“This daughter just wonders how much long I can be filial to grandma."
This remark resonated with Marquis Gu's heart. Marquis Gu had always been a filial son, not to mention that the Old Madame only had two children in this life—— him and Imperial Concubine Shu.
After Imperial Concubine Shu entered the palace, the Old Madame seldom saw her once a year, and her son could no longer attend to his mother’s needs as before. It was unfilial when he thought about it.
Marquis Gu frowned and decided to give Yao shi another dose of eye ointment to open her eyes.
But Yao shi's heart was like a rock as she said, "I won't go back, and neither will Yan’er."
Marquis Gu clicked his tongue and said, "How many years has my mother not seen Yan’er?"
Yao shi responded, "She doesn't like Yan’er either anyway."
Marquis Gu retorted, "When did mother dislike Yan’er? Yan’er is her own grandson, and she only loves him too much. "
Just not as much as the three grandsons before him.
The former Marchioness and the Old Madame belong to the same clan, and according to their seniority, the former Marchioness had to call the Old Madame aunt. The marriage between the two families could be regarded as a marriage between intimate families, so naturally, the Old Madame would show favoritism to the children of the former Marchioness.
Plus, the three sons lost their mother early, and the Old Madame felt very sorry for them.
Third reason was that the Old Madame despised Yao shi's birth. Yao shi gave birth to the sickly Gu Yan, and the Old Madame thought that there was something wrong with Yao shi's own body, which brought trouble to the descendants of the Gu Family.
At first, the Old Madame didn't treat even Gu Jinyu in a lukewarm manner, but Gu Jinyu was such an excellent child that she gave the Marquis Estate a big face, and Imperial Concubine Shu also valued her, so the Old Madame gradually changed her mind about Gu Jinyu.
Marquis Gu's arguments didn't have much confidence in them. He cleared his throat and said, "But Jinyu is going to celebrate her coming-of-age ceremony. How can she hold the ceremony if her mother is not around?"
Yao shi said, "It's the same even if we do it in the Hot Spring Villa."
Marquis Gu said, "But I can't stay in the villa all the time. It’s true her mother has to be there, but so is her father."
Yao shi thought for a moment then stated, "Why don't you go back to the capital first and then come back on that day of the tenth month?"
Marquis Gu：“…”
Why was it so difficult to get his wife and children back to the capital?
Marquis Gu used all types of word combat, but he simply couldn’t bring Yao shi to agree.
Marquis Gu: "How on earth can I get you to come back to the capital?"
Yao shi said seriously, "If JiaoJiao goes to the capital, I will too."
Marquis Gu: How could that girl agree to go to the capital!
Gu Jinyu came to deliver ginseng soup to Yao shi, and overheard their conversation from outside the door.
Her servant girl was also there.
The servant girl waited on Gu Jinyu and stood next to her. She already knew hers and Gu Jiao’s life story.
The servant girl felt aggrieved for her young miss, saying, "Why won’t the Madame go back to the capital unless the eldest young miss also goes to the capital? Isn't the second young miss also Madame’s child? It's the second young miss who has been filial in front of the Madame all these years. The Madame is too partial!"
Gu Jinyu was holding the tray with the ginseng soup and didn't speak.
The servant girl said aggrievedly, "On this hot day, the second young miss even went to the kitchen to cook ginseng soup for the Madame, even burning her hands. But what did the eldest young miss do? As soon as she appears, the Madame becomes so biased... "
"Stop it, she's my sister, she has suffered a lot all these years, and it's just right for Mom to love her dearly." Gu Jinyu said, and then left with a dim look on her face.
For several days in a row, no one in the family mentioned the matter of going back to the capital, and the villa seemed to have returned to a peaceful and quiet life.
It was not until the end of the month that a pair of horses and carriages came to the villa that the tranquility of the villa for many days was broken.
Marquis Gu put on his official clothes, tidied up his appearance, and went to the gate of the villa to welcome the other party.
Dozens of guards were lined up, led by a carriage drawn by four horses. A young man dressed in white slowly stepped down from the carriage.
The young man’s attire was as white as snow, giving him a noble and outstanding look.
Marquis Gu flicked the wide sleeves of his official robes, stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting, "This minister meets An Junwang[1]!"
The young man named An Junwang raised his hand slightly and said in a cold but polite tone, "Marquis Ding'an doesn't have to be polite. My sister and I were traveling around everywhere, and this time we’re rushing back before the provincial exam begins. Passing by here, I suddenly thought of visiting the villa. I hope Marquis Ding'an won’t find it troublesome."
Marquis Gu laughed and said, "An Junwang is too serious. It’s our honor for An Junwang and your sister to come to this minister’s humble abode! Today is such a hot day, An Junwang and Young Miss Zhuang might as well walk to the villa and talk inside the house."
An Junwang nodded, turned his head slightly, and said to the carriage behind him, "Why don't you get off now?"
The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and then a quaint little girl stuck out her head. Her eyes went round twice, as if full of curiosity, and then she jumped down with the help of her servant.
She came up to An Junwang and said, "Big brother! Is this the mountain villa with hot springs?"contemporary romance
"Greet Marquis Ding'an first. "An Junwang said to her sister.
The little girl curled her lips and posed to salute Marquis Gu.
Marquis Gu was lower in status than An Junwang, but although the little girl was his sister, she had no rank. According to the rules, she should salute Marquis Gu.
However, etiquette aside, the little girl's identity was really very precious. Although she paid him a courtesy due to her brother’s words, her attitude did not show much respect.
Marquis Gu smiled, as if he didn't notice it, and led the pair of brother and sister into the villa in a friendly manner.
Inside the villa, Yao shi and Gu Jinyu also got the news. They were women from the inner courtyard and couldn't go out to meet them, so they just waited for An Junwang’s party in the drawing room of the reception pavilion.
Yao shi had been away from the capital for many years and was indifferent to the situation in the capital. She had never heard of this An Junwang, so Gu Jinyu patiently told her about the legendary life of this An Junwang.
"He is the legitimate grandson of Grand Preceptor Zhuang. He is only eighteen years old this year."
"He’s already conferred as Junwang at the age of eighteen?" Yao shi was quite surprised. It was rare to confer Wang titles at such an early age.
Gu Jinyu shook her head, "He wasn’t given the title of Junwang at eighteen years old. He was conferred as Junwang when he was just eight years old."
However, this conferment wasn’t a blessing, on the contrary, it was his misfortune.
Ten years ago, the State of Zhao was at war against the State of Chen, and the State of Zhao lost. The State of Chen proposed that a prince of the State of Zhao should be taken as a hostage by them. The emperor could not bear to send his own sons, and the officials were also all opposed to this proposal. At that time, Grand Preceptor Zhuang stepped forward, stating that he was willing to let his outstanding legitimate grandson go to the State of Chen to be the hostage prince.
If it was some minister's children or grandchildren, the State of Chen probably wouldn’t have agreed, but the Zhuang Family was the paternal family of the Empress Dowager. Grand Preceptor Zhuang was the elder brother of the Empress Dowager, and his grandson was the grandnephew of Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Everyone knew that Empress Dowager Zhuang had been governing from behind the curtain for many years, and the power in her hands was much higher than the power of the reigning emperor. So her grandnephew was indeed not inferior to the princes.
Therefore, the emperor conferred the title of An Junwang to the legitimate grandson of Grand Preceptor Zhuang, and let him enter the State of Chen as a wangye.
It was not until more than three years ago that the two countries went to war again, and this time, the State of Chen lost and An Junwang finally returned to the State of Zhao.
There were many stories of An Junwang circulating in the capital. Gu Jinyu had heard of them, but she had never met him in person.
She was very curious in her heart, but full of respect and politeness on the surface. One wouldn’t see half a point of overstepping in her actions.
When Marquis Gu and the other party finally arrived at the reception pavilion, Yao Shi and Gu Jinyu saluted An Junwang.
Yao Shi kept her eyes lowered from beginning to end. On the other hand, Gu Jinyu, who was still young in age, though well-behaved, couldn’t help glancing at the other party with curiosity.
This one glance made her stunned.
How could there be such a handsome man in the world?
He had a noble aura devoid of arrogance, like a refined scholar who had profound thoughts. His every gesture was filled with majesty, and he also had this trace of hidden ethereal quality free from any vulgarity.
"This is my wife Yao shi, and this is my daughter." Marquis Gu introduced the two of them.
An Junwang nodded slightly, saying, "Madame Gu, Young Miss Gu."
Young Miss Zhuang came up and said, "Are you Gu Jinyu? I know you!"
Gu Jinyu was slightly taken aback.
Yao shi and Marquis Gu also looked at Young Miss Zhuang in surprise.
Young Miss Zhuang raised her eyebrow and said, "My fourth uncle praised your handwriting, saying that amongst people of my age, your handwriting is the best!"
Young Miss Zhuang's fourth uncle was exactly that Zhuang Xianzhi, the Provincial Governor of Pingcheng.
Young Miss Zhuang smiled coldly, "Oh, get a brush, quick! I want to compete with you!"
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