Fake concubine, real queen

If Pei Zhaoheng heard Wen Tianrou's words before today, he would feel uncomfortable in his heart, and he would really hesitate for a while, and might even go back and ask He Gu what he thought.

But he just saw his thoughts clearly, and he was still upset at the moment, and in a blink of an eye, he heard Wen Tianrou's confession, coupled with the effect of the spring wine, Pei Zhaoheng was very sad, he had no patience for a while, and just instinctively thought I don't want to either, and refused in a cold voice.

In all honesty, it is quite normal for Wen Tianrou to have such thoughts.

He Gu had already heard about He Gu's reputation among the princes and grandsons of the capital, when he first chose the son-in-law. Empress Chen even praised He Xiaohou more than once in front of him, boasting that there is nothing in the world, Therefore, it didn't surprise Pei Zhaoheng that Miss Wen's family fell in love with him.

And this Miss Wen, with this thought, dared to put it into action, not afraid of criticism from others, and disobeyed her father's order, and I really have to say that she was indeed bold, and she dared to love and hate.

Her eyes were bright just now, looking at Pei Zhaoheng with eager anticipation, it inevitably reminded him of He Gulai whose eyes were very similar to this girl.

...He Gu and this girl from the Wen family actually have similar temperaments. They are both upright and valiant, both daring to love and hate, both disregarding others' pointing and pointing, and going out together. If it weren't for him and He Gu This marriage is in the way, if the two of them can get married, anyone in Beijing who wants to know will have to praise it, it is really a godsend.

Miss Wen Jia, isn't that the woman who can match Zihuan, and who is not bad in appearance, family background, and temperament?

What's even more rare is that she still loves Zihuan so much that she is even willing to commit herself to be his concubine.

... If Zihuan meets her, it's hard to guarantee that he won't be moved, right?

Thinking of this, Pei Zhaoheng suddenly felt a tingling pain in his heart, which almost overwhelmed the violent effect of the spring wine, making his throat more dry and his chest tight.

Wen Tianrou's choice was to come to him, the "Eldest Princess", to ask for help, instead of directly hooking up with He Gu, or even relying on his father's military achievements to beg the emperor and empress, which is already considered upright.

After all, everyone knows that the eldest princess has no intention of being a son-in-law, and it will be a matter of time before the son-in-law accepts a concubine. Even if the queen mother refuses to accept her, the emperor father knows his true identity, and he has to rely on her father Wen Xiuming to guard the southern border... It's really hard to guarantee that the emperor will not agree.

...Perhaps, it was because he knew in his heart that Lan Xiao and his ilk couldn't catch He Gu's eyes, but this Wen Tianrou might really tempt He Gu.

That's why I can't tolerate her.

Wen Tianrou was stunned for a moment after hearing his words, but she really lowered her head, looking a little lonely.

However, after a while, she suddenly raised her head again, and said with a serious expression: "Perhaps... Your Highness is right, I really don't have any fate with Brother He, so after my father comes back, he will become a son-in-law, but God Rou also believes that when it comes to fate, in the final analysis, it is nothing more than comforting words when the manpower is not exhausted. I only believe in human effort. If I try my best to spell out a trace of fate with Brother He Gu, I will never give up. Leave nothing to spare."

Her words were really resounding, her eyes were sharp, and when they fell into Pei Zhaoheng's ears, they sounded like thunder——

"When it comes to fate, it's just words to comfort myself when my manpower is not exhausted."

He stared at Wen Tianrou's face, and didn't reply for a long time.

As soon as Wen Tianrou said the words, he felt that what he said seemed a little too bold, too presumptuous and offensive, and he couldn't help beating his heart again. Seeing that the eldest princess was silent, he couldn't help asking in a low voice: "... Your Highness?"

Pei Zhaoheng turned his eyes away from her, looked at the end of the long corridor, and suddenly let out a low laugh.

Wen Tianrou didn't know what she was laughing at, but she heard the eldest princess say calmly: "You are right, things in the world are indeed human-made, and you have to try it before you know if it works."

Wen Tianrou was overjoyed, thinking that the eldest princess agreed, but before she could show her joy, she poured cold water on her head again.

"But there are things that cannot be achieved by manpower, and there are also things that cannot be achieved by manpower. Not everything in this world can be achieved through hard work."

Pei Zhaoheng lowered his eyes and glanced at her lightly, and said: "Miss Wen, go back, you are the daughter of the uncle's family, you have a bright future, and you may not be able to be happy if you marry someone else in the future. Don't fight for the idea of ​​being a concubine for the concubine. .”

"Even if I agree, your father, Uncle Wen, will never let you down and let you be so self-deprecating."

----

But he said that He Gu picked up the lotus, and Shi Shiran went back to the men's table.

When he just left the banquet, he only said that he was going to pay respects, and he didn't let Zhengye follow him. Zhengye waited for a long time, and the palace banquet was already halfway through, but he still didn't see He Gu coming back. Look around from the garden entrance path.

He Gu saw that he was waiting for him, before Zhengye could speak first, he smiled and said: "Oh, just right, I'm still worried, it's not suitable for me to hug these lotus pods and sit back on the mat, since you are here , just hold it for me."

After finishing speaking, he couldn't help but stuff the lotus pods to Zhengye.

Zhengye took a large handful of lotus pods, hugged them quickly, and said, "I've been away for a long time and didn't come back, so I went to pick lotus pods?"

He Gu scratched his nose and thought, it's not just to pick lotus pods, but this trip is to steal jade and incense, and kiss Fangze.

But it was impossible to tell Zhengye this, so he just lazily responded.

Zhengye said sadly: "This... the lotus pods in this palace are all belongings of the royal family. Is it not good to pick them up as soon as I say so? I will tell people to see them later..."

Seeing that he started nagging again, He Gu hurriedly said, "Come on, it's just a few lotus pods. Your Majesty is so lenient, why would you care about me? It's worth your rambling."

What's more... He even picked the emperor's daughter, the most famous flower in the country, so he was afraid of these two lotus pods?

He stopped talking to Zhengye and went back to the table.

It's just that the banquet was already more than half done, not long after He Gu came back, the moon was in the sky, the emperor called the banquet to be dismissed, and the banquet was full of princes and ministers, just stood up in twos and threes, said goodbye, and left one after another.

He Gu wanted to find the eldest princess, but he and Zheng Ye had just walked on the palace road, and they were stopped by someone after walking two steps.

"Gu'er."

Hearing this voice, he paused in his footsteps, turned around and saw that it was indeed his own father with a gloomy complexion, Master He Laohou.

The son became a son-in-law, moved to the princess mansion, and became the son-in-law of the emperor, a member of the royal family. As an old man, he can no longer put on the airs of being a father, relying on the old to sell the old.

Although He Nanfeng was mentally prepared, he never expected that after He Gu and the eldest princess got married, it would be difficult to even meet him.

In the past ten days, he sent his servants several times to the princess' mansion to hand over the invitations, but they all suffered from soft nails——

Many of the servants of the Princess Mansion were former servants in the palace, and they were all carefully selected by Empress Chen and Wu Dehuai, so they came down with the eldest princess. Naturally, they have seen the world and the nobles. Rejecting someone is called decisiveness, that's called a cold face, and made Mr. He shut the door. He felt aggrieved, but he had to admit it with his nose pinched, and he had nowhere to vent his anger.

He only secretly scolded He Gu, a little bastard, for marrying a daughter-in-law, who didn't even recognize his father.

This is wronging He Gu, but He Gu really doesn't know that He Nanfeng has been shut down these days——

It was Pei Zhaoheng who heard He Guzhi's words that day and knew that he was unwilling, so he privately asked the concierge to reject all the greetings from Changyang Houfu.

Until today's palace banquet, after all, Old Master He is also the in-laws of the emperor's sons and daughters, so he naturally got the decree of favor, and entered the palace to enjoy the banquet, only then can he meet He Gu, an unfilial son who forgets his roots.

But He Gu didn't know, the grievances He Lao Hou had suffered these days, seeing his complexion, he only guessed in his heart, probably because Wan Shu'er had suffered for half a month, and now he couldn't bear it anymore, so he came to plead with him right?

Among the women he arranged in the Hou's mansion, the leading one was originally in charge of his grandfather Yan's family. He has a tough temper and is not afraid of things. The most rare thing is loyalty.

The Yan family treats their servants well, and Mrs. Yan manages the family well. These maids and women are mostly devoted to the Yan family. At the beginning, Miss Yan married into the Changyang Marquis Mansion, but she died here in the end. Naturally, they too He felt somewhat resentful towards Old Master He and his step-wife Wan Shi.

Therefore, the old woman got He Gu's instructions, although he is not around these days, but no matter how much He Nanfeng finds her, threatens and intimidates her, the old woman will only go in the left ear and out the right ear, and will not respond to He Nanfeng.

Thinking about this, He Gu sneered, and said in a strange way: "Father, you feel sorry for Madam, and you came to ask me for mercy?"

Who knows that He Nanfeng was silent for a while, but said: "It's not because of Shu'er, she is indeed sorry for you and Rong'er, now that you don't send her to the government, it can be regarded as lenient to her, for my father, think clearly these days , she took advantage of you and Rong'er's youth to do such a thing, even if you want to punish her now, there is nothing wrong with it, being a father is not pleading for her."

He Gu was taken aback for a moment, a little surprised, and said: "...Then why did dad come to see me?"

He Nanfeng looked back and confirmed that there was no one nearby, then looked at He Gu, frowned, and said in a low voice, "You take Rong'er back from Yan's house for your father."

He Xiaohou dug his ears, felt quite funny in his heart, and said coldly after a long while: "I heard that right, do you still care about this daughter Rong'er?"

He Nanfeng said quickly: "Rong'er is the flesh and blood of your mother and me, how can you not care about it as a father? Now I am still here, and you don't want to greet me, so you sent her to your grandfather's house, so that others can see her, What do you think of me, what do you think of the Marquis of Changyang?"

He Gu was startled, he was a little surprised just now, but He Nanfeng came here because of He Rong, now after hearing his words, his heart couldn't help getting colder, and he said coldly: "I thought Daddy I changed my temper, but it turned out that I was naive and overthinking."

Master He frowned and said, "What do you mean by that?"

He Gu said: "Do you care about Rong'er?"

"You just care about other people's gossip, calling you the Marquis of Changyang to lose face. Where is Rong'er, it doesn't matter that much to dad. Dad only cares about his own face and the decency of the Marquis of Changyang. Is not it?"

He Nanfeng said: "As my father, as the Marquis of Changyang, he inherited the title and family property of the He family. Shouldn't he protect the reputation of the He family, instead let others criticize, spread rumors, and slander? If I really don't care at all, call me How can you be worthy of your grandfather's spirit in heaven?"

He Gu smiled and said: "That's right, my father cares about the reputation of the He family, so he is afraid of being criticized by others, saying that you treated the youngest daughter of the dead wife harshly, and that's why I asked me to bring Rong'er back."

"But now that my father has retired for retirement, even if others give advice, they can't impeach father and make you lose your job. In the end, it's nothing more than painless."

"But at the beginning, my mother passed away, her bones were not cold, and my father had just been reused by the court. At a critical juncture, he did not hesitate to do anything for his wife, regardless of others' criticisms, and was not afraid of being impeached by officials for spoiling your concubine and destroying his wife. In front of grandmother, you are so desperate to raise Wan Shu'er from a good concubine to the main wife, at that time, why didn't you care about the reputation of the He family and the face of the Marquis of Changyang?"

"It can be seen that in Daddy's heart, what face, reputation, and everything can't compare to a Wan Shu'er, is it just that? If that's the case, why now use tiger skin as a banner and chicken feathers as arrows to scare me?"

He Gu Yue said, his expression became more and more severe, and at the end, his eyes were already bloodshot. Seeing this, Zheng Ye was worried, so he couldn't help but pull him, and persuaded him in a low voice: "Master..."

But He Gu shook off his hand, frowned and said, "Hold the lotus pod honestly!"

Zhengye: "..."

I'm so sorry.

Old Master He's expression changed slightly after being scolded by his son just now. He already knew that He Gu was resentful towards what happened back then. , has not been pierced, and as time goes by, He Nanfeng will not tear up these things again, making everyone embarrassed——

But he didn't want to, He Gu finally couldn't bear it anymore.

His beard trembled, the moonlight pierced through the shadow of the whirling trees, and shone on his already rough face, making him look very old for no reason.

After a while, he said in a low voice: "Things back then were not as simple as you thought. Although Shu'er has changed now, she was not like this at the beginning. She is weak and kind...and her life is really hard."

"After the younger brother your mother gave birth to died, your mother fell ill. Although my father has been telling the doctor to give her the best medicine to take care of her, it still doesn't get better. But after Cheng'er was born, He is also born with insufficient womb, and there is something wrong with his left eye. It is not easy to cure. I am afraid that he will need a lot of good medicine and a good doctor, but Shu'er is also stupid. She is worried that treating Cheng'er's eye will affect the doctor's treatment of you. Mother, I was afraid that the medicine would not be enough, so I thought about waiting for your mother to recover before treating Cheng'er."

"Who knows... your mother's illness has been cured, but Cheng'er's eyes have been dragging on for so long, but it is no longer curable. As a father, I always wonder why Shu'er is so stupid. Waiting for a noble, but as long as she tells me, won't I think of a way, let alone just use a few more good doctors and more good medicines, can't I, He Nanfeng, afford it?"

He Gu really didn't know about this past, and he had never heard of it from Old Master He in his previous life, so he couldn't help being stunned at this moment.

He Nanfeng sighed, and continued: "At the end of the day, it's just that Shu'er felt guilty, thinking that she and your mother... were pregnant at the same time, and your mother was depressed. She felt sorry for your mother, and your grandparents once I warned her that even if she has a child, don't give birth to the idea of ​​using this child to compete with you for the title of the Marquis... Although I asked her, she always refused to admit it, but I'm afraid Shu'er is the reason why Let Cheng'er turn a blind eye to prove to me and your grandfather and grandmother that she has no such intentions."

"At that time, she was weak, and the child was blind and disabled. The servants in the mansion looked down on her. If I marry another wife and come back with a tougher temper, wouldn't she have no way out?"

When He Nanfeng said this, his eyes were slightly red, and he said: "As a father, I have already let the two women down in my life. Your mother died early, and Shu'er's child was blind because of my carelessness. At that time, I was disheartened, and I already had a family with a child. Why would I marry another lady from a good family? It would be better to take Shu'er as my wife. She was soft-tempered at that time, and I didn't know that she would become what she is now. I just think that she will take good care of you and Rong'er, and that she and Cheng'er will have a better life in the mansion from now on..."

He Gu understood it, he didn't want He Cheng to be blind, and there were these reasons in it, his heart was full of mixed feelings for a while, but in the end he just paused, and asked: "It's just that Dad really has a hard time, and wants to raise her as his wife. , can't you just wait a little longer, my mother has only been away for a long time, and my father can't wait..."

When He Gu said this, he suddenly stopped.

For some reason, he looked at his father He Lao Hou with a gloomy look, and the questioning in his mouth suddenly became dull, there was no need to get up.

...No matter what father said, when his mother was still there, his thoughts went to Wan Shu'er. It was always an indisputable fact that he cared more about the woman surnamed Wan than his mother.

Regardless of whether He Nanfeng admits it or not, He Gu has long understood, what's the use of condemning him now?

It just adds to resentment.

He didn't want to say much, but said coldly: "It is absolutely impossible for Rong'er to be sent back to the Hou's Mansion."

He Nanfeng was startled, frowned and said, "Why, my father has already explained to you..."

He Gu said expressionlessly: "It's useless how you explain it. I don't care how weak and kind Wan Shu'er was at the beginning. It is always true that she became more ambitious and embezzled her mother's dowry, right?"

"I told Dad Ming that she went to Wang Shuzhai's food to mix crab roe cakes in order to murder Rong'er. As an older brother, I can't be at ease. As long as Wan Shu'er is still there One day in the mansion, it is impossible for Rong'er to go back."

He Nanfeng said: "Whether this matter is true or not has not yet been ascertained, maybe it was a mistake made by the servant's negligence, it is unknown..."

When He Gu heard that he still wanted to defend Wan Shu'er, an evil fire rushed into his heart, and he said angrily: "Enough! Don't talk about it, Dad. If I say no, then I won't!"

After finishing speaking, he didn't say much, and even ignored He Nanfeng calling him behind his back, he turned around and left with Zhengye.

He Gu walked halfway, and stood at the entrance of the small garden on the side of the ladies' seats, stopped, turned and looked at Zhengye.

Zhengye thought that he was still worrying about what happened just now, and he said with relief: "...After all, the third lady has already been sent to Yan's house, so it's not a day or two for Lord Hou...Don't be too upset about it, Lord."

But He Gu said: "Who cares about him anymore? I was thinking, since there are all female relatives here, isn't it inappropriate for us to rush over like this?"

Zhengye was taken aback for a moment, and said, "Yes...but, at the ladies' table...how come there are no maids stopping us?"

He Gu looked at him suddenly, and thought of something, he laughed and said, "Don't say, you have gained weight recently, holding this lotus pod, it looks a bit like that...that..."

He scratched his chin, and it took him a long time to finally think of it. He pointed at Zhengye with his index finger, and said with a chuckle, "Like Nezha!"

Zhengye: "..."

Right at this moment, I heard a familiar female voice coming from behind: "My son-in-law?"

He Gu turned his head and saw that it was none other than Lan Shu who called him.

He was overjoyed, and was about to ask Princess Lan Shu where she was, but Lan Shu said, "Has the son-in-law seen His Highness?"

He Gu was taken aback, and said, "I was also going to ask you."

Lan Shu approached, with a look of shame on his face, and said: "It's my fault too, just now at the banquet, I was so focused on talking to the sisters in other palaces that I didn't check for a while, and I didn't know where His Highness was going, but even after the banquet, I didn't know where to go." Didn't come back."

He Gu said: "Huh? Sister didn't come back?"

Lan Shu wondered, "Has the son-in-law met His Highness?"

He Gu then told Lan Shu about what happened by the lake just now, omitting the part where he and the eldest princess kissed twice.

Zhengye said weakly at the side: "Didn't the Lord tell me that he just went to pick the lotus pods..."

Lan Shu and He Gu naturally ignored him.

Lan Shu frowned and said, "Since that's the case, I didn't come back to the banquet. I think I either went to Qingyu Palace or Zhiyang Palace... so, now that the banquet is over, the empress should have returned to Zhiyang Palace. Let's go to Zhiyang Palace to see if His Highness is at your empress's place, so the son-in-law should go back to Qingyu Palace and wait."

When He Gu heard that the Eldest Princess was gone, he couldn't help being a little worried, and said, "Otherwise, I'll follow and ask the empress?"

Lan Shu shook his head and said: "No, although the son-in-law has received the grace, he can stay in the palace for a day, after all, he is still a foreigner, and it is too late now, if he still goes to the queen's palace, if people see it and gossip, the son-in-law should go back first. Go to Qingyu Palace, Your Highness."

He Gu was stunned when he heard this, patted his forehead and said, "Aunt Lan is still thoughtful, I didn't expect this level."

Lan Shu was stunned for a moment, and said: "Why did you call your servant, Aunt Lan? How can a servant be a servant?"

He Gudao: "Whatever Sister Yu'er calls her, I will naturally call her that too."

Lan Shu smiled helplessly, and was no longer polite to him. He only ordered two small internal officials and two young palace ladies from among the palace people who followed behind him, and said, "You take the son-in-law back, if I go with you The princess didn't come back for a while, so she served the son-in-law to rest."

The palace people should be, so Lan Shu turned and left, took the rest of the palace people, and went to the Queen's Zhiyang Palace to find someone.

He Gu had never been to Qingyu Palace before this, so he couldn't help being a little curious. After all, it was the place where Sister Yu'er grew up, so he naturally wanted to see what it looked like.

It was dark at night, a few palace people led the way with palace lanterns, he and Zhengye walked quickly, and soon arrived at Qingyu Palace.

It's just that the sky was as black as ink, and He Gu didn't see too clearly what the scenery in Qingyu Palace was like, so he had already walked to the door of the eldest princess' bedroom.

Zheng Ye was sent to a side room to rest, and the two maids wanted to wait for him to change his clothes and wash his hands, but He Gu Wenyan hurriedly refused, saying: "No need, I will not rest, I have to wait for Lan Shu to bring His Highness back, you go and rest on your own Come on, don't worry about me."

The two young ladies looked at each other, but they didn't dare to disobey the consort's wishes, so they bowed and retreated.

He Gu walked into the bedroom, closed the door, and immediately smelled a faint scent of sandalwood——

It really smelled like sister Yu'er.

He turned around and saw the big mahogany bed in the bedroom, and couldn't help but feel a little charming——

This is the bed my sister slept in since she was a child...

If it wasn't for the change of pajamas, I really want to go up and roll.

However, Sister Yuer is really eager to learn, even the bedroom hall is covered with scripts and ink, and there is also a large bookshelf, which is densely packed with fist-thick tomes. Lenghuo looked at the names of these books, he could recognize every single word, but it was a pity that when they were combined together, he couldn't recognize them again.

At first, I wanted to see if there were any talking books or the like to pass the time, but he was negligent and forgot that Sister Yu'er has such a temper, so how could there be a talking book that survived on her bookshelf?

When Lan Shu and Sister Yu'er came back, He Gu had no choice but to sit on the bench in front of the desk, lying down in front of the desk, very bored, planning to grab two thinner books and read.

Sister Yu'er did everything in an orderly manner, even the book cases were neatly arranged, and it was clear that there were no books that had been spread out, so He Gu could only look at the pile of books stacked aside.

At a glance, he found that there was a very delicate and small ebony box next to the pile of books.

He froze for a moment, raised his hand and opened the box, only to see a stack of letters inside the box.

He Gu looked at the title of the letter, and then at the signature——

It seems to be...

The third prince who was far away in Jinling wrote a family letter to the empress?

He Gu was a little curious. Although he knew that it was not very upright to pry into other people's letters, but he couldn't help but read two lines because of curiosity.

Among other things, the third prince and sister Yu'er are worthy of being brothers and sisters. They both write good handwriting. Although the fonts and shapes are different, He Gu has been practicing calligraphy with the eldest princess for ten days, and his calligraphy has improved a lot. Looking at the third prince's handwriting on this letter, one can know that His Highness must have profound skills in writing and ink.

He Gu was about to continue looking down when he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Zihuan... what are you looking at?"