85 Love History
"Your Excellency Gu, you may not know that the Yunzhou Governor once wanted to marry his eldest daughter to Your Majesty."
It was cool in the morning, and Lu Jingru took half a day off as promised to go for a walk in the mountains with Gu Ningxi.
There are large royal gardens around Cuiwei Palace, which are famous for their scenery.
Lu Jing took Gu Ningxi's hand, and the two of them followed the shadiest mountain path toward the waterfall. Everywhere they looked was vibrant green, dotted with occasional flowers.
The chirping of birds and the gurgling of spring water make one forget worldly affairs for a day in the mountains.
After walking for an unknown distance, Gu Ningxi looked back towards the middle of the mountain and could still see the Cuiwei Palace in the distance.
The entire palace is in harmony with the surrounding scenery, and objects and scenery are integrated into one.
Gu Ningxi was also tasked with renovating the flower garden in the palace, and Lu Jing just let her design it as she pleased.
His hand was held in the palm of the person beside him. Gu Ningxi withdrew his gaze and thought about when he was in the Ministry of Works. He was only thinking about accumulating political achievements, trying his best to avoid the disputes in the court, and being sent to a good place.
Thinking about it now, it wasn't entirely naive. It was after she arrived at the Secretariat that her horizons gradually broadened.
Most of the people she dealt with on a daily basis were important government officials, so she was well aware of all the important government affairs.
There is a clear spring ahead, and the sound of water heard along the way comes from this.
The spring water seeps out from the cracks in the mountains, so clear that you can see the bottom and fish swimming freely.
Before I knew it, it was almost noon. This trip was just a spontaneous one, without any specific destination.
After walking a long distance on the mountain road, Gu Ningxi gradually felt tired.
Lu Jing smiled and said, "I'll carry you back. Let's go."
He looked normal, not like he was traveling far away at all.
Gu Ningxi was not polite with him. When they were climbing a mountain together, she would sometimes pull his sleeves to borrow some strength in the second half.
Lu Jing steadily carried the man on his back and brought up an old matter: "Why didn't you let me carry him at the hunting ground?"
Gu Ningxi comfortably put her arm around his neck: "Isn't it because I'm afraid His Majesty will find out?"
As a result, after going around in circles, I still couldn't avoid what I should have avoided.
Gu Ningxi rested her head on his shoulder, full of trust.
Lu Jing turned his head, with a gentle smile between his eyebrows and eyes.
The sunlight penetrates through the layers of tree shadows, and the mountains and rivers are leisurely.
…
As the Emperor's birthday was approaching, on the second day after returning to Beijing, Gu Ningxi found some free time to visit her elder sister in Yuehua Courtyard.
She had heard rumors in the mansion that the eldest daughter had been shut up in her room for the past few days, rarely appearing in public. One maid said she was heartbroken by her fiancé and was weeping in her room; another said she was too proud to tolerate the Ningguo Mansion's repeated delays in their wedding, clearly showing disdain for her.
Gu Ningxi didn't believe it at first, but when he arrived at Yuehua Courtyard, he actually found that his sister looked haggard and had lost some weight.
"Sister." She called her worriedly.
Gu Ningwan asked the maid to pour tea, and there was finally a smile in her eyes when she saw her sister.
"Are you feeling unwell, sister?"
"No, I had a nightmare last night and didn't sleep well."
Gu Ningxi didn't know how to comfort her elder sister. To arrange her marriage with the Prince of Ningguo, her father and Madam Shen had gone to great lengths, turning down numerous offers. By now, most of the noble ladies in Kyoto of her elder sister's age were married, and her engagement had been repeatedly delayed, sparking much discussion in the capital.
Most of the rumors were directed at the woman, saying that marrying into a higher position was difficult. The people in the capital simply saw that the Xuanping Marquis's mansion was declining and deliberately exaggerated the difference in status between the two mansions.
However, the prince of Ningguo, Lin Qi, kept to himself. He had a concubine in his house and was over 25 years old. People said that he was obsessed with official career at a young age and would first establish a career and then start a family, so his future was promising.
"Then - what does home mean?" Gu Ningxi asked cautiously.
Gu Ningwan did not hide it from her: "Father said that he would give me another eighteen pieces of dowry. He wanted the Ningguo Mansion to consider the dowry and fulfill the marriage contract as soon as possible."
But Gu Ningwan is also a person with a temper. Does she need to make such concessions in order to get the other party to keep his promise?
Breaking off the engagement was impossible; her family would never agree. Besides, she was already 22 years old, and it would be difficult for her to find a suitable marriage partner.
Gu Ningxi was angry for her sister. With the 168 loads of dowry, her sister could live well on her own.
Gu Ningwan smiled bitterly: "It's not for me at all. If I married down, my family wouldn't have given me so much dowry."
The example of the third sister is still fresh in our minds. She had been married to the Huai Prince's mansion as a concubine for only a year when the Huai Prince's rebellion was defeated and he went insane. The Empress, in a show of mercy, took the Huai Prince to Renzhi Palace and allowed the women of the Huai Prince's mansion to return home. If they had nowhere else to go, they could all go to Renzhi Palace together. The third sister was in her prime, but her family refused to take her back, eager to sever ties with the Eastern Palace and the Huai Prince's mansion, treating her as if they had lost their daughter.
Gu Ningwan saw it all and was in a dilemma.
Gu Ningxi and Lin Qi, the son of Duke Ningguo, were both officials in the court and had met each other before. Gu Ningxi had originally had a good impression of him.
He was a handsome man, but unexpectedly he was such an irresponsible person, allowing his fiancée to suffer from rumors.
But Gu Ningxi couldn't bear to mention these words in front of her sister, for fear of making her feel even worse.
She was feeling very upset, but luckily she had someone to talk to.
The next day in the Imperial Study, Gu Ningxi said, "I think the Lin family wants to select a high-ranking official's daughter for the Prince of Ningguo, so as to help him in his official career."
Lu Jing listened to her attentively, with great patience.
Gu Ningxi said, "The Ningguo Mansion is far too ungrateful. They want both the honor of a noble family and the reputation of a distinguished official. How can a single marriage have everything? They're considering canceling the engagement, but they don't want to bear the stigma of doing so, so they're using this method of delaying. Anyway, our mansion is likely even more anxious than the Duke's. We can either fail to procrastinate and cancel the engagement, or continue with the engagement, putting ourselves in a more passive position."
Gu Ningxi just felt sorry for her elder sister. Since he treated his wife-to-be like this, she wanted to see how successful the prince's career would be.
"So what are your plans?" Lu Jing listened to her words and offered her an idea, "I can grant you a marriage."
Gu Ningxi thought about it and realized that if he came forward, there would be no need for a clear decree. He only needed to give a dowry. The Ningguo Mansion would understand the emperor's intention and would start preparing for the wedding in a hurry, sending a sedan chair carried by eight people to welcome his sister home.
But Gu Ningxi pondered for a long time: "Forget it. I think I should just let nature take its course. If this marriage doesn't work out, it's God's will. My sister's blessed daughter won't marry into an unblessed family."
The Ningguo Mansion dared to manipulate her like this before the marriage, so my sister would probably suffer even worse after the marriage. Especially now that the Xuanping Marquis Mansion has lost power, the marriage of high status has become even more disrespectful. Moreover, the Ningguo Mansion has several branches living together, and the relationships between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and sisters-in-law are completely complicated.
Although my sister will be the Crown Prince's wife after she gets married, she has countless elders to serve and has to give birth to children. I don't know how many years it will take for her to succeed.
Gu Ningxi was not worried about her sister's ability, but if she did so, the girl's best years of youth would be wasted in the deep courtyard of the mansion.
Mrs. Shen chose this marriage for her sister out of consideration for her face, without considering the inner feelings at all.
Lu Jing nodded and complied with her wishes: "If you change your mind, just tell me."
After this incident, Gu Ningxi understood her mother's intention to marry her back into the Meng family. The Meng family was known for its simple relationships. Her grandmother and aunt were both very friendly people, and her aunt treated her like her own daughter. Her cousin was also a kind person, with a successful career. He was a promising young man, with a mentor to guide him.
But putting aside her status as the second son of the Gu family, even if she was just the legitimate daughter of a marquis, the Gu family would definitely marry her off to a higher status and make her more useful.
Or maybe it was promised to the person in front of him. Gu Ningxi believed in fate.
Lu Jing hugged the person closer. Since marriage was mentioned, he wanted to talk to Yuan Le indirectly about it.
They had been childhood sweethearts, deeply in love, and a grand wedding was a natural progression. The Ministry of Rites was already preparing for the ceremony, and the complex ceremonials would take some time. The most pressing issue at hand was Yuan Le's status and official position.
"Hmm," Gu Ningxi said, seemingly unaware, as she evaded the question, "I almost forgot to give this to His Majesty."
She returned to her seat and retrieved the brocade box, which was the wooden sculpture that the emperor had been longing for for a long time.
Gu Ningxi carved himself with a bow and arrow, standing on a high platform, which matched the solitary little wooden figure in the Ruihe Hall.
Lu Jing liked Yuan Le the first time he saw him. He thought of the time when they practiced horse riding and archery together when they were young. Yuan Le never got the hang of archery, so he had to teach him privately.
He looked at the focused expression on the little wooden sculpture and laughed, "If someone didn't know you, they would think you were a very good archer."
Gu Ningxi was unconvinced: "It would be embarrassing for you if I told anyone about it."
Lu Jing had no way to refute it and accepted it with a smile.
He played with it for a while, carefully put the wood carving back into the box, and brought it back to Ruihe Hall in the evening.
He hinted, "You've given me a gift in advance before my birthday even arrives?"
Gu Ningxi said as a matter of course: "There are other items in the birthday gift."
The smile in Lu Jing's eyes became even wider, and after a moment of intimacy, the original topic was invisibly covered up.
…
In the afternoon, Xie Qian and Qin Yu came to the imperial study together to report on military affairs. Gu Ningxi was drafting imperial edicts in the imperial study at any time, so he also listened.
Because the document involved local military and political affairs, Qin Yu was worried that Gu Ningxi might not be familiar with some of the place names. When he wanted to write it to him during his free time, he discovered that the official document written by Master Gu had missed every single one.
Gu Ningxi put down her pen and decided to do her job. Naturally, she had to make more preparations.
It was almost the end of the afternoon when the military affairs were dealt with, and three new edicts were sent to the Ministry of Personnel for review.
Lu Jing ordered dinner to be prepared in a side hall, and sent someone to summon Zhen Yuan to the palace for dinner.
While waiting for Zhen Yuan to arrive, the few of them chatted casually in the imperial study. Discussing recent events in Kyoto, Qin Yu said, "I heard that your marriage to the Ningguo Duke's mansion has been a bit difficult lately."
Xie Qian couldn't help but wink at Qin Yanming. Although he was also curious, this was Lord Gu's family affair, so why bring up such a matter?
Gu Ningxi didn't mind: "Duke Ning's Mansion said that the stars are not in harmony in the second half of the year, so they want to postpone the wedding."
That's what they say, but anyone with a discerning eye wouldn't know it's an excuse.
After all, it was the marriage of another family's daughter, so it was not appropriate to ask too many questions. Qin Yu asked just enough questions and remained polite.
Xie Qian understood what Gu Ningxi meant, and the Xuanping Marquisate still wanted to facilitate this marriage.
As Your Majesty's birthday is approaching, offerings from various places have been delivered one after another in the past few days.
Sun Jing and his men presented three new gift lists, the middle one being the most impressive, originating from Yunzhou.
Gu Ningxi had recently been reading through the local annals. Yunzhou, with a population exceeding 30,000 households, was considered a prime prefecture, boasting vast territory, abundant resources, and a thriving commerce. The governor of Yunzhou was originally a local vassal, but later surrendered to the Jin Dynasty and held considerable power in the region. It was also rumored that the governor's wife was a former princess.
However, Gu Ningxi saw the expressions on Xie Qian's faces when they mentioned Yunzhou, as if there was another story.
Xie Qian spoke quickly and said with a smile, "Master Gu, you may not know that the Governor of Yunzhou once wanted to marry his eldest daughter to Your Majesty."
Lu Jing's eyebrows twitched. Just as he was about to speak, Gu Ningxi asked first, "Is there such a thing?"
"Yes," Xie Qian said, knowing everything. "However, the marriage of His Majesty's principal wife must be granted by the Emperor. Governor Xuan is self-aware and only requested the position of concubine for his daughter. When he assists His Majesty in ascending the throne, Miss Liu will at least be one of the four concubines."
Qin Yu also knew about this past event. After Your Highness defeated Xue Ju, the Xuan family of Yunzhou surrendered to Your Highness.
Gu Ningxi nodded. "Yunzhou is a battleground for military strategists. Governor Xuan has been able to stay out of troubled times. He's certainly got a knack for judging people." She then asked, "Is that young lady willing too?"
Xie Qian was all too aware of this and was filled with enthusiasm. "Of course! Miss Xuan has long been secretly in love with Your Majesty. When we were staying in Yunzhou, Governor Xuan hosted a banquet, and Miss Xuan was even looking at Your Majesty from behind the screen. It seems that Miss Xuan once returned home with her mother to visit relatives, and encountered a war on the way home. I followed Your Majesty east and west and happened to recapture Qinghe City. Your Majesty inquired about their identities and ordered someone to escort them home. Your Majesty, am I remembering correctly?"
Lu Jing: “…………”
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