Chapter 41 Formal Meeting with the People of the Prince Yong's Mansion
Gu Nanxiao thought Yunxi was truly an extraordinary woman. Despite her delicate and easily bullied appearance, her methods were terrifyingly ruthless. She truly lived up to the saying: "A face of beauty, a heart of thunder."
Even as an outsider, he was troubled by the Shi family's recent misfortunes. The Shi family was just unlucky; of all people to harm, they had to harm Yunxi's sworn sister.
Now, recalling what Yunxi said back then—that as long as she didn't hinder her revenge, and there was no need to help her take revenge—she realized that it wasn't just arrogance.
After listening to the report and learning that everything was going smoothly, Yunxi dismissed everyone in the room, walked to Gu Nanxiao's desk, turned around and sat in his lap, and picked up her pen to write the first chapter of "The Art of War".
She decided to reward Gu Nanxiao, since without his support, each of these tasks, though possible, would have been several times more difficult.
Therefore, Yunxi decided to gradually teach him both "The Art of War" and "The Thirty-Six Stratagems".
As the first chapter, "The Art of Planning," with its pearls of wisdom, gradually appeared on the page, Gu Nanxiao's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in amazement.
Yunxi finished the last stroke, blew the ink dry, and then carefully explained the scroll of military strategy to Gu Nanxiao.
Gu Nanxiao listened intently, so much so that even as dusk fell, he did not entice Yunxi to make love.
After discussing the first volume of military strategy, Yunxi noticed that he was clearly still eager to learn more, so she suggested using a sand table to conduct a practical exercise.
Gu Nanxiao thought this was a great idea and immediately ordered people to bring up the sand table. Both sides held small red and blue flags and began to arrange their troops on the sand table.
The game of chess went on and on until Yunxi suggested taking a break, at which point Gu Nanxiao finally gave up.
Yunxi felt so sleepy that she could fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. But as soon as she took off her outer garment, Gu Nanxiao pounced on her and forced her to work overtime.
Gu Nanxiao skillfully bathed and dressed the exhausted Yunxi, then held the soft, fragrant girl in his arms, too excited to sleep. He didn't know how many more surprises Yunxi would bring, only that he felt incredibly fortunate to have such a treasure.
The next day at noon, Prince Yong sent a servant to inform Gu Nanxiao that he should bring his concubine to the main hall for a meal.
It was said that his younger sister had returned from the Xu family and had also brought Gu Nanxiao's fiancée to stay at the Yongwang Mansion for a while.
Upon hearing that his fiancée had entered the manor, Gu Nanxiao's first reaction was to observe Yunxi's expression. Although he didn't see her make any reaction, Gu Nanxiao keenly sensed that Yunxi was... very unhappy!
Gu Nanxiao immediately walked to the small table, took Yunxi's small hand in his, but after thinking for a long time, he didn't know what to say. In the end, he awkwardly explained, "I have never liked her."
Yunxi repeatedly told herself that she wasn't planning to spend her life with this man anyway. Let him marry whoever he wanted, and as many wives as he wanted.
But for some reason, the more she tried to convince herself, the more suffocated she felt inside, and in the end, she couldn't help but pull her hand back.
Yunxi sat down at her dressing table, telling herself to take it easy while applying exquisite makeup and choosing the finest hairpin.
She styled her hair into an elaborate updo, chose a bright pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and finally draped herself in a rouge-red cloak with dark embroidered Shu brocade patterns.
Satisfied, he followed Gu Nanxiao to the main courtyard.
Gu Nanxiao had spent several months with Yunxi and thought he had seen her in every way. But today he realized that Yunxi had never dressed up so exquisitely before.
After a moment of astonishment, Gu Nanxiao's eyes lit up with a hint of a smile. He figured Yunxi's reaction stemmed from a desire to avoid being outshone by his fiancée. Could he interpret that as Yunxi being...jealous?
Today's luncheon was the most well-attended in recent years at the Yong Prince's Mansion. As soon as Yunxi entered the main hall, facing mostly unfamiliar faces at the dining table, she quickly deduced their identities.
The one sitting in the main seat should be Prince Yong, with his wife to his left and Shen Yujiao to her right. The one sitting to Prince Yong's right should be Consort Xu.
Sitting to Consort Xu's left were two identical-looking young men, around eighteen or nineteen years old. They were likely Consort Xu's twin sons born to Prince Yong, Gu Nanwen and Gu Nanwu.
Sitting to the left of the twins was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen. She was looking Yunxi up and down with malicious intent. She must be Gu Nanyue, the youngest daughter of the Prince of Yong.
The woman sitting next to Gu Nanyue was older. Judging from her shy and timid gaze towards Gu Nanxiao, she must be the Xu family's daughter, the fiancée who was betrothed to Gu Nanxiao by imperial decree since childhood.
Yunxi's appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention, even Prince Yong couldn't help but take a few more glances. He had always heard that the concubine the Empress Dowager had chosen for his son was an absolute beauty, and seeing her today, he could confirm that she was indeed truly stunning.
No wonder she managed to awaken his son's romantic feelings. Moreover, it's said that these days, the several shops that Gu Nanxiao owns, which are making a fortune every day, are all being managed by this concubine.
It must be said that the Empress Dowager had a discerning eye; even the concubine she randomly chose was exceptionally talented.
When the princess saw her son arrive, she did not invite him to sit down as usual. Because of the matter of setting rules for Yunxi, the relationship between the mother and son had been somewhat strained.
In addition, with Shen Yujiao instigating Gu Nanxiao's recent move to move out of the mansion and live alone, the princess has transferred all her anger onto Yunxi.
The moment Gu Nanwen and Gu Nanwu saw Yunxi, their eyes were glued to her. The two brothers stared, mouths slightly agape, unable to look away for a long time.
It wasn't that they were unsophisticated; it was simply that Yunxi's appearance was far from what they liked. This young concubine appeared delicate and frail, but in reality, she was curvaceous and alluring. Although she possessed a natural charm, she also exuded a dignified and elegant air.
Yunxi's appearance almost fulfilled all the brothers' fantasies about women. They had also heard about Yunxi's methods of making money.
The two were extremely jealous. Their elder brother was always so lucky. He was born into a better family than them and was favored by the Empress Dowager. Even now, his choice of a concubine was so perfect.
The two men's undisguised greedy gazes were barely restrained under Gu Nanxiao's murderous glare, but their eyes still kept drifting towards Yunxi as if they couldn't control themselves.
Shen Yujiao watched as her cousin Nan Xiao walked in hand in hand with Yunxi. She was so jealous that she almost lost control of her expression, and she was so angry that she was about to tear the handkerchief in her hand to shreds.
Although the Prince of Yong's relationship with his son was not very harmonious, since it was the one who sent the messenger, he had no choice but to awkwardly speak first: "You're so late, why don't you take a seat quickly?"
When Gu Nanxiao saw that there was only an empty chair left next to the table, and that it was placed next to his fiancée Xu Shulan, his face darkened instantly. He ordered the servant to bring another chair.
In front of everyone, he pulled Yunxi to sit down at the table. Gu Nanxiao's action caused everyone present to change their expressions. No one expected that he would actually let that maid dine at the same table with them.
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