Chapter 419 Prince Pei Lin'an

Breaking off our friendship is absolutely impossible; it's something we'll never do in this lifetime.

However, under Xiao Qingyuan's coercion and enticement, Shen Wantang "reluctantly" agreed to make a trip to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, but not today as Xiao Qingyuan had requested, but tomorrow.

As long as Shen Wantang is willing to go, it doesn't matter whether it's sooner or later, so Xiao Qingyuan naturally has no objection.

The next day, Shen Wantang went out early in the morning.

Since she was going to apologize, she opened the storeroom and picked out a lot of good things as a token of her remorse.

After arriving at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, she did not go directly to see Gu Qianning as before. Instead, she took her maids and nannies with her and went to Madam Gu's place with apologies.

On their second meeting, Madam Gu was even more enthusiastic than the first time. She did not hold a grudge against Shen Wantang for Xiao Qingxi causing her daughter to fall into the water and become ill.

Even because Shen Wantang had also fallen into the water, she asked Shen Wantang about her health with extra care and concern, appearing even more worried than Princess Ning about whether she was sick.

When Shen Wantang arrived, all the illegitimate sons and daughters of the Duke's mansion were present, so Madam Gu introduced all the children to her one by one.

The Duke of Zhenguo's family has three legitimate children: the eldest son Gu Qianling, the second son Gu Qianhan, and the eldest daughter Gu Qianning. All three of them are either on duty, sick, or indifferent, so they are naturally not here at the moment.

There were four children born out of wedlock, all of whom were born after Gu Qianning. The youngest son was only ten years old. All four children were in Madam Gu's courtyard paying their respects.

Besides the Gu family's own children, Gu Qianning's distant cousins ​​also lived in the Duke's mansion, and they were there at the moment.

Shen Wantang had come prepared and gave everyone a gift when they met.

Only one person surprised her—Pei Lin'an from the Prince's Mansion.

When he was pushed in by a servant in a wheelchair, Shen Wantang didn't realize who he was until Madam Gu called out "Lin'an". Only then did she realize that this was Pei Lin'an.

If she remembered correctly, Pei Lin'an only lived to be twenty years old in his previous life and died young.

Is he nineteen or twenty now?

The thought flashed through her mind, and Shen Wantang stood up: "Shen from the Ning Prince's Mansion greets the young prince."

"So you are the Crown Princess, it is my honor to be here today..."

After saying only a few words, Pei Lin'an began to cough violently, and an unusual pink flush appeared on his pale, somewhat sickly face.

Shen Wantang could tell at a glance that this was a sign of severe blood and qi deficiency, and also a sign that he was not long for life.

He's in a wheelchair right now, probably because he's been given special medication and is forcing himself to come out.

Madam Gu doted on her nephew, gently patting his back to help him catch his breath while personally wiping the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief.

Once Pei Lin'an stopped coughing, she looked up at Shen Wantang and said, "Please excuse my poor nephew, Princess Consort. He is weak and easily coughs when exposed to wind. I brought him to the Duke's mansion today so that the imperial physician could examine Lin'an while examining A'ning, and see if we could change the prescription to help him recover."

Shen Wantang didn't believe a single word Madam Gu said.

Why bring the imperial physician to the Duke's mansion when we need to invite him? Wouldn't it be more convenient and appropriate to send him directly to the Prince's mansion?

When Madam Gu visited the Prince Ning's residence before, she heard Xiao Qingyuan say that he wanted to divorce his wife. She then mentioned that she wanted to arrange a marriage for her nephew.

Today, as soon as she arrived at the Duke's mansion, she happened to run into Pei Lin'an.

What a coincidence!

She must have sent someone to the Gu family to deliver a visiting card yesterday, and Madam Gu brought Pei Lin'an here today!

If she had arrived a few days earlier, Gu Qianning would have told her. After all, Gu Qianning would write half a page and ramble on about even the addition of a dog to the Gu family. She had also mentioned it many times after her cousins ​​arrived.

No wonder Madam Gu was so enthusiastic today; it turns out she was waiting for her here!

Shen Wantang sighed inwardly, but maintained a polite demeanor and spoke calmly to Madam Gu.

After all, she knew that Pei Lin'an was about to die, and that Madam Gu's thoughts were just wishful thinking on her part.

Moreover, Shen Wantang had never considered remarrying. To put it another way, even if she were to remarry, she would not marry Pei Lin'an.

However, apart from coughing violently at the beginning, Pei Lin'an did not show any further symptoms afterward.

He spoke to Madam Gu very gently. He wanted to leave, but Madam Gu wouldn't let him go. He wasn't angry; he just smiled good-naturedly and continued to listen to Madam Gu praise Shen Wantang.

It seemed that even if Madam Gu talked on and on about getting dark, he could listen patiently and attentively until it got dark.

Pei Lin'an didn't need to wait until dark, because Gu Qianhan arrived shortly afterward.

"It's quite lively here at Mother's place."

Gu Qianhan's voice was indifferent. He treated all the half-brothers, half-sisters, cousins, and other relatives in the room as if they were air. His cold gaze was fixed only on Pei Lin'an: "Why did you come today, cousin? You're not feeling well. Shouldn't you be at home recuperating? Are you out running around because you want to die too slowly?"

Madam Gu's expression changed, and she scolded, "Qianhan, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Pei Lin'an, however, remained good-natured: "Second cousin, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

Gu Qianhan looked down at him and asked, "Cousin, you seem to miss me so much, did you come here specifically to see me?"

"This, I..."

"In that case, come with me! Let's go to my courtyard, have a couple of drinks, catch up, so that we don't miss each other next year."

Madam Gu's face darkened: "You can't even say a nice word, get out!"

After Gu Qianhan arrived, everyone else in the room trembled slightly, keeping their heads down and not daring to look at him, lest they be the next ones to be cursed and mocked by him.

The second young master of the Gu family is not just ruthless; he is truly cold-hearted and heartless. He can kill someone by destroying their spirit. He doesn't care whether you are an old person, a child, a patient, or a relative; he treats everyone the same. With just one word, he can utterly destroy a person's dignity and reputation. He is a fearsome figure in the Gu family.

The Duke of Zhenguo wielded immense power and was invincible in the court. Even the emperor feared him. Yet, he still found Gu Qianhan a headache.

The only one who could withstand Gu Qianhan's sharp and ruthless words was Pei Lin'an, who was the weakest in the body.

Pei Lin'an was even laughing at this moment: "Only my second cousin is willing to invite me for drinks. Today, I have to trouble my second cousin properly. But let me make it clear first, this time I can't drink strong liquor, otherwise I'll get dizzy after one sip."

Gu Qianhan had taken him to drink alcohol before. Because he had never tasted alcohol before, he was very curious. Everyone else wouldn't let him drink and kept a close eye on him. Only Gu Qianhan wasn't afraid of him dying, so she fulfilled his wish to try alcohol. As a result, he was choked and passed out because the alcohol was too strong.