In Peng County

In the twilight, one person saw that Jinsheng Pawnshop had hung the baffle in advance, and he turned around and hid in an alley.

Soon, a white dove flew over the alley. It fluttered its wings, circled around, and flew away.

Opposite the alley, in the pawnshop of Jinsheng, the sound of cries was harsh as if someone had been gutted the heart. Shopkeeper Qi bowed his head sadly with his dark and painful eyes, and asked weakly, "Your excellency, what on earth do you want me to do?"

At the table, Leng Qingtang raised his face slightly and smiled, "I will never tell you to do evil things like murder and arson. Just help me read an account."

As soon as Leng Qingtang stopped talking, a secret guard took out a blue enveloped booklet from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

Shopkeeper Qi saw it and suddenly became amazed. He tremblingly picked up the accounts with his plump palms. As he turned the pages carefully, his pupils enlarged and his face turned red and white.

Leng Qingtang's eyes were slightly constricted, and the corners of his lips moved. A hint of laughter bloomed coolly, "This account was obtained by me from a eunuch, and the officials involved had many business dealings with your shop."

"I just want to know the true identity and name of the person named Wu Laiye in the accounts. Mr. Qi, this question is not difficult for you to answer, right?"

Leng Qingtang was so clever. When he read this account, he knew that Wu Laiye must be a pseudonym for someone. He must be the core figure of the huge network of corruption between the Wans and incumbent officials.

If the person was found out, Leng Qingtang would be able to find the evidence that would directly get Lord Shen and his son punished. Compared to what he had presented to the Imperial Noble Concubine in order to save Gu Yunxi, this evidence was much more convincing.

For a long time, Shopkeeper Qi closed the accounts with an ugly face and was silent.

Leng Qingtang had no more patience, turning his eyes to the secret guard. His voice was strangely indifferent, "I see that Childe Qi has a decent appearance and he is at a good age. I want to have a close disciple and take him back to the Imperial Ceremony Office..."

The secret guard understood Leng Qingtang's intention and immediately pushed down Childe Qi, ignoring his stern shout. He quickly stripped off his pants with rapid movements, and then he got up and drew out the dagger.

Childe Qi was shocked by the bright and sharp blade, lying on the floor and struggling fiercely. He shouted, "Dad, dad, help me! I don't want to be a eunuch! Don't!"

There was a sudden fierce pain in his thigh. Blood gushed out from the wound.

Childe Qi was so terrified that he didn't know that the secret guard had just made a cut in his right leg. He thought his penis had been cut off. After a wail, his chest rose and fell a few times, and he fainted with fright.

Shopkeeper Qi cried bitterly, fell to his knees at the feet of Leng Qingtang, and begged, "Master, I beg of you. I have this only son at an old age, and I hope he will continue the family line. Master, please forgive me!"

Leng Qingtang raised his eyebrows leisurely, playing with the cuffs, "Tell me what I want to know as soon as possible."

"Okay, I will tell you. I'll tell you everything."

...

In the Palace in the capital

In the early morning, a eunuch in the Kunning Palace went to the Xiaoye Chamber to pass on the imperial decree of Empress Qian. The imperial decree said Empress Qian asked Zhaoyi Yu to come to Lingming Terrace of the Kunning Palace and to enjoy dinner with her at 5 p.m.

After receiving the order, Gu Yunyao hesitated, thinking that at ordinary times she went to the Kunning Palace for a routine greeting. And she had no close contact with Empress Qian. She didn't know why she was suddenly invited.

Zhao An stepped forward and reassured her that maybe Empress Qian knew that she was almost harmed by the Imperial Noble Concubine. After the autumn festival, she put up a small banquet to show her comfort.

Gu Yunyao believed in Zhao An the most, so she settled down and dressed meticulously. She convened the honor guards when it was dark. And she rushed to the Kunning Palace on the sedan chair.

Arriving at the destination within the designated time, Gu Yunyao first went to the Main Hall to greet Empress Qian and then followed her to the outer court.

At sunset, they walked in the golden-orange afterglow with the vines dyed with red frost. There was a carved veranda around the hardy banana with big leaves. The pool under the porch was clear, and there were many flowers falling on the water.

Across the veranda, there was a delicate and elegant three-story building among many exotic weeds. The horizontal plaque was on the vermilion carved door on the first floor. There were several words on the plaque.

The Lingming Terrace

Windows were green and walls were painted with oil. Window sashes and door rails were painted with vermilion powder, carefully carved with magnificent patterns. The cloud steps in front of the porch were wide, all chiseled with patterns of flying phoenixes spreading their wings.

On the left and right, the whitewashed walls were magnificent and gorgeous, but they didn't fall into the cliche of luxury.

It was not the first time that Gu Yunyao had come to the Kunning Palace, and she also knew that the name of this Lingming Terrace was derived from the terrace on the top floor of the small building.

A eunuch welcomed Empress Qian and Zhaoyi Yu into the small building. Before this moment, someone had carried in a few baskets of scented candles, asking the palace maidservants to light up the lights everywhere.

At this time, the hall on the first floor was filled with smoke and candle lights everywhere, and the sound of orchestral instruments could be heard in unison.

Empress Qian and Gu Yunyao took their seats one after another. As Zhao An said, the Empress first mentioned the previous disturbance in the Yongning Palace. She comforted Gu Yunyao for a while, but she put all the blame on Tu Muxue who acted improperly.

Gu Yunyao always knew about Madam Mu's personality, and she just turned a deaf ear to Empress Qian's words.

For a while, the eunuch entered the hall and said that Duke Min and Duchess Min arrived.

Gu Yunyao sat upright in the armchair, and she was a little nervous. After all, as a concubine, it was always a bit abrupt to have a meal with ministers. She was not informed by Empress Qian beforehand.

When her nervous eyes turned to Empress Qian, Empress Qian only smiled gently, obviously implying that Gu Yunyao didn't need to care.

However, when the Min couple walked side by side into the main hall and gave a salute to Empress Qian, Gu Yunyao really saw Duchess Min's face clearly. Unexpectedly, with raised eyelashes, she sat in the chair in a daze for a long time, unable to return to the mind.

After the salute, Duchess Min was awkward when she got up. Her bright and intelligent eyes locked on Gu Yunyao's dull and gorgeous face for a long time. Her face was twitching, seeming to try to restrain certain emotions.

After the banquet was ready, Empress Qian led the crowd to their seats, and the eunuch announced the start of the banquet.

Two actors appeared on stage, singing the poetic drama "Yang Zongying Goes Down the Mountain to Find His Mother".

At the banquet, Duchess Min mentioned several times that she led a pair of children twelve years ago and rushed to the place where her husband was transferred to meet him. Unexpectedly, she was robbed by bandits halfway and accidentally lost the eldest daughter while fleeing.

Gu Yunyao was stunned by her beautiful fierce eyes, which were mixed with grief and anger. The expression in her eyes was extremely complicated.

After another hour, Gu Yunyao got up and led people out of the hall on the excuse of changing clothes.

Just stepping on the veranda, she heard an earnest and humble voice rose from behind, "Zhu'er..."

Gu Yunyao paused, and her figure was absolutely still as if fixed by a spell. She was stunned with a heavy heart. Her heart swayed on her chest flickeringly. She didn't know what to do.

Until the call came again, the tone was anxious, trembling, and sad.

"Are you Zhu'er that I have been missing for more than ten years? Right?"

Gu Yunyao slowly turned around. Her expression was calm, and her eyes flashed, revealing obvious coldness.

"Madam Min, are you calling me?"

Duchess Min's expression was slightly stagnant, and her face was pale and stiff, very unnatural.

Time and tide waited for no man.

Duchess Min was nearly forty, and her phoenix eyes were still delicate. But the outer corner of her eyes was slightly drooping. Even with heavy makeup, it was hard to conceal the extreme slack of the eyelids.

Even so, when seeing this appearance, people were reminiscent of her youth. Generally speaking, more than a decade ago, this woman must be a beautiful woman with outstanding features.

Looking at her for a moment, Gu Yunyao was indifferent and her eyes were as cold as an ice pool. She silently looked at Duchess Min's crow-blue imperial official suit where the sea waves and moiré patterns on the stray were exquisitely embroidered.

She wore a hibiscus bun on her head, which was centered on a silver peacock stone with two pairs of plain silver hairpins. It was solemn and elegant.

Duchess Min was also looking directly at Gu Yunyao, engrossed and intent.

She had a high half-moon bun on her head, with dazzling beads on the sideburns. A dotted jade hairpin with a winter sparrow and plums on the side was very conspicuous. The bird held an east bead in its beak, and a few tassels of finely shredded tourmalines with golden threads were drawn down.

She wore a pale pinkish grey smoky brocade skirt and a fragrant jade cloud slanted half-breasted jacket, which set off her slender shoulders, arms, and waist. With the wide sleeves lightly lifted, her bright wrists were like white jade. The pair of thin oil-green bracelets was intertwined with each other, which on the contrary made the wrists thinner.

In the veranda, there was sudden silence for a while. Gu Yunyao's eyes were faint, and the pair of shining water eyes reflected the flames of the palace lanterns on both sides, which seemed to dye her young and beautiful face with a cold and alienated color.

Duchess Min's heart trembled slightly at this moment, and she also felt that her behavior just now seemed reckless. She hurriedly folded her hands sideways and bowed her body. After making a bow, she nodded and prayed softly, "Your Grace, please forgive me. I implore Your Grace to back off the maids and follow me into the veranda to discuss the matter in detail."

Gu Yunyao raised her eyebrows coolly. Her lips curled up like a sneer, and she said broadly, "There is no need. Song Qin is the chief maid, and she is not an outsider. So you can talk bluntly about what matters. You don't have to cover up the truth."

The words hurt Duchess Min's soft heart, and she was immediately wronged. Her plump lips were half-open, and she was about to say something. However, it was a moment of cluelessness, and the words eventually filled her throat.

"Zhu'er... You have recognized me long ago, right? You're still blaming me for being cruel back then, aren't you?"

Tears gushed out of her eyes. Duchess Min hid her face with her sleeves and started to sob.

Tears sprang to Gu Yunyao's eyes. Her bright eyes were sparkling, and the moisture inside was thicker.

After a moment of silence, her face suddenly changed. Gu Yunyao clenched fists with both hands and said with certainty, "Yeah, I have hated you for twelve years! If you didn’t just care for my younger brother, how could you abandon me to the nanny cruelly and take him with the imperial bodyguards and flee?"

"In order to save me, my nanny hid me in a tree cave and used herself as bait to lure away the bandits. She was eventually humiliated to death by them."

"If it weren't you, how could I fall into the Eastern Depot and be taken to the Garden and grow up? How could I be sent into the palace? I lived like a walking corpse all day long and waited to die!"

"Since then, I have hated being used by others the most. But I happen to be locked in this palace, unable to escape from the bad luck of being used and manipulated! As such, do you think I will call you mom again? How can you stand in front of me?"

For the past twelve years, Gu Yunyao had been resenting her poor fate. From the moment she was sent to the palace, she also treated Leng Qingtang viciously.

Until today, when she saw the enemy who abandoned her and the nanny in person, she discovered that the person who caused her tragedy and who she hated the most in these years should be the vicious-hearted woman in front of her!