Good and bitter, used with care, virtuous queen's position

  The deep winter of Yanjing became even more desolate, Gu Yunxi wore a snow-white fox fur coat and got on the carriage, Gong Sun Mo followed behind her wearing a dark-colored cloak.

  The wheels rolled towards the residence of the Grand Minister, and Gu Yunxi hesitated to ask Gong Sunmo, "The king took me away like this, and the virtuous imperial concubine's position in the harem is extremely high, I'm afraid it won't be easy to explain..."

  Gongsun's eyes slightly dimmed, "The reason why Shu Fei is favored in the palace is because she has won the approval of the Empress with her whole heart devoted to her. Otherwise, do you think there is any concubine in the palace who can maintain imperial favor without decline?"

  Gu Yunxi nodded, but Gong Sunmo asked, "I heard that you and your sister were originally going to Yunlan Palace to see the Empress Dowager, how did you end up provoking the Shu Empress?"

  How did you offend Princess Shu?

  Gu Yunxi's mouth curved into a smile, "It's really laughable to think about it now. When I entered the palace that day, my sister thought my attire was too plain and kindly gave me a jade hairpin with a peony design. At first, it wasn't a big deal, but when we left the palace, we happened to take the path that bordered the West Sixth Palace. It wasn't until later that Yunxi found out that the peony was actually one of Empress Shu's forbidden symbols, and that's why I got punished."

  The howling wind outside the car window shouted, Gu Yunxi finished speaking and opened half of the car window to gaze out randomly. Gong Sunmo's mouth twitched as he looked at Gu Yunxi's expression and sighed, "Miss Gu often enters the palace, she must know that the jade clematis is a forbidden object in the palace."

  Gu Yunxi's mouth curved into a faint smile, and at this moment, the conversation took a turn. "Just now, Your Highness said that I am your meritorious minister, but I still don't know how things developed on that day. Did the Crown Prince receive any punishment?"

  "The Crown Prince has been building his power in the capital for many years, how could he be so easily punished? Moreover, with the old and cunning Guo Gong supporting him from behind. "Gongsun Mo's tone was gloomy," The one who started the trouble was caught, but the Crown Prince's side had actually made preparations beforehand, and casually found a military officer under his command who had conflicts with my subordinates to take the fall, and Father Emperor actually believed it!"

  Gu Yunxi looked at Gong Sunmo's mouth corner hanging cold smile and sank in her heart, "In that case, wouldn't the king's crime be suffered in vain?"

  Gongsun Mo shook his head, "This didn't happen. Everyone with eyes to see understood what happened that night. If the Emperor was overly biased towards the Crown Prince and lost the hearts of the people, he merely scolded the Crown Prince and Empress, then demoted the commander of the Imperial Guard."

  "Commander of the Imperial Forest Army?"

  "The Imperial Guard is part of the palace guard, and the outer perimeter of the East Palace that night was guarded by their men. In the end, it was the people from the Imperial City Patrol who caught the person. The Emperor blamed them for their dereliction of duty, and the commander was exiled. Now the Imperial Guard is in a state of leaderlessness."

  Gu Yunxi thought for a moment, "Is the commander of the Imperial Guard the Crown Prince's person?"

  "That's right!" Gong Sun Mo nodded, "Now that the position of the Imperial Guard is vacant, whoever gets this position will have more power within the palace."

  Gu Yun Xie seemed to have an epiphany, the Imperial Guard within the palace was the largest military force in the imperial city. If he could grasp it in his hands, no matter how many, it would be extremely beneficial. Just as he was thinking about this, the carriage slowed down and came to a stop. Gu Yun Xie opened the window and looked out, only to find that they had already arrived.

  The servants at the gate of the mansion saw that it was Gong Sunmo who got off the carriage first, and they immediately panicked, hastily turning around to enter the courtyard to report to Gu Zhongzheng. By the time Gu Yunxi and Gong Sunmo walked to the gate together, Gu Zhongzheng had already brought Gu Yingshu and others to greet them. A large group of people quickly rushed to the front yard, and when they saw Gu Yunxi and Gong Sunmo entering the gate together, their expressions were different.

  "Long live the German king!"

  Gongsun Mo slightly raised his hand, and his gaze condensed as he looked at Gu Zhongzheng. "This king saw that the news from Master Xiang was indeed swift, so he immediately sent the second young lady over. Now that the second young lady has recovered to her normal state, does Master Xiang find it satisfactory?"

  Gu Zhong's body trembled, and he broke out in a cold sweat as he listened to these words. He stuttered, "Wang, Wang Ye is joking, I'm just...I'm just anxious for my daughter, that's all, that's all..."

  Gongsun Mo's face was expressionless, but Gu Yunxi turned around and bowed to Gongsun Mo to help Gu Zhongzheng out of the situation. "Thank you, Your Highness, for taking care of me for two days. Today, you even personally escorted me back to the mansion. I'm deeply grateful."

  Gongsun Mo waved his hand, and Gu Yunxi's mouth curved up as he walked straight towards the front of the crowd to Gu Yingxue. Today, Gu Yingxue was wearing a pink palace dress, with light makeup on her face, and in this snowy day, she looked like a red plum blossom that had not yet bloomed, delicate and beautiful.

  "Sister, seeing that you're okay makes me really happy." Gu Yunxi's smile deepened as she lowered her head and retrieved an object from her sleeve, "This is the hairpin that sister lent to me back then. I'm returning it to you now."

  Gu Yingxue's face instantly lost all color, Gu Yunque finished speaking and turned to leave, but took a step out and then turned back around. "Ah, Yunque forgot to say, sister shouldn't wear this hairpin into the palace again, this white peony is Empress Shu's taboo, this time thanks to Wangye's timely assistance, otherwise sister would be seeing her younger sister's corpse now..."

  Gu Yunxi's words were laced with a smile, but to Gu Yingxue, they felt like a knife that had stripped away all her pride, leaving her exposed. Her gaze swept across Gong Sunmo's face, but his chiseled features remained unruffled, not a single ripple disturbing the surface. The more he remained calm, the more Gu Yingxue's heart trembled with fear. She stood frozen in place, her smile looking like it had been forcibly pasted on her face.

  Many strange gazes swept across Xue's body, she stared blankly as Gu Yunxi walked back to Gong Sunmo's side, and then spoke with Gu Zhongzheng about something, after which the ink-colored cloak didn't even glance at her before leaving the door.

  Gu Yunxue walked over with a smile as bright as a flower. She leaned in slightly and asked, "Sister, do you think this feeling is pleasant?"

  Gu Yingxue's lips tightened, and the smile on her face slowly sank. Gu Yunxi let out a soft sigh, "Compared to the snow at Fuyue Palace before, this taste is probably still somewhat weaker. Do you feel very disappointed, sister? Not only was I not crippled by Empress Shu, but I was also saved by Duke De. Now that Duke De knows about your good intentions towards me, how do you think he will look at you?"

  Gu Yingxue's body trembled, her hand gripping the rose hairpin with bulging veins. Her gaze slowly met Gu Yunxi's sharp eyes, and her pointed chin slightly raised, "No matter how he looks at me, the future position of De Wangfei can only be mine alone, that's enough!"

  Gu Yunxi's figure straightened up, looking at the person in front of her with a smile and shaking her head, then turned around and walked away. Not far away, Yue Niang was waiting for her with piercing eyes.

  Gu Zhongzheng glanced at Gu Yingxue, whose eyes couldn't hide a hint of disappointment. A deep sigh from him was like a loud slap in the face to Gu Yingxue. As Gu Zhongzheng walked away, Jin Xin's eyes blazed with anger beside her, "Master, this second miss has become even more arrogant since returning from Duke De's manor. Seeing how the duke treats her, I'm afraid..."

  "Shut up!"

  Gu Yingxue rarely scolded, Jin Xin's face changed, and she immediately knelt on the ground. Gu Yingxue also seemed to feel that she was a bit out of place, and after a moment, she turned around and helped Jin Xin up. "Jin Xin, remember, no matter how De Wang treats Gu Yunxi, I - as long as I get that position!"

  Jin Xin looked at Gu Ying Xue's slightly pale face, and thought of how the Emperor had just ignored their own master without even a glance, and felt a slight movement in her heart. "Then Master, are we not going to do anything about Gu Yun Xi?"

  Gu Yingxue's eyes narrowed slightly, "The good show is yet to come..."

  Digression

  By the way, I gave a small recommendation, and I think Wenwen is quite good. You must collect and support it next month! Mu Ren Mao Pao makes me wonder if anyone reads this article at all...

  Thanks to [patty1126] for sending me diamonds, the sparkling and shining ones immediately gave me motivation! Muah ~