Minglan is reborn, this time with no regrets!

Minglan: "How is the emperor going to respond? If we are not careful, this sharp blade may come back to hurt our own people."

Gu Tingye: "The old officials in the palace are not a big problem, but those officials who came later may have to go through some questioning. However, I still have confidence in Yuan Ruo's character. He is a gentleman and will never arbitrarily frame someone. If he finds that there is something wrong with his subordinates, I believe he will never condone it."

Minglan: "Although the young master has good character, he is overprotected by the princess after all. He lacks a deep understanding of the intrigues in the officialdom and lacks the ability to deal with them. If his subordinates deliberately conceal something, he may not be able to see through it."

Gu Tingye nodded slightly.

Minglan continued, "If you ask me, you might as well go to the Duke of Qi's mansion and tell him about your concerns about the fourth and fifth rooms so that the young master can prepare in advance."

Gu Tingye asked in an ambiguous tone: "Are you worried about him?"

Minglan immediately realized that this was a fatal question, and waved her hands hurriedly, "Why should I worry about him? Isn't this to prevent the investigation of the rebels from turning to our side?"

Gu Tingye: "Even if we arrest the fourth and fifth wives, we can't stop them, right? They are just two people used as pawns by the Queen Mother."

Minglan: "But this is a wake-up call for the chief officer! The remnants of the rebellious king are actually among the investigators. Isn't it enough for the young master to be alerted when the thief cries thief? What's more, the person promoted by the Queen Mother turned out to be the remnant of the rebellious king. If this is true, it will be a heavy blow to the Queen Mother!"

Gu Tingye pinched his fingers: "Okay. I thought you felt sorry for Yuan Ruo."

Minglan: "I have no relationship with him, why should I feel sorry for him?"

Gu Tingye: "It's not a relationship, right? Didn't you take Princess Pingning as your godmother?"

Minglan: "Look, has Princess Pingning ever come to see me since I came back to Beijing? Back then it was just..." Minglan suddenly remembered that it was because Mrs. Sheng wanted to help her reject Qi Heng's proposal that she decided to take Princess Pingning as her godmother, so she quickly shut up.

Gu Tingye: "But what?"

Minglan: "…it's just that Princess Pingning needs a goddaughter to balance the feng shui of the Qi family. The Taoist priest said she had to be born in June, so they had to give me the chance. If she really wants to adopt a goddaughter, then she'll have to make a big fuss about it, but how many families in the capital know about this? I'm afraid Princess Pingning feels ashamed and wishes everyone would forget about it."

Gu Tingye: "Why do I feel that Taoist priests and the like are all nonsense. Princess Pingning just wants to stop Yuan Ruo from thinking about you, right?"

Minglan was stunned: "What?"

Gu Tingye laughed dryly: "Little fox, do you think you can hide it from me? When I was still studying at your house, Yuan Ruo repeatedly opposed me for you. If it weren't for your second brother's secret help, I was really worried that you would be snatched away by him. Later on the polo field, he insisted on playing with you regardless of other people's eyes. If I hadn't challenged him to a duel, I'm afraid the gossip about you two would have spread into a huge scale."

Minglan also laughed dryly: "Well... Well, thank you very much for your help." She didn't know what to say for a moment. She felt that if she explained too much, it would seem like she was covering up. If she didn't explain, she was afraid that Gu Tingye would think too much. Just when she was in a dilemma, Gu Tingye smiled and pulled her over and said, "Someone likes you, which proves that I have good taste. You chose me, which proves that I am awesome!"

Minglan met his eyes and read the trust in them. She breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted Gu Tingye on the chest, saying, "You still say so much even though I know this!"

Gu Tingye: "Who told you to ask me to choose a female official at the palace gate?"

Minglan was speechless for a moment: "It's been a few days since that happened, you... do you still hold a grudge like that?"

Gu Tingye rubbed her face fiercely: "I just want you to remember this!"

He was extremely strong and Minglan couldn't struggle at all. Her face was deformed by his rubbing, so she punched him.

Gu Tingye’s arms were longer than hers, so he stepped back without stopping his palms.

Minglan punched in the air and screamed.

Gu Tingye laughed loudly, then jumped back like a monkey, ran out of the room in a few steps, and left a sentence: "I'm going to Qi's house!"

Minglan was so angry that she yelled, "Don't come back at night if you dare!"

……

The conversation between Qi Heng and Gu Tingye went relatively smoothly.

Ever since he was bluntly rejected by Minglan at Changbai's wedding banquet and later became her godsister, Qi Heng already knew that there was no chance for him and Minglan.

He originally planned to give up all love and concentrate on studying, but he was forced into marriage by the Yongwang family and had to marry the Princess of Jiacheng.

He was a gentleman, and although he was unwilling to get married, he thought about the reputation of the woman and was even more worried that his family would be blamed by Prince Yong because of him, so he gradually persuaded himself to treat Princess Jiacheng as an equal.

As fate would have it, Qi Heng's marriage suffered another major blow. Princess Jiacheng was killed in the palace during the rebellion of Prince Ni, and he became a widower just a few months after his marriage.

Not only that, Princess Pingning pretended to be crazy and stupid in order to survive the coup, crawling on the streets of Bianjing in tattered clothes, with her face and reputation completely destroyed. Although the rebellion was later put down and the new emperor ascended the throne, Princess Pingning still refused to go out to see people. If Qi Heng had not passed the imperial examination, I am afraid that Princess Pingning would never have been able to get out of the haze in her heart.

Now, after experiencing a great catastrophe, Qi Heng has become more calm. He remarried the daughter of the Shen family, a prominent family in southern Jin, and obediently followed the arrangement of Princess Pingning to stand beside the Queen Mother. Love is a trivial matter to him, and the rise and fall of the family is what he values.

Hearing Gu Tingye mention what Gu Tingbing and Gu Tingdi had done, Qi Heng shook his head and said, "I originally thought that only the uncles and aunts in your fourth and fifth rooms were cruel, but I didn't expect their sons to become like them."

Gu Tingye: "It is very difficult to stay clean in the mud. Tingbing and Tingdi are just ordinary people."

Qi Heng: "If I find out that they are suspected of treason, what will you do?"

Gu Tingye: "I have come to confess to you in person, what do you think I will do?"

Qi Heng nodded: "That's good."

Gu Tingye bowed to Qi Heng and said, "I know Yuan Ruo will handle this matter impartially and not violate the law."

As soon as these words came out, Qi Heng's remaining dissatisfaction with Gu Tingye because of Minglan disappeared. He returned the greeting to Gu Tingye and said, "I will live up to what my second uncle said."

The estrangement between the two was completely eliminated. Qi Heng pulled Gu Tingye and said, "Second uncle, the new emperor's foundation is unstable now, and he often claims to be sick and does not go out. Many court officials are dissatisfied. You must be careful in what you do and do not go too far. Otherwise, you will easily get yourself into trouble." Gu Tingye carried Minglan at the palace gate, and the news spread throughout the circle of noble ladies in Kyoto the next day. Some said that Gu Tingye was domineering, some said that Minglan was domineering, and in the end, they all said that the new emperor did not know people well and only appointed people based on personal relationships.

Gu Tingye felt warm in his heart and smiled, "Thank you Yuan Ruo for reminding me. I know what people outside say about me, but I don't care. I am upright and I only care about the government. What others say is their business. We can't control what others say."

Qi Heng used to admire Gu Tingye's unrestrained and true nature, but this time he changed his usual expression and said worriedly: "Of course I know what kind of person you are, but gossip can melt gold and slander can destroy a person. If you just restrain yourself, you can save yourself and the government a lot of trouble. Why do you have to let others talk about you just for a moment of pleasure?"

Gu Tingye patted Qi Heng on the shoulder: "I know! In the past, it was Zecheng who was muttering these words, why is it you who is doing it now? Are you my second uncle or am I your second uncle?"

Qi Heng sighed: "You don't know, the Queen Mother..."

Princess Pingning suddenly appeared at the door and interrupted, "Lord Gu, how come you have time to come today?"

Gu Tingye bowed respectfully and said, "I haven't talked to Yuan Ruo for a long time. Since I'm not busy today, I came to ask him for a cup of tea."

Princess Pingning smiled and said, "You came at the right time. My family just got some excellent Gulao tea from Lingnan. I'll have someone make some for Lord Gu to taste. If you like it, take two packs back with you later."

Gu Tingye: "Ah, I am eating and taking things at the same time, doesn't that mean I am here to take advantage of you?"

Princess Pingning laughed: "I was just worried that you wouldn't come!"

Thus, Gu Tingye's private chat with Qi Heng turned into a random chat with Princess Pingning, and Gu Tingye returned home before finishing his tea.

Before leaving, he put his arm around Qi Heng's shoulder and said meaningfully, "Sometimes what you see isn't necessarily what you think. Yuan Ruo, you need to keep your eyes open."

Qi Heng really wanted to ask him what he meant, but was stopped by Princess Pingning and had to give up.

After the people left, Qi Heng asked: "Mother, why did you interrupt my conversation with my second uncle?"

Princess Pingning: "Have you become stupid from studying? If I hadn't shown up just now, would you have told Gu Er all the Queen Mother's strategies?"

Qi Heng: "No, I just want to persuade him not to force it with the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is behind the scenes just to hope that the government is too stable. She is wholeheartedly for the emperor and the court. Second Uncle is not a treacherous person. He is loyal and has fought for the country. He is a rare talent in the court. Both of them are for the country and the king. Their intentions are the same, so why make it so tense? If we can turn hostility into friendship and assist Your Majesty together, wouldn't it be a blessing and a good thing?"

Princess Pingning: "If everything in the world can be decided by heart, then what is the use of troops? The Queen Mother wants to emulate the Queen Mother Zhangxian, but the emperor is unwilling to compromise for another twenty years like the late emperor. It is difficult to tell right from wrong in this matter. It all depends on who has the harder fist. My son, our family has survived until now because of the Queen Mother. You must not be indecisive and make yourself a nobody."

Qi Heng didn't say anything more.