Chapter 419: Guilty (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This manor was about 20 miles away from the capital. It wasn’t far, but the road was rugged. It took nearly two hours to return to the capital.
Late in the morning, the clouds in the sky were dispersed by the morning light.
Gu Yanfei could see the official road outside the west gate from afar. Those pedestrians and carriages had all been driven to the sides of the official road by the city gate guards, leaving a path in the middle.
The pa.s.sersby on the official road whispered to each other in twos and threes and discussed animatedly. The commoners craned their necks and looked up.
Gu Yanfei slowed down her horse and looked up at the western city gate. When she focused, she saw Gu Yuan in a crimson official robe among a group of people hundreds of feet away.
Gu Yuan was riding on a strong black horse with a straight back. He looked cold and had a long sword on his waist. He looked around vigilantly and commanded a team of imperial guards to clear the road near the city gate.
Inside the city gate, another group of people surrounded the other two youths like stars surrounding the moon and rushed out of the city.
Two young men rode side by side at the front. One was dressed in an apricot-yellow python robe and was as handsome as a painting. The other was wearing a blue lapel jacket. He was rough and valiant. They were Chu Yi and the Third Prince of the State of Yue, Baili Yin.
The group of 30 to 40 people attracted everyone’s attention.
The pedestrians by the roadside looked at Chu Yi and the others excitedly. All of them had burning eyes and extraordinary expressions, as if they were boiling water.
“That’s the Eldest Prince. He’s so handsome, like a G.o.d that has descended to the mortal world.”
“Yes, yes. Compared to the Third Prince of the State of Yue, our Eldest Prince is like a G.o.d in the sky.”
“The Third Prince of the State of Yue has been here for a long time, right? Why is he still in the capital?!”
All kinds of voices in the crowd rose and fell.
Gu Yuan was in charge of protecting Chu Yi’s safety, so he naturally looked around and heard everything. He immediately noticed Gu Yanfei, who was riding a red horse outside the city.
Gu Yuan frowned slightly and subconsciously looked up at the sky.
It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet.
Why did his sister come back from outside the city so early in the morning?
Did she go out early in the morning, or… did she not return all night?!
Gu Yuan pursed his thin lips slightly and clenched the reins in his right hand tightly. The corners of his eyes pressed down as he thought to himself, “I have to go back to the residence today.”
“Yanfei, isn’t this your big brother?” Imperial d.u.c.h.ess Wei stopped her horse and stopped beside Gu Yanfei. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Gu Yuan at the city gate.
“It’s my brother,” Gu Yanfei replied guiltily.
A rare look of embarra.s.sment appeared on her face as her gaze shifted.
Ever since Gu Yuan was on duty as a guard in the throne room, he basically had to stay in the palace for eight out of 10 days and rarely returned to the residence.
When Gu Yanfei left with the people from Imperial Duke Wei’s Mansion yesterday, she left Juan Bi in the residence and instructed her: If Big Brother returns to the residence at night, tell him that I’ve gone out. If Big Brother doesn’t come back, don’t tell anyone about it.
However, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry!
Gu Yanfei sighed in her heart.
Looking at Big Brother’s appearance, it was obvious that he hadn’t returned to the residence last night. However, her luck was too bad. She finally returned home at night, but she was actually caught by Big Brother on the spot.
Gu Yanfei pretended to be obedient and gave Gu Yuan, who was not far away, an overly bright smile. She waved at him ingratiatingly as a greeting.
Imperial d.u.c.h.ess Wei noticed the subtle changes in Gu Yanfei’s expression. When she thought about how this girl was valiant and confident when facing Xu Yan, she couldn’t help but find it interesting.
It turned out that the little girl was like this in front of her brother!
Imperial d.u.c.h.ess Wei silently covered her mouth and chuckled. Her eyes softened.
Seeing that the Divine Arms Battalion and the guards at the city gate were coming over to clear the path, Gu Yanfei and Imperial d.u.c.h.ess Wei spurred their horses to the side of the official road.
Imperial d.u.c.h.ess Wei moved closer to Gu Yanfei and whispered into her ear, “The Eldest Prince just took on the task of negotiating with the State of Yue two days ago… The Third Prince of a hundred miles wants the blueprint for the new flintlock.”
Thinking of how Imperial Duke Wei had told her that the Emperor had taken a fancy to Gu Yanfei as the Eldest Prince’s concubine, the corners of Imperial d.u.c.h.ess Wei’s lips curled up. She might as well take this opportunity to talk to Gu Yanfei about court affairs.
“Back then, in exchange for the Eldest Prince’s return to the capital, the Emperor promised the Sage of the State of Yue to give the State of Yue the blueprint for the flintlock. The Third Prince of a hundred miles came for this…”
Baili Yin, the Third Prince of the State of Yue, had been in the capital for two months.
In fact, long before the new year, he had fulfilled his agreement with the Sage of the State of Yue and given the blueprint of the flintlock to Baili Yin.
However, Baili Yin didn’t accept the blueprint. Instead, he suggested that he wanted the blueprint for the latest flintlock. For this, the State of Yue was willing to pay an additional 10,000 taels of gold.
However, the Emperor rejected this suggestion.
On the other hand, Baili Yin was clearly unwilling to give up easily. After going back and forth, it has dragged on until now. It was almost February in a few days, but Baili Yin still refused to leave the capital. He even suggested, on behalf of the Sage of the State of Yue, that they could return the Yellow Water Ocean to the State of Yue as a condition.
The Yellow Water Ocean had been ceded to the State of Yue by the late Emperor.
Two days ago, the Emperor handed the negotiation with the State of Yue to Chu Yi in the morning court.
If this was in the past, the officials of the aristocratic families who supported Kang w.a.n.g would definitely not sit back and watch such an errand that concerned the two countries be handed over to Chu Yi. They would definitely jump out to object, and there would probably be another confrontation in court because of this.
But today was different from the past.
Recently, Kang w.a.n.g has been busy preparing for their wedding. The officials on Kang w.a.n.g’s side had been in a mess. Not only had they damaged the Yu and Feng families, but Yuan Zhe, the son of the Yuan family, was still in jail. Later on, because of the matter with Censor Lian, he angered a group of imperial censors. The imperial censors had been aggressive, causing Xiao Shoufu and the other officials of the aristocratic families to be overwrought. They couldn’t be bothered to object for a moment.
Hence, Chu Yi successfully accepted this task.
After Imperial d.u.c.h.ess Wei finished speaking about these matters, she continued in disdain, “I heard from the Duke that this Third Prince is very annoying.. I don’t know what he’s up to this early in the morning!”