Chapter 88 Preparing to Keep a Mistress

"Tomorrow you will know the reason I gave Chu Yanluo a thousand taels of gold. Sometimes giving money isn't helping people, it's harming them. As for my statement that I want to marry Chu Yanluo as my principal wife..."

Gu Qianhan was silent for a moment, then took out a piece of gauze from his sleeve. Looking at the gauze, he said in a low voice, "I owe her a favor, so I'm going to do her a favor."

At first glance, this sounds like he owes Chu Yanluo a favor, but Jixiang knows better than anyone that the young master does not owe Chu Yanluo a favor.

He spends all his time with his young master and has no contact with Chu Yanluo. Apart from going to the Prince Ning's mansion for drinks last time, he had never even seen Chu Yanluo's face before.

Jixiang was completely bewildered: "Second Young Master, who do you owe a favor to? Whom do you want to help?"

she?

who is she?

Jixiang looked down and saw that her young master was holding a piece of thin gauze in his hand. Her eyes widened instantly!

Isn't this the veil that Shen Wantang just wore?

He remembered that it had been blown off by the wind. When did the young master find it? He took the crown princess's veil... that's not appropriate, is it?

Jixiang felt something was amiss, but dared not utter a word. The last time the young master inexplicably went to the princess's courtyard, he already felt something was wrong with the young master, and today he felt even more uneasy—the young master never took a woman's personal belongings.

However, who benefits the most from the young master taking Chu Yanluo away from Xiao Qingyuan?

Without a doubt, it must be the Crown Princess!

Xiao Qingyuan hasn't consummated his marriage with the Crown Princess yet because of Chu Yanluo. If the Second Young Master takes Chu Yanluo away, Xiao Qingyuan will probably be heartbroken and go back to living a good life with the Crown Princess.

Moreover, it seems that Prince Xiao is not entirely without affection for his wife. He is not as disgusted with her as the rumors suggest. On the contrary, he seems to listen to her very much. When she said she wanted to go home, he immediately followed her, even abandoning Chu Yanluo.

But the question is, why would the second young master help that princess?

He doesn't owe the Crown Princess any favors. Including today, he's only met her twice.

Jixiang racked his brains but still couldn't figure out what his young master was up to. He simply gave up trying to think about it because he had other things to worry about. He was in a real bind right now: "Young master, you can't do what Prince Xiao did! You can't really bring Chu Yanluo to our mansion! Otherwise, Madam will skin me alive!"

"Madam said that you are already twenty years old and it's time for you to marry a lady from a respectable family. She told me to keep a close eye on you and not let you run wild outside. If you bring Chu Yanluo back, how am I supposed to explain this to her!"

"Think it over, young master!"

Gu Qianhan nodded: "We can't take her back, otherwise it would be a waste if she got sick from anger. I heard that Xiao Qingyuan took Chu Yanlu back and made Princess Ning faint. He's really unfilial."

Jixiang was so moved she almost cried: "Yes, yes, young master is right! Madam's health isn't very good to begin with, and she can't handle too much stress. Your filial piety will surely make her very happy!"

He knew it! His young master was much more reliable than that Prince Xiao. His young master would never let his mother faint from anger over that Chu Yanluo.

As he was thinking, he saw the young master take out several silver notes and hand them to him.

"What do you mean by this, young master?"

"Use this silver note to buy a house, something luxurious and impressive."

"Huh? Why is the young master suddenly buying a house?"

"What else can I do? Take Chu Yanluo over there, and I'll learn the ways of the playboys in the capital and keep a mistress."

Ji Xiang's vision went black: "What?!"

That's it, looks like he's in for a beating from the lady of the house.

"Think it over, young master! If you take a mistress, your reputation will be ruined. What decent family would want to marry you then?"

Gu Qianhan said firmly, "Go and do it, and be quick. Chu Yanluo must be brought out."

——

Prince Ning's Mansion.

Xiao Qingyuan was standing in front of Princess Ning, being reprimanded.

"You actually said you wanted to divorce me again, and this time you said it in front of so many onlookers! How could you be so foolish?!"

Princess Ning was so angry that her heart ached and her head hurt: "Do you know how difficult this makes for Tang'er? Go out and ask around, whose wife suffers so much grievance from her husband?"

"Whether a man is good or bad at home, he will always give his wife some face when he goes out, because giving his wife face is giving himself face! What kind of good person is a man who talks about divorcing his wife all the time?!"

"You clearly promised me yesterday that you would respect Tang'er and give her dignity from now on. Why did you change your mind immediately after going out with that Chu Yanluo? Can't you think of anything useful other than Chu Yanluo?!"

Xiao Qingyuan, feeling rather embarrassed by the scolding, said, "Mother, I was just speaking in the heat of the moment, and I blurted out some impulsive words. I don't know what's wrong with Gu Qianhan today; she insists on taking Yanluo from me. In my anger, I forgot the gravity of the situation."

Honestly, he has no intention of divorcing Shen Wantang now. She is an impeccable princess consort. If he divorces her, who will he choose to be his princess consort?

Chu Yanluo?

Xiao Qingyuan already knew that she was not suitable to be the head of the household.

But his words failed to quell Princess Ning's anger. She slammed a teacup down and roared, "A moment of impulse? Forgetting the bigger picture? A fight of pride? Excuses! These are all just excuses! Gu Qianhan is taking Chu Yanluo, so let him take her! For something like this, you casually mentioned divorcing her. Where do you put Tang'er? Where do you put me, her mother?"

"I've already said it, I only recognize Tang'er as my Crown Prince's consort, I don't recognize anyone else!"

"If you want to marry Chu Yanluo, you'll have to wait until I'm dead!"

Princess Ning refused to divorce her husband; this was her bottom line. Her son had repeatedly challenged this line for Chu Yanluo's sake, and her pent-up anger finally erupted.

"Tell Chu Yanluo to get out of here! You want to divorce your wife? Then I'll forbid Chu Yanluo from stepping into the Prince's mansion! Send her back to Jixin Nunnery to become a nun. You get out too! You like to be with her, don't you? You go to Fazhen Temple to become a monk!"

Princess Ning's face turned ashen with anger: "At worst, I'll just adopt a son from another relative to inherit the royal family!"

Xiao Qingyuan was shocked to hear her even mention adopting a son: "Mother!"

"Don't call me mother! I think Chu Yanluo is your real mother. You obey her every command and have no regard for me, your mother, or the royal palace!"

When Princess Ning got to the point of her sadness, she couldn't help but cry.

She was truly heartbroken. The son she had raised with such care was now completely unfilial. She had carefully selected a perfect wife for him, but he wanted to divorce her every few days. He didn't respect his mother at all.