Pei Lingyue had two maternal uncles, neither of whom shared the same mother as his own. During her youth, his mother, the Crown Princess, had suffered greatly under the mistreatment of her stepmother, even nearly falling victim to a scheme that would have forced her to marry a disreputable relative. As a result, the relationship between her and her two brothers had always been distant.
It wasn’t until she was betrothed as the Crown Princess that the Gu family abruptly changed their attitude, going out of their way to mend ties. They spared no expense in gathering rare treasures, attempting to make up for their past neglect.
However, after Pei Lingyue ascended the throne, he deliberately delayed for several years—waiting until the Gu family matriarch, who had once mistreated his mother, was dispatched with a cup of poisoned wine—before bestowing the title of Duke upon Gu Jinghui, as per tradition. Initially, the Gu family remained obedient, but as time passed, they grew restless, no longer content with just a noble title. They began meddling in the affairs of the inner palace, first by sending Gu Shishi into the imperial harem, and then increasingly overstepping their bounds.
Given this history, Pei Lingyue felt no guilt about sacrificing his eldest uncle. He was certain that even his mother would understand his decision. The trade-off was simply too advantageous.
Besides, even if his eldest uncle were gone, there was still the second uncle, Gu Jingyuan. The two brothers had once fought viciously over the ducal title, treating each other as sworn enemies. No doubt Gu Jingyuan would be more than happy to inherit the position.
Bathed in lamplight, Pei Lingyue’s expression appeared exceptionally tender, his confident voice carrying an almost hypnotic persuasiveness. "I won’t let you suffer this injustice for nothing."
Yu Miaohua snapped out of her thoughts and offered him a trusting smile, her voice soft. "This humble concubine will follow Your Majesty’s will."
[Take his words with a grain of salt.]
Pei Lingyue: Consort Yu is perfect in every way—except for being a little too stubborn.
He then brought up the matter of granting the Wang family a license to sell white sugar.
Yu Miaohua’s eyes brightened, her smile radiant. "Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace."
As a child, she had spent some time at her maternal grandparents’ home, where she got along well with her cousins. Her grandmother was kind, and her uncles doted on the younger generation. Before she entered the palace, her grandparents’ family had even given her a considerable sum of money. It was that very money that had sustained her during her half-year confinement in the cold palace.
She wondered if her family knew she had been released from the cold palace. They must have been terribly worried.
Yu Miaohua hesitated to send word herself, fearing she might violate palace regulations. She consoled herself with the thought that by year’s end, when her father came to the capital for his triennial review, she might request an imperial favor to allow her mother to visit.
If only her younger sister, Yu Miaoping, could come too. The girl shared her love for good food, and Yu Miaohua could have the palace kitchens prepare her favorite dishes.
Pei Lingyue noticed her distant expression. "What are you thinking about?"
Just moments ago, Consort Yu had worn a tender look, as if lost in sweet memories.
Seizing the opportunity, Yu Miaohua replied, "I miss my parents and my sister."
After a brief pause, Pei Lingyue said, "At year’s end, I’ll grant your family a few visitation permits."
Her eyes sparkled, and she beamed. "Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace."
Still preoccupied with dealing with his eldest uncle, Pei Lingyue offered a few more comforting words before taking his leave. Before departing, he issued a gag order forbidding any palace servants from leaking the slightest detail.
Late that night, a letter was stealthily placed beside the pillow of Gu Jingyuan, the second master of the Duke of Li’s household.
The next morning, when Gu Jingyuan opened the letter, he couldn’t suppress a triumphant grin.
This was a windfall beyond his wildest dreams.
He had the stupidity of the main branch to thank.
The ducal title was finally falling into his hands.
Once he secured it, he would have to send Consort Yu a lavish gift. If not for her favor with the emperor—which had provoked his niece in the palace into taking reckless action—he would never have had this opportunity.
Not that it mattered to him which imperial consort enjoyed the emperor’s favor. He had no daughters of his own, so it made no difference to him—as long as it wasn’t Gu Shishi. Ever since she had entered the palace, his sister-in-law had lorded it over the second branch, treating them with contempt.
…
Gu Shishi remained oblivious to the emperor’s plans to punish her family.
She spent her days frequenting the imperial library, borrowing over a hundred volumes at a time.
So absorbed was she in this pursuit that she temporarily forgot about the poison she had ordered to be slipped into Yu Miaohua’s food—nor did she notice the gradual disappearance of the Gu family’s planted spies in the palace.
Then came another court assembly, where Pei Yudong, the heir of the Prince of Yong, submitted a memorial in his own defense. He claimed that while passing through farmland, his horse had been pricked by a needle on the ground, causing it to bolt into the fields. After the incident, he had compensated the farmer with twenty taels of silver.
Pei Lingyue, finding the evidence conclusive and seeing no malicious intent—coupled with the fact that reparations had been made without tarnishing the imperial family’s reputation—merely reprimanded him and docked three months’ salary.
Immediately afterward, Pei Yudong turned the tables by publicly accusing Censor Yang of allowing his son to abduct commoners’ daughters and his steward to seize farmland and grievously injure the owners.
The target of his accusation was none other than the very censor who had earlier impeached him.
To any observer, it was clear that Pei Yudong was settling a personal score. But as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire—had Censor Yang been blameless, Pei Yudong would have had nothing to exploit.
Pei Lingyue ordered a full investigation.
The officials watched the spectacle with relish, assuming the drama had reached its climax—until, just before the court adjourned, the Minister of Rites and the emperor’s uncle, Gu Jingyuan, stepped forward and declared in a booming voice, "Your Majesty, this subject has a memorial to present."
All eyes turned to Gu Jingyuan. Everyone knew his position in the Ministry of Rites was merely an honorary title bestowed by the emperor to give his uncle some dignity. The ministry treated him as little more than a figurehead, assigning him only trivial paperwork.
In past court sessions, Gu Jingyuan had remained silent. His sudden appearance now signaled trouble.
The Duke of Li, Gu Jinghui, frowned, a surge of displeasure rising within him. Why hadn’t his younger brother consulted him before submitting a memorial? As the head of the Gu family, did Gu Jingyuan no longer respect his authority?
The next moment, Gu Jingyuan’s voice rang out: "This subject accuses my elder brother, the Duke of Li, of indulging in wine and pleasure during the late emperor’s mourning period, resulting in the pregnancy of a concubine."
"He has accepted bribes, traded official positions, and trampled upon the laws of the land."
…
His thunderous voice echoed through the hall, each word a dagger aimed at Gu Jinghui, as if determined to strike a fatal blow in one fell swoop.
Gu Jinghui stared at his younger brother in disbelief, as though seeing him for the first time. Blood rushed to his throat, and he trembled as he choked out, "You—you—"
Gu Jingyuan stood firm, righteous indignation in his tone. "Elder Brother, though we share blood, I cannot shield your crimes for the sake of brotherhood. You have betrayed His Majesty’s trust and brought shame upon the Gu family. How can you face our ancestors?"
Gu Jinghui glanced at him, then turned his gaze to the emperor seated high upon the dragon throne. The emperor's expression was calm, his eyes profound and inscrutable, making it impossible to discern his thoughts at this moment.
In that instant, Gu Jinghui suddenly understood—the one who wanted his life and his noble title was not his younger brother, but his own nephew.
Was it because he had spread rumors about Consort Yu outside the palace?
Or was it because he had never given up his ambition to make his daughter the queen of the nation? His elder sister, though the eldest of the Gu family, had shown little familial affection toward them. To secure the Gu family's continued prosperity, he had pushed his daughter into the imperial harem.
He should not have harbored unrealistic hopes simply because the current emperor carried the blood of the Gu family. The emperor had never regarded them as kin. Twelve years ago, when the previous emperor passed away and his nephew ascended the throne, the imperial decree granting him the title of Duke had been delayed. At the time, they speculated that the emperor held a grudge against them because his mother had once mistreated the empress dowager when she was still a young maiden in the inner chambers. As long as his mother lived, that thorn would never be removed.
Back then, he had told his mother that her very existence had become an obstacle to the Gu family's rise.
His mother had only looked at him coldly and said, "Do you think that once I'm dead, he will truly regard you as his uncle?"
"The day he finds you displeasing, your fate will be no better than mine."
At the time, he had refused to listen, stubbornly urging his mother to consider the bigger picture and think of future generations.
In the end, his mother drank the poisoned wine—for their sake.
The scene of his mother's death flashed through Gu Jinghui's mind, and in that moment, he realized the truth: the emperor could no longer tolerate him, just as he had once been unable to tolerate his own birth mother. If he obediently confessed his crimes, he might at least preserve the bloodline of his branch of the family.
His face ashen, he knelt and said, "This subject deserves death ten thousand times over."
He offered no defense, directly admitting to the crimes. He had indeed committed them, though in the past, he had never considered them significant.
Pei Lingyue's expression remained impassive, his voice cold and stern. "Duke Li, Gu Jinghui, has disregarded propriety, impregnating a concubine during the mourning period for the late emperor—an act of grave disrespect. Furthermore, he has recklessly bought and sold official positions, corrupting the court. Henceforth, the title of Duke Li is revoked, and he is stripped of nobility, to be executed after autumn. The assets of the main branch of the Gu family are to be confiscated and absorbed into the national treasury as a warning to others."
"Minister of Rites Gu Jingyuan, known for his upright conduct and unwavering loyalty, shall inherit the dukedom, albeit reduced by one rank, in recognition of his virtue."
"Take the commoner Gu Jinghui to the imperial prison."
The great hall fell into dead silence. Given the crimes Gu Jinghui had committed, the emperor's punishment was in accordance with the law—utterly impartial. Yet no one had expected the emperor to disregard blood ties so completely, offering no face to the empress dowager, who was currently away on a pilgrimage. Not only had he stripped the title and confiscated the family's assets, but he had also sentenced his own uncle to execution.
If even the emperor's maternal uncle received such treatment, what hope was there for the rest of the court officials? They would have to tread carefully, lest they make the same mistakes. Some ministers recalled certain behaviors they had previously dismissed as inconsequential, and cold sweat broke out on their backs. They resolved to clean up any loose ends and ensure no one could find fault with them.
Gu Jingyuan, the unexpected recipient of the noble title, did not react with the joy one might expect. Instead, he looked dazed.
How had his nephew, the emperor, sentenced his elder brother to death so decisively, leaving him no path to survival?
Watching his brother kneel in silent admission, Gu Jingyuan suddenly understood—his elder brother must have done something else in secret, something that had crossed the emperor's bottom line.
Once he returned home, he would have to sternly warn his family. The fate of the main branch was right before their eyes—they would have to keep their heads down.
From now on, the main branch would surely regard the second branch as enemies.
Gu Jingyuan's heart was a tumult of emotions, and for a moment, he could not put his feelings into words.
...
While the main branch of the Gu family was being raided, Yu Miaohua was enjoying a plate of pastries delivered by the small kitchen—butterfly-shaped crispy pastries.
The sweet romance drama she had been following had recently concluded, and during her binge-watching, Yu Miaohua had jotted down several pastry recipes, including this one.
The small kitchen had experimented for a long time before finally succeeding in making them.
The ingredients were of the finest quality, and the resulting pastries were exquisitely delicious. Yu Miaohua couldn't help but devour them one after another.
Sweet treats really did lift one's spirits.
After a moment's thought, she instructed the small kitchen to prepare another batch and send a plate to Consort Zhang.
She and Consort Zhang held the same rank, and both shared a love for good food—it was a common interest between them. Whenever her kitchen created something delicious, she made sure to share.
Reluctantly, she eyed the remaining pastries on the table—no more! She couldn't indulge further.
"Have the kitchen make two more plates," she told Qingluo and Cuiwei. "Set aside a portion for Hong Xing."
Hong Xing was a professional, and so far, she had proven reliable. Everything that arrived at Yu Miaohua's quarters was personally inspected by Hong Xing before being stored in the treasury.
Cuiwei cheerfully headed off to the small kitchen.
After finishing the pastries, Yu Miaohua sipped her floral tea and considered what to do next. Maybe she should start a new drama.
Life was so leisurely.
Which one should she watch? The system had previously compiled a list for her, most of which she hadn't gotten around to yet.
As she browsed through her options, a deafening shriek erupted in her mind.
[Ahhhhhh—I can't believe this! Is this really happening?!]
Yu Miaohua's head throbbed.
[Stop! No more screaming! Did you catch a virus or something?]
[Host has completed Palace Intrigue Main Mission 1.3: Make the Emperor Fly into a Rage for Beauty’s Sake, Punish His Own Uncle for You, and Confiscate His Family’s Assets! Reward—cotton seeds—will be distributed shortly, along with a map of cotton-producing regions.]
[Oh my heavens, the Emperor is AMAZING! I’m going to be his devoted fan for life, wuwuwu.]
Yu Miaohua sat frozen in shock: What? The mission was actually completed?
Unbidden, the emperor’s words from last night flashed through her mind, and she nearly teared up.
So he hadn’t been lying to her? He really had confiscated his own uncle’s property—for her?
Wonderful! The cotton seeds were secured!
She would spread cotton cultivation far and wide!
Wait… the emperor’s uncle was the empress dowager’s brother.
And the empress dowager was still very much alive.
Oh no. If the empress dowager found out the emperor had acted out of anger on her behalf, wouldn’t she assume Yu Miaohua was some kind of seductive enchantress who had bewitched the emperor?
As the empress dowager, crushing a minor consort like her would be easier than eating a meal. This era placed immense importance on filial piety—even if the emperor adored her, he would never defy his own mother for her sake.
Yu Miaohua’s smile vanished. She was on the verge of tears.
Heaven and earth as her witnesses, she had never whispered a single word in the emperor’s ear! She was innocent! QAQ
