Chapter 8 Five Women Fighting for One Man
Gu Yan said, "Aren't you looking for your cousin? I don't know what your cousin looks like. If the master in the palace changed her name, it would be even more difficult to find her. It would be better for me to take you to the palace and look for her in person."
Yun Xiangye looked at Gu Yan in shock, "But I... I haven't learned the rules of the palace yet, and I'm afraid of offending the noble."
Gu Yan said, "It's okay. His Majesty and His Majesty know that you come from the common people, so they won't force you to abide by the palace rules. You can learn them slowly in the future. Go take a bath first, and I'll let Zhu Yi and Mei Yi serve you."
When Yun Xiangye heard Mei Yizhu Yi, she frowned and said, "No need, I don't need anyone to help me bathe, just prepare the hot water, I can bathe by myself."
Gu Yan said: "There is no need to add hot water to the bath in Qingfeng Garden. Someone is specially boiling warm water. You just need to add water."
Yun Xiangye put her clothes in order and went to the bathhouse. The bathhouse in Qingfeng Garden was indeed spacious enough to accommodate several people for bathing.
After the bath, it was already past noon. After lunch, Yun Xiangye coaxed Nuonuo to sleep, asked Run'er to take good care of Nuonuo, and then went to the palace with Gu Yanqian.
In the carriage.
Seeing Yun Xiangye's expression, Gu Yan said, "As long as your cousin is in the palace, we will definitely be able to find her."
Yun Xiangye opened the curtain of the carriage and looked at the bustling stalls on both sides of the streets in Chang'an City, unwilling to pay attention to Gu Yan.
It is already the twelfth lunar month, and vendors on both sides are selling couplets and Chinese characters for blessing, giving the place a strong festive atmosphere.
Seeing Yun Xiangye's expression, Gu Yan couldn't help but ask, "Are you still angry with me?"
Yun Xiangye said, "Shouldn't I be angry with you? We've been sleeping in the same bed for three years, and you kept it a secret from me for three whole years. You've never cared about me at all."
Gu Yan sighed and said, "I didn't tell you my identity because I really don't think it's important. Why should I be so angry about this for so long?"
Yun Xiangye took a deep breath and ignored Gu Yan.
Seeing Yun Xiangye getting more and more angry, Gu Yan didn't know how to coax her. After all, he had never coaxed another woman since he was a child. He just hoped that she would be in a better mood after seeing her cousin.
The carriage arrived at the palace gate and was not allowed to enter.
After Yun Xiangye got off the carriage, she followed Gu Yan into the towering palace gate. The high city walls showed its majesty.
Yun Xiangye followed Gu Yan into the East Palace.
The study in the East Palace was heated by floor heating and was very warm.
Yun Xiangye bowed along with Gu Yan and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."
"You two, please take a seat. Someone, make some tea." Zhao Yun looked at Gu Yan and smiled softly, "Why did you bring your sister-in-law here today?"
Gu Yan said, "Your Highness, Xiangye has a cousin who works as a maid in the palace. She will be twenty-five in the first month of the year. I would like to ask you for a favor so that her cousin can leave the palace before the New Year."
Zhao Yun said, "This is not a difficult task. Just consider it as a gift from me to my sister-in-law. In which palace does your sister-in-law's cousin work? I will go and tell my mother to let your cousin leave the palace."
Yun Xiangye replied: "I don't know which palace she worked for. After she entered the palace, she only wrote a letter to her family to let them know that she was safe. After that, there was no news."
The palace maids came out of the tea room and made tea for Gu Yan.
Yun Xiangye raised her eyes and looked at the palace maid who was making tea for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. She carefully looked at the palace maid's face and the red teardrop mole under her eye.
Thirteen years had passed, but Yun Xiangye still recognized Ye Wanhe at a glance.
"Sister He!"
When Ye Wanhe heard the familiar name, she put down her teacup with both hands and looked at Yun Xiangye. She didn't know why the woman in front of her would call her Sister He, and because of her status, she only looked at Zhao Yun.
Gu Yan looked at Yun Xiangye, "Aunt Ye is your cousin?"
Yun Xiangye stood up and walked to Ye Wanhe. She held Ye Wanhe's hands with both of hers and said, "Sister He, it's me, Xiangye."
"Sister Yun."
Ye Wanhe looked carefully at Yun Xiangye's appearance in front of her, with tears in her eyes. She knew that the Eastern Palace was not a place to cry, and she tried hard not to let the tears fall.
Yun Xiangye smiled and said to Zhao Yun, "Your Highness, what a coincidence! The maid who made tea for you is my cousin Ye Wanhe."
Ye Wanhe looked at Yun Xiangye in front of her in confusion, wondering why Yun Xiangye would come to the Eastern Palace from Jiangnan?
Zhao Yun glanced at Ye Wanhe after hearing this and said calmly, "What a coincidence! You sisters haven't seen each other for many years. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. Let's go to the next room and talk. I also have something to discuss with Gu Yan."
Yun Xiangye said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Ye Wanhe bowed and took Yun Xiangye to the tea room nearby. The tea room was full of palace maids, making it difficult to talk.
Ye Wanhe had no choice but to take Yun Xiangye to the prince's bedroom in the Eastern Palace. No one dared to come here to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Yun Xiangye entered the palace and said happily, "Sister He, I thought it would take a lot of effort to find you, but I found you right after entering the East Palace."
Ye Wanhe was in the bedroom, simmering medicine in the stove and said, "Sister Yun, how did you get into the palace? How do you know Prince Ning?"
"Gu Yan, the prince of Ning, is my husband."
Ye Wanhe was slightly surprised and asked, "Your husband? How could Gu Yan be your husband?"
Yun Xiangye nodded and said, "Three years ago, Gu Yan saved me from the water. He caught a cold and became seriously ill. The sorcerer asked me to be his bride, and we got married."
Ye Wanhe opened the lid and checked the medicine in the medicine jar. She sighed and looked at Yun Xiangye worriedly: "I never thought that Gu Yan's wife would be you."
Yun Xiangye looked at Ye Wanhe and said, "Sister He, from what you said, do you mean that Gu Yan can't get married?"
When my cousin found out that she had married Gu Yan, she didn't seem happy and even worried about her.
Ye Wanhe asked: "Do you know why Gu Yan went to Jiangnan?"
Yun Xiangye: "I heard from Gu Yan that it was because His Highness sent him to investigate the tea tax?"
Ye Wanhe smiled: "This is one of the reasons. Another reason is that there was a big fight between five noble ladies fighting for one husband. Gu Yan went to Jiangnan to find some peace and quiet."
Ye Wanhe poured the medicine into a bowl, blew on it to cool it down and drank it.
Yun Xiangye saw Ye Wanhe pause and asked hurriedly, "Five women fighting for one man? Sister He, what's going on?"
Ye Wanhe said, "Our Prince of Ning inherited his parents' unparalleled beauty since he was young. That's why three years ago, when he turned 18, he attracted the hearts of the noble ladies in Chang'an. Five of the most famous noble ladies in Chang'an sent people to the Princess's Mansion to propose marriage to Prince of Ning..."
Ye Wanhe said slowly: "These five noble ladies are the eldest daughter of Lin Youxiang's family, Lin Bolan, a famous talented woman in Chang'an City, Wei Xi, the eldest daughter of Duke Weiguo, Fu Anran, the eldest granddaughter of Master Fu, the Princess Nan'an of the Chu Palace, and Xu Mengqi, the daughter of the Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion..."
When Yun Xiang and Ye Guang heard Ye Wanhe talk about the identities of these noble ladies, they felt that they were extremely noble.
At least, compared with these noble ladies, a commoner like her who grew up in the market is a far cry from them...
After Ye Wanhe drank all the bitter medicine, she continued, "The Princess of Chu and the Princess are close friends, the Duke of Wei and the Prince of Ning are cousins, the Marquis of Zhenbei is also a close friend of the Prince of Ning, and Lord Prime Minister Lin and Imperial Master Fu both have a sense of gratitude towards the Prince of Ning as their teacher...
These five daughters all came to ask for marriage proposals. It would be inappropriate for the Princess and Prince Ning to reject either of them, so they simply let Prince Ning use the excuse of going to Jiangnan to handle the corruption case of the Tea Administration as an excuse to hide away for a few years. "
Yun Xiangye whispered, "So that's how it is."
Ye Wanhe said, "But in the past three years, these five daughters still haven't found a husband. They are all waiting for Prince Ning to return to Chang'an. The oldest of them, Fu Anran, the eldest granddaughter of Emperor Fu's family, is already nineteen this year, and the youngest, Wei Xi, is about to turn eighteen."
Yun Xiangye bit her lip and said, "They are still waiting for Gu Yan? Don't they know that Gu Yan has already married?"
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