Chapter Eighty Western Mountain Separate Courtyard

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  "Of course it's the prince who has a connection with our family, that way the emperor won't suspect or distrust father." Qing Jin said lightly.

  Upon hearing Qingjin's words, Gu Huaiyi immediately understood and thought that the princes related to Anji Houfu were none other than the Third Prince and Sixth Prince whom his brother Gu Huaiyi had saved. After careful consideration, he felt that his daughter was right, so he asked again: "Qingjin, do you think I should choose the Third Prince or the Sixth Prince?"

  "If Your Majesty has a marriage in mind, the engagement between my daughter and her cousin is already settled. I wonder if Your Majesty will marry Fourth Sister to Third Prince or Sixth Prince?"

  Gu Huai Li furrowed his brow and hesitantly asked, "Jin Er means to choose the Third... the Third Imperial Son?" Gu Huai Li couldn't help but think of the scene where he saw the Third Imperial Son Long Han Yan that day, and reflexively felt a chill run down his spine.

  Qing Jin saw her father Gu Huai Li's reaction and pretended not to see him, nodding at her father Gu Huai Li.

  "No, although the Third Prince... has an extraordinary air about him, his mother passed away early and he didn't have the backing of a powerful maternal clan. His father doesn't think much of the Third Prince..."

  "Is Father thinking of choosing the Sixth Prince?" Qing Jin asked slowly and calmly.

  "The sixth prince is not an option either. Didn't you say that if the emperor arranges a marriage, your fourth sister will be given to the sixth prince as his main wife? How could Father let your sister become the sixth prince's concubine?" Isn't this obviously putting herself below her brother Gu Haiyi? Moreover, Mother Shen would not agree either.

  "Is there a better choice for Father?" Qing Jin asked slowly.

  "Can't another prince do it?" Gu Huai Li frowned.

  "Father wants to choose who, father must not forget, if it's not the Third Prince and Sixth Prince, then father's actions would be equivalent to making a choice for the Anji Marquis Manor, grandmother will not agree, and father may also be suspected by the emperor." Qingjin's words hit the mark, she was confident that her father Gu Haili's final choice would also coincide with her wishes.

  As expected. Gu Huai Li heard Qing Jin's words and began to lower his head in contemplation.

  Qing Jin glanced at the sky outside and said to Gu Huai Li, "Father, it's getting late, and I have to attend the princess's spring outing tomorrow, so I'll be leaving now."

  Upon hearing Qingjin's words, Gu Huai returned his head. Nodded: "What you said, father will consider it, however, tomorrow's spring outing..."

  "Tomorrow is not suitable, the princess's invitation includes only legitimate noble ladies from several prominent families in the capital. Qingxia is not suitable to go, if Father really wants her to go, there is only one way - that is to disguise herself as a maid."

  Upon hearing Qing Jin's words, Gu Huai Li furrowed his brow. If disguising herself as a maid was still necessary, it didn't seem quite right. However, he put aside the thoughts in his mind for the time being and spoke to Qing Jin: "Father knows about this, so let's just forget about it for now. Father will think of another way. You're busy tomorrow, go back and rest for now."

  Qing Jin bowed to Gu Huai Li and then turned around and left.

  The next day, the weather was fine. The breeze was gentle and refreshing.

  Qing Jin and Qing Yao rode their horses out of the Anji Marquis's mansion, with Gu Qingxia's jealous and Gu Qingqi's admiring eyes behind them.

  After leaving the Anji Marquis's mansion, Qingjin and Qingyao rode their horses at a moderate pace onto the main streets of the capital city, heading in the direction of the city gate. The princess had invited them to go on a spring outing to Xishan, also known as the Western Mountain Villa, located outside the imperial city.

  It is said to be the Xishan Villa, but in fact it is a hunting ground for royal princes and princesses to relax and entertain. There are some wild animals that are not very aggressive inside, of course this is not necessarily true, as this is under the premise of not being deeply explored.

  Without going deep into the Western Hills, the Western Hills as a royal hunting ground, imperial villa, with mountains and water, forests and springs, the scenery is quite good, just like now, it's still suitable for spring outings.

  Qing Jin and Qing Yao carefully rode their horses, avoiding the crowds, walking shoulder to shoulder in the direction of the city gate, chatting occasionally.

  After walking through the bustling streets, Qingyao suddenly asked Qingjin beside her: "Second sister, you usually like to wear red clothes, why didn't you wear your favorite red dress today, but instead wore a blue one?"

  Upon hearing Qing Yao's question, Qing Jin drove the horse and casually replied: "What, is it that my clothes are not proper?"

  "That's not it, but I notice that Second Sister usually wears red clothes, and Second Sister looks beautiful in red too. So why is Second Sister wearing green today?"

  "Red is great, but it's also nice to wear other colors sometimes. Fourth sister likes pink besides white, doesn't she?"

  When Qing Jin said this, Qing Yao originally wanted to say a few more words, but before she could speak, the sound of horseshoes came from behind them.

  "Are those Gu Er and Gu Si in front?" a voice came from behind.

  Upon hearing the voice, Qing Jin and Qing Yao simultaneously reined in their horses and turned around to look at the speaker. Once they saw the person clearly, Qing Jin spoke up: "It's actually Miss Yang! Greetings, Miss Yang."

  "Sister Yang, it's you! You look really beautiful in that red dress, just like my second sister. Unfortunately, my second sister isn't wearing a red dress today." Qingyao said this as she greeted Yang Wenhua.

  "Oh, Second Sister Gu also likes red clothes? I remember that last time when we came to the Yang residence as guests, Second Sister Gu was wearing green clothes, wasn't she?" Yang Wen Hua said, her eyes fixed on Qing Yu.

  "Yes, with a heroic spirit and a proud horse, I'll say something that won't make Yang sister laugh: in the past, I also had a dream of being a chivalrous heroine on the rivers and lakes." Qing Jin said to Yang Wen Hua with a half-true and half-false tone.

  Upon hearing Qingjin's words, Yang Wenhua was taken aback and smiled: "I didn't expect Second Sister Gu to be such an interesting person. I've heard that Second Sister Gu's horsemanship is quite good; would you like to have a match?"

  "It's an honor!" Qing Jin gladly accepted the invitation.

  "Alright, I'll go wait for my sister over there," he said, riding his horse past Qing Jin and Qing Yao, his playful gaze flashing across Qing Yao's face.

  "Second sister, Yao'er didn't mean it just now." Qingyao said apologetically to Qingyan as she watched Yang Wenhua ride off.

  "Oh, what did Fourth Sister do that was wrong to me?" Qing Jin heard Qing Yao's words and looked at her with a gaze.

  Qing Yao looked at Qing Jin's gaze and subconsciously dodged a bit, saying: "Second sister, I..."

  "All right, I was just joking with Fourth Sister. I'll go racing horses with Yang Niang, and Fourth Sister can follow slowly behind!" With that, he didn't even wait for Gu Qingyao to respond, and with a flick of his whip, he galloped off in the direction of Yang Wenhua.

  Qing Yao watched as Qing Jin rode her horse to Yang Wen Hua's side, and after saying something to him, the two of them galloped out together. At first they rode shoulder to shoulder, but slowly they pulled away from each other, chasing and competing with each other, both full of spirit and energy. A look of admiration flashed in Qing Yao's eyes as she urged her horse forward, chasing after Qing Jin and Yang Wen Hua.

  Qing Jin and Yang Wen Hua rode their horses, and in an instant they appeared on the outskirts of the capital city.

  In the early spring, the mountain color was like smoke, and the grass color was clear and shallow. The air was filled with the fragrance of mud and vegetation. Qing Jin rode his horse, looking at Yang Wen Hua who was one step ahead, took a deep breath of fresh air, cracked his whip, and the horse under him accelerated its speed, overtaking Yang Wen Hua in front.

  Yang Wenhua saw Qingjin take the lead and immediately spurred his horse to chase after her. When he caught up with Qingjin, he said, "Sister Gu's horsemanship really surprises me!"

  Qing Jin smiled and replied: "Yang's words are not bad either!"

  Two people talking, speeding along, yet arriving at the finish line together.

  At the same time, Qingjin and Yang Wenhua exchanged a smile, ready to determine the outcome again.

  "Second sister, Yang sister, wait for me." Just as Qing Jin and Yang Wen Hua were about to gallop away on horseback, they heard Qing Yao's voice behind them.

  "It seems we can't continue today, let's settle this another day." Yang Wenhua said to Qingjin.

  "I'm always ready." Qing Jin responded calmly to Yang Wen Hua's provocative words.

  Upon hearing Qing Jin's words, Yang Wen Hua rode his horse to Qing Jin's side and looked at Qing Yao who was riding over, then opened his mouth to say: "Gu Er Mei Mei, did you offend Gu Si Mei somewhere? I think Gu Si Mei doesn't seem to like this sister of yours."

  Upon hearing Yang Wen Hua's words, Qing Jin's eyes flashed, but her face remained calm as she opened her mouth: "Why would Miss Yang say such a thing? My fourth sister and I have always gotten along well, how could I possibly offend my fourth sister?"

  Looking at Qing Jin's feigned surprise, Yang Wen Hua took a deep look at her and smiled after a moment: "That's good, maybe I was just being paranoid, originally thought that Gu Er Mei... didn't expect, Gu Er Mei is actually hiding her true self, this is also good..."

  "Eldest Sister Yang, what are you talking to my second sister about?" Qingyao asked with a smile as she rode her horse over, having seen from afar that Qingjin and Yang Wenhua were chatting and laughing together.

  Yang Wenhua, with a pure and innocent face, blinked her eyes and called out to Qingyao with a bright smile, "I'll tell you again, Cousin Gu, Cousin Si is a beauty!"

  Qing Yao heard Yang Wen Hua's words and immediately said with some embarrassment: "Sister Yang, you're teasing me."

  Qing Jin quietly listened to Yang Wen Hua and Qing Yao's conversation beside her.

  "Ask your second sister and you'll know whether I'm telling the truth or not." Yang Wen Hua smiled, throwing the topic onto Qing Jin's body.

  "Alright, Sister Yang, don't stir up trouble between us sisters. The princess should have arrived at Xishan by now, let's hurry over!" Qingjin successfully changed the subject.

  "Sister Yang? You've always called me Miss Yang, why are you calling me Sister Yang now?"

  "Sister Yang is older than me to begin with, and was previously called Miss Yang. It's just that I wasn't familiar with Sister Yang before, so I rashly called her Sister Yang, fearing that she would lose face in front of me. Now that we're familiar, I naturally dare to call her that." Qingjin said cutely.