After the Empress Gu returned to her palace, the maids immediately helped her take off the heavy clothes and decorations. When a trusted maid who knelt down beside the bed was lightly pounding her legs with a mini jade hammer fetched by another maid, she told the news brought by the maidservant to the Empress Gu.

The Empress Gu was kneading the part between her eyebrows. As she heard the news that the servant had watched Liu Ruoyu, Tenth Miss of the Liu Family, walk out of Qianqiu Pavilion and then run after Eighth Miss of the Duanmu Family who went past this pavilion, the Empress Gu stopped and asked in a low voice, “Did you see it clearly?”

The trusted maid whispered, “At that time, I was standing beside your highness, so how could I witness that in person? It was Liu Yun who saw it. She has served you for many years, and she is so prudent that she would not tell a lie.”

The Empress Gu said, “It is said that Liu Ruoyu, whose biological mother passed away at an early age, has been bullied by Mrs. Zhang, her aunt and stepmother. Mrs. Zhang, as a daughter of concubine, was also insulted by her father's wife, so she maltreated her stepdaughter. Liu Ruoyu ended up a timid girl. Duanmu Xinmiao has a weird temper, so the young ladies in the Capital City all avoided making her acquaintance, let alone actively chase her. Why did Liu Ruoyu do so?”

The maid answered, “There is a piece of news from the Shen Family recently.”

“What does it say?”

“First young madam of the Shen Family invited third young madam to have a talk in the first branch because of domestic trivia. The next day, Mrs. Huang, a dowry maid of third young madam, headed for Ji Qubing’s rear courtyard with presents. During those two years when Ji Qubing lived in the Wei mansion and cured Wei Zhenghong, the lineal eldest son of the Wei Family, Mrs. Huang served this miracle doctor and was also taught by him about medicine.”

The Empress Gu understood it and said with a sneer, “How malicious Mrs. Zhang is! She treats her own daughter as the apple of her eye, so she might not murder Liu Ruoyu. However, she abuses her stepdaughter severely, but doesn’t she fear that Liu Ruoyu would be desperate to fight against her?”

“Actually, what Mrs. Zhang has done is not bad. His Majesty doesn’t want the daughter of the gentlefolks to give birth a son,” said the maid with a laugh. “However, Mrs. Zhang didn’t carry out her plan successfully, because Tenth Miss of the Liu Family was timely cured by a doctor.”

“Ji Qubing, a famous doctor nationwide, deserves his reputation,” said the Empress Gu. After thinking for a while, she added, “If he had accepted the request by Mrs. Huang, Liu Ruoyu would not have sought help from Duanmu Xinmiao. What’s more, she ran after Duanmu Xinmiao in Weiyang Palace, which obviously revealed that Mrs. Huang had not successfully persuaded Ji Qubing. Did Liu Yun see Liu Ruoyu again?”

Shaking her head, the maid said, “Liu Yun followed them for a few steps. However, Duanmu Xinmiao and Liu Ruoyu had a talk while walking. Liu Yun was afraid that she would be discovered, so she didn’t tail after them anymore. According to her observation, Liu Ruoyu looked worried, while Duanmu Xinmiao was poised, ignoring Liu Ruoyu.”

“Ji Qubing is a skilled, but unmerciful doctor,” said the Empress Gu casually. “It is not strange. He was a rich young master with a bright future before his family had been broken down. Now, he is an ordinary person without any support of the Ji Family. But for his talent and thoughtful behavior that he had collected the medical documents of Ji Ying, he would have been a tramp in the corner of a foul street. And he would have been buried with a broken straw mat at any place if he had been ill to death. His body would have been dug out by dogs to feed on his corpse. He used to have a poor life, so how could he be a kind-hearted doctor?”

She continued, “His disciple, Duanmu Xinmiao, has the same experience. Duanmu Weimiao was Duanmu Xinmiao’s lineal sister. As the Crown Princess, she and her husband were an affectionate couple. They had a lineal son and led a happy life. Unexpectedly, the time had changed. Her husband was dead, so she was not the Crown Princess anymore. His Majesty offered her the title of nobility because of his son and his innocent grandson. What she had experienced was pretty dramatic. Duanmu Xinmiao once had a noble life in the Capital City, as if she had been an infanta. However, after she has suddenly lost everything, she was sneered by people. Perhaps Ji Qubing took her as a disciple out of this similar experience.”

The maid said with a smile, “Your Highness are right. Ji Qubing and his disciple are ruthless, so it might be difficult for Liu Ruoyu to beg Duanmu Xinmiao to save her.”

“I never planned to allow Liu Ruoyu to have a baby,” said the Empress Gu, closing her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, she added, “However, the Liu Family has offended me. I know their trick. The Crown Prince has some children, so they don’t plan to have their own beloved daughter marry him out of their fear that she would be unfairly treated.”

“Even if the Liu Family spoils this daughter, she is a mere commoner. How could she match the noble Crown Prince?” said the maid. “It is a fortune for the Liu Family to have their daughter chosen, but how impolite they are!”

The Empress Gu said, “How could Liu Ruoyu compare to Song Zaishui? But for...” She frowned and sighed, “Even if Song Zaishui is unwilling to do this, I will have her marry the Crown Prince and then support him. The Song Family fostered her in accordance with the standards of the Crown Princess, so she will be the best one. However, Mingguang Palace benefits from it now.”

Mingguang Palace was where Consort Deng lived. The maid comforted the Empress, “Consort Deng in Mingguang Palace thought that she had ruined this marriage. However, without your acquiescence, how could she achieve it? Now, in her view, it is a trouble for you after Lady Zhong dispatched Deng Zongqi to bring her siblings to the Capital City from Qingzhou. She didn’t expect that if she had not done so, you would have done this.”

“The Zhong Family is a common family. After they became rich, they didn’t honestly support me. Besides, they pretended that they had nothing to do with it after making use of me to become rich. How naive they are!” said the Empress Gu with a sneer, slightly lowering her head. “Lady Zhong had better be more sensible after Zhong Li’s death. Today, in the banquet, I deliberately mentioned A’Lin to warn Consort Deng and Lady Zhong. Although Lady Zhong is uniquely gorgeous, there are also many unique beauties across the nation. She is not my only choice.”

The maid said, laughing, “Zhong Li is a woman, after all. Zhong Jie is the only male descendant of the Zhong Family. Therefore, Lady Zhong would not do anything silly unless she planned to kill the last offspring of the Zhong Family.”

Lady Zhong, born in a humble family, was not in a high status. Even if she was more beloved than Jieyu Miao by His Majesty, she was not a threat to the Empress Gu yet. Therefore, the Empress stopped talking about Lady Zhong with the maid, but asked, “Why did Meimei find you?”

“On the way from Qianqiu Pavilion to the Main Hall, Qian Mo’er provoked Wei Changying but was defeated by her, so she cried. After this, Qian Mo’er blamed Meimei for her failure to support her in time. After they quarreled with each other, Meimei sought advice from me,” said the maid.

The Empress Gu snorted, “Is it real?”

“After my thorough inquiry, she told me that she had discussed Wei Changying among people. And then Qian Mo’er heard it and agreed with her with a few words. However, her words were overheard by Wei Changying because of her loud voice. Wei Changying slapped her in the face with pomegranate flowers,” said the maid in detail. After hearing this, the Empress Gu was a little annoyed, “I’m pretty disappointed that Meimei has been a coward.”

The maid explained for Gu Meimei with a smile, “Girls are keen on saving their face, but third young madam of the Shen Family was so fierce. Today, those girls who came to congratulate Princess Linchuan are delicate and noble, and who dare do such a dangerous thing? Third young madam is new to the Capital City, and she doesn’t have any opponent here, so she….”

The Empress Gu interrupted her, “Because she has no foe here, if I were Meimei, I would not discuss her. Gu Meimei was too upset to recognize what she had done after Wei Changying inquired her. Naturally, she would be looked down upon by others. How foolish she is!”

The maid said, “Miss Gu is still young.”

“She is now sixteen years old,” snorted the Empress Gu. “Anji is fourteen now. Among the three unmarried princesses, she is less beloved than the other two by His Majesty. When Qingxin was honored with title, ‘the Princess,’ Chief Minister of the Ministry of Rites insisted that Anji should also get the title because Anji was older than Qingxin. Therefore, Anji ended up being a princess. Otherwise, before she gets married, she will not be a princess. Moreover, Linchuan laughed at Anji last year, she has harbored it until now. She tries her best to argue with Linchuan. His Majesty and I both punished her, but did she fear the punishments? Could we give her serious punishment merely for those trivial things she has done to Linchuan?”

The Empress sighed, “Anji and Madam Zhenyi are not loved by His Majesty, but they even don’t want to be wronged. I am Meimei’s aunt, but why is she so weak? How could she quarrel with Qian Mo’er?” Shaking her head, the Empress continued. “How incompetent she is! If I had another niece of her age from my mother’s family, I would not choose her.”

Although the Empress was disappointed at Gu Meimei, they still were family members. So, the maid didn’t discuss Gu Meimei. She came up with another matter, “Today, I found that Consort Deng had not cared much about third young madam of the Shen Family.”

“She was likely to speak out those words casually, because she wanted to restart a topic on Linchuan,” said the Empress Gu, nodding her head. “The Wei Family must know that thing about Song Zaishui, and they were perhaps involved in it. Ruiyu Hall and Zhiben Hall pretend to be in harmony apparently, but they have conflicts privately. Wei Zhenghong in Ruiyu Hall has been ill for a long time, so his son, Wei Changfeng, is great among the young generation. Old Madam Song is sophisticated. Wei Huan must have told his granddaughter not to meddle in these complex conflicts. Consort Deng is likely to know it clearly. If she had persuaded Wei Changying and then Wei Huan had known it, he must have avoided and even disliked her. She doesn’t have a son, but supports Sixteenth Prince and Seventeenth Prince adopted by Jieyu Miao. These two princes are still young, so how could she risk offending the Wei Family in Fengzhou?”