SFS Chapter 227 Marriage
Chapter 227 Marriage
The King of Qi also witnessed this scene, and the contrast between the two situations made him feel extremely embarrassed.
The carriage stopped at the Four Barbarians Inn, where King Qi settled in and arranged for someone to investigate who was making such a grand display.
Nearly an hour later, the messenger returned and reported: "Your Highness, the Embroidered Uniform Guard went to greet Zhao Yi from the Duke's Mansion."
King Qi frowned. He had heard of Zhao Yi back in the Northern Qi Dynasty. Emperor Jing'an's favor towards him surpassed that of all the other princes.
Now that he has come to the Great Zhou, he has witnessed it firsthand, but he doesn't know how much of this favor is genuine and how much is feigned.
Seeing that the guard hesitated to speak, King Qi said coldly, "Is there anything else you haven't reported?"
The guard said tremblingly, "I heard that Emperor Jing'an arranged for the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies to welcome us into the city first so as not to delay Zhao Yi's treatment."
King Qi's temples throbbed, a surge of anger welled up in his heart, and he clenched his fists tightly.
Very well, Emperor Jing'an deliberately slapped Northern Qi in the face.
They just humiliated Northern Qi like that.
"Your Highness, please calm down. His Majesty arranged for Princess Guangning to marry into the country in order to maintain good relations between the two nations and prevent further war."
Chang An deliberately brought up Princess Guangning to calm Prince Qi down and prevent him from ruining his grand plan.
He pondered for a moment and said, "We had previously intended to have Princess Guangning enter the palace, or to select a prince, but now it seems we can choose someone else."
"Who?"
"Then we'll have to see if Zhao Yi is truly favored by the emperor, or just a shield."
"check."
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The two sedan chairs separated as soon as they entered the city gate.
One sedan chair went to the Duke's mansion, and the other went to the Gu mansion.
Gu Changsheng came to the capital under the pretext of returning home. If he went directly to the Duke's Mansion, it would arouse suspicion, so he returned to the Gu residence first.
Before heading to the capital, Shen Qingtan wrote a letter to Gu Zongci, informing him of her itinerary in advance.
Gu Zongci knew that today was the day Gu Changsheng was going to the capital, so he went to the shop as usual before returning to his residence to handle the letters as usual.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Gu Zongci looked up at the door and saw the butler walking in, panting.
The steward excitedly said, "Master, the young master has returned."
Gu Zongci suddenly stood up and strode out, leaving only one letter on the table scattered on the floor.
Just as he reached the door of the study, he suddenly stopped, smoothed out his sleeves, and with his hands behind his back, walked slowly to the screen wall.
The main gate of the mansion was opened, and two gauze lanterns hung at the entrance.
Gu Zongci gazed at the square gauze lantern, which depicted a traveler returning home. A gentle breeze caused the lantern to rotate, and the images flashed before his eyes, one after another.
The traveler alighted from the sedan chair, standing at the door of his home with a mixture of trepidation and excitement, and greeted his parents. The whole family then sat down together for a reunion dinner.
The gauze lantern slowly came to a stop, and the scene froze on a sedan chair parked in front of a house.
Gu Zongci then saw a slender hand lift the curtain, and a tall, thin figure emerged from the sedan chair.
His pupils trembled slightly, and he subconsciously looked up at the lantern at the door, then at the cold and lonely figure beside the sedan chair. He clenched his hands, then slowly relaxed them.
Gu Zongci's gaze lingered on Gu Changsheng's eyes for only a moment before he looked away.
"You're back." Gu Zongci's expression remained unchanged, just like his stern father before: "It's already noon, come in and have lunch."
Gu Changsheng was startled and looked in the direction of Gu Zongci, following the sound.
The father's familiar tone made it seem as if he had never been away from home for fourteen years, but rather had gone to the academy to study and then returned home.
At that moment, the feeling of being home disappeared, and his heart returned to peace.
"Alright." Gu Changsheng slowly stepped up the stairs: "I've kept Father waiting."
Gu Zongci's fingers trembled slightly. Seeing that he was walking steadily, he withdrew his gaze and slowly walked into the mansion.
Gu Changsheng followed Gu Zongci step by step into the mansion and went to the side hall for dinner.
There were only two dishes on the table: lotus seed pod fish and stir-fried lotus root.
Gu Changsheng's eyelashes trembled slightly. He lowered his head and tasted a mouthful of rice. The rice had a faint fragrance and a very soft and tender texture.
He has never liked hard rice since he was a child; he prefers it to be steamed until soft and mushy. Therefore, his meals are always separate from those of the people in the mansion.
My father once said, "A grown man like you eats so finely. If you didn't have the same opportunity to eat outside, would you just stop eating?"
Having wandered for over a decade, Gu Changsheng was no longer so picky and could eat a little bit of any kind of food.
Eating this long-missed rice now, every grain tastes like home.
Gu Zongci watched Gu Changsheng finish his meal slowly and deliberately, his expression as indifferent as ever, revealing nothing about his preferences.
He said, "Go back to your courtyard and rest. We can talk about it tomorrow."
"Mm," Gu Changsheng replied.
The father and son sat quietly, speechless.
No matter how composed they pretend to be, even if they try to break down the barriers built by time, they can never return to the free and unrestrained speech of the past.
Gu Changsheng slowly got up and followed the steward to the courtyard.
The steward led Gu Changsheng into the house, his eyes reddening as he looked at the thin veil covering his eyes: "Young Master, this courtyard of yours is the same as the one in Nanling Prefecture. No matter where the head of the family goes, he will reserve a courtyard for you."
Gu Changsheng rested his fingers on the multi-treasure shelf and subconsciously rubbed his fingertips together.
The steward saw this and smiled, saying, "The master knows you are a clean person, and your courtyard is cleaned by servants every day."
Gu Changsheng felt that his fingertips were free of dust, and the room was filled with the cool fragrance of plum blossoms, without any lingering dust.
Seeing that Gu Changsheng was taciturn, the steward felt a pang of sadness. The young master of yesteryear was cheerful and loved making friends, but now he was a completely different person.
"Young master, the servants are waiting at the door. Please give them your instructions if you need anything."
The manager gave a brief explanation and then took his leave.
Gu Changsheng suddenly spoke up: "Tell the kitchen to follow Father's preferences, there's no need to cater to mine."
The steward paused, then blurted out, "Today's dishes also suit the master's taste."
Gu Changsheng curled his fingers slightly and nodded: "I understand."
The steward left through the doorway and closed it.
Gu Changsheng stood there for a moment, then slowly walked towards the Luohan couch.
I thought that after fourteen years, I would have long forgotten the layout of the house.
But some memories are ingrained in his bones. He walked smoothly and without hindrance to the Luohan couch, sat down slowly, and touched a scroll on the small table.
His memory was suddenly pulled back to the small courtyard in Nanling Prefecture. On the afternoon he lost Manman, he held her in his arms, sat on the daybed, and read a book to her.
The maid called them to have dinner, and he casually placed the book on the small table, intending to read another article to Manman after they returned from watching the lanterns, to lull her to sleep.