Exile at the start? The princess is no ordinary woman.

"yes,"

Gu Nanzhi suddenly realized that if one doesn't engage in such deceitful activities for a long time, one's brain will become rusty.

"As Huaiqing said, someone as capable as me is certainly worth trying to secure at this crucial moment,"

"Now that the Crown Prince has shown up today, will there be others following him?"

Gu Nanzhi was somewhat looking forward to it.

She was looking forward to it, but Jun Yanchen was worried. He didn't want her to get involved in those dangers; if someone else took a liking to her, she would inevitably be in danger.

If she can't have it, she'll want to make sure no one else can have it either. In that case, Gu Nanzhi will be in danger.

However, Jun Yanchen also knew that once his darling had made up her mind, she would not back down. She was not afraid of those dangers and was determined to face them with him.

Jun Yanchen held Gu Nanzhi's hand and played with it, gently kneading it. If there weren't other people around, he would have loved to kiss his precious hand.

Gu Nanzhi understood the meaning behind his small gesture, and held his hand in return to comfort him.

"Oh, right, putting aside His Highness the Crown Prince, what was that person's explanation about the hunting grounds outside the capital?"

Yes, news has spread from the palace that Jun Yanchen and Gu Nanzhi are to attend a banquet at the palace on the Empress Dowager's birthday, and that they will also be going to a hunting ground in the outskirts of the capital the following day...

Jun Yanchen knew that Gu Nanzhi didn't quite understand these things, so he patiently explained them to her.

"It means exactly what it says: on the second day of the birthday banquet, the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and others will travel light, accompanied by officials, to the hunting grounds outside the capital for a hunt."

This arrangement had not been seen before; hunting trips were usually scheduled on separate days. Perhaps the choice of the day after the Empress Dowager's birthday was due to the presence of foreign envoys.

The envoy's visit also carries the intention of establishing a marriage alliance...

With Jun Yanchen's explanation, Gu Nanzhi understood.

Perhaps this was also to entertain the envoys, or to show them something from another angle...

But is there another possibility? That this move would also make it easier for those who want to cause trouble to do so?

Once you arrive at the hunting grounds, it's nothing like the imperial palace or the capital city. In terms of security, it's all too easy to be negligent.

"Huaiqing, who suggested this kind of arrangement of hunting at the hunting grounds at this time? Isn't this giving others an opportunity?"

Jun Yanchen knew that his darling was always this clever.

"Hmm, perhaps we are also one of the prey in this hunt."

That's what he said, but there wasn't a trace of worry in Jun Yanchen's eyes.

As for Gu Nanzhi, she felt even less worried; in fact, she was even slightly excited.

The royal hunting grounds! She'd never seen anything like it before. This was a great opportunity.

As for the hidden dangers, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Let's see who the prey and the hunter are then.

"Huaiqing, what's been happening among those princes these past few days? Who's fighting whom? And who's the mantis unaware of the oriole?"

With such a great opportunity, let alone those who see them as prey, even the prey themselves would seize the chance to become the predator.

Given such a good opportunity, if others make a move, they will seize the opportunity to fuel the flames and intensify the struggle between those princes.

It would be best to fight to the death, and those who have ties with the envoy should be dealt with directly and brought to light.

Under the guidance of Jun Yanchen's people, the matter from four years ago was finally brought up.

If one or two fall from power, we'll give them a final push and allow the Qi family to return to the capital.

Gu Nanzhi felt very excited as she thought about it.

This is such a great opportunity, it's wonderful, it's a timely help in our time of need.

They initially thought that it would be even more difficult to act within the imperial city and palace, since they were currently powerless and without influence.

But since they actually set up such a great platform for us, we really have to do something about it.

Jun Yanchen could easily see the sparkle in Gu Nanzhi's eyes, and couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair.

"It seems that both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have their own agendas. They're bound to do something with such a good opportunity, but we don't know the specifics."

As for the Third Prince, nothing seems clear. He's a military general, simple-minded, but he does have a clever patron behind him.

If they're clever enough, they too can become the unsung heroes, since whoever falls first, whether it's the Crown Prince or the Second Prince, will have one less competitor...

Gu Nanzhi strongly agreed with this point.

"Yes, the Third Prince is indeed... well, you know, regardless of whether he was pulling the strings behind the scenes or not, as long as he behaves himself..."

He'll be the ultimate winner then, since our target is the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. In that sense, we're helping him out; he's really getting off easy."

"Um,"

Undeniably, the Third Prince ultimately benefited from this situation.

"Alright, Huaiqing, then have someone keep a close eye on things these next two days, and we'll act accordingly."

"Okay, don't worry, I'll arrange it."

"Yes, yes, I believe you. Our Huaiqing is the best. Don't let our apparent lack of power and influence fool you; it's just that our Huaiqing is such a good person."

Even if I fall on hard times, I still have so many outstanding people following me; I have plenty of capable people at my disposal…

Gu Nanzhi's praise was genuine; after all, who had ever seen a down-on-their-luck person still have so many trustworthy people at their beck and call?

We have money and manpower.

Are you sure this is a downfall, or a retreat to the background?

Tsk tsk tsk, Gu Nanzhi really has good taste! She picked such an outstanding guy right away, and he's so good-looking too...

Gu Nanzhi's praise pleased Jun Yanchen greatly.

However, the sidelined figure, who was being ignored, was speechless.

"Hey, you two, can you tone it down a bit? Can't you see me standing here?"

It seems they were truly being ignored; the couple were exchanging words here, and even without saying a word, they understood each other perfectly.

If Bian Chen remained silent and didn't interrupt, he would be easily overlooked.

If Bian Chen knew what they were thinking, he would be furious.

Was he not making a sound?

How could anyone else possibly get a word in edgewise? They sound like they're discussing serious business, but it looks like they're flirting.

They were clearly discussing an action plan, but people thought they were talking about their honeymoon trip...

It's impossible to get involved...

This is absolutely intolerable...

This is a bit awkward; we really overlooked that.

But Gu Nanzhi is no ordinary person.

"No, there's nothing we can do. Huaiqing is just too good-looking. Besides, we weren't doing anything wrong. We were talking about serious matters. Why didn't you say anything?"