tly man, with a belly that strained his shirt, scanned Ripple with his eyes as if she were a piece of merchandise. Then, he addressed the man seated at the head of the table, who was in his fifties."B...This week, everyone noticed that this was a deliberate attack on the Gu family. Before, because Gu Die'er, their daughter, served the Emperor, even those with malicious intentions did not dare to act. Now that Consort Gu has been sent back in a coffin-like manner, it proves that the Gu family's support is no longer reliable, and those in the shadows have made their move.

Although the people who caused a commotion at the funeral were eventually caught by the authorities and fined, Gu Minglang was also injured. After hastily burying his mother, he began selling his assets to repay his debts. To raise money, he even went to Xu州, planning to sell off his sea trade business.

Gu Minglang's affairs in Xuzhou went very smoothly. After selling his maritime business, he had enough silver to repay his debts and immediately rushed back by car. Unfortunately, he encountered bandits halfway. Not only were his silver stolen, but he was also kidnapped. The bandits threatened to sell him to work in the mines. Only a small servant, covered in wounds, ran home to report.

Gu Minglang's wife was also a spineless woman, at a loss for what to do. She could only release Old Master Gu, who had been imprisoned for many years, to take charge of the household affairs. The first thing he did was go to the authorities to report the matter.

Officials sent constables to the scene of the incident. The site was chaotic, there had definitely been a fight, the blood hadn't even dried yet. The only thing found besides a broken carriage was that no one was there.

The constables searched the mountain, but there was no sign of bandits hiding nearby. Someone immediately realized that these people had likely targeted the Gu family long ago. Seeing them return to Youzhou with a large sum of money, they hired someone to stage this scene, blaming the bandits for the crime. They must have robbed the silver and then killed to cover it up.

The case reached an impasse, and rumors spread like wildfire. It was said that the Gu family was facing its doom this time.

Two days later, Mrs. Gu took her son to the clinic for a checkup, but they were trapped in a fire and both mother and son were burned to death.

The officials investigated and found that it was the medicine boy from the back garden who had run out to play, leaving the medicine pots unattended. They boiled dry and exploded, sending sparks onto the dried herbs drying nearby, which then caught fire.

"Could it really be that coincidental"

What do you think

"Let's go back and inform the Gu family. They can take the body back for burial."

The clerk went back to report the investigation results to his superior, and then sent someone to notify the Gu family.

Zhao Ci'an, with a single move, turned his fortunes around and returned to a life of grandeur. He had long disliked the son who closely resembled Mrs. Gu, but since the other was recognized as the head of the Gu family, he could only choose to endure it.

Soon news came that his son had disappeared. Although he had lost a large sum of money, it took away his worry. He only symbolically sent people to the government office to inquire a few times, and then began to enjoy himself, trying to compensate for his past losses.

Now, even Gu Minglang's wife and son were burned to death. Zu Ci’an knew that no one would compete with him for the family property anymore. The remaining granddaughter was only ten years old and wouldn't be an obstacle at all. However, he also sensed that the Gu family had been targeted, so he valued money more than ever. After hastily holding funerals for his daughter-in-law and grandson, he sold their current courtyard and took the rest of the Gu family's money to settle elsewhere.

From then on, the Gu family of Youzhou completely disappeared from everyone's sight. Xin Yuan, who was far away in Kyoto, also learned about this shortly after. He immediately sent people to investigate and found that the Gu family had died, gone missing, or fled, and had completely vanished without a trace.

Only then did he recall what Consort Gu had said before she jumped off the cliff. He went to the Phoenix Palace where the Empress resided and then issued an edict posthumously conferring the title of Tranquil Noble Consort on Gu Die'er, ensuring her eternal royal honor.

After respectfully seeing off the Emperor, Empress Yang Pei Rong leaned on a maidservant's arm and returned to her inner chambers.

The palace maid noticed that the Empress's hands were ice-cold and trembling slightly. She immediately asked:

"Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell Should I summon the imperial physician"

"No need, just brew a cup of ginseng tea for this palace. This palace wants to be quiet for a while."

Yes, Your Majesty.

After the palace maid received her orders, the Empress's face finally turned cold. Now, she felt more fear for the Emperor than love, and more fear than respect.

Gu Die'er knows exactly how she entered the palace. The fact that her opponent is unable to bear children is also thanks to her. Even so, the Gu family has always stood by the emperor's side, providing money when needed and grain when needed. This time, the emperor's successful expedition was not only due to his own ability, but also to the full support of the Gu family.

But just because the other party was taken away by the Hu people for a day and night, the Emperor abandoned them. Although Gu Fei used suicide to protect the royal face, this wasn't the fault of the Gu family. What happened to the Gu family in the end

What's the point of posthumous bestowal It's just a fig leaf for oneself. She dares to confirm that there must be the emperor's hand behind the Gu family's misfortune, simply killing the donkey after using it, and squeezing out the last bit of bone marrow from the Gu family.

The Empress's imagination was quite vivid, but that didn't stop her from making it clear how she would treat the Emperor in the future. She also put more and more effort into educating her children, not wanting her sons to end up truly lonely and isolated one day.

At this time, the Emperor looked at the information about the Gu family sent back by the dark guards. His brows were tightly furrowed. He did want to take complete control of the Gu family's assets, but after seeing the findings, he knew that this time it was likely going to be unsuccessful.

Because the Gu family had to raise military funds and buy grain, they withdrew their operating capital, leading to business problems. When he returned home victorious, he was busy dealing with a pile of official documents, also to forget about Gu Die'er. As a result of his actions, those who were watching thought that Gu Die'er was despised by him. The Gu family lost its support, and everyone rushed up to take a piece of flesh from the Gu family.

Then the Gu family met misfortune one after another, with incidents happening constantly. The head of the household was also repeatedly affected, and in the end, only a young girl and Zhao Ci'an, who came to be her husband by arrangement, remained.

Zuo Ci's abandonment of morality to take a concubine, even selling his own granddaughter, reveals the evil that festered within him. This only worsened Xin Yuan's already grim expression, as he felt deeply offended.

He is the emperor who has wealth and power over the four seas. These people actually dared to do this without his permission. Naturally, he was unwilling. At the same time, he also wanted to uphold justice for Gu Die'er in the afterlife. Those people swallowed so much from the Gu family, they had to spit it all back out.

Soon after, those opportunistic merchants who took advantage of the situation met their downfall. They had to regurgitate everything they had taken from Gu's family and were even added to the black list at the government office, forcing them to keep a low profile for a while.

Zuo Ci, drunk by chance, accidentally fell into a lake and drowned himself. Thus, his life came to an end.

After everything had settled, people finally realized that the downfall of the Gu family actually benefited the royal family.

Liàn Yī watched as Fēng Lǎo Dà inquired about news, she could only click her tongue twice and said:

"As expected of a royal scion, what a brilliant move! How much of his love for you do you think is genuine"

A veiled woman beside him shook her head after hearing this and said:

"Love might exist, but compared to his empire and wealth, it's insignificant. He wants my wholehearted love, yet he only offers a measly two points of affection. Why would I sacrifice my entire life for these two points of love" then approached the boy with long hair lying down, ready to throw him into the dark forest.Ripple listened to the whole thing and confirmed that the young man whose body she was using must have been...