Chapter 170

Gu Jiu Ling's expression changed slightly; these days she used the excuse that she was pregnant, her pregnancy was far along, and it was no longer suitable for her to appear in the social circles of the nobility in Shang Jing.

Therefore, using this as an excuse, she declined many banquets and similar events; even when Princess Consort Duan sent palace maids to invite her into the palace, Xiao Yin stepped forward and bore it for her.

Xiao Yin is the Ninth Imperial Uncle, Gu Jiu Ling is Xiao Yin's principal wife; even Princess Consort Duan cannot override her with authority, after all, although Gu Jiu Ling is young, her status is not low.

Princess Consort Duan is not the empress; even if Gu Jiu Ling refuses, she can do nothing about it.

In this way she bore it, and Gu Jiu Ling actually saved herself a lot of unnecessary trouble.

But this time it was the Empress Dowager herself who personally came to invite her; as a junior, Gu Jiu Ling would be going too far if she refused again—not to mention Gu Jiu Ling, even Xiao Yin could not openly defy the Empress Dowager Ning'an's wishes.

Gu Jiu Ling steadied herself and said, "We can't keep the people in the palace waiting; Steward Li, go back and say I'll change my clothes and come right away."

"Yes!" Steward Li replied hastily, took a few steps back, but his steps stopped there as he cautiously looked at Gu Jiu Ling and said, "Master, should I inform the Prince?"

"It's not like other places in the palace," Gu Jiu Ling nodded and asked, "Where is the Prince now?"

Steward Li hurriedly said, "He was summoned to the palace early this morning, saying the Emperor wants to see him."

Gu Jiu Ling frowned slightly; lately Xiao Yin has indeed been busy, never seen all day, giving the feeling of a dragon that shows its head but not its tail.

She said slowly, "I'll go into the palace first; have the guards of the Wangfu wait outside the East Si Ma Gate, and when the Prince comes out of the palace, tell him the news that Empress Dowager Ning'an has summoned me."

"Yes! This old servant will attend to it right away!" Steward Li hurriedly turned and strode out.

Gu Jiu Ling rose to change clothes and redo her makeup.

She is not being pretentious; she cannot be apart from Xiao Yin everywhere, mainly because the palace is absolutely not a good place to go—it is like a massive killing machine standing in Shang Jing, and a little carelessness would leave no bones left.

Not long after, Gu Jiu Ling had finished dressing, was helped by Jiu Yue to walk out of the Rui Wang Fu; the palace carriage was already waiting at the gate, and Gu Jiu Ling got into the carriage.

Soon the carriage stopped at the palace gate, and Gu Jiu Ling followed the eunuch to the Jingren Palace where Empress Dowager Ning'an resided.

The courtyard was filled with various marigolds; it was already the Beginning of Winter, obviously these chrysanthemums were artificially cultivated, in this cold winter they were meant to display the lofty elegance of the ancestral figure in the Jingren Palace, little knowing they only have half a day's lifespan to live; anyway, there are plenty of marigolds in the greenhouse, so if they wither, they wither.

Upon entering the main hall, Gu Jiu Ling stopped in the outer chamber, while the palace matron went in to announce her.

Gu Jiu Ling lifted her eyes and glanced around at the surrounding statues of the Compassionate Bodhisattva; the corner of her mouth curled in a sneer—honoring spirits while slaughtering people, truly hypocritical!

Does she really think that by clutching at the Buddha at the last minute, Heaven will specially open a VIP passage to wash away her bloodstains? What is she thinking?

"Princess Consort, please!" the head matron of the palace turned and came out, made a respectful gesture to Gu Jiu Ling, and ushered her into the inner hall.

In the inner hall were other palace ladies keeping Empress Dowager Ning'an company in conversation—two former dynasty consorts, allies who had barely survived the Ning'an Empress Dowager's palace intrigues, and also Princess Consort Duan.

Gu Jiu Ling entered with her belly prominent; the few people who had been talking fell silent and turned to look at her.

Consort Ning'an looked at Gu Jiu Ling's belly, which was growing larger by the day, and expected her to give birth after the spring thaw.

Although this woman is carrying twins, she has not been worn down; instead her face is full of rosy vigor, clearly both she and the children in her womb are thriving.

Empress Dowager Ning'an glanced at her, and her expression turned slightly colder; although the fact that Gu Jiu Ling is carrying Xiao Yin's child seems unreliable, even when she herself had personally examined it last time in the palace, she had not exposed anything.

But just thinking that Xiao Yin's pair of children will soon be born, after which the Rui Wang Fu will continue its lineage forever, makes this thought almost unbearable for her.

As long as Xiao Yin is not eliminated for a day, he remains a major hidden danger to her son, Emperor Longqing; they failed to kill him in the Qi Sha Gu seven years ago, and now finding another opportunity is practically impossible.

"Your servant pays respects to the Mother Empress! May the Mother Empress enjoy myriad blessings and golden peace!" Gu Jiu Ling's expression, even her every word and deed, could be described as dignified, leaving no fault to be found.

"Please rise; you are pregnant now, no need for so much ceremony."

Empress Dowager Ning'an smiled faintly, ordered the attendants on either side to help her up, and granted her a seat.

After giving thanks, Gu Jiu Ling carefully perched on the edge of the embroidered stool.

On one side, Princess Consort Duan looked at Gu Jiu Ling's aloof demeanor and instantly became angry.

Although she is not the empress, she is also a concubine who oversees the imperial harem; yet after paying her respects to Empress Dowager Ning'an, she merely gave a slight bow and then sat alone on a stool brought over by palace maids on the other side.

Princess Consort Duan coldly sneered, "Surely it's someone from the Rui Wang Fu—hasn't Her Highness seen the several invitations I sent? What an arrogant attitude!"

Gu Jiu Ling's mind stirred, her expression showing a hint of surprise, and she blurted out, "Princess Consort, what do you mean by that?"

Gu Jiu Ling's bewildered gaze was just right as she looked at Princess Consort Duan and asked, "When did you send the invitation to your servant, Your Highness? I didn't know about it."

"Ah!" Gu Jiu Ling hastily covered her mouth in surprise, "Could it be that my Prince received the invitation on my behalf and forgot to tell me?"

"My Prince is simply too busy; these days he hasn't been home at all, nor has he informed me of these!"

"Your servant deserves death; from now on I will certainly whisper in the Prince's ear, and for any matter concerning the Princess Consort, I will handle it promptly, putting aside other duties in the palace."

As soon as Gu Jiu Ling's words fell, Princess Consort Duan's face turned pale instantly—what virtue or ability does she have to compare herself with the important affairs of the court?

Yet having been retorted by Gu Jiu Ling like that, she truly felt somewhat unwilling to accept it.

She is merely a prince's consort; what could she possibly overturn?

Princess Consort Duan was about to say something when Empress Dowager Ning'an gave her a cold stare from the side; that look made Duan shiver violently, and she swallowed all her words.

Empress Dowager Ning'an looked at Gu Jiu Ling and smiled, saying, "In three days I plan to go to Long Dragon Temple before the heavy snow blocks the mountains, for the last Buddhist worship of the year; you should come with me, as the noble ladies of the capital all go."

"The incense at Long Dragon Temple is very vigorous; praying for blessings and making wishes for the child in your belly is also excellent."

"By the way, I've heard there is happy news recently in the Rui Wang Fu?"

"Now more than ever we need to worship Buddha and pray for blessings, so that everything will go smoothly!"

Gu Jiu Ling's heart gave a slight start—what does Empress Dowager Ning'an mean? Dragging a pregnant woman like her to beg incense and worship the Buddha for no apparent reason?

Perhaps she intends to use some underhanded tactic?