Chapter 111: Gentlemen Think alike
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of Prince Fu and Cui Jingshu's wedding. The palace was decorated with lights and was extremely lively.
The Crown Prince, Prince Rui and Prince An were all there, needless to say all the civil and military officials. Those who could come brought their families to offer congratulations. Before the ceremony even began, Eunuch Liu came with the imperial edict and the gift.
The emperor specially issued an edict to commend Prince Fu, and gave all the one hundred Ferghana horses that had been tributed from the Western Regions a few days ago to Prince Fu as a reward. He also gave him a thousand acres of fertile land, ten thousand taels of gold and silver, and countless treasures. This reward was comparable to the grace given to the prince when he got married.
"Father truly loves Fifth Brother the most," Prince Rui said to Prince An beside him, a sinister glint in the smile that curled the corners of his lips. "Fifth Brother loves tending to plants and flowers the most. This Ferghana horse is useless to him." At this point, his gaze swept towards Qi Wuhan. "It would be better to give it to that loyal dog, so he can work harder in the future."
When his eyes swept over Jiang Lan, he saw her being intimate with Qi Wuhan, and a hint of melancholy appeared between his brows, as if he couldn't bear to see her happy.
"Today is a good day for Fifth Brother. Brother, you must have a couple of more drinks later." Prince An said with a smile.
Jiang Lan glanced towards the Crown Prince and asked softly, "Isn't the Crown Princess here?" Qi Wuhan turned his head and whispered in her ear, "The Crown Princess is pregnant and can't come."
The last time she saw the Crown Princess at the New Year's Eve palace banquet, she didn't notice it. If she was pregnant at that time, the month should not have been long, probably two or three months including the date. The fetus might not have been firmly established yet, so it was indeed inconvenient for her to come.
"How many children does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have?" Jiang Lan asked again in a low voice.
Qi Wuhan leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess is the only one in the palace who has a child. A year ago, the Crown Princess gave birth to a daughter, who was named Princess An Ning by His Majesty. The little princess is now over one year old."
Prince Fu glanced at the two of them and saw their affectionate and intimate appearance. He felt even more depressed. Why couldn't he just marry a girl he liked...
Alas~
"Why do you seem a little unhappy, fifth brother? Are you dissatisfied with the reward given by our father?" Prince Rui said half-jokingly.
Prince Fu immediately clarified, "No, I'm not dissatisfied." He put on a simple and honest smile, suppressing his sadness. "Father's reward is too much. I'm afraid I don't have enough space to keep those one hundred Ferghana horses. How about Third Brother pick a few and take them back?"
"That was given to you by my father. How could I take away someone else's love?" Prince Rui said with a smile.
"It's okay. I don't ride much on weekdays. Third brother, please pick a few more." Prince Fu was very generous and innocent. He didn't notice the sinister look in Prince Rui's eyes. He said to the Crown Prince and Prince An, "Crown Prince and Sixth Brother, please pick a few more too. I only know how to tend to flowers and grass, and I don't know how to raise horses. If I kill one, my father will definitely scold me again."
The simple and honest words sounded like they were completely clueless...
The Crown Prince gently reminded him, "Fifth brother, today is your big day, don't say such unlucky words." Prince Fu smiled a little awkwardly. The Crown Prince then said to Prince Rui and Prince An, "Since it is so kind of you, Third and Sixth Brothers, please pick a few and take them back. I don't think Father will blame you."
Both of them answered yes.
"We are all brothers, so let's not be estranged from each other in the future." The prince said with a gentle smile.
Prince Fu nodded and said "hmm", agreeing very much.
Prince Rui and Prince An both answered yes. Compared with Prince Fu's attitude, they were still a little distant. A hint of coldness flashed across Prince Rui's eyes, as if he was very disgusted with words like brotherly love.
Born in a royal family, there is no such thing as deep brotherly love. It's just a matter of winners and losers.
…
Yinghong, the maidservant beside Madam Gu, came to invite Jiang Lan over to talk. Qi Wuhan also went with her, but when he saw that it was Madam Gu waiting in the pavilion, he did not go over.
After a while, Gu Jincheng sneaked over again and hid behind the rockery to peek at the two people in the pavilion. Just as he stuck his head out, he was suddenly put on his shoulder by a hand and startled. He turned around and saw that it was Qi Wuhan, and was frightened again.
Qi Wuhan crossed his arms and blocked in front of him, giving off a very oppressive feeling.
Gu Jincheng's heart skipped a beat. He wondered if he was going to hit someone...
He immediately glanced around, and saw no one was there. It was a perfect place to commit a crime...
"What do you want to do?" Gu Jincheng felt a little guilty.
Qi Wuhan asked back: "What do you want to do?"
Gu Jincheng gritted his teeth and said, "You better take care of your wife and don't let her instill any nonsense into Ru'er."
Qi Wuhan's eyes were stern, and he exuded a sense of pressure, "Just try to say a bad word about my wife again!"
Gu Jincheng paused, his eyes dimmed for a moment, "I don't know what she said to Ru'er, I always feel that something bad is going to happen..."
Ever since Madam Gu recovered from her illness, Gu Jincheng always felt that she seemed to have made up her mind to do something.
I used to get angry when I saw him being frivolous, but now it seems like I don’t care.
"My wife naturally says good things." Qi Wuhan said as a matter of course, with a glance as if to say "Do you have any objections?"
“.…..”
Gu Jincheng felt that these two people were a perfect match, it was incomprehensible...
Seeing the two people coming out of the pavilion, Qi Wuhan left a piece of advice to Gu Jincheng, "If you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place." After that, he left.
Gu Jincheng was so depressed that he punched the stone and said with a wry smile: "What do you know, huh..."
Seeing Qi Wuhan coming, Madam Gu bowed to him and left with Yinghong. After they walked a little further away, she looked back and saw how close the two of them were, and her expression became gloomy.
She had never tasted such a feeling of mutual affection. Perhaps she was too greedy at first, naively thinking that she could win back his heart, but it was just a bitter pill to swallow...
She looked up at the sky, a relieved yet lonely smile appeared on her face, and she murmured, "It's almost time..."
Yinghong looked at her worriedly, wanting to say something but stopping herself. Madam Gu smiled and reassured her, "I'm fine."
Jiang Lan looked at Madam Gu's back and said slowly, "She must still have Master Gu in her heart. I don't know if what I said to her was for her good or to hurt her..." Qi Wuhan saw that she was a little depressed and comforted her, "Fate is destined by heaven, just like you and me. Although there were some ups and downs, we also achieved a happy ending." He chuckled and said, "Maybe after this, the two of us can untie the knot in our hearts."
"I hope so." Jiang Lan nodded.
…
After the grand wedding procession returned, everyone came to the hall to watch the ceremony.
When they were getting married, the smile on Prince Fu's face seemed to be broken. When the couple bowed to each other, Prince Fu gritted his teeth and a tear squeezed out from the corner of his eye.
When everyone saw Prince Fu crying, they all thought he was crying with joy. How could he not be happy to marry the most talented and beautiful woman in the capital?
But Jiang Lan knew that he was just sad and she really sympathized with him.
He had no control over his marriage, and the princess he married was a cruel and ruthless woman who still had his sixth brother in her heart. It was really tragic...
When it was time for the banquet, Prince Fu drank one glass of wine after another. The Crown Prince advised him to drink less and not get drunk. Prince Rui kindly reminded him that they would have their wedding night soon. Upon hearing this, Prince Fu went to find someone to toast him again, and then started a fight with Qi Wuhan, threatening to make him drink until he fell down, and then he got drunk first.
In the bridal chamber, Cui Jingshu saw him drunk and being supported by two servants, and there was only disgust in her eyes.
Qiu Tong went over to lend a hand, helped Prince Fu lie down on the bed, and then left with the two servants.
Prince Fu was lying on the bed with his arms and legs spread out, snoring loudly, and the air was filled with the smell of alcohol.
Cui Jingshu fanned herself in front of her face with a round fan in disgust, then called Qiu Tong in and asked her to put the man to sleep on the couch. Qiu Tong called another maid in, and the two of them put Prince Fu on the couch together.
Cui Jingshu asked Qiu Tong to change the bedding and to keep an eye on Prince Fu so that he wouldn't climb into her bed in the middle of the night.
The next day, the two were supposed to go to the palace to pay a visit to the emperor and the queen, but because Prince Fu drank too much last night and Cui Jingshu did not ask anyone to call him, it was already noon when he woke up naturally.
It was almost noon when the two entered the palace.
Cui Jingshu complained that he got up late and embarrassed her.
Prince Fu did not argue with her. He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, pretending not to hear.
"If the emperor hadn't granted the marriage, I wouldn't marry you." Cui Jingshu said angrily and unwillingly.
Prince Fu grinned, "Gentlemen think alike."
"You!" Cui Jingshu was furious.
Prince Fu also made three rules with her: "From now on, we will keep out of each other's way. I will not care about you, and you should not care about me."
Cui Jingshu was so angry that she raised her hand to slap him. Prince Fu immediately stood up, lifted the curtain and asked the coachman to stop the carriage and ride forward.
Cui Jingshu was so angry that her back teeth were almost broken. She lifted the curtain and yelled at the coachman to go back. She would not go to the palace anymore!
Prince Fu didn't care. It was no big deal for him to go alone.
Seeing that Prince Fu really left her behind, Cui Jingshu refused to bow to him and shouted at the coachman to go back.
Qiu Tong advised her to calm down, saying that if she didn't go, the emperor and the queen would blame her.
"He didn't let me go."
By then, she wouldn't be afraid even if the emperor and the queen asked her about it.
The Emperor and the Empress saw Prince Fu coming alone and asked him what was going on.
"I had a quarrel with her." Prince Fu replied with the truth in a casual tone.
“.…..”
“.…..”
The emperor's face darkened and he was about to get angry when Prince Fu immediately knelt down and admitted his mistake. The queen first criticized Prince Fu a few words, but she was not very harsh. She was more of a comfort and advice.
After the Queen criticized and educated him, the Emperor did not scold him and told him not to do it again.
Prince Fu did not return home until dark. Cui Jingshu asked him where he had been. Prince Fu naturally would not tell her that after leaving the palace, he went to the garden on the outskirts of the city to look at the flowers and plants. He said a few perfunctory words and went to the study to sleep.
Cui Jingshu was so angry with him that she returned to her parents' home that night. She was scolded by her mother, Princess Pingyang, and returned to the palace.
Upon learning that she was back, Prince Fu couldn't sleep well again.
Alas~
......
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