Chapter 65 Make It Publicly Known

Ye laughed embarrassedly. How stupid her daughter was! She meant to signal Gu Zhihua to stand up for her so that Prime Minister Gu would agree to her proposal. Gu Qiang was the name card of the Prime Minister Mansion now, and Prime Minister Gu had to consider her opinion. However, the opinion would be decided by Prime Minister Gu at last.

Prime Minister Gu turned around and told Gu Qiang, “Let’s give a party to remove bad luck. End of discussion. The day after tomorrow is an auspicious day. Let’s invite our friends to the party. They will be glad to join it, won’t they?”

Then he stood up as if he was afraid that Gu Qiang would disagree. In fact, she didn’t intend to. It was up to Prime Minister Gu. Though she was an infanta, he was still her father.

Before leaving, Prime Minister Gu told everyone else at the table, “Enjoy yourselves. Feiling, why not live here and stay with Qiang?”

Feiling nodded. Then she sat down happily next to Gu Qiang and reached out to hold Gu Qiang’s hand. She thought Gu Qiang would throw her hand away coldly as before, but Gu Qiang took her hand, turned around to look at her, and asked softly, “Feiling, how were you doing out there?”

When Feiling heard it, her smile froze, and then she gave an embarrassed one. With the same family name as Gu, she was Gu Qiang’s cousin, and her father was the younger brother of Prime Minister Gu. Backed by the Prime Minister, her family used to be influential in the capital. However, her father died young. Then she was taken in by Prime Minister Gu. She was eccentric and unfriendly at that time, and so was Gu Qiang. They used to pretend not to see each other whenever they met. However, they seemed friendly to each other in this moment, which irritated Ye.

She wished all people in the world would have an aversion to Gu Qiang! But Gu Qiang became an infanta. Many people wanted to ingratiate themselves with her, which was different from the situation before.

Feiling took her hand away from Gu Qiang and said smilingly, “I have been fine during the past years. It has been a long time since we saw each other. Sister Qiang, shall we go out for a walk?”

Gu Qiang nodded and then left the table with Feiling. Gu Zhiyan glanced at the people at the table and she realized that no one was close to her. She decided to rush the meal and then leave. At this moment, Ye turned around to look at Gu Zhiyan and asked, “Zhiyan, it’s time to be prepared for your marriage, isn’t it?”

Gu Zhiyan nodded. Last time, Jiang Min insisted to marry her son to a girl from the Prime Minister Mansion. Gu Qiang was the eldest daughter, and Gu Zhihua was the apple of Ye’s eye. Therefore, Gu Zhiyan was the only candidate. After all, her mother was a girl from a farmer family, and no one cared about her in the mansion.

Feeling sad, Gu Zhiyan sat down again. Ye lifted her cup and said casually, “I think you can go there in a sedan chair by yourself. What do you think?”

Gu Zhiyan clearly know what Ye said. She lowered the head and rubbed her handkerchief. Giving a hollow laugh, she licked her lips and said, “Mother, I am from the Prime Minister Mansion, anyway. If I go to my husband’s house by myself instead of being picked up by him, it will be humiliating, won’t it?”

Ye sniffed and sneered, “Of course not. If you don’t tell others that you are from the Prime Minister Mansion, no one will know who you are. We don’t think it is humiliating. Why do you think so?”

Gu Zhiyan felt that the autumn wind was blowing across her face and she was being slapped hard, which almost made her eyes run down with tears.

She coughed lightly to relieve her embarrassment, only to find her face blushed with embarrassment. She lowered her head and said quietly, “Anyway, I have lived in the Prime Minister Mansion for over ten years. I can’t reconcile myself to getting married in this way. You don’t understand my feeling, do you?”

No women in Gu Family cared about her feeling. Gu Zhiyan didn’t expect Ye could, but she still hoped Ye would consider that she was one of the family when talking about these affairs.

Ye seemed to be thinking about what Gu Zhiyan said, but Gu Huaihuai said coldly nearby, “Don’t you know your status? Do we need to make it so clear? Now you have a chance to get married. Seize it!”

Then he stood up and left. Ye pretended to look at him helplessly while explaining with a smile, “Sorry. Zhiyan, you know Huaihuai is just such a person. Don’t mind.”

Without glancing at Ye, Gu Zhiyan put her cup on the table, stood up, and went away without saying anything.

Looking at Gu Zhiyan’s back, Ye told Gu Zhihua, “How ridiculous she is! She even daydreams about getting married in a high profile. She overestimates herself.”

Gu Zhihua glanced at the graceful back scornfully. It seemed that she didn’t intend to join the meaningless battle because she would be as pitiful as Gu Zhiyan. If she became a concubine of the Third Prince, perhaps a high-profile ceremony wouldn’t be held in the Prime Minister Mansion either.

In that case, what was the difference between her and Gu Zhiyan?

Gu Feiling was sitting in the pavilion in the back garden and looking back at the lotuses which looked beautiful in the sunshine. Fish were swimming in groups in the pond in a leisurely and carefree way, which was enviable.

Gu Qiang was sitting nearby and looking up at the sky. It had been a long time since she felt so relaxed. In order to cure the Empress Dowager, she looked for the medicine around the country and was exhausted. Now sitting here, she felt relaxed and comfortable.

It seemed that Gu Feiling wanted to say something. She turned around several times to look at Gu Qiang, but she bit her lips and said nothing at last.

Gu Qiang disliked the roundabout way of expression, so she looked Gu Feiling in the eye and said, “Ask me whatever you want.”

“We have been separated for so many years. I didn’t expect that you would be able to see through the heart.” Gu Feiling said with a smart look. Gu Qiang became envious of her.

Gu Qiang didn’t respond. Gu Feiling pressed her lips embarrassedly and said, “I heard of something in Su Family and want to verify it. Are you really engaged to the Third Prince?”

What? Gu Qiang shook her head confusedly, which meant she knew nothing about it. How disgusting these gossips were! She didn’t expect that a rumor could be fabricated in so many versions.

“Of course not. It is your sister Zhihua that would marry him. Remember to congratulate her. But she is angry that she will only be his concubine. You’d better not mention it.”

Then there was an embarrassing atmosphere between them. Gu Qiang stood up and moved away slowly. Remaining seated, Gu Feiling looked at Gu Qiang’s back and gave a deep sigh. A servant girl walked over and reminded her in a low voice, “My Lady, it’s time to go to see the bedroom.”

“Xiaoyu, do you think that Sister Qiang still holds a grudge against me for what happened in childhood?” Gu Feiling was lost in thought.

The servant girl, named Xiaoyu, shook her head and said affirmatively, “My Lady, don’t sweat it. Infanta Luoping is busy now. It’s not easy for her to climb to the position. She needs to worry about many things, so she has no spare time for you. Maybe she has forgotten the money long before.”

“I don’t think so. I really went too far at that time. I knew Sister Qiang had a hard life in the family as if she was treading on thin ice, but I still treated her in that way. She said nothing today, but I know it is impossible for me to get close to her.” Gu Feiling lowered her head. The wind came and made her elegant pink dress fluttered. She was as gorgeous as a plum blossom but as melancholy as winter.

Looking at Gu Feiling’s face, Xiaoyu sighed. She had been working for Gu Feiling since her childhood, so she knew what Gu Feiling cared about. But they were kids at that time and had to scheme to make a living here. Though Gu Qiang became an infanta, who knew what she had done secretly to reach the position?

Though the ladies in official families of the capital looked elegant and attractive, their true personalities were widely known.

Two days later.

Ting Feng walked in through the main hall and put clothes on the table. Chui Xue had combed Gu Qiang’s hair and was looking at the girl in the mirror. Gu Qiang’s eyes were cold and her makeup style was simple but elegant, making her low-profile.

Looking at Gu Qiang in the mirror, Ting Feng said, “Today is a special day for you. I prepared good clothes for you. Please have a try to see if they fit.”

Then she unfolded the clothes on the table. Through the mirror, Gu Qiang saw the fancy clothes which were bright pink like the lotuses that she and Gu Feiling watched in the pavilion.

The beautiful color and complicated pattern proved that the clothes were expensive.

“Bring me another one. It’s unnecessary to be so high-profile.” Gu Qiang said faintly.

Ting Feng wanted to persuade her. This party was held specially for Gu Qiang in the Prime Minister Mansion, and she was the leading lady, of course. However, she tried to keep a low profile. Ting Feng didn’t understand. Gu Qiang needed such an opportunity to prove to all people in the capital that she was no longer the silly girl of Gu Family.

Ting Feng didn’t understand why Gu Qiang refused to attract others’ attention with such a good chance.

Standing there in silence for a long time, Ting Feng finally fetched a piece of clothes that Gu Qiang usually wore in daily life. After Gu Qiang put it on, Gusu Liang entered the room through the window, wiped the sweat on her forehead, and told Gu Qiang, “Mr. Gu has been informed and he will probably arrive at noon.”

Gu Qiang nodded and then told Gusu Liang with a little anger, “Can you enter through the door next time? Do you think it’s decent to enter through the window instead of the door?”

Gusu Liang put out her tongue and naughtily took something to eat on Gu Qiang’s table. After a while, she answered, “I got it.”

Someone shouted at the door, “People from the palace have arrived!”