The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

Faced with Xiao Ling's plea for help, Xiao Ji walked past her expressionlessly.

They didn't even spare her a glance.

Xiao Ling looked at Xiao Ji in despair, tears welling up in her eyes.

Shuhua Palace, side hall.

This is Consort Xin's palace. Gu Mengxue was granted the title of Noble Lady and the honorary name Wan upon entering the palace.

At the time, she was riding high, and everyone thought she would soar to great heights.

As a result, she has not given birth to any children to this day. On the contrary, Consort Xin, who entered the palace with her, gave birth to a daughter, and she is still a Noble Lady.

The two were then assigned to the same courtyard.

Consort Xin lives in the main hall, while she lives in the east side hall. The west side hall is currently empty.

The two were usually at odds, neither able to tolerate the other.

They both wanted to outdo each other.

Today is the day for female relatives to visit the palace, and they are all secretly vying to outshine each other.

The Zhou family arrived with a large number of gifts, filling more than a dozen boxes.

Consort Wan finally showed a happy expression and welcomed Lady Zhou into the palace.

Although Zhou was her mother, she paid her respects to Consort Wan with great ceremony before sitting down.

"Mother, is everything alright at home?" The palace was lonely and full of intrigue. Gu Mengxue couldn't hold her head up in the palace and missed the days in the Marquis's mansion very much.

He had no one to confide in about his suffering, but seeing Zhou Shi made him feel a sense of closeness.

With a smile on her face, Madam Zhou said softly, "Good, good, everything is fine. The old Marquis instructed me to tell you to serve the Emperor quietly in the palace and not to worry about home."

Gu Mengxue smiled bitterly upon hearing this. When she entered the palace, the Marquis's mansion had spent a lot of money to support her.

In the end, she didn't even have a child and remained just a noblewoman.

Those who entered the palace with her either gave birth to daughters or enjoyed constant favor from the emperor.

However, very few of them gave birth to princes. Gu Mengxue was anxious to have a son, but she didn't know that the emperor's favor was fleeting.

It's common for emperors to be fickle; he only favored her for less than half a month before losing interest and never visiting her again.

Naturally, the Marquis's support ceased.

These people in the palace are all opportunistic; they all changed their tune when they saw she was out of favor.

Even her allowance was withheld.

Gu Mengxue sent several letters to the Marquis's residence explaining the situation, but all of them went unanswered.

She never expected that the Marquis's residence would send someone to visit her in the palace this year.

"Mother..." Gu Mengxue choked up as soon as she said it.

Zhou knew she was suffering, but pretended not to know and advised, "Why are you crying for no reason? It is a great honor for you to enter the palace to accompany the emperor. Stop crying."

Gu Mengxue knew that there were many people and eyes in the deep palace, so she only shed two tears and dared not cry anymore.

She said against her will, "I only shed tears because I saw my mother happy."

She looked at the palace maids inside the room and ordered, "You may all leave. I need to speak privately with my mother."

The palace maids respectfully acknowledged and withdrew. Only then did Madam Zhou reveal her purpose: "The Marquis's Mansion knows that you are having a hard time in the palace, but you should also understand our difficulties. Huai Zhou was originally expected to be promoted, but he was demoted because of a small mistake. Now he can hardly make a difference in the Zhenfu Division. The Marquis's Mansion is counting on you."

At this point, Zhou gently patted her lower abdomen and asked in a low voice, "Has there been no movement at all?"

Gu Mengxue shook her head slightly, her eyes red, looking ashamed: "No."

"That shouldn't be the case." Zhou rolled her eyes and asked again, "Have you been careful with the food? And what about the other things sent from elsewhere? Is there anything inappropriate about them?"

"I've checked everything, but there's nothing. Maybe I'm just unlucky and destined to have no children."

Hearing this, Madam Zhou was immediately displeased: "Without children, your life in the palace will be even more difficult. You are already twenty-six years old, how many more years do you have left to waste? Do you want to be sent to the Cold Palace when you get old?"

Gu Mengxue shook her head anxiously, "Mother, it's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't give birth. I've been drinking the medicine for years but there's been no improvement. I'm even more anxious than you are. Besides, the Emperor hasn't summoned me for two or three months at a time. What can I do?"

"Don't worry, I'm here to help you solve your problem today." Seeing that the groundwork had been laid, Madam Zhou told Gu Mengxue her purpose: "You are also a daughter of the Marquis's family, so we will naturally not sit idly by. Your cousin is also coming to the palace with me today. The Emperor will definitely attend the banquet tonight. As long as you help him get a meeting with the Emperor, you won't have to worry about anything else."

Gu Mengxue looked surprised, and the intensity in her gaze towards Zhou Shi subsided.

She thought the Marquis's mansion had come to rescue her, but she never expected them to come and kick her when she was down.

They said they wouldn't abandon her, but what they did was trample her to death.

"Mother, is this what you meant by helping me?"

Madam Zhou smiled gently and said, "Isn't this helping you or me? Since you are not favored by the emperor, the Marquis's mansion can only arrange for other women to accompany him. If she gains favor, the Marquis's mansion will soar to new heights. It's better for you to have helpers in the palace than to fight alone."

Gu Mengxue felt an indescribable sense of loss; it turned out she was just a pawn.

When something is no longer useful, it is discarded.

Seeing that she was unwilling, Madam Zhou pretended to cry: "Do you know what kind of life your mother is living in the Marquis's mansion? You know what kind of person your father is. He has never stopped having women around him these past few years. This year, he even brought back a pair of twins. Even Huaizhou was whipped by him a few days ago. Your mother really has no other choice."

Gu Mengxue knew nothing about what was happening in the manor. She had always doted on Gu Huaizhou and protected him in every way.

Hearing Zhou say this, her face also showed anxiety: "Mother, please tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"

Zhou sniffed and said, "It's all because of that Jiang woman. She couldn't stand being alone and seduced your brother. The old Marquis caught her red-handed. The manor can't tolerate such dirty deeds. The old Marquis beat him to give Song Wenjun an explanation."

Gu Mengxue gasped, "My brother is so foolish! How could he get involved with the Jiang family?"

"It was Jiang's deliberate seduction. Otherwise, how could your brother have acted so recklessly? In the end, your brother is also a victim. Song Wenjun, as his wife, not only did not help him, but also took the child back to her parents' home and said she wanted a divorce. That's why the old Marquis beat him in a fit of anger."

Gu Mengxue had never met Song Wenjun; she only knew that Song Wenjun was the wife Gu Huaizhou had married.

Born into a merchant family, she must be a woman tainted by money and meticulous about every penny.

How could a woman like that, as the wife of a marquis, possibly be of one mind with Gu Huaizhou? She doesn't sound like a good person at all.

Did Mother bring her along today?

Zhou added fuel to the fire, saying, "It's all because your father insisted that I bring her into the palace. Now she's incredibly powerful, having your father completely under her thumb. She has control over most of the Marquis's mansion, and even I have to live at her mercy."