86 points
◎ "Do you have me in your heart?"◎
Gu Ningxi already had a general understanding of the matter in his heart: "Why haven't I heard Your Majesty mention this before?"
"It's just a small matter." Lu Jing glanced at Xie Qian. "If Huaicheng hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have remembered it at all."
Xie Qian touched the back of his neck and felt that he had a good memory.
The governor of Yunzhou came to submit first, and later he intended to form an alliance with Prince Zhao's palace.
Gu Ningxi picked up a piece of preserved fruit. Marriage was a common method of consolidating interests. He had always been so confident. If he didn't want to marry, then he wouldn't marry. Even the retired emperor might not be able to change his mind.
Lu Jing studied her expression carefully, and when she noticed his gaze, Gu Ningxi looked up at him.
Xie Qian continued, "Although the marriage has not been completed, it does not prevent Governor Xuan from pledging his loyalty to Your Majesty."
Unlike some local officials who jump back and forth and can never see the situation clearly.
As he was speaking, Zhen Yuan, who was a step late, also arrived at the imperial study.
Lu Jing calmly ordered the meal to be served in the side hall.
Before the palace gates were locked, Gu Ningxi wanted to leave the palace with Marquis Wu'an and the others, but the emperor asked her to stay alone.
Xie Qian and the other two had no suspicion of his own intentions, and simply assumed that His Majesty was looking for Lady Gu for other matters, and they gave her a look of sympathy that could not be shaken off.
After the rest of the people in the hall had left, Gu Ningxi asked doubtfully, "Your Majesty, what else do you want?"
She has to report to the Ministry of Works tomorrow and wants to go home early tonight.
Lu Jing looked into her eyes and asked, "Don't you have anything else to ask?"
"What?"
"The matter of Yunzhou."
Gu Ningxi said in a relaxed tone, "Hasn't your Majesty explained everything clearly?"
Although she was a little unhappy when she heard it at first, after careful investigation, she found that there was no misunderstanding, so she didn't take it to heart anymore.
Besides, she knew the personality of the person in front of her, and he was always decisive in rejecting others.
Seeing him so "sensible", Lu Jing frowned slightly.
If he were in her shoes, if someone wanted to marry Yuan Le, even if it was just for the title of concubine, he would definitely ask for clear reasons.
But she just brushed it off so lightly, without any intention of investigating further.
Looking at the dusk outside, Gu Ningxi said, "If your Majesty has nothing else to say, I will return first."
After a few moments of silence, Lu Jing replied "OK" and, as usual, sent her back home.
Gu Ningxi couldn't help but hesitate: "Marquis Wu'an and his men haven't gone far yet. It wouldn't be appropriate for them to see us."
"What are you worried about?"
"I……"
Nearly two months had passed, but she hadn't thought of telling anyone about what happened between them.
He didn't want to compromise her status. Even if he couldn't tell the world for the time being, couldn't he tell his relatives and friends?
"Yuan Le," he called her, asking what was on his mind, "What do you take me for?"
Is he a childhood sweetheart, a good friend, a monarch, or something else?
Gu Ningxi didn't know how to answer for a moment.
The friendship between them progressed step by step, and it was a natural transition for her. Coupled with the intertwined beautiful dreams, she never thought deeply about it.
After a moment of silence, she said, "I...let me think about it."
This answer was obviously not enough. Gu Ningxi reached out and gently touched his knuckles with her palm.
This small action temporarily soothed Lu Jing's dissatisfaction, and he held her hand instead.
Feeling the warmth from his palm, Lu Jing said, "Let's go."
But on the way back to the mansion, neither of them spoke for some reason.
The setting sun gradually disappeared from the horizon, the afterglow of the sunset dimmed until it disappeared, and the night completely enveloped the earth.
The carriage had already stopped outside the courtyard of Yongningfang, but there was no movement from inside.
Sun Jing broke into a sweat. He had just seen the expressions of His Majesty and Lord Gu when they left the imperial study. He wondered what was wrong with these two masters again.
There were no candles in the car, and in the faint moonlight, each person's eyes could see the face of the person opposite them.
Before parting, Lu Jing asked one last question: "Do you have me in your heart?"
…
Just after dawn, Gu Ningwan was awakened by a maid in Yuehua Courtyard.
She stood up, put on her clothes, rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at the person who came: "Didn't you stay at Yongningfang last night? Why did you come back suddenly?"
"Sister, I can't sleep."
Gu Ningxi sat down without waiting for an invitation. She had originally intended to conserve her energy for today's errands, but she was disturbed by that person and couldn't sleep. At dawn, when the corner gate of the mansion opened, she hurriedly entered the mansion through the back door, using the excuse that she had forgotten her jade tablet.
After much thought, she could only say these words to her elder sister.
Gu Ningwan was still sleepy and forced herself to wake up: "What happened?"
The maids all retreated to the outer room. Gu Ningxi brought a cup of tea and recounted everything that had happened yesterday.
Gu Ningwan felt much more energetic after just hearing the beginning, and she sat up straight.
"...He left me in the imperial study and asked me why I didn't ask him a few more questions."
Gu Ningxi relayed the story truthfully. Before she could express her confusion, she looked at her elder sister's expression and asked, "Sister, what are you laughing at?"
"I'm just laughing. The Majesty you're talking about and the Majesty the noble families usually see seem like two completely different people."
Who was the former Prince Zhao? He was Empress Yuan's legitimate son, the most distinguished of the princes, and the most beloved son of the retired emperor. He conquered half of the Jin dynasty, earning widespread acclaim and ultimately ruling the country.
Such a noble family was difficult for ordinary people to approach. But since childhood, he always responded to Xi'er's requests and always treated her differently.
"Didn't he ask all the questions?" Gu Ningwan said, "Just follow your heart and answer his questions."
Seeing that her sister still didn't seem to understand, Gu Ningwan reminded her further: "Do you like him? The love between a man and a woman."
Gu Ningxi was quiet for a while: "What is that like?"
"Just like, just like—" Gu Ningwan racked her brains, uncertain, "Just like the Qin family girl likes you?"
She came to her senses and realized that Xier had been raised as a boy since she was young, which was indeed difficult for her.
Gu Ningwan changed the question: "If I betrothed you to that cousin from the Meng family, would you be willing?"
Gu Ningxi shook her head: "No, my cousin and I are just brother and sister."
"What if it is promised to His Majesty?"
Gu Ningxi still shook her head: "I have an official position, I can't get married."
"Do you understand the difference between not wanting to and not being able to now?"
Gu Ningxi was stunned.
Even those involved may be confused, but Gu Ningwan saw clearly: "To others, you subconsciously didn't want to get married, you didn't like your cousin from the Meng family; but to His Majesty, you only considered your own official career and never said, 'I don't have any interest in him, I don't want to marry him.'"
"Still not clear yet?"
Gu Ningxi lowered her eyes, and said politely, "Think about it yourself. It's unsettling so early in the morning."
She had long realized that His Majesty treated her differently in her sister's heart.
There have been so many beautiful women around my sister over the years, but no one has ever taught her about proper love between men and women.
Gu Ningwan said, "Go back and read more romantic novels. Maybe you can learn something."
Gu Ningxi nodded: "Sister, do you have any here? Lend me two."
"How could I have these things? I'm not—Gu Ningxi!"
Gu Ningxi slipped into the inner room as if she knew the way. She had helped to build the secret compartments in her sister's bedroom, so she knew them all.
She knocked on the secret compartment beside the couch, and sure enough, there was something hidden inside. She put her hand away and waited for her sister to come over.
Gu Ningwan was helpless with her: "Okay, I haven't finished reading this one yet, I'll give you another one."
She took Gu Ningxi to the study, and among the cabinets filled with classics, history, and collections, she took out a few carefully preserved storybooks from the corner.
There are many privately printed books in the market, and this type of book is the most popular.
Gu Ningwan picked up some and said, "Let's read these two first. They will be useful."
Gu Ningxi readily accepted the offer and put it into her recruitment envelope. Finally, she asked, "Sister, why do you think he's unhappy?"
She had never rejected him. Whether it was holding hands or kissing, wasn't it always him who did it?
"He might think—" Gu Ningwan felt like laughing when she thought of her own answer, "He might think he can't be seen in public."
…
In Renzhi Palace, Lu Jingkong took two days off to come and pay his respects.
After recuperating in the other palace for several months, the retired emperor's mood has improved a lot.
Without the burden of government affairs, he could enjoy flowers and birds in his spare time, and with his young children at his side, he could enjoy the happiness of family life.
Qi'an is filial, so the emperor is naturally at ease with him.
He had been relieved of his heavy burden and was originally paying attention to the affairs of the court, but Qi'an handled each and every matter properly, so he no longer had to worry about it.
He only gave one instruction: "Re-dividing the prefectures and counties is a major matter, and we also need to appease the meritorious officials who surrendered earlier. Don't rush into it, or else it will cause unrest."
"I understand."
The retired emperor drank his soup slowly, and occasionally ordered his maids to serve dishes to the empress and Qi'an.
He said, "The government is gradually stabilizing, and it's time to consider your marriage."
In the past, Qi'an was young and full of vigor, and was reluctant to take a concubine. But now it is different. The establishment of a queen is a national ceremony and also concerns the inheritance of the ancestral temple.
The Emperor said, "It's time for you to get married. You'll need someone in the harem to take care of you and continue the royal family."
Lu Jing's eyes flickered slightly: "I think so too, Father, please rest assured."
From what he said, the emperor had a clue.
Empress Yao slowly tasted the seasonal vegetables. During this period of time, she had not heard any news about the imperial concubine being taken into the capital.
It seems that the two children are getting along well. As to whether they can finally achieve a happy ending, it depends on their fate.
She was already too far away to do anything, and shouldn't interfere any further. They were both intelligent children, and she just hoped they could each fulfill their own wishes.
After staying in Renzhi Palace for one night, Lu Jing set off for the palace the next day.
On the way, we passed a group of houses, which were originally where the court officials lived when the Renzhi Palace was built, and are now allocated to opera troupes.
Lu Jing looked at a courtyard in the center and recalled the night when they slept on the same bed.
After returning to Beijing, the government affairs were still busy, and many government affairs had to be completed before the Wanshou Festival.
Sun Jing entered the palace to serve tea and saw that His Majesty had already reviewed several memorials in his hands and was looking at the list of officials on duty in the Secretariat in May.
Sun Jing remembered that today was finally Lord Gu's turn on duty, but he didn't see any instructions from His Majesty.
He didn't dare to say anything more, bowed and retreated, but couldn't help but walk around the duty room.
Through the window, I could see Mr. Gu reading attentively at his desk, occasionally picking up a pen to make a few comments.
Noticing the movement outside the window, Gu Ningxi raised his head and asked politely, "What does the Chief Steward need from me?"
Sun Jing smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare, I just wanted to check if there was anything wrong around the Imperial Study."
He left first, really unable to figure out the thoughts of these two masters.
On the imperial desk, the tea was already half cold.
Lu Jing put down his pen. After not seeing her for a few days, he finally understood. If he hadn't called her, she would never come to look for him on her own initiative.
If you don’t want to see me, then don’t see me.
The sun was setting and Sun Jing was walking back and forth outside the imperial study.
He said, "Your Majesty, would you like me to invite Lord Gu to come over?"
Lu Jing remained silent, so Sun Jing kindly passed on the message.
However, he returned not long after, his voice lowered by two notes: "Your Majesty, Lord Gu said... he is not available tonight."
The imperial study became even quieter.
…
The moon was hanging in the middle of the sky, and Gu Ningxi was polishing a jade hairpin under the candlelight.
She had learned jade carving before, but she could only make the simplest styles.
In order to buy this piece of jade, she spent half a year's salary. After rushing around for a few days, it was finally almost finished.
"Miss." Outside the study, Yin Lan bowed to Gu Ningwan and welcomed her into the house.
"Sister."
Gu Ningxi temporarily put down the things in his hands and asked his sister to sit down.
Gu Ningwan handed over a folded prescription: "What you want."
She copied it herself, and because she was afraid that the maid would leak the information, she delivered it herself.
Her mother had prepared everything for her in her dowry. She hoped that she would marry into the Ningguo Mansion, give birth to children to consolidate her position, and then take charge of the household affairs and suppress the concubines.
Sometimes she felt that her mother was not raising her as a daughter, but as someone else's daughter-in-law.
Gu Ningxi glanced at the herbs on the table. She would divide them into several prescriptions and gather the herbs together. Gu Ningwan reminded her, "Use only the best herbs to avoid harming your body."
Many wives of wealthy families in Kyoto use this mild recipe, which is absolutely reliable. If it were a concubine, it wouldn't be so precious.
"Okay, thank you, sister."
Gu Ningwan was worried: "Do you have enough money?" Three sets of clothes are needed every month, so there is no need to worry about before or after.
Gu Ningxi nodded. She valued her life very much and of course she would not be mean to her body.
Seeing that his sister still didn't quite believe it, Gu Ningxi took the prescription in one hand, opened the wooden drawer with the other, and took out a jade token from the corner.
"This is--" Under the candlelight, Gu Ningwan saw the word "Zhao" engraved on the jade plate.
This was Gu Ningxi's first time using the jade token, which he had given her when they were first together. With it, she could withdraw money from the bank under the name of Prince Zhao's mansion at will.
Everything was ready, but Gu Ningwan still hesitated. After all, this was a lifelong event, so Xier only discussed it with her and didn't tell anyone else.
She didn't know whether she should support her sister's decision: "Have you really thought it through?"
"Yes," Gu Ningxi answered her affirmatively, "Sister, this is the most satisfactory solution I can think of."
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