Legend of Concubine’s Daughter Minglan

Days were getting cold in autumn, but inside of the room was as warm as late spring. Dawn hadn"t broken yet, so it was quite dark in the room. The incense in the jade porcelain censer with Qilin heads on the table had already been snuffed, but there was still a vague aroma floating in the air.

After a whole night of making love, Minglan had been very exhausted. Still, she opened her eyes very early. Then she shrank her body like a shrimp and got off from the man"s body. After that, she sat on the bed in a daze and clutched the quilt closer to her while staring at the man. His arms were brown, his skin seemed glossy and st.u.r.dy, his long neck was bending slightly now, and his long thick hair spread on the bed, revealing his vitality. Right now, there was heavy snort coming through from his straight nose which was covered by the soft quilt.

Seeing him in a such a sound sleep, Minglan couldn"t help but get a bit jealous.

This man seemed like a beast with high survivability. Sometimes he was extremely alerted and would be awakened by a slight sound and not need an alarm clock. However, after he was certain that he would be safe sleeping, he was able to fall asleep in less than three seconds.

There had been a few times when he had been too exhausted after he had ridden the horse all day. One second before he had been talking to Minglan, but when she turned around, she found him already in a sound sleep and unable to wake up even if she pinched his nose.

Minglan looked at his handsome face and his masculine jaw in a trance. Not long after they got married, Minglan already found that Gu Tingye didn"t have trust in his superiors.

When he was in the escorting group, he felt that his leader who had been well-known in that field for thirty years unreliable. When he travelled in the wilderness as the bodyguards of the businessmen, he felt his leader not capable at all. After he had joined the water transportation gang for three days, he already looked down upon his headman(secretly). As he gradually had some support, he then started to feel the leader of his gang very unpleasant to the eye.

After they had got married and everything had been settled, Gu Tingye collected some of his properties left in the Yangzi River area and the Shu State. Only after Minglan checked the t.i.tle deed for estates and the receipts did she realize that he had already saved lots of properties by achieving success in the gangs.

Although he was very proud of his achievements and power which he had built up from nothing, he still knew that those businesses were not so decent and were even less respected than the merchandising. Therefore, he had never talked much about it, even with Gongsun Baishi.

Now he finally got a fan, his wife, who was sensible and broadminded unlike those rigid and pedantic scholars. When she heard him talking about his experiences, she always seemed quite intrigued.

In Minglan"s view, Gu Tingye fully reflected the words "G.o.d is fair to everyone".

Although he had lost his mother at a young age, having a not so supportive dad and an evil stepmother as well as a group of uncles and cousins full of guile, which made his way of growing up full of obstacles, he was still bestowed with excellent talents. Not only had he inherited his father"s bravery and ability to fight, but he had inherited his grandfather"s intelligence and capability.

It was said that Old Master Bai had risen from obscurity by playing on the grey side as well as doing decent business. With a strong ability in calculating and a brave mind, he had earned great a.s.sets with his bare hand. (That"s one million ounces of silver, which has been lingering in Minglan"s mind all the time.)

Gu Tingye could tell that his wife wasn"t pretending to be interested in his story to make him feel good about himself. When she was listening to him, she applauded and praised him from time to time with the look on her face suggesting how much she wanted to be there with him. Then he was even more willing to talk. As their chat got more and more agreeable, they found them having lots of things in common. This marriage made him very delightful, and he had never thought it would. When she was around him, he felt as if he was bathed in the spring wind. "So, it really was worth it to play a dirty trick in order to get a good wife."

Gu Tingye felt that he had done a very wise thing.

“One"s position was a different thing from his ability. One"s fate and luck could decide lots of things in this world.” Gu Tingye said with his eyebrows knitted.

Minglan then said tentatively, “Actually, His Majesty really is a blessed man, so…” The emperor was able to ascend the throne mostly because of his luck instead of his ability. After his brother had all died, it was his turn to be the emperor.

“That"s not right, His Majesty is like the dragon in the sea who has made many achievements but stays low-key.” Gu Tingye shook his head and argued, “If His Majesty hasn"t remained modest when he has been the prince, our former emperor wouldn"t have chosen him to be the successor.

Minglan nodded. Fifth Prince, also known as Lord Jing, had displeased the former emperor too many times because of his high-profile and luxury code of conduct, which was the reason why his position as the crown prince had been taken away by the Eighth Prince. (Lord Jing felt so wronged: How could I know that my two elder brothers would have got themselves killed? When I thought that I had no chance to be the crown prince, it"s reasonable for me to get more benefits when my father is alive.)

“… Also, His Majesty is always kind to men of talent like Meng Chang, the ancient sage. No matter how lonely he was in his previous mansion or how tight his budget was, he was always willing to get acquainted with capable men from everywhere.” Gu Tingye said that while recalling the past.

Minglan nodded again. The fact had proved that those advisers who used to work for the emperor before really were useful. The strategies they made before and after Eighth Prince had become the crown prince truly were impressive.

“There must be something special about the man who is able to climb to that position, but it will be foolish to follow him blindly.” Gu Tingye said that with a cold and sarcastic look on his face, “Also, one"s capability might not last forever…”

Minglan nodded more vigorously. For example, General Gan used to be a great general who had fought tons of b.l.o.o.d.y wars, but now as he grew older, he just got more and more muddleheaded.

“Also, even if someone can do something great, it doesn"t mean he"s qualified for everything.”

Minglan nodded her head.

Poor General Geng, he used to be a brave and smart guy when he served in Eighth Prince"s mansion and also made a name for himself in the Shu State. However, after his leader became the emperor, he was actually under reduced circ.u.mstances. The emperor had planned to appoint General Geng to be the commander-in-chief in Xuanda area, but now was still hesitating—Since General Geng was not able to solve the problems in the imperial court, how was he able to govern the north border?

Like what Peng Dehuai had said(allegedly): Hu Zongnan(Commander of the army) is the most qualified to be a colonel. Some people are not incapable, but their capability is limited, which make them only suitable for certain positions.

“The achievement of a general costs many lives. Only a few can succeed at last.” Gu Tingye sighed deeply.

Minglan was confused. His words suggested that he was surely a skeptic. This was not what she had heard about.

Others all described Second Master Ye as a bold and uninhibited man who dared to save people from the corpses and intrude into the troops of tens of thousands of enemies. What was more, it was said that he treated his companions like his brothers and his subordinates like his sons and that he was brave, loyal, kind and righteous like Lu Su with a military rank. (He was just pretending.)