Gu Tingye stared at the candlelight: "You really don't like Brother Shen, don't you?"
Minglan rolled her eyes. "Not only is Uncle Shen a pillar of state, he's also blessed with a good life. He's gotten promoted, made a fortune, and his wife died. How many people can't hope for such good fortune? How dare I be dissatisfied with it?"
Gu Tingye turned his head to look at her. Minglan took out the short hairpin from her temples and gently flicked the candlelight.
He said, "Today, many twists and turns and troubles are caused by Brother Shen's weakness and hesitation. Your point of view is not unreasonable. But... you have never seen the old Brother Shen."
Minglan paused for a moment and put down the silver hairpin. "When was that?"
"Before he went to the capital to be conferred a title."
The flame on the inch-round mutton-fat white candle gradually grew brighter. Gu Tingye's eyes were gloomy. "When I first arrived in Shu, the first person I met was Brother Chen. At that time, he was the commander of the royal guards. Together with his brothers Duan, Zhong, Geng and Liu, he was known as the Five Tigers of Shu, and was famous throughout the southwest. Although he was the youngest, he was the leader of the Five Tigers."
"How can the princess' brother not be Tiger Leader?" Minglan said sourly.
Gu Tingye ignored her complaints, "If you had seen Brother Shen back then, you would never have thought he would be so indecisive today. Even the Zou family back then would not act as recklessly as they do today. Back then, Madam Zou was there."
Minglan was silent for a long time, "...She must be an extraordinary woman."
Gu Tingye nodded and continued, "Mrs. Zou is sincere and generous, and has more insight than ordinary men. Not only does she make decisions on family matters, but even the princess obeys her orders. At that time, Brother Shen was resolute and brave, and decisive. In big things, he was able to assist the prince in managing the border areas, and in small things, he was kind and generous to his brothers. Although the Zou family's children did not have much ambition, they were able to keep to themselves, either studying or taking on small errands, relying on the Shen family for their lives."
"With such a Hedong Lion guarding here, no demons or monsters can get in." Minglan's complaints seemed to lack force.
Gu Tingye couldn't help laughing.
He remembered the first two times he'd seen her. She was still a young girl with pigtails, but she was incredibly sharp-tongued, with no trace of demureness at all. She was clearly quite sharp and sarcastic, but he loved her. She had no affectation or pretense, but was so frank and forthright. Even when she stood with her hands on her hips, her face stern, scolding someone, he still found her as childish and adorable as a plump, white porcelain doll.
He softened his voice unconsciously. "Brother Chen and Madam Zou have been married for over ten years, yet they're as inseparable as newlyweds, unwilling to part even for a moment. I've witnessed this myself when I was visiting the Shen family. Just a glance or a look from Brother Chen tells Madam Zou what she wants, without even asking. A frown or a turn of the head is all it takes for Brother Chen to know what she's thinking. Whenever we chat, they often speak in unison, exchange knowing smiles, and share everything... That's true love, a deep, connected understanding. I... never knew a loving couple could be like this."
Minglan heard something strange in his voice and looked up at him. She knew that he was thinking of his deceased father and Daqin again - their love was an evil fate that hurt almost everyone. In contrast, the love between the Shen and Zou couple was healthy and positive, and it was conducive to good relationships for everyone.
"That year, a sudden upheaval broke out in the capital. The Third Prince was sentenced to death by a forged imperial edict, and the Rebellious Prince was defeated and killed..."
Minglan couldn't help but interrupt, "The Emperor's fiefdom is far away in Shu, far from the capital. You got the news so quickly. It seems that the Emperor has had ambitions for a long time."
Gu Tingye glanced at her and said, "I was the one who delivered the message. It's faster by water."
Minglan was surprised and cried out "Ah".
"When the news reached the palace, several aides said that the Sixth Prince had been demoted, the Fifth Prince was cruel and had never been favored by the late emperor, and the princes before him had all passed away. It seemed likely that the throne would soon be yours. But Mr. Gongsun said that the situation was unclear and the late emperor's intentions were still unknown. The princes were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without imperial decree. If there were any unusual movements, someone with ulterior motives could instigate something, and a good thing could turn into a bad thing. We brothers dared not sit idle either. We were on guard or mobilizing our troops, each of us like a fully drawn bowstring, waiting for news from the capital."
Minglan asked, "Then...what was the Marquis doing at that time?"
"I secretly waited outside the capital. Not long after, the late emperor appointed your mother as empress. I knew the matter was final and serious, so I personally went south to report the news. To take a shortcut, I had to navigate dangerous rapids and steep mountain roads. Along the way, several boatmen drowned and dozens of fine horses were killed. But in just over ten days, we arrived."
Minglan swallowed hard, "That's... the one who followed you before? He was from the Cao Gang." No wonder the accounting office had been paying out money to several families in the past two years, and Che Sanniang had sent people to collect it.
Gu Tingye's face showed a grim expression, and he nodded - those were his good brothers who had followed him for many years.
"By the time the late emperor's decree summoning you to the capital reached the border of Shu, the evildoers were indeed stirring. Liu Zhengjie captured and killed four or five groups of assassins in just three days. The Duan brothers protected the Empress and several young princes, and half the palace was a river of blood. But by then, the Emperor was already on his way. Brother Shen and I split up our forces, one open and one covert. He had been the commander of the palace guards for over a decade, and knew he had a lot of people, so he led the soldiers and guards through the open route. Old Geng and I protected the Emperor, secretly avoiding the official road and taking a different route."
He frowned, as if recalling those thrilling years. "Brother Shen's journey, I don't know how many times we encountered robberies and assassinations. They were ostensibly bandits, but in fact they were the garrison troops colluding with the rebellion. Brother Shen almost lost his life, and Brother Zhong lost his second brother and a nephew. When we were about to reach the border of Zhili, we could no longer hide our whereabouts. Old Geng fought to the death as the rear guard, and an arm and a leg were almost crippled. It also cost the lives of Madam Geng's two brothers. I protected the emperor and fought my way through a bloody road until we saw the city gate. The Nine-Gate Admiral led his troops out of the city to meet us, and we were finally safe."
Minglan was horrified and her palms were covered in sweat.
I still remember that the entire capital was waiting for the crown prince. After waiting for a long time, it took several months for the Eighth Prince to arrive. At that time, I secretly complained about the backward transportation in ancient times, but I didn't expect that there would be so many twists and turns.
No wonder the emperor trusted them so much. This kind of loyalty earned with blood and life could not be replaced by the crying or confession of loyalty of the powerful people in the capital.
These powerful and influential families are deeply entrenched, with intertwined forces and no one knows what lies beneath the surface. Gu Tingye and his ilk, however, have truly staked their lives on the emperor. What does it mean to be a confidant? Even when Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, conquered the world, his most trusted confidants were his Jiangdong scion. Li Zicheng surrendered and rebelled repeatedly, but his original insurgents were his key supporters. As long as these old comrades were around, he could always rise again, despite repeated surrenders and defeats (most of these same confidants later fell into disarray).
No wonder the emperor still wanted to use these people, no matter how many mistakes Old Geng made, Gu Tingye's daily family lawsuits, and Shen Congxing's constant confusion. As long as they could get things done, complete their tasks, and were absolutely loyal, the rest were trivial matters.
"What a throne for the emperor! I wonder how much blood has been stained on it!" Minglan said softly.
Gu Tingye shook his head, sighed, and continued, "During the time we were away, the Queen and several young princes suddenly fell ill..."
Minglan was suspicious: "Emergency?"
Gu Tingye said, "I don't know if she was truly ill or if someone had poisoned her. Anyway, everyone in the palace was in a state of panic. Although the two brothers Duan and Liu were able to resist the enemy and capture the assassin, they were helpless against the inner veil. So, Madam Zou had no choice but to go to the palace to take care of her herself. At that time, she was already pregnant."
"Later, the Empress and the little princes recovered, but Madam Zou..." Minglan's voice trembled.
Gu Tingye showed regret, "When Brother Shen rushed back, he only saw Madam Zou for the last time."
"...No wonder the Empress is so supportive of Concubine Zou."
"Brother Shen fell seriously ill and almost died with him." Gu Tingye whispered, "Since Madam Zou passed away, Brother Shen's behavior has become increasingly unsystematic."
The two of them were silent for a long time, and Minglan suddenly laughed. "Things in this world are so interesting. If the Empress hadn't recovered, then the Zou family's worries would have become the Shen family's worries. This Madam Zou is truly devoted to her husband's family."
Gu Tingye was silent for a while, then slowly said: "Mr. Gongsun told me that you are the only wise woman he has ever met in his life." - Reality is often so ugly and helpless.
Minglan said bitterly, "The more you understand some things, the more desolate your heart becomes."
Gu Tingye looked at her for a while and said, "Now that we have finished talking about other people's affairs, let's talk about ours."
Minglan said indifferently, "Okay. I wonder where you're going to start."
"Let's start with the birthday banquet at the Duke of Qi's mansion that day."
Minglan suppressed her panic and listened to Gu Tingye say, "Since returning that day, I've often been unhappy. You've been speculating, thinking it was because of the names of the two children from the Qi family, right?"
Looking into the man's dark and deep eyes, Minglan nodded helplessly.
"You've always been smart and calm, so why are you like this?" Gu Tingye said quietly, "I just feel guilty."
Minglan had nothing to argue with, so she sat with her head down.
Gu Tingye said, "You didn't even ask Xiao Luzi a few more questions. Do you know what happened later? That day, I was waiting impatiently at the gatehouse, so I took a few more steps inside and heard what you and Qi Heng said."
Minglan's heart was pounding. She opened her mouth to argue, but nothing came out.
Gu Tingye carefully scanned her expression and said calmly, "See, you're feeling guilty again. We're childhood friends, so what if I just said a few words? Besides..." He smiled, "It wasn't anything nice either."
"Then what are you mad at me for?"
Minglan was puzzled by this sentence for a long time. It was not because of the name, nor because she was talking to Qi Heng. So, what was wrong with this man?
"You've never spoken to me in that tone before." Gu Tingye said calmly, "You are dignified and polite. You have never lost your manners even to the Madam. Apart from Qi Heng, you have never spoken to anyone in that tone before."
Minglan still remembered scolding Qi Heng a few harsh words. Could it be that this man was jealous of this? She couldn't help but wonder, blurting out, "Why not? I, I don't rely on him to make a living..."
"Because you need to rely on me for your livelihood, you are so respectful to me?"
Minglan panicked, "No, that's not it..." Her face flushed with anxiety, "My Lord, you are taking my words out of context!"
Gu Tingye's eyes were filled with deep emotion. He suddenly stood up and walked around the room with his tall figure. He stopped in front of Minglan and said, "I've known for a long time that Qi Heng has feelings for you. Even if he really named his child after you, so what? What do other people think of us? What I care about is what you think. Do you...?"
He himself found it difficult to bring himself to say what followed. It was ridiculous that after having been so brave for half his life, he was now so cowardly.
"No. I know what the Marquis wants to ask. I've asked myself this question many times." Minglan looked out the window for a moment, as if concentrating on thinking for a moment, and then said, "...No, I have never had any romantic feelings for Qi Heng."
"Are you so sure?" Gu Tingye said after a moment.
Minglan said calmly, "I knew long ago that Qi Heng and I would never be together. If that's the case, why bother nagging me with so much nonsense? I'm not the sentimental young lady in the storybooks. I would never allow something that shouldn't happen."
Gu Tingye sneered and said, "Madam is quite wise. Qi Heng's love is in vain. If he heard these words..."
"I've said even harsher things to him before," Minglan said bluntly.
Gu Tingye glared at Minglan, and they looked at each other for a moment, then Gu Tingye looked away.
Minglan raised her head and said, "Just because someone likes me, I have to like him? Humph! Nothing in the world is that simple!" She had kept these words in her heart for more than ten years, and now she didn't care about anything else and just said them out loud.
"I lost my mother when I was six. Of my sisters, my wife doted on my fifth sister, and my father liked my fourth sister. If it weren't for my grandmother's kindness, I don't know what would have happened to me. How could someone like me make the slightest mistake?"
Minglan grew increasingly angry as she spoke. She suddenly stood up and stood in front of the window. "Princess Pingning doesn't even look down on the legitimate daughter of the Sheng family, let alone me! Qi Heng knows this, so what else does he want from me? Should I express my love to him under the moonlight, or should we have a secret affair? What if he marries another noble lady one day, and I'm left to grieve and suffer for the rest of my life?!"
——Don't dream! She will never be sad for someone who is not worth it!
Gu Tingye was silent for a while before he said, "I heard earlier that Qi Heng and the princess had argued many times about marriage."
"So what?" Minglan asked sharply. "When I was in Dengzhou, the old lady took me to the countryside to escape the summer heat. I saw cages used to sink ponds and women imprisoned in the clan's ancestral hall. If Qi Heng is truly capable, he wouldn't have frightened me and would have married me smoothly. If not, he would have made a big fuss about it. A single charge of 'private dealing' would have been enough to cost me my life!"
When she finished speaking, she wiped her cheek and found it was wet.
Gu Tingye was shocked by the deep sorrow in her eyes.
Minglan held back tears as she spoke word by word, "Lord Gu, men and women are different in this world. You can't expect a woman to repay you for the love and affection a man has shown you. You can be a fool for a decade, then turn around and achieve success. But for a woman, one wrong step and half her life is over! And how can the old lady who raised me so lovingly face the world?"
Her chest heaving violently, she sneered, "So, my Lord, you can rest assured. No matter how close we were to our childhood sweethearts, they were all drowned out by the fear and worry of that time. I'm afraid it was too late to even think about any romantic relationships. A mere concubine like me can't afford to indulge in such precious things!"
Gu Tingye felt a pang of bitterness in his heart, and he didn't even dare to look up at her. He just slowly sat down on the edge of the recliner.
Minglan sat back on the spring stool, pressing the moisture from her eyes and forcing herself to hold it back. "You just told me about Madam Zou. I know what the Marquis means. But I don't approve of Madam Zou's actions. Does it mean that if the Empress is not saved, the Emperor's uncle will be in danger of his life? Besides, the Empress is blessed by heaven, and maybe she can survive. If you truly love someone, you should protect yourself for him!"
From a positive perspective, Da Zou risked her life to take care of the queen out of deep family affection; from a realistic perspective, seeing that the Eighth Prince was about to ascend the throne, Da Zou wanted to do everything she could to preserve the Shen family's wealth and prosperity and to ensure that her nephew could be successfully appointed as the crown prince.
"Mrs. Zou sacrificed her life in exchange for the current glory of the Shen family. I would like to ask you, uncle, is it worth it?!" The big eyes soaked with tears were like the bright moon in the water, piercing Gu Tingye's heart with a coldness. "My Lord, don't try to understand whether I am willing to follow Mrs. Zou's example. You might as well ask yourself first, if you were uncle Shen, would you ask me to sacrifice my life in exchange for my husband's future?"
"How could I be like this!" Gu Tingye roared and slammed his fist on the recliner. With a loud crash, a cluster of crabapple flowers carved from rosewood on the head of the recliner shattered.
The room was silent, and neither of them spoke for a long time. Gu Tingye's nostrils flared slightly, and he was breathing heavily.
Minglan looked at him sadly. "Suddenly seeing the willows on the roadside, I regret having asked my husband to seek a title. If it were me, I would be content with just a simple life with my wife. Now that Madam Zou is gone, can Uncle Shen be very happy?"
Gu Tingye stared at the woman opposite him in a daze: "I... don't mean to blame you, it's just that every time I mention Qi Heng, you always feel inexplicably guilty..."
Minglan felt as if the deepest part of her heart had been touched. The hidden part of her heart collapsed, and the ugliness that had been hidden had nowhere to hide. She supported herself on the table with one hand and said sadly, "...I feel guilty because when someone treats me sincerely, I only think about myself."
Gu Tingye suddenly looked up.
Minglan was on the verge of tears. "He treated me so well, never caring about gain or loss. He didn't look down on me because I was born out of wedlock. He just wanted to treat me well. He really wanted to marry me, and he went through so much trouble to do so. But I... I was only concerned with protecting myself. As long as I could be safe and secure, I never cared about him at all."
Big tears rolled down her delicate face, and she sobbed uncontrollably, "You were right to doubt me. In this life, I have only ever loved myself."
Gu Tingye looked into her sad eyes, and in a trance, he didn't know whether she was saying an apology to Qi Heng or to himself.
He stood up and raised his hand to wipe the tears from her face, but suddenly stumbled.
My heart feels cool.
Minglan raised her head, tears streaming down her face, and said sadly, "I'm sorry for how good you've been to me. I'm truly a heartless person."
Yes, that's just how she is. What can he do?
Gu Tingye only hated his innate tendency to get to the bottom of things. If only he could be more clueless. Many couples lived together till old age like this. She had made it clear that she could never be as open-hearted as Madam Zou. So what could he do?
He had lived for nearly thirty years, and even as a teenager, he had been willful and reckless, never willing to endure humiliation alone. Even as he later upended the martial arts world and navigated the imperial court, he had never felt so powerless. Only today did he realize how weak he truly was.
He couldn't bear to let go, couldn't let go, yet he was unwilling to give up. Her tears were like sharp blades, seemingly weak, but each cut drew blood, and each low sob was like a needle piercing the softest part of his heart.
He suddenly stood up, hurried out of the house, and returned to his study. He casually pulled a book from the shelf and flipped through a few pages irritably. Gu Quan peeked in from outside the door and called softly, "My Lord, Mr. Gongsun wants to see you."
Gu Tingye sat in the dim light, motionless. "Sir, can you tell me what's going on?"
Gu Quan said, "The master didn't elaborate. He just put a file on the shelf on the left and told the Marquis to read it when he returned." He glanced at his master and said cautiously, "It seems the Marquis has taken on another task."
Gu Tingye turned sideways and picked up a scroll of fine white silk paper from the shelf on the left. He glanced through it quickly and was silent for a long time before saying, "Go to the outer courtyard and tell the teacher that I know about this. I will go find him tomorrow morning."
Gu Quan lowered his head, bowed and retreated, closing the door gently.
He sat there for an unknown amount of time, until the half-lit candle in the coral lamp holder burned out, the room was completely dark, and his limbs stiffened. He then slowly stood up. However, he did not go to the side room where he had been sleeping recently, but instead walked back to Jiaxiju in a daze.
The four-poster bed had been canopied, its curtains layered with thin, gauze draped in Minglan's favorite lake turquoise, cascading from deep to light, reminiscent of the weeping willows along the banks of a Jiangnan lake. A gentle rain began to fall outside, adding a touch of coolness to the night.
Minglan was curled up in the corner of the bed with her clothes on. Her long, soft hair was scattered all over the pillow and hung down on the side of the bed like a waterfall. Her long eyelashes were still wet with moisture, like a wronged and sad child. Her left hand was curled into a small fist on the side of her cheek.
His heart suddenly tightened as if it was being grabbed.
That night, he asked people to collect the bedding in the side room of the study and move all the belongings back to the main house.
【Author has something to say】
The Battle of Yipanshi was a famous battle in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It is said that when Li Zicheng, who occupied the Forbidden City, was in high spirits, he expressed his deep love to Wu Sangui in Shanhaiguan. Unfortunately, time is merciless. After losing Chen Yuanyuan, Wu Sangui turned around and got together with Dorgon.
So on a piece of rock, when Li Zicheng and Wu Sangui were fighting fiercely, many girls with long braids came to join in the fight.
Li Zicheng was seriously injured this time, and almost half of his foundation was damaged.
—To be honest, I don't really like Li Zicheng. There have been countless peasant uprisings in Chinese history. If you have the guts to overthrow the Ming Dynasty, you should at least be more ambitious. You should be more like Zhu Baba, a man of great talent and strategy, and establish a great empire!
As a result, this guy is only capable of causing trouble and has no constructive ability. He has caused all men in the country to change their hairstyles. Men have been bald for more than two hundred years. I really don't know where to start.
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