Chapter 923: Chapter 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.
"Youâll 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 girlâs 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 Yingâs marital affairs soon.
The Empress sighed in relief, thankful that the Emperor didnât pay heed to Yingâs 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 canât it be?"
Qin Yingyuan was filled with despair at this moment; she didnât expect Grandfather to reject her so decisively.
Last year when she came to the palace to pay New Yearâs 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, Iâll tell you, these days, Iâm about to grant him a marriage, as requested by his teacher himself. A monarch never renounces his word; since Iâve already promised, I absolutely cannot break my word."
The Emperor angrily flicked his sleeves; he was indeed furious at this girlâs 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! Youâve met him just once or twice, how could you lose your mind like this? Stay obediently in the palace and heed your Grandmotherâs words. Grandfather shall surely find you a good match."
The Emperorâs tone softened somewhat as he patiently offered a few words of comfort.
Actually, if Liang Zhirui hadnât come asking, the Emperor wouldnât have agreed to Yingâs request either.
If Gu Chengyu became Duke of Qinâs 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 sonâs 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 someoneâs 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 didnât know to use such a good opportunity, wouldnât he be utterly foolish?
And naturally, he wasnât 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 didnât notice anything amiss because that was originally Gu Chengyuâs handwriting.
Holy Edict and Holy Decree have to be written in regular script, characterized by stable strokes and neat structure.
Hence, although everyoneâs handwriting varies, thereâs 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 wasnât difficult.
With deliberate imitation, though there were a few distinctions, the margin of difference was minimal.
Unfamiliar people couldnât detect this wasnât Gu Chengyuâs handwriting.
After reviewing the content of the papers, Gu Chengyu found it largely identical to what he wrote.
He couldnât 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.
Itâs unlikely to use water, after all, once the Holy Edict reached the Emperor, the Emperor wouldnât pour water on xuan paper.
If water canât 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, thatâs somewhat explainable, but altering anything seems unlikely, doesnât 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 shouldnât 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 shouldnât underestimate ancient wisdom.
In fourteen years in this dynasty, he hadnât heard of such a solution, indicating it was scarce and not known to outsiders.
This reminded him of modern erasable pens; isnât 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 couldnât help but chuckle coldly.
Chou Yifanâs 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 wouldnât roast this paper over fire, naturally wouldnât 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 Emperorâs side.