C9

Finally, the day of the grand birthday of the matriarch of Ping Marquis Mansion arrived.

The atmosphere in front of the Ping Marquis Mansion gate was extremely joyous and auspicious.

Not to mention that the marriage alliance in Ping Marquis Mansion was not ordinary, they were all bestowed marriages by the emperor. Even if the Ping Marquis Mansion held the military power and gained the deep trust of the emperor, they were still targets for many to curry favor with.

Normally, Ping Marquis Mansion were always low-key.

Not only the Ping Wang himself, even the disciples of Ping Marquis Mansion were all high-profile people who kept a low profile.

Other than Gu Jingyao's reputation, the rest were basically all existences that were ignored by the emperor. They never formed alliances, and this was also the reason why they were favored by the emperor.

Today was Matriarch He's birthday celebration. Other than officials from the capital visiting to congratulate her, even the royal family was present.

Although the empress did not come to congratulate him on his birthday, she had also prepared a generous gift.

As the Imperial Consort, she had the permission of the Emperor to leave the palace to congratulate the matriarch on her birthday. However, she was only allowed two hours before the birthday banquet began.

"Mistress, how about we take the carriage at the back?"

Arriving at the Zhennan Marquis Mansion gate, Lv Hee saw Ling Xiao supporting the weak Liu Fu Feng's Gu Yaoyi into the carriage, she was afraid that her master wouldn't be happy, so she suggested.

"Today is Grandmother's birthday. I am a princess of Ping Marquis Mansion and also a married woman, Princess Consort of Zhennan Marquis. If my sister were to ride in the same carriage as my husband and I were to sit in the back, how would outsiders gossip? " Gu Jingyao did not lower her voice. She wanted to let this pair of men who were openly pushing her to listen.

Ling Xiao frowned and turned around to look at Gu Jingyao. He instructed Lv Hee, "Hurry up and help your master into the carriage. Don't tell me you want to wait until the Ping Marquis Mansion banquet begins?"

"Yes." Lv Hee did not dare to contradict Ling Xiao. She could only lower her head and help Gu Jingyao into the carriage.

As a servant girl, she had no right to follow them, so she walked beside the horse carriage with Hong Xiu.

The interior of the carriage was luxurious and comfortable, and there was a large space inside.

Ling Xiao and Gu Yaoyi sat at the head of the table. Gu Jingyao could only sit at the side, as if she was a third party that had disturbed the couple.

If it were the original owner, she would definitely go crazy from anger. However, Gu Jingyao felt that doing so would allow her breathing to be smoother.

Gu Jingyao tilted her head and looked at Ling Xiao, who was wearing a brocade robe and a crown on his head.

Gu Yaoyi, who wore a pink dress with a thin layer of makeup, had a delicate and peerless appearance, which was a perfect fit for such a heroic figure to take care of.

"I didn't notice it before, but now I feel like you two are a match made in heaven."

Gu Jingyao chuckled. She thought to herself, "Trash men and white lotuses are indeed a perfect match."

"Gu Jingyao, you can shut up." Seeing Gu Yaoyi's uncomfortable and guilty expression, Ling Xiao was infuriated.

"I wanted to shut up, but I had to remind the prince and my sister. Today is a day of celebration for the Ping Marquis Mansion, if the two of you go and obstruct them, you can get off the car now.

No matter what, I am Princess Consort of Zhennan Marquis in name. If the two of you are not on the same level, and you continue to act out love and affection after leaving the Zhennan Marquis Mansion, wouldn't you all be smacking your face with Ping Marquis Mansion? "

Gu Jingyao crossed her legs with an indifferent expression. She was very uncomfortable with the heavy burden of dressing up as the main wife. She wished that there would be no more formal occasions in the future.

Gu Yaoyi's face was pale as a sheet. She pulled back her lily-white hands and bowed her head in silence.

Ling Xiao took a deep breath. If it wasn't for the fact that Gu Jingyao had to take this trip, he would have driven her off the carriage even more.

"We are in a cooperative relationship, so there's no need for the prince to get angry easily. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to act in front of others."

Gu Jingyao played with the jade bracelet on her waist, one of her arms supporting herself on the windowsill as she playfully said, "I am also thinking about my sister's reputation. "After all, she's still an unmarried woman. If her bad reputation gets out, how can she replace me and become Princess Consort of Zhennan Marquis in the future?"

"No need for you to worry. Yaoyi's character is thousands of times better than yours." Ling Xiao ground his teeth.

"It is precisely because of this that one must be even more careful with their words. Otherwise, a single mistake might cause all the previous efforts to go to waste." If others mistakenly think that your little sister is very scheming, and that all the good things that happened in the past were just an illusion, wouldn't it hurt your little sister's many years of management? "

Gu Jingyao suddenly bowed, looked Gu Yaoyi in the eye, and asked with a smile, "Sister's painstaking efforts are what sister understands the most, right?"

"Big sister is right." Gu Yaoyi glared hatefully at Gu Jingyao as she coyly said, "I should not have fallen in love with my prince, but now I want my sister to grant my wish. I can't let my sister feel at ease."

"You don't need to apologize to her. You clearly know that you and I love each other, yet you used all kinds of methods to marry me. It was because she couldn't stand up to you." Ling Xiao held Gu Yaoyi's hand again and comforted her.

"The word 'love' is hard to say clearly. Even if Prince likes to say it this way, there's nothing wrong with it."

Gu Jingyao pouted. She was happy to see Gu Yaoyi's face change.

But he didn't want to anger Ling Xiao in a day like this, so he restrained himself and said: "The Ping Marquis Mansion is almost here, you have to do what you should.

Today is the first time I have stepped into the threshold of Ping Marquis Mansion since I was married. I don't know how many pairs of eyes are watching me, wanting to know if the rumors of Zhennan Marquis Mansion are true or false.

Ling Xiao didn't say anything. He glanced at Gu Jingyao and closed his eyes to calm himself down.

Even though Ling Xiao didn't want to admit it, ever since he and Gu Jingyao became husband and wife, he had always been infuriated by this woman.

He couldn't help but bicker with her, wanting to see her sharp tongue.

In less than the time it took to make a cup of tea, the carriage had already stopped in front of the Ping Marquis Mansion.

The butler of Ping Marquis Mansion immediately came forward to greet the three of them.

"This old servant pays respects to the prince, the wangfei, and Second Miss. Your highness and wangfei are both waiting, let this old servant wait here to lead the way. "

The curtain was pushed aside. Ling Xiao got off the carriage first. He held Gu Jingyao's hand and said with concern, "Slow down."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Gu Jingyao smiled shyly and placed her jade-like hands on Ling Xiao's hands. She leisurely got off the carriage and instructed Lv Hee, "Go help Hong Xiu. Second Miss is weak, so don't hurt her."

Ling Xiao, who originally wanted to turn around and support Gu Yaoyi, had no choice but to withdraw his hand when he heard this.

His gaze stayed on Gu Jingyao as he tidied up the hairpin on her head.

The steward was paying close attention to the two of them, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

He had seen his princess sitting in the side seat when the curtains of the carriage had been opened.

On the other hand, it was Second Miss who sat next to Prince and Young Master, which was incompatible with etiquette and showed Gu Jingyao's position in Zhennan Marquis Mansion.

"Excuse me, but please send a message to King Father. Before we leave, Jingyao will pay respects to King Father." Gu Jingyao smiled politely.

The steward hurriedly answered, his expression full of concern.

"Your Highness, goodbye for now. I will take good care of my second younger sister." Gu Jingyao's voice was calm as she said with a slight sense of bliss.

"Wangfei, just take care of yourself. This king will explain to father-in-law that we will return late today, so that you can reunite more with father-in-law and mother-in-law." Ling Xiao spoke gently, with a caring attitude towards his wife.

"Thank you, Prince. I'm afraid that King Father and mother miss their second sister more. I'm just a foil." Gu Jingyao feigned ignorance as she turned around and pulled Gu Yaoyi away. "It's been a long time since I've been here. Second sister, follow me to pay my respects to Grandmother."

"Big sister is right." Gu Yaoyi lowered her head and followed beside Gu Jingyao.

Before entering, he looked at Ling Xiao as if he had a thousand things to say and was reluctant to part with him.

The butler took in the entire scene and gestured at Ling Xiao to invite him in, saying, "Please enter, Young Master. Prince and Prince Duan are currently in the inner hall to talk. Young Master has been waiting for a long time."

The butler's voice wasn't soft, and the words' Young Master 'made Gu Yaoyi hate him even more.

Gu Jingyao's gaze fell upon her official imperial attire, wishing that it could be torn apart to vent the depressing feelings in her heart.