Chương 39: Consort Selection
Biên tập viên: Atlas Studios
Gu Yanfei casually brushed away a strand of hair that was blowing against her cheek, revealing her clear and beautiful jawline and a pink slender neck. When she raised her chin slightly, there was a hint of indifference in her expression.
Everyone in the water pavilion could not sit still anymore.
Many people had actually heard that the Empress Dowager would come today, but that was only a rumor. They did not expect the Empress Dowager to really come.
Looking at the Empress Dowager's outfit today, it was obvious that she was going on a trip in plain clothes.
She and Princess Consort Jing came in quietly, which meant that she did not want to interrupt the polo match. Therefore, everyone present did not stand up and bow for the time being. They just pretended not to know.
However, they couldn't help but look at the Empress Dowager and thought to themselves, 'It seems that the Empress Dowager is here to choose a consort for Kang Wang.'
The current Empress Dowager's surname was Yuan. She was the successor of the previous Emperor and came from the Yuan family of Yangzhou.
Since the previous dynasty, the Yuan family had been a famous aristocratic family in Yangzhou.
The Yuan family had existed for more than 300 years and had produced many officials. Not only did the family have a place in the royal court, but they were also quite famous among the commoners.
Empress Dowager Yuan was 15 years younger than the previous Emperor. As soon as she entered the palace, she was doted on by the previous Emperor and gave birth to the youngest son of the previous Emperor, Kang Wang. In the later years of the previous Emperor, he had once planned to depose the Crown Prince. It could be seen that he doted on the former Emperor.
Empress Dowager Yuan sat down on a rosewood armchair under everyone's burning gazes. Her every move was elegant and dignified, as if she had been measured with a ruler.
On the polo field, young figures spurred their horses as fast as lightning, charging and crashing. Both sides chased after the only ball without giving way to each other.
Princess Consort Jing sat beside the Empress Dowager and whispered to her.
"Your Majesty, the lady in red riding the red horse is Miss Hong from the Dragon Tiger General's residence."
"That lady in pink is the second daughter of Lord He, the Ji Prefecture's Chief Soldier."
"…"
Princess Consort Jing casually introduced a few noble ladies present who were all from noble families.
Empress Dowager Yuan picked up a silk-embroidered magnolia bamboo-pink tea cup and slowly removed the tea leaves with the lid. She seemed to be listening and thinking.
"Snap!"
Kang Wang, who was in the field, quickly snatched the bow. Then, he swung his staff with all his might and sent the bow flying towards Gu Yunrong, who tacitly turned around and struck the ball accurately into the goal.
The two teams tied again.
The crowd cheered and clapped, but Empress Dowager Yuan's smile was stiff.
Seeing this, an old granny in a rust-colored duster bent down and whispered into her ear, "This is Second Miss Gu of the Dingyuan Marquis Household, Gu Yunrong."
Empress Dowager Yuan paused in the act of moving the lid of the tea. She casually put down the teacup and looked back and forth between Kang Wang and Gu Yunrong expressionlessly.
This was the first time she had seen Gu Yunrong. She did not like this girl, but Kang Wang liked her.
Empress Dowager Yuan frowned slightly and the words her son had said to her two months ago rang in her ears. "Mother, I want to marry the second daughter of the Marquis Mansion as my main consort. Please fulfill my wish."
Empress Dowager Yuan had immediately ordered someone to check on Gu Yunrong. Only then did she know that Gu Yunrong was actually betrothed to the British Crown Prince.
She wasn't happy about it, but no one knew a son better than his mother. Her son had a temper and had been like that since he was a child. He would get what he wanted even if he had to break his head.
She didn't want a rift between mother and son, so she reluctantly didn't object. She wanted to put it off for a while before making any plans.
But—
She never expected the Eldest Prince, Chu Yi, to return alive.
Chu Yi had just returned to court and had yet to gain a foothold. Both the noble courtiers and the royal family were watching this prince who had been a hostage for many years. The Emperor had an heir, which was very disadvantageous for Empress Dowager Yuan and Kang Wang.
Kang Wang needed help, but the Dingyuan Marquis Household had declined after the Marquis' death. Now, the Marquis Household had no real power in the royal court…
"Ah!"
Suddenly, low cries sounded in the bamboo shed, calling Empress Dowager Yuan's attention back.
In the polo field, the white ball quickly shot towards Gu Yunrong on the white horse. It was as fast as a shooting star, getting closer and closer…
Gu Yunrong's expression changed slightly. In the next moment, a purple figure rushed to her side like lightning and blocked the ball with his back as a shield.
Thud!
The white ball was jerked away, slicing through the blue sky.
Empress Dowager Yuan: "!!!"
The injury was on Kang Wang's body but the pain was in Empress Dowager Yuan's heart. Feeling as if the ball had hit her, Empress Dowager Yuan stood up and almost lost her composure.
She wanted someone to call for a time-out, but she saw Kang Wang talking to Gu Yunrong in concern without caring about his injuries.
"…" Empress Dowager Yuan forgot her words for a moment, and her manicured fingertips dug into her palm.
He was really possessed!
Empress Dowager Yuan's eyes were dark and turbulent. The scene just now repeatedly echoed in front of her eyes and she was too distracted to focus on the game.
Clang!
A piercing gong roused her from her thoughts. She returned to her senses and saw that the second half was over.
The red and blue scores stopped at 10 to 10. It was a draw.
This result surprised the audience and made them want more.
Most of the people in the arena did not care about winning or losing. The result of a draw could not be better. All of them were beaming with joy as they chatted and laughed as they left the arena. It was a change from the tit-for-tat competition.
After leaving the polo field, Gu Yunrong nimbly dismounted. Kang Wang followed closely behind and also jumped off his horse, his gaze never leaving Gu Yunrong.
The game had consumed a lot of Gu Yunrong's strength. She had yet to recover and her breathing was slightly rapid. Her fair and delicate face was stained with a faint blush, making her look extra charming.
"Rong'er," Kang Wang whispered. He tried to take her hand and lead her to the Empress Dowager, but she leaned to one side and nimbly avoided his hand with half-lowered lashes.
Kang Wang's slender eagle eyes narrowed and he moved faster. This time, he took hold of her wrist forcefully and pulled her towards the Empress Dowager.
This scene was naturally seen by the surrounding people. Everyone could not help but hold their breaths as they watched this scene with different expressions.
The sounds around them seemed to be instantly sucked away and silence ensued.
Empress Dowager Yuan watched as the couple walked towards her, the distance between them closing bit by bit.
Her fair hand suddenly tightened on the arm of the armchair. She could vaguely guess what her son was going to say, and her frown deepened.
Under everyone's intense gazes, Kang Wang calmly held Gu Yunrong's hand and walked to the front of Empress Dowager Yuan. His expression was filled with arrogance and seriousness.
"Mother," he bowed to Empress Dowager Yuan and said firmly, "I want to marry Gu Yunrong as my consort. I hope Mother can fulfill my wish!"
Standing beside him, Gu Yunrong's eyes widened slightly as she looked up at his chiseled side profile.
He had always been cold and arrogant, but he was gentle and considerate to her.
She was especially touched to see this side of him.
Chương 40: True Name
Biên tập viên: Atlas Studios
Empress Dowager Yuan pursed her lips into a hard line. The bamboo canopy above her cast a faint shadow on her graceful face.
"Don't talk nonsense." Empress Dowager Yuan suppressed the surging emotions in her heart and forced a smile. "Miss Gu is already engaged!"
Empress Dowager Yuan stared steadily at Kang Wang, her right hand gripping the armrest tighter.
She had come to Prince Jing's mansion today to choose a consort for her son and also to see Gu Yunrong. She planned to take a step back and let this girl be his secondary consort so as to fulfill her son's wish.
But now, Empress Dowager Yuan had changed her mind and disliked Gu Yunrong even more.
Her son had great talent and was someone who would rule the world in the future. As a king, he could not be fascinated by a woman.
Daji, the favorite consort of King Zhou, brought chaos to the Shang Dynasty, and King You of Zhou lit the warning beacons and fooled his nobles just to win the smile of a beauty… As a monarch, being greedy for a beauty was a calamity to the country!
"Mother, you're mistaken. That's Second Miss Gu's marriage," Kang Wang looked straight into Empress Dowager Yuan's sharp eyes and said seriously.
"…" Empress Dowager Yuan was stunned. Her first reaction was, wasn't Gu Yunrong Second Miss Gu?
Most of the others around him were also confused.
Kang Wang summoned his personal attendant and pointed in the direction of the water pavilion. "Second Miss Gu is in the water pavilion. Go and call her over."
In the water pavilion, Gu Yanfei and Gu Yunzhen heard everything clearly. Gu Yunzhen frowned as she recalled the chaos at the Moon Pavilion and Fang Mingfeng's bloody face.
After a while, a green-robed eunuch quickly entered the water pavilion and cupped his hands politely at Gu Yanfei. "Second Miss Gu, the Empress Dowager and His Highness Kang Wang have invited you over to talk."
Gu Yanfei put down the teacup and stood up leisurely. She held down Gu Yunzhen, who wanted to go with her, and smiled. "Big Sister, I'll be back soon."
Everyone else in the water pavilion turned in her direction with varying expressions.
"Second Miss Gu, please." The green-robed eunuch extended his hand.
Li Zhulang looked at Gu Yanfei's graceful back in a daze and lowered his shoulders in frustration. A thought kept echoing in his mind, 'Is this beauty actually engaged?!'
A fair lady was a gentleman's dream.
If the beauty was engaged, wouldn't he have lost completely before he even got intimate with her!?
Li Zhulang stood rooted to the ground in a daze with the urge to cry. The young man patted his cousin's shoulder comfortingly.
The autumn wind blew and the journey from the water pavilion to the polo field was extremely quiet. The rustling of leaves became clearer, and the water vapor by the lake was brought a hint of coolness by the wind.
Under everyone's gaze, Gu Yanfei walked to the other side of Gu Yunrong and bowed to Empress Dowager Yuan. Her movements were standard and casual.
Kang Wang was not in the mood to pay attention to Gu Yanfei at all. Or rather, he did not even look at her directly. He said coldly, "Tell the Empress Dowager, are you betrothed to the British Crown Prince?"
"No," Gu Yanfei said with a smile.
On her beautiful face, a smile bloomed like the sunrise and like half-blooming crabapple flowers filling the branches.
As Gu Yanfei finished speaking, the surrounding crowd gradually became restless and whispered to each other.
Many people noticed Gu Yanfei's unfamiliar face today. In particular, her face was really beautiful and pleasing to the eye. Both men and women could not help but take a few more glances.
However, most of them did not know her identity. They only heard that her surname was Gu and thought that she was a girl from the Gu family.
Now, it seemed that this unfamiliar Miss Gu had an extraordinary background!
Kang Wang frowned and glanced at Gu Yanfei from the corner of his eye. The little girl stood there obediently with a faint smile, making it impossible to tell if she was deliberately going against him or if she did not know about this engagement at all…
Suppressing his thoughts, Kang Wang stood with his hands behind his back, emitting a cold and stern aura. His expression was arrogant and unyielding as he continued, "14 years ago, when your grandfather was still alive, he arranged a marriage with the Old Duke of the British Monarchy for Gu Ce's eldest daughter to marry Fang Mingfeng…"
"Your Highness Kang Wang is right." Gu Yanfei cleverly continued the other party's words and smiled calmly. "The one who is engaged to Crown Prince Fang is the eldest daughter of the first wife of the Dingyuan Marquis Household."
The ribbon on her hair fluttered in the wind, and her flowing skirt fluttered, looking as bright as the cold moon. The girl seemed to be surrounded by a floating aura, which was a sharp contrast to the cold Kang Wang.
"The letter of appointment between the two families is clearly written." As she spoke, Gu Yanfei turned her gaze to Gu Yunrong and continued, "As everyone knows, the eldest daughter of the Marquis Household is Gu Yunrong."
Gu Yanfei tilted her head and asked Gu Yunrong, who was only half a foot away from her, "Yes or no?"
Gu Yunrong's pupils constricted and her eyebrows twitched.
Kang Wang narrowed his eyes and stared at Gu Yanfei with a gloomy expression. Only at this moment did he look at Gu Yanfei.
Facing this pair of lovers, Gu Yanfei's smile deepened, but it did not reach her eyes.
In her previous life, after Gu Yanfei returned to the Dingyuan Marquis Household, she and Gu Yunrong were registered as twins under the names of her father, Gu Ce, and her mother, Madam Xie. However, the Gu family never explicitly introduced her to the public. Whenever they mentioned her, they would always be vague.
At that time, she had been beaten and scolded since she was young. Later, after being belittled, suppressed, and humiliated by Granny Xu, she became weaker and weaker. She was trapped in the Marquis Mansion all day and did not dare to interact with others, nor did she have the chance to argue for herself.
As a result, almost no one in the capital knew that she was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Household. They only treated her as a distant orphan and an adopted daughter.
She was clearly the real descendant of the Gu family, but she had become an unspeakable existence and was treated as a fish eye passing off as a pearl.
Until she died, her identity was unclear…
This was her mental demon that had once depressed her when she was young.
This lifetime was like this again and old things had repeated themselves. Even though Gu Yunrong had been transferred to the second branch, the Gu family had no intention of clearing their name.
Not in her past life, not now, and certainly not in the future.
Gu Yanfei tilted her head slightly and looked at Gu Yunrong, who was inches away. She asked again, "Yes or no?"
A few strands of black hair slid down her cheek as she moved. The small pearl earrings swayed gently under her earlobe, and there seemed to be a beautiful light flowing in her eyes.
"…" Gu Yunrong's face paled and she pursed her cherry lips.
Gu Yanfei had forced her into a dilemma with just a few words.
Now, no matter how she answered, it wasn't right.
If she answered yes, it would be equivalent to publicly admitting that Gu Yanfei was the only daughter of the eldest branch.
If she answered no, then the person engaged to the British Crown Prince was her, Gu Yunrong.
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