Guangling Hou's Estate
Lady Fang was almost driven mad. Even Feng Yandong passing the imperial examination couldn't make her happy. She grabbed Gu Rong's arms and shook him violently, "Gu Rong, you are going to kill me. If he's not your biological son, you should have said so earlier! If you had, how could I have treated a child so badly?"
Gu Rong wiped his face, "How was I supposed to know the child I picked up randomly was the Emperor's son? If I'd known, I would have rushed him to the palace to claim merit long ago."
The kindness of raising him was great, but the key was that he hadn't raised him properly.
The suffering Lady Fang inflicted on Gu Yanchen when he was young and his own neglect were not worth mentioning. The fact that he married a merchant's daughter was enough to nail him to the pillar of shame as a "stepfather." No wonder the Emperor had troubled him several times over this. His only consolation now was that Linglong was merely Consort Rong's maid. If he had picked up Consort Rong herself back then...
He would surely have been torn limb from limb by now.
While Gu Rong and his wife only worried about Gu Yanchen seeking revenge, the Noble Consort's faction was more panicked.
They had expended great effort to step on Gu Yanchen and place Situ Jue in the position of Commander of Jiangnan. Their intention was precisely because he had no power, no influence, and no backing, and would not dare to resist if robbed. The result was that they had snatched him, but Situ Jue had failed to guard Jiangnan, allowing the Japanese pirates to enter freely several times. They hadn't killed many pirates, but their own losses were heavy. Although Emperor Changwu had not severely punished him, his prestige in the army had already plummeted.
Let alone military achievements, it was questionable whether they could even win over military generals in the future.
It could be said to be a classic example of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.
And now they were told that the person they had previously thought easy to bully was actually the Emperor's own son.
And the son of his most beloved woman.
Thinking of Consort Rong's favor that year, Noble Consort Jian couldn't help but grind her teeth. After Consort Rong's incident, the palace underwent a thorough cleansing. Except for her and the Empress, who were protected by their powerful maternal clans, those involved were either executed or crippled. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the palace ran with blood.
Even for her and the Empress, although nothing happened to them, they had undeniably lost favor.
In any case, the Emperor had never visited her palace again after that. If not for the support of Qi Ying Hou's estate, she would have long since been disgraced by these sycophantic palace servants.
Now, that woman's son had been found, and given the Emperor's affection for Consort Rong, it was easy to imagine the Seventh Prince would rise rapidly, enjoying immense favor, and this vast empire would likely be handed over to him.
Thinking of this, she could no longer sit still. She summoned a palace maid to help her dress and then went to the Empress's palace.
Consort Hui, upon receiving the news, laughed heartily without regard for her image.
Now they were panicking, weren't they? Hah, karma. The retribution for those two venomous women had finally arrived. She couldn't help but touch her belly. Beneath Sheng'er, there should have been another younger brother, but he was destroyed by those two venomous women.
They had destroyed Sheng'er's face, harmed the life of one of her children, and were still not satisfied, further ruining her chances of becoming a mother again.
How could she not hate them?
Regardless of the reactions from various parties, the day for Gu Yanchen to acknowledge his ancestors finally arrived. The Ministry of Rites dared not be negligent, arranging everything from the ceremony to the banquet with utmost precision. Gu Yanchen paid respects to his ancestors before the Imperial Ancestral Temple and was then paraded around by Emperor Changwu. Everyone could see how much the Emperor valued this son.
This was not enough. He even announced on the spot that Gu Yanchen would be enfeoffed as Prince Rui.
Rui, meaning auspiciousness. This was not a character anyone was qualified to use.
Crown Prince Situ Yan, while smiling, felt a leaden weight in his heart.
This suddenly appearing younger brother was too great a threat, even greater than Prince Ning, who had the support of Qi Ying Hou's estate. This was because what he possessed was likely the Emperor's favor.
The only consolation was that he had no maternal family support and his wife's family was merely a daughter of a Count's estate. Pingning Count was merely an imperial physician, and he had not earned the Emperor's favor due to his poor medical skills. With neither his wife's family nor his maternal family being influential, it would be extremely difficult for him to win over forces in the court.
Gu Yanchen, led by Emperor Changwu, was immensely glorious. Lu Nianfu also attracted many people, but their gazes were truly unpleasant. While their words were of congratulation, their faces practically screamed, "She is not worthy."