“Hm?” Gu Qingtong was surprised, but Yuan Hongyan waved his hand and had the maidservant lead her away.
Gu Qingtong realized that Yuan Hongyan knew something and perhaps was aware of their relationship but was pretending not to know. Moreover, the Liang family… Liang Luoxian also had the surname Liang. Were they connected? If so, she might be in danger.
Princess Wanqiu did not take her seriously and, while making things difficult for her, would not do anything that would damage her princess reputation. Thus, during the three days of etiquette training, Gu Qingtong carefully got through it.
Early on the fourth day, a sedan chair came to carry her to the Weiyuan Marquis’s residence.
Gu Qingtong remembered the Crown Prince’s words and looked back to see if he would kindly offer a few words of advice. However, the fact proved that she was daydreaming; how could the Crown Prince lower himself to speak to her?
Originally, marquis residences were ancestral estates with many family rules, and without the first legitimate son born, a bastard son would have no chance of emergence. However, the Liang family was probably similar to the Strict Minister’s residence, with lax family management, so there were two bastard sons before the legitimate third son. The Weiyuan Marquis’s residence was the same, with Liang Mou’en, the third-ranked legitimate son, being the one betrothed to Princess Wanqiu.
After entering the residence, Gu Qingtong did not feel that the Liang family was different from the Yang or Jiang families. However, the Liang family’s matriarch looked at her as if she were an enemy. Gu Qingtong’s heart sank – could the Weiyuan Marquis’s residence truly have a grudge against the Gu family?
But if the Liang family was the Weiyuan Marquis’s residence, they should have a way to remove Liang Luoxian, so why did they allow her to be humiliated in the Flower and Moon Pavilion? Gu Qingtong thought about it but could not make sense of it, so she stopped thinking and followed the servant to find Liang Mou’en.
“Qingtong pays respects to Young Master Liang,” Gu Qingtong bowed respectfully, preparing to begin, but Liang Mou’en looked at her and let out a cold laugh, stopping her.
Gu Qingtong looked up at him. While Jiang Shangheng, another young master from a marquis residence, was handsome, this young master was plain. Even in the most luxurious clothes, he lacked nobility. He had the air of a nouveau riche, with a stern face and dark eyes that made Gu Qingtong feel uneasy.
“You are Gu Qingtong,” he stated.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Someone, strip her of this palace dress.”
Gu Qingtong was stunned. She was wearing a princess’s clothing and had come representing the princess. How could he dare to do this? She put on airs: “Young Master Liang, I am here for the princess’s ceremony, you…”
Liang Mou’en suddenly grabbed her neck: “A princess?”
Just moments ago, he looked like he wanted to strangle her, and now he says it was a joke?
Liang Mou’en helped her up and suddenly looked outside: “Nurse Li, look how careless this Gu Qingtong is, she actually fell.”
Gu Qingtong turned and saw Nurse Li, who had just been talking to the old madam, had arrived. Because the princess was worried about her, she had left Green Fruit behind and sent Nurse Li instead, unexpectedly saving her life.
Liang Mou’en saw Nurse Li nod and retreated to the side, then whispered in Gu Qingtong’s ear: “I’m not stupid enough to do evil in my own home. But after these three days, you’d better be careful.”
Gu Qingtong just glared at him, secretly lamenting her destined difficult life. Not only was her status lowly, but now she also faced dangers to her life and reputation.
Nurse Li was an old hand in the palace, with high prestige. Even the Liang family’s matriarch would give her some face, let alone Liang Mou’en.
Therefore, when Li Mama was present, Liang Mu’en was quite well-behaved, and towards Gu Qingtong he was like a graceful young gentleman, with a gentle smile and glance, even more tender than a young lady herself. However, Gu Qingtong had seen his true nature, and every time she thought of this, she felt nauseated.
However, the princess could not use Li’niang to tarnish the reputation of the Marquis’s household, nor could she send a palace maid to spend two or three nights with him, causing herself discomfort.
So, Princess Wan Qiu took a double precaution: during the day, Gu Qingtong would test the marriage, and at night, she would send palace maids. For two or three nights, she would need two maids, but the palace was never short of maids, so two was no problem. The princess didn’t mind. After all, if she succeeded with the Liang family, those maids would have no good end; if not, sending them to the Liang family as servants was also fine.
Thus, Gu Qingtong slept in the outer room, listening to the bed rocking with male and female sounds inside.
Those two palace maids were quite something, each more vocal than the last. The first one was relatively delicate, with a seductive figure that made Liang Mu’en’s eyes go wide. If Li Mama hadn’t been present, he would have pounced immediately.
The second palace maid was less attractive, with a less appealing figure than the previous day. But Liang Mu’en couldn’t show disgust. Angry as he was, he still had to do what was required, and Li Mama was listening outside. He had to calculate the timing carefully – not too short to displease the princess, not too long to exhaust her, which would also be torture for Liang Mu’en.
However, at night, Gu Qingtong listened to the screams, roars, and moans from inside, which was unbearable.
Here’s the edited version of the article with irrelevant content removed:
Not only did she not sleep all night, but she also had to accompany them early in the morning. Representing the princess, with Li Mama watching, Liang Mu’en naturally respected her, so she could endure the exhaustion.
Nevertheless, due to Liang Mu’en’s threats, Gu Qingtong was constantly on edge. By the third afternoon, approaching liberation, she was not relaxed but even more tense.
Liang Mu’en noticed this and would provoke her whenever Li Mama wasn’t looking, hurling offensive words that made Gu Qingtong’s anger flare.
“You cheap whore, just wait. Once you step out of here, see how high and noble you’ll act – you’re nothing but a lowly bitch!” Liang Mu’en whispered in her ear while she was grinding ink.
Gu Qingtong could no longer tolerate it. With little time left, she decided to vent her anger. With a “slap”, she struck him: “Are you dissatisfied with yesterday’s palace maids and venting your anger on me? How dare you!”
Liang Mu’en never expected her to hit him, and with such force that half his face swelled. He raised his hand to strike back.
“Young Master Liang!” Li Mama was momentarily stunned but immediately stopped him, pulling Gu Qingtong behind her.
Here’s the edited version of the article with irrelevant content removed:
Seeing the black ink stain on Gu Qingtong’s palace dress, and recalling Liang Mu’en’s performance the previous night, her face darkened: “Young Master Liang, whether the palace maids are beautiful or not, they represent the princess. So does Gu Qingniang. You showed a bad attitude to the maid yesterday, and today you deliberately stained Gu Qingniang’s dress. This palace dress is the princess’s favorite – you can’t possibly compensate for it!”
