The county magistrate naturally did not dare to exaggerate in front of his superior and just waved his hand.
However, he was almost certain in his heart that his daughter was born with both beauty and talent. If she had not been plotting something bigger, it would not have been a problem for her to marry a royal grandson earlier. Now it seemed that his efforts over the years had not been in vain.
The two of them complimented each other again, and Cheng Futai said, "It seems that the emperor can't get off the boat tonight. Why don't we go have a drink together?"
The county magistrate would not refuse, "If you don't mind, I will accompany you."
——
At this moment, the melodious piano music in the boat finally stopped.
Gu Yanwei also opened his eyes, "You play the piano well."
"Thank you for the praise, Your Majesty." The woman said on her knees.
Gu Yanwei became interested and stood up from the bed, "Do you know my identity?"
"Before I came, my father had already told me that the person I was going to play tonight was the most important person in the world," the woman said. Gu Yanwei became more interested. "You said that, don't you know what your father and the others mean?"
The woman said, "I know, they hope that I can serve the emperor."
She finally looked up and looked at Gu Yanwei.
Gu Yanwei also saw the face of the woman in front of him clearly. She had willow-shaped eyebrows, long eyes and curved lips. She looked very charming and pure. Such beauty made even someone like him, who was used to seeing stunning beauties, stunned for a moment when he first saw it.
However, he was not a womanizer and already had someone he loved in his heart, so the daze lasted only for a moment.
"You play the zither really well." Gu Yanwei had no interest in her as a person, but he liked the sound of her zither. "If you are willing to enter the palace, I can take you back."
It would be nice to be a musician in a music hall.
Gu Yanwei didn't have any thoughts in that regard, but the woman in front of him didn't know.
She kowtowed to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I do not want to enter the palace!" She gritted her teeth and tears instantly fell down in strings. The beauty looked even more charming with tears in her eyes.
"My daughter already has someone she loves, and we have already secretly agreed to spend our lives together. I really don't want to deceive the emperor!"
Gu Yanwei just liked listening to the piano and didn't think about anything else.
But now, after hearing what the woman said, an idea popped up in his mind. This idea also made him feel depressed all day. He walked to her, lowered his head and asked, "What's your name?"
"My daughter, Zhao Shiqing, has a father who is the local county magistrate."
Zhao Shiqing answered.
"You know my identity. Would you rather offend me than be with your lover?"
Zhao Shiqing was different from her delicate appearance. She was resolute and strong. She clenched her fists and said, "My father has been training me since I was young. He knew that I could only be a tool for him to get promoted in the future. I didn't think much about it at first. After all, life is just going on. But since I met Chen Lang, I realized that there are still thousands of beautiful things in this world."
She looked at Gu Yanwei and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, although I am not in the capital, I have heard a lot about you in the capital. As early as when you were still the ninth prince, you had been in love with Miss Shen for your whole life. It is because of this that I dare to say such words today at the risk of being beheaded."
"Please Your Majesty give me a chance!"
As Zhao Shiqing spoke, he kowtowed hard to the ground.
She was about to kowtow for the second time, but Gu Yanwei stopped her with his fan, "No need."
Gu Yanwei said, "You are a brave woman." Gu Yanwei admired such a woman, who was brave, smart, and beautiful. But it was just admiration, because his heart had long been given to another person.
"I don't want your life, I just want you to do me a favor." Gu Yanwei curled his lips, "After the matter is done, I will personally marry you and your lover, and you don't have to worry about your father causing trouble for you in the future."
Zhao Shiqing stood there in a daze. She really couldn't imagine why the emperor, as the supreme ruler, would need her help.
"Your Majesty, please speak."
"I just need you to play a play with me."
"Acting?" Zhao Shiqing murmured.
Soon, the servants in the pleasure boat came in again. Gu Yanwei ordered them to light up all the lights in the pleasure boat again and said, "Shiqing's piano skills are good. I like her very much. I want to fall asleep to the sound of the piano tonight. The light is too dim. I'm afraid it will hurt her eyes. Add more lamp oil."
"yes."
That night, Gu Yanwei listened to music all night long, and the news spread throughout the officialdom of Hangzhou County in an instant.
Naturally, everyone was moved by the news. As a daughter, Zhao Shiqing won the favor of the emperor, so County Magistrate Zhao, as a father, naturally also felt proud. Especially after Gu Yanwei's intentional or unintentional praise several times, Cheng Futai basically concluded that the emperor wanted to take Zhao Shiqing into the harem.
Naturally, he also promoted County Magistrate Zhao.
On the other hand, Shen Qingqiu naturally got the news as well.
Of course she was unhappy in her heart, but she knew as early as when she married Gu Yanwei that this man could not belong to her alone. If she was really jealous about such a thing, how long would she be jealous?
Just pretend you didn't hear it.
But unexpectedly, Gu Yanwei was determined to make trouble and actually called the woman to the prefect's mansion.
"Qingqiu, what do you think of her piano skills?" Gu Yanwei asked the woman next to him.
Shen Qingqiu's eyes fell on the woman who was playing the piano. It was undeniable that this woman was naturally extremely beautiful, and even not much worse than her. Shen Qingqiu said: "She is good at playing the piano, and her appearance is also first-class."
Her face was calm, without any sign of displeasure.
Gu Yanwei picked up the wine glass on the stand and drank it all. Cheng Futai, who was standing by, looked at Gu Yanwei's expression and began to speculate: Could it be that the emperor wanted to marry Zhao Shiqing, but Shen Qingqiu disagreed?
After all, Shen Qingqiu was born in Gu Hou Mansion, and Gu Hou held military power. As the emperor, he naturally had to look at his face. Who could be angry because Shen Qingqiu was unwilling? Cheng Futai thought so in his heart, and said that as a minister, he should always help the emperor to solve problems.
"This Miss Zhao is the daughter of the local county magistrate. She is only sixteen years old and has a pure character." Cheng Futai said, "Miss Zhao wants to accompany the emperor wholeheartedly, but I don't know if the emperor is willing to do so?"
Gu Yanwei glanced at Cheng Futai, "This is a matter of the harem, so naturally the harem master has the final say." Then he looked at Shen Qingqiu, "Qiu'er, what do you think?"
What did she think? Shen Qingqiu's expression did not reveal his thoughts. After a moment, he smiled and said, "If you like, you can ask Miss Cheng to follow us back to the capital."
When Cheng Futai heard Shen Qingqiu say this, a smile appeared on his face, and he felt that the matter could be solved perfectly like this.
Unexpectedly, Gu Yanwei suddenly stood up, and the wine glass in his hand was knocked to the ground, with a slight anger on his face.
Cheng Futai knelt on the ground without saying a word, "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
"Get out!" Gu Yanwei shouted angrily.
The prefect didn't know what happened, and glanced at Shen Qingqiu on the stage. Then he hurried out. Zhao Shiqing was also in the room. Seeing the prefect go out, she wanted to go out too. Unexpectedly, before she could get up, she was grabbed by Gu Yanwei and staggered in front of Shen Qingqiu, "I said I wanted to take her into the palace, you really don't care at all."
Shen Qingqiu still had an expressionless face, "The Emperor wants to expand the royal family, how can I refuse?" After all, this is his mission.
The expression on Gu Yanwei's face was extremely ugly. He knew very well that if a woman loved her husband, how could she allow her husband to marry another woman.
Just like Empress Pei, no matter how vicious she was, she was still sincere to her father. But the graceful Shen Qingqiu in front of him, did she ever love him? Sometimes Gu Yanwei really wished she was a jealous woman.
No, maybe she is jealous, but she is not jealous of me.
"Shen Qingqiu, do you really not know what I'm thinking?" Gu Yanwei stared at her intently, "Or do you really want me to open my heart to you?"
"Your Majesty..." Zhao Shiqing was a little scared and called out weakly.
Shen Qingqiu also frowned and looked at Gu Yanwei, "What exactly are you going to do?"
He is the king of a country and has everything he wants. What else does he want from her?
Gu Yanwei closed his eyes, "I just want you to have me in your heart." Even if he found out that she didn't have him in her heart, what could he do? Would he ignore her? He couldn't do that.
"You go out." Gu Yanwei said to Zhao Shiqing who was standing there in a daze.
Zhao Shiqing nodded, then bowed and walked out.
Shen Qingqiu had been in a daze since he finished speaking, and only now raised his eyes to look at him, "Gu Yanwei...you..."
Gu Yanwei looked at her, "Qingqiu... I hope to be your husband, the husband in your heart, not the emperor in your heart."
Shen Qingqiu was stunned by what he said.
She had thought about this before, but the reality was that he was the emperor. If she indulged her heart and indulged in depravity, what would happen? Shen Qingqiu thought of Empress Pei. If she could not get her husband's love and indulged in the ambition of power, she would only sink further.
Shen Qingqiu shook his head, "Gu Yanwei, I know what you mean. But husband and wife are just two words, one husband has one wife, this is something you and I can never do."
"How do you know you can't do it if you don't try?"
Shen Qingqiu smiled, "Today there is Miss Zhao sent by County Magistrate Zhao, and tomorrow there will be Miss Chen sent by Lord Chen. Even if you can refuse these people, if later on, a war breaks out in Western Xia, and barbarians invade the border, how will you refuse if they want a marriage?" It is lonely at the top, and since he has become the king of this country, he naturally has to bear the responsibilities of a king.
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