Peerless Physician: The Path of a Foolish Eldest Daughter's Rise to Power

On the fifth day, the first court session after New Year's Day was held. After the court session ended, Emperor Yongfeng had just arrived at the Imperial Study when Chu Yize handed him a memorial. The more Emperor Yongfeng read it, the more his brows furrowed.

Unexpectedly, right under his nose, someone was using a woman to bribe his officials. Was this a covetous attempt to seize his throne? The person capable of such a thing was far too powerful, and the one who could possibly obtain imperial power was either a powerful minister or a prince.

Emperor Yongfeng pondered carefully whether it was the Crown Prince's faction, the Fourth Prince's faction, or a new faction.

Chu Yize and Dong Ji, the Minister of Justice, waited quietly.

On the second day of the month, Chu Yize reported the matter to the Emperor. After careful consideration, the Emperor instructed Dong Ji, the Minister of Justice, to assist the Third Prince in a secret investigation, without alerting the suspects. The Minister of Justice never formed cliques or engaged in favoritism, and Emperor Yongfeng trusted him.

"What do you think about this?"

"Father, are there any spies from other countries here?"

"Investigate thoroughly. You need to finalize the list of personnel involved in the case from the relevant departments. Minister Dong, please take good care of this. The Third Prince is often away from the capital and is not aware of the situation there."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Dong Ji hadn't expected the Emperor to value the Third Prince so much. The Third Prince was very knowledgeable about the situation in the capital, and in his opinion, his abilities were no less than those of the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince.

At the Marquis of Changning's residence, the sixth day of the month was Gu Xinyue's coming-of-age ceremony. Although there was no formal ceremony, the two maternal aunts from the Yang family, as well as her cousins, all came. Madam Zhu, having recovered from her illness, organized a banquet, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Gu Xinyue was very happy to receive gifts from her elders and the Prince Yi's mansion today. She felt that she could live a carefree life even if she just lay down.

Back at Lingmeng Pavilion, Yang Mujin arrived. Xia He looked worried; the arrival of this young master would ruin her young lady's reputation. Even if they were cousins, it wouldn't work—he was still an outsider. At this moment, she had long forgotten that she came from the Yang family; she only focused on her duty as Gu Xinyue's maid.

Chuntao whispered, "Madam has long planned to betroth Miss to the eldest son, and she may finalize the matter today."

Xia He was astonished. Did Miss like the eldest young master? What about the third prince? She wondered who was more powerful. Since Madam had this plan, she would just do her duty.

Xia He looked at the box Ling Qi had given her, which she was told to give to her mistress. She guessed it was a coming-of-age gift from the Third Prince to her mistress, so she had no choice but to put it away for now.

In the flower hall, a maid served tea. The eldest young master looked at her without saying a word, so serious, as if he had something to say.

"You may all leave," Gu Xinyue told the maids to go out and keep watch.

Yang Mujin took out a medical book and gave it to Gu Xinyue, saying, "This is your coming-of-age gift."

Gu Xinyue glanced at it and saw that it was a thoughtful gift, containing case analysis and insights, which was exactly what she needed, so she was delighted.

"Thank you, cousin. Didn't you bring me a gift?"

“That was prepared by my mother.”

"Alright then, I'll take both."

"Xinyue." Yang Mujin looked at Gu Xinyue's happy face. Gu Xinyue always acted like a child in front of him. Then he slowly said, "Did you tell Grandma that you like me?"

"Grandma asked me, and I told her I like you." Seeing Yang Mujin's worried expression, Gu Xinyue asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? You're my cousin, can't I like you?"

Suddenly, Gu Xinyue understood. It was all a misunderstanding. She chuckled and saw Yang Mujin's brows furrow even more. She really wanted to tease Yang Mujin; he was always so elegant and composed, and this was the first time she had seen him looking so preoccupied.

But she didn't want to tease Yang Mujin anymore, nor did she want to cause any misunderstandings with him. She wanted to make things clear with him because she felt like she had an older brother, and Yang Mujin was a very good one.

"You know I don't have a brother. I went back to Beijing when I was four and really liked Gu Hao. I felt like I had a brother. But my aunt wouldn't let him play with me, and our relationship soured. Then I became mentally challenged when I was six, but you were still very good to me. So even though you're my cousin, I've always considered you my own brother, even though you're not. I often lie to myself, comforting myself that you are my brother." Gu Xinyue's eyes were brimming with tears, but she didn't shed a single one. Chu Yize looked at his cousin like this, and his heart clenched tightly. Gu Xinyue continued, "You don't understand. When we played together as children, Gu Hao always stood up for Gu Xinyao. Back then, I longed so much for a brother. Let's not talk about that anymore. You can't understand that feeling?"

As Gu Xinyue spoke, her smile remained, but her brows furrowed slightly, and a deep sadness welled up within her.

Yang Mujin hadn't realized how much his brother meant to Gu Xinyue. He felt sorry for her, and at that moment he made up his mind that he would always be Gu Xinyue's brother, and he would protect his sister.

"Xinyue, I'm sorry, I made you unhappy."

"Tell me who you love, and I won't hold it against you."

Yang Mujin's face turned slightly red; she was shy, haha. Gu Xinyue was overjoyed, but said with a straight face, "Could it be Princess Jiayang?"

“No.” Yang Mujin regained her composure and said gently and elegantly, “The Yang family has a clan rule against marriage alliances with the royal family.”

"It's good that it's not her. I don't get along with her, and I don't want her to marry you. She's not good enough for you." Gu Xinyue said cheerfully, "Why does the Yang family have such a family rule?"

"More than 200 years ago, the ancestors of the Yang family were forced to participate in the struggle for imperial power. That participation caused the Yang family's foundation to be greatly damaged. After that, the Yang family established a clan rule that they would not marry into the royal family, and men were not allowed to take concubines, nor were married women allowed to take concubines."

So that's why. Many girls admire my older cousin, and that must be a major reason.

"Does your future sister-in-law also like you?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask at the time?"

"You don't not know who she is or where she is now, do you?"

“I didn’t think much about it at the time, but when my mother brought up my marriage, I realized how much I cared about her.”

"I pray that you two lovers will be united in marriage, and I also hope that the gods in heaven will help you fulfill your wish."

“Xin Yue, I apologize for this misunderstanding. You are very outstanding. If I hadn’t met her before, this marriage would not have been possible. The current emperor would have obstructed the marriage. The wife I marry cannot be the daughter of a military general, nor can she be a woman from a high-ranking family.”

"I understand, and the person I love isn't you. Let's just be brother and sister."

"Alright, I'll explain it to my mother later. But who do you love? It's not Prince Yu, is it?"

"No, don't talk nonsense."

Yang Mujin stopped talking and looked at Gu Xinyue with a smile.

"I'll tell you once I'm sure of my feelings."

Back in the inner room, Xia He handed a box to Gu Xinyue, "Miss, Ling Qi said that it must be delivered to you."

When Gu Xinyue opened it, she found a set of scalpels made according to the blueprints she had given to the blacksmith. She thought the blacksmith's knives were already very good, but she didn't expect this one to be even more exquisite.

Gu Xinyue carefully examined the set of scalpels, unable to put them down. She could feel Chu Yize's thoughtfulness; he had gotten the blueprints from the blacksmith's shop, and she had accepted his gift. This set of scalpels was undoubtedly a precious gift; she could now perform surgery.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the door. Xia He went to investigate and returned to report that the madam and her two aunts had arrived.

Gu Xinyue thought to herself, "My cousin is really quick. He's already explained things to my aunt." She quickly told Xia He to put the scalpel away, then straightened her clothes and left the room.