I Became the Eye Candy: Four Bigshots Claimed to be My Dad?

Chapter 497: Why Don’t the Three of Us Share a Family Tree

The incident with the executed madam was a wake-up call. She realized they would likely be unable to understand or endure the things she planned to do. From now on, unless absolutely necessary, she would not tell them about her plans, to spare them the mental anguish.

Ye Qianning returned directly to Yuehua Small Building. Before long, Luo Wen came to report that Prime Minister Gao and the Crown Prince of Xi Yan had left the General’s manor.

’Xiliu Yuan and Xi Fengying met, presumably to discuss their departure from the Capital City.’

’Now that the business at the General’s manor was over, the only thing left was the alliance with Nanyuan. A message from Nanyuan would take half a month at the earliest.’

’She’d heard that Helian Chen had fallen ill, and Prince Yu had requested a delay in their departure from the Emperor.’

’As long as Nanyuan didn’t reply and no contract was signed, they wouldn’t be able to take the seeds.’

’Then there was the matter of East Shu, which Ye Qianning couldn’t shake. She refused to believe they would leave the Capital City so easily. Yet, when the Princess of East Shu visited Sang Zhi, she had only mentioned his maternal grandmother and nothing more.’

’By her calculations, there were only a few days left until their scheduled departure from the Capital City. She had to keep a close watch on them during this time.’

—

「The next day, the ninth of the fifth month.」

Today was the wedding day of Gao Yunyue and Gu Yuan. Since Mrs. Gao had been repudiated, she could not personally see her daughter off. She stood outside the gates, bawling her eyes out.

The Gu family’s wedding was extremely simple. Gu Yuan, dressed in red robes, rode a tall horse, followed by a bridal sedan and a small band of musicians.

The Gao family’s arrangements were also very simple, with only a few red lanterns hung. Gu Yuan dismounted, went inside, and carried Gao Yunyue out to the bridal sedan before quickly heading back.

The Gu family was in the middle of dividing its assets. Although some assets couldn’t be touched, Gao Yunyue marrying in now meant she was just in time to receive a share.

There was no grand wedding. Although Gao Yunyue was very dissatisfied, she didn’t say anything. The extra share of the Gu family’s fortune was worth many times more than any betrothal gift.

No guests were invited to a banquet. They went straight to the ceremonial bows, and with that, the wedding was considered complete.

Aside from the other branches of the Gu family, no one else attended. They were all at the prefectural office, busy auditing the account books, each afraid someone else would secretly stash away assets.

Naturally, the other branches of the family were quite unhappy about Gu Yuan marrying in the midst of dividing the assets. Had the division happened earlier, their own shares would have been larger. Now, they had to account for one extra portion.

Along with their dissatisfaction, they also lamented that if their own sons had married, or if they’d had a few more children, they could have claimed several more shares of the inheritance.

’Sigh, who would have thought the Old Master would suddenly decide to divide the family assets!’

「The fifteenth of the fifth month.」

The East Shu envoys left the Capital City on schedule. Ye Qianning stood atop the city gate, personally watching them depart.

During this time, Chu Yue had entered the palace once to see Sang Zhi. She asked him for a portrait and a keepsake, saying she wanted to bring them to his maternal grandmother to ease her longing.

Someone from East Shu had secretly approached Xi Yan, but the chain of contact was convoluted.

Some of her birds weren’t very intelligent. After a few handoffs and passing through many different people, the trail became muddled for them, and they failed to capture much useful information.

’It was unclear what terms East Shu and Xi Yan had agreed upon.’

Moreover, Ye Qianning didn’t believe East Shu would truly leave. She secretly sent people to follow them and would only be at ease once they left Beili’s territory.

On the eighteenth of the fifth month, the Emperor of Xi Yan sent two letters. One was for the Beili Emperor, and one was for the Crown Prince.

The letter to the Beili Emperor stated that their Eldest Princess had fallen gravely ill and was temporarily unable to make the long journey to Beili for the wedding. The matter of the marriage date would be revisited once the princess recovered.

Xiliu Yuan’s letter was from the Emperor of Xi Yan, urging him to return to the country.