The Evil Emperor's Favorite: The Sickly and Poisonous Concubine Goes Crazy

Su Jingning glanced at Shen Zhiyi with cold eyes and was about to speak when he was interrupted by a clear and angry voice.

"Ms. Shen, are you here to cause trouble at my sister's birthday party today?"

She looked in the direction of the voice, with a look of surprise, and saw a handsome young man with clear features walking towards them quickly and standing in front of Jiang Heling.

It was Jiang Heling's brother Jiang Hechuan. But she was surprised to see Gu Yan'an walking slowly not far behind Jiang Hechuan. Why did he come to the Jiang Mansion?

Mu Xi also saw Gu Yan'an, and his expression was full of surprise. But neither of them said anything, but continued to look coldly at Shen Zhiyi who was looking for trouble.

Shen Zhiyi didn't expect Jiang Hechuan to come back suddenly. He loved his sister the most.

"Brother! You're back!" Jiang Heling's eyes sparkled, and she was very surprised to see Jiang Hechuan. She thought her brother would not be able to come back for her birthday party this year.

Jiang Hechuan smiled dotingly at Jiang Heling, then turned and looked at Shen Zhiyi.

"I heard that Miss Shen is also holding a poetry tea party today. How come you have time to come to my sister's birthday party. You are busy with the poetry tea party, so my sister should not have sent you an invitation?" Jiang Hechuan spoke bluntly, and his words implied that Shen Zhiyi came uninvited.

Shen Zhiyi's face flushed immediately, but he still said stubbornly: "Why, I came here with good intentions to give Jiang Heling a birthday gift, can you still kick me out?"

Jiang Hechuan had never seen such a shameless person and was speechless for a moment.

Their movements attracted the attention of Madam Jiang. She was surprised to see Jiang Hechuan coming back. Why did he come back so suddenly? If Jiang Heling, that little bitch, said something nonsense to him, and he told the master about it, it would be bad.

"Hey, Hechuan, you're back? Why didn't you send someone to tell me so I could get ready."

Jiang Hechuan was angry and ignored Mrs. Jiang, but looked at Shen Zhiyi coldly.

"Miss Shen, if you continue to talk nonsense and disrespect my sister's friends, please leave the Jiang family."

Madam Jiang saw Shen Zhiyi's dark face and immediately understood what had happened. The master had instructed not to conflict with the Duke of Qing's Mansion, but now she couldn't afford to offend anyone on either side.

"Hechuan, don't be rude. Miss Shen is here to attend Ling'er's birthday party and is also a distinguished guest of our mansion." Mrs. Jiang walked up to Shen Zhiyi with a smile.

Then, he bowed to Mu Xi and said to Mu Xi and Su Jingning:

"The flowers in the mansion's greenhouse are in full bloom, a unique sight in this winter. Let Ling'er take the princess and a few other girls to the greenhouse to enjoy the flowers."

Mrs. Jiang was very smart. She didn't want to offend anyone when she spoke, and thought that if she separated the people, nothing would happen.

Jiang Heling didn't want to continue to tangle with Shen Zhiyi: "Princess, Miss Su Er, Luo Shu, please come this way."

Mrs. Jiang tried to pull Shen Zhiyi, who looked unhappy, to another direction affectionately, but she turned around and froze in place.

She stared blankly at Gu Yan'an, who was leaning against a pillar under the corridor not far ahead, watching the show expressionlessly. The man was wearing a dark robe embroidered with silver patterns, a dark blue cloak, and his black hair was half tied up, looking noble and cold.

Why is Master Gu here!!! It’s over, he must have seen her stubborn behavior just now!

Shen Zhiyi immediately put on a gentle and lovely expression, and saluted in the direction of Gu Yan'an while speaking.

"Zhiyi has seen Master Gu~"

Gu Yan'an stood up straight and walked towards her.

Shen Zhiyi blushed immediately, feeling a little overwhelmed. What should she do? Gu Shizi was walking towards her. She was so excited! She pulled her handkerchief and showed Gu Yan'an the expression she thought was the best.

Gu Yan'an kept looking at Su Jingning, who was wearing a light blue dress and had a cold expression under the pavilion. He didn't notice Shen Zhiyi standing beside him at all and walked straight past Shen Zhiyi.

Shen Zhiyi's sweet smile froze on her face. Master Gu didn't greet her!

"Yan'an, why are you here at the Jiang Mansion? Are you here to attend Third Miss Jiang's birthday party as well?" Qi Nanfeng asked Gu Yan'an jokingly.

Gu Yan'an ignored him and nodded to Mu Xi, then looked at Su Jingning beside her and smiled: "Second Miss Su is here too."

Su Jingning nodded slightly at her, and there was a flash of suspicion in her eyes when she looked at him. His face was a little paler than usual, and the wind that came over him brought a hint of ancient sandalwood that was heavier than usual. Is he injured?

"I was the one who invited Prince Gu. I happened to meet him on my way back home. Thinking that I hadn't seen him for a long time, I invited him to my house for a reunion." Jiang Hechuan explained.

"Ling'er, take the princess and a few young ladies for a walk in the mansion first. Master Gu and I have something to talk about, and I will come to you later." He instructed Jiang Heling again.

"Master Gu, please come this way." After saying that, he politely said to Gu Yan'an and took him to his yard.

Jiang Hechuan's yard.

Gu Yan'an held the teacup and listened carefully to the news brought by Jiang Hechuan.

Jiang Hechuan was ordered to go to Xiliang to secretly represent the Great Zhou to help the Fourth Prince of Xiliang, Feng Yuche, seize the throne of Xiliang. He designed a plan for the Fourth Prince of Xiliang to gain the support of the Helian clan, the largest tribe in Xiliang, and quickly subdued the rebellious party of the First Prince of Xiliang. The Fourth Prince of Xiliang inherited the throne of Xiliang on New Year's Eve.

Feng Yuche agreed to form an alliance with the Great Zhou. To show his sincerity, he revealed to him that Northern Yan and Southern Yue had been sending people to secretly contact each other since September of the previous year, and had secretly donated a batch of cold iron ore to Southern Yue. However, because the Great Zhou's defense was too tight, Northern Yan secretly transported it from Xiliang and avoided the Great Zhou.

"South Vietnam is poor in mineral resources and does not produce cold iron ore. Since Northern Yan is secretly supplying cold iron to South Vietnam, the two countries must have reached an alliance long ago." Jiang Hechuan looked worried.

"Northern Yan's weapons are all made of cold iron ore. If Northern Yan refines cold iron weapons for Nanyue, the sword blades will definitely point towards the Great Zhou. By then, the southern border will be in chaos." Gu Yan'an frowned slightly.

"Tomorrow you will come with me to the palace to report this matter to His Majesty. I will secretly send people to the southern border to gather information." Gu Yan'an said to Jiang Hechuan in a deep voice.

"Yes."

"The Xiliang envoys will arrive in the Imperial Capital in about half a month. The Xiliang princess is also in the delegation. I heard that the Xiliang emperor gave her a secret decree. I'm afraid he intends to form an alliance with the Great Zhou."

"The Princess of Xiliang? It's Feng Zi Yan." Gu Yan'an looked up with some surprise.

"Yes, the Princess of Xiliang is a character. If she is really here to marry, then the current situation of checks and balances between the two parties in the court will probably be broken." Jiang Hechuan looked relaxed, as if he was looking forward to a good show.

"Send someone to keep an eye on her secretly. I'm afraid her purpose of coming to the Great Zhou is not just for marriage." Gu Yan'an pondered. After Xiliang was defeated, the peace terms proposed by the Great Zhou were already harsh. The King of Xiliang would not be stupid enough to send another princess as a hostage.

"Yes."

In the garden of Jiang Mansion, Shen Zhiyi stood under a cedar and looked out at the distant courtyard from time to time. She couldn't sit still since she saw Gu Yan'an coming to Jiang Mansion. She loved Gu Shizi and vowed not to marry anyone else in this life. Unfortunately, Gu Shizi was cold and indifferent to others. No woman could catch his eye. He never attended any private banquets and rarely returned to the capital. She had very few opportunities to see him.

So today, no matter what, she had to express her feelings to Master Gu and make him remember her.

Finally, she saw Gu Yan'an, wearing a dark blue cloak, coming out of the yard alone. He was tall and slender, cold and noble, which made Shen Zhiyi blush. She waited for the man to come closer little by little.

"Prince Gu!"

Looking at the woman who suddenly appeared, Gu Yan'an frowned, turned his body sideways, avoided Shen Zhiyi, and looked at her coldly.

"Who are you?" There was a chill in the low voice.

"I am the youngest daughter of Duke Qing, Shen Zhiyi." Shen Zhiyi lowered her head and did not dare to look at Yan'an.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" He lowered his eyes and glanced at Shen Zhiyi, feeling that the name seemed familiar.

"Master Gu, I want to say that I have admired you for a long time. Are you willing to..." Shen Zhiyi's face flushed and her voice was shy.

"I don't want to."

Gu Yan'an spoke coldly, glanced at Shen Zhiyi coldly, and walked past her without mercy. He suddenly remembered that she was the one who had troubled Su Jingning in Yunmiao Pavilion last time, and she seemed to be in the pavilion of Jiang Mansion just now, and he didn't want to stay here for a moment.

Shen Zhiyi stood there in a daze, her face pale and her eyes suddenly filled with tears. She looked at the receding figure in disbelief.