Chapter 7: I Intend to Marry

  At that time, Qingjin was decadent for a long time. Later, she accidentally thought of the books she had read. The female protagonists were not all matched with the male protagonists at the beginning. Among them, many female protagonists were unfavored eldest daughters or even concubines. She remembered the most typical book she had read. In the book, the heroine was an orphan whose father and mother had died. There were only two people left in her family, she and her wet nurse, who still lived in a relative's house. However, that female protagonist eventually encountered a prince by chance and married him as his legitimate wife.

  At the thought of this, Qingjin's ambition was rekindled. A poor orphan girl without parents could marry a prince and become his official wife, so why couldn't she, as the legitimate daughter of a marquis, do the same? From then on, she began to actively ask her mother, Junshi, to find various tutors for her to learn the Four Books and Five Classics, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She would occasionally "compose" a poem that could be passed down for centuries.

  She wants to give herself a noble name, win capital, and when she meets that royal prince, she wants to be confident enough to match any identity of the nobility.

  Until she met Long Han Yuan on the street, that man was the one she had set her eyes on. Later, when she found out he was the prince, she was overjoyed and felt that the true meaning of her transmigration had finally arrived. However, before she could even recover from her joy, reality dealt her a heavy blow: her status was not worthy of being his official wife, nor did she have the qualifications to be a concubine, and more importantly, that man already had a princess consort.

  When she learned the news, her heart was dead and she spent two days in a daze. However, she couldn't forget that man and finally made up her mind to be his concubine. She believed that with her transmigrated woman's skills, she could make him treat her differently. After marrying him, he would understand her goodness and uniqueness, and even as a concubine, she would be a favored one, a concubine who would make the wife have to avoid her.

  Thinking back to the TV series "xx Heart Sutra" she watched before crossing over, wasn't it the case that even the legendary Dowager Empress Dou, who was said to have gone blind in both eyes and yet still held onto power for decades, had to avoid Shenyi's sharp tongue when she was still the empress? Thinking of this, Gu Qingyu's heart was boiling with hot blood.

  And besides, isn't it said in the book that transmigrated women are exceptionally lucky? Not only can they get what they want, but they might even attract more handsome men to admire them during the process.

  But reality soon gave her an even heavier blow, her identity couldn't even get close to Long HanYuan. If she can't get close to Long HanYuan, how can she let him know that she's special, different, and worthy of his love? How can she then take the place in his heart that she had before becoming his concubine?

  Her appearance was very beautiful, but she was infatuated with men, and when her beauty faded, so did their love. This wasn't what she wanted. Just as she was worrying about this, she suddenly received some good news.

  She heard that her third uncle, who had been sent back to the capital as an official, not only saved the Emperor on the battlefield, but also saved the Third and Sixth Princes. Qingjin keenly sensed a certain fate in this matter.

  As expected, as soon as the news spread back to the capital, the Anji Marquis Manor suddenly became a sought-after object of friendship for all the first and second-rate families in the capital, and Father's social engagements also increased significantly.

  After the Emperor and the Third Prince, Sixth Prince returned to the capital safely, the Anji Marquis Manor became a high-profile manor in the capital.

  Her third uncle declined the emperor's intention to grant him a higher official position and noble title as a reward for saving his life, which further deepened the emperor's gratitude towards her third uncle.

  She remembered that when she learned that the Third Uncle had refused the Emperor's gratitude, Qing Jin was still silently scolding the Third Uncle for being foolish. However, soon after, no one expected that the Third Prince and Sixth Prince would personally come to visit the Anji Marquis Manor to thank the Third Uncle for saving their lives and to pay respects to their grandmother.

  With the personal visits of the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince, the prestige of the Anji Marquis Manor began to rise like the sun in the sky. Some gatherings that previously did not invite the Anji Marquis Manor or could not attend now enthusiastically sent out invitations, inviting the Anji Marquis Manor to participate.

  Some high-end women's gatherings also began to invite the ladies of the Anji Houfu to participate, and Qingjin and the sisters of the Anji Houfu entered the eyes of the true aristocratic families in the capital under such circumstances, and wherever they went, they were welcomed with smiles.

  There were even several times when the princess invited them out to play, and Qingjin also entered the eyes of the third prince, Long Han yuan, under such circumstances. Her appearance, which she had carefully maintained and was proud of, perfectly showed its value when she approached Long Han yuan and successfully saw his surprise in her eyes. However, this was still far from enough, so in the subsequent deliberate encounters, she began to show off her special qualities in front of Long Han yuan: her elegant demeanor, extensive knowledge, and novel ideas. Seeing the appreciation in Long Han yuan's eyes, she showed her fondness for him at the right time, also gaining his delighted gaze. She was confident that if they continued like this, Long Han yuan would become more and more fond of her until he fell in love with her.

  Just when she thought everything was going in a good direction, what greeted her at home was her grandmother's severe scolding, scolding her for being an ignorant young lady who didn't understand the importance of male-female boundaries. She couldn't understand how her grandmother knew what she had done outside and assumed that her grandmother must have heard some rumors from outside. Of course, she refused to admit it until death.

  It wasn't until later that she found out it was her fourth sister, the one she had always treated as a real sister, who had noticed her unusual behavior towards the Third Prince in their daily conversations. Afraid that she might do something improper, she reported all sorts of abnormalities about the Third Prince to their grandmother. Having gone through many storms, the grandmother easily guessed her thoughts about the Third Prince from her fourth sister's account without missing a single detail.

  At the height of her power, she was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Anji, and the third prince already had a wife. The Duke of Anji would never allow his eldest daughter to marry into another family as a concubine, even if that person was the third prince whom Qingjin liked. This was no longer a matter of personal honor or loss, but rather a question of face for the Duke of Anji and the Emperor. The Duke of Anji was the savior of the Emperor, the third prince, and the sixth prince. Have you ever seen someone save your life and the life of your son, only to have them ask for your eldest daughter to be their concubine?

  Moreover, the person rescued by Anji Houfu was the Emperor himself. If Qingjin were to marry the Third Prince, she could only be his legitimate wife. However, the Third Prince had already married a legitimate wife from another prominent family. According to the ancestral rules of the Great Jing Dynasty, princes were not allowed to arbitrarily divorce their legitimate wives. In this situation, Qingjin could only become a concubine if she were to marry him.