Chapter 874: Chapter 693: A Fetus-Preserving Medicine for You
Gu Changsheng’s words, not to mention Madam Zheng almost fainted with anger, even the onlookers twitched their mouths.
So unkind! Absolutely unkind!
Never seen someone ridicule others like this, even as bystanders, they shed a tear for Madam Zheng, the Wife of the Former Crown Prince, let alone Madam Zheng herself. How heartbroken she must be!
"Madam, why are you so agitated?" Gu Changsheng looked at Madam Zheng’s heaving chest with blazing eyes, blinked her long lashes innocently, and said very narcissistically, "Could it be that seeing me, your heart is stirred, and that’s why you’re like this?"
"I..." Madam Zheng just wanted to speak, but found that she was so angry that she couldn’t say a word, her face flushed red, extremely aggrieved.
Agitated? Is she agitated?
She’s clearly filled with grief and indignation, hating the arrogant person in front of her, isn’t she?
"Royal Mother..." Zhou Hao, seeing Zheng’s embarrassment, couldn’t bear it. His young mind clearly couldn’t analyze the situation, so he called out worriedly and stepped forward a few steps, wanting to help Zheng up from the ground.
"Hmm?" Gu Changsheng snorted almost inaudibly when she saw this.
This chubby little boy, such courage!
Daring to help someone right under her nose!
Zhou Hao, though lacking foresight, found it hard to ignore the eyes of the crowd that were too hot on him. Finally, as he helped Zheng up, he met the eyes of the woman standing silently on the Imperial Carriage, and after a moment of amazement in his eyes, it turned to hatred.
This trace of hatred in his gaze did not escape Gu Changsheng’s eyes. She watched with great interest.
This young lad who went to help had quite good looks, and between his brows and eyes, there was actually a bit of resemblance to her evildoer, Gu Changsheng, who felt a sudden jolt in her heart and couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
"Zhou Hao greets Sister-in-law." Zhou Hao spoke while helping someone up.
This "Sister-in-law" shocked Gu Changsheng so much that she almost jumped off the Imperial Carriage.
Sister-in-law?
Zhou Mu, that evildoer, actually has such a big brother?
Oh God! She had thought that the great fire in the Eastern Palace more than ten years ago was just because her evildoer had outshone his father, not expecting that there was also a young carrot head involved?
Gu Changsheng’s expression suddenly became extremely pleased.
This young boy dared to openly call her Sister-in-law, and the Great Zhou people didn’t object at all, which means there must be no falsehood. Hence, the matter became intriguing, Gu Changsheng’s eyes couldn’t help but look at the Madam being supported by Zhou Hao...
Adorned in gold and jade, dressed as a Consort, with a six-tailed Phoenix Hairpin on her head...
Gu Changsheng, who never studied the court’s formal rules before, had at least heard one or two things now that she was the Southern Emperor; the Phoenix Hairpin for the Main Palace Empress Dowager is nine-tailed, the formal one for a Noble Consort is six-tailed. Obviously, the son of Emperor Zhoulin’s Noble Consort wouldn’t call her Sister-in-law; that would mix up the generations!
Therefore, reality can only be one: the rather plump Madam before her must be the Wife of the Former Crown Prince, Madam Zheng!
Only she could so justifiably wear the six-tailed Phoenix Hairpin!
"Hongyan, your slaps were very good." Gu Changsheng looked at the mother and son of Zheng with blazing eyes, tilted her head, and said to the Hongyan Jiaojiao beside her.
"Huh?" Hongyan Jiaojiao was dumbfounded when she heard, evidently not yet comprehending the situation.
Gu Changsheng smiled with her lips, a hint of coldness in her eyes, standing straight against the wind, looking down at the supporting mother and son below with a stern, cold voice, "I haven’t even entered the Capital City, and you’ve slapped my future mother-in-law already, tell me, were your slaps good?"
"Your Royal Highness!" Hongyan Jiaojiao knelt immediately upon hearing this, her heart bleeding internally, looking at Zheng with flickering eyes. This woman? This woman who defiled her Sovereign, turned out to be the Royal Mother of the Imperial Prince her Sovereign was destined for?
Godfather! What is all this about? Obviously, the Zhou Dynasty isn’t suitable for marriage alliances, even the future mother-in-law of the Sovereign can’t much appreciate her Sovereign!
"Your Royal Highness, forgive me, I really didn’t know she was..." Hongyan Jiaojiao was extremely terrified, though she didn’t think much of the Zhou Dynasty’s petty commoners, yet she couldn’t withstand that her Sovereign was determined to recognize the Imperial Prince!
"Hahaha..." Gu Changsheng suddenly laughed upon hearing this, the laughter filled with unspeakable indulgence and recklessness.
"Southern Emperor..." The Zhoulin Imperial Capital felt a bit uneasy with her laughter. At this critical juncture of diplomacy between two countries, how did things suddenly reach this situation? Emperor Zhoulin couldn’t help but glance at Han Shan, who was bowing down beside him. This old man wasn’t lying; his future granddaughter-in-law indeed had a hidden agenda, and she was prepared to play her hand with anyone she met!
Emperor Zhoulin felt uneasy, and Madam Zheng felt even more uneasy. Her grip on Zhou Hao’s hand began to whiten, and when she looked at Gu Changsheng, her gaze not only carried hatred but also a hint of fear. The woman before her didn’t follow any rules, not caring about decorum or the dignity expected of a Southern Emperor...
Gu Changsheng stared at Madam Zheng with piercing intensity, his eyes fierce and unyielding. Standing atop the imperial carriage, he seemed lost in memories, his expression growing darker.
"Sister-in-law, as Southern Emperor, you should uphold the dignity expected of you. Your servant’s disrespect towards the Royal Mother is unforgivable and should be punished with a thousand cuts in public to demonstrate filial piety!" Zhou Hao supported Madam Zheng, his gaze fierce as he looked at Hongyan Jiaojiao kneeling at Gu Changsheng’s feet, his face full of malice as he spoke.
Upon hearing this, Gu Changsheng stopped laughing, pressed his lips together, and looked at Zhou Hao with a mocking smile. With a wave of his crimson phoenix sleeve, he spoke coldly, "When did my dignity fall to the likes of an obsolete imperial kin like you to teach? Hongyan, slap him!"
"Huh?" Hongyan Jiaojiao, kneeling on the ground, was momentarily stunned but quickly understood. In a flash, she was in front of Madam Zheng and her son.
Madam Zheng’s body trembled imperceptibly, shrinking back slightly.
"Slap!"
"Slap!"
Hongyan Jiaojiao acted swiftly and efficiently, not wasting any time. In the blink of an eye, Zhou Hao’s face was slapped left and right, swelling visibly.
Zhou Hao held his face, looking incredulously at Gu Changsheng standing above.
"Hao’er!" Madam Zheng, seeing her youngest son slapped, exclaimed in surprise and lunged at Gu Changsheng, "Bitch, I’ll fight you!"
Before Gu Changsheng could act, Hongyan Jiaojiao intercepted Madam Zheng’s charge like catching a chick.
Looking down at Madam Zheng and her son, whose faces were equally swollen from the slap, Gu Changsheng’s face was dark as ink, his voice steady, "Twelve years ago, a cup of Qianji Poison caused a palace incident, resulting in Zhou Mu being exiled to Liuzhou City, never to set foot in the Capital City again. To this day, the residual poison remains, preventing the Conquest Realm. My grandfather treated and nurtured him, only to invite disaster for himself..."
"You! How do you know?" Madam Zheng’s face instantly turned pale upon hearing this, her expression changing dramatically.
Even Emperor Zhoulin changed his expression. Back then, those who knew the ins and outs of the Eastern Palace incident were nearly silenced. How did the Southern Emperor know? Emperor Zhoulin had only one thought: his Imperial Grandson must have told her...
"Wife of the Former Crown Prince Madam Zheng, you are heartless as a mother and cruel to the imperial family, as vicious as a snake. Is it all for the sake of this youngest son of yours?" Gu Changsheng smirked as he looked at the panicked Madam Zheng and her son, disdain in his eyes as he addressed Zhou Hao, "To have my subject sentenced to a thousand cuts? Foolish child, my subject merely taught Madam Zheng a lesson, and even if she had taken her life, who in the world would dare to say I am not filial? Truly, a tiger mother produces no dog offspring, snakes and rats of the same nest!"
To demonstrate filial piety? It was a joke. Gu Changsheng considered herself a pure filial individual, but her filial piety would definitely not be extended to this cruel and ruthless woman before her, even if she was Zhou Mu’s biological mother!
"You! What do you intend to do? You dare touch me, my rebel son won’t survive!" Madam Zheng’s voice was strained, screaming fiercely.
The rebel son she referred to was surely not Zhou Hao before her; it must be her evildoer.
Gu Changsheng’s face darkened upon hearing this.
"I have no intention of doing anything, touching you would dirty my hands!" Gu Changsheng looked thoughtfully at Madam Zheng, contemplating various possibilities. The evildoer was afflicted by Qianji Poison, and despite multiple attempts, she had not succeeded in curing it. There must be something tricky about this poison. Now that they’ve come to the Capital City, and Madam Zheng was the one who poisoned him, it seemed the poison could eventually be eradicated, though Madam Zheng’s words had triggered a realization in Gu Changsheng.
Madam Zheng heard this, inexplicably relieved, though her swollen face became even more sinister, with renewed confidence.
Gu Changsheng smiled as he watched her expression change, suddenly turning to Emperor Zhoulin with a lively spirit, "I have arrived in the Capital City, the reception is complete. We are weary from the journey and should be settled. I ask Your Royal Highness to have someone lead the way and escort us to a place of rest."
"Certainly." Emperor Zhoulin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. It was best if the matter with Madam Zheng could be quietly resolved. He immediately ordered someone to lead the way and guide Gu Changsheng’s imperial carriage into the prepared palace residence.
As the female officials lifted the beaded curtain, when Gu Changsheng turned to enter the imperial carriage, she suddenly looked back at Madam Zheng, a slight smile on her lips, "Madam Zheng, after all, I am about to marry Zhou Mu. At this moment, my subject acted unkindly towards you, which is somewhat inappropriate. You know, my medical skills are unmatched in the world. Now that you’ve suffered such misfortune, your pregnancy is likely unstable. I shall have someone present you with fetus-preserving medicine to demonstrate filial piety."
After saying this, Gu Changsheng did not look at the thunderstruck Madam Zheng again, turning to enter the imperial carriage, and with great pomp and circumstance, the procession left.
Once Gu Changsheng’s procession had passed far beyond the ruins of the city gate, leaving behind a bright yellow silhouette, the civil and military officials of the Great Zhou and the imperial kin and relatives still hadn’t recovered from their shock...
Everyone turned their heads, their eyes flickering as they looked at Madam Zheng, no longer respectful as they used to be, only filled with endless scrutiny, their gaze shifting downwards towards her belly...
Under the gaze of the crowd, Zhou Hao’s eyes widened, finally reacting, his face filled with horror as he shook off the hand holding Madam Zheng’s arm...