Chapter 554 May Buddha bless him, my son loves a girl.
The next day.
Two major events caused a stir in the capital.
One of them was that the Seventh Princess died from exhaustion after engaging in excessive sexual activity with her male lover and making insatiable demands.
Another incident involved the second son of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, who had homosexual tendencies. He was caught by someone taking a man out for a night of passion late at night in the rain.
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
In the main courtyard, Madam Gu looked at her son with a furrowed brow: "Qianhan, what exactly happened? Did you really...spend the night with a man?"
Gu Qianning looked at Gu Qianhan with a strange expression: "Second brother, what exactly did you do? It's all over the place now, your homosexuality—your affair is almost overshadowing the death of the Seventh Princess."
Gu Qianhan said calmly, "Don't believe everything you hear. Do you all have no brains? I came back last night, didn't I? I didn't spend the night with any man."
Madam Gu's expression was not good: "You didn't get back until almost dawn last night, do you think I didn't know? Tell me, where exactly did you go?"
"I just thought the scenery was nice last night, so I just wandered around outside. I only had Jixiang with me. Maybe they misread it and started spreading rumors."
Madam Gu slammed her hand on the table in anger: "Do you think I'm stupid? Everyone in the capital who knows you knows your servant Jixiang! Besides, I don't believe Jixiang would dare to ride with you!"
“I didn’t say that I was riding with Jixiang. Jixiang was just leading my horse. Mother, please don’t dwell on these trivial matters. I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m going back to catch up on my sleep. Please don’t send anyone to call me again.”
"How can this be a small matter?! This is a huge deal! How can you still sleep? I'm so shocked by this that I can't even eat!"
"Then you might not be hungry enough. You'll be able to eat after a couple of days of fasting."
After Gu Qianhan finished speaking, she turned and left.
Ji Xiang hurriedly followed with his head down, afraid that if he walked too slowly, he would be questioned by Madam Gu again—he had already been questioned for almost an hour since early this morning.
Madam Gu was so angry she almost fell over, but she didn't call out to Jixiang again. Anyway, she wouldn't get anything out of Jixiang; that kid's mouth was sealed tight!
She looked at her daughter with concern: "A-Ning, could your second brother really like men? I knew it because he never paid attention to women, he wouldn't even look at them. So it turns out he... doesn't like women?"
If Gu Qianning hadn't been given a second chance at life, she would have had the same doubts. In her previous life, before she knew that her second brother liked Shen Wantang, she had always suspected that her second brother liked men.
"this……"
Gu Qianning hesitated, unsure whether she should tell the truth.
Yesterday, her second brother asked her to reveal to their mother that he liked Shen Wantang. How come he's already given himself the label of being gay this morning?
Could it be that he's trying to use this pretext to force his mother to agree to let him marry Shen Wantang?
He could have given her a hint. He just left like that. How is she supposed to deal with her mother alone?
Seeing her daughter hesitate, Madam Gu assumed she knew the truth and hurriedly asked, "A-Ning, do you know your second brother's secret? If you do, you must tell me the truth!"
Gu Qianning had no choice but to say, "Mother, I did hear my second brother mention that he seems to have taken a liking to a girl."
Upon hearing "young lady," Madam Gu was overjoyed: "Really? It really is a young lady?"
"It is a girl, absolutely. However, that girl's background may be slightly less than ideal."
"As long as she's a girl! What does it matter if she comes from a humble background?"
Madam Gu almost wept with joy: "Thank Buddha, my son is in love with a girl, that's wonderful! If he were in love with a boy, I really wouldn't know how to face the ancestors of the Gu family!"
Seeing that she didn't seem to care much about her background, Gu Qianning asked suspiciously, "Wasn't the marriage Mother wanted to arrange for Second Brother to be with the Liu family? Wasn't the woman you wanted to marry Second Brother Liu Nanshi? Didn't you arrange for her to come to our house because you liked Liu Nanshi's background?"
Madam Gu shook her head: "It's not that I want your second brother to marry into the Liu family, it's that the Liu family wants to marry into our family. Madam Liu always likes to bring Liu Nanshi over to play. Do you think I can kick her out? Grand Secretary Liu is a high-ranking official with great power. It won't do me any harm to be closer to Madam Liu."
Gu Qianning was taken aback: "Huh? Didn't you mention the marriage between our two families?"
"Of course not."
"Madam Liu didn't mention it either?"
"Heh, Madam Liu is being reserved. She's marrying off her daughter, and if the woman brings it up first, she's at a disadvantage. Of course, she won't bring it up. She's waiting for me to bring it up. Otherwise, why would she come so frequently?"
"Then why didn't you mention it? I thought you really liked Liu Nanshi and wanted her to be your daughter-in-law!"
“Liu Nanshi does indeed look like a lady from a prominent family. As the daughter of a high-ranking official, she naturally has the demeanor of one. However, it is precisely because of her high birth that I do not want your second brother to marry her.”
Gu Qianning was stunned by what she said: "To other families, Liu Nanshi's background is indeed too high, but for our Duke's mansion, isn't it a good match? Why does Mother still think that her background is too high?"
Madam Gu took a sip of tea, her expression indifferent: "Naturally, it's because your second brother is the second oldest, and it's not good for him to outdo your eldest brother when it comes to marriage."
Gu Qianning stared at her in shock. She never imagined that the reason her mother didn't want her second brother to marry Liu Nanshi was because she was afraid her second brother would overshadow her eldest brother!
"Mother, aren't you being a bit biased? Second Brother is already at a disadvantage by not being able to inherit the title, how can you suppress him in the matter of marriage? Is Second Brother even your biological son?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Of course he's my biological son. But every country has its laws and every family has its rules. Your second brother has been known as a child prodigy since he was a child. He's too smart and has already surpassed your eldest brother in this respect. If he always surpasses your eldest brother in everything, wouldn't the family be in chaos?"
"Mother! Is it a fault that Second Brother is intelligent? Should he be stupid? Even Eldest Brother himself doesn't feel that Second Brother is superior to him, yet you're unhappy on Eldest Brother's behalf?!"
"Alright, alright, keep your voice down, don't let the people outside hear."
"So Mother knew she was afraid people would hear you were being biased? I've always heard people say that their parents are biased, and I always thought that our family didn't have that problem. I never imagined it did!"
Madam Gu was somewhat embarrassed by her daughter's words, and her momentum weakened: "I'm just worried that your second brother is too strong and will take away your eldest brother's title in the future. I haven't been biased in other matters. Your second brother has everything that your eldest brother has. It's just that I'm asking your second brother to be a little more discreet about marriage."
Gu Qianning was speechless for a moment. For the first time in her two lifetimes, she felt sorry for her second brother.
Fortunately, Shen Wantang came from a humble background. If she had come from a high background, wouldn't her mother have ruined the marriage?
Gu Qianning felt very uncomfortable: "Mother is so biased towards my eldest brother and neglects my second brother. She should make it up to him in terms of marriage."
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