Chapter 196 The Crown Prince Brought Back Another Woman

Since her second brother refused to admit it, Gu Qianning couldn't do anything about it. She shook her head, sighed, and said, "Second brother, she is indeed very good, even better than I thought, but it will be very difficult for you to marry her."

"Leaving aside whether your father and mother would agree to you marrying a woman who has been married before, the Prince Ning's mansion probably wouldn't let her go either."

"Do you know how much Princess Ning likes her? Princess Ning even gave her daughter-in-law her dowry, which was originally meant for her daughter."

After washing her hands, Gu Qianhan opened a box and took out the books inside.

As he casually flipped through the pages, he said indifferently, "A woman who has remarried is no different from other women. Father and Mother will not stop me from marrying because of my second marriage. However, I have no intention of marrying anyone, and I will not marry anyone. Don't overthink it."

"Instead of wasting your time, you should think about the four fortune sticks you drew at Fazhen Temple today. Four extremely unlucky ones—this is the first time I've ever seen one like that. It shows how tragic your hopes for marriage are."

"Even Buddha has given you this warning. If you still insist on getting married, don't come to me in my dreams crying after you die. I won't care about you."

Upon hearing the rest, Gu Qianning's expression changed drastically; she had almost forgotten about it!

She stomped her foot angrily: "Second brother, you're such a waste of your good looks! You have such a sharp tongue. No matter how handsome you are, no one will like you!"

"I don't need anyone to like me."

"You don't need Shen Wantang either?"

"right."

"You're lying! Your eyes were practically glued to her all day! You like her, don't you hope she likes you back?"

Gu Qianhan suddenly smiled faintly: "I'm not hoping for it."

Gu Qianning was stunned. Her second brother rarely smiled, and even when he did, it was mostly a cold, mocking laugh.

But his smile now is very calm, and it seems to come from the heart.

So for a moment she couldn’t tell whether her second brother was lying to her or telling the truth. He was too indifferent. He gave her the illusion that he really didn’t want Shen Wantang to like him!

She stared at Gu Qianhan for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so she left dejectedly.

Forget it, her second brother has never been normal since he was a child. She could never guess what he was thinking. Given his unusual way of thinking, he might actually think it's a good thing that Shen Wantang doesn't like him.

After Gu Qianning left, Gu Qianhan began to read the book in his hand.

This book, "The Art of Stargazing," was stolen from Xiao Qingyuan. It also contained a page of annotations and questions recorded by Shen Wantang.

After watching for a while, he instructed his servant to grind ink, and then picked up his brush to answer Shen Wantang's questions.

After glancing at it, Jixiang immediately understood who it was written for. He couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, you've done so much for her, don't you really hope that the Princess Consort will also like you?"

Gu Qianhan continued writing, saying, "You've already called her the Crown Princess. She has a husband, so naturally, the person she likes shouldn't be me. I haven't done anything for her, and even if I had, it would have been nothing more than trivial things. There's no reason for her to like me."

He genuinely never intended for Shen Wantang to like him. After all, he carried a deep-seated blood feud and lived a precarious life. If she liked him, it would only bring her trouble and annoyance.

She's doing a good job as the Crown Prince's wife in the Ning Prince's mansion. As long as Xiao Qingyuan doesn't cause any more trouble, she can live a peaceful and smooth life until old age.

Jixiang could tell from his calm tone that he was telling the truth.

He couldn't help but mutter to himself that his young master was the real romantic, giving so much without expecting anything in return, liking someone so much but not asking for their liking in return.

A moment later, Gu Qianhan had filled an entire page with writing.

Jixiang picked it up and blew it dry, then asked him, "Young master, how are we going to deliver this to someone? Is it really appropriate to just send it like this?"

That's really not good, and it will alert Shen Wantang.

"Let's put it away for now and talk about it later."

——

Prince Ning's Mansion.

After Shen Wantang returned, she went straight to Princess Ning's courtyard.

She recounted everything that happened after she met Ye Lingyun at Fazhen Temple, but she didn't mention the information that Gu Qianhan later revealed.

Even though she didn't say it, Princess Ning knew that the Ye family was a dangerous place to mess with. After all, she was a royal daughter-in-law, and she had heard about Ye Chongli's embezzlement. She knew that he was doomed this time.

Upon hearing Shen Wantang say that Xiao Qingyuan was going to help Ye Lingyun, Princess Ning gasped!

"That scoundrel is getting more and more outrageous. How could he possibly help with something like this? Granny, send someone to the Imperial Observatory to summon the Prince back right now. His son is about to cause a huge disaster, and he's still looking at the stars. I wonder what kind of stars he can see in broad daylight!"

Granny Quan responded and was about to leave when her maid, Qiu Shui, hurriedly entered.

"Your Highness, the young master has returned."

"He dares to come back? Tell him to come over!"

"Your Highness, the Prince did not return alone; he also brought back Magistrate Ye's daughter!"

"What?!"

Princess Ning's vision went black, and she almost fainted.

Her blood boiled, and she couldn't help but curse, "What a disgrace! He dares to bring any woman home all day long. I thought it was bad enough that he brought Chu Yanluo back, but I never imagined that things would get even worse! He actually brought back the daughter of a corrupt official!"

"Heavens above! What kind of son have I raised? Will the prince and I die at his hands?"

"Granny, hurry, go and call the prince back to the manor! If he's not quick, he won't even be a prince anymore!"

Knowing the matter was of great importance, Granny Quan dared not delay and immediately went out.

A moment later, Xiao Qingyuan came in, looking puzzled, and asked, "Did Mother call me here for something?"

Princess Ning slammed her fist on the table in anger: "You scoundrel, how dare you ask me if something's wrong? Do you know you've caused a huge disaster? Who told you to agree to help Magistrate Ye's daughter? Magistrate Ye was arrested for embezzlement, this is no small matter, why did you get involved? Be careful you don't get used as a pawn without even realizing it!"

Xiao Qingyuan's face turned cold. He looked at Shen Wantang and said, "You're the one who told on me to my mother, aren't you? I thought you were a good person, but it turns out you're two-faced and cunning."

Shen Wantang looked at him calmly: "It was indeed I who told my mother about the matter of the young master wanting to help Miss Ye. If Magistrate Ye is innocent, the Dali Temple will release him on its own, and there is no need for the young master to plead for him. If he is not innocent, the young master's pleading will not only be useless, but will also bring infamy. I urge the young master to think twice before acting."

Xiao Qingyuan said coldly, "What do you know? The Dali Temple has a history of forcing confessions out of prisoners! Moreover, it's not just the Dali Temple that wants to interrogate Magistrate Ye now, but also the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If I don't help, Magistrate Ye may die unjustly."