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

"This matter is over. No one is allowed to spread this word, or else they will die." Once outside the door, Prince Xuan threw out these words, emphasizing the last word.

Zhao Xianshan immediately responded: "This matter will absolutely not be leaked."

"Father-in-law, I'll go and tell that maid who brought the message to shut up." Madam Zhu was very obedient.

Prince Xuan is the Emperor's only biological brother, and the only brother allowed to stay in the capital. He is not someone to be easily offended.

In the end, only Gu Ce and his wife and Zhao Xianshan were left in the room, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Lord Gu, could you tell me what exactly happened?" Zhao Xianshan was also unsure.

Today's incident happened at the Zhao residence; it's impossible for Master Xuan not to be angry.

He needs to have something on him to do it.

"Lord Zhao, I'm sorry to have troubled you today." Gu Ce bowed deeply.

Zhao Xianshan immediately helped him up.

Gu Ce was a first-rank prime minister, while he was only a third-rank official.

"You're too kind, Lord Gu. Please tell me the truth. That way, I'll be better prepared to deal with things in court later." If Prince Xuan tries to trip him up, he'll have something to say.

From this day forward, he will have to work together with Gu Ce.

"Lord Zhao, it's actually very simple. Princess Xiangyi wanted to marry my husband, so she had someone push me into the water. She had hidden guards in the water, and as soon as I fell in, they grabbed my neck."

Fortunately, I found out about this, so I devised a plan to turn the tables and get her and Young Master Liu together.

"This not only broke the deadlock but also dispelled her desire to enter the Gu family," Rong Yingluo explained simply.

"So that's how it is. Princess Xiangyi's intentions are far too vicious; she actually wanted to kill someone. If the Censorate finds out about this, they'll surely impeach Prince Xuan. No wonder he had to swallow this bitter pill." Zhao Xianshan broke out in a cold sweat.

Such a vicious woman would kill anyone who stood in her way, and whoever she married would be doomed.

The Liu family is in for a rough time; they thought it was a good marriage.

However, this matter has nothing to do with the Zhao family, so they pretend they know nothing about it.

"You two probably haven't finished eating yet, please return to the banquet to continue your meal." Zhao Xianshan gestured for them to continue.

The three of them left the courtyard together, then went their separate ways and returned to their respective banquet tables.

Gu Qingya sat nervously on the stool, glancing at the door every now and then.

Seeing Rong Yingluo return after changing her clothes, he still couldn't put his mind at ease.

Only after Rong Yingluo sat down next to her did she gently tug at Rong Yingluo, her eyes filled with pleading.

"Don't worry, it's nothing." Rong Yingluo whispered a few words.

Gu Qingya was finally relieved.

If she knew that Princess Xiangyi had been outmaneuvered by Rong Yingluo, I wonder if she would be able to sleep at night.

Nothing unexpected happened after that.

Rong Yingluo picked up her wine cup and went to Princess Jinyang's table. She drank two cups with her and chatted and laughed for a while.

The two agreed to go horseback riding together at a racecourse in the suburbs a few days later.

Before leaving, Rong Yingluo went to Old Madam Zhao's bedside to take her pulse one last time and instructed that someone be sent to the Gu residence to fetch medicine the next day.

The Queen was very grateful.

If it weren't for Rong's timely treatment, my mother would have passed away today.

Moreover, Rong Shi did her a great favor by predicting that her son was still alive and would return.

She has hope now.

Gu Ce and Rong Shi both instructed that this matter not to be told to the Emperor, and she knew what Lord Gu meant.

He was afraid that if word got out about the prince's affair, the crown prince would harm the prince before the prince returned to the palace.

She had to keep quiet.

"Your Majesty, may I also take your pulse?" Seizing the opportunity, Rong Yingluo wanted to resolve the Empress's problem as well.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Madam Gu." The Empress extended her hand affectionately.

Rong Yingluo carefully took her pulse.

Last time at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, she only secretly touched it, but this time she felt it more carefully and realized it wasn't as serious as she imagined.

"Your Majesty, your biggest problem is excessive worry, which has led to a deficiency of both qi and blood. If this continues, you have at most six months left..."

So you must relax and take good care of yourself. Wait for the Second Prince to reunite with you.” Rong Yingluo deliberately made her words sound serious so that she wouldn’t take it lightly.

"Don't worry, I now know that my son may return to my side. I will wait for him to come back no matter what."

I want to tell him how much I miss him and how much I blame myself.

"If I hadn't agreed to let him leave the palace with me back then, and hadn't even pleaded with the Emperor, I wouldn't have lost him."

She feels heartbroken and guilty whenever she thinks about how she was the one who agreed to take the child out.

"I will also give you acupuncture, so you will sleep more comfortably tonight. I will also prescribe some medicine for you to take on time every day. In half a month, you can summon me to the palace for a follow-up examination. At most, you will be fully recovered in a month." Rong Yingluo had taken over the case and was determined to cure the person.

Moreover, she felt that the Empress was very compassionate. Such a woman shouldn't have died so young.

"Yes, I will take my medicine on time."

Immediately, Rong Yingluo wrote a prescription and handed it to the Empress.

After the banquet ended, the guests took their leave.

On the way back, Gu Qingyin and Gu Qingling were very excited.

"Sister-in-law, the Zhao family is so lively today. It would have been even more lively if Old Madam Zhao hadn't suddenly fallen ill." Gu Qingling's face was flushed.

This was the first time in her life that she had ever gone out to attend such a lively banquet.

Even at banquets hosted by the Gu family, she wouldn't be qualified to sit in a front seat, but today she's sitting in the best spot thanks to her sister-in-law.

With Princess Jinyang leading them, those who looked down on them didn't say a single unpleasant word.

"I'll take you all with me whenever I have the chance in the future," Rong Yingluo promised.

She was pleased with her two younger sisters; they were both very kind girls.

Gu Qingyin had even helped her.

Although I had little contact with Gu Qingling, I could tell from her appearance that she was a kind-hearted girl.

"Sister-in-law, Princess Xiangyi never returned to the banquet after that. I wonder how she is doing?" Gu Qingya couldn't hold back any longer and had been wanting to ask for a long time.

"She's going home to get married." Rong Yingluo might as well tell her, "If you want to live a good life, you'd better stay away from her in the future, lest you get killed by her one day without even knowing why."

She put it more seriously, hoping Gu Qingya wouldn't be so foolish.

Considering that she revealed Yuwen Xiangyi's plan today, she offered a word of advice.

"What? She's getting married? To whom?" Gu Qingya was shocked.

How is that possible?

"You'll find out in a few days. Anyway, it's not your older brother." Rong Yingluo didn't want to satisfy her so quickly.

Upon returning to the Gu residence, the first thing to do was to pay respects to the old lady.

Seeing her two granddaughters beaming with joy, the old lady was happy too.

The next day.

The Zhao family sent a visiting card to pay their respects to the old lady.

A day later, Madam Zhu, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhao family, personally came to visit.

"Yiqiu greets the late Duchess of the State." Madam Zhu bowed respectfully. Her maiden name was Yiqiu.

"Please, no need for formalities." The old lady reached out her hand to help her up.

"Thank you, Madam. My mother-in-law suddenly fell ill at her birthday banquet a couple of days ago, but fortunately, Young Madam Gu saved her. This is a thank-you gift specially chosen by my father-in-law, which he had Yiqiu deliver. Please take a look, Madam." Madam Zhu instructed the maid behind her to open all the boxes.

It contains only top-quality, precious medicinal herbs: ginseng, lingzhi mushroom, deer antler, and musk.

"Lord Zhao, you're too kind." The old lady told Granny Ye to put everything away.

The two chatted about everyday things for a while, and then Madam Zhu suggested that she wanted to speak with Rong Yingluo alone for a bit.

"Go ahead." The old lady had heard Rong Yingluo recount what had happened at the Zhao family's house and knew that Madam Zhu's visit was not merely to express her gratitude.

Rong Yingluo led Madam Zhu to the main hall of Yinliu Courtyard and sat down.

"Madam Zhao, I see you look worried. Is there something else?" Rong Yingluo had already noticed that something was wrong with her expression.