FBC – Chapter 90 Conspiracy

In the dark night, the girl remained silent for a long time.

Mu Junyan felt a jolt in his heart.

It seemed… she was unwilling.

Judging from the way she had jumped into the water to save someone, Gu Hua might appear gentle and soft on the surface, like a timid cat easily frightened—but in truth, she had a stubbornness in her bones.

And rightly so. Being forced into a life swap and driven to the edge, anyone would find it hard to swallow such a grudge.

She hadn’t yet returned to the rightful path, had no one to rely on, and had nothing left but to give up her name and reputation, even risk her life for a chance.

He touched the imperial decree hidden in his sleeve, along with a divorce letter personally written by him.

The imperial decree of marriage was something he had begged the emperor for. He couldn’t marry her as his official wife, but he wanted to give her all the honor he could.

An imperial consort, even a concubine granted by the emperor, held a status even more esteemed than most official wives—no one could touch her.

As for the divorce letter… if one day he died on the battlefield, that letter would grant her freedom.

Gu Hua’s heart was in turmoil.

Jiang Ruoxi was to become his official wife, and now he wanted to take her—Gu Hua—as an imperial concubine?

Did he want the blessing of both women?

This wasn’t the Mu Junyan she thought she knew.

A trace of coldness crept into her heart.

She had believed him to be a man of pure virtue and upright spirit, but even he bowed before power and influence. Even if he didn’t like it, he still couldn’t refuse an imperial marriage.

She laughed at herself for her foolish wishful thinking—for wanting to treat him well before his death, to repay him for all he had done for her.

Lowering her head, she spoke gently, “It is my fortune that Your Grace thinks so highly of me. I am naturally willing.”

She still needed his support.

In the dark, Mu Junyan couldn’t see her face, but he could sense her mood had changed.

It no longer held the same soft warmth—it now carried a touch of distance.

Mu Junyan stood up. “Take good care of your health. We’ll speak of this again.”

Gu Hua watched his tall figure stride out of the room, and for some reason, it felt like a cold wind had blown a hole right through her heart.

The Next Day

While Dong Qing and Dong Hua were doing her hair, they looked like they wanted to say something.

Gu Hua yawned. “What is it?”

“Did you not sleep well last night, miss? Your eyes are ringed with darkness.”

“Huh?” Gu Hua leaned closer to the bronze mirror. Sure enough—she looked like a panda.

A maid lifted the curtain and curtsied. “Miss, Chiyan requests an audience.”

Gu Hua was overjoyed. “Quick—have him wait in the west warm pavilion.”

When she saw Chiyan, she rushed over. “How did it go?”

Chiyan took out a sheet of paper filled with writing. At the bottom was the name Yinzhi, along with a red thumbprint.

Gu Hua took it excitedly, but as she read, her expression grew angrier, her hands began to tremble, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Yinzhi had exposed everything that Concubine Pei had done.

“What does miss plan to do?”

Gu Hua carefully put away the confession. “Today—I return to the residence.”

Chiyan cupped his hands. “I must report this to my master.”

Gu Hua glanced at him. Of course—he belonged to Mu Junyan. He would naturally report everything.

“Very well. I’ll return in the afternoon.”

“Yes.”

“Chiyan,” Gu Hua remembered what Jinkui had said and lifted her skirts to catch up with him.

He stopped. “Does miss have further instructions?”

“I—I need a few people tonight to handle something. Could you help make arrangements?”

“Certainly. I will see to it.”

Prince Ping’an’s Residence

The Jiang household had been shrouded in gloom these past two days.

Jiang Ruoxi had cried for an entire day and night.

She felt absolutely miserable.

Mu Junyan had dared to defy the Empress Dowager’s edict and refuse to marry her, and had even turned around to request an imperial marriage decree from the Emperor himself.

Now, even the Empress Dowager couldn’t force Mu Junyan to comply—doing so would mean opposing the Emperor.

Jiang Ruoxi was humiliated and furious at being rejected.

But her father insisted that this marriage must go through.

After all, securing Mu Junyan would give them leverage to contend with the Emperor. Otherwise, the Jiang clan would be swallowed up completely.

“Crying is useless,” Prince Ping’an said coldly.

The heir sitting to the side added, “Sister, you need to learn to face reality. Father and I can’t protect you forever.”

Wiping her tears, Jiang Ruoxi paused to think.

Mu Junyan hadn’t shown much affection to her older sister either, but after she married him, she had earned his respect. Everyone in the capital knew they were a loving couple.

She was even more beautiful than her sister, and excelled in all the refined arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. There wasn’t a single area where she fell short.

If Mu Junyan could accept her terminally ill sister, why wouldn’t he accept her?

The problem could only be that little vixen.

What if… Gu Hua were no longer in the picture?

Jiang Ruoxi had lost her mother at a young age and her older sister had died early. She had only an elder brother, and her father was too busy to care for her. No one in the household dared control her. On top of that, she had received two years of personal instruction from the Empress Dowager, further elevating her status and reinforcing her prideful, domineering, self-centered nature.

Whatever she wanted, she had to obtain.

Once the thought arose, her mind was made up.

So what if Gu Hua was the daughter of a fallen marquis household? If something happened to her, so be it. Jiang Ruoxi didn’t believe Mu Junyan could do anything to her once it was done.

Without Gu Hua as an obstacle, what excuse would Mu Junyan have to defy the decree?

Wiping her tears, Jiang Ruoxi said, “Father, I have a way to resolve this.”

Prince Ping’an glanced at her. “Good. That’s the daughter I raised. Be clean about it—don’t involve your grandaunt.”

“I understand,” she replied.

She turned to her brother. “Didn’t Mu An say there’s a banquet at the Yichun Courtyard tonight, and that you were invited too? Have him get Gu Wanru to find a way to bring Gu Hua along. Otherwise, she can forget about seeing the adopted son of the Imperial Household Department’s director.”

Her brother raised an eyebrow. “You want me to capture Mu Junyan’s little concubine for you?”

“A wretch like her doesn’t deserve to dirty your hands,” Jiang Ruoxi sneered. “Trash belongs with trash.”

The heir of Prince Ping’an burst out laughing. “Alright. That idiot Mu An has to rely on me anyway—otherwise, how could he possibly meet the director’s adopted son?”

Jiang Ruoxi finally felt a bit relieved.

Her eyes gleamed with malice. “Brother, didn’t that man say he had leverage over Gu Wanru last time? Can we force them to hand over Pei family’s winter supplies? Since both Gu Wanru and Gu Hua will be there tonight, it’s a perfect opportunity to act. No need to harm their lives—just abduct them for two or three days and leak the news that the Gu family’s two daughters have been taken. Later, in a public place, strip them and throw them into the street. Spread multiple copies of the evidence of Gu Wanru’s crimes—let the whole capital see. That way, our prince’s residence can distance itself from the matter.”

This was a plan to completely destroy the reputations of both Gu sisters.

Her brother raised his brows. “Didn’t think my little sister had become so ruthless.”

Jiang Ruoxi said coldly, “If he’s heartless, I’ll be unjust. Even if I can’t marry Mu Junyan in the end, I won’t let anyone else have him!”

“What about Gu Wanru? Shouldn’t we spare her? Mu An is still a valuable pawn. Without him, how would Mu Junyan’s information land so easily in our hands? We also need his approval for the military winter supplies.”

Jiang Ruoxi rolled her eyes. “Brother, you’re being soft. Only by taking both sisters can we distance ourselves from them. It wasn’t me who had a grudge—it was that man. Besides, Mu An is Mu Junyan’s adopted son. I’ll kick him out of the Duke’s estate eventually. I don’t want such a foolish eldest son.”

Seeing her brother give her a thumbs-up, Jiang Ruoxi finally felt some relief from her two days of frustration.

In truth, she had wanted to make a move ever since she learned Mu Junyan had rejected her and instead asked the Emperor for a marriage decree.

But Gu Hua never left the Duke’s estate.

And Jiang Ruoxi didn’t want to take risks herself—Mu Junyan was not someone easy to provoke.