Chapter 162 That Girl
The flower forest is covered with white snow, and the room is full of fragrance. Gao Mansion is located near Emperor Jin's Palace.
The flying eaves are like clouds, the carved patterns are like rosy clouds, and in a secluded path, Gao Jing and Qiu Bi are sitting opposite each other and talking.
Qiu Bi smiled and lowered her eyes shyly.
"I am fascinated by the matter of marriage."
"But as a girl, you can't be too proactive."
"How about you, cousin, ask for me?"
Gao Jing frowned and thought deeply before responding.
"According to my observations over the years, Lord Lin should be in love with Princess Yuexi."
"It was he who proposed the enthronement of the princess from the beginning."
"He is really outrageous. He actually asked the prince to appoint the princess as the prime minister of the Eight Terraces."
"The princess is only 22 years old. Apart from Lord Fang back then, where else could there be such a young prime minister of the Eighth Palace?"
"To show such respect must be a sign of genuine admiration."
Qiu Bi quickly came up with a guess.
"Could it be that he made this suggestion so that I can continue to serve the princess?"
Gao Jing disagrees.
"Then you could just propose to confer the title of Princess directly, why are you hinting at the Prime Minister of the Eighth Palace in a roundabout way?"
Qiu Bi also figured it out quickly.
"The titles of princess, county lady, and minister are all conferred by King Dijin or the emperor after they have made meritorious contributions. Lord Lin is proposing this right away. Isn't this an act of usurpation?"
"Therefore, he used the Eight Stages to hint at the position of the Princess, and the prince understood and gave her the title of Princess."
Thinking about the conversation at that time, Gao Jing suddenly dragged out the last word.
"Oh--"
"So that's what they meant!"
Seeing him like this, Qiu Bi smiled happily.
"So my cousin also thinks that he is not indifferent to me?"
Gao Jing waved his hands repeatedly.
"That's not right."
"What does it have to do with you if he asks for mercy for the princess?"
"You said he was doing this to fulfill your loyalty, but there is no basis for this. It's just empty talk. What are you dreaming about in broad daylight?"
"I have been friends with him for so many years. Could I be wrong? He just loves the princess."
"What's more, he still has that girl he knew when he was a child."
"I will never forget the kindness of holding an umbrella for you."
"Do you know who this person is?"
Qiu Bi was stunned when she heard this.
"Who?"
Gao Jing slammed the stone table, and became furious just thinking about this matter.
"I found out about it by chance a while ago, a few days before the flower viewing banquet."
"This person is actually He'er!"
Qiu Bi was horrified.
"It turned out to be her?"
"Is she father and mother's biological daughter, Feng Yihe?"
Gao Jing nodded solemnly.
"It's her."
"You are busy with Yuexi Mansion's affairs all day long and rarely meet her. You don't know her well."
“But she and I grew up together.”
"I'm telling you, she's a very good person and she would never get between you and Master Lin."
"It's all Lord Lin's fault for wishful thinking!"
Qiu Bi looked down in disappointment, the silk in her hand was crumpled into a mess.
"I've heard you mention the umbrella thing before."
"But didn't you say that there is still no news about that girl?"
"If it's Feng Yihe, how could he not find it?"
Gao Jing clicked his tongue twice.
"Didn't I also say that I suspected he had already found that girl?"
"You concealed it deliberately because you were afraid that I would bring up the engagement and interfere."
"He is deeply in love with that girl and is obsessed with her."
Qiu Bi felt lost and wanted to cry.
"Then how can you be sure that the girl is Feng Yihe?"
Gao Jingxin is straightforward and doesn't seem to notice that his cousin is sad at all.
"Of course she brought it up to me."
"What she described was exactly the same as what Lord Lin said. She even remembered exactly what the umbrella looked like."
"And the crabapple tree painted on the umbrella is exactly what she loves."
Qiu Bi pouted in jealousy.
"I love crabapples, too."
"My umbrella is also painted with crabapples."
Gao Jing rejected it directly.
"What's the use?"
"No matter how many umbrellas with crabapple blossoms painted on them you buy, it won't change the fact. The umbrella in Lord Lin's hand must have been given by He'er."
"In addition, his affection for the princess is immeasurable."
"When the incident at Cisha Mountain happened, the prince convened a meeting and he said a lot of things I couldn't understand. He praised the princess to the skies. In other words, it was he who made it possible for the princess to assist the prince."
"He has found a very good future for the princess."
"As for you, he didn't say a word, as if he had completely forgotten about the engagement."
"If I hadn't insisted on stopping him, he would have already left for the Ningguo Mansion to ask for the princess' hand in marriage!"
Qiu Bi didn't want to agree.
"The matter of Cisha Mountain, the princess is really pitiful."
"He just said a few fair words, how can it be said that he loves the princess?"
"Maybe he values the princess's talent, so he wants to recommend her to you. Please don't be suspicious, Your Majesty."
Gao Jing continued speaking and gestured on the stone table with his right index finger.
"You also think that he has taken a fancy to the princess, right?"
"After seeing the princess's talent, I gradually became attracted to her. Isn't that right?"
"I guess it was love at first sight."
"Now think about it. In front of you is He Er, who is beautiful and graceful, with heavy makeup but still gentle, and light makeup but still pleasant; behind you is the princess, who has a beautiful face like an apricot, and a figure like snow and frost, like a fairy under the moon. Which of them is not as beautiful as you?"
"I didn't mean to belittle you."
"What I mean is, for such a philandering man to want to break off the engagement and bring shame to you, it would be better for the Gao family to reject him first, so as to avoid you losing face."
Qiu Bi was gradually convinced by him. She looked at herself with inferiority and felt even sadder.
"Am I...so ugly?"
Gao Jing realized belatedly that something was wrong and was at a loss as to what to do, and then turned to comforting others.
"It's not that you're ugly."
"It's mainly because Lord Lin is too handsome."
"Since ancient times, a talented man and a beautiful woman are a perfect match."
The more he tried to comfort his sister, the sadder she became, and he became even more anxious.
"Oh, don't cry, I mean,"
"His family was originally from a poor family. Although they are considered the family of the late queen, they are a very distant branch. Three generations of his ancestors were talented and did not serve in the government. If it were not for Lord Fang's appreciation, secret support, and arrangement for him to accompany the emperor, how could the Lin Mansion be so prosperous today?"
"The Gao clan is different. We are a family of military commanders. For hundreds of years, we have been loyal to successive saints, serving in the supervisory positions and fighting on the battlefields, and have made great contributions."
"How can his humble family be worthy of our family?"
"After a while, I'll find you someone who's a good match."
After hearing this, Qiu Bi cried even harder.
"The engagement was already made long ago, and it was approved by Prince Dijin and instructed by the Emperor. What does it have to do with family background?"
"I'm really bad. There's not a single thing on my body that I can praise, so my cousin can only look for someone else."
"My father and mother are both very handsome, so why did they give birth to me so ugly?"
"By the way, my elder sister who unfortunately died in the war, was she pretty?"
Gao Jing subconsciously told the truth.
"You mean cousin?"
"Back then, she stood in the tent, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, heroic and valiant, and her demeanor as a woman is no less than that of a man, and she was famous across the border. Even the generals of Xingliang admired her so much that they were willing to give up everything for a beautiful woman's smile."
Now, Qiu Bi felt even more inferior. She threw herself on the stone table and burst into tears.
"Ah... I am the ugliest..."