The evil sister is in charge, and the mother is getting married

Chapter 292 We can't really call it a friendship, at most we're acquaintances.
Gu Xiuhan waved his hand at Fang Hewen, and immediately someone brought out the brewed tea and snacks and placed them in front of Gu Chengze.

Gu Chengze became even more nervous upon seeing this, his mind completely blank. This was the first time he had ever been served tea and snacks by his father in the Imperial Study. He never received this treatment before. What was going on?
Could it be that Father has some important task for him to do? It seems to be some shady business!
Moreover, it must be related to that wicked girl, Sheng Wanqiu. Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have mentioned her directly. He knows his father well; he wouldn't even glance at someone who isn't profitable, let alone mention them.

Sheng Wanqiu, that wicked girl, is quite something. She's become a princess in such a short time. It's probably related to the former royal treasure.

"Your Majesty, yes! When my fourth brother and I were assassinated, it was Sheng Wanqiu who came to our aid. Otherwise, the grass on our graves would be three meters high by now!"

"We're not really friends, we're just acquaintances, I've gotten to know them a bit!"

"If we're talking about familiarity, Fourth Brother and Sheng Wanqiu are more familiar with each other. They went down into the ancient tomb together and have been through life and death together!"

Gu Chengfeng: ??? Nonsense, I'm not familiar with this either! You really are my good second brother!
Gu Chengze silently prayed that his fourth brother wouldn't blame him. He figured that his father wanted him to win over Sheng Wanqiu. He wasn't stupid; he knew about his father's subtle actions during this time. His father was searching everywhere for craftsmen who could improve the power of the country's existing explosives. He had even sent people to Duzhu Mountain.

He knew his father's ambition: to unify the five kingdoms using explosives. Now he heard that Dayue also had explosives, and they were quite powerful. It was most likely that it was that wicked girl Sheng Wanqiu who had brought it on.

Although he didn't put in the effort to find out about these matters, his people intercepted many letters and messages from other princes. He learned about the explosives in Da Yue Kingdom from these letters, but he didn't know that Sheng Wanqiu was now a princess.

"Hehe, she's still your savior, isn't she? You should thank her properly. Sheng Wanqiu will also be attending the grand court assembly of Beixu Kingdom this time. Get ready, you'll be going with the envoys the day after tomorrow."

"Go and prepare. If you need anything, just tell Fang and Wen! Go!"

Once Gu Xiuhan uttered those unquestionable words, Gu Chengze knew that further words were useless; it seemed that his father was determined to have him cultivate connections.

"Yes! Your subject understands!"

After bowing, Gu Chengze left the imperial study. He hadn't gone far when he bumped into Xia Bing, the personal maid of Consort Chen. "This servant greets the Second Prince. Her Highness the Consort invites you to the Zihe Garden for a chat!"

"Okay! Lead the way!"

Gu Chengze didn't waste any time. It seemed he had come to ask what his father, the Emperor, wanted to see him about. He wasn't in his own palace, but had gone to such a remote place. It seemed that Consort Chen had something else to tell him, and she was afraid of being seen by people in her own palace.

A eunuch hiding in the shadows saw Gu Chengze leave with Xia Bing and quickly returned to the Imperial Study.

After passing through the Imperial Garden and bypassing the Cold Palace, Gu Chengze followed Xia Bing to a slightly simple Zihe Garden. This was a garden where the former imperial concubines used to watch operas. There was a tall stage inside, with osmanthus trees planted on both sides. It wasn't the season yet, otherwise it would have been a good place to enjoy the scenery.

"Ze'er, you've come!"

As soon as Gu Chengze entered the garden, he saw Consort Chen standing in the courtyard, holding an unidentified small purple flower in her hand. She smiled and waved at him. "Your son greets Mother Consort!" Gu Chengze immediately bowed, but he couldn't help feeling that something was off about his mother today. He hadn't seen her smile so warmly before. Why were both his father and mother acting strangely today? This made Gu Chengze wary.

Something's not right, something's definitely not right!
"Good child, get up quickly. Look, it won't be long before these osmanthus flowers bloom. Nothing in life is perfect, and nothing lasts forever, but osmanthus is different. It has many uses, right?"

Consort Chen smiled and pointed to a sturdy osmanthus tree beside the stage.

"Hmm! I remember when we were little, my fourth brother and I loved eating the osmanthus cake that Mother made the most. It was so delicious!" Gu Chengze replied, seemingly ignoring the question.

He knew what his mother meant; she just wanted him to be a useful tool.
He increasingly felt that his mother wasn't being biased, but rather that she had never cared about him at all, especially as his fourth brother grew older.

This made him feel as if he wasn't his mother's biological child, but rather an adopted wild child.

Consort Chen's expression turned cold, then quickly returned to its amiable state. Could it be that this boy has discovered something? No wonder he keeps trying to break into the Cold Palace to see what's going on. Did someone tell him something?

She silenced everyone who knew about this incident. Could there be any survivors?

"Hehe, then when you return from Beixu Kingdom, your mother will make it for you. I suppose the osmanthus flowers here will be in bloom by then!"

Gu Chengze's heart tightened. Sure enough, his mother's hand had already reached into the Imperial Study. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to receive the news that he was going to Beixu to attend the Grand Court Assembly as soon as he came out.

I wonder if Father Emperor knows about this. If he does, who knows how furious he will be, and there will definitely be bloodshed.

When leaving Zihe Garden, Consort Chen deliberately led Gu Chengze past the gate of the Cold Palace, wanting to see the expression on his face. Accompanied by the occasional sound of women crying from the Cold Palace, the little palace maids and eunuchs who occasionally passed by felt itchy all over. Normally, they would not dare to pass by here unless they had to avoid it.

Consort Chen frowned, cursing inwardly. If she hadn't been too slow, she would have given this madwoman the mute drug long ago. How could she have let her cry and laugh so annoyingly all the time?
Now I want to go in, but I can't. Men are all the same, they don't cherish what they have, but they start to act all sentimental when they lose it. They're really despicable!

"Ze'er, aren't you curious about the sounds that just came from the Cold Palace?"

Consort Chen didn't show any particular expression when she saw Gu Chengze. If she didn't know that this boy was trying to find out what was going on in the Cold Palace, she would have really been fooled by him.

She couldn't help herself and blurted it out, immediately regretting it. Why did she speak so quickly? Wasn't she just asking for trouble?

"Mother, didn't Father say before that no one should approach the Cold Palace? He also said that curiosity killed the cat, and that we must remember not to ask questions we shouldn't ask!"