Chapter 467 The unspeakable secret
While they were talking, a servant came to report: "My Lord, the carriage is ready."
Gu Nianting expressed doubts.
"carriage?"
Considering his identity as the emperor's uncle, which was still a secret, he came to his senses and changed his address to a respectful one.
"Excuse me, where are you going, sir?"
Zhuang Shao smiled.
"Your Majesty, we will know if you go with us. Please."
Gu Nianting followed with a confused look on his face.
"okay."
The two of them got on the carriage, one in front and one behind, and set off, escorted by a group of guards.
Zhuang Shao had always been thinking about what Lord Lin had told him, so he didn't rush to tell him the purpose and asked questions first.
"I heard that you treated Xi'er badly. Is there something you can't tell me?"
Gu Nianting looked embarrassed.
"This……"
Zhuang Shao has a kind face and is full of kindness.
"My dear nephew, please don't think too much. I am asking this only out of concern, not to pry into your privacy."
"I believe that uncles and nephews should not worry about their dignity when talking. My dear nephew, please feel free to speak. If you need to keep it secret, I will keep my mouth shut."
Gu Nianting knew that since the emperor's uncle had asked, it was impossible for him to keep silent.
He didn't want to say much, but the situation was difficult and he could only bow his head and obey.
"Yes, thank you for your concern, uncle."
After some hesitation, he answered.
"Reporting to the Emperor, Uncle, I do have something to hide."
"Your Highness, you may not know that I have developed a hobby of visiting brothels since I was 20 years old. I indulged myself in this pastime until last year, a full six years later. Unfortunately, I became ill and was unable to support myself, so I missed the chance to spend the wedding night."
Zhuang Shao was stunned when he heard something wrong.
"what?"
"But I heard from Xier that in your previous life, you had three daughters and one young son. How can you say you were 'unable to support yourself'?"
Gu Nianting explained the reason slowly.
"It's nothing serious, just a minor illness. It will recover in a year at most. Not long ago, it was cured, and I thought it was time to pamper Xi'er. Unexpectedly, she ruined me again... Alas."
He was dejected and unhappy.
"Before the wedding, my mother forced me to cooperate with her in order to enrich the treasury, and I got a lot of Xi'er's savings. I thought that if she had any complaints, I would make it up to her after the wedding night. Who would have thought that on the wedding night, such an important moment, I would..."
"At that time, I found an excuse to temporarily leave the bridal chamber and quietly went to the mansion's doctor to take my pulse and diagnose me."
"I thought it was nothing serious, but the result was unexpected. Doctor Zhu said that my illness was caused by the brothel, and it would take at least half a year or a year to recover. During this period, no matter what aphrodisiacs I take, it will be useless. I must wait until I recover before I can enjoy myself. Otherwise, it will be dangerous to my body."
Whenever he talks about it, he still feels helpless and at a loss.
"This is a private matter. How can I tell Xi'er about it?"
"I even lied to her, saying that the rumor was false and that I had never been to a brothel. I even lied to her, saying that she was my first love and that I was completely ignorant and had never touched any other woman."
Listening to such absurd talk, Zhuang Shao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Why do you tell such a lie?"
Gu Nianting scratched his head and smiled foolishly.
"Xi'er is spotless, I think I deserve her, so I should do so."
"Uncle, you don't know that it is very difficult to win the love of Xi'er. If it weren't for Madam Ning's help, I would never have been able to marry her. If I tell her the truth, she will be even less willing to marry me."
Zhuang Shao regained his composure and continued asking questions.
"Even if I marry you as my concubine, you don't intend to tell me the truth?"
Gu Nianting avoided looking at him, showing some embarrassment.
"Uncle, please understand that I care a little about my reputation."
Zhuang Shao was dissatisfied and rolled his eyes at him.
"It's better to save face and spend the rest of my life."
Gu Nianting pretended not to see anything and continued talking to himself.
"Because of my illness, I had no choice but to treat Xi'er coldly."
"That night, Ning Wanshan visited Prince Chen's mansion under the pretext of delivering clothes to my third sister. I knew her intention very well, so I used a trick to bring her to Xi'er, embraced her, and deliberately acted intimately, causing Xi'er to misunderstand that I ignored her in order to favor Ning Wanshan."
"I arranged a guest room for Ning Wanshan in the backyard of Prince Chen's mansion and stayed with her for one night. To outsiders, it seemed like we were in love, but in fact, I had no connection with her at all."
"I played along and told Ning Wanshan that I knew exactly what she was thinking, that she just wanted to use my power to get on the throne. In this way, we reached a cooperation, which was just about mutual benefit, and there was no emotion involved. I lied and said that I wanted to marry Xi'er for money, so I would not favor her. Ning Wanshan believed it and immediately cooperated with the play."
He took a breath and changed his tone to pleading again.
"That's how it is. I beg you to forgive me, uncle. I have been treated badly out of helplessness."
Zhuang Shao remained indifferent and raised questions.
"If you have no affection, why did you make Ning Wunu your queen in your previous life?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Nianting couldn't help but feel anxious.
"I don't know what happened in my previous life."
"Now, my heart is filled with the hope of sharing the beautiful country with Xi'er. I have no idea why I changed my heart in my previous life, and whether I really changed my heart. I can't figure it out no matter how hard I try."
Zhuang Shao frowned solemnly and gave a slight reproach.
"I heard Xi'er talk about her past life. You are so outrageous."
Gu Nianting responded obediently, having already lost all his edge.
"My nephew knows his mistake."
Zhuang Shao sat upright and taught seriously.
"In the future, you must correct your mistakes and become a better person. You are not allowed to be willful again."
Gu Nianting responded immediately.
"Yes, nephew, obey your command."
Not wanting to listen to lectures all the time, he took the initiative to change the subject.
"By the way, Uncle Huang, you haven't told me yet, where are we going?"
Zhuang Shao also didn't like to preach too much, so he followed his words and talked about the next thing.
"Shoukang Hall, Shengdao Village, outside Beijing."
Hearing the words "Shoukangtang", Gu Nianting immediately asked respectfully.
"It sounds like the name of a clinic. Is your uncle ill?"
Zhuang Shao shook his head and answered truthfully.
"No."
"We used a trick to trap Alliance Leader Qi in Shoukang Hall."
If it weren't for the fact that he was talking about his uncle, Gu Nianting almost forgot about him.
"Ah? Third uncle?"
He realized it later and felt extremely regretful.
"It turns out that Third Uncle wasn't avoiding me on purpose."
"I blame myself for misunderstanding his meaning. To this day, I have never thought of finding his whereabouts."
Zhuang Shao looked calm and briefly explained the reason.
"Alliance Leader Qi is extremely intelligent. With him around, our plan won't work."
Then, he looked at his nephew with expectation in his eyes.
"Do you understand why I am leading you to see him?"
Gu Nianting thought about it and nodded.
"I see."
Zhuang Shao gave a faint smile.
"Well, thank you for your hard work."
Gu Nianting's brows trembled, revealing a hint of worry.
"I am afraid that my third uncle will know the truth, blame me for being incompetent, get angry with me, and not listen to me."
Zhuang Shao smiled disapprovingly.
"We are a family, why would we argue with each other?"
"Don't worry, Alliance Leader Qi will not blame you when he sees you in such a bad state. Elders always love their juniors with all their heart, and it's still not enough."
Gu Nianting sighed deeply.
"Ugh--"
"If that's the case, I'll feel even more guilty."