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

Tang Rui stared at him blankly for a long time before asking incredulously, "You believe I can make Gu poison?"

When she first claimed she could make Gu poison, neither her father nor Rong Momo believed her!

Gu Nanyu said calmly, "You're not one to spout nonsense, why wouldn't I believe you?"

Tang Rui: "..." Her feelings suddenly became a bit complicated.

I wouldn't say I was moved, but it felt like a warm current had been injected into my heart.

Everyone says it feels good to be trusted, and it's true.

Tang Rui smiled with relief, closed the brocade box, and handed it back to him: "Thank you, but this gift is too valuable, I can't accept it."

Gu Nanyu didn't accept it, but said, "Since I gave it to you, it's yours. If you think it's too valuable, you can give me a valuable gift in return. As friends, isn't it about reciprocity?"

"..." That's not wrong either.

Tang Rui accepted it anyway: "Okay, I'll go to the storeroom later and see if there's a suitable gift for you."

It must be said that Gu Nanyu is indeed very knowledgeable and talented, and he even knows that a medium is needed to control the Gu worms.

But what he didn't know was that his natal Gu didn't need it.

Tang Rui doesn't have her own natal Gu yet, so she really needs a medium.

This xun has arrived at just the right time!

Seeing that she accepted it, Gu Nanyu's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

"Gu Nanyu, let's go! Why are you so slow?" Situ An, who had already left the palace gate, turned back and called out to him.

Gu Nanyu ignored her and just looked at Tang Rui: "Then I'll go first. Take good care of yourself. The Emperor's birthday is coming up soon, so it's best not to miss it."

"I know, thank you!" Tang Rui thanked him again and saw him out of the palace.

The three friends got into their respective carriages, and Situ An even lifted the curtain and waved at her: "Zhaohua, take good care of yourself and go back to the Imperial Academy as soon as possible. I'm so bored without you."

"Okay, I'll definitely do my best!"

Tang Rui also waved her paw, watching her three little friends gradually disappear from her sight.

...

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and the emperor's birthday arrived!

The people of Kyoto were grateful for the benevolence of the current emperor, and every household hung red lanterns to pray for his well-being.

This practice has become a custom.

At night, the red lanterns of every household shine like lamps in the darkness.

Looking around, the entire city of Kyoto seemed to be submerged in a hazy, orange glow.

These myriad lights are filled with the warmth of everyday life and heartfelt wishes.

Situ Che and Qin Zhiyan were dressed in formal attire, and even Gu Ruoxue and Consort Zhu changed into elaborate palace dresses befitting their rank.

As the principal wife and concubines, they also had to accompany Prince Li to the palace banquet.

In contrast, the two concubines did not accompany them.

There are too many people and too much gossip in the palace; it's better to avoid trouble.

At the entrance of the Prince Li's mansion, two women looked at Situ Che with lingering reluctance, their eyes filled with longing.

In a short period of time, they had already fallen in love with this man.

In Tang Rui's words, during the honeymoon phase, she didn't want to be apart from Situ Che for even a moment.

Situ Che was merely attending a banquet, yet the two women treated him like they were sending him off to war.

Consort Li, clutching her small handkerchief, said, "My lord, you must come back soon!"

Consort Zhang nodded quickly, still unpretentious: "It's my turn tonight. Come back early and sleep with me."

Situ Che: "..." Suddenly, he didn't want to come back.

Gu Ruoxue glanced at the two of them indifferently, then quickly looked away.

Qin Zhiyan awkwardly laughed and tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, let's not talk about these things at the entrance of the Prince's Mansion."

"Yeah, let's hurry up and go, my neck is about to break!" Little Tang Rui complained the whole time, her little mouth pouting.

Her small head was adorned with numerous headdresses, including a princess's crown and a forehead ornament, making her head weigh several pounds heavier and exhausting her.

Unfortunately, this sin is called virtue, appearance, etiquette, and manners, and one cannot refrain from it!

Hearing her words, the adults couldn't help but laugh, and without further delay, they boarded the carriage.

The carriage slowly drove towards the palace.

Inside the carriage, the three women were clearly in a good mood.

Because they all knew that after tonight, the Crown Prince would no longer be the Crown Prince.

Qin Zhiyan's inner thoughts: Once the Crown Prince steps down, let's see how arrogant Qin Zhirou will be in the future.

Gu Ruoxue's inner thoughts: I love this kind of drama where evil is punished. Should I add fuel to the fire of this drama?

Zhu Yurao's inner thoughts: It's been so long since I've been to the palace. I can eat and watch the excitement at the same time. Before I was married, I tasted the dragon whisker pastry made by the imperial kitchen. It tasted pretty good. I'll be eating more of it in a while.

The three women had different thoughts, but they were surprisingly in agreement—they hoped the crown prince would suffer misfortune!

Situ Che, however, thought about it more deeply.

The removal of the crown prince will certainly cause turmoil in the court, and the prince's faction will not give up. They will be busy for some time to come.

Tang Rui was probably the least burdened person present, eating and drinking as she pleased.

If the sky falls, the adults will hold it up; if the adults can't hold it up, then we'll talk.

Finally, we arrived at the palace gate.

Qingfeng took out the wheelchair and helped Situ Che sit down.

Qin Zhiyan pushed the wheelchair, leading the two women with their heads held high as they stepped into the palace gate.

When they arrived, many officials had already come to the main hall, and several princes had also arrived long ago.

They glanced at Situ Che and simultaneously raised their glasses.

Clearly, they were also looking forward to tonight's farce!

Before long, the Crown Prince arrived with Qin Zhirou and his only son, Situ Jin.

The courtiers all stood up and shouted, "Long live the Crown Prince!"

Situ Xiao enjoyed this feeling. He glanced disdainfully at his brothers and took his family to sit at the head of the Prince's faction.

Qin Zhirou clearly still remembered the embarrassing situation from last time. As soon as she sat down, she glanced sideways at the Princess Consort of Chen, who was sitting closest to her: "Third sister-in-law, has Brother Tan fallen ill again? Why does he look increasingly haggard after not seeing him for a while?"

Princess Chen: "..."

Hit people without slapping their faces, and expose people without revealing shortcomings.

No wonder she disliked Qin Zhirou; listen to her, is she even speaking human language?

It's really bad luck to sit next to someone like that.

She really wanted to change seats.

Besides, her haggard appearance wasn't because of Tan Ge, but because Tan Ge's health was getting better and better, and she was becoming more at ease and had the mind to consummate her marriage with Prince Chen.

Who knew that Prince Chen had such great energy? Once he understood her hint, he stayed in her courtyard almost every night, calling for water two or three times a night, each time for more than an hour.

She knew that Prince Chen still hoped she could give him another legitimate son.

But this... is a bit too unrestrained.

Thinking of this, Princess Consort Chen gave Prince Chen a coquettish glare.

Prince Chen smiled, poured himself a cup of tea, and pushed it in front of her, somewhat ingratiatingly.

Princess Chen smiled shyly, picked up her water glass, took a small sip, and considered it an admission of forgiveness.

They couldn't be bothered to respond, and Qin Zhirou's sarcasm caused no real harm.

After being humiliated, Qin Zhirou called out to Princess Rui across the table where Prince Chen and his family of three sat: "Fifth sister-in-law, why do you look so pale? Could you be pregnant?"

The princes were the center of attention, and the officials who had been watching the princes frowned upon hearing Qin Zhirou's words.