He had originally just wanted to deal with the eldest prince's casual remark, but when the words "King Kang" came out, his mind lit up, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was indeed a brilliant idea.
Wang Kangyin and others also had bright eyes, and they also thought that the Prime Minister's proposal was quite brilliant and a stroke of genius.
If King Kang could marry the princess of Yue, wouldn't that be like adding wings to a tiger?
Chu You, who had been watching the show for a long time, suddenly became gloomy. He never expected that the fire would inexplicably burn him.
"What the Prime Minister said is wrong." Chu You immediately jumped out of the queue and retorted in a deep voice, "The Queen Mother has already granted marriage to this prince, and the wedding is only a few days away."
"Prince Kang..." Prime Minister Xiao turned his head and met Chu You's gloomy eyes with sharp eyes. He wanted to persuade Chu You and analyze the pros and cons with him, but now was the morning court and it was obviously not the right time.
Chu You said coldly in a strong tone: "Don't mention this again, Prime Minister."
Veins popped out at the corners of his eyes, and for the first time he felt dissatisfied with Prime Minister Xiao.
He also had a lot to say, but he had to hold it back for now.
As the undercurrent surged, the emperor's calm and indifferent voice suddenly sounded from the front: "Prime Minister, Seventh Brother, if there is nothing else, please adjourn the court today."
There was no emotion in the emperor's tone. He closed the lid on the teacup with a snap, which made the ministers below feel a little uneasy. They became more and more unsure of the emperor's intentions.
The chief eunuch Zhao Rang slowly looked around at everyone and shouted, "Dismiss the court!"
His slightly shrill voice echoed throughout the Golden Palace.
All the civil and military officials returned to their positions, bowed and saluted, and respectfully saw the emperor off. Chu Yi also left the Golden Palace with the emperor.
The voices of farewell from the ministers in the rear were uniform and loud like thunder.
It was only the 9th hour at this time, the sun was high in the blue sky, and the temperature was neither too cold nor too hot, which was perfect weather for a walk.
The father and son did not ride in a sedan chair or carriage. Instead, they walked side by side and leisurely to the South Study Room located in the southwest corner of the Qianqing Palace.
Just as he sat down, a young eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, Marquis Ji'an wants to see you."
The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly and said calmly, "No."
Previously, the Duke of Wei impeached the Marquis of Ji'an for colluding with bandits and volunteered to suppress the bandits. The emperor agreed and ordered the Marquis of Ji'an Xu Yan not to leave the capital until the facts of the case were clear.
Xu Yan denied it and went to the palace to plead for himself that day. He also accused Duke Weiguo of taking revenge on him because of the family affairs between him and his wife. He also apologized to the emperor for not managing his household well. His words implied that his wife Wei Wan was intolerant.
After hearing this, the emperor sent Xu Yan back.
In just a few days, Xu Yan went from being calm at the beginning to becoming more and more anxious. He went to the palace almost every day, but the emperor never summoned him again.
"No see! No see!" The colorful parrot on the gilded bird stand saw the emperor and his son coming back, and in a good mood began to imitate their mouths, which made the emperor unable to help but stretch out his finger to tease his little darling.
The young eunuch retreated quietly.
"My cousin is really an old fox." The emperor sighed.
The cousin he was referring to was Wei Shen, Duke of Wei.
After a pause, the emperor frowned slightly, stroked his beard, and said with disgust: "This Xu Yan is really a piece of shit!"
"We must carefully look for a good consort for Anle in the future."
The emperor also had a daughter, and he could empathize with the Duke of Weiguo's anger. He thought to himself: As Anle's father, he must keep a close eye on her marriage and choose the right husband for her.
"Not a thing!" the parrot cried again, making the emperor laugh.
The emperor grabbed a handful of bird food and started feeding his parrot.
Just as the young eunuch left, the chief eunuch Jin An from the Imperial Household Department arrived at the South Study.
Seeing that the emperor was teasing the parrot with great interest, Jin An knew that it must be the eldest prince summoning him. He lowered his head and maintained a bowing posture, waiting for instructions.
Chu Yi gently blew away the foam on the tea and said calmly, "Minister Xiao proposed that Prince Kang marry the princess of Yue State... Go and tell the Queen Mother about this."
Jin An responded respectfully: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will definitely handle this matter properly."
After the eunuch Li Han, who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department, was dismissed, Chu Yi ordered the Imperial Household Department to be split into twelve inner court departments. In less than a month, the entire inner court was reorganized and made brand new. Today, the inner court is as indestructible as an iron barrel.
Chu Yi wants Empress Dowager Yuan to know something, and only Empress Dowager Yuan can know it.
The situation in the inner court had already changed without Empress Dowager Yuan knowing.
After Jin An left the Southern Study, he immediately called over two young eunuchs and gave them some instructions.
The two young eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department nodded in agreement and then returned to Shou'an Palace.
Because Empress Dowager Yuan was under house arrest, all the palace servants in Shou'an Palace were also forbidden to enter or leave and were trapped in Shou'an Palace. These two young eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department were usually responsible for guarding the gate of Shou'an Palace and were quite familiar with the palace servants in Shou'an Palace.
These two people were also smart. When the palace servants from Shou'an Palace came to offer bribes next time, they would exaggerate the matter and leak it out without leaving any trace.
That afternoon, Prince Kang Chuyou and Gu Yunmeng came to Shou'an Palace.
The mother and son had not seen each other for more than 20 days since the love-making banquet. Chu You wanted to have a good chat with Queen Mother Yuan about their mother-son relationship, but the first thing Queen Mother Yuan said was: "Ayou, you are too impulsive. The marriage with the Kingdom of Yue will bring you a hundred benefits and no harm!"
Queen Mother Yuan patiently advised her son in a gentle voice: "Ayou, listen to your mother's advice. The previous Emperor Guanglie was able to turn the tide because he married the princess of Xirong and had the full support of Xirong. Otherwise, the previous dynasty would have run out of luck a hundred years ago. If you want to achieve great things, you must make sacrifices!"
"Besides, if you don't marry the princess of Yue, Chu Yi will marry her. Do you want to watch Chu Yi occupy the throne in the future?"
Queen Mother Yuan did not give Chu You a chance to speak. After she finished her long speech, she turned her sharp and strong eyes to look at Gu Yunyan, who was standing aside with a stiff face. She only said lightly: "Yunyan, you are a good girl. You only have Ah You in your heart. For him, you are willing to make some sacrifices, right?"
"..." Gu Yunyan pursed her lips and looked deeply at Empress Dowager Yuan.
How could she not hear the implication of Empress Dowager Yuan's words? Emperor Guanglie of the previous dynasty had a first wife named Shi, but in order to help Emperor Guanglie gain the support of the Western Rong people, she did not hesitate to abdicate and demote herself to a concubine.
Gu Yunyan walked away without saying a word.
Her displeasure was obvious.
Early this morning, Prince Kang came to Luwei Hutong in person to find her and said that he would take her to the palace, so she followed Prince Kang.
Although the Queen Mother was somewhat snobbish, she was still Prince Kang's biological mother. Prince Kang suffered the most from the conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
In order to show her the affection of Prince Kang for her, she specially prepared a small double-sided embroidered screen and homemade snacks when she entered the palace this time, hoping to please the Queen Mother.
She had a sincere heart, but she didn't expect that the Queen Mother would pour a bucket of ice water on her head as soon as they met.
Gu Yunyan didn't want to say anything hurtful, and she also felt that she and Empress Dowager Yuan had no common ground, so she left Shou'an Palace without looking back.
"Auntie!"
Chu You could no longer care about Empress Dowager Yuan and hurriedly chased after her. He heard Empress Dowager Yuan's slightly exasperated voice coming from behind, repeatedly calling "Ayou".
But Chu You seemed not to hear it and was only focused on chasing Gu Yunmeng in front of him.
Gu Yun'er walked faster and faster. When she walked out of Shou'an Palace, she picked up the hem of her skirt and started to trot. She just wanted to leave the palace with its deep gates as soon as possible.
The footsteps of Chu You were getting closer and closer from behind, accompanied by his anxious shouts. Gu Yunmeng never stopped, and beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.
There was a look of embarrassment on that pretty little face.
I jogged from the inner court to the outer court, and after passing through the Zhaode Gate, the tall Wumen Tower appeared in front of me.
About seven or eight feet away, a familiar tall figure came into her sight. The young man was tall and slender, and his crimson official robe made him look very vigorous. He was talking to a young man in his twenties who was wearing a blue python robe. The two of them were talking and laughing, and seemed to be very familiar with each other.
It was Gu Yuan and Fan Beiran! Gu Yunyan couldn't help but slow down his pace and stared blankly at the two people in front of him.
Gu Yuan had his back to Gu Yunyan and didn't notice her at all. He casually threw an oil-paper bag to Fan Beiran, "Salt and pepper peanuts, fill your stomach first."
Fan Beiran happily took out a salt and pepper peanut from the oil paper bag, threw it into his mouth, and started chewing it with a "crunch, crunch" sound.
"From Lanshan Pavilion?" Fan Beiran could tell it was from the first bite.
Fan Beiran has always been very good at talking, so Gu Yuan was not surprised. He nodded with a smile and asked, "Ah Ran, who did you ask to make your fifth sister's treasure pavilion, Luohan bed, and bunk bed? Did you go to Yangzhou to buy the wood?"
"You guy, I knew you wouldn't come here for no reason. No wonder you came here to stop me." Given their friendship, Fan Beiran spoke very casually and threw a salt-and-pepper peanut into his mouth. "Since you still remember to respect me, I'll go back and ask my mother for you."
Gu Yuan climbed up the pole and said, "Why don't you ask my aunt for me which silver shop made the jewelry on the list."
Fan Beiran readily made a "no problem" gesture.
Gu Yunyan, who was not far away, bit her lower lip as she watched the two of them. Just as she was about to quicken her pace, she felt her right arm tighten. Chu You, who was behind her, finally caught up with her and grabbed her slender arm with one hand.
"Mian'er!" Chu You looked at her eyes full of affection, so passionate, so focused, "Listen to my explanation, this is my mother's opinion, I will not marry anyone else."
"You know, you're the only one in my heart."
He explained anxiously and sincerely, holding Gu Yun'er's right arm tightly with one hand, holding her like an iron clamp.
"Let me go!" Gu Yun'er lowered his voice and tried to break free from Chu You. He couldn't help but glance in the direction of Gu Yuan and Fan Beiran, and happened to meet Gu Yuan's deep eyes.
Gu Yuan just glanced at Gu Yun'er and Chu You indifferently, then withdrew his gaze, pointed in a direction towards Fan Beiran, and signaled them to talk somewhere else.
Gu Yun'er's face was burning, and she thought: Gu Yuan must know...
Gu Yuan worked in the Imperial Guard and followed the eldest prince around all day. Of course, what happened in the morning court could be heard by him, and he must have known that Prince Kang was going to marry the princess of Yue.
Gu Yuan must be laughing at her.
For a moment, Gu Yunmeng was so embarrassed that she wished she could dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it. Her face and ears were burning.
Gu Yunyan was so angry that she almost bit her lower lip until it bled. She gritted her teeth and said with red eyes, "My Lord, please let go."
"Let's just... forget it."
Even at this moment, Gu Yun'er still believed in Prince Kang's feelings for her.
But after all, there was a huge difference between him and her. He had his own grand ambitions, while in the eyes of the Queen Mother and others, she was nothing more than an obstacle to Prince Kang's future.
If King Kang could refuse once for her, could he refuse twice, three times... and countless times in the foreseeable future?
"..." Chu You looked at Gu Yunmeng in disbelief as if he had been stabbed. Instead of letting go, he held her right arm even tighter.
His eyes flashed with a frightening blood color, and he declared domineeringly: "I will never let you go!"
The next sentence became more tender, "Mian'er, didn't you tell me that I would hold your hand and grow old with you?"
"We've been through so much together... to get to this day, how could you just give up on me like this?"
Chu You's words also hurt Gu Yunyan. Her eyes were filled with crystal tears and her eyelashes trembled with tears.
She was also reluctant. Making such a decision was like cutting a piece of flesh and blood from her heart.
"Mian'er..." Chu You felt so distressed when he saw her charming appearance.
He wanted to hold her in his arms and express his feelings to her, but Gu Yunmeng pushed him away cruelly.
"The Queen Mother is doing this for your own good." Gu Yun'er said in a hoarse voice, trying hard not to let the tears fall.
Gu Yunyan took off the nine-dragon carved jade bracelet from her left wrist and resolutely stuffed it into Chu You's hand.
“I’ll give this back to you…”
This is their token of love.
Gu Yun'er's eagerness to sever ties with him immediately infuriated Chu You completely.
Chu You's eyes were filled with spider-web-like bloodshot, and his heart ached as if it was pierced by thousands of arrows. Without even looking at it, he threw the jade bracelet in his hand away heavily, with a bit of venting emotion.
The bracelet streaked across the air like a meteor and flew towards Gu Yuan in front.
Fan Beiran and Gu Yuan were walking forward when they suddenly heard a sound of breaking air from behind. They turned back subconsciously and saw a jade bracelet about to hit Gu Yuan's head, but it was only half a foot away...
“Gu…”
Fan Beiran's face changed and he wanted to push Gu Yuan, but his hand just touched Gu Yuan's shoulder, he saw that the rapidly flying jade bracelet stopped in mid-air, shining brightly in the sun.
Huh?! Fan Beiran was stunned, almost thinking he was hallucinating, and blinked.
The emerald green jade bracelet paused in the air for two seconds, and then fell vertically to the ground.
"Bang!"
The jade bracelet broke into three pieces.
Fan Beiran put his hand on Gu Yuan's left shoulder, dumbfounded. He looked at the broken bracelet on the ground for a while, then looked at Gu Yuan's profile, and couldn't help asking, "Did you see it just now?"
Wasn't he dazzled? Wasn't he daydreaming, right? Gu Yuan was stunned for a moment, but soon came to his senses, raised the corners of his lips in pleasure, and nodded: "I saw it."
"No wonder my sister said I was unlucky." It's true.
Fan Beiran's right hand suddenly touched the back of Gu Yuan's head, and then he was sure that there was nothing on his head except the silver hairpin that tied his hair.
"Oh."
Gu Yuan suddenly chuckled, turned his head and looked in the direction of Zhaode Gate, and said in a somewhat strange tone: "Sure enough."
Fan Beiran followed his gaze and looked at Gu Yunmeng and Chu You. The two were still pushing each other excitedly, one grabbing and the other dodging.
Fan Beiran shook his head and repeated in agreement: "Sure enough!"
No wonder Gu Yuan was so unlucky. How could he not be unlucky after meeting these two people? !
"A Yuan, let's go. I don't want to get hit on the head." Fan Beiran pulled Gu Yuan and the two walked towards the Meridian Gate.
After walking out of the palace from the east gate of the Meridian Gate, Fan Beiran suddenly stopped, pursed his thin lips, and seemed a little absent-minded.
"A'ran?" Gu Yuan called out when he saw him standing there stupidly.
Fan Beiran walked quickly to Gu Yuan's side, turned around and pointed in the direction of the palace gate, lowering his voice and asking, "What just happened... was it your sister's trick?"
Fan Beiran had heard of the name of the second daughter of the Gu family a long time ago. It was simply a household name, but today he finally saw her with his own eyes.
"That's right!" Gu Yuan raised his chin proudly and said boastfully, "You haven't seen my sister yet, right? She is so well-behaved and cute."
Fan Beiran took the reins from the servant, climbed onto the horse, hesitated for a moment, and then said to Gu Yuan who had also mounted the horse: "A Yuan, I want to ask your sister for a favor."
"Help?" Gu Yuan rode his horse to Fan Beiran's side and raised his eyebrows.
Fan Beiran looked around and signaled Gu Yuan with his eyes to walk forward with him.
When they were alone in front and behind, Fan Beiran said, "She is my fifth sister. As you know, my fifth sister got engaged half a year ago."
Gu Yuan nodded.
He remembered that the fifth daughter of the Fan family was engaged to the fourth son of the Duke Zhongqin's mansion.
Fan Beiran considered his words for a moment, then continued, "Fifth sister has had a good temper since she was young, gentle and lovely, but..."
Having said that, Fan Beiran pursed his thin lips, with an expression of embarrassment that was difficult to express.
After hesitating for a while, he finally continued: "Recently, my fifth sister has fallen in love with a poor scholar who came from nowhere. She is completely infatuated with him and is devoted to him."
"She didn't sleep all day and all night, and insisted on seeing the poor scholar. She felt heartbroken if she was not allowed to see him. Her family had no choice but to feed her some tranquilizing medicine. She finally fell asleep, but suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and was painting her eyebrows and eyes in front of the dressing table, which scared the maid on duty."
"She also said that she would not marry into the Zhongqin Marquis's mansion and that she wanted to cancel the engagement. She cried and made a scene at home."
"The family really couldn't do anything with her, so they had to lock her up and try to persuade her slowly... but this girl actually started a hunger strike."
As he spoke, Fan Beiran sighed deeply and rubbed his eyebrows.
If he and Gu Yuan had not been close friends since childhood, he would not have dared to mention such things to others.
Originally, the family members thought that the little girl was just feeling uneasy before getting married, so she had a tantrum. They thought that if they let her calm down for a few days, and then the family members used both soft and hard methods to reason with her, she would eventually be able to convince him.
As a result, after a few days, the girl refused to listen to any advice or reason, and she refused to eat or drink or sleep. Last night, she suddenly got up in the middle of the night to embroider a wedding dress, saying that Xue Lang would come to marry her soon.
"My mother said that my fifth sister must have been possessed by an evil spirit. She even invited someone to perform a ritual in the mansion, but it was of no use."
"I also think that Fifth Sister is possessed by evil spirits!"
Fan Beiran tightened the reins with worry, drove the horse and rode slowly side by side with Gu Yuan, and said seriously: "A Yuan, my fifth sister is such a well-behaved person, you have also seen it before."
Gu Yuan had indeed seen it.
When Miss Fan Wu was little, she often followed Fan Beiran around and went out to play with them. When they went to the horse race, she would go too. When they went to the cockfight, she would watch. When they went to the gambling house, she would secretly follow them...
It was not until the little girl was seven or eight years old that Mrs. Fan restrained her and no longer allowed her to leave the house and play with the boys.
Fan Beiran grabbed Gu Yuan's wrist and said anxiously, "Ah Yuan, if she continues to be so hungry and not eat, I'm really afraid that she will get sick from hunger..."
"There's something really wrong with her."
"Can you ask your sister to take a look at my fifth sister?"
The helplessness in Fan Beiran's voice when he said the last sentence is still ringing in his ears. When Gu Yuan returned home and relayed his friend's words to Gu Yanfei, there was a hint of empathy on his face.
After finishing talking about Miss Fan Wu, Gu Yuan said, "Sister, if you don't want to, I will go back to that kid Fan Beiran."
Hearing the name "Fan Beiran" again, Gu Yanfei was a little dazed.
She knew Fan Beiran.
In the previous life, the eldest brother's legs were seriously injured and he was abandoned by the second house. Fan Beiran and others tried their best to help the eldest brother. They consulted doctors from all over the capital and even invited a military doctor who was good at treating external injuries, but the eldest brother's legs were still lame.
When her eldest brother died, several grown men like Fan Beiran cried uncontrollably, and they were the ones who helped her bury her eldest brother.
Gu Yanfei lowered his eyelashes to hide his emotions and said nonchalantly, "Okay, big brother, when are we going to the Fan family?"
Seeing his sister agreed, Gu Yuan said, "You don't have to make a special trip. Fan Beiran said he would find a way to get the person here." He took the tea handed to him by Gu Yanfei and sat down aside. "I'll ask Wutong to pass a message to him."
Gu Yuan told Juanbi to go to the outer courtyard to find Wutong, while he stayed in Yuheng Garden and had some sweet snacks with Gu Yanfei.
The Fan family was not far from the Gu residence, only three or four streets away. After an incense stick of time, the Fan brothers and sisters arrived.
The brother and sister, one wearing apricot red and the other pink, were all wearing bright clothes, which made the room seem a lot brighter.
When she saw Fan Beiran, Gu Yanfei was actually not a stranger to him. She had seen Fan Beiran in her previous life, and now it was like meeting an old friend again. She smiled at him kindly, and then her eyes fell on the fifth daughter of the Fan family.
Fan Mushuang wore a pink skirt embroidered with peony branches, and a pair of red gold hairpins inlaid with rubies were inserted into her double buns. She had a small round face, almond eyes, rosy cheeks, and a delicate little mouth. Her facial features were delicate and pretty, and she looked well-behaved and harmless.
However, her face looked a little haggard, her fair cheeks were slightly sunken, her pupils were blurred, and there was a dark shadow in her eye sockets. It was obvious that she had not slept well in the past few days.
Gu Yanfei was looking at Fan Mushuang, and Fan Beiran and his sister were also looking at her.
Fan Mushuang's clear black and white almond-shaped eyes stared at Gu Yanfei blankly, and the first sentence he said was shocking: "My second brother said, can you help me elope with Xue Lang?"
She smiled with her lips curved, with the corners of her lips raised high like a crescent moon, with a strange yearning.
(End of this chapter)
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