Chapter 5

also why no matter how much she pleases Tang Zhenzhen, she's still isolated in small groups, both openly and secretly."I..." Ning Yuan was about to say something when someone suddenly pulled her arm.R...The Cao family held half the military power of Dongli, which was essentially like controlling half the country.

While Xiao Yu-xuan was born, his biological mother, Cao Gui-fei, was quickly made Empress. She could be said to be very fortunate.

"I wonder if the King and Queen's relationship has always been so strained" Gu Yining recalled her previous suspicions.

Bai Jing shook her head: "When I first met him, he occasionally complained that the Empress treated him differently from Princess Chang Le. But every time he entered the palace, he would greet the Empress. When I treated the Emperor, I met the Empress a few times. I only remember that she was dignified and elegant, graceful in her movements."

That description is very apt. Even though the Eastern Emperor told her not to be so formal, to relax a little, she seemed to never listen.

From the outside, the Empress appears to be dignified and virtuous. Looking at it from another angle, she might also be considered old-fashioned and traditional

"Now their mother-son relationship can't just be called normal, it's downright bad." Gu Yining analyzed, "According to your statement, their mother-son relationship seems to have become worse after the fire, right"

Baijing thought for a moment: “That’s right. Before, it was just that they weren’t close. Now, Empress Dowager seems to dislike Wangye very much whenever she sees him. The Emperor has always tried to mediate between the mother and son, but he hasn't been successful.”

"As a mother, shouldn't she be heartbroken over such a huge change her son is going through" Gu Yining couldn't understand. "It feels like the Empress is even blaming His Royal Highness."

She suddenly thought of a possibility: "Could the fire have been started by the king"

"How is that possible" Bai Jing immediately denied. "At the time, I investigated and it seemed that a eunuch on duty at Wen De Dian had fallen asleep and knocked over a candle."

"Are you sure" Gu Yining looked at him.

Bai Jing shook her head. "It wasn't me who investigated, it was just what people were saying at the time. It should be true, right The Wang Ye went to pay his respects to the Empress that day. No matter what, it couldn't have been him who caused the fire."

That's true, Xiao Yuxuan has an alibi.

There's no reason for that, a biological mother seeing her son go through such a major upheaval, would she only blame him

This is simply inhumane.

"Logically, when the young prince was born, Empress Dowager should have been overjoyed as she transitioned from Consort to Empress. Why is she so cold towards her son instead" Gu Yining couldn't understand it.

Bai Jing shook her head: "I can't figure this out either. Before, I heard from the palace maids that when the prince was born, the empress had a difficult labor and suffered for three days and three nights. The empress dowager felt that this son was here to collect debts, and every time she saw him, she would remember the pain of childbirth, so she has always disliked him."

"Post-traumatic stress disorder" Gu Yining nodded. "That's not impossible. Giving birth is ten-level pain, the highest level of pain. She was in pain for three days, you can imagine how difficult it was. It's normal to leave a shadow."

"What kind of ailment is this Is it a disease" Bai Jing sighed, "It's truly an endless pursuit of learning. When we have free time at the Xinglin Building, perhaps you could teach our fellow disciples some medical skills from the Princess."

Gu Yining ignored him, shaking her head suddenly: "But it doesn't make sense. A fire has nothing to do with her giving birth, and the pain of childbirth only made her see the coldness of the King. Why is she even worse after the fire"

Whether it was a fire caused by Xiao Yuxuan or not, in the end, the victim would be Xiao Yuxuan himself. He wouldn't have harmed Emperor Dongli nor Empress Cao.

What on earth does the Empress have against this son of hers

"By the way, there's one more thing." Bai Jing remembered. "I heard that ever since the prince was born, the empress has been terrified of sleeping with the emperor. So for twenty years, she has only had the title of empress, but has never actually slept with him. The emperor never spends the night in the empress's palace."

"Is that so" That's a strange thing to say. "I think the Emperor seems to respect the Empress."

"The Emperor is indeed very kind to the Empress. This is known throughout the entire Dongli Country," Baijing nodded.

But it seems like that didn't stop him from having children with other women.” Gu Yining sighed. After the Sixth Prince Xiao YuXuan, there were still a bunch of princes and princesses, all of whom had given birth to over ten each.

But overall, Emperor Dongli still respected the Empress. When she said she didn't want to share a bed with him, he didn't force her to stay overnight.

It is said that on major holidays he would spend time with the Empress, but he would no longer stay overnight.

He gave the Empress face and did not make things difficult for her in matters of sharing a bed.

After all, he was an emperor from ancient times. It seems like he's already done his best to reach this point.

"I can't find the deeper reason for Wang Ye's heart. This leg ailment is likely difficult to cure." Gu Yi Ning was a little embarrassed, "Why doesn't he want to stand up"

Bai Jing nodded. "I'll find a way to figure this out."

"That's good." Gu Yining nodded.

The two of them discussed and settled on a preliminary plan, then went their separate ways.

Two days later, Lin Mozhi came to find Gu Yining: "Lin Heng wrote a letter asking me to find an opportunity to go back. I'm afraid he found out that my mother is missing."

Gu Yining nodded. "They'll go and send food the next day. I guess they'll find out someone is missing in two days at most. You drag it on for now, as a concubine, you can't leave the palace casually, that's normal. I'll see what's going on at An Guohou's mansion first."

"I understand," Lin Mo nodded.

The next day, Gu Yuhan's carrier pigeon delivered a letter.

As expected, Gu Yining found an opportunity to return to Hou Mansion.

Gu Yining replied that recently, King Yu Bei has been staying in the palace every day and meeting her daily. It is inconvenient to go out of the palace, so ask his father to wait a little longer.

Also, just throw the pot to Xiao Yuxuan to take care of.

When Zhao disappeared, Xiao Yuxuan kept watching her day and night, clearly suspecting her. She even foolishly wrote back to Gu Youhan in a tone of "The King loves me and can't live without me."

Gu Yushan, upon receiving the carrier pigeon message, must have scolded her useless and foolish daughter at home.

Once she sent this reply, she cleared herself of all suspicion.

Even in his dreams, Gu Youhan couldn't have imagined she would single-handedly save the Zhao family from the wilderness on the outskirts of town. Without this aspect of suspicion, coupled with this letter, he would definitely attribute all suspicions to Xiao Yuxuan.

It doesn't matter, Xiao Yu-Xuan is so powerful, he's already suspected of many things. He has plenty of debts and doesn't worry about them. He has too many lice and doesn't itch anymore. Besides, he was originally involved in this matter anyway.

Why does he let a bunch of people follow her every day

Now you're reaping what you sow, aren't you

She was "kind" enough to leave behind some evidence from the North Yan Palace. The evidence came from the people who were following him, conveniently confirming that Xiao Yu Xuan had kidnapped Zhao Shi.

Gu Yining currently doesn't have the ability to go against the entire Anduoguo Houfu, but the Yu Bei Wangfu does.

Now she and Xiao Yuxuan are like two ants tied together by a thread. Whether they are bound or not, whether they stay together or separate, it's up to her to decide.ng Yuan had a bag of cookies and the remaining handful of White Rabbit candies in her hand.Tang Zhenzhen's eyes lit up immediately, pointing at her hand: "My longevity biscuits and white rabbit toffee...