After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Lu Zhiyuan had never heard of him, because this great-uncle had never been listed in the imperial genealogy; he was the son of the late emperor and a court lady.

"臣妇" means the wife of a subject.

This royal secret was known to only a few people, and Gu An's father was one of them.

A banquet was held in the palace, attended by officials and their wives. As the wine flowed freely and the atmosphere became lively, someone suggested admiring the flowers under the moon. The emperor, pleased with the suggestion, agreed. Thus, an extremely rare scene unfolded in the palace—officials and their families entered the inner palace.

The late emperor had few concubines and even fewer children, leaving most of the palaces empty. A gust of wind blew, and the effects of the alcohol kicked in, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He randomly pointed to a palace and went inside to rest.

As it happened, Gu An's father was with the late emperor, and together with the late emperor's personal eunuch, they helped him into the palace. The late emperor was unable to hold his liquor and had a splitting headache. Since the eunuch could not leave, he asked Gu An's father to find him an imperial physician.

Gu An's father dared not delay. He went out and exchanged a few words with Madam Gu, who was waiting outside the palace, before heading to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

The Imperial Medical Bureau was an institution located in the palace, with several imperial physicians taking turns on duty each day.

When Gu An's father returned with the imperial physician, the palace gates were tightly closed, and two guards were standing at the entrance. Upon learning that the physician was summoned for the Emperor, the guards stopped Gu An at the door but allowed the physician to enter.

About fifteen minutes later, the eunuch who had served the late emperor came out. He had a furrowed brow and a gloomy expression. He first thanked Gu An's father, and then told him to take his wife away quickly.

Gu An's father wasn't a particularly curious person, especially when it came to palace matters. He believed that knowing less was better than knowing more, and that feigning ignorance was better than truly understanding. He didn't ask any questions, nor did he even glance at the palace, and left with his wife.

More than half a year later, he ran into the imperial physician from that time on the street and they agreed to go to a tavern for drinks. After a few cups of wine, the physician, who had been poisoned, recounted that someone had broken into the palace that night and, in a daze, had consummated their marriage with the emperor, and that the woman was now pregnant. He had just come from that woman's place.

The imperial physician also said that, judging from the pulse, the lady was carrying a boy. If the emperor had no other children, that child would most likely be the future crown prince.

Gu An's father was completely confused and couldn't help but ask, "Madam?"

The imperial physician shook his head, swirling the wine cup in his hand, and said in a low voice, "Madam, the Emperor has favored my newlywed wife."

Gu An's father looked surprised and quickly signaled to the imperial physician not to continue.

The imperial physician didn't mention the official's wife, nor did Gu An's father, but Gu An had some guesses. The year the incident occurred, a newly appointed top scholar in the imperial examinations had not yet been assigned an official position when he entered the palace for a banquet.

Before being appointed to an official position, the top scholar was a rising star; once appointed, he was no different from an ordinary official.

The top scholar had a wife he had married less than half a month prior. She came from an excellent family, a true noblewoman. That evening, the scholar and his wife went to the banquet together. While the other officials and their wives were together, the scholar was surrounded by those who hadn't brought their wives, exchanging pleasantries and pleasantries. His wife, alone, followed behind the other wives.

Not long after the incident in the palace, the top scholar divorced his wife, citing her delicate nature and unwillingness to accompany him to the remote wilderness. His family, feeling ashamed, settled her in a rural estate and never heard from her again.

Gu An had investigated and found that the lady died shortly after giving birth, publicly citing a difficult childbirth. The child was taken to the palace by a wet nurse and raised with the reigning emperor. Internally, it was said that the child was born to a concubine in the palace; no further information was given to the outside world.

The late emperor probably intended to register him in the imperial genealogy, but for some reason he wasn't. Thinking about it, it must be related to the Empress Dowager. The late emperor doted on her and listened to her every word. The Empress Dowager had her own children and certainly didn't want any other children vying for the throne with hers.

Although the child was not recorded in the imperial genealogy, he grew up with the emperor and they had a very close relationship, but outsiders rarely knew about it.

The imperial physician, like the lady, died shortly after the child's birth—an accidental death.

His family, like that of the top scholar, lived far from the capital.

Lu Zhiyuan smiled faintly: "The imperial genealogy is equivalent to the family tree of ordinary people. Not being included in the genealogy does not mean that a person does not exist, nor does it mean that others do not know of his existence. For example, as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Pingnan, I have not been included in the Marquis's genealogy, but everyone in the capital knows of my existence. This Grand Uncle has kept it a bit too secretive."

“It’s different!” Gu An said, “I’ve heard about the Crown Princess’s situation. The Crown Princess’s situation is very different from that of the Grand Uncle. The Crown Princess’s mother, General Xie Chaoyun, was the Marquis’s lawfully wedded wife, and the Crown Princess is also the legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s family. When the Crown Princess was born, it can’t be said that the whole court congratulated her, but at least most of the officials in the court sent congratulatory gifts. The matter of the family genealogy was handled privately by the Lu family. In the eyes of us outsiders, you are on the family genealogy and are a legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s family. Even when you were recuperating in the villa, we believed that you were a legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s family recuperating in the villa and it was inconvenient for you to go out and receive guests.”

Gu An paused for a moment: "Outsiders may not know what the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Pingnan looks like, but they know she is the daughter of Xie Chaoyun, the eldest daughter of the Xie family. I have a slightly sordid guess. Marquis Lu favors his concubine over his wife, and the daughter he has with his mistress is about the same age as the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess is frail, and it was once said that you would not live to adulthood. The Lu family secretly switched the identities, registering the mistress as the eldest daughter of the Lu family in the family genealogy. Once the Crown Princess passes away, he will let that mistress openly take your place as the Crown Princess."

Having been away from the capital for a long time, Gu An had guessed the Lu family's affairs with remarkable accuracy.

"The Crown Princess's illness is congenital, and there are similar cases in my clan. With proper care, living to her full life is not a problem. There are clearly better doctors, better medicines, and better food in the city. Yet the Lu family is doing the opposite, not allowing the Crown Princess to recuperate in the Marquis's residence, but instead sending her to a villa outside the city. Not only that, the Lu family also forbids General Xie from visiting her, and forbids the three young masters of the Xie family from visiting her. This is strange no matter how you look at it. After thinking about it, there is only one explanation: the Lu family does not want the Crown Princess to live long, and does not want outsiders to know what the Crown Princess looks like."

Lu Zhiyuan nodded and said calmly, "General Gu said that the Grand Uncle and the current Emperor grew up together. There are many people and eyes in the palace, how could there not be any news leaked out?"

Gu An touched his nose: "Is it possible that, although the Grand Uncle grew up with His Majesty, his movements in the palace were restricted?"

It's possible, after all, he's just an illegitimate child.

Gu An added, “The Grand Uncle left the capital at the age of seventeen, and he handled many foreign affairs on the border of Beiliang. You may not know the Grand Uncle, but you must have heard of the Marquis of Yongchang.”

Marquis Yongchang was the most mysterious and legendary marquis in the royal family.