Chapter 7

Lin Wei Xi passed by the window and happened to hear Prince Yan say that Gu Cheng Yao and Gao Ran’s wedding was scheduled for next month.

Lin Wei Xi thought that she didn’t give a damn anymore, but when she heard the words, the smile on her face stiffened.

She’d died of depression in the twelfth month, and in only a few days, Gu Cheng Yao wanted to marry someone else?

She was the eldest di granddaughter of Duke Ying. Lin Wei Xi could accept it if Gu Cheng Yao didn’t like her, but what about the Duke Ying Residence? What about her father and grandmother? They would actually let him do this? Perhaps they were anxious to have Gao Ran marry into the family as soon as possible, so as to not ruin the hard-earned marriage alliance between the Prince Yan Residence and the Duke Ying Residence because of Gao Xi’s failure.

The corners of her eyes reddened for no apparent reason. Her mother, Wei Shi, died when she was ten years old, and subsequently, she lived in her grandmother’s Princess Residence a majority of the time. She thought that she was quite indifferent to her former relatives. There still had to be some fondness between relatives, but since the Duke Ying Shizi didn’t like his di daughter, then she also wouldn’t be close to him or respect him. It was fine as long as both sides were even. But how could they trample all over her dignity like this? Was it because she was already dead and couldn’t know about their actions, and with no mother to speak up for her, that they became so unscrupulous?

Unfortunately for them, she hadn’t died, but returned as a new person.

The guard outside the study already saw Lin Wei Xi, and the conversation in the study instantly stopped.

Lin Wei Xi forced a neutral expression and smiled as she walked,”Is His Highness Prince Yan here?”

Before the guard could report her presence, Gu Hui Yan’s deep and clear voice floated from the room, “Let her in.”

Lin Wei Xi entered and saw Zhou Mao Cheng standing on the side, his head hanging slightly and his expression a bit unnatural.

Speaking of the Gu family’s Shizi, it was best not to say anything, even for a trusted aide like Zhou Mao Cheng.

Zhou Mao Cheng lowered his head and said nothing. Prince Yan treated them generously, but it didn’t mean they could advise Prince Yan on his family matters. Because Shizi had a father like Prince Yan, he’d lived his life like a proud son of heaven from a young age. Right now, he was only marrying a new wife, which wasn’t a big deal. Prince Yan could be dissatisfied, but that didn’t apply to the rest of them.

Lin Wei Xi harboured some small inexplicable evil intentions in her heart, and purposely asked, “Your Highness Prince Yan, Uncle Zhou, what were you talking about just now? Who is getting married?”

Zhou Mao Cheng glanced at Gu Hui Yan and found that Prince Yan didn’t intend to hide anything, so he explained to her, “The only son of my Prince, our Prince Yan Residence’s Shizi, is getting married.”

“Oh, is this his first wife? Congratulations to the young couple.”

Zhou Mao Cheng was a little embarrassed, “It’s his second wife.”

He awkwardly explained it to Lin Wei Xi, and she pretended to listen. Neither of them noticed that Gu Hui Yan had glanced furtively at her. It swept past her fleetingly, but it contained a frightening sort of inquiry and insight. When most people heard that someone was going to get married, they wouldn’t think about whether or not this was their first partner. But when she asked about it, it was as if she already knew this wasn’t his first partner.

Gu Hui Yan only glanced at her briefly before looking away, his expression still unhappy. On the other end, Lin Wei Xi finally “understood” the Prince Yan Residence’s situation, and sighed, “So the young master of the Prince Yan Residence is marrying his wife’s sister. How unexpected. Is the young master of the Prince Yan Residence very old? Prince Yan is so young, so I thought Shizi was also quite young.”

Gu Hui Yan was already thinking about what had just happened, but when he heard this, he couldn’t help but laugh lightly and smile at Lin Wei Xi, “Your flattery is too obvious. Why don’t you practise properly before trying again next time.”

Lin Wei Xi’s heart felt prickly. She’d been caught red handed by her ex-husband’s father, so it was inevitable that she felt embarrassed. She rolled her eyes and glared unconvincingly at Gu Hui Yan, “What I said is true! Uncle Zhou, what do you think?”

Strangely, Zhou Mao Cheng felt goosebumps all over his body. He grimaced and forced himself to nod, “That’s right, my Prince is young and strong, while Shizi is at the prime of his life.”

Gu Hui Yan smiled softly, and the atmosphere in the room instantly relaxed.

Gu Hui Yan was in a much better mood. Zhou Mao Cheng sighed in relief before he dared to speak, “My Prince, Shizi specially wrote to request that you attend the wedding. The last time we were in the north-west suppressing the uprising, so we couldn’t make it in time. Although Shizi didn’t say anything, he definitely looked forward to seeing you. This time, it wasn’t easy to have this opportunity… My Prince, this subordinate knows that you aren’t satisfied with this marriage, but what’s done is done. At the end of the day, Shizi likes her… “

When Lin Wei Xi heard this, she couldn’t help but criticize, “It seems that I’m not knowledgeable. Wasn’t Prince Yan’s expedition something that happened in the last one to two years? He missed Shizi’s first wedding, but he’ll actually able to make it to the second one.”

Zhou Mao Cheng was rendered speechless by Lin Wei Xi’s words, his face flushing. Gu Hui Yan wasn’t at all annoyed. Instead, he smiled as he looked at Lin Wei Xi, “You seem very hostile towards Gu Cheng Yao, even getting snapping about his marriage. You don’t know him, do you?”

Lin Wei Xi felt horrified that she’d carelessly exposed her inner most thoughts. How could she have forgotten that the person standing in front of her was the all mighty Prince Yan. She’d let her emotions leak into her words and had unexpectedly been caught by him.

Anyhow, she’d also been the mistress in charge of a household before. Her expression remained unchanged and she deliberately acted arrogantly, “Of course I’m hostile to him. You already promised me that you would find a place to settle me first before returning to the capital. But now this one letter is calling for you to leave! What am I supposed to do?”

Her explanation was reasonable. Gu Hui Yan accepted it and let it go with a slight smile. Zhou Mao Cheng’s heart beat fluctuated wildly. He’d been frightened so many times in such a short period, and he now looked at Lin Wei Xi in a new light. Was it because she was fearless in her ignorance or was it out of pure luck that she dared talk to Prince Yan in this manner? What was even more terrifying was that Prince Yan didn’t seem to mind.

Zhou Mao Cheng lamented for a while, then looked away before trying again, “My Prince, about Shizi…”

“There’s no need to talk about this anymore. I’m not going back.” Gu Hui Yan put his brush down on the desk. His expression clearly didn’t change, but the temperature in the room suddenly dropped, “His first wife died of illness less than a month ago, but he wants to remarry, and he actually scheduled the wedding for the second month this year. Did he ever consider ​​Princess Royal Shou Kang’s opinion? He’s already so old, but he’s still so naive and reckless.”

Zhou Mao Cheng attempted to speak up for Gu Cheng Yao, “Shizi is still young, how can he take interpersonal relationships into account… “

“Young? He’s already seventeen this year. When I was seventeen, I took over the title of Prince Yan and the entire Prince Yan Residence. Take a good look at him and see what he’s done.”

Sure enough, Zhou Mao Cheng couldn’t think of anything to say. As a matter of fact, no matter who it was, a seventeen year old was still a teenager. Not to mention, for a noble son in the capital, he was a talented, handsome and elegant young man in the prime of his life. But who asked Shizi’s father, the Prince Yan, Gu Hui Yan, to become so famous at such a young age, his halo too bright. He entered the battlefield at fifteen and at the age of sixteen, he fought a splendid battle that brought him fame. Since then, he rose to fame and cemented himself as a household name. After that, at seventeen, he became Dazhou’s youngest first-rank Prince. At twenty-five, he already made outstanding military achievements and became the emperor’s most trusted subject and nephew. At twenty-seven he supported the King onto the throne, and at twenty-nine he became the Regent Minister. Right now Prince Yan was only thirty-three years old, but he was already renowned throughout the country, and not a single person didn’t know who he was.

Under the halo of his father, Gu Cheng Yao appeared to be really lacking. His performance in these recent years was quite praise-worthy, and as part of the younger generation of the capital, he was one of the most outstanding. But he wasn’t much to look at compared to his father.

That’s why Gu Hui Yan was dissatisfied with him, and Zhou Mao Cheng couldn’t say a word. When Lin Wei Xi heard that Prince Yan wouldn’t attend Gu Cheng Yao and Gao Ran’s wedding, she almost couldn’t hold back her smile.

They were already on the way back but decided to avoid it and not go. It was different from not being able to return in time because of the war. Lin Wei Xi hurriedly lowered her head to conceal her gloating. On the other hand, Zhou Mao Cheng was a loyal subject and couldn’t help but overstep his boundaries by persuading, “My Prince, this subordinate knows that you have high hopes for Shizi, but Shizi is young after all. He’s not like us, who have fought our way through the flames of war and developed bodies of steel through training. Shizi has always admired you, but it’s a pity that because of the war, you’re always separated and rarely have time together. This trip back to the capital is a rare chance for you to spend more time with him and get along. Even if you’re dissatisfied, you still have to explain it to him.”

After listening, Gu Hui Yan didn’t give his opinion, speak nor get angry. However, this kind of behaviour was scarier than anger. Zhou Mao Cheng didn’t dare say anything, and looked pleadingly at Lin Wei Xi for help, “Lin girl, why don’t you say something?”

Lin Wei Xi sneered to herself. He wanted her help with persuading? Her ex-husband and her shu sister were getting married. Was he counting on her as the older sister to bless their true love? He was daydreaming. Gu Cheng Yao’s father and Gao Ran’s future father-in-law stood in front of her right now. If she didn’t take advantage of this god given opportunity to make trouble for them, then it would be a waste of this life!

“Your Highness Prince Yan, you are doing the right thing. If your child is in the wrong, he should be punished. You can’t spoil him! He is already so old, what can he not tolerate? Without your protection, can he not endure others talking bad about him?”

Zhou Mao Cheng looked at Lin Wei Xi in astonishment, and Gu Hui Yan couldn’t hold back his laughter, “You really do hate him. Forget it, I’ll listen to you and not indulge him this time. But how is a child like you so mature? You’re one year younger than Gu Cheng Yao, but your tone of voice is the same as his elders when instructing.”

At first, she wasn’t happy that she’d been called a “ child”, but when she saw the relief on the faces of those around her, she guessed that Prince Yan’s laughter was a rarity. At the very least, it proved that nothing bad would happen. Through a strange series of events, she’d unexpectedly helped Gu Cheng Yao. She was very begrudging, but she couldn’t cross the line. Prince Yan was kind to her and it wouldn’t make sense to provoke him again.

Gu Hui Yan saw the reluctance on her face and increasingly felt that this little girl had a very vibrant personality, like she was from a completely different world from a stale person like him. Gu Hui Yan didn’t want to embarrass her too much, so he asked, “I didn’t ask you just now, but what are you doing here?”

Lin Wei Xi almost forgot about why she was here, and she quickly said, “I come here especially to express my thanks to Your Highness Prince Yan! Thank you for upholding justice for me, and thank you for taking me out of that wolf’s den.”

It was just a small issue so Gu Hui Yan didn’t take it to heart. He hinted to Zhou Mao Cheng with his gaze, and Zhou Mao Cheng stepped down. Once everyone else left the study, Gu Hui Yan discussed Lin Wei Xi’s personal affairs with her, “Your aunt is too greedy and isn’t suitable. I sent someone to investigate Li Yuan Wai, and his son is indecisive and an embarrassment. You were right in not wanting to marry into these two families. Although this county town is very small, it’s good that it’s close to your hometown. If you get married here, you can pass your days in peace and avoid being harassed by the Li village. I had the county magistrate produce a name list of young men.”

Lin Wei Xi felt extremely disillusioned, “Your Highness Prince Yan, what are you doing?”

Gu Hui Yan sighed and looked helplessly at her, “You were angry yesterday, so I let you do what you wanted. But you’re a blossoming young woman, are you really going to tend to the oil lamp of the Buddha statue alone for the rest of your life?”

“Why can’t I?” Lin Wei Xi looked at Gu Hui Yan, not knowing why she started tearing up, “I thought you wouldn’t be like this. I respect you from the bottom of my heart, but why are you also forcing this on me?”

After she finished speaking, she didn’t dare to look back at the expression on Gu Hui Yan’s face. She turned around and quickly rushed out of the room. Zhou Mao Cheng, who was guarding the door, was shocked when he saw Lin Wei Xi rush out with reddened eyes, “Lin Girl, what’s wrong?”

Lin Wei Xi didn’t say a word and charged straight ahead. Zhou Mao Cheng paused and looked into the study to see Gu Hui Yan pressing his temple.

Zhou Mao Cheng looked at the expressions of the two people, the drama that played in his head scaring him to death. He stood at the door and carefully asked, “My Prince, what happened with Miss Lin?”

Gu Hui Yan had sighed more times that day than in the past year, “She accused me of forcing her to marry.”

So that was it. Aiyo, it scared him to death. Zhou Mao Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. He thought about what happened the day before, and after a moment, he steeled himself to tell Prince Yan.

After Zhou Mao Cheng finished explaining the situation with Li Da, Gu Hui Yan’s expression couldn’t get any uglier. His face was frigid and he could barely conceal the anger in his voice, “Why didn’t you say anything yesterday?”

“She is such a sensitive little girl, she wouldn’t want others to know about this kind of thing.”

Gu Hui Yan thought about it and suddenly pitied her. He only knew she’d lost her temper and was making a fuss about not wanting to marry. As a matter of fact, something like this had happened to her in private. A single weak woman like her was helpless in the face of this kind of situation. It’s no wonder she was so opposed to getting married. Gu Hui Yan sighed internally, but the words that he said were cold and not reflective of his emotions, “Call Gu Ming Da in.”

Gu Ming Da was Prince Yan’s right-hand man. When he heard that, Zhou Mao Cheng knew that Prince Yan was truly pissed off this time. These past few years, Prince Yan had a high position that came with many responsibilities, so he increasingly restrained his emotions. He rarely showed emotion, and the fact that Aunt Lin’s family could do so was a talent in and of itself.