Chapter Seven
Gu Leyao was sitting behind the artificial hill, happily enjoying the cool air, but when she heard these people cursing the Prince of Dingbei, she really couldn't stand it anymore.
She jumped out from behind the artificial hill. She still remembered the last time the Prince of Dingbei saved her on the street!
The Prince of Dingbei looks cold, but he is clearly a good person. He lost his leg fighting for the country. How can these people say such things about him?
"In the fifth year of Xiande, the Prince of Dingbei garrisoned the northern frontier, forcing the Liang tribe's army to refrain from plundering the people, and countless people benefited as a result. In the eighth year of Xiande, the Prince of Dingbei led a large army and decisively defeated the Liang people's army in the northern frontier, and the Great Zhou began to gain the upper hand in its battles against the Liang people. In the tenth year of Xiande, the Prince of Dingbei led our Great Zhou army to capture the Northern Liang royal court, leaving nine out of ten Liang people's homes empty. Since then, our Great Zhou has had no border troubles until now. Your Highness led your soldiers in brave battle, which brought peace to the people of Great Zhou. What are you barking about here? What kind of upbringing did your parents give you?"
In her previous life, Gu Leyao was abandoned by her biological father but was fortunately taken in by the director of an orphanage. However, the orphanage had limited resources, and the children formed a small society. If they weren't assertive, they would be bullied.
Gu Leyao grew from a quiet little girl into a resilient young woman.
For a long time, she believed in the principle of "I will not offend others unless they offend me; if they offend me, I will curse their entire family!" [1]
"You, you, you..."
The girl in the light green shawl blushed and turned red in turns after being scolded. She stammered for a long time before finally saying, "How could you eavesdrop on our conversation?"
Gu Leyao's face was sour, and she looked like she was not to be trifled with. "What's wrong with listening to you talk? There's nothing you can't say to others, don't you understand? If you haven't done anything wrong, what are you afraid of when someone knocks on your door?"
A girl with a pink fan exclaimed in surprise, "You're that country girl from the Marquis of Zhongqin's mansion!"
The girl in the light green shawl clearly gained confidence. "Who do we have here? It's someone from the Marquis of Zhongqin's family! Let me tell you, I'm a daughter of the Duke of Ying. You'd better apologize to me right now!"
The girl in the light green shawl is the youngest daughter of the Duke of Ying, named Pei Ran. She is exceptionally beautiful, but because she is the youngest, she was spoiled and pampered by her family, making her somewhat naive and arrogant.
She felt like a daughter of the Duke's mansion, and compared herself to Gu Leyao, who came from the Earl's family.
Gu Leyao should immediately realize the difference in their social status and apologize to her.
So she's from a Duke's family. No wonder she's so confident. But Gu Leyao won't apologize. The people in the Earl's Mansion don't treat her well either. She's not afraid of the Earl's Mansion being suppressed.
She stubbornly refused to apologize, saying, "I won't apologize. Go and argue with the Earl of Zhongqin! Just say that you and your ilk slandered the Prince, and I found out. Then you got angry and tried to use your status to pressure me, but I have a lot of backbone and refuse to apologize."
"It's understandable that a young woman wouldn't want to marry someone with poor health. I know you grew up in the wealthy capital and have never seen the starving, emaciated people struggling to survive. You've never been to the frontier and witnessed the Liang people slaughtering and plundering the people, leaving mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. But you shouldn't insult the nation's heroes. The Prince of Dingbei, as a prince, could have enjoyed wealth and luxury in the capital, but he fought for the country and its people, ultimately becoming crippled. How many people in the world could do that? And you want me to apologize? I tell you, impossible! As a woman myself, I despise you all!"
Gu Leyao had seen starving refugees and mountains of blood and corpses in the original owner's memories. However, she only saw them later when she went to the northern frontier with Huo Pingyuan. Those memories were unforgettable and deeply etched in the original owner's mind.
The girls were clearly taken aback by Gu Leyao's words. After hearing them, they felt their faces burning with embarrassment and couldn't lift their heads, remembering what they had just said.
They grew up in seclusion, and they all followed what others said. They listened to others and then absorbed it into their own minds. They just didn't want to marry the Prince of Dingbei, but that didn't mean they didn't know that the Prince of Dingbei protected the entire Great Zhou, which brought peace to the border for several years.
Gu Leyao turned and left without even glancing at them.
The girls were too embarrassed to stay any longer and left dejectedly.
After they all left, another person appeared behind the artificial hill, pushing a wheelchair out from the side of the hill.
Li Heng was sitting in a wheelchair. He had heard the argument between the group of girls.
This wasn't the first time he'd heard the word "crippled." He'd heard it from scholars on the street, and from military officers in the court who privately called him a cripple. At first, he'd be angry, but after it happened so many times, he'd become numb.
Everyone knows that his legs are crippled. Even though he was once the God of War who protected the Great Zhou Dynasty, he is now just a useless person.
Li Heng sometimes felt that he was a useless person, that he was not good enough to live.
But just now, this little girl stood up and spoke up for him.
Li Heng has protected countless people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and this is the first time he has been protected by someone else.
He asked Li Qi beside him, "Is this little girl named Gu Leyao?"
Li Heng remembered that the last time he saw her and her maid being kidnapped on the street.
Li Qi responded softly, then added after a moment's thought, "Miss Gu suffered a lot in the countryside. I heard she was deliberately abused by her adoptive parents and barely made it back home."
Li Heng sighed, "No wonder..."
No wonder she said she was so hungry she couldn't get enough to eat and was pale and thin. She grew up in the countryside and probably went hungry many times.
Gu Leyao is a daughter of the Marquis of Zhongqin's family, but Li Heng has heard that the people of the Marquis of Zhongqin's family did not treat her well, and they preferred the daughters they raised by their side.
The Marquis of Zhongqin's family is blind to talent.
Li Heng remained silent for a while until Li Qi reminded him, "Your Highness, it's almost time for the Empress's banquet. I heard that the young crown prince will also be coming; he's probably eager to see you."
*
After swearing, Gu Leyao felt refreshed. In her previous life, when she first started working, there was a period when everything annoyed her.
I get annoyed by men, annoyed by women, annoyed by the elderly, annoyed by children. After starting work, everything becomes annoying.
Men and women smoking in public places, after being reminded once, still don't put out their cigarettes, so Gu Leyao curses at them.
On the subway, Gu Leyao, exhausted after a day's work, slumped onto a seat. Watching an energetic elderly person finish their day of square dancing, the person immediately tried to morally blackmail Gu Leyao into giving up her seat, prompting Gu Leyao to swear at them.
On the high-speed train, the unruly child was left unattended, shouting and disturbing people's rest, so Gu Leyao cursed at him.
After scolding people, Gu Leyao felt refreshed and her mind was exceptionally sharp. She ate well and slept soundly.
This time was no exception; Gu Leyao felt particularly good.
She led Chuntao back to the place where the Empress was holding her banquet.
There were already many tables set up there, indicating that there were quite a few noble ladies present today.
Gu Leyao remembered that there were six dukes, twelve marquises, and thirty-six earls in the capital.
With so many families, there were naturally quite a few girls coming. Gu Leyao was a daughter of the Earl's family and was placed at the back of the line, but she didn't mind. She was happy to be able to get a good meal here.
The person who cooks for the Empress is indeed different. Gu Leyao watched as one exquisite dish after another was served.
Lotus seedpod fish dumplings, plum and lotus leaf-wrapped fruit and flower wine, scallop and shrimp soup, milk pudding, pickled jujube branches, snow foam spleen-shrinking drink...
Gu Leyao was truly amazed; the food in ancient times was just as delicious as that in modern times!
She not only ate the desserts herself, but also picked them up from the table and gave them to Chun Tao.
Chuntao puffed out her cheeks like a little hamster, chewing away.
The two, master and servant, were enjoying their meal and didn't notice Li Heng's gaze fixed on them.
Seeing that they were enjoying their meal, Li Heng secretly asked Li Qi to serve Gu Leyao's table a few more desserts, and plenty of honeyed fruits and melons.
Before long, the banquet began. The Empress and the five-year-old Crown Prince sat at the head of the table, while the Prince of Dingbei sat below them.
As the host of this flower-viewing banquet, the Empress took her seat and gave a speech, thanking everyone for coming, and then the banquet began.
First, a group of dancers performing the Flower Drum Dance came on stage. They had drums hanging from their waists and two sticks in their hands. They danced and beat the drums, creating a lively scene!
Gu Leyao liked this kind of lively dance, which reminded her of the Spring Festival Gala in her previous life. Although the dance programs were very cliché, they looked really lively and had a festive atmosphere for the New Year.
But the Empress, sitting at the head of the high platform, had a stiff smile. She secretly pinched her son and said, "You brat, why did you let the palace servants change the performance? This is your royal uncle's matchmaking banquet. If you mess this up, I'll have your father give you a good spanking when we get back!"
The little prince, with his chubby little body twisting and turning, tried to escape his mother's clutches. "Mother, all the programs you arranged are so boring! What kind of good person would sit there all day listening to someone playing the guqin? Look how wonderful this flower drum dance is! It's lively and festive! Look how much that noble lady is enjoying it!"
The Empress looked closely and saw that Gu Leyao had a big smile on her face; she looked genuinely happy.
She couldn't help but wonder if her previous decision was indeed not so good. It was elegant, but perhaps a little boring for a teenage girl.
The young prince pointed at Li Heng and whispered, "Mother, look, even the Imperial Uncle is very happy."
The Empress looked at her brother-in-law and noticed that he did indeed have a smile on his lips. She couldn't help but feel a little dazed. How long had it been since she had seen Ah Heng smile?
The empress secretly gave her son a thumbs-up.
The little prince's cheeks flushed with laughter as he patted his chubby little belly. "Indeed, I am the most powerful!"
Halfway through the banquet, as the revelry was in full swing, the Empress, seeing that the guests and hosts were enjoying themselves, announced the purpose of the banquet in front of everyone.
"The Prince of Dingbei has made great contributions to the country, and he is over twenty years old and still unmarried. As his sister-in-law, I feel deeply ashamed. Today, we are holding this banquet for two reasons. First, we want to show everyone the beautiful peach blossoms in Luoshui Garden. Second, we want to select a princess from among all of you virtuous ladies. I wonder if any of you would like to volunteer?"
As soon as the Empress finished speaking, the banquet fell silent.
The ladies looked at each other, but no one spoke.
If the Prince of Dingbei had his legs intact, they would have all vied to marry him.
But now... his legs are ruined. Many doctors have examined him and said they can't be cured.
An indescribable silence spread through the banquet.
The air seemed somewhat stagnant, and all the noble ladies lowered their heads wherever the Empress's gaze fell.
Gu Leyao was eating when she secretly handed the snack in her hand to Chun Tao and whispered, "This is so delicious, you should eat more!"
Chun Tao also lowered her head and ate voraciously, saying, "This is delicious, that is delicious, ah-wu ah-wu, I took a big bite!"
Gu Leyao was happy to see Chuntao eating, and when she looked up, she met the Empress's gaze.
When the Empress saw someone making eye contact with her, a slight smile appeared on her face, radiating warmth and gentleness. "Are you willing?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com