After leaving Nanshan City, Su Liang and his party did not travel day and night, and they did not walk very fast.
Gu Ling spent half a day to determine the most comfortable driving speed and asked the driver to maintain it. It should not be too fast or bumpy at all.
In addition, Gu Ling tried his best to ensure that Su Liang could eat three meals a day, including fruit snacks.
People traveling with him saw Gu Ling's omnipotence and his doting on Su Liang more intuitively.
When he stayed in the hotel again, Qiu Cong couldn't help but go to Situ Jing's room to educate him, "Are you as good-looking as him? What else can you do besides martial arts? He is a superb cook, can you? He is good at playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
Proficient, can you do it? His carving is superb, do you understand? He can even do needlework, do you know why Su Liang calls him a master?"
Situ Jing was a little speechless, "Grandpa, I have no idea about Su Liang."
Qiu Cong snorted, "I'm talking about Gu Ling. He is better than you, knows more than you, and his past experience is not much better than yours. Why doesn't he want to use his power to prove himself?"
Situ Jing's face turned gloomy and he remained silent.
Qiu Cong knew at a glance that he was still unwilling to accept his fate. When he was angry, he remembered what Su Liang had said before, looked at Situ Jing coldly and said, "If you insist on seeking skin from a tiger, I can't stop you."
Situ Jing said in a deep voice, "Didn't Gu Ling ask me to work as a craftsman in Liang Kingdom after my eyes recover?"
"If you don't want to go and want to stay, I'll go find Su Liang and beg her! Are you willing to stay?" Qiu Cong asked coldly.
Situ Jing shook his head, "Their family will never accept me. I am not grandpa, and grandpa is not me. I know that grandpa is really good for me, but there is no need to worry about me in the future. Grandpa took his sister with Su Liang
, I will live a good life. I choose the path at my own risk."
Qiu Cong looked at Situ Jing's firm and decisive eyes, turned around and left in disappointment.
Early the next morning, Qiuyue knocked on Situ Jing's door to deliver some water for washing, but no one answered for a long time.
When Qiu Cong heard the sound, he came over and pushed the door open. He saw that the bedding on the bed was neat and the baggage on the table was gone.
"Master, is he... gone?" Qiuyue was stunned.
Qiu Cong had a stern look on his face, "If you leave, don't come back!"
When he saw Su Liang and Gu Ling again, Qiu Cong still spoke for Situ Jing, "I talked to him last night and my words were a bit harsh. He ran away that night. He must have gone to Liang Kingdom as you requested.
"
Su Liang shook his head calmly, "It doesn't matter."
Qiu Cong was stunned for a moment, "Don't you have anything to tell him to do?"
"No. Let him adapt to the situation and seize the throne." Su Liang said, "As long as Situ Xie will believe in him."
Qiu Cong sighed deeply. It's hard to say whether Situ Xie would suspect that Situ Jing had "changed his mind" and became a member of Su Liang's side. Situ Jing should have known that he would be in a difficult situation when he returned to Yaocheng this time, but he still insisted on going his own way.
Qiu Cong didn't want to say anything more about this. Situ Jing would bear the consequences for good or bad.
…
Because the journey was slow, by the time Su Liang and his entourage returned to the capital, Duanmu Chen's wedding and enthronement ceremony had already passed, and there was no disturbance in between.
Su Liang expected that Duanmu Chen would take over the group of masters that Duanmu Yi had trained for many years, otherwise it would not be so smooth. This is normal. Those masters are strong and not dead soldiers without ideas. They will naturally be loyal to whoever is in power.
Duanmu Yi's wishful thinking was very good, but unfortunately, he was still confused and overconfident for a while, thinking that he could control the situation as the Supreme Emperor. Little did he know that power is only useful if it is firmly grasped in his own hands. If he relaxes a little, he will be robbed by others.
go.
This opportunity was given to Duanmu Chen proactively by Duanmu Yi, and it was even justified for Duanmu Chen to take advantage of it. After all, it was still Su Liang who directly contributed to it.
It was dusk when we arrived in the capital, and there was a routine check at the city gate. Gu Ling, who was sitting in the first carriage, showed his face.
The defenders were instantly refreshed. They quickly bowed and saluted the swaying car curtain, "I've seen the Marquis!"
When the group entered the city, the news about Gu Ling and Su Liang's return spread quickly. At the same time, someone rushed to the palace to report. Because Duanmu Chen asked Chang'an to explain that if Gu Ling and Su Liang came back,
, report immediately.
By the time Gu Ling and Su Liang's carriage arrived outside the gate of Su Mansion, Duanmu Chen in the palace had already received the news.
To be honest, he was a little excited. Although Su Liang had left the capital for three months, she still affected many people and things. Duanmu Chen himself also knew that Su Liang was still the biggest contributor to the fact that he could easily get the throne this time.
.If the strength and intelligence of Su Liang and Gu Ling hadn't made Duanmu Yi jealous and unwilling to get rid of them, it would have been impossible to hand over the throne to Duanmu Chen.
"Your Majesty, would you like to invite General Su and Marquis Changxin to the palace?" Chang'an asked respectfully.
"Go..." Duanmu Chen said and glanced at the sky outside, "It's too late today. You go to the Su Mansion and check on my behalf to see if Su Liang is okay. If they don't ask to see me
, I asked Su Liang to come to the palace tomorrow to treat the Supreme Emperor."
Chang'an took the order and left the palace, sighing in his heart that although his identity had changed, Duanmu Chen still treated Su Liang very differently.
Then Duanmu Chen went to the Empress Dowager Xiao's place for dinner as usual. He also visited Duanmu Yi and "reported" to him today's political affairs.
But in the past, it was a real report, and Duanmu Yi's opinions had to be carefully listened to. Now, he just tells Duanmu Yi his thoughts, without Duanmu Yi's evaluation.
"Father, Su Liang and Gu Ling are back, unharmed." Duanmu Chen wiped Duanmu Yi's hands with a handkerchief, smiling and speaking calmly, "I really want to see her and have a good chat with her about this time.
But it will probably be tomorrow. I will let her go into the palace to treat my father. But the treatment is not important. The important thing is to let her see the father. The father should also want to see her, right?"
Duanmu Yi stared at Duanmu Chen, his lips trembling, still unable to make any clear sound.
"Father, don't be like this. Doctor Gao said that you need to relax and rest for this disease. Excessive mental fluctuations will only make the condition worse." Duanmu Chen threw the handkerchief into the basin and put Duanmu Yi's hand back under the quilt.
, stood up and said, "I will bring Su Liang over to visit my father tomorrow." After saying that, he went out.
When Xing Yuyan saw Duanmu Chen coming out of the inner room, she quickly stood up and greeted him with a smile.
Not long after they got married, Mrs. Xiao was teaching her daughter-in-law how to be a qualified queen. At first, she was gentle, but soon she discovered that Xing Yuyan looked obedient and obedient on the outside, but she had a lot of little thoughts behind her back, and she was actually acting in a treacherous way.
group.
This made Mrs. Xiao unhappy, so she became even more strict with her. She had to strictly follow the rules of the palace in everything she said and did. After discussing with Duanmu Chen, she replaced most of the servants around Xing Yuyan and specially arranged two nuns.
give her.
Last night, Xing Yuyan cried and complained to Duanmu Chen on her pillow, saying that the two maids who had served her since childhood were driven back to Zhongxinhou Mansion, and she was not used to being served by others.
Duanmu Chen was impatient, but he didn't show it. After all, the newlywed Yan'er was quite gentle to Xing Yuyan. He only said that this was the rule in the palace and the Queen Mother was doing it for her own good. Because there would be a draft to fill the harem soon, and there would be other
A lady from all over the world comes in to be her "sister". If the people around her are incompetent, they will lose the queen's face.
Xing Yuyan has never had any ideas, and she learned all those little ideas from Miao. Now that they are married, she naturally focuses on Duanmu Chen. After hearing this, she feels that Duanmu Chen is right, and the upcoming "sister" also makes her happy.
She felt a sense of crisis and stopped crying and making trouble.
After Duanmu Chen really got married to Xing Yuyan, he felt that she was not as bad as what he had heard before. After all, the Xing family has been aristocratic for generations. Miao's ability to become Xing Ji's wife was purely due to her good fortune and Xing Ji's eyesight was not very good when he was young and frivolous.
The first wife Qin Yuan had a misunderstanding with Xing Ji and died early.
Duanmu Chen has never been a romantic person, and he has always avoided falling into emotions that would affect his reason. In his eyes, Su Liang is a capable minister and the most important partner. As long as the women in his harem can bear children for him,
, just be obedient and not make a fuss. Xing Yuyan basically meets these requirements.
After all, in Duanmu Chen's eyes, the biggest advantage of Xing Yuyan is that she is Xing Ji's daughter. This alone allows Duanmu Chen to ignore other insignificant shortcomings.
…
Yan Yu and Lian Dong were overjoyed to see Su Liang and Gu Ling return.
Su Liang asked Rendong to arrange for the guests to stay first and prepare food and hot water. She and Gu Ling returned to Yuanming Pavilion. Yan Yu said to let them rest first and come over to talk later.
When he got to the stairs, Gu Ling tried to pick up Su Liang again out of habit, but she dodged him, "I can walk by myself. This is our home, I won't bump into her even if I close my eyes."
"Don't walk with your eyes closed." Gu Ling looked serious.
Su Liang smiled and held Gu Ling's arm, "I'm just using an analogy. Master, can you stop being so nervous? I have to make sure I get the right amount of exercise. It's good for my body."
Gu Ling knew, and he walked with Su Liang every day, even counting the steps, no more, no less.
He also knew that he was a little overly nervous, but he couldn't control it. After all, he was a father for the first time and had no experience. He always felt that Su Liang was working hard. He wanted to share some of the burden, but he couldn't.
Gu Ling hugged Su Liang and went upstairs. What she saw was bright red decoration. This place was supposed to be their bridal chamber, but the two of them did not live at home on the day of their wedding.
"It's not a good time now. After the baby is born, we can have a good wedding night." Su Liang said with a smile.
Gu Ling nodded, "I've written it down."
Let Su Liang rest in the room, Gu Ling asked her what she wanted to eat, and he went to prepare it.
"Let's just cook something light, it's so late." Su Liang said. She had mentioned before that Gu Ling didn't have to cook for her every day, but he insisted, saying that this was the way he and Su Liang would raise the baby together.
…
While Gu Ling was cooking, Chang An came.
In the past, when Chang An came to the house, Su Liang would jump out of the window to talk to him, but now she didn't dare to do that for fear of scaring Gu Ling.
Chang'an stood by the lake in front of Yuanming Pavilion. After waiting for a while, Su Liang came out.
"Mrs. Gu." Chang'an bowed his hands and changed his title. Su Liang is getting married, so he can no longer call her Miss Su.
Su Liang raised her eyebrows. No one had ever called her that. It was very new and sounded good.
"Does your Majesty have any orders?" Su Liang asked.
Chang'an smiled, "The emperor just ordered his subordinates to come down and see if Mrs. Gu is okay."
"Okay." Su Liang nodded, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
Seeing that Su Liang was still the same as before, Chang'an didn't like nonsense, and didn't expect her to take the initiative to go to the palace to meet the saint tonight, so he directly said that Duanmu Chen asked Su Liang and Gu Ling to go to the palace tomorrow.
"I know." Su Liang agreed.
When Chang'an was wondering why Gu Ling didn't show up, he saw a man walking out of the small kitchen next to Yuanming Pavilion, with an apron tied around his waist and a shiny kitchen knife in his hand. Under the moonlight, his cold face was still beautiful.
Astonishing, who else could it be if it wasn’t Gu Ling?
"I've met Lord Marquis." Chang'an saluted quickly.
Gu Ling didn't come over, he just looked at Chang'an and said, "You can leave."
Chang'an silently glanced at the kitchen knife in Gu Ling's hand, then turned and left.
When he returned to the palace and saw Duanmu Chen, Changan reported the situation of his meeting with Su Liang, and he finished it in a few sentences.
"When I came down, Gu Hou was cooking." Chang'an described the appearance of Gu Ling he saw.
Duanmu Chen looked confused, "Gu Ling? Cooking by yourself? Didn't they all do it in the past like Su Liang did?"
After learning that Gu Ling was the "Ningjing" in Sujiacun, Duanmuchen was a little speechless at the two people's behavior of getting married again and again, as if they were joking, but he believed that they were really married now. But he still couldn't imagine Gu Ling
Like cooking.
"Gu Hou has always been hard to see through," Chang'an commented.
Duanmu Chen said in a faint tone, "What's so obvious about this? In the past, he and Su Liang had not yet settled down, and they lived together and did things separately. Now he is conquered by Su Liang, and he is willing to do anything for Su Liang."
Upon hearing this, Chang'an nodded repeatedly, "Your Majesty is wise."
Duanmu Chen sighed, "Looking at it now, compared with when they were in Sujiacun, except for the relationship between the two of them changing from friends to husband and wife, nothing else has changed. Whether they are in a small mountain village or in the capital, even if they are sitting in front of each other,
I have a huge fortune, but my status and status are not the same as in the past. I still like to cook for myself and don’t like to be waited on.”
Chang'an nodded, "My subordinates feel that Gu Hou and Mrs. Gu have not used servants because they don't want to be disturbed. Just now, my subordinates said a few words to Mrs. Gu, and Gu Hou drove them away with a kitchen knife."
Duanmu Chen's lips twitched slightly, "Did Gu Ling overreact? Could it be that he thought any man could take Su Liang away from him?"
Changan shook his head, "This is impossible."
"So, think about it and see if there is something that makes Gu Ling annoying, so he doesn't want to see you." Duanmu Chen hummed.
Chang'an:...He is sure that he has not offended those two people.
"Alas, I really want to go to the Su Mansion now and try Gu Ling's craftsmanship, but they are not welcome." Duanmu Chen sighed, "Although those two people always didn't give me face in Sujia Village, but now I think about it.
, I still find it very interesting. I am really destined to them."
…
Su Mansion, Yuanming Pavilion.
Yan Yu chatted with Su Liang for a while and then went back. He was afraid that she would be tired and asked her to rest early.
Su Liang was really sleepy. After bathing, Gu Ling helped her dry her hair, lay down and fell asleep quickly.
Early the next morning, Su Liang woke up and thought about entering the palace today, so she asked Gu Ling, "Do I want to tell the emperor about my pregnancy?"
Gu Ling nodded, "I told you, there's no need to salute."
After breakfast, Liandong prepared the carriage, and Su Liang and Gu Ling went into the palace. As soon as they left, Mr. Qin, Lin Shuzhi, Mrs. Xing, Xing Yusheng and Lin Xueqing all came to the door. After learning that they had entered the palace, everyone came to the door one after another.
He said it was okay, they were all very familiar with Su Mansion, they were fishing, chatting, waiting for Su Liang to come back.
Chang'an waited at the palace gate, picked up Su Liang and Gu Ling, and took them to the royal study.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Gu and Mrs. Gu have arrived." Chang'an reported respectfully.
Duanmu Chen put down the book in his hand, looked at the door, and said one word, "Come in."
Gu Ling took Su Liang in her arms and walked in. Chang An closed the door behind them. There were no guards, no maids or eunuchs inside.
When Duanmu Chen saw Su Liang, a smile appeared on his face, "You are back."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Su Liang stopped and held his hands.
Duanmu Chen actually wanted to see if these two people would bow to him when they saw him again, now that their identities had changed.
As a result, they were standing upright, not even kneeling down, not even bending their waists.
Although Duanmu Chen had no such request for Su Liang, if she really wanted to kneel down, Duanmu Chen would be surprised and would definitely spare her the kneeling ceremony.
But Duanmu Chen felt that he should at least bend down to show respect? After all, he is the emperor! Are these two people testing him? Demonstrating to him? Provoking him?
Just when Duanmu Chen felt a little uncomfortable and was thinking about how to deal with it, he saw Su Liang smile slightly, caressing his belly and said, "Your Majesty, I'm happy."
Duanmu Chen was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Su Liang was explaining why she didn't bend down. It was difficult for Duanmu Chen to have any objection to this reason. Because looking at Su Liang's eyes and smile, she was clearly sharing her joy with him, and also
It's really a happy thing. Why don't you bow? How can it be more important that Su Liang and Gu Ling combine to give birth to the most beautiful and smartest baby in the world?
Duanmu Chen laughed and said, "Congratulations to both of you! Sit down quickly! When the child is born, accept me as your adoptive father!"
When Xing Yusheng said this, Su Liang gave him a roll of the eyes. When Lin Wei said this, Gu Ling kicked him away.
However, Duanmu Chen was the emperor after all, and Su Liang had to give him face, so he declined with a smile, "There are too many people who want to be the baby's adoptive father. I'm worried that he will be spoiled by then."
The corner of Duanmu Chen's mouth twitched slightly, "I spared you the gift for the sake of my children."
Su Liang and Gu Ling looked at each other. They had already talked about this, and it would be bad if they refused.
So Su Liang nodded, "Then I would like to thank the Emperor for his love for the baby."