Noble Consort Rong had no idea what her son was thinking at the moment. If she knew, she might have been furious.

After a refreshing nap, Noble Consort Rong realized that the person she had been eagerly waiting for had never appeared from beginning to end.

Today marked the third day since she gave birth, also the day for the third bathing ceremony for the little prince, yet Emperor Jingwen hadn't shown up.

Now, even Noble Consort Rong couldn't deceive herself anymore.

This sudden neglect was inexplicable. Clearly, she had successfully given birth to a prince for him, so why would he still feel unhappy?

Noble Consort Rong couldn't figure it out, and neither could the entire Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.

They had dedicated themselves to the imperial family, defending the Great Zhou Dynasty with all their might. So why would the Emperor turn against them like this?

Today, for the first time, the Duke of Zhenguo received a scolding in court. When he returned home, he couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.

Most importantly, the Emperor had ordered the First Prince to replace the Third Prince's position in the military.

The First Prince was only 17 years old. While he could participate in managing the military, he was far from being able to lead troops into battle and serve as a commander.

Unable to hold back, the Duke of Zhenguo argued with the Emperor in court. However, for some reason, Emperor Jingwen seemed even angrier and even ordered him to go home, forbidding him from attending court for seven days.

The Duke of Zhenguo was furious and grumbled all the way home.

Little did he know, his every word and action had been recorded and reported to Emperor Jingwen.

Because the person observing him was skilled and trained, even the Duke of Zhenguo, who had spent most of his life on the battlefield, hadn't noticed.

Upon returning home, the Duke of Zhenguo felt slightly relieved.

Later, he remembered that a message had been sent from the palace. Today happened to be the third day since the Noble Consort gave birth, also the bathing ceremony for the grandson.

"Have you prepared the gifts for your sister and nephew?"

"We've prepared them long ago and have arranged for someone to deliver them to the palace." According to folk customs, uncles had to exert great effort. So the six of them didn't dare to be negligent and had prepared the gifts early.

Although they couldn't visit the palace to see them, sending gifts was acceptable.

Thinking of his daughter, the Duke of Zhenguo forgot about the troublesome matters in court.

"Hold on, don't leave yet. Take this with you." Saying so, the Duke of Zhenguo took out a longevity lock from his pocket.

This item had been carved by craftsmen a month before the Noble Consort's confinement. Carved from the same piece of jade, of excellent quality, all legitimate descendants of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion had one. Technically, this gift shouldn't be given to his daughter's child, as it was his grandson, but the Duke of Zhenguo was unreasonable.

After all, he had only one daughter in his life, his only daughter. Naturally, he regarded the child born to the Noble Consort as his grandson.

Even if it was of royal blood, it still carried half of their Wei family's bloodline.

"And you all."

The Duke of Zhenguo's eyes scanned the six men. "Even if your sister is married, she is still a member of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion. Understand? Don't let me hear anything unpleasant, or else you'll have to deal with the consequences."

The six men looked at each other, speechless.

How could they dare? They cherished her too much.

"That's about it." The Duke of Zhenguo finally felt satisfied.

As for the matter of being scolded by the Emperor in court, the Duke of Zhenguo naturally couldn't let anyone tell the Noble Consort. He hadn't even had the chance to conceal it from her yet.

But in the end, the Noble Consort still found out.

After all, she wasn't stupid.

Such big news, even if she didn't know, someone would find a way to tell her.

The Noble Consort was truly heartbroken this time, tears streaming down her face as if they were free. She grabbed the hand of the maid beside her and wouldn't let go. "Maid, do you think the Emperor has changed his heart? Is he starting to dislike me?"

The maid had no idea what the Emperor was thinking. Besides offering insincere comfort, there was nothing else she could do.

On the other hand, Gu Shao, who was listening nearby, wasn't so pessimistic.

After all, in his opinion, when someone truly wanted to get rid of another person, they wouldn't make such a big fuss.

If the Emperor still scolded people, it meant that he hadn't completely abandoned the Duke of Zhenguo. His grandfather still had some favor in the Emperor's eyes.

If one day his mother suddenly became an imperial concubine, or the Emperor began to praise the Duke of Zhenguo's family, then it would be truly disastrous.

To destroy someone, first make them mad.

Even when hunting, it was necessary to anesthetize the prey first. When the prey struggled, it made the least noise.

Then, strike unexpectedly, delivering a fatal blow.

As for the reason why the Emperor suddenly turned hostile, Gu Shao also vaguely guessed.

These days, while the Noble Consort was still unable to get out of bed, Gu Shao had heard her talking to herself about the Virtuous, De, and Wise Consorts, and learned how many children they had and who ranked higher than him.

Gu Shao couldn't believe that before him, the Emperor already had eight sons. He ranked ninth, which took him a while, as an only child, to accept.

The current Crown Prince wasn't the Emperor's eldest son. Before the Crown Prince, there were the First and Second Princes. Following the Crown Prince were the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Princes.

The eldest Prince was 17 years old, the second Prince 16, and the Crown Prince 15.

After them were the Princes aged 10, 7, 5, 4, and 3.

Looking at their ages, it was obvious that there wasn't as much of a gap after the Crown Prince, especially between the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince, which was a whole five years.

If the First and Second Princes were born to increase competitiveness, then the Crown Prince, as the legitimate son, was born for the continuation of the dynasty.

With such a long gap, it couldn't be accidental, nor could it be that the Emperor suddenly couldn't do it, Gu Shao didn't believe it.

It was obvious that the Emperor was afraid that the remaining Princes would be too close in age to the Crown Prince, leading to conflicts later on.

Only after the Crown Prince's mother passed away did the births of the children in the palace gradually become more frequent.

In such a situation, what could Gu Shao do?

Even if he wasn't a lazy person, he couldn't compete.

His adoptive father favored his biological children excessively, making it clear who was truly loved and who was just a token.

Unfortunately, his mother couldn't understand it now. She even thought that the Emperor didn't love her

anymore.

The key was that the Emperor never seemed to have loved her.

What Gu Shao couldn't understand was how he came into being under these circumstances. Logically, it shouldn't have happened.

Gu Shao pondered this endlessly, then suddenly remembered the first time he opened his eyes and saw that red pill.

Could it be?

Was it that ruthless?

His expression changed slightly, and Gu Shao couldn't help but shiver.

The author has something to say: Gu Shao, it's all because of you. Just you wait.

Emperor