When they arrived at Concubine Hui's Lanzhi Palace, before they got close they saw Concubine Hui kneeling outside the palace in plain clothes with all her pearl hairpins removed. Behind her knelt the Second Prince Gu Cheng'an and a young palace concubine. Thinking of Lai Fu's words, Gu Yanxi couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
The concubine lowered her head, so her face could not be seen clearly, but at a glance she looked no different from the other concubines in the palace.
"It seems that you know." The emperor walked closer, his tone was indifferent, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
Concubine Hui felt increasingly uncertain, but for the sake of her son, she had no choice but to risk everything.
"An'er told me that he had done something wrong. He came to bid farewell to me and then went to ask for forgiveness from the emperor." Concubine Hui bowed her head to the ground and said in a trembling voice, "I know I don't have the face to plead for him. It's my fault as a mother that I didn't teach the child well. Please allow me to take some of the blame for An'er and spare An'er's life. Even if you have to take my life, I am willing to do so."
"No, son doesn't want it." Gu Cheng'an knelt down and stood in front of Concubine Hui, tears streaming down his face. "Father, it was my son who was confused. It was my son who believed in slander and did these unforgivable things. No matter how you punish me, I will accept it. But this has nothing to do with mother. Father, please don't implicate her because mother has been with you for so many years and has never made a mistake. It's all my fault. I did something wrong. I admit it, father!"
Gu Yanxi immediately understood the plan of the mother and son. When Gu Chengde helped Rong Fei take care of everything in order to get himself out of the situation, he didn't say a word. Later, the emperor lamented his ruthlessness and became even more disgusted with him. Now Gu Cheng'an was doing the opposite, which just tickled the emperor's sore spot.
Perhaps because he was getting old, the emperor, who was becoming more and more suspicious, began to have a liking for those who were nostalgic, such as the Zhu family.
Not to mention that Gu Cheng'an was merely imprisoned and it would only take a moment for him to turn things around. Even if he was really to be exiled to the frontier, the emperor would remember the behavior of mother and son, and with the help of the concubine, the big thing would turn into nothing.
This was a good plan, Gu Yanxi watched coldly, even so he could still make it impossible for Gu Chengan to turn over, but was it necessary
Hearing the emperor's uncle's satisfied sigh, Gu Yanxi's expression beneath the mask became so cold that it almost froze.
"At least I am still somewhat responsible. This matter has nothing to do with Concubine Hui. Am I such a fool in your eyes?"
The hearts of both mother and son dropped heavily. Gu Chengan kowtowed heavily, "Son thanks father, son, son... Snap!"
Gu Chengan slapped himself hard, and half of his face swelled up almost immediately, showing how much strength he had used. "I am an unfilial son. I have disappointed my father."
Looking at the second son kneeling on the ground and repenting, the emperor felt more and more that he had neglected him too much in his daily life. He did all this just to get his recognition. Now that he knew his mistakes, was willing to change, and was filial, maybe he could be able to take on some responsibilities if he could teach him a lesson.
Hearing the footsteps, Gu Yanxi looked back and took a few steps back without leaving a trace.
"Chief, we have found out that this girl is a distant relative of the Tong family. She can barely be considered the daughter of the Tong family."
Gu Yanxi asked casually, "Have you been born and raised in the Tong family?"
"That's not the case. The girl returned to the Tong family when she was ten years old. It was said that she was not doing well with her father, so she bravely wrote a letter to Old Madam Tong. Old Madam Tong took pity on her and sent someone to take her home to raise her." The person who replied paused and said, "These are all news I got here. The truth has not been confirmed yet. I have sent people to Yuzhou..."
"Yuzhou?" Gu Yanxi interrupted him. Her nerves tensed up when she heard the name. Seeing that the father and son were still loving and filial over there, Gu Yanxi led his subordinates away and said, "Tell me in detail."
"Yes." The subordinate thought about it, trying not to miss any important information. "Tong Yi is the daughter of a branch of the Tong family that is no longer a legitimate relative. That branch has fallen on hard times. She married into a wealthy family, but the family died when Tong Yi was nine. The man remarried and had a son. Tong Yi was in a difficult situation, so she wrote to the old lady of the Tong family for help. The old lady took pity on her and took her in to her family and has adopted her ever since. I have checked and Tong Yi is indeed on the Tong family tree, and is registered under the name of the second son of the Tong family."
"Was she alone when I picked her up?"
"She brought a mute servant with her. She said she was rescued by her mother..." The subordinate looked up suddenly. No, no mother would let a man be around her daughter. No matter how mute he is, he is still a man!
"Check it, quickly."
"yes."
"Wait." Gu Yanxi frowned slightly, "Find out whether Tong Yi entered the palace voluntarily or passively. Also, check her situation in the Tong family in the past few years and who her teachers are."
"yes."
Gu Yanxi walked back behind the emperor. At this time, the father and son had become somewhat intimate. The scene did not look like they were trying to imprison their son, but rather like they had just acknowledged a son.
"Okay, everyone get up." The emperor watched as his second son hurriedly helped Concubine Hui up, patted his shoulder with satisfaction, walked past the two of them to the palace concubine and pulled her up.
Gu Yanxi saw that Concubine Hui's face was obviously distorted, but she quickly covered it up and turned to fix her son's collar, but she was looking over there out of the corner of her eye.
The concubine finally raised her head. She had a very comfortable face, with a hint of charm in her innocence. She looked at the emperor with coquettish and trusting eyes, as if the man in front of her was just her beloved and not the king of a country.
She entered the palace on her own initiative, not under duress, Gu Yanxi confirmed this.
The emperor was obviously very impressed by this. He took Tong Yi in his arms and walked inside. He stopped after two steps and turned back to Gu Yanxi and said, "Although An'er has made a serious mistake, it is good that he can correct it. First, confine him to the prince's mansion and he is not allowed to go in or out without being summoned."
Confinement became house arrest, and being demoted to a commoner was not even mentioned. Gu Yanxi felt a lump in his chest that could neither go up nor down. He had made so many preparations, and there were witnesses and evidences. But the crime of murdering the border guard and colluding with foreign enemies, which was enough for a minister to die again and again, was just revealed like this? !
Will the second prince become a good and filial son by tomorrow
In two days, will the crown prince of the Daqing Dynasty be appointed
Looking at Gu Cheng'an's face that pretended to blame himself but was clearly smug, Gu Yanxi clenched her hands into fists behind her back, and her disappointment with her uncle reached its peak at this moment.
People rushed in. Lai Fu sighed and was about to follow when someone suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Where does Tong Yi live?"
Lai Fu glanced around. Although he didn't know what the prince was going to do, he still quietly pointed the way, "Left side hall."
"I need a quarter of an hour to find a way to delay them and prevent the emperor and Tong Yi from passing through."
"Yes, I will try my best." Lai Fu had long understood the princes. Not to mention the younger ones, the older ones were all heartless and ungrateful. If he wanted to have a good end, he had to follow the prince closely. Not to mention his identity, the prince was not the kind of person who would destroy his bridges after crossing them.
PS: Are you surprised that Kong Kong would write it this way? Actually, the previous draft was not like this. It was about taking down the second prince with lightning speed and severely punishing those who needed to be punished. It was very satisfying to write, but later I found that this was not right. The emperor should be changing, especially when his body has been hollowed out and he knows that he won't live long. He will become more unpredictable, soft-hearted in some aspects and worse in some aspects. Then there is the plot setting. If the second prince is taken down in this way, then the plot will overlap with the eldest prince's downfall. I can't write a similar plot just for the sake of pleasure, so... I rewrote it and changed the plot to a reversal. What's even better is that it accidentally connected to the previous thread. Although it took nearly 5,000 words, I am very satisfied with it. Well, I've said nonsense again, but I want to share it with girls and boys.