the Crown Prince and his three sons have given the young master many gifts again this year. They are currently in the young master's courtyard, helping him unwrap the gifts. I heard they are going to go outside the manor later to celebrate with the young master. The young master is so lucky!"

happiness?

Gu Junxi paused, her eyes filled with confusion and bitterness.

In the eyes of her father, brothers, and fiancé, these were merely compensations for Gu Juntang.

Before she turned thirteen, she was unaware of her twin brother's existence.

That day, the father suddenly brought home a boy, saying that twins were unlucky and that the younger brother had been secretly sent to the countryside as soon as he was born.

Now that they have grown up, the master said that the calamity had passed, and only then did the younger brother return.

She was naturally happy that her younger brother was coming back, but she gradually discovered that he didn't like her.

Everything that originally belonged to her was given to her younger brother.

Even the attention and affection of her father, brothers, and fiancé fell on her younger brother.

They all said that her younger brother had suffered for her for thirteen years, and that she owed him, so she had to give in.

From then on, she never received any gifts again, nor did she celebrate her birthday again.

She was puzzled: why couldn't twins celebrate their birthdays together?

The younger brother is male, and she is female. There is no competition or vying for attention between them.

Gu Junxi's emotions were in turmoil, and dark energy swirled around her.

Suddenly, her surroundings changed, and she found herself in a room.

The room was filled with a dazzling array of gifts, and the three older brothers and the fiancé were all there.

They all stared expectantly into the inner room.

A young girl walked out, wearing a pink dress, with an oval face, big eyes, a high nose bridge, full lips, and a small, delicate chin; she was charming and lovely.

"Look at me, isn't it nice? Oh dear, doesn't it look a bit too girly? After all, I always wear men's clothes!"

She lifted the hems of her skirt with both hands, raised her chin, and puffed out her chest, then twirled in front of everyone.

The black aura around Gu Junxi intensified instantly, and her distorted face began to crumble bit by bit.

She rushed towards the delicate and beautiful girl, questioning her with a wounded expression.

"Gu Juntang, aren't you a man? Why are you a woman? How did you become a woman? Why did you lie to me? My brothers and Mu Lingxuan all know, but does Father know?"

Her angry, trembling question went unheard, and her body shattered like water droplets upon impact with Gu Juntang.

She paced anxiously in circles, muttering that she was going to tell her father, but she couldn't escape the room no matter what she did.

She was only able to leave after her brothers told her fiancé that they were going to take Gu Juntang out of the mansion to celebrate and everyone dispersed.

As soon as she left the room, she rushed to find her father, but she couldn't find him anywhere in the entire Prime Minister's mansion.

Just when she was at a loss, for some reason, in the blink of an eye, her soul was floating around beside Gu Juntang again.

Gu Juntang, dressed in women's clothing, left the Prime Minister's residence with his entourage.

She thought Gu Juntang was going to the market to meet his brothers and fiancé, but to her surprise, the carriage stopped in front of a house that was only one alley away from the Prime Minister's residence.

The house wasn't large, but it was exquisitely and beautifully decorated. The garden, rockery, pavilions, and waterside terraces all showed meticulous attention to detail.

Gu Juntang entered the house as if she were in her own home, and the servants greeted her affectionately as "Miss".

The black mist surrounding Gu Junxi increased, and she circled around Gu Juntang, eager to know what Gu Juntang's relationship was with this house.

Gu Juntang is not her twin brother, but he is her twin sister. Why would she buy a house in an alley just across from the mansion?

Gu Junxi's impatience didn't last long; she soon received an answer.

As Gu Juntang walked further in, she saw a sumptuous feast laid out in the courtyard.

A woman of average appearance and gentle demeanor carried a plate of braised fish, lifted her skirt, walked down the steps, and placed the dish on the table.

Following closely behind the woman, a middle-aged man placed two plates of food on the table.

Father!

Gu Junxi recognized the man as her father, whom she had been searching for, and excitedly floated over.

She pointed to the woman next to her father and asked, "Father, who is this woman? Gu Juntang is a woman, don't you know that? You must have been deceived too, right?"

Her father could neither see her nor hear her voice.

Her father's gaze went straight through her, looking kindly at Gu Juntang.

There was no shock in his eyes, only satisfaction.

The father put his arm around the woman's waist, like a loving couple.

"Tangtang, after four years, your father has finally seen you in women's clothing again. You look so beautiful, Shu'er, you look just like you."

Gu Juntang walked forward coquettishly, hugged the woman's arm, and happily leaned his head on her shoulder, smiling sweetly.

"Father, your daughter is your mother's daughter, so of course I'll look like her! But I've also inherited your good qualities!"

Gu Junxi floated in mid-air, her eyes filled with shock, her charred hands clenched tightly into fists.

Gu Juntang called this woman "Mother"!

Gu Juntang is not a man, nor is she a twin; she is the illegitimate daughter of her father and his mistress.

It seems that the father not only knew all along, but also participated in the planning.

Gu Junxi was so angry that her soul trembled, when she heard her father speak again.

"Tangtang, you returned to the Prime Minister's residence as a man for three reasons: first, to protect your mother; second, to make Ning Hanshuang and her daughter lower their guard against you; and third, to approach Prince Xuan as a man and help him become the Crown Prince."

“Now that Prince Xuan has become the Crown Prince, shouldn’t we be planning for your mother to return to the manor and for you to regain your true identity? Your father really doesn’t want to see you continue to suffer in silence to hide your identities.”

Gu Juntang shook his head with great ambition: "Father, now is not the time. Only when Brother Xuan ascends to that position, everything settles down, and there is no longer any danger around me, and I can rightfully ascend to the Phoenix Throne, will it be time to reveal my identity."

"After all, it's more interesting to see things more clearly when they're hidden in the shadows than when they're in the light."

Upon hearing this, the father praised it highly and took the hands of the woman and Gu Juntang on either side.

"Our Tangtang is so smart. Only someone as smart as Tangtang deserves to be the eldest daughter of the Gu family."

"Shu'er, you are the only one who can raise such an outstanding daughter and is worthy of my status as the mistress of the Gu family."

The father actually wanted his mistress and illegitimate daughter to replace her and her mother.

This illegitimate daughter even wanted to replace her fiancé and seize the position of empress; she was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Gu Junxi's floating soul trembled; she was determined to uncover the conspiracy between her father and this mistress and her daughter.

correct.

Her brothers and fiancé must only know that Gu Juntang is a woman, and they certainly don't know that Gu Juntang is the daughter of her father and his mistress.

If I had known earlier, I definitely wouldn't have tolerated it.

After all, she and her brothers were born of the same mother. Her mother had even saved her fiancé's life.

Gu Junxi felt like she had found a lifeline, and her soul floated towards the gate of the mansion.

Before she even reached the garden entrance, she could see her three older brothers and their fiancés arriving together.

The father, Gu Juntang, and the woman received them in a very generous manner.

The father and the woman made no attempt to hide their affection from their brothers and fiancé, behaving intimately and lovingly.

Surprisingly, his brothers and fiancé showed no displeasure; instead, they smiled and praised their father for being a good match for the woman. They blamed their mother for being strict and cold-hearted, and offered to resign to make way for the woman.

They were all getting along like a family, and during their conversation, someone finally remembered that they hadn't seen her all day.

She thought they would send someone to look for her, or at least be a little worried, but instead she was met with impatience.

“She’s always been willful. She’s definitely hiding on purpose to make us worry. Every year we throw Tangtang a birthday banquet, and every time she throws a tantrum, she acts unreasonably. We’ve spoiled her rotten. Once she’s had enough, she’ll naturally show up.”

Gu Juntang, understanding her situation, spoke up for her: "My sister is cunning and sometimes likes to play hard to get. However, it's all because she cares about you all, so you shouldn't hold it against her..."

One of the older brothers, feeling sorry for Gu Juntang, chimed in, "Silly Tangtang, she always targets you, and you still plead for her? If she likes to play games, let her play. Let's see what other tricks she can pull. Let's all ignore her."

This statement was unanimously agreed upon, and no one wanted to mention her again, as if she were something dirty.

They continued to raise their glasses and sing joyfully.

No one knew that the woman they were talking about, who was being unreasonable and deliberately hiding, was dead!

She wasn't playing.