Arriving at Consort Hui's Orchid Palace, before even approaching, Yanxi saw Consort Hui kneeling outside the hall in plain clothes with all her hairpins removed. Behind her knelt the Second Prince Gu Cheng'an and a young palace consort. Recalling Lai Fu's words, Gu Yanxi couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
The palace consort kept her head lowered, making it impossible to discern her features. At a glance, she appeared no different from the other consorts in the palace.
"It seems you already know," the Emperor approached, his tone neutral, revealing neither anger nor pleasure.
Consort Hui grew increasingly uneasy, but for her son's sake, she had to stake everything.
"An'er confessed his wrongdoing to me. After bidding me farewell, he intended to seek Your Majesty's punishment." With her forehead pressed to the ground, Consort Hui spoke tremulously, "I know I have no right to plead for him. Failing to raise him properly is this mother's fault. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to bear some of An'er's punishment. Even if it costs me my life, I would willingly accept it if only An'er could be spared."
"No, I won't allow it!" Gu Cheng'an crawled forward on his knees, positioning himself protectively before Consort Hui, tears streaming down his face. "Father, it was my foolishness! I listened to malicious counsel and committed these unforgivable acts. I'll accept any punishment, but Mother had no part in this. Please, Father, considering how Mother has served you faithfully all these years without a single misstep, don't implicate her! This is all my fault—my wrongdoing alone. I admit everything, Father!"
Gu Yanxi immediately understood the strategy behind this mother-son performance. When Gu Chengde had remained silent while Consort Rong shouldered all blame to secure his own escape, the Emperor had later lamented his heartlessness and grown even more disdainful of him. Now Gu Cheng'an was employing the opposite approach—precisely targeting the Emperor's soft spot.
Perhaps age had made the increasingly suspicious Emperor develop appreciation for those who cherished old sentiments, much like the Zhu Family.
Even if Gu Cheng'an were merely placed under house arrest, his rehabilitation could happen in an instant. Should he truly be exiled to the borderlands, the Emperor would remember this display from the mother and child. With the palace consort adding persuasive whispers, major offenses could dissolve into nothing.
A clever scheme indeed. Gu Yanxi watched coldly. Even so, he could stack offense upon offense to ensure Gu Cheng'an never recovered. But was it necessary?
Hearing his imperial uncle's satisfied sigh, the expression beneath Gu Yanxi's mask turned frostier than ice.
"At least you show some responsibility. This matter never involved Consort Hui to begin with. Do you truly think me so foolish?The mother and son's hearts settled with heavy relief. Gu Cheng'an kowtowed forcefully. "Thank you, Father! I... I..." Slap!
Gu Cheng'an struck his own face with such force that his cheek immediately swelled, demonstrating the intensity of his self-reproach. "I've been unfilial. I've disappointed you, Father."
Watching his second son kneel in repentance, the Emperor grew convinced he'd neglected the boy too much in daily life. Perhaps all these actions were merely attempts to gain paternal recognition. Now that he acknowledged his errors and showed filial devotion, with proper tempering, he might even become capable of handling responsibilities.
Hearing approaching footsteps, Gu Yanxi glanced back and subtly retreated several paces.
"Commander, we've verified—the girl is a distant relative of the Tong family. She could marginally be considered a Tong daughter."
Gu Yanxi asked casually, "Was she raised in the Tong household all along?""Not exactly. She returned to the Tong family when she was ten years old. It's said she wasn't treated well by her father's side, so she mustered the courage to write to Old Madam Tong. Old Madam Tong took pity on her and sent someone to bring her over, raising her by her side." The person reporting paused before adding, "This information was obtained locally and hasn't been verified yet. I've already dispatched people to Yuzhou..."
"Yuzhou?" Gu Yanxi interrupted him. Just hearing the name made Gu Yanxi tense up. Seeing that the father and son were still displaying affection over there, Gu Yanxi led his subordinate further away. "Explain in detail."
"Yes." The subordinate recalled carefully, striving not to miss any important information. "Tong Yi was born to a daughter of a Tong collateral branch that can hardly be considered proper relatives anymore. That branch had already declined. She married into a wealthy family as the wife, but passed away from illness when Tong Yi was nine. The man remarried and had a son. Tong Yi found herself in difficult circumstances and wrote to Old Madam Tong for help. Old Madam Tong took pity on her and brought her to live with her, adopting her ever since. I've checked—Tong Yi was indeed registered in the Tong family genealogy, placed under the name of the Tong family's second son."
"Was she alone when they brought her back?"
"She brought a mute servant with her. She said her mother had saved..." The subordinate suddenly looked up. That wasn't right—no mother would place a man by her daughter's side, mute or not, he was still a man!
"Investigate, and quickly."
"Yes."
"Wait." Gu Yanxi frowned slightly. "Also check whether Tong Yi entered the palace voluntarily or was forced. Additionally, look into her circumstances in the Tong family over these years and who her tutors were."
"Yes."
Gu Yanxi walked back to stand behind the Emperor. By now, the father and son had actually developed some affection. The scene didn't look like the Emperor had come to confine his son, but rather as if he had just acknowledged a son.
"Alright, everyone rise." The Emperor watched with satisfaction as the second prince hurried to help Consort Hui to her feet, patting his shoulder approvingly. He then walked past them to the palace consort's side and helped her up.
Gu Yanxi noticed Consort Hui's face twist briefly before she quickly concealed it, turning to adjust her son's collar while watching from the corner of her eye.
The palace consort finally lifted her head, revealing a pleasant face—innocent yet somewhat charming. Her gaze towards the Emperor was coquettish and trusting, as if the man before her was merely her beloved husband, not the ruler of a nation.
She had entered the palace voluntarily, not under coercion. Gu Yanxi confirmed this.
The Emperor clearly appreciated this demeanor. He embraced Tong Yi and walked inside, but stopped after two steps. Turning back to Gu Yanxi, he said, "Although An'er has committed grave errors, recognizing and correcting them is commendable. For now, confine him to the prince's residence without permission to enter or leave."
House arrest replaced confinement. Demotion to commoner status wasn't even mentioned. Gu Yanxi felt a suffocating anger trapped in his chest—unable to rise or fall. He had made so many preparations, with witnesses and evidence complete. The crime of conspiring with foreign enemies to harm border generals was serious enough to warrant execution multiple times for any official, yet it was just brushed aside like this?!
Would the second prince become a filial and good son by tomorrow?
In a few more days, would the crown prince of the Daqing Dynasty be established just like that?
Watching Gu Cheng'an's face—feigning remorse but clearly smug—Gu Yanxi clenched his fists behind his back. His disappointment in his imperial uncle reached its peak at this moment.
The crowd noisily moved inside. Lai Fu sighed and was about to follow when someone suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Where does Tong Yi live?"Lai Fu's eyes swept around the room. Though unsure of the Heir's intentions, he still whispered directions, "The side hall to the left."
"I need fifteen minutes. Find a way to delay and prevent the Emperor and Tong Yi from going over there."
"Yes, this old servant will do his best." Lai Fu had long since figured out all the princes. Leaving aside the younger ones, the older ones were all cold-hearted and ungrateful. If he wanted a peaceful end to his life, he must stick closely to the Heir. Regardless of his identity, the Heir wasn't the type to abandon those who helped him.
PS: Bet you're surprised Kong Kong wrote it this way! Actually, the previous draft wasn't like this - it described swiftly capturing the Second Prince with thunderous force and thoroughly dealing with those who needed punishment. It was very satisfying to write, but later I realized this wasn't right. The Emperor should be changing, especially when his body has been drained and he knows he doesn't have long to live - he would become more unpredictable, softening in some aspects while worsening in others. Then there's the plot setup - if we handled the Second Prince the same way, it would overlap with the plot when the First Prince fell from power. We can't write similar plots just for the sake of satisfaction, so... I rewrote it, changing to a reversal plot. What's even better is that it unintentionally connected with previous plot threads. Although nearly five thousand words were scrapped, I'm quite satisfied. Well, I'm rambling again, but I wanted to share this with all you ladies and gentlemen.
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