Chapter 236: Mei Wanying Is a Femme Fatale
Mrs. Gu’s complaints made Mr. Gu’s face grow cold.
"Both punishment and reward are signs of the Emperor’s grace," he rebuked her sternly. "It is Ah Xun’s good fortune to be put in a position of trust by His Majesty. Watch your mouth!"
Being sent away on official business was a sign of the Emperor’s trust in Ah Xun, not a banishment.
"Speak any more nonsense, and you’ll be reflecting in the ancestral hall!"
Mrs. Gu knew she had misspoken. "I was just overcome with worry," she said quickly. "I won’t say it again."
Xun was her own flesh and blood. After all the setbacks he had endured, how could Mrs. Gu’s heart not ache for him?
Xun had done nothing wrong. He had only gotten tangled up with Mei Wanying, and for that, he earned the Emperor’s "disdain."
’If Mei Wanying were to stay in the Capital City, would the Emperor drive Xun out to some remote place and forbid him from ever returning?’
’Xun did nothing wrong, yet he was forced to bear these consequences. It’s truly unfair to him.’
Mrs. Gu was filled with resentment. ’If the Emperor is so resentful, why doesn’t he punish Mei Wanying along with him?’
’When Xun almost married into the Mei family, it was Mei Wanying who had initiated contact with him.’
’Mei Wanying is the real culprit!’
’And yet, the Emperor dotes on Mei Wanying as if she were a precious jewel. Her daughter, though raised in the Mei family and taking their name, was still invested as a Princess.’
’With her own fief and a Princess Mansion... what an incredible honor!’
’The Emperor showers that mother and daughter with every good thing, while venting all his frustrations on Xun.’
’He’s clearly just bullying him.’
’Poor Xun is truly the wronged party!’
These were Mrs. Gu’s thoughts, but she didn’t dare voice them.
The Capital City was crawling with the Emperor’s spies, and the Gu Family was undoubtedly no exception.
If she said the wrong thing and it reached the Emperor’s ears, the Gu Family would be in trouble again.
The Gu Family was Pei Yan’s maternal family; they were his closest blood relatives.
But Pei Yan was of the Royal Family. The line between sovereign and subject was clear. Even as his elders, they did not dare to criticize him.
There were many things they could only think, never speak.
Mr. Gu said, "Ah Xun is not young anymore. What kind of impression does it give for him to remain unwed?"
Mrs. Gu wanted her son to marry as well. Other men his age already had children old enough to run all over the place.
Even someone as cold-hearted as the Emperor now had a daughter.
Xun was the Emperor’s younger cousin, only by a few months.
With his good nature and his gentle, courteous way with people, he deserved a wife, children, and a happy marriage all the more.
"I want him to marry and have children too, but he’s as stubborn as a mule and refuses to even consider it. The moment I mention it, he puts me off with excuses about his official duties. If I invite young ladies over to the estate, he’ll hide out in his government office and not come home. What am I supposed to do?"
Mr. Gu said, "A doting mother spoils her son. It’s precisely because you indulge him that he’s become so rebellious, doing such outrageous things!"
Every time Mr. Gu remembered that his own son had nearly become a live-in-son-in-law for Mei Wanying, he felt a suffocating tightness in his chest.
’Xun... he must have lost his mind!’
Not wanting his son to repeat the same mistake, Mr. Gu could only be stricter in his discipline.
Every time Mr. Gu disciplined his children, Mrs. Gu would shield them.
For the past two years, Mrs. Gu’s heart had ached most for Gu Xun, and she had frequently run interference for him with their elders.
The fact that his marriage remained unsettled was partly because Mrs. Gu pitied him and indulged his wishes.
Her husband’s reprimand made Mrs. Gu feel a pang of guilt.
Her lips moved, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything in rebuttal.
She only said, "When Xun returns, you can discipline him however you see fit. I won’t interfere this time."
After returning to the Capital City, Xun had made no more attempts to find Mei Wanying in Jiangnan.
That should have been a good thing.
Instead, he threw himself headlong into his work, taking no wife, no concubine, not even a chambermaid.
’He’s living like an ascetic. You probably couldn’t even find a female mosquito near him!’
’Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was remaining celibate for Mei Wanying!’
’Why does our Gu Family keep producing such lovesick fools?’
’What good could possibly come from being so hung up on a single woman?’
Mrs. Gu was both angry and pained.
’That Mei Wanying is a femme fatale! Meeting her was a calamity for Xun!’
’If Mei Wanying weren’t the Emperor’s beloved, I would have used both threats and inducements to get her to marry into the Gu Family.’
’As long as it made Xun happy, I would have let him have his way.’
’But alas, things had not gone according to plan.’
’The Emperor treats Mei Wanying like the apple of his eye; no one can say a word against her or lay a finger on her.’
’He even dared to put the Empress Dowager under house arrest—and that’s his own mother!’
’Is there anything he wouldn’t do?’
When they met in private, Pei Yan still called her "Auntie," but Mrs. Gu felt a chill just thinking of him.
She quickly reined in her thoughts, not daring to continue disparaging Mei Wanying even in her own mind.
Mr. Gu’s face was grim. "Ah Xun’s marriage cannot be delayed any further. The Emperor will only be truly at ease once he has a family of his own."
’Even if he doesn’t marry,’ Mrs. Gu thought, ’is Xun really going to ignore the hierarchy and fight the Emperor for a woman?’
’It’s not as if he has a death wish...’
’The Emperor is just overthinking things!’
’And as for that Mei Wanying, since she chose to latch onto a powerful connection, she should just get on with it and enter the palace to serve the Emperor.’
’This nameless, status-less arrangement... has she no shame?!’
’As long as Mei Wanying doesn’t enter the palace, Xun will never give up.’
’Falling for a girl like that... he’s truly lost his way!’
Mrs. Gu thought for a moment before asking for her husband’s opinion. "I have a good friend who married and moved to another region. She has two sons and two daughters, and her youngest daughter must be of an age to discuss marriage by now. What if I write her a letter and ask her to send her daughter to the Capital City for a visit?"
"Xun can’t avoid coming home forever. If the young lady is staying in our manor, it’s just a matter of waiting for him to walk into the trap. They’re bound to meet sooner or later."
"The young ladies we invited before were all from the Capital City; they’d visit for a couple of hours and then go home."
"If Xun was determined to avoid them, all he had to do was stay at his office a few hours longer."
"But if the young lady is living right here in the manor, where can he possibly hide?"
"He can’t just never come home!"
Mrs. Gu felt her proposal was brilliant.
"That friend of mine... right after she got married, her husband was posted to Shu. She’s written to me, hinting that she wants her daughter to marry back into a family in the Capital City!"
Marriages are about matching social standing, and their family’s status was a bit low. But for her friend’s sake, Mrs. Gu was willing to accept this "daughter-in-law."
She wasn’t asking for much. As long as the girl could make Xun settle down and carry on the Gu Family line, she would be a good daughter-in-law!
On this matter, Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu were in complete agreement.
Years ago, the late emperor had been suspicious of the Gu Family and had suppressed them, leaving the young men of the clan with little opportunity to distinguish themselves.
Now that their fortunes had finally turned, they absolutely could not become complacent and stir up more trouble.
An emperor’s mind is impossible to fathom; no one could guarantee that the Gu Family wouldn’t fall under the New Emperor’s suspicion as well.
Marrying a daughter-in-law from a lower-status family was for the best.
Ah Xun had already angered the Emperor; it was best for him not to draw any more attention.
He said to Mrs. Gu, "Write to your friend in Shu. Tell them to send their daughter to the Capital City as soon as possible. I don’t care if that little hellion agrees or not—this time, he must marry!"
Mrs. Gu nodded eagerly, though she was still worried. "I’ll go write the letter at once. I just don’t know when Xun will be allowed to return to the Capital City."
’If Mei Wanying doesn’t return to Jiangnan, knowing the Emperor’s possessive nature, it’s entirely possible he won’t let Xun return to the Capital City.’
Mr. Gu pondered for a moment. "Tomorrow, I shall seek an audience with the Emperor and explain the situation."
’The Emperor will be overjoyed to learn that we’re arranging a marriage for Ah Xun.’
’Why would he possibly stand in the way?’