PFC Chapter 258 The Jade Concubine is Hijacked
Chapter 258 The Jade Concubine is Hijacked
In the end, Gu Qingwan did not go with Princess Qinghe and the others to join in the fun. After all, she still had the surname Gu, and in other people's eyes, she was still Gu Hanjiao's elder sister. Moreover, she would be the Princess Consort of Chu in the future, and in name, she would be the Third Prince's aunt. It would be somewhat inappropriate for her to join in the fun.
She and Siqi continued to stay in the teahouse, drinking tea and eating snacks. After the princess and Miss Meng left, Siqi was no longer so reserved. With her mistress's permission, she also drank tea and ate snacks with her mistress and watched the excitement.
Gu Ziming hurriedly led Gu Changqing to the backyard, only to find it in complete chaos. He then realized that his daughter had fainted from anger.
When Grandma Wang saw her son-in-law return, although she was a little scared, she couldn't stop her from being poked by her two daughters-in-law from behind.
Old Mrs. Wang was forced forward, and with all her might, she forced a dry smile, saying, "Son-in-law..."
"How dare you! Which one of you is your son-in-law! Your daughter did such a despicable thing, and you still have the nerve to come here!"
The three women were startled; they had never seen Gu Ziming so angry before, but there were always those who were incredibly bold and reckless.
Gu Hanjiao's second aunt, Madam Zhao, stepped forward and explained, "Brother-in-law, we know that our aunt did something wrong, so even if she was beaten to death, our Wang family didn't say a word. Not only that, we also felt sorry for the Prime Minister and wanted to make amends. We didn't know that Jiao'er was getting married, so we quickly sent our two daughters over as dowry to help her consolidate her position in the Prince's residence."
Gu Ziming snorted coldly upon hearing this. Although he wasn't a woman confined to her home, he knew perfectly well what kind of good things they were thinking.
"Those who want to enjoy wealth and luxury by stepping on our Gu family are dreaming! Guards, throw this family out of here!"
Upon hearing the head of the household's order, the old women hurriedly pushed and shoved these people toward the side door.
"Oh, brother-in-law, no, no, Prime Minister, Prime Minister." Little Zhao put her hands on her slender waist, her face adorned with a fawning smile.
“Look at our daughter.” She pulled her daughter Wang Yu over. “This is your niece Yu’er, who is about the same age as Changqing. Even if the Prime Minister thinks that so many people can’t go with the Second Miss, it would be good if one of them went with her and the other was betrothed to Changqing.”
When Grandma Wang heard this, her eyes lit up. That was indeed a good idea.
Wang Yu wished she could disappear into the ground. What kind of behavior was her mother exhibiting? It was like a brothel madam recommending girls. What did she think she was?
As she thought about it, Wang Yu felt increasingly ashamed and indignant, and tears streamed down her face.
"I'm not going anywhere! You can marry me if you want! You might as well just sell me off!" She shook off her mother's hand and ran away.
"You ungrateful child, why are you running away!" Little Zhao stamped her foot and chased after him.
Gu Changqing has grown up and his manly image is becoming more and more obvious. Moreover, he has received personal guidance from a great Confucian scholar at the academy. Gu Ziming cherishes his only son all the more.
Furthermore, Gu Changqing also arranged for him to be registered under his mother's name, so Gu Changqing can now be considered a legitimate son.
"What? You're still not leaving? It seems impossible to ask you to leave. If we kick you out, you'll try to get out of here, so we'll just have to beat you out. Men, call the servants from the outer courtyard and have them beat you out with sticks!"
Gu Ziming was very satisfied with his son's current demeanor. Although he was furious that the Ning family was ruthless and that his eldest daughter had abandoned her father, he had to admit that the Ning family hadn't gone too far.
Whether it's Gu Changqing's status as the legitimate son or the opportunity to study at the academy, both are rare. According to the doctor, if Concubine Rou were carrying a girl, Gu Changqing might be his only heir. His health has been ruined by Wang Ruyan and her adulterous husband.
Thinking of this, Gu Ziming gritted his teeth even more when he saw the Wang family. Without letting them choose, he had them thrown out.
After tidying up these people, Chunlu came out from inside.
"Master, young master, Miss has woken up and invites you in."
Gu Ziming and Gu Changqing exchanged a glance and hurried inside, where they saw Gu Hanjiao dressed and leaning against the bed.
"Father and Qingdi, stay here. You all go out," Gu Hanjiao instructed.
“Miss…” Tianxiang hesitated. This matter concerned the Third Prince, so she wanted to stay and hear the details. If anything unexpected happened, she could inform the Third Prince in advance.
Gu Hanjiao frowned. "If you think you can ignore what I say, then go back to your prince's residence!"
"This servant knows her mistake, this servant will go down now."
Tianxiang knew why Gu Hanjiao had fainted, but in her heart she felt that it was just a matter of a concubine being carried in by a bridal sedan chair. Whether the Third Prince came to pick her up or not was an act of grace, so how could she dare to be dissatisfied with the Third Prince's decision?
Seeing that everyone had left, Gu Hanjiao sat up with a gloomy expression.
"Jiao'er, are you alright? Should I have your younger brother take my nameplate to the palace and ask the imperial physician to take a look?" Gu Ziming asked with concern.
Although Gu Ziming disliked what Wang Ruyan did, his love for Gu Hanjiao was genuine. Gu Hanjiao was intelligent and beautiful from a young age, and he had raised her himself.
Gu Hanjiao's complexion improved slightly; she knew her father still cared about her. "Thank you, Father. I'm fine; I just fainted from anger."
Seeing that the father and daughter seemed to have something to say, Gu Changqing, who was always a very tactful person, said, "It's good that Second Sister is alright. Father, why don't you talk to Second Sister? I'll go ahead and see if there's anything that needs to be done."
"Brother Qing, you don't need to go out. Stay and listen."
Gu Changqing was a little surprised. His second sister used to look down on him the most and would always bring up his status as an illegitimate child. Why is she so easy to talk to now?
“Since your second sister wants you to stay, then you should stay. That wretched eldest sister of yours, she didn’t even come back for such an important day at home, really…”
Gu Changqing didn't dare to remind her, "Didn't you kick your eldest sister out of the family? So now that she's about to become the Princess Consort of Chu, you're starting to feel reluctant to let her go?"
"My elder sister has sent someone to deliver dowry items to her daughter, so Father, please don't blame her."
“Father, the Third Prince had promised to come and welcome me into the manor, but now that something unexpected has happened, I’ve calmed down and think it’s probably the palace’s doing.”
Gu Ziming was somewhat surprised by his daughter's calmness. He said, "Do you think the Imperial Concubine is intentionally elevating the Yu family?"
"The Yu family is originally the maternal family of the Imperial Concubine, and the maternal family of the Third Prince, so they must be given some preferential treatment."
"But you can't elevate the Yu family by stepping on our Gu family. Although it's understandable that the Third Prince sent someone to explain that we can't turn back, but..."
Gu Hanjiao sneered, "I don't believe it. Consort Yu took things from the Gu family and still wants to elevate the Yu family. She really wants both fish and bear's paw. There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"What does Second Sister want to do?" Although Gu Changqing didn't like Gu Hanjiao, he still stood on Gu Hanjiao's side as a whole in the Gu family, provided that what Gu Hanjiao did did not harm the interests of the Gu family.
"Father, Second Brother, please help me pack. I'm going to the Third Prince's residence now. I must enter before Consort Yu."
Gu Ziming and his son were somewhat surprised, not expecting Gu Hanjiao to make such a decision.
“Well… it’s not against etiquette for you to go alone, my dear. I’m just worried that people outside will laugh at you, after all, the Third Prince has taken in Consort Yu.”
"Wouldn't it be shameful for me to stay in the manor and wait for the Third Prince to send that wretched woman back before coming to pick me up? Wouldn't I be laughed at?"
The two were speechless; it was indeed embarrassing no matter what.
“Father, the auspicious time cannot be delayed. If I enter the manor before that slut, my status will be higher than hers. I don’t want to call that slut ‘sister’.”
Gu Ziming thought for a moment and slapped his thigh. "Alright! We'll listen to your second sister. Changqing, you go and make arrangements for the people who will be escorting the bride. You'll personally see your second sister off."
"Father, rest assured, I will go right away."
Perhaps the Emperor felt that the Prime Minister was being treated unfairly, so he allowed Gu Hanjiao to bring some dowry with her, but it was only a small amount and absolutely could not be done in a big way. Consort Yu, on the other hand, did not receive this treatment.
So that's how that scene came about: the Gu family personally escorted the bride, followed by several boxes, not too many, not too few, just barely touching the line.
If you say the Gu family is low-key, then there's a whole row of suitcases following behind them. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem low-key at all. Especially with Gu Changqing riding a tall horse leading the way, the girls who came to join in the fun couldn't help but praise, "How handsome!"
But if you say they weren't being low-key, then the Prime Minister's residence didn't have any fanfare or a large entourage. There was just a young man in front, four sedan chair bearers and two maids, and a few people carrying boxes behind. They were very quiet. If you didn't know better, you would think they were relatives from some family coming to the capital to seek refuge.
Gu Qingwan watched Gu Changqing from upstairs, thinking how fast the child was growing up. However, when she saw the several boxes following behind, the people carrying the boxes clearly seemed to be struggling.
Gu Hanjiao couldn't help but say, "Siqi, tell Young Master Changqing later..." Gu Qingwan whispered something in Siqi's ear.
Everyone followed the group towards the Third Prince's residence.
Taking a concubine is a trivial matter for a prince. There's no need for a banquet or even congratulatory ceremonies, as those are only required for the main wedding. The prince's residence is quiet and peaceful, and they simply wait for the concubine to arrive before opening the side gate to welcome her in.
But what's going on now? Why are so many people gathering in front of the Prince's residence? Before the gatekeeper could react, Gu Changfeng arrived with his entourage.
"What are you all standing there for? Consort Gu has arrived! Why don't you all hurry up and open the door to welcome her? Can you afford to miss the auspicious time?"
The people at the prince's residence were surprised to see Consort Gu arrive on her own, but they didn't forget to open the side gate. Tianxiang had already returned to the prince's residence and was waiting inside to serve Consort Gu as soon as she arrived.
Yu Xinqiu sat in the sedan chair, her face full of joy. She hadn't expected that her elder sister was right; she really did have a way to get the Third Prince to come and pick her up first.
Hmph, money makes the world go round. So what if the Yu family is a merchant family? We have money. As long as we have money, why should we be afraid of those people not bowing down?
Now she could stand tall. At least in front of Gu Hanjiao, she was personally received by the Third Prince and had entered the palace before her. Before, she always called her "sister," but from now on, Gu Hanjiao would have to call her "sister."
Before she could even finish thinking about the good news, she heard the Third Prince outside the sedan chair call out, "Jiao'er, why did you come by yourself?"
Yu Xinqiu didn't care whether she was happy or not. As soon as the sedan chair stopped, she quickly lifted the door and looked over. Standing at the side gate of the prince's residence was none other than Gu Hanjiao.
Just as Gu Hanjiao was about to enter the mansion, she heard Xiao Yuheng calling her from behind. She turned around, clutching her stomach with tears in her eyes, a smile still on her lips, but that smile made her look even more pitiful to others.
"Brother Heng, you're back."
Xiao Yuheng quickly stepped forward to help Gu Hanjiao up, "Why did you come by yourself? Didn't I tell Tianxiang to tell you to wait for me to come pick you up? Tianxiang, how do you serve a concubine!"
"This servant deserves to die! This servant knows she was wrong!" Tianxiang knelt down and admitted her mistake without saying a word. Regardless of whether it was her fault or not, as long as her master said she was wrong, then she was wrong.
"Don't blame Tianxiang. It was my own decision to come. Normally, when a prince takes a concubine, he should be carried into the mansion in a sedan chair. No family would personally welcome him, let alone a prince. I am deeply moved by Heng-gege's feelings for me. I also don't want to make things difficult for Heng-gege, so I came on my own."
"My dear, how can you be so understanding? Quickly, let me help you inside. You must be feeling the strain after sitting in the sedan chair for so long. Tianxiang, go and fetch the imperial physician to take a look."
The Third Prince helped Gu Hanjiao inside, and then heard the beauty whisper, "No need, Father already had a doctor examine me at the manor, and there's nothing wrong. Today is our special day, it would be inappropriate to invite the imperial physician."
Gu Hanjiao understood. Before entering, she referred to herself as "this concubine," but upon entering, she immediately used the term "this humble servant," which pleased the Third Prince greatly.
Standing at the door, Consort Yu's eyes blazed with fury, her nails clenched so tightly they seemed about to snap. She should have been the one in the limelight, but now she was the one being laughed at. People around her pointed and laughed at her, all because of that woman, Gu Hanjiao!
Hongxiu approached and said, "Consort, my name is Hongxiu. I have come to welcome you into the manor today."
The Third Prince has already left with Gu Hanjiao, and now there is no other way but to follow this person named Hongxiu.
Yu Xinqiu secretly resented it. "Hmph, Gu Hanjiao, we'll see what happens in the future!"
Since the Third Prince has not yet married a principal wife, the two of them do not need to pay their respects to her; they can simply wait in their own courtyard.
Yu Xinqiu's personal maid, Zhui'er, was serving her, reporting as she served, "Miss, please rest a bit. This is the hot water I just asked for."
"Have you done everything I asked you to do?"
"Don't worry, Miss, everything has been taken care of. When I went to the kitchen to get hot water and food, I made sure everything was taken care of. I also gave them a lot of benefits as you instructed, and they were all very sensible."
Yu Xinqiu was finally satisfied and smiled.
"If that's the case, then so be it. So what if she has the Third Prince's favor? Zhui'er, get ready to serve the Third Prince. Tell the kitchen to prepare some good food."
Zhui'er asked hesitantly, "Miss, now that the Third Prince has gone over there, will he come back to us?"
"Hmph, she's pregnant, what can she use to serve a man? Besides, Aunt Amber is here, and the Third Prince will come to give his aunt an explanation, so you can rest assured and prepare."
"Yes."