Chapter 812 My cousin is reborn and wants to snatch my marriage (21)

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Tang Buqing? My master has something to discuss with you. I wonder if you are free to come to his house tomorrow?" A male servant from the Duke of Anguo's Mansion found Tang Buqing reading a book under a peach tree on the back hill of Wanfo Temple. While speaking respectfully, he handed the invitation in his hand to Tang Buqing.

Tang Buqing felt that this person was strange and he didn't know him at all. He hesitated for a moment, but finally took the invitation and asked, "Who is your master?"

"My master is the Duke of Anguo." The servant replied.

"Duke Anguo?" Tang Buqing was very surprised. "Did your master find the wrong person? I have never met Duke Anguo before."

"That's right, my master is looking for you. I am sure he has found the right person." The servant said with certainty.

"Why did your master want to see me?" Tang Buqing continued to ask as he opened the invitation.

The manservant shook his head: "I don't know about this little one."

Tang Buqing was sure that he really couldn't get anything out of him, as the invitation only had his name on it, inviting him to come over for a chat, and there was no other content at all.

He was puzzled and a little worried, wondering if he had offended the Duke of Anguo in some way. But if he had offended him, then he would not have been so polite as to send a letter to invite him to his house, right?

Just as he was racking his brains to recall why he was noticed by the Duke of Anguo, suddenly an idea flashed in his mind, and he abruptly remembered that when he first came to the capital, he fainted on the road and was rescued by someone. Wasn’t the girl who rescued him from the Duke of Anguo’s mansion?

Could it be because of this incident? But it had been so long since this happened. If the Duke of Anguo wanted to find him, he would have come a long time ago. How could he have waited until now?

However, now that he remembered how he was related to the Duke of Anguo's Mansion, he felt more at ease and decided to go to see the Duke of Anguo on time tomorrow. He had no way of refusing. First, he had ambitions in his heart, and the Duke of Anguo was in a high position and had great power. When he passed the imperial examination and entered the official career, it would be easier for him to advance in his career because he had a relationship with the Duke of Anguo. Second, if the Duke of Anguo really saved him because of the young lady of the mansion, then he should go to thank him.

The next day, Tang Buqing changed into his most respectable clothes. However, when he arrived at the gate of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion, he looked at the majestic four characters "Duke of Anguo's Mansion" and the majestic vermilion gate, and his heart trembled involuntarily. His ambition for power and status suddenly boiled up. This was the mansion of the powerful ministers and nobles in the capital. One day, he would also own such a magnificent house!

"Are you Tang Buqing?" Duke Anguo looked Tang Buqing up and down with a cold face. When he saw that although Tang Buqing was a little restrained and nervous, he still behaved neither arrogantly nor servilely. He neither flattered him excessively nor was he timid and cowardly. His eyes were firm and bright. He felt a little satisfied.

Tang Buqing bowed his head and answered respectfully: "My Lord, it's really me."

…

After Tang Buqing left the Anguo Mansion, he didn't know how he got back to the Wanfo Temple. He seemed to have lost his soul along the way and acted completely on instinct. Fortunately, the security in the capital was good, so he returned to the Wanfo Temple safely.

He returned to his room, with no intention of reviewing his lessons. Instead, he suddenly lay down on his narrow bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about what the Duke of Anguo had said to him today.

The Duke of Anguo first tested his knowledge and, seeing that he was quite knowledgeable, encouraged him to take the imperial examination next spring. He then mentioned his dramatic encounter and acquaintance with the eldest daughter of the Duke of Anguo’s mansion, hinting that they were destined to be together, and asked him to come to the mansion to propose marriage after he passed the imperial examination next year...

Tang Buqing was surprised when he heard the Duke of Anguo hint that he wanted to recruit him as his son-in-law. He thought that the Duke of Anguo was interested in his talent and future. But after a while, he always felt that something was wrong, because even if he passed the imperial examination, his status and position with the daughter of the Duke of Anguo would still be a world apart. Even if the Duke of Anguo wanted to win over such a knowledgeable man in advance, there was no need for him to promise his eldest daughter to him. It would be enough to promise a daughter born out of wedlock.

So, why was the Duke of Anguo so "generous"? Tang Buqing thought a lot, and even wondered if Miss Gu had taken a fancy to him. After all, Miss Gu had saved him before and forcibly gave him a bag of silver, which seemed to indicate that she was interested in him.

But, would a family like the Anguo Mansion really allow their daughter to fall in love with a poor student like me?

Tang Buqing was full of doubts. He couldn't understand why this huge pie fell into his hands.

Although he felt uncomfortable about Gu Shiyao giving him money without his consent, he understood that it was mostly luck that he was able to marry the eldest daughter of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion. He was noble, but not that noble. Besides, this was not the result of his own calculations. As long as he wanted, he could make a leap forward with the help of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion. Who could resist such an extreme temptation that could save him twenty years of hard work?

Tang Buqing's heart started pounding as he thought about it. Only then did he realize how much benefit it would bring to him to marry the Duke of Anguo...

At this time, he did not know that the reason why Duke Anguo agreed to help Gu Shiyao and him was because the scandal caused by Gu Shiyao made it impossible for her to marry into a family of equal status, and she could only look for a marriage partner from a lower class. In short, to use the words of a thousand years later, he was the relatively decent replacement that Duke Anguo found for his already infamous daughter.

Gu Shiyao learned from Duke Anguo that he had already told Tang Buqing about their marriage, and Tang Buqing had no objection to it. So after the imperial examination next spring, Tang Buqing would come to propose marriage. This was already a tacit agreement between both parties.

Gu Shiyao was overjoyed when she found out. She felt that the worry she had been carrying since her rebirth had finally come true. Her obsession after she came back was to snatch this marriage from Gu Shichu and let the future Prime Minister become her husband. Then she could live with her husband and enjoy wealth and status, instead of just watching her cousin, who was once not as high-ranking as her, enjoying glory and being overshadowed by her...

"Dad, thank you..." Gu Shiyao cried with joy and said to Gu Taoxing with red eyes.

Gu Taoxing still had some feelings for his daughter, so he told her, "Since you have set your sights on him, you should be a good wife and mother in the future, and stop being willful. I think he is ambitious and capable, and as long as he doesn't make any mistakes, his future will not be too bad."

"Dad, don't worry, I will live a good life with him in the future." Gu Shiyao quickly assured.

(End of this chapter)