RPAGF Chapter 409 What? What's he doing here?
Chapter 409 What? What's he doing here?
After Granny Liu and the eunuchs left in a sorry state, Gu Junze instructed his servants to pack Yingyue and Qinghe's belongings, preparing to return to the palace with Granny Liu.
"Don't rush to send them away." Chu Ruohan tugged at Gu Junze's sleeve, her eyes still wet with tears, yet carrying a hint of slyness.
"That Granny Liu is probably still lingering at the gate of the mansion. Why don't we let her wait a while?"
Gu Junze raised an eyebrow, then understood immediately, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
He ordered someone to bring hot tea, and personally handed it to Chu Ruohan, saying gently, "Han'er has been frightened. Have some tea to warm yourself up."
After the servants had all left, Gu Junze put away his serious expression, reached out and gently wiped away the remaining tear stains on Chu Ruohan's face, and said teasingly, "Madam's acting skills are becoming more and more superb. Even this general almost believed it."
Chu Ruohan smiled, the tears in her eyes vanished, and her pitiful appearance from before disappeared completely.
She scoffed, "If it weren't for the general's excellent cooperation, I wouldn't have been able to put on this show."
"Since those two maids entered the manor, I have had Yuling keep an eye on them, and sure enough, they soon slipped up."
Gu Junze's eyes darkened, and he grasped Chu Ruohan's hand: "Consort Shu has indeed been acting strangely lately, and many ministers in the court have been won over by her. However, why she is so concerned about me is unknown."
"She simply wants to use the general's power to consolidate her position in the palace," Chu Ruohan sighed softly. "Unfortunately, she chose the wrong person."
Gu Junze chuckled softly, his eyes filled with tenderness: "In my heart, there is only my wife."
Chu Ruohan blushed slightly at his sudden sweet talk and gently punched him: "You're trying to coax me again."
"I'm telling the truth." Gu Junze took her hand and kissed it lightly. "You looked so pitiful just now, with tears streaming down your face."
Chu Ruohan retorted, "Weren't you also putting on a show of protecting your wife? That Granny Liu was so frightened by you that her face turned pale."
"Who told her to dare to come to my mansion and cause trouble, and bully my wife?"
Gu Junze's tone carried a hint of genuine anger, "If it weren't for the fact that she came from the palace, I would have had her thrown out long ago."
Chu Ruohan smiled, then suddenly remembered something, and her expression changed slightly.
"Simply sending those two back to the palace won't be enough to appease Consort Shu."
Gu Junze's eyes turned cold: "It's alright. If she dares to send people to cause trouble again, I will personally go to the palace to see the Emperor and ask him whether the people in the harem have the right to interfere in the family affairs of their subjects!"
Seeing that he was angry, Chu Ruohan quickly comforted him, "Don't be angry, I'm just worried that Consort Shu will take her anger out on you."
“If she dares to touch me, she will be making an enemy of the entire General’s Mansion.” Gu Junze said firmly. “Besides, I have military power. No matter how powerful the Pingnan Prince’s Mansion is, it is far away in Nanzhou. She wouldn’t be so unwise.”
Chu Ruohan nodded and said no more.
She gently stroked her belly, feeling the movement of the fetus inside, and frowned slightly: "My belly is getting bigger and bigger. Leaving two people in the mansion will eventually be a disaster."
Seeing her furrowed brows, Gu Junze tenderly pulled her into his arms, saying, "Don't worry, I have a plan."
He planned to personally escort the person back to the palace...
Not long after, Yingyue and Qinghe were notified to pack their belongings immediately and prepare to leave the General's Mansion.
Yingyue's face turned deathly pale, her hands clenched into fists. She never expected things to develop this way.
"This...how is this possible?" Yingyue looked at Qinghe in a panic. "I was being very careful, how could I have been discovered?"
Qinghe sighed, a hint of anticipation flashing in her eyes: "I warned you long ago that this General's Mansion is not like other places."
In front of the mansion gate, Gu Junze, dressed in military uniform, stood solemnly like a pine tree, coldly watching Yingyue and Qinghe who were being brought out.
The moment Yingyue saw Gu Junze, she suddenly knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down her face like broken beads.
"General, spare my life! I know I was wrong! I will never dare to do it again!"
Yingyue cried out, tears streaming down her face, "I was just confused for a moment. Ever since I saw the general once, I've been thinking about him day and night, and I was blinded by greed..."
"Please, General, have mercy and give this servant another chance!"
Gu Junze remained expressionless, his gaze sharp as a knife: "The rules of this general's mansion are strict, and we cannot tolerate any unruly servants."
The moment Gu Junze uttered the word "servants," he knew he had never considered them as concubines.
When Yingyue's pleas for mercy were ignored, she slammed her head against the ground, and blood instantly seeped from her forehead.
"If I am sent back to the palace, I will surely die! General, you are magnanimous, perhaps—"
"Enough!" Gu Junze interrupted sharply. "This general never bargains with anyone."
Seeing this, Qinghe slowly knelt down as well, but remained calm throughout: "This servant has always been dutiful, please do not implicate this servant, General."
Her voice was steady and her attitude respectful, a stark contrast to Yingyue's hysteria.
Gu Junze glanced at Qinghe, a subtle look flashing in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.
"Take them with you and come to the palace with me." Gu Junze turned and mounted his horse, coldly issuing the order.
Throughout the journey, Yingyue sobbed incessantly, while Qinghe remained silent.
Gu Junze rode on his horse, his back as straight as a mountain, exuding a chilling aura.
The Imperial Palace, Phoenix Palace.
Consort Shu had just bathed and changed her clothes and was preparing for dinner when a palace attendant rushed in to report that General Gu Junze, the General Who Protects the Nation, was requesting an audience.
"What?" Consort Shu frowned. "What is he doing here?"
Before she could finish speaking, another eunuch rushed in: "Your Highness, Granny Liu is back, and Yingyue and Qinghe have come back with her!"
Consort Shu's face instantly turned extremely ugly. She stood up abruptly, and the silver chopsticks in her hand clattered to the ground.
"You bastard!" she roared, furious. "Who told her to bring him back?"
The eunuch stammered, "Your Majesty, it was the general who personally escorted them back to the palace."
Consort Shu's chest heaved violently, and her eyes almost spit fire.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and said sternly, "Make Gu Junze wait in the side hall!"
Inside a side hall of the Phoenix Palace, Gu Junze stood solemnly like a pine tree, his eyes cold and stern.
Yingyue and Qinghe knelt to one side. Yingyue was still sobbing softly. The wound on her forehead had been treated simply, but blood was still seeping out.
Qinghe lowered her head and remained silent.
Consort Shu walked heavily into the side hall. Her gorgeous dress was very beautiful, but it could not hide the gloom on her face.
"General Gu," Consort Shu forced a smile, "what brings you here so suddenly?"
Gu Junze bowed slightly: "I have come here to escort these two unruly maids back to the palace."
His gaze was sharp as a knife: "They harbor treacherous intentions in my residence, colluding with outsiders and secretly reporting matters in my residence to the palace. Their crimes are truly unforgivable."
"Considering that they are palace women, it is inconvenient for me to deal with them. Therefore, I personally sent them back and ask Your Majesty to decide their fate."