Chapter 214: Let Me Go Have a Look, Please
"Little Nine, why are you involving yourself in this?"
Seeing the soup brought by the Ninth Princess still steaming, the Emperor’s expression softened somewhat, but he still didn’t agree to her request.
The Ninth Princess put down the bowl of soup, moved closer, and said coquettishly, "Father, after all, the Dingbei Marquis escorted us to Dazao Temple once. Now that Seventh Sister has gone, I want to go too, otherwise the Dingbei Marquis might think only Seventh Sister cares about him."
"He, as an official, escorting you to Dazao Temple is just his duty. Should you be grateful and indebted to him? Ridiculous."
The Emperor was displeased.
The Ninth Princess said, "Father, the Dingbei Marquis is not an ordinary official. He defeated the Yelv Family and is revered as a War God by the people. Seventh Sister admires him greatly. I saw her being close to the Dingbei Marquis at Dazao Temple, and she often says how mighty and skillful he is in battle. Now the Dingbei Marquis, for the safety of the Capital City, has voluntarily closed his mansion. Of course, I want to go with Seventh Sister to offer my condolences."
The Emperor’s face grew darker, asking, "What, is the Dingbei Marquis very close to your Seventh Sister?"
The Ninth Princess chuckled and said, "It’s more like Seventh Sister is very close to the Dingbei Marquis. Seventh Sister said the Marquis once saved her life when he was a companion in the Imperial Palace."
"How?" the Emperor said coldly, "Does the Dingbei Marquis not feel grateful to your Seventh Sister?"
The Ninth Princess sighed and said, "The Dingbei Marquis spends all day with those imperial guards and rarely shows up in front of us. I wanted to ask about his adventures at the Northern Border but couldn’t find the opportunity. Seventh Sister says the Dingbei Marquis’s wife is a daughter of a small official and keeps a tight watch on him. The Marquis often says his young wife is terribly clingy."
"Oh, you know these things," the Emperor couldn’t help but smile, coughing to conceal himself, and said, "He got married at almost thirty years old, so it’s inevitably... well, a bit unusual."
A nearby Chief Eunuch, seeing the Emperor in good spirits, joined in, laughing, "The Dingbei Marquis’s wife is much younger than him, no wonder."
The Emperor raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh? How much younger? I only heard she’s the daughter of the Qin Family’s Sacrificial Officer."
The Chief Eunuch counted on his fingers, frowned, and seemed unsure, saying, "About ten years younger, I think."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor burst into laughter, saying, "Shouldn’t she be brought up as a daughter?"
The Chief Eunuch lowered his eyes with a smile, "Exactly, it’s said the Dingbei Marquis is very fond of this young wife."
The Ninth Princess’s expression was quite peculiar.
The Emperor, absorbed in questioning, asked, "Old Wang, tell me, what do you know?"
The Chief Eunuch glanced at the Ninth Princess, seeming hesitant to speak.
The Emperor said, "Speak up, she will inevitably have dealings with Madam Dingbei Marquis in the future. Knowing more is better."
The Chief Eunuch said, "I heard earlier that the Dingbei Marquis brought back a woman and two children from the Northern Border. There were many rumors in the Capital City, saying the woman is the Dingbei Marquis’s beloved concubine and that the twin children are deeply loved by the Old Madam. Among the suitable girls with backgrounds comparable to the Dingbei Hou’s Family, few were willing to marry him after hearing about this."
"Haha," the Emperor couldn’t help but laugh, "Marquis Gu was strikingly handsome in his youth, so many women fell for him and were heartbroken. Little did we expect, he’d end up unmarried and unwanted."
The Ninth Princess also chuckled a few times and asked, "What happened then?"
The Chief Eunuch said, "Later, Old Madam Gu said she wanted to choose a daughter from a civil servant’s family for Marquis Gu, so that future children would pursue a civil servant’s path. After some consideration, the Qin Family seemed suitable."
"The Qin Family had two daughters. The eldest daughter, born of a good concubine, was already engaged. Marquis Gu was arranged with the second daughter, whose maternal family was a branch of the Qinghe Cui Family, quite decent."
"Old Madam Gu said Marquis Gu was getting on in years and was eager to marry, so she pressed to finalize the wedding date, coincidentally the same day as the eldest daughter."
The Chief Eunuch narrated vividly. The Emperor, tired from reviewing documents all day, was feeling weary, but now all fatigue dissipated as he stroked his short beard and asked, "And how about the second daughter?"
The Chief Eunuch paused and said, "Emperor, I haven’t finished. It turns out Marquis Gu’s marriage took an unexpected turn, and he ultimately married the Qin Family’s eldest daughter."
"Oh?" The Emperor was greatly surprised, asking, "How could Marquis Gu, with his status, marry the Sacrificial Officer’s legitimate daughter?"
The Dingbei Marquis line has long guarded the Northern Border, inheriting the position without interruption, a prestigious identity.
Gu Jinghui guarded the Northern Border for ten years, defeated the Yelv Family, an unrivaled achievement in court, yet ended up marrying a legitimate daughter of the Qin Family Sacrificial Officer?
It’s truly mind-boggling.
The Chief Eunuch said, "You see, at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, the Qin Sacrificial Officer’s second daughter fell into the water and was saved by her intended groom, so the Qin Sacrificial Officer had to switch the second daughter’s marriage to the intended groom. The groom, a small scholar, could marry the Lord Sacrificial Officer’s legitimate daughter, how could he refuse?"
"To appease the eldest daughter, the Qin Sacrificial Officer recorded her under the name of the legitimate mother, making her a legitimate daughter. The Gu Family didn’t cancel the engagement and agreed. Old Madam Gu was keen to find a civil servant’s daughter. If not this way, they’d have to search even lower, and it would be difficult to find someone suitable."
The Emperor sighed and said, "If Marquis Gu were willing to marry into the nobles, he certainly wouldn’t have married a fifth-rank official’s legitimate daughter. But recorded under the legitimate mother’s name, with a good concubine for a birth mother, it’s... acceptable."
Ninth Princess’s smile seemed half-real.
The Chief Eunuch added, "That Qin Family’s daughter is indeed fortunate. I heard that shortly after marrying her, Dingbei Marquis announced that the lady he brought from the Northern Border is the widow of a lifesaving benefactor. He even said after she finishes mourning, he’ll give a generous dowry to marry her off to a suitable man."
"Hmm..." The Emperor pondered for a moment, committing the matter to memory.
The Chief Eunuch said excitedly, "Many families in the Capital City regretted not marrying off their daughters, especially after Marquis Gu returned to the Capital, sporting a big beard which obscured his appearance. After marrying, Marquis Gu shaved his beard, and with his looks and family status, who wouldn’t say the Qin Sacrificial Officer struck gold with such a marriage. Marquis Gu regards his wife’s family highly, reportedly visiting several times for scholarly advice. The Qin Family and Dingbei Marquis Mansion are frequently in contact, even Sixth Master Gu mingles with the Qin Sacrificial Officer’s second daughter’s husband and nephew."
The Emperor frowned, contemplating for a while before asking, "Isn’t Sixth Master Gu known for having poor health, often mingling with those scholarly types?"
The Chief Eunuch immediately lowered his voice and said, "The Emperor didn’t know, Sixth Master Gu became close with the Qin Sacrificial Officer’s nephew, and they’re about to publish a poetry collection. I heard, some time ago, that Lord Sacrificial Officer helped persuade the Minister of Rites to write a preface for their collection. Cough, Sixth Master Gu even wrote a few poems."
The Emperor, intrigued, said, "What can he write? Old Wang, wait for them to print the poetry collection so I can take a look."
The Chief Eunuch laughed and said, "As you command."
The Ninth Princess furrowed her brows, not understanding why her father was so interested in the Dingbei Marquis’s legitimate daughter. But she didn’t dwell on it at the moment and pouted, saying coquettishly, "Father, won’t you let me go see Madam Gu at tomorrow’s gathering?"