Chapter 15
Thank you, Yingchen!
Qin Su finally realized that he had not guessed wrong.
Qin Su guessed that his restless half-brother had gone to Liang Kingdom with Xie Yingchen back then, and the moment he saw him, he knew that Xie Yingchen was most likely in the black carriage.
Qin Su composed himself, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your Highness..." The words he was about to say stuck in his throat, "Young Master."
Xie Yingchen raised his hand and took off the jade pendant from his waist.
"Please go and announce this."
This white jade nine-dragon pendant was personally bestowed upon me by the late emperor when he was conferred the title of Crown Prince.
Qin Su respectfully accepted the jade pendant with both hands and gestured for a guard to go in and report.
"The Crown Prince!"
A gasp suddenly rang out from the departing crowd. The Minister of Revenue, who was over seventy years old, paused for a moment, then rushed over with great joy. He walked so fast that he didn't even notice that his official hat was askew.
"It really is you."
The Minister of Revenue grabbed his hand, his white beard trembling, and he was about to kneel down.
Xie Yingchen helped him up with both hands, straightened his official hat, and greeted him with a smile: "Minister Mo."
"Yes, yes." Minister Mo was overjoyed and wept, stammering, "Your Highness, you've grown up so much, and you still remember this old minister."
His words and actions were completely undisguised, and many officials stopped and looked over.
Some observed from afar, pondering the situation; some wanted to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible; and others, like the Minister of Revenue, were so excited that they couldn't contain themselves... The entire court of officials had their own thoughts.
"The Crown Prince!"
"Your Highness."
"You're finally back."
For a time, the area in front of the palace gates was in an uproar.
Xie Jing was shocked. Perhaps it was because the veil of the hat was too thick, but he felt that even his breathing was slow.
These important court officials, whom even he treated with respect, were now surrounding Xie Yingchen, showering him with concern and not even sparing him a glance.
He couldn't help but panic.
Xie Jing knew that Xie Yingchen was already on his way back to the capital.
Previously, Xie Jing hadn't felt much about this. He was just the illegitimate child of a deposed crown prince. If he wanted to live, he would live; if he wanted to die, would he dare not die? But now, Xie Jing suddenly felt an immense sense of crisis.
Don't these old fools care about the Emperor's moods at all?
Xie Jing snapped out of his shock and demanded, calling him by name, "Xie Yingchen! Just yesterday you were in Yizhou, but now you're right here in the capital. Who are you guarding against with all this scheming and caution? Do you think the Emperor won't tolerate you?"
Xie Yingchen glanced at him, then smiled without saying a word.
The smile seemed to convey a lot of meaning, yet it also seemed to say nothing at all.
Chief Minister Song: "..."
After his wife returned from the Autumn Festival, she told him that the Third Prince didn't seem very bright.
That's really true!
Some things are better left unsaid; knowing them is one thing, but saying them out loud is incredibly foolish.
The Song Dynasty's chief minister stroked his beard.
He did not want turmoil in the court, so before Prince Chen returned to the capital, he complied with the emperor's wishes and requested the establishment of an heir apparent.
This Third Prince used to seem alright. Though his talent was mediocre, he was refined, polite, studious, and kind. Moreover, he was born to the Empress, making his lineage legitimate. Who would have thought… Thinking back on what happened yesterday, it's truly hard to put into words.
Let me look again...
After a moment's thought, the Grand Secretary Song made his decision and said, "Your Highness, I will accompany you to meet the Emperor."
Minister Mo glanced at Chief Minister Song and thought that he was getting more and more cunning with age.
Xie Yingchen was the eldest grandson of the late emperor, a legitimate eldest grandson. If we were to follow the traditional order of cousins, he would indeed be called "the eldest son." It's quite remarkable that he came up with such a clever title.
However, the late emperor never deposed the crown prince! The legitimate successor should be the legitimate successor! Why make it so incongruous?
Look at the Third Prince! He clearly wants to outdo the Crown Prince, but all he does is spout stupid nonsense to sow discord. It's unbearable to watch. How can he compare to the Crown Prince, whom the late Emperor personally raised? He is measured and composed.
Minister Mo raised his head and said warmly, "Grandson, I will go too."
The Grand Secretary secretly glared at him. What was there to argue about with this title? Calling him "Crown Grandson" was inappropriate now, truly inappropriate!
The Imperial Guard who had gone to report came out in a hurry, accompanied by the Grand Eunuch Li Deshun.
Li Deshun greeted the assembled officials, then smiled and addressed Xie Yingchen, saying, "His Majesty has decreed that you are summoned to an audience." He again used a vague form of address.
Xie Yingchen didn't move. He faced Gu Zhizhuo and cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you for seeing me off, Miss Gu. I will definitely pay a visit to the Duke in the future to offer him incense."
As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes turned to Gu Zhizhuo, who was standing with his horse in the lead.
In an instant, the talking stopped, and the surroundings became completely silent.
The fact that the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion openly went out with Xie Yingchen was enough to make people speculate wildly, and all sorts of guesses swirled in their minds.
Gu Zhizhuo remained calm and allowed them to look her over. She smiled from afar and said, "Please, young master."
He nodded slightly to her, and surrounded by a crowd, he stepped into the palace.
Xie Jing stood there, staring intently as the vermilion palace gates slowly closed before him. His eyes no longer held their usual confidence, but instead held resentment, hatred, and confusion.
“Your Highness,” Gu Zhizhuo said with a wicked smile, his words carrying a deeper meaning, “The founding emperor said that those with facial flaws should not serve in office…”
Emperor Taizu once said that officials should not have flaws in their appearance or be physically disabled, and the same should apply to rulers.
"Your face needs careful care and patience. By the way, does it still hurt?"
Xie Jing subconsciously covered the wound on his forehead. After applying the medicine, the skin of the wound felt like it was being pulled, with waves of numbness and pain that lasted all night.
No one looked at him properly just now. Was it because Xie Yingchen had returned, or because they thought his injuries wouldn't heal and he had lost his chance to compete for the crown prince position?
Gu Zhizhuo schemed against her in every way, not caring at all whether their marriage agreement could still be finalized. Could it be that the Gu family really had hidden troops in the northern border, and now wanted to abandon her, choose a new master, and earn another merit by following the emperor?
So, that's why she got together with Xie Yingchen?
The thought was like a bucket of ice water being poured over his head. Xie Jing felt a chill rise from his heart, making him shiver. It was even colder than when he was kneeling in the rain yesterday.
"I won't disturb your reflection any longer." Gu Zhizhuo chuckled, mounted his horse, curtsied in Qin Su's direction as a farewell, and then called to Qiongfang and Jingmei, "Let's go!"
Xie Jing's mind was in a mess, and he stood there motionless.
The wind lifted the thin veil of his hat, revealing his deathly pale face.
"Miss," Qiongfang said, lagging behind him by a horse's length, "Are we going back to the estate?"
"Return to the residence."
Gu Zhizhuo said lightly, "My surname is Gu, so of course I can go back to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion whenever I want."
The people with the surname Ji are all living well.
Why is she avoiding it?
I went to the village only because I needed to; once the business was done, of course I had to go back.
Gu Zhizhuo flicked his whip in a dashing manner, and the Jade Lion galloped out of the Meridian Gate first.
She first went to Baijitang to get some medicine for herself, and then instructed the shopkeeper to let her know if anyone came looking for her. Then she went back.
For Qiongfang, they had only been gone for a day.
For Gu Zhizhuo, returning to this mansion felt like a lifetime had passed.
My great-grandfather joined the uprising of Emperor Taizu and made outstanding military achievements. After Emperor Taizu ascended the throne, he was granted the title of Duke of Zhenguo, a hereditary title without any reduction in rank.
Along with the title, this Zhenguo Duke's Mansion was bestowed, which was said to be the residence of a powerful prince from the previous dynasty.
Pavilions and towers, flying eaves and green tiles, every step is a scene, every place is like a painting, and the extravagance of the past is still preserved in the details.
The Gu family has not split up. There are three branches of the family living here now, including her two cousins and two cousins, one of whom has not yet been born. In her previous life, when she was exiled, An'ge was less than half a year old. He survived the prison but died in the mortuary.
Gu Zhizhuo gazed at every blade of grass and tree in a daze, then walked back to his courtyard along the bluestone path.
Qiongfang was about to knock on the door when Qingmei's ears twitched and she gently pulled her back.
She smiled strangely: "Girl, there are people inside."
"Is anyone there?" Qiongfang tilted her head and leaned closer to listen. Sure enough, she could faintly hear voices coming from inside.
"...That's right, the lady was so anxious that she cried for a whole day and night."
“Oh, Granny Zhu, you know, Madam treats our young lady with all her heart and cares about her in everything. How come our young lady never thought that the Grand Madam and Madam would be worried when she doesn’t come home at night?”
As Qiongfang listened, she grew increasingly angry.
Here we go again! If these words were to reach the ears of the Dowager Lady, she would surely be furious.
Gu Zhizhuo gave her a look, signaling her to step aside, and then kicked her.
Bang!
She kicked open the red lacquered wooden door of the courtyard, startling the old woman, Zhu, who was inside saying, "Poor thing, the young lady has already been sent to the nunnery by the madam, and the eldest young lady still won't stop making a fuss, doesn't she feel ashamed..." She jumped up in surprise.
Gu Zhizhu crossed his arms over his chest, looking quite interested.
Ruihuang looked embarrassed, but quickly smiled nonchalantly: "Young lady, you didn't come back last night, and the Grand Madam was very worried. She specially sent Granny Zhu over to ask about it."
She said ingratiatingly, "As soon as Madam returned, she sent Miss Ji to a nunnery, saying that she should reflect on her actions there."
After speaking, she carefully observed Gu Zhizhuo's expression.
She was one of Gu Zhizhuo's two head maids, given to her by the Ji family.
Looking back, Gu Zhizhuo vaguely remembered that after Ji Shi entered the household, her father stayed for less than half a month before taking her brother back to the northern frontier. Later, when she fell ill, Ji Shi dismissed her wet nurse and two head maids on the grounds that the servants had not taken good care of her, and sent Ruihuang instead.
After she recovered, Ruihuang spent all her time playing with her.
He would often whisper in her ear, "Young lady, you were born to be on a cloud, you are different from others."
“How can my cousin compare to you? She’s staying at our house, which is why she has to work so hard, learning poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, and the Four Books and Five Classics. Otherwise, who would want her?”
"Madam likes you the most. If there is anything you want, just tell Madam quietly, and she will definitely agree."
Indeed, she could have whatever she wanted, whether it was food, toys, or even just not wanting to memorize or write. Ruihuang would even do her homework for her.
She was six or seven years old at that time, um, I don't remember.
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