As Gu Ruobai spoke, he finally looked up at Concubine Chen. In his pitch - black eyes, there was a swirling, unfathomable darkness.
Hearing that Gu Ruobai even knew Leng Ziyue's alias, Concubine Chen slumped.
She was like a deflated ball, sitting limply on the stool. She propped her head up and let out a long sigh. "If I could, I wish I'd never met him at all."
Although the words were extremely heartless, Concubine Chen's eyes didn't show it.
Su Mingyu lowered her eyes, sat down beside her, and asked suspiciously, "Your Ladyship Concubine Chen, what do you mean?"
Concubine Chen glanced at Su Mingyu, then hooked the corner of her lips self - deprecatingly. "I met Leng Ziyue after I entered the palace. He was very good to me, so I just couldn't bear to use him..."
Looking at the deep affection in Concubine Chen's eyes, Su Mingyu frowned. It didn't seem like what Leng Ziyue had said, that she was a woman who would discard him after using him.
Su Mingyu thought for a moment with a solemn look in her eyes. "Your Ladyship Concubine Chen, may I take the liberty to ask you a question?"
Concubine Chen slowly nodded, her tone a bit absent - minded. "Go ahead."
"Actually, we got to know Leng Ziyue. He asked us to come and find you because he's always wanted to know why you treated him like that." Su Mingyu said and pursed her lips. "Even investigating you was at Leng Ziyue's request."
"Before, I listened to what Leng Ziyue said and only thought you were a heartless woman. But now it seems that's not the case."
When Su Mingyu said the last sentence, her attitude was quite firm.
Gu Ruobai frowned slightly, turned his eyes to Concubine Chen, and only then noticed the look on her face as if her secret had been exposed. Combining it with what had happened before, Gu Ruobai's eyes sharpened, and he got a general idea. "Your Ladyship Concubine Chen is trying to protect Leng Ziyue, right?"
Caught out, Concubine Chen stopped pretending.
She nodded. "I've done an unforgivable thing. I deserve my punishment, but Leng Ziyue is completely innocent."
Concubine Chen poured herself a glass of water and took a small sip. "The only way to keep him out of trouble is to drive him away from me."
"That thing is that the prince you gave birth to is not the emperor's child, right?" Su Mingyu got straight to the point. Concubine Chen was stunned for a moment, but then she understood. "Leng Ziyue even told you this?"
Su Mingyu nodded. "Since that's the case, there are some things I have to say."
Su Mingyu took a deep breath. "Your Ladyship Concubine Chen, your biological father, Jiang He, is no good person. Since he could come up with the idea of asking you to have a child with someone else to gain favor, he might just discard you after using you."
Of course, Concubine Chen had thought of this point long ago, but she had no other choice.
"Miss Su, I know you're kind - hearted and trying to remind me. But since I agreed to have this child, I've been in the same boat as him. All I want now is for Leng Ziyue to leave the capital far away."
Looking at Concubine Chen's pale face, Su Mingyu frowned. "What if I said I have a way to bring down Jiang He so that he can no longer threaten you? Would you like to cooperate with me?"
"Cooperate?" Concubine Chen looked at Su Mingyu, quite puzzled. "What can we cooperate on? To put it bluntly, with the status of Prince Ruixian, it might not be easy to deal with Jiang He."
"I know what you mean, Your Ladyship Concubine Chen, but you should also know that there's someone in Jiang He's mansion who can easily subdue him." Su Mingyu said and raised her eyebrows at Concubine Chen.
Concubine Chen thought for a moment and immediately understood. "Madam Jiang?"
"But although Madam Jiang is a hard - to - approach person, she's also very protective of her own. Unless we have some substantial evidence, Madam Jiang will only side with Jiang He."
This was also the reason why Jiang He had never fallen.
Madam Jiang's situation was special. Even the emperor had to show her some respect. So as long as Madam Jiang protected him, Jiang He might not be so easy to deal with.
Su Mingyu had thought of everything that Concubine Chen had.
She waved at Concubine Chen and whispered something in her ear.
Concubine Chen's face turned pale and then red, and finally it was an ashen - gray color. "Miss Su, this plan of yours is too vicious, isn't it?"
Su Mingyu just raised her eyebrows at her. "Of course, this is just one option. If you're against it, Your Ladyship Concubine Chen, you can just pretend you never heard it."
After saying that, Su Mingyu stood up. "We've been in the palace for quite a while. We won't bother you anymore, Your Ladyship Concubine Chen."
Su Mingyu curtsied to Concubine Chen. "Your Ladyship Concubine Chen, take your time to consider."
On the way out of the palace, Gu Ruobai looked up at Su Mingyu. "You're really ruthless. How could you come up with such a plan?"
Su Mingyu pointed at Gu Ruobai's nose. "No man can achieve great things without a bit of ruthlessness. Don't make it sound like I'm unscrupulous."
Gu Ruobai looked at Su Mingyu with a half - smile. "You're not like it. You are unscrupulous."
Su Mingyu raised her hand to hit him, but finally held back.
She let out a long sigh. At least things were clear with Concubine Chen, but how was she going to talk to Leng Ziyue?
Was she supposed to tell Leng Ziyue that Concubine Chen drove him away because she was forced by Jiang He to have a child, and she knew that the little prince wasn't the emperor's. If the truth ever came out, neither Concubine Chen nor Jiang He would end up well.
So in order not to implicate Leng Ziyue, Concubine Chen decided to stay away from him.
Su Mingyu didn't know if Leng Ziyue would believe such words, but whether he believed it or not, he wouldn't feel good, after all, he had misunderstood Concubine Chen so much before.
But Su Mingyu still told Leng Ziyue what she should say.
She also told Leng Ziyue her plan. After Leng Ziyue recovered from the initial shock, he raised his hand and slapped Su Mingyu across the face. "To help Gu Ruobai clear the obstacles, you could even come up with such a vicious method."
Su Mingyu didn't even look at the mark on her face. She looked at Leng Ziyue with cold eyes. "Then tell me a better strategy."
Leng Ziyue lost his temper when Su Mingyu said this. He frowned and looked at Gu Ruobai. "I want to enter the palace. Now!"
He had just slapped Su Mingyu, and there was a fierce aura all over Gu Ruobai. "Why should I help you?"
Leng Ziyue raised his finger and pointed at his nose. "You owe me a favor. You have to pay it back."
Gu Ruobai didn't even look at him. He pulled Su Mingyu and was about to leave, but finally Su Mingyu pulled him back.
Looking up at Su Mingyu, Gu Ruobai's tone was a bit bad. "Let's go."