Chapter 1547

PS: My eye is inflamed, it hurts and itches.

Tao Hongying was shocked by the first sentence she heard, as Gu Hanyuan used Zhu Meichuo's name as a shield.

Gu Hanyuan knew very well that when dealing with an undercover agent like Tao Hongying, if he couldn't gain her trust as soon as possible, he would only waste time in endless probing.

He didn't have that much time to spend on Tao Hongying, yet Tao Hongying possessed quite a bit of intelligence on the Qing Guo.

Gu Hanyuan deliberately used the ambiguous phrasing "the man of Princess Changping" instead of "Imperial Son-in-Law," hinting to Tao Hongying that Zhu Meichuo's situation was not good.

Sure enough, Tao Hongying was stunned at first, and then she frowned and asked:

"Please explain, Young Master Gu."

Zhu Meichuo's situation in the Ming Guo was very awkward.

Although she was titled the Eldest Princess, in reality, her relationship with the Emperor Zhu Houzhao was only that of cousins.

And strictly speaking, Zhu Meichuo was a princess of the previous dynasty.

Yet the Ming Guo imperial court still had many old officials who supported her, possessing no small amount of political power.

Outside, there were several brothers who had escaped from Yanjing City and were unwilling to accept Zhu Houzhao's rule, stirring up trouble in the Qing Guo and attempting to restore the previous dynasty.

Therefore, Zhu Meichuo became very eyesore in Zhu Houzhao's eyes.

And Zhu Meichuo was a remarkable woman who cared about the country's righteousness, and her greatest wish was to drive the Qing Guo out of the Central Plains and restore the ancestral temples.

Although the Ming Guo was powerful, it had a regrettable regret.

That was that after the fall of Yanjing City, all the ancestral temples fell into the hands of the Qing Guo.

Therefore, there was an irreconcilable hostile relationship between the Ming and the Qing.

However, Zhu Houzhao was busy balancing the forces in the court and mastering power, having no intention of a northern expedition.

This was also the reason for the ambitious princes of the Ming Guo to attack him.

Zhu Meichuo became the object they desperately tried to win over.

However, Zhu Meichuo didn't want the Ming Guo to fall into internal strife, so she had no choice but to leave the capital.

Even so, Zhu Houzhao still didn't trust Zhu Meichuo and just wanted to marry her off as soon as possible.

If it weren't for the fact that there was no suitable candidate for the time being, Zhu Meichuo would likely have been forced to marry.

It was this awkward situation and the lack of freedom in marriage that made Zhu Meichuo act distant and close when facing Gu Hanyuan, wanting to be close, yet always becoming distant at critical moments.

After Gu Hanyuan informed Tao Hongying of the intelligence he had obtained about Zhu Meichuo, he said calmly:

"A-Jiu once said that when she escaped from Yanjing City, a portion of people stayed behind. Among them, you, Tao Hongying, were mentioned."

This was, of course, pure nonsense.

He just wanted to establish basic trust with Tao Hongying through Zhu Meichuo's relationship.

The intelligence about Tao Hongying was also based on the plot of *The Deer and the Cauldron* and some documents remaining in the imperial palace.

Compared to the "History of Ming" circulating outside, the authenticity of the documents remaining in the imperial palace was naturally much higher.

There were even records of Tao Hongying almost being taken as a concubine by the Chongzhen Emperor.

Gu Hanyuan's eyes flickered, and he said in a deep voice:

"Then Tao Hongying, are you still loyal to the Ming Guo? And do you choose to be loyal to the current Ming Emperor or to A-Jiu?"

Tao Hongying said firmly without much hesitation:

"Naturally, I am loyal to Princess Changping."

Once these words were spoken, it meant she would not waste time on boring probing for the time being.

Of course, there would certainly be probing in the future, but Gu Hanyuan didn't care about that.

In fact, Tao Hongying's loyalty to the Ming Guo was based on the kindness of Empress Zhou, and it was also for the sake of the late Empress Zhou that she had worked tirelessly as an undercover agent in the imperial palace for more than ten years.

Now that she learned from Gu Hanyuan about the difficulties of Zhu Meichuo's situation, she even felt hatred toward Zhu Houzhao in her heart.

After all, Tao Hongying had taken care of the young Zhu Meichuo, so the feelings went without saying.

Zhu Houzhao had obtained the throne but had not treated the princess of the previous dynasty, Zhu Meichuo, well, which made Tao Hongying very resentful.

She even gave up the idea of passing intelligence to the Ming Guo imperial court.

Gu Hanyuan gained Tao Hongying's trust through the intimate address of "A-Jiu."

After all, not many people knew this intimate nickname of Zhu Meichuo, which also showed that she had a very good impression of Gu Hanyuan in the beginning.

It was only due to her own awkward situation that she had never responded.

Gu Hanyuan's indifferent voice interrupted Tao Hongying's thoughts.

"Although that is the case, you have been an undercover agent in the imperial palace for many years, so my trust in you is insufficient. Therefore, you still need to hand over a pledge of allegiance."

Tao Hongying was stunned hearing this.

But she quickly understood what Gu Hanyuan meant.

In fact, even if Tao Hongying returned to the Ming Guo, it wouldn't be an easy thing.

After all, an undercover agent who had lost contact for more than ten years was indeed difficult to trust.

As long as there was the slightest deviation in the intelligence passed, it would cause huge losses.

Such things were common throughout history.

However, this made Tao Hongying somewhat troubled.

Even if she revealed the secrets she had obtained in the Qing Guo imperial palace at this moment, their authenticity would be doubted due to the lack of trust.

She didn't know how to produce the so-called pledge of allegiance for a moment.

Looking at the hesitant Tao Hongying, a playful look flashed in Gu Hanyuan's eyes.

He said calmly:

"It is not difficult to hand over a pledge of allegiance; I see that you are still a maiden, clearly not having had any entanglements with any man. Since that is the case... Shuang'er, come and teach her."

Shuang'er, who had been taking care of the sleeping Wu Xingyun behind Gu Hanyuan and silently observing, was stunned hearing this.

A flush immediately appeared on her pretty face.

She obediently came to Gu Hanyuan's side, and when she lowered her head, she tucked the hair at her temples behind her ears, revealing her flushed, delicate ears.

When Tao Hongying heard Gu Hanyuan reveal her physical condition, she felt a sense of unease while her pretty face flushed slightly.

Immediately after, she saw Shuang'er's live demonstration.

Her heart felt both relieved and very ashamed and hesitant.

Although she understood quite a bit, she had never practiced it.

Even when the Chongzhen Emperor wanted to take her as a concubine, it was stopped by Empress Zhou.

Therefore, for Tao Hongying, who was still a maiden, the practice before her could barely be considered a pledge of allegiance.

Gu Hanyuan let Shuang'er, who had a lingering look in her eyes, step aside and said calmly:

"Since you are A-Jiu's maid, helping to serve her man can be considered an obligation; such a pledge of allegiance is not too difficult for you, is it?"