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

"Prince Xuan and you are siblings from the same mother, so your bond is naturally deeper than that of other princes. Precisely because of this closeness, perhaps some things have been kept from your eyes." After saying this, the Empress stared intently at the Emperor, wanting to see how he would react to her words.

Is it anger, disagreement, or deep thought?

However, Emperor Taikang did not react at all, but calmly said, "Xian'er, you don't need to hesitate in front of me if you want to say something."

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is already twenty-five years old, and he only has two princesses. The Prince of Beijun is now crippled in both legs. If something happens to the Crown Prince, you will surely adopt a son from the Prince Xuan's residence to inherit the throne." The Empress boldly voiced the speculation of Gu Ce and his wife.

Emperor Taikang remained calm after hearing this, but his face showed relief: "Xian'er, I am very happy that you have finally overcome the pain of losing your child and have begun to think about me."

"Your Majesty...you..." The Empress looked shocked.

There is no kinship in the imperial family, not even between brothers and mother.

"That's why I suggested that Your Majesty bestow a marriage upon Atai and Miss Gu."

Miss Gu is an arrogant and domineering person. I have found out that Atai has a lover, but he is too lowly to bring her back to the manor. If we arrange for this woman to marry into the Xuanwang Mansion together with Miss Gu, it would be better to arrange for her to marry into the Xuanwang Mansion together.

Chaos is bound to break out in Prince Xuan's mansion.

"Prince Xuan only has one legitimate son. If his legitimate son is harmed, Princess Xuan's heart will be in turmoil, and the couple will become estranged, thus diverting Prince Xuan's attention," the Empress analyzed.

Emperor Taikang fell into deep thought after hearing the Empress's words.

"The heir of the Duke of Zhenguo is the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo, born to his first wife, while Miss Gu is born to his second wife. The two have no affection for each other. The Duke of Zhenguo has always valued the Southern Xia kingdom and could not possibly be Miss Gu's support. What the Emperor is worried about will not happen," the Empress continued to persuade.

Emperor Taikang eventually agreed to the marriage.

The day the imperial edict arrived at the Gu residence was also the coming-of-age ceremony for Gu Qingling, the third wife of the family.

Because the third wife was born out of wedlock, they didn't invite many guests.

Only Xiang's maternal relatives were invited. Xiang was also born out of wedlock, but because she married the third master of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the Xiang family gave her some face. Xiang's sister-in-law and brother's wife both brought their daughters.

They also invited the fourth wife of the Qi family and her two daughters.

Madam Qi, acting as a matchmaker, brought Ke Miaoran along as well.

Gu Qingling was favored by Rong Yingluo, so they naturally took a liking to her as well. After marrying into the Qi family, she would become a member of the Qi family.

The coming-of-age ceremony was much more lively than expected.

As the eldest member of the Gu family, the old lady presented a set of valuable jewelry.

After the coming-of-age ceremony, a young woman's hairstyle changes; she can wear hairpins or hair ornaments.

In addition to a set of jewelry, Rong Yingluo also gave two bolts of fine fabric, which were sent from the palace.

The Empress thanked her for accompanying her to Huguo Temple to pray for blessings and brought her many fine gifts, which Rong Yingluo accepted without hesitation.

Gu Qingling was very happy; she had never worn fabric from the palace before.

As the Duchess of the State and the matriarch of the Gu family, Lady Su was absent due to illness.

Gu Qingya presented the congratulatory gift on behalf of her mother.

The gifts given by the Guo family, the second wife and her daughter, were quite conventional.

When Madam Qi Si delivered the gift, it was actually in pairs.

"Light and delicate, this was specially chosen by Zimo. He said he hoped to wear this when he puts his hairpin in today." Madam Qi opened the box, and inside lay a white jade hairpin with a flying fairy design. The workmanship was exquisite, and the jade was translucent and warm. It was clear at a glance that it had been carefully selected.

"Okay, let's use this one." Madam Xiang had originally prepared a hairpin for her daughter, but after comparing them, this one given by her future son-in-law was even better.

It was changed immediately.

Gu Qingling blushed deeply, but her heart was filled with sweet joy.

When the chief guest inserted the white jade hairpin, Gu Qingling's face turned completely red.

Just as all the ceremonies were finished, a servant woman from the second gate rushed over: "Madam, an imperial edict has arrived from the palace. The young master requests that everyone go to the front courtyard to receive it."

The old lady looked at Rong Yingluo with a questioning gaze.

"Grandmother, it must be a good thing," Rong Yingluo reassured her.

The crowd moved to the front yard to receive the imperial decree.

When the imperial edict was read aloud, Gu Qingya was overjoyed.

My sister-in-law really kept her word; she can now marry into the Xuan Prince's mansion.

"Today is truly a day of double joy for the Gu family," said Madam Qi with a smile.

After a lively day, the old lady summoned Rong Yingluo and Gu Ce to Shousong Courtyard.

As soon as she entered, Rong Yingluo saw that the old lady's face was displeased.

"A-Ce, what's going on? Why did the Emperor issue an edict to marry Qingya to the heir of the Xuan Prince's Mansion?" The old lady did not want the Gu family to be linked with the royal family through marriage.

She was already a county princess, so there was no need for her to marry her granddaughter into the royal family.

"Grandmother, this is a long story." Rong Yingluo had no choice but to tell the story of Gu Qingya's intimate encounter with Yuwen Tai after entering the palace.

The Emperor ordered that this matter be kept secret, so the old lady had no way of knowing.

"Qingya's personality is not suitable for marrying into the Xuan Prince's Mansion. You should have told me this sooner." The old lady glared at Rong Yingluo.

She was the last to know about something so important.

"Grandmother, Qingya is in love with Prince Tai and only wants to marry him. Now that her wish has come true, it's a good thing, and she can live a peaceful life from now on," Rong Yingluo could only comfort her.

"Alas, the imperial decree has already been issued; there's no use saying anything now." The old lady felt utterly powerless.

That child was spoiled by Madam Su and became arrogant. She was afraid that if the child entered a family like the Prince Xuan's Mansion, she would cause trouble.

The following day, after paying her respects to the old lady, Rong Yingluo went directly to the main courtyard to pay her respects to Madam Su.

"Greetings to Mother." Rong Yingluo did it flawlessly.

Su sat in the main seat, her eyes cold, and did not call her to get up.

Gu Ce and Rong Shi are truly capable; they actually managed to persuade the Emperor to grant them an imperial decree for their marriage.

She has been so regretful these days that she can't sleep at night.

She regretted not being able to kill Gu Ce before he grew up.

He regretted marrying her to a woman from the Rong family.

The first four were all carefully selected by her, and dealing with them wouldn't cause any major trouble.

Only Rong Shi deliberately married a woman of low status to disgust Gu Ce, but ended up creating such a big enemy for herself.

But regret was useless; she was no match for the Rong family.

They could only swallow their pride and bear it.

Rong Yingluo waited a few moments, but did not hear Su Shi's voice. Not wanting to suffer any more, she straightened up and met Su Shi's gaze.

"Mother, my sister is going to marry into the Xuan Prince's mansion. Why do you look like your parents have died? Oh dear, your parents are indeed dead. Look at my mouth, I really don't know how to speak." Rong Yingluo said with a smile.

"Rong, you're really something." Su practically spat it out through gritted teeth.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mother. It's all thanks to the Empress that I've caught her eye." Rong Yingluo knew what she was referring to.

Madam Su was taken aback. So she had asked the Empress to intercede. No wonder she was able to get the imperial decree to grant the marriage so quickly. Even Consort Cao couldn't do it, but Madam Rong did.

"When will you give me the antidote?" Su asked, her teeth itching with hatred at the mention of the poison.