“Alright, I've explained it clearly,” Ning Si smiled gently and said briskly, “After I inadvertently cleared up the misunderstanding with His Highness, His Highness personally accompanied me to explain in person. Lord Zhou also agreed to dissolve the engagement with me, saying that he still had a childhood sweetheart waiting for him at home to fulfill the engagement. Now that things had happened here, he also needed to prepare to return home for a while to fulfill the agreement.”
Gu Ying's brows raised slightly, “Then, what was the matter with the chastity powder on your hand originally—”
Ning Si stroked her arm, pulled up her sleeve to reveal a piece of porcelain-white and tender skin, with a smile at the corner of her mouth, “Look, it was done by His Highness. He was worried that I would lose the chastity powder and be criticized, so he deliberately did it. Now it’s all better.”
Gu Ying pressed her lips, smiled faintly, “It was thoughtful of him to still think for you, it’s just a pity for Lord Zhou.”
Ning Si sighed, “I thought that I had already delayed him with my own matters, so it would be better to let him leave early. Therefore, I returned his betrothal gift. I also wrote a letter to tell Grandfather about this matter. Grandfather meant for me to respect Lord Zhou's choice...”
Gu Ying paused for a moment and sighed inwardly. No wonder Zhou Yan had suddenly requested to be transferred from Bianjing to become an official in Jiangnan a few days ago.
So there were so many stories behind this.
It was a pity that silly Ning Si still didn't know Zhou Yan's deep feelings for her...
What a pity for Zhou Yan's devotion.
But when she thought about it carefully, Ning Si and Li Hao were destined to be married in their previous life. In his previous life, Li Hao had secretly loved and admired her for a lifetime without touching a single hair of Ning Si. Finally, Ning Si died by banging her head on his coffin before he passed away.
In this life, Li Hao taking Ning Si as the Crown Princess could be considered as requital for things in their previous life.
"A Ying, what are you thinking about?"
Gu Ying came back to her senses and smiled, "Nothing, I just feel that this is also pretty good. At least His Highness treats you very well. He grew up in the precarious royal family since childhood. His mother was not favored and he himself was a sickly child, so he is naturally sensitive, suspicious, and insecure without a sense of safety. He would not easily fall in love with or rely on a woman, nor would he casually give his feelings to a woman. If he has truly decided to marry you, Ning Si, you will become the most noble and happiest girl in the entire Eastern Liang in the future."
For some reason, Ning Si's face unconsciously flushed slightly, "Cough cough, it's fine... You know I'm not ambitious. As for that phoenix position, I've never thought about it... I just happened to love him, and he happened to become the Crown Prince of Eastern Liang..."
"Yes, he will be the future emperor." Gu Ying's mouth turned up in a smile. Without Li Yang and Li Hao competing for the Eastern Palace in this life, Li Hao should ascend the throne smoothly.
Although he died young in his previous life, he was the most remarkable wise king in the history of Eastern Liang.
I believe that in the future, together with the Crown Prince, with capable ministers, they would definitely be able to turn Eastern Liang into a great dynasty of prosperity!
Gu Ying had just started chatting with Ning Si when the Crown Prince himself came to fetch someone.
Seeing this newly appointed Crown Prince known for his benevolence and virtue, she smiled and greeted him.
The Crown Prince nodded slightly, with one arm around Ning Si, gently said, "Adou has already left Huang City and should be able to meet with the old Duke in one or two days."
Gu Ying's heart tightened. This meant that the war with the Qiang tribe had officially begun.
While Bianjing was prosperous, the borders were desolate and tragic. Those young men who went to the battlefield faced the danger of being wrapped in horse leather at any time.
She felt very uncomfortable in her heart. Although she knew that the Crown Prince would win a great victory in this battle, she still couldn't help worrying that something unexpected might happen.
The Crown Prince said lightly with a faint smile, "Don't worry, Adou has great luck and fortune, and will certainly return triumphantly."
Gu Ying forced a smile, "I'll take Your Highness words as blessings."
The Crown Prince nodded, and left with his arm around Ning Si.
Ning Si looked back at Gu Ying standing in place, hesitation in her eyes.
Gu Ying didn't notice the complexity in Ning Si's eyes. After Gu Shuang’s wedding, she would move from the Duke of Dongping's residence to live in the Censorate for a period of time.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Madam Lin. It was just that there would always be the annoying Shen Ruxu around Madam Lin. In order to ensure Yun Bao's safe birth in this life, she could only trust her aunt and the Ye family.
Gu Ying had just started walking in the direction of Qinghe Garden when Yanzhi rushed over out of breath and said anxiously, "Mistress, this is bad, something happened!"
Gu Ying steadied herself with her crutch Silver Orchid, and asked calmly, "What happened?"
"It's Hai Tang," Yanzhi caught her breath and frowned, "I went to Lingxi Pavilion to look for Hai Tang today and found that she was missing."
Gu Ying's eyes flashed sharply as her brows knitted together.
...
Censorate, Zhenliu Courtyard.
The entire courtyard was immersed in a sea of bright red.
Gu Shuang sat upright in the bridal chamber, her whole body tense, with midwives and maids staying by her side saying many auspicious words. After a while, there wasn't a single person left in the room.
She held a fan embroidered with golden phoenixes in her hand, wearing the bridal gown that she had embroidered for a month. Her face was made up exquisitely and seductively.
The heavy phoenix crown on her head felt like a huge rock pressing down on her.
She had been sitting there nervously for a long time, listening to the noisy sounds outside the door, still unable to figure out how this marriage happened so quickly.
It had only been five days and she had become Ye Qingchi's lawfully wedded wife.
Tonight would be her bridal night with him... Once tonight was over, her life would be completely handed over to him.
But she was still afraid of him... She was totally clueless about how to react when he came back later.
Although Lady Qin and Mother had come to remind her about things between husband and wife in the bedroom, and also gave her an illustrated book that new brides should read, she was still extremely nervous. Just thinking about Young Master Ye's handsome face getting close to her made her unable to hear anything clearly... That book was still tucked under her pillow like it was scalding hot.
She didn't dare open it to take a look, with her cheeks burning hot.
No one came to tell her what to do, and the bridal chamber grew quieter and quieter.
It was late into the night before the guests finally dispersed, the noisy sound of music outside gradually stopped, and she finally put down her fan and relaxed for a bit.
She had gotten up early today before it was even light out to get dressed and made up, so she was somewhat sleepy now.
She quietly waited for the man to come back, but due to exhaustion, she unknowingly dozed off leaning against the bed.
"A Chi, I have something to discuss with you."
It was a gentle female voice outside that woke her up from her sleep.
She quickly sat up, and hastily wiped away the traces of sleep on her face. Then she lifted her skirt and walked to the door, straining to listen.
Outside the door.
Ye Qingchi turned around, his bright red bridal robe hidden in the pitch dark night.
He looked at Li Tian under the lantern indifferently.
"Why are you here?"
Li Tian revealed a lonely smile on her face, "Someone gave me this drug to slip into your wine. I thought it over again and again and still decided to come warn you, don't fall for that woman's tricks."
“Alright, I've explained it clearly,” Ning Si smiled gently and said briskly, “After I inadvertently cleared up the misunderstanding with His Highness, His Highness personally accompanied me to explain in person. Lord Zhou also agreed to dissolve the engagement with me, saying that he still had a childhood sweetheart waiting for him at home to fulfill the engagement. Now that things had happened here, he also needed to prepare to return home for a while to fulfill the agreement.”
Gu Ying's brows raised slightly, “Then, what was the matter with the chastity powder on your hand originally—”
Ning Si stroked her arm, pulled up her sleeve to reveal a piece of porcelain-white and tender skin, with a smile at the corner of her mouth, “Look, it was done by His Highness. He was worried that I would lose the chastity powder and be criticized, so he deliberately did it. Now it’s all better.”
Gu Ying pressed her lips, smiled faintly, “It was thoughtful of him to still think for you, it’s just a pity for Lord Zhou.”
Ning Si sighed, “I thought that I had already delayed him with my own matters, so it would be better to let him leave early. Therefore, I returned his betrothal gift. I also wrote a letter to tell Grandfather about this matter. Grandfather meant for me to respect Lord Zhou's choice...”
Gu Ying paused for a moment and sighed inwardly. No wonder Zhou Yan had suddenly requested to be transferred from Bianjing to become an official in Jiangnan a few days ago.
So there were so many stories behind this.
It was a pity that silly Ning Si still didn't know Zhou Yan's deep feelings for her...
What a pity for Zhou Yan's devotion.
But when she thought about it carefully, Ning Si and Li Hao were destined to be married in their previous life. In his previous life, Li Hao had secretly loved and admired her for a lifetime without touching a single hair of Ning Si. Finally, Ning Si died by banging her head on his coffin before he passed away.
In this life, Li Hao taking Ning Si as the Crown Princess could be considered as requital for things in their previous life.
"A Ying, what are you thinking about?"
Gu Ying came back to her senses and smiled, "Nothing, I just feel that this is also pretty good. At least His Highness treats you very well. He grew up in the precarious royal family since childhood. His mother was not favored and he himself was a sickly child, so he is naturally sensitive, suspicious, and insecure without a sense of safety. He would not easily fall in love with or rely on a woman, nor would he casually give his feelings to a woman. If he has truly decided to marry you, Ning Si, you will become the most noble and happiest girl in the entire Eastern Liang in the future."
For some reason, Ning Si's face unconsciously flushed slightly, "Cough cough, it's fine... You know I'm not ambitious. As for that phoenix position, I've never thought about it... I just happened to love him, and he happened to become the Crown Prince of Eastern Liang..."
"Yes, he will be the future emperor." Gu Ying's mouth turned up in a smile. Without Li Yang and Li Hao competing for the Eastern Palace in this life, Li Hao should ascend the throne smoothly.
Although he died young in his previous life, he was the most remarkable wise king in the history of Eastern Liang.
I believe that in the future, together with the Crown Prince, with capable ministers, they would definitely be able to turn Eastern Liang into a great dynasty of prosperity!
Gu Ying had just started chatting with Ning Si when the Crown Prince himself came to fetch someone.
Seeing this newly appointed Crown Prince known for his benevolence and virtue, she smiled and greeted him.
The Crown Prince nodded slightly, with one arm around Ning Si, gently said, "Adou has already left Huang City and should be able to meet with the old Duke in one or two days."
Gu Ying's heart tightened. This meant that the war with the Qiang tribe had officially begun.
While Bianjing was prosperous, the borders were desolate and tragic. Those young men who went to the battlefield faced the danger of being wrapped in horse leather at any time.
She felt very uncomfortable in her heart. Although she knew that the Crown Prince would win a great victory in this battle, she still couldn't help worrying that something unexpected might happen.
The Crown Prince said lightly with a faint smile, "Don't worry, Adou has great luck and fortune, and will certainly return triumphantly."
Gu Ying forced a smile, "I'll take Your Highness words as blessings."
The Crown Prince nodded, and left with his arm around Ning Si.
Ning Si looked back at Gu Ying standing in place, hesitation in her eyes.
Gu Ying didn't notice the complexity in Ning Si's eyes. After Gu Shuang’s wedding, she would move from the Duke of Dongping's residence to live in the Censorate for a period of time.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Madam Lin. It was just that there would always be the annoying Shen Ruxu around Madam Lin. In order to ensure Yun Bao's safe birth in this life, she could only trust her aunt and the Ye family.
Gu Ying had just started walking in the direction of Qinghe Garden when Yanzhi rushed over out of breath and said anxiously, "Mistress, this is bad, something happened!"
Gu Ying steadied herself with her crutch Silver Orchid, and asked calmly, "What happened?"
"It's Hai Tang," Yanzhi caught her breath and frowned, "I went to Lingxi Pavilion to look for Hai Tang today and found that she was missing."
Gu Ying's eyes flashed sharply as her brows knitted together.
...
Censorate, Zhenliu Courtyard.
The entire courtyard was immersed in a sea of bright red.
Gu Shuang sat upright in the bridal chamber, her whole body tense, with midwives and maids staying by her side saying many auspicious words. After a while, there wasn't a single person left in the room.
She held a fan embroidered with golden phoenixes in her hand, wearing the bridal gown that she had embroidered for a month. Her face was made up exquisitely and seductively.
The heavy phoenix crown on her head felt like a huge rock pressing down on her.
She had been sitting there nervously for a long time, listening to the noisy sounds outside the door, still unable to figure out how this marriage happened so quickly.
It had only been five days and she had become Ye Qingchi's lawfully wedded wife.
Tonight would be her bridal night with him... Once tonight was over, her life would be completely handed over to him.
But she was still afraid of him... She was totally clueless about how to react when he came back later.
Although Lady Qin and Mother had come to remind her about things between husband and wife in the bedroom, and also gave her an illustrated book that new brides should read, she was still extremely nervous. Just thinking about Young Master Ye's handsome face getting close to her made her unable to hear anything clearly... That book was still tucked under her pillow like it was scalding hot.
She didn't dare open it to take a look, with her cheeks burning hot.
No one came to tell her what to do, and the bridal chamber grew quieter and quieter.
It was late into the night before the guests finally dispersed, the noisy sound of music outside gradually stopped, and she finally put down her fan and relaxed for a bit.
She had gotten up early today before it was even light out to get dressed and made up, so she was somewhat sleepy now.
She quietly waited for the man to come back, but due to exhaustion, she unknowingly dozed off leaning against the bed.
"A Chi, I have something to discuss with you."
It was a gentle female voice outside that woke her up from her sleep.
She quickly sat up, and hastily wiped away the traces of sleep on her face. Then she lifted her skirt and walked to the door, straining to listen.
Outside the door.
Ye Qingchi turned around, his bright red bridal robe hidden in the pitch dark night.
He looked at Li Tian under the lantern indifferently.
"Why are you here?"
Li Tian revealed a lonely smile on her face, "Someone gave me this drug to slip into your wine. I thought it over again and again and still decided to come warn you, don't fall for that woman's tricks."
