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

Qingyanzi chuckled evilly: "Nothing is impossible. Wen Gu is dead, and now another guard from Prince Su's mansion has died. Su Li, you have two lives on your hands. Do you think they will still tolerate you? You should know that Wen Gu held a very high position in the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion."

Su Li's expression changed drastically. Her gaze swept over the corpse on the ground, and she immediately realized that Wen Gu, like the dead guard, had been killed by Qing Yanzi and then framed.

Wen Gu.

That woman, who rarely smiled and always had a serious face, was certainly not likable at first glance.

He always liked to stare at her with a scrutinizing, probing, and guarded gaze.

But later, her food, clothing, housing and transportation were all taken care of by Aunt Wen.

Aunt Wen always quietly took care of everything for her, so she didn't have to worry about anything. For example, if she coughed casually, stewed pear water would be served to her the next day.

She knew that Aunt Wen had already accepted her.

But because of her, Aunt Wen is gone.

Su Li glared angrily at Qing Yanzi.

Qingyanzi laughed, stepped forward, lifted Su Li's chin, and forced her to look him in the eye.

"You little beast, you've finally shown your claws to your master. I really thought your claws had been smoothed out, I knew you weren't so obedient. Even if you're angry, it's useless. This time it was a servant who died. If you don't obey, next time it might be Gu Junxi and Ning Hanshuang who die."

"Alright, don't argue with your master. Gu Yuanbai is dead, so you don't need to go back to the Ningyuan Marquis's residence for now. For the time being, just follow your master."

After saying that, Qingyanzi released Suli and took out half of the mask from his bosom and threw it into Suli's arms.

Su Li glanced at the silver mask, but ultimately put it on.

Once a mask is on, it becomes very difficult to tell who is actually behind it.

Qingyanzi turned around, and Suli followed behind with her head down. A gust of wind blew, lifting the hem of the body lying on the ground before it fell back down. A vibrant life had been silently lost.

Once back on the street, they encountered many people from the Prince Su's Mansion, the Marquis of Ningyuan's Mansion, and the Crown Prince's Mansion. They were searching for Su Li all over the street, but when they walked right past her, they didn't recognize her at all.

Most people recognized Qingyanzi's identity and bowed to him, while they only glanced at Su Li before looking away, assuming that Su Li was just a maidservant of Qingyanzi.

After finishing their business, Gu Junxi and Mu Lingye finally had time to return to the Crown Prince's residence.

Upon returning to the manor, Mu Lingye immediately sought out the imperial physician for Gu Junxi.

Gu Junxi took Mu Lingye's hand and placed it on her stomach.

Mu Lingye turned around and looked at Gu Junxi with a puzzled expression.

The arrival of the child brought with it the death of Aunt Wen. Gu Junxi's cheeks flushed red as she blinked at Mu Lingye: "Don't you understand? I'm not vomiting because I'm feeling unwell, it's because I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant? You mean, you're pregnant with our child?" Mu Lingye went from being slow to surprised, slowly processing the meaning behind Gu Junxi's words.

"Yes, exactly one month, and her pulse is fine." Gu Junxi nodded. When the Sixth Prince's residence suspected she was pregnant, she had already secretly taken her pulse in her spare time.

"That's great, I'm going to be a father!" Upon receiving confirmation, Mu Lingye placed his hands on Gu Junxi's waist, lifted her high up, and spun her around twice before stopping.

He embraced Gu Junxi's slender waist and gratefully kissed her forehead: "Thank you, Axi, for giving this world someone who is connected to me by blood again."

"You're welcome. I'll have many more children in the future, so you won't be alone anymore," Gu Junxi replied. She had children because she genuinely loved them.

"Okay." Mu Lingye readily agreed, unable to contain his excitement and joy. He immediately ordered that tonics be prepared for Gu Junxi. He also instructed everyone in the manor to be careful and not to offend the Crown Princess.

Watching Mu Lingye busy himself for her, Gu Junxi felt her fatigue subside somewhat. She lay down on the soft couch and fell asleep without realizing it, waking up in the middle of the night.

"Your Highness, you're awake." Xi'er hurried over when she saw Gu Junxi open her eyes.

"Where is His Highness!" Gu Junxi asked as she got up and put on her shoes, not seeing Mu Lingye in the room.

Xi'er squatted down and helped Gu Junxi put on her shoes, replying, "Someone from the palace came and took His Highness away. Before he left, His Highness told me to tell you not to worry. He said he was dealing with... Lord Gu's matter."

Since Gu Yuanbai died like that, Emperor Sheng would naturally have to take notice.

After leaving the Sixth Prince's residence, Mu Lingye, as the Crown Prince, should have immediately gone to the palace to report. However, because he was thinking about Wen Gu and Ning Hanshuang's matter, he insisted on staying with Gu Junxi, which delayed until now.

Gu Junxi nodded and then asked about Murong Yuan.

Xi'er said, "Young Master Murong has not returned since he left the manor this morning."

That means there's no news about Su Li.

She had clearly instructed Murong Yuan to send someone to wait not far from the Sixth Prince's residence, but they still hadn't received Su Li by this hour. Could it be that Su Li hadn't found a chance to leave the Sixth Prince's residence yet?

Or perhaps, the people behind Su Li had already gotten there before they could and taken her away.

Gu Junxi frowned, no longer sleepy, and waited until Mu Lingye returned, but Murong Yuan still hadn't come back.

After Mu Lingye returned, he talked about his audience with the emperor at the palace.

"Father was furious about Gu Yuanbai's treachery back then. He ordered that Gu Yuanbai's body be tied up and displayed in the West Street market for three days, and that no one be allowed to collect his body. The entire Gu family was exiled three thousand miles away. Gu's descendants are never to enter the capital again."

Mu Lingye held Gu Junxi's hand, observed Gu Junxi's expression, and whispered.

He knew that Gu Junxi hated Gu Yuanbai and had long since severed ties with the Gu family.

But family is Gu Junxi's root.

Now that Gu Yuanbai is going to be publicly displayed after his death, and the entire Gu family is going to be exiled, Gu Junxi will probably feel uncomfortable hearing this.

Gu Junxi was indeed somewhat moved. Her feelings for the Gu family had long since faded, but she still felt like a heavy stone was pressing on her heart, making it hard to breathe. Love is a very complicated and difficult thing to say.

Gu Junxi paused for a moment before asking, "What about Su Li? What did the Emperor say about Su Li?"

"Originally, they were to be exiled together, but my mother pleaded with my father. Knowing that he had failed my maternal grandfather's family, who were all loyal and righteous, my father spared Su Li from exile and allowed my mother to include Su Li in the Ning family genealogy."

Since Su Li's return, her name has not been included in either the Gu family genealogy or the Ning family genealogy.

Originally, the dispute arose because Gu Yuanbai refused to back down and Ning Hanshuang refused to compromise. The argument raged on, and the matter remained unresolved. Now, however, Su Li has been granted a reprieve from exile. This way, she won't have to worry about public criticism.

There's still no news about Su Li.

Gu Junxi let out a long sigh as she thought about all these messy things.

A night passed, and there was still no news from Su Li.

The next morning, there was still no news from Su Li, and Murong Yuan returned dejectedly.

Meanwhile, at the Gu residence, the imperial decree ordering the confiscation of the family property and exile also arrived.

All men and women were imprisoned and awaited departure in three days to be taken to their place of exile.

During the raid and imprisonment, the officers roughly pushed Gu Konghao off his wheelchair. Gu Lichuan was helped up but was also pushed to the ground, his head hitting the bluestone slab hard, leaving blood everywhere.