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

Gu Juntang's eyes were closed, his head drooped, and his hands hung vertically downwards.

Gu Juntang is truly dead; he died by his own hand.

Mu Lingxuan's anger gradually subsided after Gu Juntang's death.

He released his grip on Gu Juntang's neck.

Gu Juntang's body collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud.

Mu Lingxuan glanced indifferently at Gu Juntang's corpse, then looked at his own hands.

My palms are clean, but they're covered in human blood, and I can't wash them clean no matter what I do.

"Waaaaah... Waaah..."

The sound of a child crying suddenly rang out in the room, waking Mu Lingxuan from his own emotional reverie. His blank gaze slowly moved and landed on the child.

Mu Lingxuan thought this was his first child and he really cared for the child, so the child really liked him.

When his eyes met the child's, the child naturally reached out his hands and called out in a childish voice, "Hug...hug..."

I used to find it cute when my child was babbling, but today I find it particularly annoying.

He wanted this child, who had proven him stupid, to disappear as soon as possible.

A fierce killing intent flashed in Mu Lingxuan's eyes. He shoved the child's outstretched hands away and suddenly grabbed the child's neck tightly.

"Wow……"

The child was so frightened that his limbs trembled and his cries grew louder.

Hearing the baby crying, the wet nurse who was guarding outside could no longer control herself and rushed in.

Upon seeing this scene, the wet nurse was so frightened that she knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, please calm down. The young master is still young and doesn't understand anything. He certainly didn't mean to upset you."

Even the smallest body carries the blood of a wild man.

Mu Lingxuan's killing intent remained undiminished. He ignored the wet nurse, changed his grip from pinching to throwing, and lifted the child high, ready to slam him to the ground.

The child slipped from my hand and was about to fall to the ground.

Suddenly a figure entered from outside and steadily held the child in their arms.

"Xixi, you're here. Are you willing to give me another chance?"

When Mu Lingxuan saw Gu Junxi, his attention shifted from the child, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

Gu Junxi glanced at Gu Juntang, who was completely lifeless on the ground, and handed the child in her arms to the wet nurse, signaling the wet nurse to take the child out first.

The wet nurse took the crying, heart-wrenching child and tossed him around. She carefully glanced at Mu Lingxuan first, and seeing that Mu Lingxuan did not object, she turned around, picked up the child, and quickly left the room.

The room was now empty except for the dead Gu Juntang, Gu Junxi, and Mu Lingxuan.

Gu Junxi did not answer Ying Mulingxuan's question, but calmly analyzed the situation.

"If I'm not mistaken, Gu Juntang's biological father should be Qingyanzi. Because the Gu worms you used to control me and Mu Lingye were obtained from Zuo Chengfeng. And the Gu worms in Zuo Chengfeng's possession were given to Zhao Shuer by her lover when they caught them in adultery at the Gu residence. And in the entire capital, only Qingyanzi is the most skilled at making Gu worms."

This matter sounds complicated, but it can be clarified with careful analysis.

Seeing Mu Lingxuan frown, Gu Junxi continued, "Qingyanzi promised to help you secure the position of Crown Prince, and even the throne. What he needs is probably to ensure Xiaoyue'er's position. Therefore, supporting Xiaoyue'er's ascension to the throne is Qingyanzi and Wei Ming's ultimate goal."

It's no secret in the capital that Wei Ming is close to Qing Yanzi.

Whenever Qingyanzi forcibly abducted women and committed all sorts of atrocities, if the matter escalated beyond control, in addition to Emperor Sheng's protection, Wei Ming would also unconditionally help suppress it.

Wei Ming was Gu Juntang's godfather in name only, so it wasn't hard to guess.

Just as Mu Lingxuan hurriedly left the courtyard, Gu Junxi heard that Gu Juntang had returned to the mansion, so she followed him.

She had realized that the key to breaking the deadlock might lie with Gu Juntang.

Upon arriving, Gu Junxi saw Mu Lingxuan about to kill the child, and then she saw Gu Juntang lying dead on the ground. Another thought immediately formed in Gu Junxi's mind.

Like mother, like daughter.

Perhaps Gu Juntang, like Zhao Shuer, also cheated on Mu Lingxuan.

Otherwise, why would Mu Lingxuan harm a child?

“Gu Juntang is already dead. This Xiaoyue’er should be the only person related to Qingyanzi by blood. If you kill her, you won’t be able to completely control Qingyanzi. Now that things have come to this, do you still want to collude with Qingyanzi? He is an extremely ambitious person. Be careful not to raise a tiger that will cause you trouble.”

"You... know you've been poisoned by a curse, and it was me who cast it?" Mu Lingxuan grasped the key point.

Gu Junxi no longer hid anything. She nodded, "Yes. I know. Mu Lingxuan, don't make the same mistake again. If you turn back now, there's still a chance."

"So... you've been putting on an act with me all this time?" Mu Lingxuan asked again.

"Yes." Gu Junxi nodded again and stated her bottom line: "Mu Lingxuan, there is really no possibility between us. If you want to control me, you'd better control me for the rest of my life. Otherwise, once I regain my self-awareness, I will find a way to take you down with me."

"So let's put aside our personal grudges for now and form an alliance."

"Let me think about it." Mu Lingxuan neither immediately refused nor immediately agreed.

He no longer wanted to kill Xiaoyue'er, and walked out of the room in a daze, leaving immediately.

After Mu Lingxuan left, Gu Junxi stood beside Gu Juntang's body, looked at it quietly for a moment, and then turned and left.

Gu Juntang is really dead. After so much time, the hatred for Gu Juntang has long since faded, leaving only sighs.

As things have progressed to this point, some things are actually quite clear now.

In the end, Gu Juntang was nothing more than a tool for Qingyanzi and Wei Ming to climb towards their ambitions.

Gu Junxi returned to the small courtyard. For several days, there was no movement from Mu Lingxuan's side, and no news of Gu Juntang's death came from the mansion.

Needless to say, Mu Lingxuan had deliberately given instructions.

Outside, the ceremony for Consort Li's coronation as empress was still being held as scheduled.

Gu Junxi remained calm and composed. Having already spoken frankly with Mu Lingxuan, she simply began to study the antidote for the Gu poison in her room.

After learning that Consort Li was not her biological mother and that Xiao Yue'er was not his child, Gu Junxi believed that as long as Mu Lingxuan wasn't stupid, he would quickly make the decision that was most beneficial to him.

Tomorrow is the ceremony for Consort Li to be crowned Empress.

It was almost midnight, but Gu Junxi was still awake, continuing to research antidotes and cures for the poison.

Just then, Mu Lingxuan, who had disappeared for a few days, showed up at the door.

He sat down opposite Gu Junxi.

After a moment of silence, he spoke: "I agree to form an alliance with you."

“This will be the wisest choice you’ve ever made.” Gu Junxi put down the herbs in her hand.

Mu Lingxuan exhaled a deep breath, his eyes filled with sorrow, as if he had truly let go completely: "Xixi, I owe you from both past and present lives. Perhaps I deserve to be abandoned by everyone now. But I want to make one thing clear: my willingness to ally with you is absolutely not a compromise with Mu Lingye."

"Even now, I still maintain one point: Mu Lingye is not worthy of you. You may not know this, but Leng Xuanjue has followed Mu Lingye out of the capital. Since you know that Mu Lingye is also poisoned by Gu, you should know that Leng Xuanjue can also control Mu Lingye. So many days have passed; perhaps Mu Lingye has already gone to Yan Kingdom with Leng Xuanjue."

"That's impossible!" Gu Junxi was confident enough to believe that even if Mu Lingye was under Leng Xuanjue's control, he could still stick to his original intentions like she did.

I would never do anything that completely goes against my own will.

Gu Junxi's trust in Mu Lingye deeply stung Mu Lingxuan's eyes.

Mu Lingxuan pursed his thin lips: "Alright, then we'll wait and see."

"Tell me, what do you want me to do next?"

Mu Lingxuan closed his eyes briefly and changed the subject.