After the milk ball arrived, the father who had no heirs had a string of good luck.

"..." Don't be fooled by her!

Situ Che said irritably, "Who told me yesterday that her biological mother was still alive? Oh, and she died today?"

How can you curse your own mother like that?

"..." It's over, I've forgotten!

Ugh, kids forget things so easily!

Tang Rui stopped crying abruptly and smiled sheepishly, "Father, don't worry about these details. Forget about the other poison powder, at least give me back the poison powder for making Gu! I specially prepared those poison powders, and some of them aren't even sold in medical clinics. If you don't give them back, I won't have enough poison powder to make Gu."

"Father, dear Father, you love me the most, don't you?"

"I'm your little baby, aren't I?"

"Daddy is the best and most handsome daddy in the world. I am so happy to have daddy."

Tang Rui kept praising him, calling him "good father" and "the best father," until Situ Che was completely overwhelmed, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

Situ Che couldn't resist her persistent pleading and finally agreed to let her take it back.

Got it!

Under the influence of this little witch, he even thought it was perfectly normal for a five-year-old child to be able to make Gu poison.

...

A month has passed in the blink of an eye!

At Qin Zhiyan's prompting, Situ Che also began to frequently visit the courtyards of other concubines.

As Qin Zhiyan became more and more familiar with him, she stopped beating around the bush when she spoke to him.

He advised him bluntly: "Your Highness grew up in the palace, and I'm sure you've seen your share of filth. Don't underestimate any woman. If you use them well, they can be your help; if you use them poorly, they will only bring you disaster."

Situ Che thought that what was said was absolutely right.

In such a position, what dirty deeds haven't I seen?

It would be a grave mistake to think that these women are harmless little rabbits.

It wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't spent time with them, but once he did, he discovered that the women in his harem were... well, let's just say they were complicated.

Consort Gu was the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's second wife. The Prime Minister was a well-known royalist with immense power and numerous protégés throughout the court.

If he wants to ascend to that position in the future, he will need the Prime Minister's support.

Consort Zhu was the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Revenue.

The Ministry of Revenue was a lucrative place, and its status in the palace was self-evident.

Although Li Ji was the daughter of a royal merchant, she was extremely wealthy.

He won't have to worry about funding for anything he wants to do in the future.

Zhang Ji is the daughter of the Left Vanguard of the Black Scale Cavalry. She is skilled in troop deployment and has great talent as a general.

Apart from Princess Qin Zhiyan and Consort Liu, who were placed in the palace by the Empress, all the other women were placed in the palace by the Emperor.

But the identities and social standing of these women are... quite subtle.

Only now did Situ Che vaguely understand what his father meant.

This is clearly an attempt to get him to fight for it!

He knew his father loved him, but was it this much?

His legs are in such a state, and he has no offspring. How can you expect to push him into a high position when he's like this?

But then I thought about it again, and it seems that my father has never given up on finding the Valley of Divine Healers.

So... does Father want to heal his leg first?

As a result, Situ Che stopped being lazy and went to court on time almost every day.

Two days ago, Lao Jiu received news from the Divine Doctor Valley and went on another long trip.

But then there was the third prince, Chen Wang, who took over the position of the ninth prince and pushed him in and out of the imperial court every day, standing firmly behind him.

When the Crown Prince's faction is in trouble because they don't know their place, the Third Prince will retort without the Crown Prince saying a word, making them question their existence.

Situ Che: "..." For the first time, he realized that among his brothers, not only the fifth brother was sharp-tongued, but also the third brother.

Crown Prince: "..." How come the third prince suddenly got along so well with the seventh prince?

I'm a little annoyed!

If Lao Qi hadn't been disabled, he probably wouldn't have just been annoyed; he might have done something else.

But the crown prince did not forget to consolidate his position. He was very active and got closer and closer to the court officials, completely unaware of the emperor's increasingly cold expression.

Prince Chen noticed this but did not remind the Crown Prince.

Situ Che noticed this as well, but he certainly wouldn't remind the Crown Prince.

They let the crown prince continue to act recklessly.

...

Tang Rui's days were also very peaceful.

Without Situ Qiang, life at the Imperial Academy became much quieter.

Aside from Situ Jin occasionally bickering with her and tripping her up, everything else was fine.

Situ Jin was not as vicious as Situ Qiang, nor was he as daring. A little scare would make him behave.

In the past month, Tang Rui has already formed her own small group within the Imperial Academy of Chinese Studies.

Situ An, Gu Nanyu, and their cousin Situ Tan, who were originally sitting in the front row, also happily took their books and moved to the second-to-last row.

Tang Rui publicly claimed that they were the ancient F4.

The other three didn't understand what F4 meant, so they humbly asked for clarification.

Tang Rui said, "F means beautiful and strong. F4, the four of us are all beautiful and strong kids."

Situ An and Situ Tan actually believed it, and wherever they went, they claimed to be one of the F4.

Gu Nanyu chuckled, not that narcissistic, but out of consideration for Tang Rui, he didn't refute her.

He actually doesn't like being around people and most of the time just wants to be alone.

But he didn't understand why he didn't reject Tang Rui.

Perhaps it's because she's guileless and clearly expresses whatever she wants to do.

Or perhaps when she looked at herself, her eyes were filled with nothing but admiration!

In short, it's about not disliking it.

Unexpectedly, on this day, he had just returned from the Imperial Academy when his grandfather summoned him to the study.

The prime minister was nearing sixty, with white eyebrows and a white beard, and a pair of bright, piercing eyes that seemed to see right through people.

Because the eldest son married late, and the grandson is also quite young, and he experienced something like that when he was little...

Fortunately, my grandson is very outstanding.

No one knew that he was the second person after King Li to have a photographic memory.

嗏

The old prime minister, recalling the rumors he had recently heard, looked at the child with an inscrutable expression: "I heard you've been getting quite close to Princess Zhaohua lately?"

Gu Nanyu lowered his head meekly and replied, "Yes!"

The old prime minister frowned and said, "Prince Li is crippled in both legs and has only one daughter, Zhaohua. He is ineligible for that position. You are aware of this, aren't you?"

A hint of mockery flashed in Gu Nanyu's eyes: "Grandpa, are you afraid I'll shake the Gu family's position as a royalist? But Grandpa, are you a true royalist, or do you know the Emperor favors Prince Li the most and dare not easily take sides?"

"..." Every time I chat with this grandson, the conversation dies.

Despite his young age, he sees everything clearly.

Yes, he wasn't a pure royalist; he just didn't dare to easily take sides.

He worried that the emperor would disregard ancestral rules and pass the throne to the crippled Prince Li.

Prime Minister Gu immediately lost his composure, blowing his beard and glaring, "Prince Li is disabled. If His Majesty wants to promote him, not only will the civil and military officials not allow it, but even the imperial family will not allow it."

Gu Nanyu said calmly, "I only know that the Emperor favors Prince Li and won't let him die. If the Crown Prince ascends the throne, given his magnanimity, would he let Prince Li live? To protect Prince Li, the Crown Prince cannot become Emperor!"

The subtext is: you can side with anyone, just don't side with the crown prince.

Prime Minister Gu chuckled in exasperation: "Then who do you think is the safest bet for the Gu family to stand on?"