Chapter 52 Heart-beating Excuse
Gu Youan had always had a hunch that Prince Qi was not an easy person to get along with, but last time he gave her a longbow, and this time he met her by chance while hunting in the mountains behind her house, and when he talked to her about her mother, he referred to her as "me" in every sentence, and every word he said was meaningful.
His eyes were filled with her face. Gu Youan felt her heartbeat get a little chaotic for a moment, it was her heart beating.
"Ms. Gu, may I ask your name?"
"Gu Youan."
How could he not know her name? Yet he insisted on asking her in front of her with such respect and seriousness. Gu Youan was captivated by his face and those eyes that could make even a dog feel affectionate, and blurted out her name without hesitation.
After answering him, Gu Youan felt annoyed again. This man knew his advantages too well and was seducing her on purpose.
Her annoyed look made him laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Gu Youan glared at him.
Prince Qi covered his lips lightly, raised his head, and looked at her with a smile in his eyes: "Everyone in Songjiang City says that You'an is smart and steady, but I didn't expect him to glare at people like this."
Was it too presumptuous of him to call her You'an?
Is he making fun of her, or teasing her?
Gu Youan's cheeks flushed slightly, and he continued, "My last name is Zhou, and my given name is Qi. Do you know that?"
Gu Youan nodded. Who in Songjiang City didn’t know his name?
Prince Qi put his right hand behind his waist and took a step towards her. "Today, we have exchanged names."
Exchange names, then what?
Gu Youan didn't ask aloud, but he had already seen her doubt. He smiled and said, "Lady Gu accompanied Madam Du to Tianyi Temple to burn incense. What did you ask for? Did you get what you wanted?"
She still remembered that her mother prayed for peace and prosperity for the whole family, good weather for Songjiang City, and... a good marriage for her from God.
She said, "I guess I got most of what I wanted."
Only her good marriage has not yet been found.
He took another step forward, lowered his head slightly, and said, "Since your wish has come true, you should choose a day to fulfill it. When does Miss Gu plan to go to Tianyi Temple again?"
Gu Youan felt that he was too close, so she took a step back and said angrily, "This is my private matter, Your Highness Prince Qi does not need to worry about it."
Seeing her discomfort, he stood up straight, moved a little further away from her, and said with a smile, "I ran into Miss Gu at the right gate of Tianyi Temple last time. It's a pity that I was not free that day and couldn't take you to the peach orchard to see it. But it's okay, we can go there in autumn. In a while, the late peaches on the mountain should be ripe, and it's a good time."
Isn't Queen Meng buried in the Peach Garden to the right of Tianyi Temple? Why did he invite her there?
Neither of them spoke as he stared at them.
Gu Youan looked away, and his mind suddenly became clear. He asked her name, and then took her to meet his mother in a roundabout way. This was... Gu Youan's face suddenly turned red.
"You..." How outrageous!
Observing her reaction, his gentle voice was tinged with pity as he said, "I have no parents, no elders who can make decisions for me. I can only do this myself. If I have offended Miss Gu, I apologize!"
Gu Youan took a step back, suddenly not knowing how to respond to him.
She didn't expect that he would actually tell her that this was against the rules and not in line with his status!
Thinking of the difference between the two of them, the blush on Gu Youan's face slowly faded, and his moist and bright eyes gradually became cold.
"Prince Qi, there is a difference between you and me..."
Before she could finish, he interrupted her gently, "The daughters of the Meng family, the Yuan family, and all the other families in Songjiang City are of different status from me."
Gu Youan didn't understand what he meant.
He smiled and said, "In Songjiang City, if we talk about status, whoever I marry is of lower status, and whoever marries me is of higher status. Is the difference in status still worth talking about?"
"What are you afraid of?" Prince Qi pressed on, "I know your heart. You don't care about status."
In a place like the Great Zhou Dynasty, people in high positions hold the power of life and death. She painstakingly planned for several years before becoming the head of a medicine store in Songjiang City, gaining a little power and buying herself a little breathing space.
She is not satisfied, she will continue to move forward, and she wants to try her best to control her own destiny.
But if he knew that she also wanted to be in power, and that she would use his identity to seize power, his good impression of her would probably disappear completely. The gap in reality made her sober up.
He asked again, "What are you afraid of?"
"You misjudged me. I care about the difference in status."
Afraid of being bewitched by his face again, Gu Youan turned away from him and said, "My family is small and poor, so I really can't afford to marry someone of that stature. I've already told my parents that I'll find a good-looking and obedient young scholar. I'll do my business while he studies. He'll love and respect me, and there won't be any concubines or maids at home to bother me. It wouldn't be bad to live a peaceful life like this."
Prince Qi said coldly: "How do you know I won't..."
Out of respect, he couldn't bring himself to say that, so he slowed down his tone and continued, "There are no concubines or maids in my palace."
The two looked at each other, and Gu Youan knew that he didn't believe what she said.
Smart people are hard to fool, and this one is a smart person who looks just like her and has a strong will, making it even harder to fool him.
She said, "I'm telling the truth."
It was the truth, but it was not her primary concern.
The mountain breeze blew, and the feelings between the man and the woman dissipated completely. Although the sun was still scorching, the atmosphere between them was extremely cold.
"I don't believe it!"
Prince Qi turned and left, but after a few steps he stopped and looked sideways at her: "See you at the Double Ninth Festival."
This time, he really left.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiaoju's feet became numb from standing so she asked tentatively, "Miss, shall we go too?"
"Let's go. It will be too late if we don't go back."
When Gu Youan returned home, she heard the chaotic sound of piano in the room. Gu Youan was in no mood to care about her sister's suffering fingers. She went back to the room to change clothes and sat under the eaves to get some fresh air.
Mrs. Du was talking to Mrs. Yang in the kitchen when she suddenly burst into laughter. After a while, she came out of the kitchen and stood at the kitchen door and asked, "An'an, did you catch any pheasants today?"
Gu Youan shook his head: "No."
Mrs. Du went back into the kitchen and spoke to Grandma Yang: "We don't have any pheasants. Let's go to the back and catch an old hen and kill it and make some soup. I'm craving some chicken soup wontons today."
Grandma Yang responded, quickly walked to the chicken coop at the back, grabbed an old hen, and slaughtered it. Then she started working again. When the colorful sunset glow drifted overhead, the aroma of chicken soup woke her up.
"Aanan, it's time for dinner!"
“Here I come!”
When Ah Xuan heard her mother calling for dinner, she dropped her zither and ran out happily, "What are we having for dinner today?"
Gu Youan grabbed her and said, "Go wash your hands first."
As they were talking, Mrs. Wei brought some water and the two sisters washed their hands and prepared to have dinner.
As soon as the two sisters entered the house and sat down, Mrs. Du served them chicken soup: "Eat more, and don't leave any leftovers. It won't keep well in hot weather."
Gu Youan didn't have much of an appetite. He drank half a bowl of chicken soup and ate a few wontons before putting them down.
"Are you hungry, An An?"
"Well, it's hot, I have no appetite."
Mrs. Du said, "I don't have an appetite. How about asking someone to make some porridge for me later? I'll have a bowl of it when it cools down."
Gu Youan said no.
Ah Xuan gulped down her soup, swallowed it, and then asked, "Sister, are you unhappy?"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Du immediately looked at her eldest daughter: "What happened?"
Xiaoju didn't dare to say anything and quietly walked out the door.
Gu Youan smiled and said, "It's fine. What's there to be unhappy about? It's just that the weather is too hot and I have no appetite."
Mrs. Du didn't notice anything, but seeing her daughter like this, she smiled and said, "You can't sit still. If you find it boring to stay at home, then go to the city, or go to the houses in the mountains and look at the medicinal herbs."
Mrs. Du talked about the Hu family: "Changpu got married at the beginning of the spring. I ran into him on South Street last month when he was in the city on business. I heard his wife is three months pregnant. She's really fast."
"Really? I didn't hear him say that when I saw him a few days ago."
"Maybe they forgot because they were busy. This year's harvest is bad. Even those of us who own land are worried. The Hu family, who live in the mountains and have no land to farm, must be even more worried. Fortunately, the harvest this year is good, so it was a false alarm."
Speaking of food, Gu Youan perked up, not knowing what was happening with the Northeast Army.
The day before the Double Ninth Festival, Gao Jin and Guo Su led a caravan into the pass. Before they had gone far, they met a caravan from Luoyang to Songjiang City. They heard that the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue of the imperial court had submitted a letter saying that there were floods in several southwestern border provinces and drought and poor harvests in the northwest this year. The imperial court was having difficulty in disaster relief, and hoped that the emperor would cut some of the military quotas and reduce military pay expenses.
After all, Gao Jin was the son of a prefect, and was proficient in both civil and military affairs. He immediately thought that this might be an excuse for the court to target the Northeast Army and Prince Qi's Mansion.
Gao Jin immediately sent someone on horseback back to Songjiang City to report the news. Before the person who reported the news returned, the Double Ninth Festival on September 9th was held, and the Meng family's Double Ninth Festival banquet began.
The banquet was held in a forest west of the city. Gu Wen was a third-level official, so he was not invited to be the last one to attend. At the beginning of the morning hour, the whole family left the city in a carriage.
Carriages left the city one after another, and Gu Youan could hear the laughter of boys and girls outside through the curtains.
Ah Xuan couldn't sit still, so she lifted the curtain and looked out. The little girl suddenly pointed excitedly behind her and said, "Sister, that purple... dessert..."
Gu Youan couldn't help but burst out laughing. Madam Du quickly brought her daughter back, lowered the carriage curtain, and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense. There are so many people here today, so you better understand the rules."
The Qi Wangfu carriage was just behind the Gu family's house and could be seen by lifting the curtain. Du Shi hurriedly instructed the driver, "Quickly make way and let the noble pass first."
Before the Gu family's carriage could even move out of the way, Prince Qi's long-servant Xu Zhi trotted over and said, "Madam, don't worry. Many people are leaving the city today, and there are carriages everywhere. This is wasting time, and the road is blocked, making it even harder to travel."
Mrs. Du slightly lifted the curtain and said with a smile, "Since it is the prince's order, we will naturally obey."
Xu Zhichong bowed to Mrs. Du and glanced at Gu Youan as he turned and left.
Running back to the carriage, Xu Zhi saw that the carriages of the Meng and Yuan families were lined up at the back. Xu Zhi smiled and reported to his master, "My aunt and cousin are at the back."
Prince Qi leaned against the soft pillow, looking at the scenery outside the car window boredly. The long curtain of the Gu family's car had just been lowered and had not been lifted up.
Seeing the servants from the Meng and Yuan families coming to pay their respects, Prince Qi frowned slightly, and Xu Zhi quickly sent them away with a few words.
"Master, my aunt asks you to go to the car and talk."
"No."
Since the arrival of Prince Qi's aunt, Lady Lu, along with the Meng and Yuan families, in Songjiang City a few days ago, Prince Qi had not paid a visit to them, which was unreasonable. Now that Lady Lu had sent someone to invite them, Prince Qi still refused, which was quite disrespectful.
Xu Zhi glanced back again and saw that the Meng family seemed to want to drive the carriage over, so they asked the servants to tell the carriage in front to make way. There was a lot of noise and people shouted and horses neighed.
The curtain of the Gu family was lifted, and Gu Youan glanced back at the chaotic scene, then met his eyes when he looked away.
Gu Youan lowered his eyes and the curtain was drawn again.
"I am waiting here, so why can't the Meng and Yuan families wait?"
Xu Zhi was startled by his master's cold voice and hurried to stop him. After a while, it was quiet outside again.
Mrs. Yuan, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Meng family, chuckled while sitting in the carriage. Prince Qi’s aunt is not that great.
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