Chapter 66
Gu Yanling was still a little bit in disbelief until Xiao Xinghan half-hugged her and sat her on the sedan chair.
Did you agree after just one meeting?
Xiao Xinghan knew what he was thinking, so he took his hand and patted it, "I'll tell you what happened when we get back."
Gu Yanling knew that this was in the palace and there were many eyes and ears, so she nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
The sedan chair soon stopped outside the queen's palace. After receiving the notification, Xiao Xinghan took Gu Yanling in and walked all the way to the front hall of the side hall.
The Queen was not as serious as Emperor Xiao. After Gu Yanling knelt on the ground and saluted her, she asked someone to give her a seat.
Gu Yanling didn't know what to say. She sat stiffly on the chair with her back straight, letting the Queen look at her.
Seeing Gu Yanling's simple nature, the Queen spoke, "I was indeed a little surprised by what the Crown Prince said in front of His Majesty yesterday. He has always been well-behaved, and I never thought he would do something so outrageous."
When Gu Yanling heard her words, she stood up nervously and was about to kneel.
Queen: "Sit down, don't be afraid."
"You can't be blamed for this. The prince has taken a fancy to you, how can you not obey?"
Xiao Xinghan took the responsibility of this matter and told the emperor and empress that he had taken a fancy to Gu Yanling and had feelings for him, so the other party dared not disobey.
Gu Yanling didn't sit down immediately. She replied seriously, "Your Highness, this is not your Highness's fault. Your Highness is a rare talent, handsome, and talented in both civil and military affairs. I, a humble person, am naturally happy to be liked by Your Highness. I like Your Highness, too."
Xiao Xinghan's eyes never left Gu Yanling. After hearing this, the corners of his lips curled up, and it was obvious that he was in a good mood.
The queen could see that her son loved her very much and his heart and eyes were full of her.
The Crown Prince always had his own opinions, and even the opposition of her and His Majesty was useless. Because of the issue of heirs, the Crown Prince's marriage had been delayed for so many years. The Emperor and Empress knew it all too well. If there was no one in the Crown Prince's room, it meant he either had someone in his heart or he looked down on ordinary people.
"As long as you two are in love, it's all good. From now on, it's up to you two to live your lives together. Since the Crown Prince likes you, I won't be the bad guy. However, your marriage with the Crown Prince needs to be carefully considered. There's no need to rush it. I'll have the Imperial Master compare your horoscopes and choose an auspicious date."
Xiao Xinghan immediately stood up and bowed to the Queen, saying, "Thank you, Mother. I'm sorry to trouble you with this matter."
When Gu Yanling heard that they had already reached the stage of choosing an auspicious day, his mind was completely bewildered. Xiao Xinghan pulled him, and he quickly reacted and knelt on the ground to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Queen. May your Majesty be well and safe."
Queen: "Get up."
"Thank you, Queen."
After Xiao Xinghan helped Gu Yanling up from the ground, the nanny who was in charge of the Queen came over and exchanged the usual greetings with the two of them. She smiled and opened the brocade box: "This is a gift from the Queen to the young master."
A pair of jade bracelets, extremely transparent.
Gu Yanling took it and knelt down to thank him. When he left the Queen's Palace, his knees were aching. He sat on the sedan chair with the brocade box in his arms, grimacing. Xiao Xinghan put his big hand on his knee and said, "Let's go back to the East Palace first. I'll put some medicine on you."
Gu Yanling's mood has been up and down today, and she really needs to take a break, so she nodded.
When he came in, he was not in the mood to appreciate the scenery of the palace. Now he looked around quietly. It was really majestic and magnificent, with guards patrolling everywhere. When he thought about marrying into the palace, he would have to abide by the rules, be careful in what he said and did, and get up early every day to pay his respects to the queen, he suddenly lost interest.
He doesn't like staying in this palace.
Xiao Xinghan noticed the change in his expression. Seeing that he was not happy, he guessed something in his heart and held his hand tightly: "It's too late to regret."
Gu Yanling: “…”
Xiao Xinghan pinched his cheek and lowered his voice: "You provoked me first."
Gu Yanling slapped his hand away: "I don't regret it, I just feel——"
After looking around, Gu Yanling leaned over to Xiao Xinghan's ear and whispered with her hand covering her ear: "There are too many rules in the palace. I'm a little uncomfortable with them."
Xiao Xinghan had considered all this a long time ago. He knew that Gu Yanling didn't like to be bound by rules. Forcing him to follow the rules and pay his respects every morning and evening would be worse than asking him to die.
"Even if you become the Crown Princess, you are still a man, and it is inappropriate to always go to the harem. I will tell my mother about the greetings and save you this step. If you want to leave the palace, you can, but of course you can't leave the palace all the time. If it gets out, people will say that the Crown Princess is playful."
After hearing this, Gu Yanling just hoped that the marriage could be delayed for a few more years. He didn't want to enter the palace at all.
Xiao Xinghan: "Wouldn't it be nice to stay with me in the palace?"
"When An An is older, I will bring him into the palace and train him well. What else are you worried about?"
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the East Palace. Xiao Xinghan got off the sedan chair first and reached out to Gu Yanling, leading him down.
This East Palace was Xiao Xinghan's territory, and Gu Yanling finally felt less restrained. "Your Highness, you haven't explained why His Majesty and the Empress agreed so easily."
Xiao Xinghan led him all the way to his bedroom, made him sit on the couch, and took off his clothes and underwear.
Gu Yanling's fair knees had turned blue and purple. Normally, when the two of them were in action, they would face each other and rarely kneel or lie down. This was because Gu Yanling was delicate and that posture would make her knees uncomfortable. Xiao Xinghan also liked to stare at Gu Yanling while they were in action, admiring his beautiful and fragile expression and the tears on his beautiful face.
Xiao Xinghan knelt on one knee and rubbed the ointment on his knee while telling him the secrets of the royal family: "I also had several princes before me, but they all died young. With so many concubines in the harem, my father only had me as his only child. He always believed that it was because of the heavy killing before he ascended the throne."
"As for why there's no concubine in the Eastern Palace, it's because the Imperial Master said my first prince must be born to the Crown Princess. Otherwise, it would be the same. Regarding heirs, my father is naturally cautious. Didn't I tell you before that the Imperial Master calculated that my Red Luan star is moving and that the Crown Princess is in Yangzhou, so my father asked me to go to Yangzhou."
After hearing this, Gu Yanling swallowed unconsciously: "..."
This national teacher is so amazing?!
He and Xiao Xinghan did have An An!!
Xiao Xinghan rubbed the ointment on his other knee. "I don't believe in these things myself, but I just used the Imperial Master's words as a shield and have been dragging it out until now. Father may have come to terms with it over the years. Plus, since I said we should train the royal family's children in the future, he has nothing to object to."
"So I told you, don't be afraid. I won't do anything I'm not sure of, and I won't put you in danger."
Gu Yanling was somewhat moved after hearing his words: "Your Highness."
Xiao Xinghan stood up and washed his hands. He tapped his forehead and chuckled, "The Imperial Master did a good thing. He was right. The Crown Princess is in Yangzhou."
Previously, Xiao Xinghan was dissatisfied with the Imperial Master's suggestion to his father that he go to Yangzhou. Now it seems that he really should be grateful for his suggestion, otherwise he would not have met Gu Yanling.
Gu Yanling scratched her face, thought of An An, and thought to herself that this national teacher was truly amazing.
Xiao Xinghan pulled him up: "What are you thinking about? Do you want to take a look around the East Palace?"
Gu Yanling put on her clothes and said, "I was thinking about this Imperial Master you mentioned. Is he considered our matchmaker?"
Xiao Xinghan has never been in favor of these strange powers and ghosts, so he has always disliked the Imperial Master. However, this time he did do a good thing by accident. When he ascends the throne in the future, he will continue to retain his position as the Imperial Master. "Well, otherwise I don't know when I will go to Yangzhou."
Gu Yanling snorted. This was true. If Xiao Xinghan had not gone to Yangzhou, Liu Qingsong and his brother-in-law might still be running rampant in Yangzhou. His father might eventually be forced to come to the capital, and he would follow them. Even if he met Xiao Xinghan in the capital, they would just pass by each other and would not have any intersection.
Gu Yanling thought so, held Xiao Xinghan's hand, and said seriously: "Then I still want to meet His Highness."
His words naturally pleased Xiao Xinghan, and he was picked up and kissed.
When Gu Yanling left the bedroom, her lips were swollen and her eyes were moist. She saw the birdcage carried by the palace servants in the courtyard and it looked familiar. "Huh?"
Xiao Xinghan followed his gaze and asked, "Do you remember?"
Gu Yanling suddenly remembered and said in surprise, "Is it the little parrot I bought?!"
The little parrot was napping in the cage. When it heard the familiar voice, it fluttered its wings and said, "Yuanbao! Yuanbao! Yuanbao!"
Gu Yanling hurried over and opened the birdcage. The little parrot looked at him with its black eyes, obviously not recognizing him.
"It's me! Yuanbao!"
The little parrot immediately jumped onto his hand: "Yuanbao! Yuanbao!"
Gu Yanling touched its little head and saw that it had gained more than two pounds. Its feathers were combed and shiny. It was obvious that it was well-fed in the East Palace. "Your Highness, you actually brought it back to raise it?"
When he left, he only took the jade pendant and nothing else. He thought that the parrot was noisy and chirping, and Xiao Xinghan, who liked quietness, would definitely not take it away.
Xiao Xinghan: "Why did you bring it back?"
Gu Yanling was a little slow to react and was taken to another bedroom by Xiao Xinghan. He found that many items were very familiar. When he opened the cabinet, he saw all the clothes he wore in Yangzhou before. The furnishings in the bedroom were also according to his previous room. Gu Yanling obviously did not expect to go back like this. He picked up the night pearl that he used to light up, opened the drawer of the dressing table, which still contained the messy jade items he bought, and quickly closed it again.
Xiao Xinghan snorted.
Gu Yanling looked at Xiao Xinghan with twinkling eyes: "Your Highness, you didn't even throw this away?"
Xiao Xinghan: "You are such a heartless person. If you run away, I won't be able to find you. What else can I think of if I throw all these things away?"
The drawers in his study in the East Palace were filled with little trinkets that Gu Yanling had given him, as well as many portraits he had drawn out of longing for her. Occasionally, when he felt upset, he would come and sit in the bedroom for a while, listening to the little parrot imitating Gu Yanling's tone of voice.
Gu Yanling hugged Xiao Xinghan back and rubbed her head against his neck, "I, I miss you too."
"At first, when I heard my mother say my father was considering coming to the capital, I was delighted. But then I saw Brother Chang Feng in Yangzhou and realized you knew even my identity was fake. You're so smart, you must have guessed my purpose in approaching you. I was afraid you'd blame me, so when I came to the capital, I went to Chunjing Street that very day. However, my sister told me that the innermost part of Chunjing Street was the Prince's Mansion, so how could I dare to look for you then?"
Xiao Xinghan pinched the back of his neck and said, "Alright, I'm not that stingy. This matter has long been over."
Gu Yanling shuddered and hugged him tighter.
Xiao Xinghan smiled and said, "Okay, no more spoiled behavior."
Only then did Gu Yanling let him go, looked at him, and kissed his jaw.
Xiao Xinghan hinted, "I'll be back tonight when you're passionate."
Gu Yanling: “…”
Xiao Xinghan: "Didn't you make an appointment with An An? I asked Li Youfu to go to the warehouse to pick out some gifts. When we go back later, we can bring them to An An to play with."
"When will you confess to your family?"
When Gu Yanling thought of An An's life experience and his father's temper, she suddenly felt a headache.
What should I do...
Xiao Xinghan pinched his face and said, "If you don't tell me, when the imperial edict to appoint the Crown Princess arrives at your house and your father is still in the dark, he will definitely kill you."
Gu Yanling took his hand away and muttered, "You're gloating now. He peeled off my skin, shouldn't you feel sad?"
Xiao Xinghan: "You brought this upon yourself, I don't feel bad for you."
Gu Yanling pushed him away in annoyance, then hugged his waist again, whining, "If my father knew that it was me who was in Yangzhou back then, he would really skin me alive."
Although Xiao Xinghan had never been with Gu Qifu, he could still see his character to some extent. He had even witnessed Gu Yanling kissing him in the street. It was no wonder that Gu Yanling didn't dare to say, "I'm with you. With me here, he won't dare to fight you."
Gu Yanling sighed: "If he doesn't vent his anger, he will get worse if he keeps it in his heart. Forget it, let him vent. He is my father, he won't really skin me alive. Even if he wants to, my mother loves me and she will definitely stop him."
Seeing his fearless face, Xiao Xinghan said: "..."
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