Dong Gong Mei

Chapter 903: Plums are bitter every year

Gu Yuci was dressing up when she received the news.

In the bronze mirror, the eyebrows and eyes are like a painting.

Honeysuckle said, "This Lady He is quite capable. She has been summoned by His Majesty twice in a row. You must be on guard."

Gu Yuci faced the mirror, combed her hair, and said nonchalantly: "She has her ability, I have mine, and we each rely on our own abilities, isn't that great?"

"That being said, you haven't been crowned yet. She got the position before you, which makes people think she is stepping on you... Besides, your majesty treats you like this, do you really not care at all? I am just afraid... afraid that you will feel as sad as I did back then!"

"Back then?" Gu Yuci raised his eyebrows and then smiled, "Back then I was young and ignorant."

Her mind wandered far away. "I have known since I was a child that my cousin is the Crown Prince, and I am his only cousin. He is the most outstanding man in the entire Wei Dynasty, proficient in riding, shooting, poetry and literature. And I am the most outstanding woman in the Wei Dynasty, with both beauty and talent, both are unparalleled... When I was a child, I thought that the only one who could be worthy of me, Gu Yuci, was the Crown Prince."

"What happened later..." Gu Yuci's smile faded. "Later, he was in charge of state affairs. The people in the court had different opinions. He needed to establish his authority, get rid of bad policies, and make an example of others. My father was the best candidate."

"My father," Gu Yuci raised the corner of his lips, "He is not wronged. He wants to be the uncle of the emperor who holds all the power, and he also wants to be a loyal and devoted ox. He wants to support a monarch with unparalleled strategy, and he also wants the monarch to rely on him, depend on him, and listen to him in everything."

Honeysuckle held her breath and dared not interrupt.

Gu Yuci continued, "In order to achieve this goal, he used me as a trap and made a beauty trap. The plan failed and I became the laughing stock of the whole Chang'an City. I was laughed at for several years. But I don't hate him, because this has always been my wish and it is also the mission of our Gu family."

"But..." Honeysuckle felt distressed for some reason, "But you were only fourteen years old back then..."

"Yes, fourteen years old." Gu Yuci picked up an earring and put it on calmly. Ren Dong really admired her young lady's strong character. No matter how much humiliation and pain she suffered, she remained calm in the face of adversity.

"Gan Luo was appointed prime minister at the age of twelve, and Huqi was made a marquis at the age of eighteen. It is neither too early nor too late for me to set up a beauty trap at the age of fourteen. Even if the plan fails and I suffer injustice, I will accept the defeat willingly."

"It's the best if you can think this way. I'm just worried that you'll feel bad and hold on by yourself."

"I've endured it no matter how hard it was." Gu Yuci put on the earrings and tilted his head to admire himself. "I was ignorant before, and I thought about the love stories in the opera scripts, which gave rise to many resentful thoughts, torturing myself and others. Now I understand——"

She hooked her fingers and gently moved the earrings, watching them sway in a golden arc. "Love between a man and a woman is not as good as wealth and glory. Some people want his love, so they are in agony, but I only want his position as queen, so I just watch from the other side."

"Miss, you are right." Honeysuckle picked up a golden hairpin, "Then Miss He..."

Gu Yuci pushed her hand away and stood up.

Honeysuckle didn't know what it meant for a moment and was stunned.

Gu Yuci casually threw the hairpin on the table and walked out leisurely: "A girl from a poor family is worthy of being my opponent?"

Facing the spring light, she wore a red pomegranate skirt embroidered with gold thread. Her steps were like lotus flowers, swaying gracefully, which made Honeysuckle sigh in admiration - "The lady is so beautiful that no one in the world can compare to her."

Gu Yuci's figure passed through the palace corridors, passed through the numerous corridors, and slowly disappeared into a palace.

It was Zhaoqing Palace.

At this time, the courtyard was covered with green shade, and there was a jade bench underneath. Li Chengfeng lay on it, looking up at the branches.

Several green plum trees were already bearing fruit. The sparse sunlight filtered through, and the green plums glowed white, so bright that he could hardly open his eyes.

"jingle--"

The copper bell on the eaves trembled slightly, and a drop of dew fell from the branch, like broken jade, and landed on his neck. He was only wearing a plain gauze dress, lying in the courtyard until dawn, and his clothes were half wet.

Li Chengfeng raised his hand and pointed the wine jug towards the treetops: "Come on - cheers!"

"Your Highness, you are drunk." The maid couldn't help but persuade him, "You have been drinking all night, your health is important."

Li Chengfeng pretended not to hear and gestured to the tree repeatedly: "Another drink!"

"Your Highness Prince Jin!" The maid knelt down, "You must not drink any more! His Majesty has ordered that we take good care of you!" "Your Majesty?" Li Chengfeng was drunk and spoke in a hazy tone, "Your Majesty... hiccups... Didn't His Majesty ignore me? Um... does he still remember that he has a son like me?"

"Your Highness Prince Jin, the Emperor has abdicated, and the current Emperor..." the maid reminded, "is your brother, the new Emperor."

"My brother?" Li Chengfeng repeated. He opened his mouth, turned the wine jug upside down and pointed it at himself. The wine went down his throat, choking him and making him cry. "Cough, cough, cough... I forgot that Your Majesty is my brother. Yes, yes, yes, you are my good brother. Hahahahaha——"

He suddenly burst into laughter. The wine mixed with tears blurred his eyes, blurring the green plums in front of him. He laughed and began to recite: "In the old days... the tree in front of the courtyard, now... the branches are full... the plums are bitter every year, who knows this taste?"

He tumbled off the stone chair and fell to the ground, knocking over the wine jar beside him.

The moment the wine was spilled, long-lost memories were activated.

He was eight years old that year. When he left Beijing, he buried a jar of wine under the roots of a tree and told his mother that when he grew up, he would take her to live together in his fiefdom.

"Mother, I am incompetent." Li Chengfeng lay on his back, his body pressed against the stone bricks, which were actually a little warmer than his skin. He looked up at the clear sky and white sun, "I was unable to take you to your fiefdom, and I was unable to avenge you... I even..."

He smiled, "I can't even see you off for the last time."

Li Xuanye placed him under house arrest on the charge of colluding with gangsters, and he was not allowed to take a single step out without an amnesty order.

This crime can be either serious or minor. A person in the Jianghu can be a knight-errant or a warrior. If he is a knight-errant, it is just a minor crime of lack of moral integrity; if he is a warrior, it is a capital crime of deliberate rebellion.

His life or death depends entirely on the thoughts of his good brother.

The palace maid didn't dare to speak. She silently picked up the broken pieces of the wine jar and looked at the person on the ground with some sympathy.

Li Chengfeng was lying on his back in the courtyard, his clothes were stained by the wine, his hair was loose and hung on his face in strands. If it weren't for his good looks, he would have looked no different from a beggar in a dilapidated temple.

The sound of footsteps coming from the corridor and the jingling of rings and bracelets broke the deathly silence.

Li Chengfeng didn't bother to care.

He just heard the footsteps stop beside him, the skirt embroidered with gold thread reflected red in his pupils, making his eyes fall into a chaotic golden red.

He vaguely saw the man looking down at him with his chin on the ground, and said in a cold and arrogant tone: "Li Chengfeng, how can you be so depressed as a prince?"

The golden-red light floated a few times and then sat down beside him.

Li Chengfeng's pupils slowly focused.

The gold threads are densely woven and sparkling.

He didn't like this kind of clothes, even though it was the most noble style in Chang'an City and many people liked it, but he didn't.

He remembered that when Li Xuanye captured him, the hem of his clothes also shone with dazzling golden light.

He hated the gold thread.

So he smiled and asked, "Gu Yuci, how can a dog-skin queen like you be so arrogant?"

----

I haven't updated for a long time. Even the editor is urging me to update. Unanimous reply: The reason for not updating is health problems. I will get back to writing as soon as I feel better.

My health is really bad. I am so weak that I will fall apart if the wind blows. I got the flu again this time, even though I have never been outside. This is what it looks like when your immunity is defeated...

If I feel better tomorrow, I will continue writing. Please feel free to read it.

By the way, I wish you all a happy new year and may all your dreams come true!