He knew that his daughter had a noble character, did not like intrigue, did not like mutual calculation, did not like to be hypocritical, but she was willing to lower herself for him and do things that she disdained to do.
Chu You looked at Gu Yunyan's back affectionately, watching her step over the high threshold and enter through the corner door.
There were seven or eight carriages parked in front of the gate of the Gu Mansion, with people coming and going. Boxes were still being carried out of the mansion one by one and loaded onto the corresponding carriages under the command of the housekeeper.
Chu You turned a blind eye to this.
He casually touched the mount beside him, still thinking about Gu Yunyan, their wedding date, and the wedding dress that the Imperial Household Department had sent him two days ago for him to try on. At that time, the person from the Imperial Household Department had also mentioned that the phoenix crown was almost ready.
Soon, he could see his daughter, wearing a bright red wedding dress and a veil, coming to him in a sedan chair...
Chu You's heart was burning. He looked towards the gate. Gu Yunyan came back soon. She walked up to Chu You in two steps and whispered, "It's the wife of Duke Weiguo and the wife of Marquis Ji'an who came."
Chu You couldn't help being a little surprised. He raised one of his eyebrows and looked towards the east corner gate again. At this time, the carriage of the Duke's Mansion could no longer be seen there.
He gently turned the jade ring on his thumb and said in a deep voice, "The day before yesterday, the Duke of Wei impeached Xu Yan, the Marquis of Ji'an."
"It is said that the Marquis of Ji'an colluded with the bandits, occupied Wushan, and burned, killed, and looted the nearby villages and towns, occupying the land and claiming to be the king. His crimes are extremely serious. Please allow the emperor to lead the troops to encircle and suppress them."
"And ask the emperor to make the decision and allow his sister to break off relations with Marquis Ji'an."
As he spoke, Chu You's dark eyes darkened, and a hint of sharpness flashed in them.
This incident was like a stone that caused a thousand ripples, causing an uproar in the court.
In the past two days, there have been many speculations about this matter in the court, and many people have gone to test the Duke of Weiguo's attitude, but the Duke of Weiguo's mouth is like a river clam and he refuses to say a word. The Duke of Weiguo's mansion even closed its doors to visitors.
Just like the aristocratic families formed their own faction in the court, these nobles who had established themselves through military merit had always stuck together. Now the Duke of Weiguo had inexplicably impeached his own brother-in-law.
On the surface, the Duke of Wei spoke in a righteous manner, as if he was willing to sacrifice his own relatives for the sake of justice. However, Chu You had doubts about this.
Gu Jian was stripped of his title and dismissed from his post. The news from the Second House was cut off all of a sudden. Gu Yunyan naturally had no way of knowing about these court affairs. She only found out about this now and said in surprise and confusion: "Marquis Ji'an colluded with bandits?"
"Why would a well-established mansion like them collude with bandits?"
"That doesn't make sense...wait!"
Gu Yunyan muttered to herself for a while, and suddenly, her eyes slightly opened, she grabbed Chu You's wrist, and said emphatically: "The one who just came with the wife of the Duke of Weiguo is the wife of the Marquis of Ji'an!"
Chu You lowered his eyes to look at Gu Yun'er's jade-like hand that was holding his wrist. Her fingers were so slender, each one like jade, and her translucent nails were like petals, shining with a pearl-like luster.
Gu Yun'er looked thoughtfully inside the gate, in the direction of Yuheng Garden, even though she couldn't see Yuheng Garden at all from where she was standing, let alone the people in Yuheng Garden.
"Your Highness, do you think my second sister was involved in this matter?"
When this sentence was spoken, the answer had already emerged in Gu Yun'er's mind.
Nine times out of ten, that's the case.
This Gu Yanfei is really getting more and more outrageous!
After being reminded by Gu Yunyan, Chu You also began to consider this possibility, rubbing the lines on the jade ring with his fingertips.
Gu Yunyan frowned slightly, looked up at Chu You's handsome face, and said worriedly: "My Lord, my second sister has a close relationship with the eldest prince..."
"Perhaps the eldest prince is behind this matter and wants to put the blame on the prince!"
Chu You was delighted to see that Gu Yunyan was so concerned about him, and he comforted her: "Don't worry, Yunyan, I have no contact with Marquis Ji'an."
"Besides..." He raised his thin lips into a smile and said slowly, "Chu Yi will soon be unable to take care of himself."
"Ah?" Gu Yun'er blinked, and her long eyelashes fluttered twice.
Chu You sneered and said, "Bai Li Yin proposed a marriage between the two countries and promised the eighth princess of Yue, Princess Ximing, to Chu Yi."
Does Gu Yanfei know about this? Gu Yunyan couldn't help but wonder, and an indescribable complex feeling gradually emerged in his heart. He asked, "Did the emperor agree?"
From Chu You's point of view, if this marriage goes through, it means that Chu Yi will get support from the Kingdom of Yue.
Fortunately, Chu Yi refused.
It seems that Chu Yi likes Gu Yanfei more than he expected.
Okay!
This is a good opportunity for all the civil and military officials in the court and the people of the world to see how Chu Yi, for his own selfish reasons, disregards the peace between the two countries and is unwilling to form an alliance with the State of Yue.
Chu You explained the pros and cons to Gu Yunyan in detail, and finally said: "Once the matter gets out of hand, the emperor will have to make some concessions if he wants to quell the dissatisfaction in the court."
Chu You would not let Chu Yi marry the princess of Yue. So...
"The best outcome would be for the emperor to choose a noble lady from an aristocratic family as his principal wife."
Chu You raised his lips sarcastically.
Gu Yunyan sighed and said softly, "Then my second sister can only be a concubine, right?"
Gu Yunmeng couldn't help but feel a little happy, a kind of happiness that came from the bottom of his heart.
She had already advised Gu Yanfei...
Her eyes were full of complexities, showing sympathy, sighing, and at the same time deep disapproval.
Chu You looked up at the plaque in front of him that only had the words "Gu Mansion" and sneered contemptuously, "Is she worthy of being the prince's principal wife?"
"She's different from you."
Gu Yunyan followed his gaze and said softly, "That's right."
Things are different now. The current Gu family no longer has a title and is just the mansion of a fourth-rank military general. There are countless mansions like this in the capital. With Gu Yanfei's current status, how can she be worthy of the position of the eldest prince's consort!
It's ironic that Gu Yanfei deliberately caused the Gu family to lose the title in order to take revenge. I wonder if she ever thought that she would end up like this?
People should not be too utilitarian. Marriage should be based on mutual affection and should not be used as a bargaining chip.
It would be fine if Gu Yanfei had an affair with someone else. If she didn't want to be a concubine, it would only take a word for it. No one could force a girl from an official's family to be a concubine.
But in order to compete with her, Gu Yanfei had to get close to the eldest prince and offend the royal family. She had no choice but to be his concubine or not. After all, the eldest prince was not someone she could easily abandon.
Originally, Gu Yanfei could have married into a good family of equal status and become the principal wife.
"Mian'er, you are too soft-hearted." Chu You looked down at her fair jade-like face and his blood boiled.
At this time, the last box was carried out by two servants on a shoulder pole. The box was so heavy that even the shoulder pole was bent.
Wang worriedly told the servant to handle the box with care, and only after making sure that the box was safely placed on the last carriage did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Gu Jian and the Wang couple came over, surrounded by several maids. Gu Jian smiled and said to Chu You, "I am really ashamed to bother the prince to pick us up today."
"We are all ready here, we can go now."
Gu Jian was born in this mansion, grew up in this mansion, got married, had children, and lived here for more than thirty years. Now that he has to move away from here, he is naturally reluctant and unwilling to leave.
However, when he faced Chu You at this moment, he didn't dare to show any sign of it, for fear of making Chu You feel disgusted or resentful.
In any case, Chu You was willing to make this trip for Gu Yunmeng's sake, which was already a huge honor for the second house.
Chu You politely replied, "We are all family," and then personally helped Gu Yunyan onto the second carriage. As for Gu Jian and Wang, they got on the first carriage in front.
Chu You personally escorted them to the house in Luwei Hutong in the west of the city. Knowing that they were busy cleaning up the new house and sorting out boxes and cages, he did not stay long.
Come and go in a hurry.
Next, Chu You ordered his subordinates to find out why the wife of Duke Weiguo and others went to Gu Mansion.
The secret guards sent by Chu You watched outside the Gu Mansion for a few days, but they found out nothing. They only saw the eldest prince Chu Yi personally coming to the Gu Mansion to pick up Gu Yanfei.
Chu Yi took Gu Yanfei to an imperial estate in the suburbs of Beijing.
The two men rode their horses westward. The early spring suburban scenery was charming, with wild flowers and weeds blooming wantonly, creating a sense of comfort that "the flowers are so numerous that they dazzle the eyes, and the grass is so shallow that the horse's hooves cannot be seen".
The imperial farm is located at the foot of Xiling Mountain, about 20 miles away from the capital. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers. The imperial farm not only contains dozens of acres of fertile fields, but also a river surrounding the farm at the foot of the mountain. The water is rippling, and you can see the rolling mountains behind the farm at a glance. The lush and green mountains and beautiful scenery make people feel relaxed and happy when looking at them.
The manager of the imperial farm was a middle-aged eunuch in his forties. He had been informed in advance that the eldest prince would come today, so he waited at the entrance of the farm with a group of servants early in the morning.
As soon as Chu Yi and Gu Yanfei arrived, the middle-aged eunuch came up to greet them attentively, and saluted the two people on horseback with a smile on his face: "Your Highness, Miss Gu, please come in."
The middle-aged eunuch ordered people to place the horses, and then personally took the two men to the farm.
Compared to the vastness and magnificence outside, the manor is another world with a unique layout and design, a grand structure, green walls and black tiles, and lush flowers and trees.
Gu Yanfei walked while casually looking around. He looked extremely relaxed and happy, with bright eyes and a radiant look.
Suddenly, Chu Yi's clear voice, as melodious as the sound of the wind, came to my ears: "It's still early, shall we go for a walk in the bird forest behind?"
Gu Yanfei turned his head to look at him, and the long purple hairband flew up and just passed over his raised right hand. He grabbed the hairband between his fingers with his backhand.
The headband was a bright purple color, which contrasted with his slender, white fingers, creating a breathtaking beauty.
He clearly didn't touch her, but Gu Yanfei had an inexplicable feeling, as if the headband had become a part of her, and his ears felt slightly hot.
(End of this chapter)
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