Chapter 547 Not a Homosexual
The envoy from Anguo has arrived.
The Ministry of Rites was busy receiving the envoys, and Gu Jingsong, the second master of the Gu family, who was also from the Ministry of Rites, was also busy.
The State of Zhao is vast and rich in resources. Its territory is much larger than that of the State of An, and it has many novelties. Its capital city is much more prosperous than that of the State of An. The Third Prince and the Seventh Princess were visiting the State of Zhao for the first time and found it very interesting. They spent three days playing in the city.
After the siblings arrived, they met Emperor Jingwen, but Emperor Jingwen was busy and only received them briefly before instructing the officials of the Ministry of Rites to treat them well.
The officials in the Ministry of Rites were all shrewd and intelligent; how could they not understand Emperor Jingwen's meaning?
Anguo is a vassal state, while Zhao is a great and powerful nation. Why would they need to rush to curry favor with them? Besides, what came were just a boy and a girl in their teens. The brother and sister's combined age was not even thirty-five years old. It's normal for the emperor to put on airs and leave them hanging for a couple of days.
However, the third prince and the seventh prince seemed completely unaware of this, and were busy eating, drinking and having fun.
Three days later, a banquet was held in the palace to welcome the Third Prince and the Seventh Princess.
The women of the Gu family who held official titles were to attend the palace banquet. Only Old Madam Gu and Meng Jinyao held such titles; Zhang from the eldest son's wife and Chen from the second son's wife did not.
Because an elder was going out, both Zhang and Chen saw her off onto the carriage.
After the carriage left, Zhang glanced at her husband beside her, feeling utterly disgusted by him. Her third brother and his wife were able to attend the palace banquet only because her third brother had earned his wife an imperial title. Her second brother's wife, who didn't have an imperial title, couldn't attend, but her second brother's official rank was just enough to qualify her to participate. Her husband was the most useless. She blamed herself for being blinded by the Gu family's wealth and falling for such a pretty face.
As his own son, Gu Xiuyuan could easily understand his mother's feelings upon seeing her expression. He said gently, "Mother, I will try my best."
Zhang was stunned for a moment, but quickly understood. She was very pleased, but then glanced at her husband with disdain and said, "Xiuyuan has been outstanding since he was a child. He will definitely be more successful than your father in the future and will bring honors to me and your wife."
Gu Jingsheng's face suddenly darkened: "Zhang, what do you mean by that?"
Zhang retorted, "Did I say something wrong? Xiu Yuan is indeed more outstanding than you."
Gu Jingsheng was furious: "It's just attending a palace banquet, why are you being sarcastic? Your second sister-in-law couldn't go either, and she didn't say anything. It's just that you're so vain and always trying to outdo others."
Chen: "???"
Zhang also exploded: "Although my second sister-in-law couldn't go, my second brother did, and you're still arguing with me here. Instead of arguing with me, why don't you think about how to advance further? You're already so old, and you still only have a sinecure. You should learn from your two younger brothers."
When the couple was arguing, Chen didn't interfere; she quietly stepped aside to avoid getting involved with innocent bystanders.
Gu Xuanyi and Gu Xiuyuan were also helpless. Their mother's relationship with their father was getting worse and worse. Their mother would always find an opportunity to ridicule their father. If their father disagreed, the two would start arguing. The siblings looked at each other and quickly tried to mediate: "Mother, we are still at the door. If someone passes by and sees you arguing with Father, people will laugh at our family."
Gu Xiuyuan also said, "Mother, Yunxin should be awake by now. If he can't see his grandmother, he'll probably make a fuss. Let's go inside first."
Hearing about her grandson, Zhang's anger subsided by half, and her rationality slowly returned. If she and her husband had argued loudly at the door and her mother-in-law found out, she would have been scolded, which would have been a loss. Now that there was a way out, she took it.
The brother and sister, one on each side, coaxed Zhang into the house, with Jiang following closely behind.
Gu Jingsheng watched as his wife, children, and daughter-in-law all left, and no one offered him a word of comfort. He felt a surge of anger. Zhang was his biological mother, and he was her biological father, so why were they treating him so badly? He couldn't believe that Zhang hadn't played a part in this.
As Chen watched Zhang leave with her two children and daughter-in-law, Gu Jingsheng burst into the house, his anger palpable. Judging from his demeanor, Chen guessed he was seeking solace with a concubine in the backyard.
Gu Xiuhong said, "Mother, let's go in too."
Madam Chen nodded and went inside with her son. Back in her courtyard, she said to her son, "Xiuhong, you must never be like your uncle. Look at your uncle, he's fickle and easily bored. Your aunt is estranged from him, and your eldest brother and Xuanyi have also become distant from him. Even your third brother is protecting your aunt. Now your uncle is all alone."
"Mother, do you think your son is that kind of person?" Gu Xiuhong chuckled helplessly, then asked, "Mother, your son came from your womb, so how come you don't seem to know your son very well?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Chen fell silent, staring at her son for a long time before saying, "Whether you understand or not is another matter. I almost forgot that you don't even have a sweetheart. All I'm saying to you is nonsense. It's also my fault for being too strict with you in the past. There isn't even a pretty maid in your courtyard. Now you've lost interest in girls."
After she finished speaking, she suddenly felt that something was wrong. Her son had lost interest in girls? Did that mean he was interested in men? After all, Xuan Yi's ex-husband was interested in men. In order to cover up his homosexuality, he married Xuan Yi and never touched her after marriage.
Instantly, Madam Chen felt a chill and hesitated, saying, "Son, you wouldn't happen to be a homosexual and like men, would you? That won't do. You are our only son. If you like men, your father will have no descendants."
Gu Xiuhong had just taken a sip of tea when he heard this, and he immediately choked, coughing violently until his face turned red.
Seeing this, Madam Chen felt that he had been hit where it hurt and was instantly filled with despair. However, she did not want to scold her son, lest it cause a rift between mother and son. She carefully said, "Son, you probably have never tasted the flavor of a woman. Tonight, I will arrange a beautiful maid for you to share with. Once you have a comparison, you will know that women are better than men."
Gu Xiuhong hurriedly said, "Mother, what are you thinking? I don't like men, and I'm certainly not a homosexual. As for maids, forget about it."
Madam Chen was skeptical: "If that's not the case, then why not have a maidservant?"
"My son wants to keep his virginity for his future wife." Gu Xiuhong said, his expression embarrassed, his cheeks slightly red, and even his ears turned red.
Upon hearing this, Madam Chen looked surprised. Seeing that her son didn't seem to be making excuses to fob her off, she was even more astonished. How come she had never noticed how innocent her son was before?
After a moment, she said, "You're not young anymore, it's time to put marriage on the agenda."
Gu Xiuhong nodded: "Mother, I know what I'm doing."
Chen added, "You don't need to be too picky. If you're too ambitious, you'll end up a bachelor. Just settle for someone decent."
Gu Xiuhong glanced at her in surprise, then smiled and said, "Your son understands."
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