Chapter Nine

After Gu Leyao and Chuntao finished getting ready, they headed to the main courtyard.

When Madam Bo saw Gu Leyao come to pay her respects in the morning, she was a little surprised.

Gu Leyao usually came to pay her respects, but today she was dressed exceptionally elegantly, in a spring-green dress and a vermilion floral and bird patterned shawl, showing that she had dressed up carefully.

Her eyebrows were also drawn carefully, curved like a crescent moon.

The aunt asked Gu Leyao to sit down and talk. Gu Leyao seemed to have changed her makeup, her personality had changed, and she spoke more gently.

The mother and daughter actually had a nice conversation for a while.

When the lady of the house had the dishes served, Gu Leyao ate slowly and carefully this time.

Even when Gu Baozhu came and deliberately showed off her deep mother-daughter relationship with Madam Bo, Gu Leyao didn't criticize her.

Gu Leyao ate three bowls of rice in a peaceful manner.

It wasn't that she ate a lot, but rather that the small white porcelain bowls in the Earl's mansion were too small, barely the size of a child's palm.

Despite the small size of the rice bowl, Gu Baozhu only ate half a bowl of rice, and Madam Bo only ate one bowl.

Gu Leyao had just put down her rice bowl when she saw Lai Mama, the old woman who served Madam Bo, rush in from outside.

The lady frowned subconsciously and said to Lai's mother, "The children are all here. What kind of behavior is this, rushing around like this?"

Madam Lai stopped and caught her breath before saying, "Madam! A decree has arrived from the palace, saying that our Miss Leyao will be made the Princess Consort of Dingbei."

Even the usually composed and dignified Mrs. Bo couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.

She actually knew that yesterday's flower-viewing banquet was a banquet specially held by the Empress to select a consort for the Prince of Dingbei, but what Lady Bo did not expect was that their own daughter from the countryside would be betrothed to the Prince of Dingbei by the Empress.

Lady Bo scanned Gu Leyao from head to toe, but couldn't see what the Empress saw in Gu Leyao.

Gu Leyao pretended not to notice the blatant scrutiny from the Madam. When she heard Lai Mama speak, she didn't move an inch and sat as still as a mountain.

Gu Baozhu sat beside her, clutching her handkerchief tightly. "Sister, you probably already knew the news yesterday. Why didn't you tell the family?"

Gu Baozhu felt as if she had drunk a vat of ten-year-old vinegar.

How could Gu Leyao become a princess?

She's already taken everything from Gu Leyao! How can Gu Leyao still be a princess?

Gu Baozhu knew very well that ever since Gu Leyao came to the Earl's Mansion, she was inferior to her in every way. Gu Ronghua was obviously inferior, and the Earl's wife and the Earl of Zhongqin also favored her more.

Huo Pingyuan always treated Gu Baozhu very gently, but he was never polite to Gu Leyao, this country bumpkin.

Gu Baozhu thought she would stay in the Earl's mansion smoothly until she reached marriageable age, and then marry Huo Pingyuan in a grand and glorious manner.

As for Gu Leyao, the true daughter of the Earl's family, she might be betrothed by the Earl of Zhongqin to a lowly official, becoming his wife, and being trampled underfoot by Gu Baozhu for the rest of her life.

Gu Leyao only went out to attend a banquet, so how did she become the Princess Consort of Dingbei?

Gu Baozhu knew perfectly well that none of the top noble ladies in the capital wanted to marry the Prince of Dingbei because the Prince of Dingbei had lost both legs and seemed to have no future.

These noble ladies were very pragmatic; they had better options and naturally didn't want to marry the Prince of Dingbei.

However, in a family like the Marquis of Zhongqin's mansion, the title has been inherited for three generations by the current Marquis of Zhongqin's generation. As the next generation's legitimate son, Gu Ronghua does not have a title. Gu Leyao's marriage to the Prince of Dingbei is definitely a step up in terms of status.

Gu Baozhu was filled with resentment. She and Gu Leyao had clearly switched identities, and she had become the daughter of the Earl's family.

Why did Gu Leyao have another extraordinary encounter after being found, and how did she manage to overpower her in marriage and become a first-rank princess?

Gu Baozhu felt a pang of jealousy and said, seemingly unintentionally, "Did Her Majesty the Empress personally arrange a marriage for my sister? But doesn't my sister already have a marriage contract with the Marquis of Pingxi's family? Our family hasn't dissolved our marriage contract with the Marquis of Pingxi's family yet."

Gu Leyao picked up the tea on the table and took a sip. "A marriage agreement with the Marquis of Pingxi's mansion? Gu Baozhu, stop pretending. Who doesn't know you've been plotting to marry Huo Pingyuan? Fine, I'll grant your wish. I'll marry the Prince of Dingbei and leave Huo Pingyuan to you."

Gu Baozhu originally did want to steal Gu Leyao's engagement and marry Huo Pingyuan.

The Huo family had only two sons. The eldest son was Huo Tao, Huo Pingyuan's elder brother. Huo Tao inherited the title of Marquis of Pingxi and was currently guarding the border in the northwest.

The second son was Huo Pingyuan. Huo Tao and Huo Pingyuan were full brothers born of the same mother. However, the old Marquis of Pingxi and his wife passed away early, and Huo Pingyuan was almost raised by Huo Tao.

If Gu Baozhu were to marry into the family, she would not only be spared the torment of her in-laws, but she would also be able to manage the household affairs of the Marquis's mansion, leading an incredibly carefree life.

Gu Baozhu bit her lip. She wanted to say something, but seeing that Gu Leyao was not someone to be trifled with, she shut her mouth.

When Lady Bo learned that someone from the palace had arrived, she immediately took Gu Leyao to the main hall to pay her respects to the palace envoy.

After all, it was the Empress's decree, and as a lady of high rank, Lady Bo had to personally kowtow to receive it.

Upon arriving at the main hall, the palace messenger unfurled the imperial edict and announced the Empress's decree: Gu Leyao, the only daughter of the Marquis of Zhongqin, is of noble birth, intelligent and virtuous, and of exemplary character; therefore, she is hereby specially chosen as the Princess Consort of Dingbei.

Lady Bo led Gu Leyao to express their gratitude to the imperial decree. The palace envoys smiled and helped them up, saying, "From now on, Miss Leyao will be the Princess Consort of Dingbei. It is our turn to pay our respects to her."

Lady Bo laughed along with her, and instructed Lai Mama to wrap a large red bee-shaped envelope and secretly slip it to the palace messenger.

Seeing the thick red envelope given by the aunt, Gu Leyao thought that her own red envelope was too thin in comparison.

Lady Bo exchanged pleasantries with the palace messenger for a while, then the messenger said it was getting late and she had to return to the palace to report.

The aunt saw the person to the door before returning to her room.

Gu Leyao quietly pulled the palace messenger aside, "I have a letter here. I wonder if you could help me deliver it to the Prince of Dingbei?"

The palace envoy was surprised for a moment, but then she remembered that this Miss Gu was not well received in the Marquis of Zhongqin's mansion and probably could not command the servants of the mansion, so she came to ask her for help.

However, as a lady-in-waiting trusted by the Empress, she could indeed hand this letter over to the Prince of Dingbei.

The Emperor often invited the Prince of Dingbei to the palace to reminisce. After he returned to the palace, he would give this letter to the Empress, who would then pass it on to the Emperor. It was thought that the Prince of Dingbei would receive the letter.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Gu Leyao handed the letter in her hand to the messenger.

The messenger examined the envelope and found that the letter was sealed tightly with wax.

He thought to himself that this Miss Gu was a cautious person.

Gu Leyao smiled and said, "Please don't be offended, envoy. I've lived in the Marquis of Zhongqin's residence for a long time and I'm used to being careful." As she spoke, Gu Leyao handed the envoy the red envelope she had prepared earlier.

The messenger took out a thin red envelope, but smiled and accepted it. She guessed that the money inside was all the money Miss Gu had.

As a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, she wasn't actually short of money, but to put Miss Gu at ease, she decided to accept it.

Gu Leyao smiled as she saw the palace envoy off from the Earl's residence. She wasn't actually afraid that the Empress would open the letter, in which she requested that the Prince of Dingbei send two capable people to her side.

She had a plan in mind: before leaving the Marquis of Zhongqin's mansion, she would swindle a large sum of money from him.

If even that idiot Gu Ronghua could inherit the Earl's estate, then she, being the Earl of Zhongqin's child, should also inherit the family property.

*

The palace envoy left, and when Lady Bo saw Gu Leyao return, she suppressed her anger and forced a smile. "Leyao, why didn't you tell your mother beforehand that you had been chosen as the Princess Consort of Dingbei?"

The aunt looked at Gu Leyao with a complicated expression. She thought that bringing Gu Leyao back and marrying her off to a lowly official's family as his wife would be more than enough.

But Madam Ke never expected that Gu Leyao, this little gray sparrow from the countryside, would one day fly up to the top and become a phoenix.

Gu Leyao lowered her head slightly and said, "I also suddenly learned about this yesterday. I was so excited and confused that I forgot to tell my mother for a moment."

Upon hearing Gu Leyao's reply, Madam Bo was filled with mixed emotions. She knew that her daughter had been wronged and was no longer on her side.

How can you forget something so important?

Unable to do anything about Gu Leyao, she had no choice but to send Gu Leyao back to her own courtyard. The Lady of the House planned to wait for Uncle Zhongqin to return home that evening so the two could have a proper discussion.

Upon hearing that she could leave the main courtyard, Gu Leyao immediately took Chun Tao and left. She had eaten her fill here and had achieved her goal for the day, so of course she had to leave.

Gu Leyao returned to the courtyard, took off her fine clothes, and changed into the fine cloth clothes she usually wore in the courtyard.

The master and servant rested on the couch for a while when the kitchen staff arrived, bringing Gu Leyao a lot of pastries, candied fruits, and nuts. The steward of the Earl's mansion also came along.

The usually arrogant butler was now meek and humble towards Gu Leyao, saying, "Miss, Madam asked me to tell you that once the front courtyard is ready tomorrow, you can move to the spacious main courtyard."

Gu Leyao knew that most people were naturally inclined to flatter the powerful and belittle the weak, so she nodded in agreement, which was considered as her consent to go to the front yard.

But Chun Tao's little chest heaved with anger. She realized that the Earl's mansion originally had a large, vacant courtyard, but it was not for the young lady to live in.

A little while later, the kitchen staff brought Gu Leyao some honeydew melons from the Western Regions.

This kind of melon, with its golden flesh when cut open, is very expensive. Gu Leyao put a piece in her mouth and savored it. It turned out that this melon was the Hami melon of later generations. The pure natural taste was indeed very good.

Gu Leyao not only ate herself, but also fed Chun Tao. The two of them imagined their wonderful life together and felt very happy.

Just then, Huo Pingyuan kicked open the door to Gu Leyao's courtyard.

Several servants from the Earl's mansion blocked his way, preventing him from entering Gu Leyao's courtyard.

Gu Leyao's status is no longer what it used to be; she is now the future Princess Consort of Dingbei, no longer the unfavored Miss Gu.

Seeing Huo Pingyuan's angry expression, Gu Leyao couldn't help but take a step back.

Huo Pingyuan seemed to sense her fear, and he forcefully suppressed the terrifying aura emanating from his body.

But he still said, "Gu Leyao, you can't marry the Prince of Dingbei! Have you forgotten that we were betrothed since childhood? We are engaged!"

Gu Leyao shook her head slightly, "No, I want to marry the Prince of Dingbei."

The malice in Huo Pingyuan's eyes surged again. "He's a cripple. You envy his high status? I can also go to the border and make a name for myself. I might not be any worse than him!"

Gu Leyao walked to the courtyard gate and pushed Huo Pingyuan out.

"Go away. I want to marry the Prince of Dingbei. I don't like you."

The original owner who liked Huo Pingyuan had completely dissipated, so Gu Leyao, who remained here, did not like Huo Pingyuan.

Huo Pingyuan, whom even several servants couldn't stop, was easily pushed out the door by Gu Leyao.

He stared at Gu Leyao's tightly closed courtyard gate, wondering why Gu Leyao suddenly disliked him.

He remembered her eyes; they always shone when she looked at him.

But from some point onward, Gu Leyao's eyes began to look at him with the same indifference as if he were a stranger.