gnovel Chapter 923 - 759: Secondary Wife?
Chapter 923 - 759: Secondary Wife?
The Emperor was tired of dealing with the whims of his youngest daughter and planned to resolve the matter in a straightforward and forceful manner."You’ll first copy texts in the palace for five days. After your coming-of-age ceremony, you may return to continue," the Emperor suddenly remembered this girl was about to come of age, so he added this sentence.
After all, the coming-of-age ceremony is a major event in a girl’s life, and Ying is of noble status, representing the face of the Imperial Family, naturally not to be missed.
As for the deadline to leave the palace, he believed that after this incident, the Empress and the eldest daughter would certainly find a way to settle Ying’s marital affairs soon.
The Empress sighed in relief, thankful that the Emperor didn’t pay heed to Ying’s nonsense.
"Why does Grandfather disagree with this matter? Did you not previously say that Ying could choose her own husband? Why did it change? He is unmarried, and I am not yet wed, why can’t it be?"
Qin Yingyuan was filled with despair at this moment; she didn’t expect Grandfather to reject her so decisively.
Last year when she came to the palace to pay New Year’s respects to Grandfather, he was still smiling and discussing her marriage.
She said she wanted to choose for herself, and Grandfather had clearly agreed.
"Hmph! Of all people, why did you choose him? Frankly, I’ll tell you, these days, I’m about to grant him a marriage, as requested by his teacher himself. A monarch never renounces his word; since I’ve already promised, I absolutely cannot break my word."
The Emperor angrily flicked his sleeves; he was indeed furious at this girl’s obstinacy.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yingyuan instantly collapsed onto the ground, as if all energy had been drained from her body.
The Emperor felt some pity seeing this, but still hardened his heart.
"Gu Chengyu is nothing but a handsome facade! You’ve met him just once or twice, how could you lose your mind like this? Stay obediently in the palace and heed your Grandmother’s words. Grandfather shall surely find you a good match."
The Emperor’s tone softened somewhat as he patiently offered a few words of comfort.
Actually, if Liang Zhirui hadn’t come asking, the Emperor wouldn’t have agreed to Ying’s request either.
If Gu Chengyu became Duke of Qin’s son-in-law, it would be a great boon for the second son.
Yet it was very inappropriate for him; he was still in power, and if the second son’s forces grew stronger, how could he control them in the future?
The second son wants the throne, unless he waits for him to pass away. Thus, Gu Chengyu absolutely cannot be used by the second son right now, therefore marrying Ying is out of the question.
Qin Yingyuan took a deep breath, her face pale as if she was making a major decision.
A resolute voice echoed, "Ying is willing to be a concubine."
The Empress looked at Qin Yingyuan incredulously, seeing her expression did not suggest mere words of rebellion.
She angrily stepped forward, "Slap!"
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself! The dignity of the Royal Family is inviolable; you cling to being someone’s concubine, and people will only think you are lowly. You, a princess, actually want to be the concubine of a sixth-rank official, everyone in the world will spit on you, mock you. You disgrace the face of the Imperial Family, disgrace the face of Duke Qin Mansion."
The Empress, enraged and overcome, suddenly blacked out and fainted.
...
Once returning to the mansion from his duty, Gu Chengyu eagerly took out the two sheets of paper placed into the space.
Gu Chengyu carefully reviewed these two sheets again and found the handwriting to be quite similar to his own.
Indeed, these were the two sheets swapped by Chou Yifan today.
He and Qian Yi faced away from Chou Yifan, if Chou Yifan didn’t know to use such a good opportunity, wouldn’t he be utterly foolish?
And naturally, he wasn’t without precautions; when these were placed on the table, Gu Chengyu marked them and could see the papers had been tampered with.
Moreover, Gu Chengyu had deliberately drawn a tiny dot using a modern pencil in the corner of those two sheets, almost invisible without close inspection.
Later, the one given to Zhang Hai was also one Gu Chengyu replaced halfway from the space.
So Zhang Hai didn’t notice anything amiss because that was originally Gu Chengyu’s handwriting.
Holy Edict and Holy Decree have to be written in regular script, characterized by stable strokes and neat structure.
Hence, although everyone’s handwriting varies, there’s not much difference in writing style.
Furthermore, Chou Yifan had been his colleague for quite a few days, and they shared a room; if one paid attention, imitating his handwriting wasn’t difficult.
With deliberate imitation, though there were a few distinctions, the margin of difference was minimal.
Unfamiliar people couldn’t detect this wasn’t Gu Chengyu’s handwriting.
After reviewing the content of the papers, Gu Chengyu found it largely identical to what he wrote.
He couldn’t help but wonder why Chou Yifan exerted so much effort swapping the Holy Edict, what was his aim?
Suddenly, he considered a possibility.
Gu Chengyu glanced at the teapot on the table and then the xuan paper in his hand and shook his head.
It’s unlikely to use water, after all, once the Holy Edict reached the Emperor, the Emperor wouldn’t pour water on xuan paper.
If water can’t be used, that leaves only heat application.
Just like the special ink he made, ordinarily it shows nothing, yet it becomes visible when heated.
This world is full of peculiar things; perhaps others have similar methods.
Add something, that’s somewhat explainable, but altering anything seems unlikely, doesn’t it?
Gu Chengyu was indeed quite curious; pondering for a moment, he looked at the candlestick nearby and brought his hand closer.
Feeling the xuan paper slowly heat up in his hand, Gu Chengyu carefully examined the text on the paper.
"Huh?" Gu Chengyu noticed an unexpected line appearing atop the "Second Legitimate Son Zhao Dun," transforming into a "Third" character.
And the following Zhao Dun transformed, gradually blurring until vanished, replaced by the character Yun.
Gu Chengyu stood stunned for a while, admiringly saying, "There really is ink in this world that can make writing disappear."
It seems indeed that there is nothing ordinary in this vast world; he shouldn’t underestimate the ancients.
Previously, he thought using iodine and starch to write was pioneering antiquity.
Later, discovering silver salt black photography methods, Gu Chengyu realized he shouldn’t underestimate ancient wisdom.
In fourteen years in this dynasty, he hadn’t heard of such a solution, indicating it was scarce and not known to outsiders.
This reminded him of modern erasable pens; isn’t it based on such principles?
Reflecting upon this, Gu Chengyu thought maybe he could try creating similar ink using erasable pen principles.
Returning his focus to the Holy Edict, Gu Chengyu couldn’t help but chuckle coldly.
Chou Yifan’s intent was indeed clever! The upper line writing "Third Prince Zhao Yun" subtly extricated himself and the Eldest Prince.
Yet, he was curious; the words on this paper required reaching a certain temperature to emerge.
The Emperor wouldn’t roast this paper over fire, naturally wouldn’t discover these emerging characters.
How did Chou Yifan ensure the Emperor would discover them? Gu Chengyu mused briefly, suddenly thinking of Deran, the Grand Steward by the Emperor’s side.