When Yuwen Ran returned to his bedroom, he told Gu Yanyue the whole story. Gu Yanyue was also confused. When they were in Cixi Palace, the empress dowager personally urged Yuwen Ran to issue the imperial edict. It was probably at the Duke Qin's Mansion by now. There was probably no turning back on this matter.
Gu Yanyue couldn't figure it out and asked Yuwen Ran: "Ah Ran, generally speaking, when a prince takes a concubine, even if it's a concubine, he takes the legitimate daughter of each family. You said that Prince Xiang left so many legitimate daughters in the capital unmarried. Even if he wanted to marry with the Duke of Qin's mansion, shouldn't the first choice be Qin Ruoruo, a legitimate daughter? Why did he choose Qin Ranran, a concubine's daughter?"
Yuwen Ran didn't answer but asked, "Ayue, do you remember the letter the princess brought into the palace a few days ago saying that the Duke of Qin wanted to form an alliance with Prince Xiang?"
"Remember."
"Duke Qin has no sons, only two daughters. His legitimate daughter, Qin Ruoruo, is close to you. Even if Duke Qin wanted to marry this daughter to Prince Xiang, he might not want to marry her," Yuwen Ran said. "So he had to settle for second best and marry the concubine. Duke Qin originally made Shen his legal wife to pave the way for Qin Ranran to marry Prince Xiang in the future. Who would have thought you would get involved?"
As he spoke, Yu Wenran reached out and scratched the tip of Gu Yanyue's nose, teasing her, "Little troublemaker."
After Yuwen Ran's explanation, Gu Yanyue finally understood why Prince Xiang was determined to marry Qin Ranran. Since the marriage was already a done deal, Gu Yanyue had no other options but to take a risk and write a letter to Murong Yue, informing her of the current situation and sending it by carrier pigeon.
After finishing the letter, Gu Yanyue nestled in Yu Wenran's arms and complained sullenly, "I feel like my mind has been getting more and more clumsy lately. Do you think this is the legendary saying that pregnancy makes you stupid for three years?"
Yu Wenran rubbed the top of Gu Yanyue's head and consoled her: "No, our Ah Yue is still as smart as before."
Gu Yanyue was coaxed by Yuwen Ran and became happy again. She tilted her head up to kiss him, and Yuwen Ran followed suit. The two kissed for a long time before separating.
On the other side, the carrier pigeon was intercepted by King Xiang's secret guards before it flew to Murong Yue's yard and was sent to King Xiang's study.
King Xiang removed the note tied to the carrier pigeon and read it carefully. With every word he read, his brows furrowed a little more.
Didn't Gu Yanyue and Murongyue break up last month? Then why would Gu Yanyue write to Murongyue to remind her that he was taking a concubine? Could it be that they've secretly reconciled?
The more Prince Xiang thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss. Murong Yue and Gu Yanyue's breakup had been so inexplicable, and he had only heard a few snippets from the secret guards and servants who accompanied Murong Yue. He had no idea why they had broken up, and even the guards and servants were hesitant. If, as he suspected, Gu Yanyue and Murong Yue had secretly reconciled for the sake of his cause, then Murong Yue was truly unacceptable.
Thinking of this, King Xiang rolled up the letter again and tied it to the pigeon's leg. After confirming that it was no different from before he took it apart, he asked the secret guard to take it outside the mansion and release it. He wanted to see whether Gu Yanyue and Murong Yue had really broken up.
When Murong Yue received Gu Yanyue's letter, she did not have any suspicions. After reading the letter, she immediately took out the banknotes and wrote back to her. She tied the note to the leg of a carrier pigeon and let it fly back to find Gu Yanyue.
After King Xiang ordered his secret guards to release the carrier pigeon, he had been guarding the gate of Murong Yue's yard. Sure enough, not long after, he saw the carrier pigeon tied with a new note and flying towards the palace.
This completely confirmed what he had just thought. Gu Yanyue and Murong Yue had never completely broken off their friendship. It seemed that what happened last month was a deliberate act for him and his mother to see.
It's hard for Murong Yue, who has such a strong personality, to pretend to be a good wife and mother who obeys him in order to put on a good show.
Prince Xiang turned away on the spot and never set foot in Murong Yue's courtyard again since then.
On July 24, Qin Ranran, the second daughter of Duke Qin, got married.
There was no extravagant wedding, no drums and music, no busy work from dawn to dusk. Just before Qin Ranran left the house, Shen pulled her aside and hurriedly gave her a few instructions. Qin Ranran didn't even have time to say goodbye to Shen before she was summoned by someone sent by Duke Qin. Before leaving, she kowtowed three times to Duke Qin in the hall and said, "Ranran bids farewell to father."
Then she stood up with the help of her maid, covered her head with a bright red veil, and left the house quietly.
Prince Xiang did not want this wedding to be a grand affair, so he only decorated his palace with lanterns and there wasn't even any gongs or drums playing along the way.
The royal palace had already married a princess before Qin Ranran, who was a princess from a neighboring country. Her status was far superior to Qin Ranran.
Although this concubine was verbally called a nice title, in an ordinary family she was at best a concubine. Her wedding could not be grand, she could not enter through the main gate, and even her wedding dress was not bright red. This was a thorn in the heart of Qin Ranran, who had always been very proud since childhood.
Although Qin Ranran was dissatisfied, she also understood that no matter how noble a woman's status was before marriage, or how lively her wedding day was, these were all fleeting. If her husband didn't love her after marriage, all these were just empty words. So what if the principal wife was of higher status than her? If the King of Xiang favored her, why would he take in a concubine just a few months after the wedding?
Qin Ranran sat upright on the bed since entering the mansion, waiting for King Xiang's arrival.
Although there were no formalities, when the door was closed, the arrangements of the wedding wine cups and the wedding bed were quite nice, and it was obvious that the person who arranged them had put a lot of thought into it.
The door was flung open, and Qin Ranran waited shyly for King Xiang's next move. As the footsteps approached, she could see through the candlelight of the veil that held her bridal veil that a handsome man was moving closer and closer to her, finally standing before her.
The bridal veil was lifted by King Xiang, and the first thing that came into view was Qin Ranran's rosy cheeks, which was so adorable.
After drinking the wedding wine with Qin Ranran, he couldn't wait to undress her. Qin Ranran pretended to be shy at first, then let the King of Xiang do what he wanted. As soon as the King of Xiang put down the wedding curtain, he pressed on her and stayed awake all night...
When Qin Ranran woke up the next day, she felt very uncomfortable all over. However, there were rules for a concubine to enter the house on the first day. She had to pay her respects and serve tea to the main wife first. Qin Ranran relied on the fact that she was the one favored by King Xiang, and deliberately got up an hour later, and then went to the main courtyard slowly to pay her respects to Murong Yue.
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