In reality, what Liu Tan did was smart. He wanted to use Yu Shu, but he was selling a favour to Xue Rui. Unfortunately, the Xue family and Jing Wang Fu were in the same boat. Xue Rui was selling a favour for nothing.
Xue Rui understood and calmly looked at Liu Tan. He turned his head to ask Xue Lingnan: "What does grandfather think should be done?"
Xue Lingnan replied: "The matters of the hougong, us foreign officials should not interfere. But the child in your jiumu's womb is of great importance and cannot be neglected."
He didn't finish his words. Xue Rui saw a deeper meaning in his eyes. His heart jumped and he couldn't help but think — — there were many feipin in the hougong. Above guifei, there was only one Empress. If guifei successfully gave birth, her contributions would be even more prominent. If at this time, something happened to the Empress, then the Empress, who was childless and lacking in virtue, would definitely be impeached by the Imperial Censors.
When the position of Empress was empty, among the women in the hougong, who would have the qualifications to advance further?
Xue Rui lightly pursed his lips. Looking at Liu Tan's still young and inexperienced face, he guessed that he definitely hadn't thought of this layer. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to sit still long ago and wouldn't have had the thought to use him.
"Grandfather, don't worry." Faced with such a situation, Xue Rui could only agree.
Xue Lingnan looked at him with satisfaction. He turned his head to say to Liu Tan: "After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it will be wang ye's grand wedding. I only hope that it will be perfect."
Liu Tan smiled and said: "At that time, grandfather must drink a few more cups of grandson's wedding wine."
Xue Rui watched from the side as the grandfather and grandson talked about an off-topic topic. One had a pleasant expression, the other was close. It was completely a scene of children and grandchildren being happy. But he was like an outsider, watching coldly from the side.
***
Yu Shu was not in a deep sleep. She could hear some movement in the room. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel someone sitting in front of her. She was originally lying on her back, but when she opened her eyes, she saw Xue Rui sitting on a chair a foot away from her. Not far away, there was a dim gauze lamp under the window. With only a few inches of light, she could barely see him clearly.
"Are you awake?"
"Mm." Yu Shu sat up slowly. She tucked her messy hair behind her ears. He reached for the teacup on the table.
Xue Rui picked up the teapot before her and refilled half of the tea in her cup.
After quenching her thirst, Yu Shu propped her head up and looked at him. "What happened at home?"
Xue Rui replied, "The Imperial Consort is indeed pregnant."
Yu Shu sat up straight and her eyes widened. "Really?"
Xue Rui nodded.
At first, Yu Shu was amused. Then she found that he didn't seem to be smiling. She asked, "What, you are not happy?"
Xue Rui asked her in turn, "Why are you so happy?"
"This is a good thing," Yu Shu stated matter-of-factly to him. "First, I am a female imperial official at Kun Ling Bureau. Whichever niangniang in the palace is favoured will affect me. Of the Empress and the other feipin, I favor the Imperial Consort the most. Now that she has the grace of the Emperor, of course I am happy to see it happen. Second, I don't want to see Ning Wang gain power. Of course, it's better if the Ninth Prince gains power. "
Hearing her honest words, Xue Rui sighed. "You are really honest."
Yu Shu poked him. "It's your turn to speak. Why aren't you happy?"
Xue Rui could have used a roundabout way to tell her what Liu Tan had entrusted to him, and first made it clear that he was in a difficult position and that he had no choice. He did not want her to think that he had any intention of doing anything for her, but he did not. He told her just as plainly:
"I want you to help divine fortune for the Imperial Consort and ensure the safety of the child in her womb."
The people outside all thought that she could predict life and death. Only he knew her background. What she was truly skilled at was determining fortune and misfortune. Xue Rui was more confident than Liu Tan. As long as she was willing to put effort into this matter, then the child in the Imperial Consort's womb would be safe. Absolutely safe.
Also, this was a shortcut. A shortcut that could free him from the heavy shackles that were the Xue family.
Yu Shu considered for a moment before agreeing: "Yes, I want to know the Imperial Consort's birthday. Tomorrow, I will divine for her until she gives birth."
She readily agreed. Xue Rui didn't feel relaxed. He said in a low voice: "Think carefully. Participating in this matter is different from you agreeing to tamper with the Book of Kun."
Yu Shu didn't understand the hidden meaning in his words. In her opinion, these two things were both to help Imperial Consort Xue. What difference could there be?
Xue Rui patiently explained to her: "Once you start to divine for the Imperial Consort and find out that someone is plotting against her, I want you to tell me the details as soon as possible. Think about it now. Who doesn't want to see the Imperial Consort give birth safely?"
"Prince Ning?" The first person that Yu Shu thought of was the two-faced Dog Lord.
"If you can know in advance when Prince Ning will make a move, how much chance do you think you can make him go for wool and come home shorn?"
Yu Shu's eyes brightened. This was the drama where Prince Ning failed to send someone to harm the Imperial Consort. After the matter was exposed, he was stripped of his title and driven out of the capital by the Emperor in a rage.
"Three years ago, there was no evidence that Prince Ning framed the Tenth Princess. As time passed, it was difficult to pursue it. This time, if I can catch Prince Ning in the act, I won't let him go." Xue Rui said in a low voice and asked her:
"Think again. Who else?"
"… The Empress?"
"Yes, there's also the Empress," Xue Rui said slowly, "The Empress has been in charge of the six palaces for more than ten years. She has no children. There are seven laws: 'When a woman reaches fifty years of age and has no children, she can choose a concubine as the eldest. If the wife is not virtuous, she shall be abandoned.' Her Majesty is forty-seven years old this year, a little older than the Emperor. It seems that it is difficult for her to have a child. She is nearly fifty years old. Seeing that the Imperial Consort is pregnant, she is more anxious than anyone else. If she harms the Imperial Consort and this matter is exposed, she will be impeached —"
"Think again. If the Empress is deposed, which Consort is most likely to be promoted by the Emperor?"
"The Imperial Consort," Yu Shu swallowed. In this way, wouldn't Liu Tan directly become the First Prince? Then what's the point of others fighting for? What's there to fight for?
"So, no matter which one of them harms the Imperial Consort, it can shake the entire court. Now do you know what it means to be involved in this matter? It's fine if it succeeds, but if it fails, can you bear the consequences? "
After she heard Xue Rui's explanation, Yu Shu noticed that she was still thinking too simply. If she agreed to help him calculate the fortune and misfortune of the Imperial Consort, then she would have completely boarded the 'pirate ship,' and it would be difficult for her to get off it.
In history, there were only two outcomes for those who failed in the fight for the throne: death, and a life worse than death.
This caused her to hesitate. Compared to Ning Wang becoming the Crown Prince, she was more willing to see Liu Tan become the Crown Prince. Otherwise, she would not have been so willing to help Xue Imperial Consort alter the Book of Great Earth and ignore the Empress and Shu Fei.
However, she did not forget that the starting point of everything she did was to escape the death trap of the person who broke the fate, to preserve her life. But who knew how long it would take for Liu Tan to sit on the throne after he became the Crown Prince?
It was hard to say whether or not the Emperor would deal with her in this period of time. Whether or not Liu Tan would become the Crown Prince, whether or not he would become the Emperor in the future. In the end, it could not determine whether or not she could keep her little life.
Was there a need for her to take such a risk for an unnecessary matter?
If it was someone else, they would definitely consider this question for a few days, but for Yu Shu, who often toyed with probability, it was just the time it took to drink a sip of tea.
"Da Ge, you don't have to scare me. I'll do it. Come, let's clap hands and agree. Whoever regrets is a bastard."
One of her principles was — rather than waiting for death, it was better to take the initiative and attack.
Furthermore, she had confidence in Xue Rui. She could divine the mastermind who wanted to harm Guifei, so Xue Rui would definitely be able to make them reveal their true colors.
At this time, Yu Shu was still sitting on the soft couch. Her hair, which had just woken up, was loose and disheveled. A tuft of it was sticking up on the top of her head. Her serious appearance of raising her hand and swearing was very silly, but in Xue Rui's eyes, it was extremely cute.
"Pah."
Xue Rui raised his hand and lightly patted the center of her palm, causing a clear sound to resound out, yet he didn't retreat and instead seized the opportunity to hold her entire palm before moving it close to his face and pecking the back of her warm hand, and then he said with a chuckle,
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