Chapter 299 Becoming a Concubine

Jiang Yu wanted to know about the affair between her grandfather and Pei Tinglan, the Prime Minister's sister. Those involved are often blinded by their own perspectives; perhaps there were other hidden stories behind what happened back then.

When it was time for her shift to end, Jiang Yu didn't return to the Duke's Mansion, but went directly to the Marquis of Anyuan's Mansion. The gatekeeper of the Marquis of Anyuan's Mansion, seeing her sedan chair from afar, immediately went inside to announce her arrival. When Jiang Yu arrived at the gate of the Marquis of Anyuan's Mansion, her aunt was also there, smiling as she took her hand.

"I've been wanting to talk to you these past few days, but you've been so busy. Today I'm so glad I did." My aunt smiled sincerely, her tone filled with gratitude.

Jiang Yu knew that she was acting this way because of Lu Xiaowu, so she praised Lu Xiaowu. The aunt was even happier to hear this and showered her with compliments as if they were free.

The two walked in talking, and when they reached the fork in the road between the inner and outer courtyards, the attendant of Marquis Anyuan was waiting there. His aunt handed the food to Jiang Yu, insisting that he stay for dinner.

Jiang Yu agreed and watched her enter through the moon gate of the inner courtyard before following the attendant to Marquis Anyuan's study. Marquis Anyuan was painting, and Jiang Yu walked over and stood to the side to watch, unable to resist commenting, "Grandfather, this painting would be worth at least 100 taels if sold."

Marquis Anyuan laughed heartily upon hearing this, "I wouldn't sell it for a hundred taels."

After saying that, he put down his pen and went to wash his hands. Jiang Yu also went over to hand him a towel and said, "When I have some free time later, I will learn to paint from my grandfather."

Marquis Anyuan wiped his hands, placed the towel on the basin stand, walked to the tea table to the side, sat down, sighed and said, "I'm almost retired now, so I have time to teach you."

Jiang Yu poured tea for the two of them, saying, "With all your uncles having successful careers, you can finally focus on your painting."

Marquis Anyuan liked to hear this. Since his sons were all quite successful, he could retire with peace of mind.

"Has everything gone smoothly during this period?" Marquis An Yuan asked.

"Things seem to be going smoothly so far; we'll see what happens next," Jiang Yu said.

Marquis Anyuan frowned. "Who else could be causing trouble?"

Jiang Yu: "King of Lingnan"

“I guessed it was him.” Marquis Anyuan sighed. “Several emperors have been too soft-hearted. If they had taken Lingnan earlier, Lingnan wouldn’t be as strong as it is now.”

After hearing this, Jiang Yu thought for a moment and said, "The previous emperors should have thought about consolidating the power of the old nobles in the capital first, but they did not expect that the Prince of Lingnan would become stronger and stronger."

The Chu State Duke's Mansion's shift from military to civil affairs was a direct result of the late emperor consolidating his power. However, now that the Chu State Duke's Mansion has emerged from the shadows, the past is no longer worth mentioning. Of course, dredging up old grievances is pointless; she has no intention of rebelling.

"Has the King of Lingnan already made his move?" asked Marquis Anyuan.

Jiang Yu nodded and explained that Mr. Chai had already contacted Xie Ning'an and their plan. Then, looking at Marquis Anyuan, she said, "I'm afraid the King of Lingnan has other tricks up his sleeve."

Marquis Anyuan frowned. "Possibly. The current Prince of Lingnan is much more cunning than his father. He has informants in the capital, and they are quite influential."

"Who do you think it could be?" Jiang Yu asked.

Marquis Anyuan thought for a moment and said, "Pei Chengkun."

"You think so too?" Jiang Yu frowned and asked, "Then will the Emperor suspect it's him?"

Marquis Anyuan shook his head, "The Emperor still trusts him quite a bit. After all, they have been ruler and subject for many years. When the Emperor was vying for the throne, Pei Chengkun helped a lot."

"Then how did you guess it was him?" Jiang Yu asked.

Marquis Anyuan picked up his cup, took a sip of tea, and said, "I only guessed it because I suddenly thought of some things these past two days."

"What is it?" Jiang Yu asked.

"Are you aware of your grandfather's affair with Pei Chengkun's sister, Pei Tinglan?" Marquis An Yuan asked.

Jiang Yu nodded, "My grandfather told me about it. When the Xie family targeted us, my grandfather guessed it was because of Pei Tinglan. After all, the Prime Minister and the Xie family are related by marriage, and the Prime Minister's wife is a good friend of Pei Tinglan."

"It was because of this matter that I suspected Pei Chengkun of colluding with the Prince of Lingnan." Seeing Jiang Yu's puzzled expression, Marquis Anyuan explained, "Back then, your grandfather and Pei Tinglan secretly pledged their lives to each other and made many promises in front of their elders before your great-grandfather agreed to their marriage. You should be able to imagine how difficult it was for your great-grandfather to make that decision."

Jiang Yu nodded.

The Duke of Chu's family rose to prominence through military prowess. When the emperor at the time wanted to strip the Duke of Chu's family of their military power, they had no choice but to switch to civil service. How much cultural refinement could a family of military generals possibly have? My grandfather was a promising scholar, so one can imagine how high my great-grandfather's expectations were for him.

At the time, Pei Chengkun was merely a scholar in the Hanlin Academy, and a marriage alliance with him wouldn't benefit his grandfather. In large families, the primary consideration in marriage is always profit.

"I just didn't expect that Pei Tinglan would be framed and fall into the water later." Marquis Anyuan continued, "Your great-grandfather didn't like Pei Tinglan to begin with. After the drowning incident, Pei Tinglan's reputation was ruined, and your great-grandfather disliked him even more. So he made your grandfather choose between Pei Tinglan and the heir of the Duke of Chu. Your grandfather ultimately chose to continue being the heir of the Duke of Chu."

“Grandfather is right,” Jiang Yu said.

“Yes, your grandfather was right.” Marquis Anyuan said, “Pei Tinglan committed suicide because your grandfather broke off the engagement. I had always thought so before, but your maternal grandmother discovered something recently.”

"What is it?" Jiang Yu asked.

Marquis Anyuan: "Your maternal grandmother went to Huayan Temple to offer incense some time ago. After she finished and walked down the mountain, it suddenly started raining, so she took some people to take shelter in a teahouse next to Huayan Temple. A little while later, another group of people also went in to take shelter from the rain. From their conversation, your maternal grandmother learned that they came from Lingnan. The one in the lead was called the Sixth Young Master."

A while later, another group of people entered the teahouse to take shelter from the rain. This group consisted of Pei Fengshuang, the prime minister's granddaughter, and her maids and guards. The teahouse was small to begin with, and when Pei Fengshuang and her group went in, they found that there were no seats left.

She naturally wouldn't dare to take your maternal grandmother's place, so Pei Fengshuang discussed with the sixth young master and asked two of their attendants to leave to make room for Pei Fengshuang and the others.

Pei Fengshuang revealed her identity, and under normal circumstances, the other party would give her face. However, the Sixth Young Master refused and even mocked Pei Fengshuang. Then, the two groups started arguing.

The sixth young master seemed to have a grudge against the Prime Minister's residence, as he spoke without any politeness. He even said that even if the Pei family produced a Prime Minister, it wasn't a particularly high-ranking family; the whole family were just prostitutes. Pei Fengshuang was naturally furious upon hearing this and asked him what gave him the right to say such things.

The sixth young master said that Pei Chengkun had used his looks to bewitch the eldest daughter of the Xie family, which was why his career had been so smooth. He also said that Pei Chengkun's sister had become someone's concubine.

.........