……
Cui Huaiyin had the place tidied up, then said to all the members of the Gu family,
"Today's incident, I will report it to the Emperor when I return to the palace. You all stay here with peace of mind for now. I will send people to protect your safety. If the Marquis of Zhenxi has truly been wronged, the Emperor will surely look into the case thoroughly and clear the Marquis Gu's name."
Old Madam Gu led the entire family to bow and kowtow deeply to Cui Huaiyin and Rongyao.
"Thank you, Your Highness, and Princess, for saving our lives! The Gu family will forever owe you both a great debt!"
Cui Huaiyin quickly stepped forward to help Old Madam Gu to her feet. "Before the truth of the Marquis of Zhenxi's wrongful conviction comes to light, I hope Old Madam takes good care of yourself first, so that you do not fail all the efforts ahead."
Old Madam Gu nodded vigorously with tears in her eyes, and led the whole family to see Cui Huaiyin and Rongyao off as the mother and daughter pair departed in a great hurry.
Yes, the mother and daughter did not linger at the country estate for long, they left in a rush.
The sun had already set, and if they did not hurry back, the palace gates would soon be closed.
But before leaving, Cui Huaiyin did not forget to give a word of caution to the tenant farmers on the estate. These farmers were all bound by contracts, and they all knew this estate belonged to Consort Cui from the palace. When they saw Consort Cui arrive, they all knelt on the ground, extremely excited, and did not dare to ask who the people Consort Cui had brought here were.
Cui Huaiyin told them to make sure they never breathed a word of today's events to anyone.
These were all honest, law-abiding farmers. When the Consort herself gave the order, how could they dare disobey? They would not mention a single bit of what happened to anyone.
To make sure that if any accident occurred here after they returned to the palace, there would be someone to send word back in time, Cui Huaiyin even left her personal maid Chenxiang behind at the estate. If anything went wrong, Chenxiang could send a message as quickly as possible.
Only after arranging everything properly did Cui Huaiyin feel at ease to leave with her daughter. On the road, she also gave a few words of exhortation to the imperial guards the Emperor had sent to protect her and her daughter.
"I hope all of you will keep today's events confidential. Naturally, if His Majesty asks about it, there is no need to hide anything. But if anyone other than the Emperor learns of this, I will remember all of your faces."
Cui Huaiyin knew very well that this matter could not be hidden from the Emperor. After all, these guards were all the Emperor's men, how could she really order them to keep secrets from their sovereign? But the fewer people who knew about this, the better. She had taken in the family of a convicted criminal, and word of that would be a transgression in itself. If too many people found out, the hidden faction that was determined to wipe out the Gu family would certainly not rest until they finished the job.
The several guards kept their heads bowed and replied, "This subordinate obeys the order!"
The carriage sped toward the imperial palace.
Just before the palace gates were about to close, the mother and daughter made it back inside the palace walls.
Tired, Cui Huaiyin held her daughter's hand as she stepped down from the carriage, only to spot a tall figure not far away.
That person exuded an air of imperial majesty, standing in the shadows like an unapproachable, stern door guardian.
Cui Huaiyin's heart clenched tight, and she thought to herself that it was all over.
Today she had only focused on making sure nothing happened to her daughter, and had not considered everything else.
She had used the Emperor's own carriage, the Emperor's own guards, to rescue the family of a convicted criminal.
Yes, she had succeeded in saving them. But now...
Cui Huaiyin took a deep breath, straightened her back, and led her daughter toward the cold-faced figure.
As soon as they got close, her daughter wrenched her hand free from hers, and without the slightest trace of fear, charged straight at the man.
"Father Emperor!" Rongyao dashed over like a frisky little calf, wrapping her arms around his legs. "Father Emperor! Today, Yaoyao and Mother did an absolutely wonderful thing!"
Dantai Ji was forced to look down at the little one clinging tightly to his legs. A soft glint flashed across his eyes. He lifted his daughter up with one arm, pinched her chubby cheek, and asked, "What wonderful thing?"
Rongyao wrapped her arms around her father's neck, winked at her mother over his shoulder, and whispered, "It's a secret! Yaoyao will only tell Father Emperor."
Dantai Ji shook his head in amusement, pinching Rongyao's cheek again. His other free hand reached out to take Cui Huaiyin, who looked like someone who had just gotten away with a mischief, by the hand. "Come on, let's head back to the palace chambers. I'm eager to hear what secret Yaoyao has to share."
The three of them soon arrived at the Liangyi Hall.
Along the way, Rongyao's stomach rumbled loudly several times. Dantai Ji stroked his daughter's flat tummy with a soft laugh, and immediately ordered for a meal to be served.
Even though he was very curious to find out exactly what had happened, he would not let his daughter go hungry.
After they finished their meal, they all took baths to wash away the dust from their bodies.
The three of them then sat on the imperial dragon bed, looking at one another.
Dantai Ji glanced at Consort Cui, who was holding her robe tightly closed, then shifted his gaze away to land on his plump little daughter. He cleared his throat and spoke first, "Yaoyao, you said you did a good deed when you left the palace today. What was it?"
Rongyao glanced at her mother, then said in her soft, milky voice, "Yaoyao and Mother went outside the city today. On the road, we saw a group of people bullying another group. Yaoyao felt they were so pitiful, so we saved all of them!"
Dantai Ji was taken aback. "You saved people?"
The next second, Cui Huaiyin slipped off the bed and knelt down by its side.
"Please, Your Majesty, punish me."
Dantai Ji reached out one hand to help her back up. "Saving people is a good deed. Why are you kneeling, my love?"
Cui Huaiyin's legs went weak, and she tried to kneel again, but Dantai Ji pulled her back onto the bed, holding her firmly so she could not move. She could only lower her head and say, "Yaoyao and I ran into the exiled Marquis of Zhenxi's family on the road."
Dantai Ji's eyes darkened. The Marquis of Zhenxi... Just this afternoon, the imperial officers escorting the Gu clan's family back to the capital had returned, reporting that their convoy had been attacked by bandits on the road.
Only one officer had barely escaped with his life, claiming that every last member of the Gu family had been killed by the bandits.
He and Gu Fuzhou had grown up together. Gu Fuzhou had been his study companion since childhood, like a brother to him. He had never believed the charges that Gu Fuzhou had colluded with enemy states, but piles of evidence had been presented before him, and all the senior court officials had knelt to beg for the entire Gu clan to be put to death, with the men executed and the women sold off as servants.
The Gu family could not die yet. He had always felt there were still pieces of the puzzle that had not been uncovered.
To keep the Gu family alive, he had been forced to issue an edict exiling them all to a harsh, desolate land far from the capital.
He never expected that their exile convoy would run into bandits.
He had received the news today, and immediately dispatched people to the scene to investigate. All they had found was blood everywhere and the corpses of several bandits. Could it be that...
Dantai Ji gripped Cui Huaiyin's arm in barely contained excitement. "You saved the Gu family!"
Cui Huaiyin's eyelashes fluttered. "Yes. Those bandits were about to raise their blades to kill them. Your servant saw how pitiful the whole family was, so I ordered the guards to step in and help, saving their lives. It was only after that I found out they were the Gu family."
"It is this servant's fault. Your Majesty, please punish me."
Rongyao cut in, "It's not Mother's fault! It's Yaoyao's fault. Yaoyao threw a tantrum and begged Mother to save them!"
A look of delighted surprise flashed across Dantai Ji's face. "Neither of you has done anything wrong."
Cui Huaiyin looked up at him, bewildered. Rongyao also stared at her father curiously.
"The Gu family must not all die. If something truly had happened to them, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life."
Rongyao's eyes lit up. She had guessed it would be just like this! She was so clever!
Cui Huaiyin's face lit up with pure joy. "Really? Your Majesty is not angry with me and Yaoyao?"
Dantai Ji chuckled softly. "Why would I lie to you?"
Cui Huaiyin clenched her hands, tentatively opening her mouth to speak. "After your concubine and Rongyao rescued the Gu family's members, we interrogated those bandits who begged for mercy. The bandits said someone had hired them to wipe out every last member of the Gu family. Your concubine feared there was more to this matter than meets the eye, so I settled the Gu family's old and young in a country estate under my name. I planned to come back today to report this to Your Majesty, so that you may decide what to do."
As Cui Huaiyin spoke up to this point, she lifted her clear bright eyes to look at Dantai Ji. Seeing him frowning as if lost in thought, she did not rush him. After a long while, she opened her mouth again to tentatively ask, "Your Majesty, are you still going to have the Gu family continue their exile? Every member of that family, old and young, is covered in wounds. The exile path is extremely harsh, enough to take people's lives. What is more, it seems someone is determined not to let them live."
Rongyao nodded right after her, chiming in, "Yes, yes! Their bodies are all covered in whip wounds, oozing with blood, they look so pitiful."
Dantai Ji lifted his head, glancing at the mother and daughter in front of him, their faces full of expectation looking nearly identical. "You two want me to spare them?"
Cui Huaiyin darted her gaze away. "Your concubine... your concubine just thinks they are pitiful, and this whole matter feels odd. They were already sent into exile, so why is someone still so determined to hunt down every last member of their family?"
Dantai Ji stared straight into Cui Huaiyin's eyes and asked, "My beloved consort thinks there is something suspicious about the Marquis of Zhenxi's case? That I wronged the Marquis of Zhenxi?"
Cui Huaiyin stammered in response, "I, no, your concubine did not mean that."
Rongyao tugged at her father's arm. "Father Emperor, don't be harsh on Mother Consort. It's obvious there is something odd about this."
Dantai Ji lifted his daughter Rongyao up in his arms, carrying the little squirming child off the bed, and called out to the people outside, "Come here, escort the little Princess to the side hall to rest."
Rongyao struggled in his hold. "No! Rongyao hasn't finished talking to Father Emperor yet, Rongyao wants to stay with Father Emperor and Mother Consort."
Dantai Ji said, "You are still little, you need to sleep early. If you don't rest soon, you will not grow tall. Your Father Emperor and your Mother Consort have important matters to discuss. Rest assured, I will not be harsh on your Mother Consort."
Rongyao did not quite believe him, but as a tiny little thing who was not even half as tall as her father's leg, she could not break free at all. She could only slump listlessly onto the bed in the side hall.
She had planned to get up and head back to the main room, but after thinking it over, she lay back down.
Father Emperor already did not blame them, so he probably would not punish Mother Consort. What was the point of her going over there?
Right as the thought crossed her mind, Rongyao felt her eyelids grow heavy. Before long, soft little snores drifted out from the side hall.
Back in the main imperial bedchamber, Dantai Ji returned, lifted the bed curtain, and strode right inside. His gaze fell on the beautiful woman before him, who looked completely lost and flustered. He let his eyes linger on her for a few breaths before shifting his gaze away. He sat back on the bed properly, pulled the blanket over himself, and said in a deep, solemn tone, "The Gu family's old and young are the family members of a convicted official."
Cui Huaiyin clenched her hands, propping herself up as she leaned forward anxiously towards Dantai Ji. "But there is something suspicious about this whole thing."
Dantai Ji said, "The evidence that Marquis Gu committed treason by colluding with enemy states is conclusive."
Cui Huaiyin bit her lip. "What does Your Majesty need to do to stop the entire Gu family from being exiled?"
Dantai Ji asked in return, "Why are you so determined to save the Gu family, my beloved consort?"
Cui Huaiyin darted her eyes away. "The Gu family... I saw them and felt sorry for them, I could not bear to see them suffer."
Dantai Ji repeated, "Could not bear to see them suffer?"
Cui Huaiyin nodded vigorously. "Yes! Your concubine cannot bear it, and I truly believe there must be a reason someone is so set on killing them. Why not let them stay at my country estate for now, with people watching over them strictly? Your Majesty can look into the case carefully again. If there truly is hidden injustice, there will still be room to make things right. We cannot just let them die right now, when all of them are injured and cannot travel far at all."
Dantai Ji's eyes darkened. "Since you are begging me for this, my beloved consort, you should at least show the proper attitude."
Cui Huaiyin looked utterly confused at first, but the moment she met Dantai Ji's unapologetic, vaguely suggestive gaze, her cheeks instantly flushed bright red.
"You, you..."
