Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 260

After getting some fresh air, the Emperor's smile returned naturally.

Xie Jiu was playing guessing games with Xin Baolin when he caught a glimpse of the Empress out of the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but feel curious.

"Springtime Beauty".

She called out and waved with a smile.

"You guess for me whether it's odd or even."

Chunrong approached, only to hear Xie Jiu lower his voice and order, "Go and find out who the Empress just met."

"Yes." Chunrong immediately responded calmly, then raised her voice slightly, "This servant guesses it's Dan!"

Xin Baolin smiled and lifted the small silver cup, revealing three melon seeds inside.

"You guessed right again. It seems this game is no challenge for Your Highness at all. We should increase the stakes. How about we bring another silver cup and guess the number?" Xin Baolin suggested.

Xie Jiu was free anyway, so he agreed to play games with Xin Baolin like he was coaxing a child.

Then, he casually made up an excuse to get Chunrong to leave the table.

At this moment, Consort Guo was also not present at the table.

She was called away by her father, Guo Wei, and the two were taking a walk and talking.

How does the Emperor treat you?

"It's all proper and acceptable," Consort Guo replied truthfully. "The Emperor values ​​the Guo family and has shown respect to his daughter."

Guo Wei nodded, "Then I am more at ease. Our family has not always followed the Emperor, nor do we hold military power. What I fear most is that the Emperor will become wary of us. Praising someone to death is the most effective method. If the Emperor dotes on you, I will be even more terrified. Just like the Xie family back then, Xie Mingshen served as the Grand Secretary for so many years, but what did he end up with? If it weren't for Consort Jin's methods, I'm afraid that more than one member of the Xie family would have died."

Guo Wei had a keen intuition about Xie Mingshen's death back then.

He didn't understand the whole story and thought Xie Jiu was sacrificing his father to save himself and the Xie family.

But the basic direction was correct. Xie Mingshen's death was indeed partly due to Xie Jiu's excessive favoritism, which made him, as his father, somewhat arrogant.

So I reminded them again.

“During the banquet just now, I noticed that you and Consort Jin seemed to be getting close. I think you should be more careful. This woman is not simple and is ruthless. Don’t try to curry favor with her and become her pawn in order to gain her favor.”

"I understand, daughter." Consort Guo nodded. "However, the Empress harbors great hostility towards all the concubines in the palace who come from good families. If I do not form an alliance with her, I am afraid that I will be alone and vulnerable to being targeted by the Empress. After all, I have not yet established a firm foothold."

Upon hearing this, Guo Wei frowned, then spoke in a deep voice.

“You’ve always been steady and decisive. What I’m saying is just a reminder. You’ll have to figure out the specifics yourself.”

"Father, rest assured, I've always remembered what you taught me. When marching and fighting, one must be adaptable and adjust to local conditions." Consort Guo smiled slightly.

She showed signs of being a young girl in her boudoir.

Guo Wei's expression softened somewhat, and he sighed, "If it weren't for the Emperor's intention, Father wouldn't have agreed either."

“My daughter is willing,” Guo Cai Ren interrupted him, her eyes bright, “for the sake of the family, and for her own sake.”

She didn't want to marry an ordinary man. Zhao Xingjin was young and promising, and also the emperor. She was interested in him.

Seeing this, Guo Wei said no more; he naturally understood his daughter's pride.

The father and daughter decided not to linger and parted ways.

The afternoon passed just like that.

After a lively afternoon, the dinner party cooled down a bit, as everyone was tired after a long day, so it ended early.

Zhao Xingjin had originally intended to keep Xie Jiu in his tent, but then Xi Chi arrived with a letter from Princess Zhao Zhiyu. After reading it, he changed his mind and sent Xie Jiu back, then summoned his ministers for a meeting. Xie Jiu was happy to be relieved.

After returning home, he asked Chunrong about the matter he had been asked to investigate during the day.

“There was nothing unusual. The Empress was indeed accompanied by Tingyun for a walk outside before returning to her seat,” Chunrong said.

Xie Jiu nodded slightly. "It's best if nothing happens."

Without thinking too much about it, I went to bed early to rest.

Meanwhile, in the Empress's tent, the chief eunuch Zhang Liquan, using the excuse that the Empress was worried that Princess Lingyi was not sleeping well alone, sent him back to inquire about the situation before leaving the camp.

The Empress always doted on her youngest daughter, and since this was the first time the mother and daughter had been separated, it was understandable that she was worried. Although the palace gates were locked at night, it was still possible to send messages, so no one suspected anything.

However, after entering the city, Zhang Liquan did not return to the palace in person, but sent his apprentice instead, while he himself secretly went to Jinming Tower.

That night, one of the male prostitutes was missing from Jinming Tower. Rumors spread throughout the tower that he had been taken a liking to a nobleman and had been redeemed on the spot.

"Has someone redeemed Wu Que from his servitude?"

The next morning, while Xie Jiu was washing up, Qingfang told him about what happened the night before.

Yes, Xie Jiu had always wanted to see how Wu Que would fend for himself, and had always sent people to keep an eye on him, so what happened last night naturally did not escape her notice.

"Where was the person taken? Who ransomed them?" Xie Jiu asked, frowning.

Qingfang shook her head. "It's very mysterious. They don't seem to have been to Jinminglou before. They seem to be merchants from out of town. After they ransomed them, they were taken to an inn and never came out again."

"That's strange, that someone actually thinks so highly of him." Xie Jiu lowered his eyes, feeling somewhat uneasy. "I have someone keep an eye on him; I just don't feel right."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I have already given instructions that I will report immediately if there is any movement," Qingfang said.

For the next three days, things were peaceful, and no one attended to him in bed.
After receiving Xi Chi's letter, Zhao Xingjin seemed to get quite busy, summoning ministers to discuss matters for several days in a row. As for what happened, Xie Jiu had no way of knowing.

Xie Wei was not among those summoned; those who went were all trusted senior officials of Zhao Xingjin.

However, seeing that Zhao Xingjin seemed to be in a good mood, Xie Jiu figured it couldn't be anything bad, so she didn't bother to inquire further.

To avoid overstepping one's bounds, causing displeasure, and ultimately losing more than one gains.

On the sixth day at the hunting grounds, Zhao Xingjin hunted a male deer with Guo Cairen's father during the day, and that evening, Guo Cairen was summoned to the main tent.

"Your Majesty, please rest early. Consort Guo will be serving you tonight," Chunrong said softly as she entered from outside.

It seemed they were afraid of upsetting Xie Jiu.

To be honest, Xie Jiu didn't care. He responded and went inside to lie down.

The amount of activity in the hunting grounds was much greater than in the palace. It was lively from morning till night, and everyone was exhausted.

In such circumstances, one still had to serve the emperor, being extremely careful and cautious; it was incredibly arduous.

She's the one who's lucky; she can go to bed early.

Seeing that Xie Jiu didn't seem to care, Chunrong and Qingfang breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little more relaxed.

They extinguished the candles and went outside to keep watch.

In the middle of the night, it started raining outside, quite heavily, accompanied by thunder and lightning, which was rather frightening.

However, Xie Jiu was not afraid of these things and continued to sleep soundly wrapped in the blanket.

The servants on night duty and the guards patrolling the camp suffered the most. In such terrible weather, they still had to perform their duties, so they inevitably became somewhat careless and lazy, thinking of going back to rest as soon as possible.

Just after the patrolling guards passed by, a hunched-over man dressed as a eunuch quietly approached Xie Jiu's tent from behind.