“Qiang has come back.” Ye gave the cool tea to Prime Minister Gu with sparkling eyes. She knew what he was nervous about, but she decided to take advantage of the chance to intensify his aversion to Gu Qiang. Gu Zhihua seemed to have failed, but Ye was not resigned to the result. She believed so long as she tried her best, she could push her daughter to an ideal place.
After taking a sip of tea, Prime Minister Gu managed to calm down and asked coldly, “Bring her here. She is unrulier now! She knows I’m at home, but she doesn’t come to greet me. Does she still respect me as her father?”
Ye suggested abolishing Gu Qiang’s infanta title before. Prime Minister Gu used to think Ye was airing her grievance. However, he had many reasons to do it now. He suddenly found it necessary to consider that.
Soon after Gu Qiang returned to her yard, Ting Feng took her to the main hall hurriedly. After greeting Prime Minister Gu, she stood there with her eyes sparkling.
Ye stayed around Prime Minister Gu all day long and served him well. She must have a new trick. Gu Qiang didn’t want to waste more time on Ye, but Ye was too aggressive.
“What are you doing these days?” Prime Minister Gu asked while looking coldly at the cup before him. He didn’t glance at Gu Qiang and seemed more awesome.
Tilting her head, Gu Qiang pretended not to understand his meaning and asked, “Nothing special. I just spared time to visit my brother.”
Hearing Gu Huaian, Prime Minister Gu became furious at once, “Is that man worth your visits? He is utterly isolated and has no regard for elders. Why do you keep contact with him?”
Even though Prime Minister Gu said that in this way, he was so upset as to be close to tears. Gu Huaian was his son, excellent and smart but unruly. No matter how excellent a child was, he was not worth the time and love of his father if he was unruly.
“That’s because he is my brother and I love him. Father, why do you call me here?” Gu Qiang didn’t want to waste time on it. She was extremely busy and hoped that Prime Minister Gu could get straight to the point instead of beating around the bush.
Prime Minister Gu tried his best to repress his rising flames of fury and said, “I’m going to request the Emperor to abolish your infanta title. Do you agree?”
Gu Qiang’s face was expressionless but she sneered in her heart. Was this her father? She didn’t know what he was thinking about. Was he eager to see his daughter live a miserable life? If his daughter had a happy life, he would do anything possible to stop her from it. Damn it! Gu Qiang was too angry to say anything.
“Why?” Gu Qiang said while refraining from her anger. She couldn’t help laughing. Perhaps she thought it funny that her father was dominated by Ye.
Prime Minister Gu expected that Gu Qiang would fly into a temper at once and kick up a row. However, she was very calm, especially her eyes. Thus, he felt unsure. Her facial expression seemed to say that she had seen through his trick.
But he didn’t think he was wrong. Or he had realized he was wrong, but he still tried to control himself and insisted that he was right.
“I find you have been more arrogant and impertinent since you became an infanta. The infanta title is not a big deal. Even though it is tempting now, can you accept being married to the border area for the national peace?” Prime Minister Gu said.
Gu Qiang stood in the main hall originally. While Prime Minister Gu was saying, she sat down to drink tea.
She knew he would give a lengthy speech. Now that he dared to utter his shameless idea, it meant he approved of it and was eager to persuade her.
But she didn’t want to compromise at all. That was to say, they would have a battle today. Perhaps she would never know what she meant to him. Her efforts and wisdom were less powerful than Ye’s pillow talk.
Gu Qiang put down her cup, looked at Prime Minister Gu, and asked coldly, “Arrogant? Impertinent? Father, I don’t follow you. If I don’t listen to you, I will be regarded to be impertinent, right?”
Ye chipped in before Prime Minister Gu answered, “Of course. Your father does everything for your sake. Why can’t you feel your father’s love?”
The woman always interrupted. Gu Qiang intended to give her a lesson, but she refrained from it. She couldn’t give Ye an excuse to attack her now. She was just accused of being impertinent. If she answered Ye back, it would be exactly what Ye wanted.
“Father, you mean it will do me good if the infanta title is abolished, right? The title is a dream for so many people. I got it after many efforts. If you request the Emperor to take it back because of your wrong judgment, what the capital people will think of you and me?” Gu Qiang asked.
At that time, people around the capital would think Prime Minister Gu was so insane as to prevent his daughter from rising to the high rank. Gu Qiang had reminded him of the possible consequence. If he insisted on doing it, Gu Qiang could do nothing more. It was never possible to wake up a person pretending to be asleep. He was willing to damage Gu Qiang at the cost of his fame. How could Gu Qiang fight with him?
Gu Qiang stood up, turned around to glance at Ye, and said smilingly, “Madam, my father has a lot of things to do and can’t avoid making wrong decisions sometimes. You are his better half. Please remind him frequently. Just like this time. Why didn’t you tell my father the advantages and disadvantages earlier?”
Then Gu Qiang was ready to leave. Ye was irritated and made speechless by Gu Qiang’s sarcasm. Gu Qiang implied that Ye watched Prime Minister Gu make a stupid mistake without doing anything. How could she be defamed in this way?
Didn’t Gu Qiang know it was instigated by Ye? If she knew, she said that to humiliate Ye and warn Prime Minister Gu.
As expected, Prime Minister Gu turned around to look at Ye with complex emotions. Ye stood up instantly, kneeled before him, lowered her head, and said helplessly, “Please listen to my explanation. It’s not true. We come up with such an idea for Qiang’s sake. She doesn’t know the position is not as good as she imagines.”
“If the position is given to Zhihua, will you accept?” Gu Qiang asked.
Ye bit her lips tightly and lowered her head. She knew it was a daydream for Gu Zhihua to become an infanta. But if there was a chance, why not accept it?
“I won’t accept because I wish she has a peaceful life.” Ye bit her lips with so much force that they almost bled. Two tooth prints were visible on her lips. Her voice changed.
Maybe even Ye herself didn’t believe what she said. But she gave such a high-sounding answer with her own purpose.
Gu Qiang nodded and said, “I will request the Empress Dowager to grant an infanta title to Zhihua. After all, only after a person is elevated to that position, can she be qualified to talk. How can a person say so determinedly before she gets it?”
Ye’s eyes lit up and then dimmed. She was clear how much Gu Qiang hated Gu Zhihua. Gu Qiang offered to request the Empress Dowager to grant Gu Zhihua an infanta title. Did she think the quota of infantas was as large as that of servant girls and the title could be granted as the Empress Dowager wanted? Gu Qiang was different from before, but she had no real power. Ye felt ashamed for her naïve and stupid fantasy.
Prime Minister Gu seemed to have thought of something. He turned around to look at Ye and clearly saw every facial expression on her face no matter how subtle it was, including her expectancy when Gu Qiang offered to request an infanta title for Gu Zhihua.
Ye was eager for it. She had a fantasy for the position and knew if Gu Zhihua became an infanta, the situation would be completely different.
Look, everyone was eager to become stronger and rise to a higher rank. Even though Ye gave a high-sounding answer, she hoped so, too. However, she wanted to prevent Gu Qiang from rising to that position with various excuses. Prime Minister Gu seemed to be enlightened at that moment.
No wonder Gu Qiang had such a facial expression and even disobeyed him. That was because he had never thought anything in Gu Qiang’s shoes.
He was clear about it immediately and then told Gu Qiang, “Qiang, I’m sorry for my inconsiderate idea. Let’s stop quarreling and make it up.”
It was the first time for Prime Minister Gu to compromise with Gu Qiang. Even though she still had her grievances, she nodded and answered, “Thanks, father.”
Then she left.
Prime Minister Gu wanted to ask her to stay, but he didn’t know what to say. Ye turned around and said quietly, “Dear, …”
Ye had a lot to say but fell silent at last. What could she say? Prime Minister Gu had apologized to Gu Qiang, which proved he had seen through her trick. Now she only hoped he wouldn’t treat her too coldly.
Prime Minister Gu stood up slowly and walked away, unwilling to say anything to Ye. As a father, he was angry with himself for the evil idea against his daughter, which was instigated by his wife. He thought it made him more pathetic and disrespectable before his daughter.
After Gu Qiang returned to her yard, Ting Feng walked over to help her change clothes. Just one day passed, but Ting Feng felt her master had been away for a long time and had a strange feeling. It was not good. Ting Feng always thought of herself as the closest person to Gu Qiang, but now she seemed to be not.
Shortly after she sat down, Gusu Liang rushed into the room. She looked nervous and told Gu Qiang, “My Lady, your brother has left the capital.”