Although she was about to marry the Seventh Prince and become his concubine, she actually had no feelings for him at all. . Everything she did was just because she was forced into a desperate situation by Shen Qingqiu, but when it came time to marry the Seventh Prince, Gu Yanran was unwilling to do so.
If she married the Seventh Prince, if she became his concubine, then there would be no possibility for her and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
"Get out of here!"
Seeing Gu Yanran so crazy, the maid could only quickly retreat.
Not to mention that Gu Yanran didn't want to marry Gu Cheng, even Old Lady Xu didn't want her granddaughter to marry the Seventh Prince. But everyone in the palace saw the two of them hugging each other that day, so even Old Lady Xu had no choice but to accept it. Days passed one by one, and soon it was the day for Gu Yanran and the Seventh Prince to get married.
Gu Yanran doesn't like Gu Cheng, and Gu Cheng actually doesn't have much interest in her.
He didn't like this kind of noble lady who followed the rules, but firstly, he had ruined her reputation, and secondly, Gu Yanran was the legitimate daughter of the Gu family after all, so he couldn't treat her casually. But Gu Yanran was beautiful anyway, so the two of them spent a period of sweet love when they were newly married.
Although Gu Cheng did not marry a principal wife, his concubines were also included in the royal family. Since he was married, his mother asked for permission to leave the palace and build a residence. Gu Cheng's prince's residence was located next to the residence chosen by Gu Yanwei. Gu Yanwei should have been the first to leave the palace and build a residence because of his meritorious service.
But an unexpected marriage allowed Gu Cheng to get ahead of him.
"Your mansion is nice, and there is such a tall persimmon tree!" Shen Qingqiu looked up at the tall persimmon tree in Gu Yanwei's mansion, and could almost imagine what it would look like when it bore fruit this autumn.
Gu Yanwei smiled softly: "I will ask Wang Xi to move all the grape vines in the backyard here."
Shen Qingqiu thought about the fruits and vegetables in his yard and said, "You are very comfortable being the Ninth Prince."
"If you want, you can come to me often."
Shen Qingqiu wanted to, but she would be old in a few days. The ancients arranged marriages early. In modern times, 12-year-olds are still elementary school students, but in ancient times, they were almost married. Even if she didn't want to avoid it, she had to consider her mother and the child in her mother's belly.
It can be seen that if a person has a weak point, he will seem to be constrained in everything he does.
But thinking of this, Shen Qingqiu just smiled, as if having the feeling of being restrained was not bad.
Not long after, Wang Xi came over with a thick gift list in his arms. "Your Highness, this is the gift list for the Seventh Prince's housewarming gift. Please take a look." Gu Yanwei knew that Wang Xi was always rigorous in his work, so he just said, "Just check it."
Then he looked at Shen Qingqiu who was standing beside him, "Qiu'er, I'm going to Seventh Brother's house to congratulate him, do you want to come with me?"
Shen Qingqiu was about to say that he would just go home, but Gu Yanwei said in time: "I heard that Seventh Brother is moving to a new house today, and he specially invited a chef from Mongolia to cook hand-pulled lamb. Although there are such dishes in the capital, they are not as authentic as those made by local Mongolian chefs. It is only because Seventh Brother has a lot of face that he was able to invite this person over."
Sure enough, Shen Qingqiu's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she quickly said, "It just so happens that I have nothing to do today, so I'll go with you." Realizing that she was a little anxious, she quickly shook her hands and pretended not to be anxious. Seeing this, Gu Yanwei just smiled lightly and did not expose him.
When they arrived at the Seventh Prince's residence, Gu Yanwei said to Shen Qingqiu: "I'm going to see Seventh Brother, do you want to come with me?"
Shen Qingqiu had no interest in meeting Gu Cheng. She was only interested in the hand-pulled mutton from the Seventh Prince's Mansion, so she just shook her head. Seeing this, Gu Yanwei whispered to her, "Then wait for me here, I'll come over in a while."
Shen Qingqiu waved his hand impatiently, "Go ahead."
Gu Yanwei shook his head helplessly and left quickly.
Shen Qingqiu was not the kind of person who would just stay where he was when told to, so he walked around the Seventh Prince's residence. The weather had gradually turned colder after the Mid-Autumn Festival, but it was not the coldest yet. There were clusters of pear blossoms in the corner of the Seventh Prince's residence. It was not winter yet, so the pear blossoms had not yet fully bloomed, but the buds that were about to bloom looked beautiful at this moment.
Thinking that her mother was getting older these days and couldn't come out to see these beautiful views at will, Shen Qingqiu asked, "Can you pick the flowers here?"
There were already a few maids following Shen Qingqiu, and upon hearing this, they hurried over and said, "We haven't had time to take care of this garden yet, and the pear blossoms were left by the previous owner. The housekeeper told us to clean up this corner tomorrow, and if the princess likes to pick more, that's fine."
When Shen Qingqiu heard the maid say this, she immediately climbed up the wall and started picking flowers. She picked out a few buds that were about to bloom and was about to pick them.
At this time, Gu Cheng had received the gifts from his relatives and was heading to the backyard to look for his new concubine, Gu Yanran, but he did not expect to see such a scene. A girl in a goose yellow dress sat on the wall, holding a light-colored peach blossom in her hand, and gently touched the tip of the pen.
Although it was far away, Gu Cheng felt as if he could smell the fragrance of the pear blossoms.
Sensing someone coming, Shen Qingqiu opened her eyes, looked down and naturally saw Gu Cheng, then she jumped down from the wall leisurely, "Hello, Seventh Prince..." As a county lady, she naturally did not need to perform any kneeling ceremony to Gu Cheng.
Gu Cheng looked at the pretty face in front of him and said, "My dear, there's no need to be so polite."
Shen Qingqiu had already picked the pear blossoms and didn't want to say anything more to Gu Cheng, so she said, "Your Highness, the meal is ready, I'll be leaving first." She came here specifically for the hand-pulled mutton, and she couldn't miss it.
But Gu Cheng was anxious. They had few opportunities to meet in the palace. She had finally gotten out of the palace. If he didn't talk about it now, how could he have another chance in the future? "Qingqiu!" Gu Cheng called her name and said, "After the spring, mother will choose a wife for me. You will be thirteen next year. Will you participate in my selection of a wife?"
Having said that, it is straightforward enough.
Shen Qingqiu frowned and glanced at Gu Cheng. She knew that she had a good appearance, but she didn't expect that after only meeting the Seventh Prince for a few times, he would want her to be his principal wife. If it were an ordinary person, she would refuse, but after all, he was a prince. She thought about it and said tactfully, "Your Highness, although I am a county lady, there are ten princesses in the capital for every brick dropped. I am not a county lady. Although I am the daughter of the Marquis's mansion, I actually have no blood relationship with the Marquis. I am a worthless person, I am afraid I am not worthy of attending."
"What's so unworthy about you? If I say you are worthy, then you are worthy!"
Shen Qingqiu frowned slightly, looking at the fiery Seventh Prince in front of him. How could this man not understand good or bad words? After thinking for a while, he said, "Your Highness, you have already married Gu Yanran. The capital is so small. You must know that Gu Yanran and I are not getting along, right?" Shen Qingqiu just wanted to end this boring conversation as soon as possible.
However, Gu Cheng thought she had given in, and said excitedly: "Qingqiu, don't worry, if you are willing to enter my backyard, and you don't like Gu Yanran, I will send her to another courtyard. You two are not in the same courtyard, so naturally you can't quarrel with each other." Even though she had a grudge against Gu Yanran, Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but sneer when she heard the Seventh Prince's ruthless remarks.
Where did he get the confidence to think that the Gu family would marry both of their daughters to him? Just as he was about to speak, Gu Yanran suddenly appeared at the door, biting her lip and looking at Gu Cheng with tears in her eyes, then glanced at Shen Qingqiu, then picked up her skirt and ran away. Gu Cheng frowned, but did not chase after her. Instead, he still looked at Shen Qingqiu, "Qingqiu, if you care about her, I can let her go to the other courtyard now."
He added: "The concubine didn't do anything wrong. If you are willing to marry me, I can stop seeing her in the future if I don't like her, but I can't divorce her." After all, divorce was too serious for a woman in that era.
Shen Qingqiu lowered the corners of his lips, "I——"
"Mr. Shen——" It was Gu Yanwei who came.
He walked towards her quickly, "I was looking for you. Princess Qinghe came just now and said she wanted to find you." Shen Qingqiu knew he was trying to help him out, so he nodded and left with his head down. Gu Cheng wanted to chase him, but was stopped by Gu Yanwei.
"Ninth brother, what do you mean?"
Gu Yanwei said, "Royal brother, after all, Shen Xiangjun is a woman, and there are differences between men and women."
Gu Cheng looked at his younger brother who had been enjoying great success recently, and said with a fake smile: "Ninth brother, you seem to care a lot about Shen Xiangjun? Could it be that you want to snatch it from me, your elder brother?"
Even though Gu Yanwei was the center of attention, he never took him seriously. What good was a sickly person whose mother died early? "Mrs. Shen's marriage is decided by Marquis Gu, and she decides it herself. It is not up to you and me to decide." Gu Yanwei still had a calm expression. Gu Cheng stared at him coldly for a while, but seeing his gentle look, he felt quite bored and smiled, "Ninth brother, I was just joking with you. We are brothers. If you really like this Mister Shen, you are weak, and as a brother, how can I not give in to you."
Gu Yanwei's expression remained unchanged, he just smiled and said, "Seventh Brother, you are joking."
Gu Chengben wanted to say something, but at this moment the housekeeper came and whispered something in his ear. Gu Yanwei's face changed and he said quickly, "Ninth brother, I still have some things to do here, so I won't greet you." Gu Yanwei smiled and shook his head, and after Gu Cheng left, the smile on his face suddenly turned cold.
He stretched out his hand again and swept the shoulder that Gu Cheng had just put his hand on, as if he was sweeping away some dirt.
At that time, Gu Yanran was hanging herself in the room, and her maid was looking outside. When she saw Gu Cheng finally arrived, she winked at Gu Yanran. So when Gu Cheng came in, he saw Gu Yanran sticking her head into the white silk and trying to commit suicide.
"What are you doing?!"
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