After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

"Is that so?" Du Liangyu's eyes lit up.

It seems that the woman Gu Ce married is not content to stay at home. A merchant's daughter is just a merchant's daughter; she lacks the upbringing of a noblewoman.

The two chatted about Mingyue Tower for a while, and finally Liao Xianda handed a stack of silver notes to Du Liangyu before ending their meeting.

Seeing Du Liangyu leave through the front door, Gu Ce and his companion descended from the rooftop and left Mingyue Tower to return to their residence.

It was already late morning when I returned to Yinliu Courtyard.

Gu Ce ripped off the black mask covering his face, his eyes fixed on Rong Yingluo, and approached her step by step.

"You lied to me." Gu Ce squeezed out three words through gritted teeth.

"What did I lie to you about?" Rong Yingluo had never seen Gu Ce so aggressive before.

"You and the Prince of Liao have known each other for a long time, and your relationship is quite close, which is why he couldn't help but put food on your plate. Don't you have a fiancé? How come you're so close to other men? You still have a proper husband with whom you've been married." Gu Ce took a step closer with each sentence.

When he heard that Li Xuanye had actually served her food, his anger surged. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, he would have already lost his temper.

"Um, calm down." Rong Yingluo had never been so speechless before, not knowing how to avoid Gu Ce's questioning.

"You are my wife. Shouldn't I be angry that other men are fawning over you?" Gu Ce took another step closer.

"Hehe, my husband, he's just a very outgoing person, don't take it to heart. Today he not only served me food, but also served the two younger sisters." Rong Yingluo chuckled twice.

"You still won't tell the truth? When did you two meet?" Gu Ce was determined to get to the bottom of it, and he became even more aggressive.

He already knew from An Yi that the two should know each other, but he wanted to hear her say it herself to prove that her relationship with Li Xuan Ye was not what he imagined.

"I...I met him when I was seven years old." Seeing that Gu Ce was really angry, Rong Yingluo had no choice but to tell the truth.

"Seven years old? When you were seven, he was ten. He was in Beiyuan City then. You went to Beiyuan City?" Gu Ce's doubts deepened.

"I did go there, and I even saved his life. Otherwise, why would he serve me food? He was repaying the debt of saving my life," Rong Yingluo said, adding a little more.

Anyway, I'm not afraid of deceiving the emperor now, so it doesn't matter if Gu Ce finds out my identity.

"I see." Gu Ce didn't press further. "Remember, you are my wife. Don't let anyone misunderstand you in public."

"I understand." Rong Yingluo had never seen Gu Ce so assertive before, so she had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

"Go to sleep." Gu Ce took off his black clothes and lay down on the inside of the bed.

Rong Yingluo hesitated before changing her clothes and getting into bed, afraid that if she continued to ask questions, the questions would lead back to her master.

She still didn't understand why her master looked so much like the late emperor; there must be a secret behind it. She didn't want to talk about her master yet.

Seeing that she was lying down, Gu Ce deliberately moved his body away to get closer to her.

Rong Yingluo felt guilty and dared not object.

Gu Ce, taking advantage of the situation, moved again, and the two were almost touching.

"Liuli..." Gu Ce called softly, knowing he had been too fierce just now.

Even he didn't know why he couldn't control his emotions.

"Hmm?" Rong Yingluo found it strange. He had never called her that before; he usually just called her Madam.

"I'm sorry." After a long while, Gu Ce finally uttered these three words, but his voice was muffled.

He shouldn't have lost his temper. They were supposed to be husband and wife, but there was an agreement between them, yet they were lying intimately in the same bed.

Rong Yingluo found it very strange and suddenly turned her face halfway to look at Gu Ce.

Are you apologizing to me?

There was a few moments of silence.

"Yes," Gu Ce said.

Rong Yingluo lay back down, a warm smile on her face: "Since you know you were wrong, I won't hold it against you."

"Oh, right, how did the manager of Mingyue Tower know everything I said and did in the private room? We were in the innermost private room at the time, and no one was passing by the door or outside the window." Rong Yingluo suddenly thought of this question.

If she hadn't been interrupted, she would have asked long ago.

"Mingyue Tower is His Highness the Crown Prince's property. If he wants to eavesdrop on your conversation or see you, he only needs to install a mechanism on the wall." Gu Ce took the opportunity to move a little closer to Rong Yingluo while speaking.

The two are now practically standing side by side.

However, Yingluo was preoccupied with what was happening tonight and didn't pay any attention to it.

"Now that you've discovered the secret of Mingyue Tower, what are you planning to do?" Rong Yingluo wondered about how the Crown Prince was making money in this way.

They even tried to control her with poppies.

He may have secretly used poppies to control countless people.

"Don't worry about this, I have a way of handling it." Gu Ce didn't want her to worry too much. "Go to sleep."

"Why are you so close to me?" Rong Yingluo finally realized what was happening. She tried to move away a little, but she was already sleeping on the outside, and if she moved any further, she would fall off the bed.

"Perhaps it's because the day the poison takes effect is getting closer, and the weather is getting colder, so I'm feeling a bit chilly. Let me get closer to you to warm up," Gu Ce said shamelessly, his face instantly burning.

In the past twenty-three years, he has never been this shameless.

After hearing this, Rong Yingluo touched his hand and found it was indeed colder than hers.

So they stopped talking.

The two of them fell asleep right next to each other.

Gu Ce got a good night's sleep, which was rare for him.

September 15th was the day Gu Ce's poison flared up every month.

Early in the morning, Rong Yingluo and Yinghong went to several pharmacies on the street to prepare the necessary medicinal materials, just waiting for the evening to arrive.

Gu Ce went to the morning court session as usual.

After the morning court session, Emperor Taikang kept him in the imperial study for a talk.

"A-Ce, it's time for your poison to flare up again. I'm so incompetent; I haven't been able to find a skilled physician to cure you." Emperor Taikang felt very guilty.

He was unaware that Gu Ce would periodically suffer from poisoning.

It was that time when he shielded Gu Ce from poison that caused Gu Ce to be poisoned prematurely, and only then did he realize that Gu Ce had been poisoned several times since childhood and was already afflicted with multiple poisons.

He then consulted the imperial physician, who said that if the poison could not be cured, he would only have a few years left to live.

This child is intelligent and capable; he is his favorite minister.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm used to it. I'll take a day off tomorrow." Gu Ce took the opportunity to ask for leave.

Last month, his wife performed bloodletting on him, which alleviated the poisoning in his body, but he didn't know how it would be this time.

"Hmm. Prime Minister Luo is terminally ill and beyond cure. The position of Prime Minister needs to be filled urgently. Who do you think is the most suitable?" Emperor Taikang asked specifically.

Gu Ce was taken aback; this was the second time the Emperor had brought up this topic in front of him.

The first time was when asked who would be more suitable to be the prime minister, he said that the emperor should make the decision. Then he analyzed the merits and demerits of several important officials in the court and asked the emperor to choose.

The fact that the Emperor is asking again today shows that he can no longer wait.

The old prime minister had already submitted his resignation memorial, but the emperor had been holding back, deliberately delaying the process to select a suitable person to succeed him.

In recent days, the Crown Prince's faction has repeatedly recommended candidates in court, with Minister Gao being the most popular choice.

Gu Ce thought for a moment, then lifted his robe and ran to Emperor Taikang.

"Your Majesty, I would like to recommend myself. I am willing to share Your Majesty's burdens." After saying this, he straightened up, raised his head, and firmly met Emperor Taikang's gaze.