Chapter 325 Let's just snatch his Crown Princess

Xiao Qingyuan felt his brain wasn't working properly. He looked at Shen Wantang and couldn't help but wonder, is she really that good? Even Madam Gu, who had only met her for the first time, wanted to snatch her away?

Is he crazy, or is Madam Gu crazy?

What Xiao Qingyuan couldn't understand, Princess Ning could see clearly.

She knew that the reason why Madam Gu was willing to abandon all decorum and directly try to take Shen Wantang was because she valued Shen Wantang's temperament and medical skills.

There are naturally many kind-hearted girls in the capital, and a few with some medical knowledge can also be found.

However, very few cases combine both characteristics.

Presumably, Madam Gu had been watching Shen Wantang treat Gu Qianhan's wounds the whole time. She was meticulous and patient, and she was very skilled at treating wounds.

She was not hesitant or timid because of the difference between men and women. She calmly and generously took out the thin, cicada-wing-like shard of porcelain for Gu Qianhan. This alone was something that many women in the capital could not do.

Furthermore, her immediate and decisive decision to sell off her maids and buy new ones for Xiao Qingyuan revealed a hint of the imposing aura she had been hiding.

She knew when to be reserved and when to be assertive; she was indeed very suitable for the sickly Pei Lin'an.

It's no surprise that Madam Gu was moved by her.

Princess Ning was even afraid that Madam Gu would snatch Shen Wantang away and give her to Gu Qianhan! After all, she had just said that her son liked someone as calm and intelligent as her.

"Madam Gu is joking."

Princess Ning couldn't even bother scolding her son anymore. She quickly said, "Tang'er is the mistress of our manor. She is a daughter-in-law whom both the prince and I love dearly. How could we bear to let her leave? Madam, don't listen to that scoundrel's nonsense. He doesn't have the final say in matters of the manor. Only Tang'er has the final say!"

Madam Gu knew that Princess Ning would definitely not be willing to let Shen Wantang go, so she chose Xiao Qingyuan to win her heart.

She looked apologetic: "I was being presumptuous, Your Highness. Please forgive me. Tang'er is just so lovable that I couldn't help but say a few more words. Of course, I hope that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess will always live in harmony. However, if... I mean, if the Crown Prince wants a divorce, Your Highness must remember to inform me first."

Princess Ning looked very unwell; she couldn't even manage a fake smile.

Madam Gu had never acted like this before. She always spoke to people in a way that suited them, maintaining her dignity and composure. But today, she wanted nothing more than Shen Wantang!

She really dares to ask for that. Her sickly nephew is getting old and might die any day now, yet she still wants him to marry Shen Wantang.

Dream on!

What unrealistic dreams are you having?

No way!

Why doesn't she let her sickly nephew look in the mirror and see if he's good enough for Shen Wantang?

Princess Ning cursed Madam Gu in her heart and directly told her to leave: "My place is a mess, so I won't keep Madam here. Granny Quan, quickly, see Madam and the Second Young Master out!"

Knowing that Princess Ning was unhappy, Madam Gu smiled apologetically at her before leaving with Gu Qianhan.

Her smile vanished as soon as she stepped outside.

She boarded the carriage and said calmly to her son, "Qianhan, I don't think Xiao Qingyuan and his princess won't last long. You're getting close to him, so keep an eye on things for me from now on. Don't spend all your time fighting over concubines and maids. It's pointless and beneath you. Let's just snatch his princess directly!"

Gu Qianhan glanced at her: "You're so old, how can you be more unconventional than me? You'd do something like stealing someone's wife?"

"So what? My great-grandfather even helped Emperor Gaozu seize the throne from the previous dynasty. Otherwise, how do you think the Pei family got their title of Prince and fiefdom?"

Gu Qianhan: "..."

He hadn't realized that his mother had inherited the Pei family's competitive nature.

He used to think that his mother was steady and his father liked to fight for power. He never expected that his father and mother were the same kind of people. No wonder they were able to get married!

After all that fuss, it turns out that the one in the family with the least desire to compete was actually himself!

Even his dim-witted sister was taught by their mother to compete to become the crown prince's wife and then the empress!

"Whether it's wealth and honor, fine clothes and sumptuous food, if you don't fight for it, others will snatch it all away, and we'll only be left eating chaff and wild vegetables. Some things, some people, you should fight for when you should, without hesitation."

Madam Gu spoke slowly and deliberately. She had never taught her second son these things before, so as not to let him compete with her eldest son for titles and power.

Today I suddenly realized that my second son seems a bit timid. He doesn't even dare to take the best things from others, only the unimportant ones. This won't do.

“If Xiao Qingyuan and his wife had a good relationship, I naturally wouldn’t have such thoughts and wouldn’t ruin their marriage for no reason. But since he has already said he wants to divorce his wife, I naturally can’t let someone else get there first.”

"Your sister told me yesterday how wonderful that Crown Princess was, but I didn't take it too seriously. Only after meeting her today did I realize that your sister was being conservative."

"No wonder the proud and arrogant Princess Ning is so satisfied with her daughter-in-law. Even a carefree man like Prince Ning can't help but show off his daughter-in-law every day. It turns out they really hit the jackpot."

"Since Xiao Qingyuan doesn't want this treasure, we can have it. Your cousin should really like Shen Wantang."

Gu Qianhan's expression was indifferent, and her voice was cold: "Pei Lin'an is terminally ill, and Mother is asking Shen Wantang to marry him, is she going to be a widow? Pei Lin'an knows he doesn't have long to live, so he refuses to marry under any circumstances, so as not to harm other girls, but Mother doesn't care about these things?"

Madam Gu glared at him: "Nonsense! Your cousin has recovered his health in the past two years, how could he be terminally ill? Besides, isn't Shen Wantang an expert in medicine? When she marries into the family, she can take good care of your cousin, and he might recover!"

Gu Qianhan said coldly, "Mother, you are deceiving yourself. The imperial physician said that Pei Lin'an would not live past twenty. He is already bedridden this year, just as the imperial physician predicted! You are pushing an innocent woman into a fire pit for your own selfish desires."

In his previous life, Pei Lin'an died at the age of twenty, which is next year.

His time is almost up!

Madam Gu was somewhat annoyed: "How is the Prince's Mansion a pit of fire? I think it's much better than the Prince Ning's Mansion! Your cousin won't be like Xiao Qingyuan, divorcing his wife for a concubine or a maid. He certainly won't keep talking about divorcing his wife every day and make a scene that the whole city knows about!"

Gu Qianhan: "He's almost dead himself, where would he find the time to divorce his wife? If he really had a wife, it would be a miracle if she didn't divorce him!"

"You!! How could you say that about your cousin! Don't you feel any pity for him at all?"

"I don't feel bad about it!"