Chapter 51

When Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin rode in a carriage to Fuyong Garden in the southern mountains outside the capital, the sky had already lightened; even though they got up early today, the official road to the southern mountains was already packed with carriages.

Some carriages bore the insignia of aristocratic clans, while others were plain ordinary ones; even from afar, the carriage of the Eastern Palace's Crown Prince could be seen jammed at the very front.

"The Heir Apparent is really... diligent!" Gu Jiu Ling lowered the carriage curtain and drew back her body.

Xiao Yin, sitting beside her, gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes and said, "Did you see your Crown Prince?"

"Yeah, he's jammed up front, hehe! Every time he attends the poetry gathering, he's the most eager one!"

"That's right, after all, he's the Crown Prince!" Xiao Yin gave a light smile.

A chilly draft rushed up her spine, and Gu Jiu Ling froze there, her heart pounding.

She turned her face nervously toward Xiao Yin: "My lord... what do you mean by 'my Crown Prince'? Don't imagine things! I really find him detestable right now!"

Xiao Yin glanced at Gu Jiu Ling without changing his expression: "Then why is your face red?"

"I'm not blushing!" Gu Jiu Ling wiped sweat nervously; her soul had inhabited this body, and the original host's affection for the Crown Prince had become an obsession, causing her body to react involuntarily.

Gu Jiu Ling was truly speechless; this affection had been etched into her bones, becoming part of her body.

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She quickly gave an embarrassed laugh: "I'm just hot, really hot!"

Xiao Yin snorted coldly and said nothing; his face was clearly unhappy.

Gu Jiu Ling let him be; she had done nothing shameful, and the original host's bodily memories belonged only to the original host, not to her.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of Fuyong Garden; Xiao Yin escorted Gu Jiu Ling out, and a few servants came forward to greet them.

This time, the poetry gathering was hosted by the Jing Cheng aristocratic household of the An Guo Gong Fu; the Heir Apparent of the An Guo Gong Fu, Lin Jingyuan, personally stood at the gate to welcome guests.

Lin Jingyuan currently holds a position as a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue; although his rank isn't high, he has some real authority, a lucrative post.

Because of his connection to Lin Xuexue, Lin Jingyuan's expression toward Gu Jiu Ling this time was somewhat displeased.

Lin Xuexue is Lin Jingyuan's paternal aunt; she is the daughter born to the An Guo Gong Fu lord's concubine Mei Niang, and has always been unruly; the matriarch of the An Guo Gong Fu, coming from a prestigious family, despises Mei Niang's sort of seductive woman.

Once, Mei Niang actually gave the lord an aphrodisiac to secure his favor; when the matriarch found out, she beat Mei Niang to death and dumped her body in a mass grave.

From then on, Lin Xuexue's days became miserable; as she grew up, she developed an increasingly alluring, boneless figure, and the matriarch confined her to the rear courtyard, ignoring her.

She had been waiting to marry off when, by chance, the Lin family met Du Qingning, the sole daughter of Old Master Du, and they resorted to schemes to steal Du Qingning's husband, Gu Shijie.

At that time, the matriarch truly looked down on her despicable tactics; later, Lin Xuexue relied on Gu Shijie's favor, drove the Du clan to death, became the lady of the husband's family, and the Lin family's women, under the matriarch's direction, all refused to associate with her.

The Lin clan still hoped to return home in glory, but the An Guo Gong Fu denied them that chance, and relations between the two sides turned completely cold.

Lin Jingyuan bowed to Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling: "Your subject pays respects to Prince Rui and Princess Consort Rui!".

Xiao Yin nodded; Gu Jiu Ling didn't think much of it, instead feeling that the Lin family matriarch was an elderly lady with proper values, and she couldn't help asking: "How is the matriarch's health?"

Lin Jingyuan hastily bowed and smiled: "Thank you, Princess Consort, for your concern; my grandmother is well.".

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gu Jiu Ling followed Xiao Yin into the venue, which was built beside a lake and quite spacious.

Gu Jiu Ling quickly glanced at the venue, feeling it was as large as a basketball court; tables were arranged all around, with no heavy meat or fish dishes, only some vegetarian fruits and jade stone teacups holding fine tea.

Behind the tables sat scholars and talented ladies from aristocratic families, seated according to their status and rank.

Outside that, another circle was filled mostly with talented commoners, who were also the most numerous.

Even further out were several more layers, where one probably couldn't see anything; they were just there for the liveliness, and no one knew who would win the top prize today.

At the poetry gathering, there wasn't much distinction of nobility; whoever wrote the best piece would take the top prize.

Consequently, those seated farthest north were not royalty or nobility, but renowned scholars of Southern Qi, each wearing black robes and square headscarves; any one of them, if produced, would make even the emperor feel somewhat breathless.

Seated at the forefront was Southern Qi's foremost national scholar, a person revered by scholars worldwide, who had once served as imperial tutor to two emperors—Wen Yuan Zhuo.

This time, the Crown Prince, the Sixth Prince, and even the Third Prince Xiao Wei, who came from a military background, had all previously paid visits to Mr. Wen.

These princes are all sharp; they know that if they ever want to ascend to the throne, they must win over learned scholars from across the land, and since Mr. Wen's prestige among literati is extremely high, they have no choice but to treat him with careful respect.

After Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin entered, they also attracted a great deal of attention, their drawing power not inferior to that of Mr. Wen.

Mr. Wen is like the Big Dipper, lofty and revered; in the eyes of these literati, the two of them are nothing but piles of useless, foul dung that ruin the scholarly atmosphere here.

Sure enough, seeing them saunter in, everyone exclaimed, "How did these two people come here?"

One is a military commander who later became a deviant, and hadn't shown his face at the poetry gathering for seven straight years—yet now he's here as well?

The other needs no explanation: at the previous poetry gathering, the apricot grove was hung with portraits of the Crown Prince, and she had never argued with Li Songyue, the daughter of the Minister of Rites from Shang Jing, the first talented lady; her scream was so loud it nearly scared people to death, and the organizers threw her out directly.

Now these two individuals strode in with heads held high and chests out, immediately sitting at the tables near the front.

Xiao Yin wore a splendid purple robe that complemented his handsome, mischievous brows and eyes; even seated, he lacked a proper sitting posture, seeming as if a bone were missing, leaning crookedly, looking at once dissolute and rakish.

The scholars inside whispered among themselves, yet they dared not eject Xiao Yin, for he was a prince, bearing the imperial dragon aura.

Seeing Xiao Yin like that, Gu Jiu Ling also felt energized; she adopted a comfortable lounging posture beside him, began examining the fruit on the table, peeled an orange, and stuffed it into her mouth.

Mmm! So sweet!

The orange's juice seeped out, landing at the corner of her lips.

"Eat slowly," Xiao Yin said, giving her an annoyed glance, then lifted his sleeve to wipe the corner of her mouth.

The people around were practically dumbfounded, wondering whether this couple had come to attend the poetry gathering or to embarrass themselves.

Seated opposite them were the Crown Prince and other princes; they had originally wanted to greet Xiao Yin, their elder, but seeing the couple's behavior, they dared not approach, for it would be a great embarrassment to the imperial family.

On the other side, however, a few women seated there covered their mouths and laughed, their laughter sharp and piercing.

"Did you see? That idiot's come again this year!"

"Last year, after being snapped at a few times by Elder Sister Songyue, his wailing blubbering was downright stupid enough!".

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Don't you see the Crown Prince over there? This is most likely another attempt to… you know what I mean?"

"They're already married women, yet so shameless—does Prince Rui even care to manage them?"

"And what kind of goods is Prince Rui, anyway? Hehe!"