Since he mentioned this, Shen Qingqiu was naturally suspicious.
"Qiu'er, I know you are a martial arts expert, but sometimes you still have to be careful—" Gu Yanwei said: "This is the way the world is after all. If it wasn't me who came today, even if you killed these robbers and left, do you know what your reputation would be like?"
Shen Qingqiu was about to speak: "I know you don't value reputation, but you are still the daughter of the Gu family."
Shen Qingqiu had no choice but to nod, "Okay, I know." She could not value her own life, but she always had to consider the reputation of the Gu family.
"Then Your Highness, I'll leave these women to you." After all, she didn't have much rest time left.
Seeing that she finally obeyed, Gu Yanwei's expression was a little better. He nodded again and regained his gentle gaze. But when Shen Qingqiu turned around to leave, he suddenly brought up the question at the beginning, "Have you ever thought about why you were suddenly kidnapped at the palace gate? Those robbers are not thieves, they are just a group of bandits behind the White Dragon Temple. No matter what, you have to be careful."
Shen Qingqiu naturally knew this, and she had no intention of taking this matter lightly.
"Your Highness, you don't have to worry about this matter," Shen Qingqiu said, "I will find a way to solve it."
Shen Qingqiu and Jin Cai got on the carriage. Jin Cai bowed to Gu Yanwei and quickly asked the driver to drive the carriage away.
Gu Yanwei in the outer room just looked at Shen Qingqiu's carriage. He knew Shen Qingqiu didn't want to involve himself in this matter, but he didn't intend to let this matter go. People always have to pay the price for their actions. She only had a few enemies, and those related to the bandits in the White Dragon Temple were easy to think of.
"Let's go back to the palace first."
The bandits behind the White Dragon Temple were actually not that powerful, but because of the good terrain there, and the fact that the court was busy with the prince's birthday banquet and the Xixia princess who came to Xixia to choose a husband, they were too busy to spare any time. If they really went all out, Gu Yong's cavalry alone could flatten the place.
The fact that the emperor allowed the ninth prince to pass through might have been a way of training him.
Taifu Lin held the memorial held by the Ninth Prince and said, "Your Majesty, this prince is a man of great talent."
The emperor smiled softly, "Master, don't favor him just because he is your student. He is just a group of insignificant bandits behind the White Dragon Temple. He took a little longer, but if it was an ordinary general, it would take at most three to five months to defeat him."
Taifu Lin said, "If the emperor hadn't been laughing at me, I would have believed what he said."
Although he said that what his son did was not worth mentioning, the emperor's smile never stopped, with an expression of tolerance. How could he not be happy when his son did better than others?
"That's not all I want to say. Your Majesty, please take a look. This is your highness's theory on flood control."
The emperor said "oh" and took the article from Lin Taifu's hand. As he read on, his admiration grew. But he didn't know what he remembered. In the end, he sighed, "What a pity, what a pity..."
"Why is the emperor sighing?" Taifu Lin asked, "Is it because of the Ninth Prince's illness?"
"Your Majesty, His Highness is a man of great talent. He is only fifteen or sixteen years old now, and he is still ten years away from twenty-five. The world is so big, and in ten years, there is no doubt that we can find a way to save him."
The emperor shook his head and did not continue talking. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "The prince's birthday will be coming soon. I plan to let him marry the daughter of the prime minister after his birthday." He smiled and looked at Taifu Lin and said, "Taifu Lin, your eldest grandson Lin Xuanfeng is already 21 or 22 years old, right? Hasn't he arranged a marriage yet?"
Master Lin smiled bitterly, "I did discuss with a few companies, but he didn't like any of them."
The emperor smiled and said, "Why don't I find him a marriage partner?"
Hearing this, Master Lin asked, "Has the Emperor already chosen someone?"
"Lord Kangle, what do you think, Master?"
Master Lin felt a lump in his throat when he heard this. How could he not understand his own student? Actually, Shen Qingqiu was a good person, but he was a bit wild. However, he and Xuanfeng... could complement each other. "But... Mr. Kangle is still ten days away from his graduation."
The emperor smiled and said, "It's only a few years, and a man's age is not that valuable, so it's not a bad idea to settle it first."
He actually liked Shen Qingqiu, this girl was straightforward, and Lin Xuanfeng was also a future court official that he focused on training. If the two of them got together, it would be a good story. Master Lin had nothing to refuse, and only said: "But Xiangjun is the daughter of the Marquis after all, so we still have to ask the Marquis for his opinion on this matter."
This is understandable, but there has been some grudge between the Lin family and the Marquis' Mansion, so the marriage may not be so easy to come by.
But the emperor wanted to bring the two families together. "Grandmaster, why don't you find a time to talk to Gu Yong about his words? It's better to resolve a feud than to create one... Besides, Gu Yong has been so successful in recent years that he has frightened the emperor. If I don't have any leverage over him, I won't feel at ease on the throne." Liking Shen Qingqiu is one thing, and wanting to give her a good marriage is another.
But being afraid of Gu Yong and wanting to use her as a handle is another matter.
——
The Ninth Prince successfully suppressed the bandits and the Emperor commended him again. When this got to the ears of some people in the palace, it was not a good thing.
Gu Yanran gritted her teeth and pounded the table fiercely, "She escaped again. What kind of bandits are they? I think they are all just a bunch of idlers. They can't even deal with a woman!"
"Miss, I think we should just forget about it!" the maidservant beside her couldn't help but say.
She had seen the girl fighting with Shen Qingqiu constantly since she came back, but she had never won. Why did it come to this? They had no conflicts at all, and they were both girls from the Gu family. Would it be good for her if Shen Qingqiu's reputation was ruined?
Gu Yanran also knew this truth, but she understood it too late. Now her son Gu family no longer wanted her. What else could she do except to go all the way to the end! If Shen Qingqiu hadn't been in trouble, she would never have had the chance to return to the Gu family. After staying in the palace for half a year, how could Gu Yanran not understand.
If she didn't have the identity of the fourth lady of the Gu family, let alone becoming the prince's principal wife, even if the prince had feelings for her, I'm afraid the queen would not agree.
"Miss, why are you still thinking about this?" The maid was also anxious. After all, she was getting older and would have to leave the palace to get married. As a slave, her future depended on her master.
"After the prince's birthday this year, he will marry Prime Minister Wang's daughter, Wang Qingluo!" But what would her girl have to do with it then?
How could she still dream that the prince had her in his heart? He might not even remember her face! "What, the prince is getting married!" Hearing this news, Gu Yanran stood up from her chair in disbelief, "It's impossible. He smiled when he saw me last time and gave me flowers to wear. How could he get married?" She first thought of the prince's elegant face.
Then she thought of Wang Qingluo. As ordinary as Wang Qingluo was, she was just pretty. How could she be worthy of such a talent as the prince! Gu Yanran was distraught. She had dreamed of marrying the prince and becoming the princess in the future. She had dreamed of having everyone in the Gu family, including Old Lady Xu kneeling on the ground and looking up at her for more than half a year. But her dream was suddenly shattered. What could she do? After entering the palace this time, Old Lady Xu no longer cared about her, and the queen who had been kind to her in the past had not summoned her for a long time. Although she was still the companion of Princess Yongping, she had long been excluded from the circle in the palace. Now she is not as well off as Shen Qingqiu.
"Miss, what are you doing?" The maid watched her get up and walk out, and seeing her distraught look, she was afraid that she would be upset.
Gu Yanran just shook her head and said, "I'm going to take a walk in the Imperial Garden to relax." She was really confused at the moment.
The maid did not follow.
As Gu Yanran walked, she couldn't help but think about when she had just returned to the Gu family from her mother in the Buddhist temple. At that time, she and Shen Qingqiu still maintained superficial peace, and no matter what kind of dispute she had with Shen Qingqiu, the old lady would always stand on her side.
But since when did even the old lady no longer want her? Ever since she broke up with Old Lady Xu, Gu Yanran suddenly realized how important she had lost. Without the Gu family to protect her, who would be interested in her? And the dream of the Crown Princess was just a dream after all.
Thinking of this, Gu Yanran couldn't help but covered her face and cried quietly. Now she didn't even know whether she was crying for the prince's upcoming marriage or for herself.
"Why is Miss Four here?" a female voice came over.
Gu Yanran hurriedly wiped away her tears and looked in that direction again. It was actually Princess Changping. She tried to smile, "Princess, you must have seen it wrong. I was just blinded by sand just now."
Princess Changping also smiled, "The whole palace is decorated with lights and lanterns. The Crown Prince's birthday and the Queen Mother's birthday banquet will be held soon. I feel sad, but I can't even cry." How could Changping be happy when she saw that Wang Qingluo was going to marry the Crown Prince before her?
Then he looked at Gu Yanran in front of him... Wang Qingluo would be fine, but this orphan girl whose father had died actually dared to dream of becoming the crown prince. Changping sneered, and when he looked up again, his eyes towards Gu Yanran became more sympathetic, "Wang Qingluo is unruly and has a bad temper. In my opinion, she is not as good-looking as you. How come she became the crown prince's principal wife?"
Gu Yanran suddenly clenched her handkerchief, "What are you talking about, Princess? What does Miss Wang's situation have to do with me?"
Changping sighed and shook his head, "The Crown Prince cousin is a handsome man, why can't the fourth lady say that she likes him?"
Gu Yanran gritted her teeth, "Princess, what do you mean by saying this in front of me? Don't you have any other thoughts about the prince? Everyone on this street knows that you, Princess Changping, used to fight with Wang Qingluo for the prince, and you fought like a chicken."
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