Xu Weibei's Mistress

As expected of the emperor's most favored minister.

No one could compare.

"Father actually received help from the Grand Princess in the past," Gu Anqi said. "He holds her in great respect. Both the princess and her husband showed him kindness. The two families have actually kept in touch in private..."

Gu Wanning thought: Just as I said, there's no love in this world without a reason.

So there was another connection.

"The first opportunity the Marquis had to go to war was actually secured by Father, who pulled strings for him in secret."

Gu Wanning thought: Sure enough, I shouldn't dig too deep. It's all gossip.

"The Grand Princess knows very well how guilty Father feels toward you. So she went to the emperor and asked him to grant this marriage, because as long as the Marquis could win your heart, Father would never stand by and do nothing, no matter what happened in the future."

Even if it went against his principles, Gu Yuanshi would send his son-in-law to prison under the law while doing everything he could to save him with something like the Death-Exemption Gold Plaque, which he believed should not exist.

Of course, that was on the condition that Xu Weibei was someone Gu Wanning could not bear to part with.

Gu Wanning was deeply shaken.

As expected, these people had more cunning in them than a sieve had holes.

Especially when she thought of how the Grand Princess, despite her exalted status, had still pretended to be affectionate toward her.

Really, Gu Wanning had to hand it to her.

"I'm not telling you this to claim credit," Gu Anqi said. "I only want you to know more about the people and things around you. I misunderstood you before, so I wouldn't tell you much, for fear you'd spread it around..."

Gu Wanning lowered her eyes.

Just as she had told Er Ya yesterday, everyone had their own standpoint.

Her predecessor had made a fuss, and as Gu Wanning saw it, she had every right to; but in Gu Anqi's eyes, she had simply failed to see the bigger picture.

Neither was wrong.

"I've thought it over. Father can use the Death-Exemption Gold Plaque to secure your happiness. In the worst case, he can exchange it for your divorce!"

"How?"

"We'll find a way," Gu Anqi said. "As long as you're sure you won't regret it after the divorce."

"I won't regret it. I don't want to get mixed up in anything. I just want to find a quiet place to spend my old age."

"All right, leave it to me. But this won't happen quickly. A year or two at the least, three to five at the most..."

"I can wait."

"Mm, I'm sorry you have to put up with this," Gu Anqi said.

His words made Gu Wanning feel embarrassed instead.

That was just how she was: show her a foot of respect, and she would return a yard.

She couldn't stand being provoked, but she couldn't stand people treating her so well, either.

Today, Gu Anqi had evidently mastered the art of speaking to her, and his words were much more pleasant to hear.

He truly deserved his reputation as a youthful prodigy.

If Xu Weibei was the brightest general star in the imperial court, then Gu Anqi was its brightest Wenqu Star.

One excelled in letters, the other in arms. Both were geniuses people looked up to, famous from a young age and already pillars of the state in their twenties.

Although Gu Anqi was a few years older than Xu Weibei, civil officials generally had to work their way up over time. For him to become a mainstay of the Hanlin Academy already made him a dragon among men.

He was Gu Yuanshi's rightful successor.

People at court had once said that what made Chief Grand Secretary Gu most envied was not the emperor's deep favor or his own high position, but the prospect that, after him, his accomplished son would keep the Gu family flourishing and standing firm for generations to come.

That accomplished son was naturally not her second brother, who had married a princess, nor her rash and impetuous third brother, but her eldest brother, Gu Anqi.

"Eldest Brother, there's one more thing I don't understand," Gu Wanning said.

"Go ahead—" Gu Anqi even looked pleasantly surprised.

His younger sister could speak to him so calmly. Did that mean they still had a chance to mend their family bond?

The thought excited Gu Anqi.

Chapter 26: Xu Weibei's Mistress

"I'm not questioning it, but I really can't understand. The Grand Princess went to such pains, and I can understand why she kept it from me, but why didn't she tell Xu Weibei?"

"Because he's proud and aloof. If he knew the truth, he'd find it even harder to accept."

It would be harder for him to accept than the Grand Princess's aim of currying favor with the Gu family.

"The Grand Princess swallowed humiliation and bore a heavy burden?"

"You could say that," Gu Anqi said. "Her life really hasn't been easy."

In her youth, she had ridden amid flashing spears and armored horses, a woman who yielded nothing to men.

Later, she met the man who won her heart, and the two shared a brief time of happiness before heaven took it away.

The Grand Princess was widowed at a young age.

She had only one son and pinned all her hopes on him, raising him to be outstanding.

But her son died on the battlefield, and her daughter-in-law died to follow him in love, leaving only Xu Weibei, their flesh and blood.

She managed to raise Xu Weibei into an accomplished man as well.

She had grown old and afraid, and she didn't want Xu Weibei to go to the battlefield. But she couldn't sway her grandson, so in the end she personally sent him to the Northwest and entrusted him to others' care.

"Then Xu Weibei really doesn't know what's good for him," Gu Wanning couldn't help saying.

Couldn't he tell the goodwill of his own elder from malice?

But Gu Anqi sighed. "He has a knot in his heart where the princess is concerned. I don't know the details very well myself. Father was vague and didn't tell me outright, either. I've only vaguely guessed that it has something to do with his father's death."

Gu Wanning felt as though her brain were a sponge tossed into a basin of water, soaked full of gossip and unable to absorb any more.

So complicated, really so complicated.

"You don't need to worry about any of this. Just tell me what you want and leave the rest to me. Also," Gu Anqi said, "Wanning, if you run into any trouble, you must let me know. Whatever you don't want to tell anyone else, even Father, I'll keep secret for you."

Only when his younger sister was doing well could everyone in the family rest easy.

Gu Wanning didn't answer, but asked another question. "Eldest Brother, what was that about the mistress and child you mentioned just now?"

Hearing her call him "Eldest Brother" warmed Gu Anqi's heart.

Thankfully, his younger sister had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

She had spoken openly, and given him a chance to make amends.