My younger sister insisted on marrying me and made me the Marquis' wife.

Chapter 646

"Oh?" Lord Gu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and laugh, "When our Emperor defied all opposition and made Empress Lin his empress, didn't he say that although all the flowers were in bloom, he only favored this one? How long has it been?"

Gu Baozhu laughed loudly: "Third Brother, you're quite mischievous."

Lord Gu curled his lip; he hadn't even said the unpleasant things yet.

Mr. Songshan steered the conversation back on track: "...Uh...It seems to me that the Emperor favors Li more, while Zhang is now deserted, claiming illness and not coming out. It seems he hasn't seen the Emperor for a long time."

Lord Gu coughed lightly: "But it seems that Li, the head of the guild, prefers Ximen the bandit."

Gu Baozhu laughed again.

“It is said that prostitutes are heartless and actors are unrighteous,” Mr. Songshan said, “but prostitutes also love handsome young men in the world of pleasure. This Li, the head of the pleasure house, seems to be quite fond of Ximen, which is a bit bad.”

Lord Gu stopped laughing, pondered for a while, and said, "As long as we are prepared, it's not impossible for them to court death."

If we could really assassinate the emperor, that would be a good thing.

He could simply support the King of Qi to become emperor.

When King Qi ascends the throne, he will surely overturn the case against the former Crown Prince and Empress Yuan, and the injustice and tears of the Gu family will eventually be redressed.

Mr. Songshan said quietly, "I'm afraid that the other side will not succeed and will instead trap us."

A vertical line appeared between Lord Gu's brows.

Gu Baozhu said, "Third brother, it's all my fault for getting involved with them by accident. Now I don't know what they're thinking, but it's always better to be careful."

Lord Gu glanced at Gu Baozhu and laughed, "I didn't expect you to think of this. You're getting smarter and smarter."

Gu Baozhu snorted and said, "I've also arranged for someone to follow them tomorrow. Don't think I'm ignorant just because I'm young."

"Since we don't know what the other party is thinking, we should just assume they have ill intentions and be on guard," Lord Gu said nonchalantly. "As the saying goes, brute force can overcome any skill. No matter how powerful the Black Wind Stronghold people are, now that they've come to the capital and are being watched, aren't they just walking into a trap? Even if we can't wipe them all out, we should at least make them suffer a great loss."

Mr. Songshan smiled and said, "That's exactly what I need to discuss with the Marquis. My wife mentioned before that if we investigate thoroughly, we can use it to gain merit. I just didn't expect it to be such a coincidence..."

Qin Yuan said, "Since Your Excellency has made up your mind, we will not say any more. However... should we inform Prince Qi?"

Gu Jinghui nodded and said, "Whether they are interested in romance or have designs on the Emperor, they are not backed by Prince Qi. Prince Qi has planted many people in the palace, and it's time to put them to use."

As they were talking, Gu Baozhu and Mr. Songshan's noodles were served. The two buried their heads in their food. Lord Gu ordered someone to summon Gu Shiba and instructed him to deliver a message to Prince Qi's residence. He also told Prince Qi, "Prince Jin has been making frequent moves lately, secretly recruiting people behind the Crown Prince's back. He has even infiltrated my camp."

After Gu Shiba left, Mr. Songshan took a couple of sips of noodles and said, "It is a good strategy for Prince Jin to plot behind the Crown Prince. The Emperor dotes on the Crown Prince, and by leveraging the Crown Prince's influence, he has a better chance of winning than the other princes."

Gu Baozhu took a sip of soup, put down her chopsticks, and asked, "What about Prince Qi?"

Mr. Songshan shook his head: "It's hard to say. He was born as the eldest son and lost his maternal clan. Whether it was because of his noble family, the Empress Dowager, or the former Crown Prince, he was feared by the Emperor and could not even get along well with the Empress Dowager."

Qin Yuan sighed.

In the previous life, the crown prince died, and not long after, the Prince of Qi also died. Only then did the other princes begin to vie for the throne, while the emperor was in good health. It is unknown who will be the winner in the end.

Gu Baozhu thought for a moment and said, "It seems that Prince Qi has no choice but to fight for it, and his situation is just as awkward as our Dingbei Marquis's mansion."

Mr. Songshan laughed and said, "Otherwise, how can we form an alliance?" Gu Baozhu sighed, "Growing up really brings a lot of troubles."

Lord Gu laughed and said, "Why are you, a mere child, worrying about these things? The outcome is still uncertain. More than ten years ago, everyone said that the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion was finished, but isn't it doing just fine now? As long as it doesn't involve treason, who can touch the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion?"

Protectorates have already been established in the northern frontier, and the wild donkeys have been driven to Liaodong. With no battles to fight, there is no merit to be gained, but also no fault to be punished.

The title of Marquis of Dingbei is a hereditary title.

Even if their descendants are not successful, the imperial court will still have to pay them this stipend.

His achievements cannot be erased by anyone.

If it weren't for revenge, he wouldn't have joined forces with the King of Qi.

Gu Baozhu suddenly had a change of heart and laughed heartily, "Third Brother is right. You are my and Sixth Brother's biggest backer and strongest support. I'll just eat well, sleep well, and be the Seventh Miss of the Dingbei Marquis's Mansion."

As the saying goes, "When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact," her worries are completely unnecessary.

Qin Yuan suddenly said, "Black Wind Stronghold and the imperial court have been at peace for many years. If their purpose in entering the capital is to receive Monk Zhiguang, the best way is to create chaos in the capital on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, making the city and surrounding areas chaotic, so that they can take advantage of the situation."

Lord Gu nodded.

Qin Yuan added, "Therefore, they certainly wouldn't dare to reveal their background."

Lord Gu hummed in agreement.

Qin Yuan continued, "They've been operating in Black Wind Stronghold for years, and the imperial court has been helpless against them. This is partly due to the stronghold's advantageous location, and partly because of their superior martial arts skills; repeated attempts to suppress the bandits have all failed. Now that they've entered the capital, they've lost their advantage..."

Mr. Songshan clapped his hands and said, "That's right. They have no advantage in terms of terrain, so they can only compete in terms of their martial arts skills. If they don't have an inside accomplice, they may not be able to succeed by killing, burning, and causing chaos on their own."

Lord Gu asked, "You suspect there's an inside agent within the Imperial Guards?"

Mr. Songshan said, "That's hard to say. The Five Cities Military Command may not be clean either."

Lord Gu pondered for a moment and said, "The only option is to use Monk Zhiguang as bait, but the Imperial Guards are not under my command..."

Mr. Songshan hurriedly added, "In my opinion, dozens of them have entered the city and dispersed into various places. I'm afraid they're planning to set fires while the people are enjoying the lanterns, causing chaos everywhere. There must be someone outside the city to help them escape, otherwise how would they manage? We should keep an eye on the whereabouts of those dozens of people and catch them like turtles in a jar when the time is right."

Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Black Wind Stronghold has many leaders, and they may not be of one mind. I have heard that Black Wind Stronghold has tried to recruit them many times, but all attempts have failed. I'm afraid there are other reasons behind this."

Mr. Songshan paused for a moment, then asked, "Does Madam think that Ximen's approach to Li Hangshou might also be for the purpose of seeking amnesty?"

Qin Yuan said, "It's hard to say. Right now, there seem to be three possibilities: assassination or framing, indulging in pleasure, or plotting to be granted amnesty."

Mr. Songshan hesitated and said, "If Black Wind Stronghold becomes Empress Lin's lackey, why should they risk getting close to the Emperor?"

Black Wind Stronghold was involved in the silver theft case, and the prison break was with the Duke of Cheng'en and others. It must be Empress Lin's power. If they wanted to be recruited, why go to the trouble of going to the emperor to see him?

With Empress Lin in favor, all it took was a whisper in her ear, and the Black Wind Village people would have to do to get the prefect to submit a letter of thanks, and their grand plan would be accomplished.

(End of this chapter)