I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 54: Targeting King Yongning

Seeing Gu An disappear, Jiang Yueling looked at Ye Huaisu with great fear and trepidation: "Madam, please make the decision for me."

"..."

Ye Huaisu flicked his handkerchief, not bothering to pay attention to her, and led the sisters Ye Wanshu and Gu Qingmian back to the house.

Mother Fang and the other maids felt like they had just heard a huge joke. They all glared at Jiang Yueling before following her into the house.

Seeing this, Chang deliberately looked around and quickly changed the subject: "Why doesn't Tingchen come out to see my aunt?"

Xiaodie didn't understand what was going on, so she replied honestly, "The young master got drunk last night, and he might not have woken up yet."

"This scoundrel is so lazy. Even though he's the commander of the Royal Guards, he's still so sleepy."

Chang Shi didn't mean to blame anyone, she was just picking a random topic to get ahead of him. Seeing that the matter was resolved, she hurriedly said, "Tingzhou, since you have an idea, your aunt will not say anything more. Go back and rest well."

After saying that, he told Xiaodie to help his nephew back to the house to apply medicine. Fearing that he would be harassed by someone, he quickly disappeared.

"Madam Hou." Jiang Yueling called out to her hurriedly, but there was no response.

Gu Tingzhou endured the pain and climbed up from the spring stool, asking Xiaodie to support him. He just glanced at Jiang Yueling briefly. His cold eyes had already become indifferent to everything, without sadness or joy. However, when he shifted his gaze towards the house, a layer of guilt reflected in his pupils.

"Wanwan, I know I'm too embarrassed to mention marriage to you again, but I will never marry Jiang Yueling."

Muttering to himself, Gu Tingzhou lowered his head and turned around with a gloomy look.

Jiang Yueling silently watched him being supported by Xiaodie and gradually disappearing in the soft light of the early morning, and gritted her teeth in hatred.

"Ye Wanshu, I won't let you have your way."

She knew that the two gentlemen had been bewitched by that bitch's tactics of playing hard to get. As long as she used a little trick, the two gentlemen would still dote on her as before.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yueling glanced inside the house with a deep look in her eyes, and led the maid back to Biqingzhai first.

In the room, Ye Huaisu was in a particularly good mood today. He asked Mother Fang to prepare a sumptuous breakfast, and asked someone to call Cui Weitang and the two little ones to come and have dinner together.

Taking advantage of the break before the conversation even started, Ye Huaisu looked at Ye Wanshu in confusion, "Wanwan, you could have avoided this matter today, so why did you come here? Are you thinking about Tingzhou again..."

"Mother, what are you thinking about?"

Gu Qingmian interrupted her: "Cousin, I came here because I was worried that you would be embarrassed by the man from Wuping Marquis's Mansion. Who would care about my elder brother's life or death? He just deserved it."

"I didn't provoke her, why would she embarrass me?"

Although he said this, Ye Huaisu was deeply moved. This girl was the most caring one among his children. It was a pity that he could not keep her after all.

Gently holding Ye Wanshu's palm, she asked softly, "Have you decided when to leave? Auntie will prepare the carriage for you."

Ye Wanshu was worried about Chu Yin and said thoughtfully, "After my aunt's birthday tomorrow, we should set off the day after tomorrow."

Ye Huaisu nodded and said nothing more, but when he thought of the birthday banquet, his face showed a strange color.

"I heard that your second sister willingly lowered herself to become Prince Qi's concubine, and that Aunt Zhou was so angry she died. This is truly unheard of and rare."

Ye Wanshu's eyebrows flickered slightly. She didn't expect the rumor outside that Aunt Zhou died of anger. This was actually a good thing.

Not knowing what had happened in the Ji family, Ye Huaisu simply found it ridiculous. After all, it was a family scandal, so he tactfully avoided asking further questions. He simply said, "The two princesses in Prince Qi's mansion have always disliked you, and now that they've got this opportunity, they're bound to ridicule you. You don't need to pay any attention to them tomorrow."

Mentioning those two brought back memories of the Ji family incident. Princesses Anping and Qingning had admired the Gu brothers since childhood, having approached them for various reasons in their past lives. They wouldn't miss a day like tomorrow.

"Don't worry, auntie. I'm not a member of the Ji family. Even if they want to make some accusation, it won't make sense."

Ye Wanshu smiled. Unless they were ignorant enough to call off the engagement, it would only make Gu Tingzhou more embarrassed.

Ye Huaisu sighed: "I am shallow. You grew up in the Ye family and were taught by your grandmother. You are not comparable to those in the Ji family's courtyard."

At this point, her face darkened a bit. "It's your father's own fault that this happened. It's a pity for Concubine Qin and the Sixth Miss. If your mother was still the head of the family, the Ji family wouldn't be in such a state now."

Ye Wanshu didn't want to talk about the Ji family anymore. After all, the ending of her father and mother was caused by the mismatch between their social status. She believed that her father had loved her mother, otherwise he would not have allowed Zhou Ru, a woman who looked so much like her mother, to be an accomplice to the evil for so many years.

It's just that love turns into hate in the end.

Seeing the maids leading Gu Tingji and Qin Chulin over, Ye Wanshu quickly stopped talking: "Aunt, please stop worrying about other people's affairs. Just take good care of Qingmian and Aji from now on."

Ye Huaisu really took his niece's words to heart. He stroked Gu Qingmian's head and said with a faint smile, "You are right. Auntie must change her temper in the future."

The siblings listened and all smiled with relief.

Ye Huaisu told Mother Fang to start serving the dishes. His aunt's breakfast was always rich and very particular. The small dish made with spring bamboo shoots alone involved more than ten steps. It tasted like a breeze in the forest, refreshing to the heart.

After watching such a wonderful show today, everyone in the room had a rare good appetite and ate with gusto.

As for Gu An, he went straight to the study after leaving the yard.

As soon as he entered the room, he suddenly saw Gu Tingchen sitting at the desk with a secretive look on his face, which gave Gu An a headache.

"You bastard, you've gotten carried away by your brother's misfortune, haven't you? You actually dared to come into your father's study."

Gu An scolded him dissatisfiedly, and then Gu Tingchen stood up slowly.

"My eldest brother has fallen into depravity. I am not interested in his affairs. Anyway, my father would not be so cruel as to beat him to death."

Handing a letter to his father, Gu Tingchen smiled faintly and said, "My son only wants to share his worries with my father and aunt now."

Gu An took the letter and examined it, then frowned. "It seems those guys in the north can no longer hold back. I will go to the palace to discuss with His Majesty and the Queen Mother. If necessary, let your uncle lead the Xie family army to take the initiative to attack."

"Don't worry, father."

Gu Tingchen glanced at him with a half-smile: "To resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the country. Our current enemy is not in the north, but the Yongning King of Yuezhou."

Gu An looked confused. "You and your elder brother have always looked down on people like Fu Mingchi. Why are you afraid of him now?"

"Better safe than sorry," Gu Tingchen said, "My son has heard that the old emperor's health is deteriorating. Since the crown prince hasn't been appointed yet, our Gu family shouldn't act rashly. Instead, we need to be wary of Fu Mingchi's 200,000 Yuezhou troops and the Dingyuan Marquis's 100,000 Mu family troops."

Seeing Gu An's hesitation, he continued, "Father, have you ever thought about how our Gu family will survive a hundred years after Grandma's death? Prince Yan is docile now, but once he ascends the throne, there's no guarantee he won't have other ideas."

This remark struck a chord with Gu An: "Prince Yan is good at keeping a low profile. I am indeed worried that after he ascends the throne, he will unite with foreign forces to deal with my Gu family."

"So we have to make plans early and take control of all the imperial troops as soon as possible."

Gu Tingchen said, "The Emperor had Ji Yuan secretly befriend members of the outer vassal clan, which shows he had a plan in mind. Prince Yongning's refusal to pay respects to the Empress Dowager upon entering Lin'an was already a clue. Wanwan's sudden trip to Yuezhou was probably also due to Ji Yuan's instigation."

Hearing this, Gu An suddenly became alert: "Tingchen, you are targeting Prince Yongning for no reason. Is it because of that girl Wanwan?"

(End of this chapter)