Chapter 63 Suspicion

Then Gusu Liang leaned forward and gave a complacent smile.

Gu Qiang turned around, stopped grinding an ink stick, and looked calmly at Gusu Liang who was excited. She asked casually, “What happened?”

Gusu Liang propped herself against the wall and tried to stifle a laugh, “Your shabby bed fell apart before it was carried to the gate of the yard.”

Then she began to eat sunflower seeds put at the bedside.

Gu Qiang curled her lips. She knew exactly the motive of Prime Minister Gu. She cured the Empress Dowager, and he was sure that she would be awarded. Thus, he renovated the yard for her, hoping she would share the glory with him.

Actually, Prime Minister Gu was daydreaming. Gu Qiang was not an idiot. Did he do anything for her when she suffered in the family these years and even had nothing to eat sometimes? She was his eldest daughter, but did he care if she had enough food or warm clothes? It doesn’t make sense to care about her now.

Gu Qiang turned around and glanced coldly at Gusu Liang, “Get off my bed. Go back to your room.”

Gusu Liang stuck out her tongue embarrassedly and rubbed her hands, “My Lady, you are too cold. After all, we live together. Please be kinder.”

Before she was done, a handkerchief was screwed into a little ball and thrown to her face. She got off the bed immediately and rushed out like a gust of wind.

With nobody around, Gu Qiang took out her diary from a secret compartment in the wall. She read it carefully but found nothing in it.

What would she write down? Gu Qiang thought it carefully. Nothing important happened these days, and she might not be able to contact the Empress. She closed the dairy and drifted into sleep on the bed.

At dusk, the Empress sat in her room and looked up at the moonlight outside the window. The diary was opened on the table, and her heart was as cool as water. Ling walked as quietly as a cat, following her silently.

“What information have you got?” The Empress’s eyes sparkled. Ling lowered her head to look at the pearls on her embroidered shoes. She said in an extremely thin voice, “Your Highness, the Emperor sent the Ninth Duke to the capital suburb. A palace was built for him, and he settled there.”

The Empress sneered and tapped the table quietly and rhythmically, giving no comments.

Next morning in the garden of the Empress, Murong Shu gave a cup of tea to Shen Zhongbai in the pavilion surrounded by flowers in the back garden of the Empress. She smiled and looked down shyly at the ground.

Shen Zhongbai took a sip and then lifted Murong Shu’s small and exquisite chin. She smelt as fragrant as an orchid and looked charming. She looked at his eyes and said in a fascinating voice, “Your Majesty, the Ninth Duke is no longer a headache now. He will not get the military leadership on any account. Except for the guards in his house, nothing else is possible.”

She was tender, but her eyes looked cold when she said as if she could see through others’ hearts.

Shen Zhongbai nodded and sneered, “Good job. What should I award you, baby?”

Murong Shu leaned in his arms, feeling his heartbeat. Suddenly, her eyes became cold and she smiled, “Your Majesty, you know what I want, but you still ask such a question. What a nuisance!”

Shen Zhongbai tensed. How could he not know what his concubines wanted? Gu Qiang was still the Empress now, and it was impossible to dismiss her with no reason. He had to find another solution.

“Don’t worry. You will be the Empress sooner or later. Does Shen Qianshan know nothing about our plan?” An important question occurred to Shen Zhongbai. He drove Shen Qianshan to the suburb from the capital, built a palace for him on the mountain, and gave him the best things. In the outsiders’ eyes, Shen Zhongbai was a considerate elder brother. However, he was clear how smart Shen Qianshan was. His purpose was to prevent Shen Qianshan from obtaining the military leadership and becoming a vital power of the imperial court.

Shen Qianshan indeed had such an ability, but he did nothing now as if he didn’t care about these things.

However, Shen Zhongbai believed that any man wanted to dominate the country, be surrounded by beauties, and make everyone else subject to him. Shen Qianshan didn’t show the ambition because he was shrewd.

The Empress walked out of her room slowly and came across Shen Qianshan, who was followed by two guards. They were heading towards the garden.

The Empress walked to Shen Qianshan, but it seemed that he was unwilling to meet the Empress. After greeting her, he rushed to move ahead.

Unexpectedly, she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“Your Highness, this is the imperial harem, and we are observed by many eyes. Now you grab me. Aren’t you afraid that the rumor will tarnish our fame?” Shen Qianshan said and threw off her hand heartlessly.

The Empress knew she was too impetuous. Shen Qianshan had never treated her kindly, but the situation was different. It was related to his life, so she couldn’t play dumb.

“I’m too impetuous, but I hope you can understand. If possible, can you go to the front pavilion with me? I have something to talk with you.” The Empress looked at Shen Qianshan earnestly and then pointed at the nearby pavilion on the water in front. It was built to watch the prettiest setting sun in the garden. But it was the morning now, so she thought no one would be there.

Shen Qianshan lifted his eyebrows and looked proud. The Empress used to ignore him, and be completely obsessed with Shen Zhongbai. However, now everything became different.

People were stupid sometimes but not always. The Empress had a clear mind now. Even if her fame was tarnished, it didn’t matter. She couldn’t watch him lose his life without doing anything.

Shen Qianshan hummed and looked at that pavilion. The Empress couldn’t see what was happening through the entrance. Murong Shu was lying on Shen Zhongbai’s legs. They were drinking tea and chatting. If disturbed at this time, Shen Zhongbai would show no mercy to the Empress.

Shen Qianshan tried his best to control his legs. Finally, he looked at the Empress and said indifferently, “Your Highness, you can talk here. The view isn’t beautiful in the pavilion. You’d better not go there.”

The Empress parted her lips. She had so much to talk to Shen Qianshan, but she knew that something was not her experience. She had changed while Shen Qianshan remained the same.

She bit her lips and looked up at him, “Take care. Protect yourself.”

Then she signaled to Ling. The servant girl was stunned for a moment and then looked at Shen Qianshan meaningfully. He could never forget her eyes as if she were looking at a dying person pitifully.

Shen Qianshan frowned. He asked Su Ge, “Do I look like a dying man?”

Su Ge shook his head and beamed, “The Empress is always weird. Your Highness, never mind.”

Walking two steps ahead, Su Ge pointed at the front palace and said emotionally, “Your Highness, do you still remember here?”

Shen Qianshan saw a palace with red tiles and black walls behind the garden. It was desolate and blanketed with dust.

“It was the Empress Dowager’s palace. She passed away many years ago. You remind me of her.” Shen Qianshan said while touching his ring, which used to be worn by the Empress Dowager on her thumb.

Su Ge lowered his head and noticed the glimmering ring. He knew Shen Qianshan missed the Empress Dowager in his deep heart.

“No one would believe you could be so close to the Empress Dowager except me.” Su Ge said.

Su Ge was calm and warm. He was much more reliable than Jin Ye. Perhaps because he was older, he was more mature.

“Yes. She was kind to my mother and treated me as her son. The Emperor has withdrawn all my military power. I know his purpose.” Shen Qianshan looked up and saw Shen Zhongbai lower his head in the pavilion to kiss Murong Shu’s forehead. They behaved intimately as if no one was nearby.

Su Ge saw that too. He sighed heavily and said, “The Emperor is on guard against you now. Does it have anything to do with the Empress? Her attitude was strange just now.”

Shen Qianshan squinted his eyes and said nothing. After walking two steps, he told Su Ge, “It’s not a big deal. I know what to do. Let’s move on. I want to look at the resting palace of the Empress Dowager.”

Su Ge nodded and walked on with Shen Qianshan. The servant had worked for him for about ten years. Shen Qianshan could do nothing to return the kindness of the Empress Dowager. After she died of the plague a few years ago, he remained sad for a long time.

Now Shen Zhongbai, the son of the Empress Dowager, was the king. Su Ge thought Shen Qianshan was much more outstanding than Shen Zhongbai, but he probably concealed his power to avoid being suspected by Shen Zhongbai.

But it made Shen Zhongbai feel that Shen Qianshan was concealing something severe. Su Ge thought the Empress and Shen Zhongbai would be ranged against him.

When the day broke, Gu Qiang got up. Gusu Liang was sitting beside her. She saw Gusu Liang in bright red, which gave the girl an unusual air. Gu Qiang felt strange. She sat up and asked, “Why are you dressed in this way? Are you going to get married?”