Chapter 104 - 104 Sincerity
104 Sincerity
Imperial Duchess Wei couldn’t stand her husband’s perfunctory actions anymore. She took a clean handkerchief again and wiped the remaining blood off his face.
As she approached, Imperial Duchess Wei suddenly felt that something was wrong. She stopped what she was doing and looked down, crying out, “Your stomach…”
With her reminder, Imperial Duke Wei was enlightened. He finally understood why he had vaguely felt that something was wrong when he was in Tianyin Pavilion.
So his general belly was gone… No, it should be said that his abdomen had flattened.
The couple faced each other, eyes to eyes, nose to nose. They didn’t speak for a while.
Imperial Duchess Wei couldn’t help but move her hand down and touch Imperial Duke Wei’s stomach. Only then did she confirm that the old man’s big belly was really gone.
Thinking of the black and red blood all over the floor in the private room, Imperial Duchess Wei came to a realization. So the things the old man spat out were the filth that had accumulated in his stomach for the past 20 years!
“Amazing!” she exclaimed sincerely.
That Akhal-Teke horse could only be considered an apology and was far from enough as a consultation fee.
Imperial Duchess Wei thought for a moment, lifted the small curtain in front of the carriage, and called out the attendant’s name, “Ah Fu.”
“Yes, Madam?” The attendant sitting on the shaft outside hurriedly turned around.
“Go and find out the identity of the girl with the Eldest Prince at Tianyin Pavilion just now,” instructed Imperial Duchess Wei. She specially warned, “Don’t alarm her.”
The attendant responded respectfully.
It was not difficult for the Wei family to find out about someone. In addition, Gu Yanfei did not deliberately hide her identity. She did not wear men’s clothes to avoid being noticed, but for convenience.
When night fell, the attendant, Ah Fu, came to report to Imperial Duke Wei and his wife. “Imperial Duke Wei, Madam, the girl from Tianyin Pavilion is the second daughter of the Dingyuan Marquis Household.”
Imperial Duke Wei was leaning lazily on the couch, holding a large white bowl with blue flowers. He was frowning at the steaming brown medicine, making it obvious that this medicine was very bitter!
“Gu family?” Hearing this, the teacup in Imperial Duchess Wei’s hand stopped in midair in shock.
She had never seen or heard of such a girl in the Gu family.
Among the girls of the Dingyuan Marquis Household’s generation, she only knew Gu Yunrong.
Gu Yunrong was the daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan, Gu Ce. She was extremely lucky and had never fallen behind when competing with others. When drawing lots with others, she had always won the lottery. Countless people had received her favor… There were many anecdotes about her good fortune in the capital. Even her sister-in-law had praised Gu Yunrong in front of her.
Not only was she lucky, but Gu Yunrong was also a little talented. She was outstanding in zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, song, and so on. Such a girl indeed had the right to be arrogant. Therefore, a few days ago, when Empress Dowager Yuan designated her as Princess Consort Kang, there was only a sigh between the various residences, but no one said anything sour.
When Imperial Duchess Wei was a guest in the mansion, she had also seen Gu Yunrong from afar.
The attendant nodded and continued to report, “She said that she’s the legitimate daughter of the Gu family’s eldest branch who was lost in the past. She was just found in October. Her name is Yan Fei.”
“This girl is also the daughter of Gu Ce and Madam Xie?” Imperial Duchess Wei said in surprise.
Imperial Duchess Wei vaguely remembered that Madam Xie had been dead for more than ten years, and her memory of Madam Xie’s appearance had also become a little blurry. Now that she thought about it carefully, she did indeed look a little similar to that girl.
However, if she remembered correctly, the Xie family only had a son and a daughter.
“She’s the daughter of the Dingyuan couple,” the attendant explained. “It’s said that Miss Gu Yunrong is not from the Gu family’s eldest branch. She has already been adopted under the second branch.”
Imperial Duchess Wei frowned. What kind of nonsense was this?!
She couldn’t understand it.
In short, Gu Yanfei was Gu Ce and Madam Xie’s daughter. This was understandable.
As she thought, she gave Imperial Duke Wei a faint sideways glance.
He shuddered and did not dare to waste any more time. With a bitter expression, he gulped down the medicine and said vaguely, “Gu Ce is extremely talented. He was originally a rare talent, but unfortunately, the enemy defeated…”
The State of Yue in the south had always been ambitious. Eight years ago, the State of Yue sent another 100,000 troops to raid the southern border of the Great Jin Dynasty. The flames of war rose again, causing countless casualties.
First, the Marquis of Dingyuan, Gu Ce, guarded Yangzhou with 50,000 troops. He was not strong enough and sent a letter to ask for help.
At that time, the late Emperor, the heads of the aristocratic families, Imperial Duke Wei, Gu Ce, and the other nobles wanted to fight, but those lowly ministers could not make up their decision to fight or make peace.