Chapter 64 Unable to Pay a Kindness

Gusu Liang bit her yummy steamed stuffed bun and said in surprise, “My Lady, don’t you know that after getting your prescription, the Emperor shared it with all capital officials and told them to decoct medicine. All refugees can be treated nearby.”

Gu Qiang sat up all of a sudden. Her eyes lit up. She had no idea about it. So many refugees wanted to enter the capital. Though they were repressed, the Emperor loved his people. It was reasonable that he shared the prescription as fast as possible.

Suxin Grass was precious, but the royal family must be able to get it with a method that was unknown to Gu Qiang. It was just a matter of money.

“I have more exciting news. The Emperor decreed this morning to honor you with the title of an infanta and name you Infanta Luoping. Congratulations!”

Gusu Liang ate up her steamed stuffed bun and answered sincerely.

Infanta Luoping? It meant Gu Qiang would be ranked the same as Infanta Ziyan and proved the Empress Dowager’s wish to be her grandmother.

Prime Minister Gu, Ye, Gu Zhihua, and the children that hadn’t dined together for a long time were gathering in the main hall of the Prime Minister Mansion and sitting straight on their chairs.

Soon Gu Qiang walked over along a path in the corner with Ting Feng and Chui Xue. When she turned around, everyone stood up, including Prime Minister Gu. She was astonished to see that.

Completely different from yesterday, Prime Minister Gu walked to her and beamed, “Qiang, the Emperor decreed today to honor you with the title of an infanta. I’m so happy for you. Look. All your brothers and sisters come here to congratulate you. Let’s have breakfast together.”

Then he reached out to hold Gu Qiang’s hand, but she hid it behind her back secretly.

Gu Zhihua poked Ye coldly at the table and whispered, “Mother, do you see how complacent she is now as an infanta? Obviously, she thumbs her nose at us. We need to give her a lesson.”

Ye lifted her cup to hide her mouth and responded in a low voice, “How? You will get married soon. Do you think I can easily deal with her alone?”

When Gu Zhihua thought that she would marry Shen Zhongbai soon, the slight sweetness in her heart was replaced by the endless darkness. If she became his wife, she could enjoy many things even if Shen Zhongbai didn’t love her. The position of his wife was like the top of a mountain. To get there, a concubine had to trudge a long journey. She was clear that she was not so attractive.

She was not outstanding since her childhood. She had never competed with others, but she knew that it was almost impossible for her to win a competition. She was outshone by Gu Qiang and would be self-abased for the rest of her life.

If she got married, Gu Qiang would also get married in a few years. Gu Zhihua was clear sometimes that it was no use to compete with Gu Qiang for the useless fame and interests in the Prime Minister Mansion. But she couldn’t accept the fact that her mother was so awesome while she was not.

Gu Qiang smiled faintly at Prime Minister Gu and then walked past him with her servant girls.

Many people were seated at the table. Gu Zhiyan whom Gu Qiang had met before was sitting there respectfully. Gu Huaihuai, who was Gu Zhihua’s younger brother, and a girl who was about twelve years old were also here. The girl had a pretty face and bright eyes. Though being young, she was impressive by temperament. She sat there lively. When getting eye contact with Gu Qiang, she smiled, stood up, raised her cup, and said to Gu Qiang, “Sister, I am Feiling.”

Gu Qiang’s eyes lit up. She walked to the girl named Feiling, patted her shoulder, and said with a big smile, “Feiling, welcome back. It has been a long time since we saw each other last time. I haven’t expected that you would look so beautiful now.”

Feiling scratched her hair shyly and responded, “Sister Qiang, you are so beautiful that I can hardly recognize you.”

Gu Huaihuai, sitting next to Feiling, was fourteen years old. With knife-shaped eyebrows and sharp eyes, he looked like Prime Minister Gu but eviler. A person could be judged to be good or bad by his or her appearance.

Gu Huaihuai sneered and said in a low voice, “Don’t you know whether you are beautiful or not?”

As soon as he finished the words, he realized it was too offensive and regretted. Gu Qiang was different from before and had risen from a daughter of the Prime Minister Mansion to an infanta. She didn’t turn a deaf ear to his irrational words.

“Huaihuai, what did you say?” Gu Qiang put her palm on Gu Huaihuai’s head suddenly. It seemed that she was pressing his head, but in fact, her finger strength was working. How could he expect Gu Qiang who used to be submissive dared to do this? He looked up at her unbelievably.

He found a beautiful smile on her face, but his head hurt, which meant that Gu Qiang was indeed putting forth her strength.

He was used to reveling in a high position in the family, so he couldn’t stand it. She dared to do something to him secretly. After Gu Huaishui left, he became the eldest son in the Prime Minister Mansion. How stupid Gu Qiang was to ignore the fact!

“You dare to treat me in this way after you become an infanta.” Gu Huaihuai wasn’t afraid of Gu Qiang at all. He said in a gruff tone and seemed more sophisticated than Prime Minister Gu.

Feiling turned around to look at Gu Huaihuai. She had been knowing him since childhood, but she didn’t expect he would become such a person.

He was no longer the innocent boy following her and asking her to play together. Over the past ten years, lots of things had changed. Feiling thought a person’s nature would remain the same, but she was wrong.

“Brother Huai, today is Sister Qiang’s big day. Why did you offend us in that way?” Feiling didn’t spend a long time in the Prime Minister Mansion, so she was not clear about the situation here. She just felt uncomfortable to sit together with them.

Ye signaled to Gu Huaihuai, warning him to shut up. Gu Qiang was completely different now. If going too far, he would be considered disrespectful to the infanta, and the consequences would be severe.

Ye was clear that Gu Qiang was itching to kill her. If she did something wrong at this moment and was caught by Gu Qiang, she would end to be miserable.

Gu Huaihuai parted his lips and wanted to complain, but he had to shut up finally. Gu Qiang didn’t take him seriously. He was so reckless that he would definitely make trouble for himself one day. Until then, his mother might not be able to help him.

When Prime Minister Gu came back, the atmosphere at the table was weird and embarrassing. After being seated, he lifted his cup and proposed, “Qiang has risen to an infanta, so we should celebrate. Don’t you think so?”

Before Gu Qiang opened her mouth, Ye nodded at once and said, “Yes, we should. I think we can give a party to celebrate it and help our children make more friends as well.”

Ye’s eyes lit up. Obviously, she thought it was a good idea.

Gu Qiang turned around to look at Ye coldly, trying to find out her motive. She knew that Ye just wanted to take advantage of the chance to make acquaintances with more people and enlarge the sphere of her influence.

Prime Minister Gu touched his beard and then turned around to ask Gu Qiang, “Qiang, what do you think about it?”

Gu Qiang shook her head. Though her opinion didn’t matter, and everything was up to Prime Minister Gu, she tried to stop it. Gu Qiang would prevent all the wishes of Ye from coming true.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. It’s not worth showing off to become an infanta. After all, as a daughter of the prime minister, I should do something for the people. Besides, the imperial court is in urgent need of money to relieve the people in disaster. If we give a party at this time, others will gossip, and the fame of our family will be contaminated. Father, I hope you can think twice before making a decision. We don’t need to tell everyone that I have become an infanta.” Gu Qiang said slowly. Then she looked at Ye with meaningful eyes and smiled at her complacently.

Ye was wearing a smile too, but she was also clenching her fists tightly in secret as if she wouldn’t stop until her hands bled.

Gu Qiang must be deliberately perverse! Ye breathed twice deeply and gave an elegant smile.

Prime Minister Gu looked at Gu Qiang. He found that his daughter had completely changed. Though he didn’t know why she objected to giving a party at home, he couldn’t refute her excuse that sounded reasonable.

“Qiang, your worry is unnecessary. The capital is so large. No one cares who will hold a party. Moreover, the capital has extricated itself from the disaster. It’s reasonable to celebrate.” Ye explained with a beam while rubbing her hands hard under the table and pinching nearby Gu Zhihua with force.

Gu Zhihua felt depressed because of Gu Qiang’s rise to an infanta. Her disgruntlement smoldered in the heart like a pile of combustible firewood. Pinched by Ye, she almost burst into tears. Then she turned around to glower at Ye and whispered, “Mother, what are you doing?”