The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and Gu Hou's mansion handed out the greeting card early in the morning, and the Prime Minister's mansion responded quickly.
Gu Shubai and Yufu went to the prime minister's mansion together, while Gu Huaijiang was about to enter the palace, the two sedan chairs parted ways in front of the mansion gate.
Gu Huaijiang waited outside the imperial study, and it took a while for Eunuch Chi to come out slowly.
"Oh, Lord Gu, what a coincidence, today is the day when the clan has an audience with His Majesty. Your Majesty is talking with the emperor's uncle and even the emperor's uncles inside, please wait outside."
Gu Huaijiang nodded, "Okay, the Marquis will wait here."
Eunuch Chi speculated on his complexion, and said: "I dare to ask Lord Hou, why did you come to see His Majesty today? Maybe the slave can do the work of a dog and a horse in it, and I don't know if I try my best."
Gu Huaijiang glanced at him, showing a little smile, "If Eunuch Chi is willing to help Benhou, Benhou will be happy. To be honest, it was just for the palace banquet last night."
When Eunuch Chi heard about yesterday's palace banquet, he immediately smiled obsequiously, "Master Hou has finally figured it out? Come on, you bastards who don't have any winks, Master Hou is waiting here, don't you know how to bring a stool?" ?”
The second half of the sentence was addressed to the people in the small palace below, someone immediately moved a grand master's chair, Gu Huaijiang only looked at it, but did not sit down.
Eunuch Chi became more and more respectful, "Master Hou has finally figured it out, and this servant can breathe a sigh of relief! You don't know how much Your Majesty likes the eldest princess of Zhenjiang, and she refuses to treat her as a queen in person. Your Majesty sent a big message last night. Fire! If he knows that you are here to talk about this matter today, how can he be in the mood to see some royal family members!"
"Master Hou, sit down first, this servant will go in and report to His Majesty!"
Gu Huaijiang said: "Eunuch Chi, wait a minute."
"ah?"
Eunuch Chi was overjoyed, and was about to go in to report to Ning Chengzhi, when he stopped him with a dazed expression.
Gu Huaijiang looked at him without speaking, but the indifferent look in his eyes told him that he guessed wrong.
Eunuch Chi, who was the head of the inner eunuchs in the palace, looked at him in disbelief. Could it be that this very prosperous and seriously ill Master Gu really dared to rebel against His Majesty
As long as he lets go, he will be the head of the country with one person under one person and over ten thousand people in the future, and his in-law relationship is much closer than that of Prime Minister Yin's brother-in-law.
Why can't he think about it
Eunuch Chi glanced at him helplessly, and said angrily: "Since Lord Hou refuses to sit, then remove the chair, lest the clan members discuss it."
After finishing speaking, he flicked his sleeves and went into the imperial study on his own.
The little eunuchs below looked at me and I looked at you, one of them approached Gu Huaijiang and said in a low voice: "Master Hou, I'm really sorry, we slaves can only do things according to orders."
Gu Huaijiang whispered: "It's okay."
He knew that he was here to offend Longyan, not to please him, and he didn't intend to get preferential treatment here from the beginning.
Sure enough, after the little eunuchs took down their chairs, the royal family members inside had not left for a long time.
In previous years, it was customary to meet for less than half an hour. Gu Huaijiang stood outside the door for an hour, but there was no movement inside.
He didn't move at all, his eyes and nose were watching his heart, and his expression was calm.
A few young eunuchs stood in the corridor, giving him a thumbs up in their hearts, thinking that people who have reached their current status based on their solid military achievements are different.
It has the courage to set the mountains and rivers.
Until another quarter of an hour passed, footsteps could be heard faintly inside, and a group of royal family members came out with their own concerns.
Seeing Gu Huaijiang waiting outside the door, they suddenly realized.
No wonder His Majesty talked so much today. He obviously had nothing to say, but he insisted on talking nonsense and keeping them from leaving. It turned out that he was deliberately embarrassing Lord Gu...
The clan members looked embarrassed and wanted to come up to say a few words of comfort to Gu Huaijiang, but they were afraid that Ning Chengzhi's ears would be distracted by the eyes of outsiders in the imperial study, so they had to say hello and leave.
Only the old emperor uncle and Ning Xuan and his son walked towards him.
"Master Gu."
"Old uncle."
The two sides bowed their hands to salute, and the old emperor said: "Master Gu came very early, but His Majesty is in a fit of anger, why don't you wait until later when you have something to say?"
Gu Huaijiang was a little surprised, and then smiled: "The old emperor understands my thoughts and knows what I am here for, so you naturally know that this matter will be said sooner or later, and His Majesty's anger will be vented sooner or later."
The old imperial uncle sighed, "Although I am a member of the royal family, I have high seniority but no real power. Your Majesty respectfully calls me an imperial uncle. If you don't respect me, you are nothing but a bad old man. What happened last night... I am really sincere." More than enough, but not enough.”
Ning Xuan frowned, stepped forward to support him.
Eunuch Chi came out of the hall suddenly, "Master Gu, Your Majesty sent you in, please."
Gu Huaijiang bowed his hands to the old emperor and uncle, and followed Eunuch Chi into the imperial study. The old emperor looked at his back and let out another long sigh.
"Father… "
Ning Xuan tried to comfort him, but the words were dry and empty, so he stopped talking.
Like his father, he despises Ning Chengzhi for taking Yufu as empress, and resents Gu Huaijiang's loyalty but being suppressed.
But they are just ordinary royal family members, they don't have great power in their hands, and they can't do anything.
"Father, let's go back first..."
The sedan chair of Guhou's residence was parked outside Xiangfu, Yin Shuo, dressed in a dark red brocade robe, personally greeted Yufu and Gu Shubai outside the door.
He looked high-spirited and in a good mood, "You two are rare visitors, this is the first time you have come to the Prime Minister's Mansion, and my Prime Minister's Mansion is full of splendor."
Gu Shubai smiled lightly, "How dare you ask the Prime Minister to greet you in person, Prime Minister Yin is very polite."
Yin Shuo replied with a bit of eloquence: "Where, I'm busy saying that the son has a noble title and is a major general of the Gu family army. He only said that His Royal Highness is the king and I am the minister. Naturally, he should come out to greet him in person."
Yufu waved his hands impatiently after listening to their polite words, "I didn't come to the Prime Minister's Mansion today to talk about the etiquette of the emperor and his ministers. Besides, I know that Prime Minister Yin never regarded the princess as a king, did he?"
Yin Shuo heard that she was mocking him for treating Princess Danyang harshly, and his smile did not change, "The eldest princess is joking, and the same eldest princess must be separated. How can the one in my house be compared with you?"
As soon as the words fell, a tall figure quietly separated the two of them, and Gu Shubai stood between them.
Molesting his fiancée in front of his face, Yin Shuo is really promising.
The eyes of the two men met with lightning.
Yu Fu tugged at his sleeves behind him.
This is a habit she left behind when she was a child. At that time, she was too short to reach Gu Shubai. Now that she is fourteen years old, she is as tall as his shoulders, but this habit has not been changed.
When Yin Shuo saw her intimate gestures, his eyes narrowed immediately.
A mere gesture has already driven him mad with jealousy, and he can no longer maintain his superficial politeness.
"Big brother, talk to Prime Minister Yin."
Yu Fu said, poking his head out from behind him to look at Yin Shuo, "There must be a hostess in the Prime Minister's mansion who can receive female guests, right?"
hostess…
Does she want to see Princess Danyang, or Yin Jiyi, or both
Yin Shuo smiled, not afraid that the two of them would cause any trouble, "Of course, I will order someone to take the eldest princess to the east courtyard. My son, come with me."
One of the two faces east and the other faces west. When they walked away, they looked back at each other tacitly, reassuring each other.
Yin Shuo led the way for Gu Shubai, his hands in the sleeves of his loose clothes were already clenched into fists.
…
It was the first time for Yu Fu to come to the Prime Minister's Mansion. In her impression, both Yin Shuo and Yin Yan's father and son were deeply scheming and unpredictable. The Prime Minister's Mansion she imagined was eerie and terrifying.
I didn't expect to actually come here, and I saw that it was indeed an elegant landscape, with exquisitely laid out pavilions and pavilions.
She once heard that the Yin family was a scholarly family of generations of prime ministers. Compared with a military family like Guhou's mansion, the scenery of the prime minister's mansion was less magnificent and more small.
Before reaching the east courtyard, a familiar figure greeted him.
"Yu Fu!"
Yin Jixiu stood on the road and waited for an unknown how long, only Pei'er followed behind her, and when she saw Yufu, she rushed up to greet her happily.
"Ji Yao."
Yu Fu wanted to ask her a lot of things, but it was difficult to speak in front of the Xiangfu's servants, Yin Jixie understood, and said to the servants: "You go down first, let me entertain the eldest princess."
The servant hesitated and said: "This...but the eldest son asked the servant to take the eldest princess Zhenjiang to see the eldest princess Danyang."
Yin Ji sternly said: "Sister-in-law is not fit to see guests. As the only young lady in the house, can I entertain guests for her?"
The servant was frightened and obedient, and hurriedly retreated.
After he left, Yin Jiyu slowly put away the spikes on her back like a cat out of danger.
Yu Fu couldn't help laughing, "You startled me, when did you become so dignified?"
Yin Jiyu said helplessly: "It's all just pretending. I'm trying my best to make myself dignified. If I have half of you, I don't have to worry about being bullied."
Yu Fu took a look at her, and felt that Yin Jixiu was very different now.
She no longer dresses plainly and thinly, but wears a gorgeous dress that can show her identity as a lady of the Xiangfu, her face is rounder, and she no longer shrinks back for fear that others will look at the scar on her forehead.
The white gauze she used to cover the scars is still there, but her whole face is radiant, not as sick and sad as before.
Yu Fu praised her from the bottom of her heart, "You really have the demeanor of a female general."
"Really?"
Yin Ji was overjoyed, quickly covered her mouth, and looked around, "It's not convenient to talk here, so go to my courtyard and talk. I'll take you to see Danyang later, maybe you can find a solution for her illness." .”
Yu Fu didn't refuse, and followed her to the other side of the courtyard.
After entering the room and closing the door, Yin Jixie anxiously took her hand, "I was not able to enter the palace last night, I heard that His Majesty wanted to make you Empress in front of the civil and military officials of the court, did you refuse?"
"Well, because of this matter, the people in Guhou's mansion didn't sleep well last night. The general entered the palace early this morning, and I will accompany eldest brother to see your eldest brother."
"My brother?"
When Yin Jiqian heard these three words, she subconsciously felt uncomfortable, "He hates Guhou Mansion more than His Majesty, so he won't help you. But... if it's your business, maybe he will be willing to help."
Yu Fu looked around in the room, "After the old Prime Minister comes back, I think your eldest brother will not dare to embarrass you anymore, and Princess Danyang's life will be easier, which is a good thing."
Yin Ji hurriedly said: "When is it now, do you still care about us? The most important thing right now is your business. If you don't want to enter the palace as queen, I have an idea."
Yu Fu said: "What is it?"
Yin Ji said: "When the news about the palace entered the mansion last night, my father and I were worshiping our ancestors in the ancestral hall. At that time, my father sighed and said... say..."
Yu Fu said: "Just say what you want, no matter what the old prime minister says, I won't be angry."
Only then did Yin Jixie make up her mind, "Father is an extremely old-fashioned person. At first he asked me to approach the Second Young Master just to find out your identity. Hearing what happened in the palace last night, my father was very angry, saying that His Majesty wanted to set up a ... It is absolutely impossible for a foreign woman of unknown origin to be the queen."
Yu Fu's eyes brightened, instead of being angry, he smiled.
"He really said that?"
Yin Jixiu nodded, and looked at Yufu blankly, was she smiling
When others heard this, they would probably die of anger, how could Yu Fu still laugh
Yu Fuxi said: "Your father is right. I am a foreign woman with unknown background. Even if Dongling's empress is not from a noble family, the family should be clean and prominent. But I am only the adopted daughter of the Marquis Gu's mansion. Although I am honored as the elder The princess is not of royal blood. How can the old prime minister stop His Majesty?"
It turned out that she was happy for this.
Yin Jixie hurriedly said: "Although father does not want you to be the queen, he has already resigned from the court after all, and it is thanks to His Majesty's grace that he can return to the imperial capital. How can he dare to comment on this matter? Father was old and thin after returning from central Fujian. A lot, I am afraid that if I have the heart, I will not have the strength.”
"Although the old prime minister has resigned from the court, his majesty is still there. Now that your majesty favors prime minister Yin, he will definitely give the old prime minister a little favor. So, Ji Yu, can you take me to meet him?"
Yin Jiyu was surprised and said: "You want to see my father? This..."
She thought in her heart, apart from everyone in Guhou's mansion, Yin Yan is probably the one who doesn't want Yufu to become the empress the most.
Guhou Mansion is in a difficult situation now, if not for this, Gu Shubai would not have come to Yin Shuo, if Yin Yan can be persuaded by Yufu, it will be a great help.
She gritted her teeth, "When I was most in danger, Guhou Mansion took me in. It was you who healed the scar on my forehead. I have always kept this kindness in my heart, and I can never repay it. Okay, I will take you to see my father .”
Yu Fu smiled and said: "That's great, but don't say anything about repaying your kindness in the future. At the beginning, the third brother broke into the Prime Minister's mansion and was almost captured. It was you who helped him. The kindness between you and me in Guhou's mansion has long been unclear." You don't owe us anything."
Yin Jiqian looked at her, knowing that Guhou Mansion's kindness to her would never be repaid, and Yufu said this just to make her feel better.
Their greatest kindness to her was to tell her the truth about her life experience, and let her know that she was not born of a brothel woman, but a woman with half of Xikun's bloodline.
Her mother used to be an all-powerful female general, why should she submit to everything, why can't she be as brave as her mother
She is slowly changing, allowing herself to become a brave and righteous person.