?

  Zhang Xuan looked at Gao Xiao with a fixed gaze, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  Not wanting him to recognize himself, Gao lowered his head and avoided him. It wasn't until Zhang Xuan took a step back to leave that he lifted his head again.

  In Jiankang City, Gao Xue only stayed for five or six days before leaving. The current Jiankang City is a city of feasts and songs every night, from inside to outside, it exudes a kind of pathological luxury that is completely different from the land of Sui, which makes people who have seen the world feel suffocated in their chest, always with a sense of desolation. Under their strong request, Gao Xue had to set off early.

  When he arrived outside Hangzhou City, he saw a horse-drawn carriage on the official road from afar.

  Seeing the familiar sign of the horse carriage, Cheng Shi and others let out a cheer and galloped off immediately.

  Before long, Gao Jian and his men rushed up close.

  At this moment, a horse carriage was also rushing in this direction from the front not far away. However, the horse carriage stopped after rushing for more than 100 steps, and then, a beautiful young girl wearing a fiery red dress walked out of the horse carriage.

  The girl stretched out her head, towards the front carriage, and stared at the black-clothed man who was looking at Gao Xue and others, after sizing him up for a few moments, her eyes shining brightly as she turned back to call out: "Sister Mei, it's really him!"

  As soon as the girl's voice fell, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a 15 or 16-year-old girl who was dressed up and had elegant manners also stuck out her head.

  The beautiful young girl Mei sister looked at the black-clad man with a fixed gaze, her eyes revealing a joyful expression. She said in a low voice: "This time, we can't miss it again."

  At this time, Gao Ji and others had already joined forces with the black-clothed man. Seeing them laughing and chatting in a group, seeing a young man with an ordinary face among the crowd calling out to the black-clothed man "Father", Mei's eyes flashed with disdain. She said in a low voice: "I knew it, his wife is nothing but this."

  This man in black is so rarely handsome, but his son looks ordinary. Is it that the wife he married doesn't look good or what?

  Sister Mei's eyes shone brightly as she stared at the handsome man in black. The girl in red couldn't help but remind her, "But Sister Mei, he already has a son, and even if he were willing to divorce his wife and marry you, you would still be a stepmother."

  Listening to the red-dressed girl's words, a hint of disdain flashed in Mei's eyes, but she quickly hid her emotions. She focused on looking at the black-dressed man and explained in a low voice: "You don't understand this, it's better to be a concubine of a noble family than to be a wife of a commoner. Look at everyone who appears by his side, they are all extremely brave and respectful to him. Moreover, last time he casually threw out 100 taels of gold to those village elders. If he wasn't extremely wealthy, how could he do that?"

  She sighed and said, "The world is getting worse by the day. Who knows when the Sui people will come over? In times of war and chaos, only these wealthy and powerful nobles can enjoy peace."

  "When it comes to this, Sister Mei said in a low voice: 'Later on, you don't say anything, I'll take care of it.' This partner of hers was loyal but had a big mouth and was rather foolish. She didn't want her to mess things up."

  The girl in the red dress didn't notice Meijie's warning, and she continued to chatter: "But but...Meijie, even if you're smart and good at using medicine, I still feel that something is off. Look at the way he stares at people, it's really frightening. He looked at me for a moment just now, and my legs are still trembling."

  Hearing her companion speak so lightly, and actually mentioning that she would use medicine in such a casual manner, a hint of annoyance flashed across Mei's eyes.

  She may have an ordinary background, but wasn't that Guifei just a general's daughter? Besides, she's not asking for the emperor of a country, just looking for a capable and powerful noble. With her beauty and intelligence, why can't she live a life better than others?

  As for becoming his concubine, humph, she hadn't even thought about it. There's a saying that "rare goods can be kept at home", she just wanted to quietly get close to this man and become indispensable to him, then find an opportunity to get rid of his wife, and finally let him formally marry her into the family!

  A woman's most valuable asset is her body, isn't it? If she doesn't take advantage of her youth to get a good price and find a good backer, won't she end up marrying some ordinary man and spending the rest of her life worrying about money?

  What can he do about it? If heaven and earth are destroyed by human actions, I just want to live a good life, is that also wrong?

  Thinking of this, Sister Mei turned her head and gently smiled at the girl behind her: "Yu'er, you go back first."

  "Why?"

  Sister Mei bit her lip and said with some embarrassment: "I, I'll explain to you later, Yu'er, why don't you go back first?" Sister Mei's eyes were filled with a pleading gaze, and her tone was extremely gentle. The red-dressed girl, although unwilling, nodded and said: "Alright, okay."

  She watched Yu'er get into the carriage and leave her, until she disappeared from her line of sight. Only then did Mei sister hastily turn back.

  At this time, Gao Ji and others got on the carriage, and the team started.

  Just as they were about to set off, a girl's sharp cry suddenly came, "Brother! Is that you? Brother!"

  Among the cheers and applause, a shrill cry pierced through, causing everyone to turn their heads in unison. About twenty meters ahead, Mei sister was rushing towards them with her long hair disheveled, tears streaming down her face, and snot running from her nose.

  She rushed forward in a hurry, with a silly look on her face as if she couldn't see anyone else except the person in her eyes. At this time, Gao Zhang Gong's carriage had already set off, and Mei sister was so foolish that she rushed straight towards the several tall horses.

  She rushed over in a great hurry, completely without regard for anything else. Even Yu Fu, who was actually quite skilled at handling horses, was startled. And in the moment that he was startled, Mei had already rushed to the front of Gao Zhanggong's carriage, her small body completely under the hooves of the frightened and rearing horse!

  "Not good!" Several guards were shocked and rushed out. In an instant, Sister Mei was successfully scooped up by a guard.

  Escaping from danger, Mei's sister had a pale and elegant face, but in the blink of an eye, she struggled down from the guard's body and rushed towards Gao Changgong in the carriage, shouting hoarsely: "Brother, brother, I'm Meier, don't you recognize me? Brother——"

  A shrill sound pierced through with endless expectation and joy.

  Mei sister rushed to Gao Changgong's carriage, only to see her scattered hair, raised her head and looked at Gao Changgong with a pitiful gaze.

  This scene came too suddenly. Until now, everyone just reacted.

  After a brief moment of silence, a loud and sudden laughter came from behind Sister Mei. "This girl, your method of recognizing relatives is quite off the charts."

  His voice was full of jest, "No need to mention anything else. My father's appearance and demeanor are still hard to find in the world. Are you sure he looks exactly like that brother of yours?"

  Stroking his own smooth chin, he blinked his eyes curiously and stretched his face in front of Sister Mei, asking seriously: "You're not thinking of relying on my father, are you, that's why you called me like this?"

  What's this?

  Mei's expression changed.

  But at a glance, she remembered that her face was elegant and refined, giving people a sense of culture and refinement. As long as she gritted her teeth and didn't admit it, what could this young man do to her?

  She was just thinking that when she looked up at Gao Xue's eyes, which were so clear they seemed to see right through her. Before she could help it, she shrank back a little, but then she saw Gao Xue smile and lean in closer to her. He winked at Mei and said with a grin, "Little girl, let me introduce you to this man you're trying to cling to. First of all, he's not stupid, and secondly, he's not some inexperienced guy who's never seen a woman before. So your little tricks won't work on him at all. Oh, and by the way, he's also a ruthless and merciless person. Even if you were to strip naked in front of him and try to get him to take responsibility, he'd just give you a sword through the heart. And oh yeah, I forgot to mention the most important thing: he has a wife, my mother, who is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and she's perfectly matched with him - much more so than you are."

  With a serious expression, Gao Xue said: "I see that you have a determined gaze, you're not someone who likes to be inferior to others. How about you marry me?"

  Here is the translation:

  "Speaking of which, Gao Xue shook her head and said, "Marriage is a big deal, it's better to be cautious. Why don't we start over? You can crash into the carriage again and recognize your brother, but the brother you recognize cannot be my father. This is very important, absolutely cannot make a mistake!"

  Gao's words were sarcastic and biting. Under such an attack, I'm afraid no one can hold on.

  Finally, Mei sister also turned pale.

  Seeing her pale face and body shrinking back, Gao Xian stopped pressing her. He smiled and walked to the side, flipped over and got on his horse.

  As Gao Jiayin retreated, the horse carriage also set off, and Mei sister, shaking her head, let this noble team leave her line of sight.

  At this time, there were still many passersby who noticed this scene and pointed at her.

  However, Meizi never minded the gaze of others. She just lowered her head and thought about her own mistakes: that young man had said something right - he was not stupid and had seen women before, so her tricks didn't work on him. Right, this time she made another big mistake, which was that she shouldn't have used her tricks when there were so many people around... It's no wonder it didn't work out for her. After all, the last time she saw him was half a year ago, and she was afraid of missing this opportunity to meet again - who knows when the next chance would be, in half a year or even a whole year?

  Slowly raising her head, Mei sister gritted her teeth and stared at the departing troops, thinking to herself: It seems my plan was too high-handed. These nobles have been through many romantic entanglements and are all too familiar with women's tricks. Next time, I won't target such nobles again.

  While Mei was lost in thought, she saw Hong Chang Gong and others passing by the red-dressed girl on the other side, and hurriedly urged the carriage to come over and pick her up.

  Looking at the familiar carriage that was gradually appearing in her field of vision, Mei sister smiled and said: This foolish thing is not entirely without its good points. In a moment, she lowered her head again, thinking about where to find a target who had not experienced many women, with a decent appearance, family background, and wealth. It's also a pity that a woman like her, who is intelligent, beautiful, and capable, would become someone's concubine. Wouldn't it be better to find an unmarried man and become his legitimate wife?

  Gao Zhang Gong and his entourage slowly entered Hangzhou City.

  As they walked, Gao Xian suddenly said: "Cheng Shu, you'd better send someone to find that guy and tell him clearly that there's no such person as Lijie in this world. Uh, just tell him directly that I had a man disguise himself as Lijie to disgust him."

  What's wrong with our young master? Why has he changed his mind again?

  Shang Chengshi's gaze, Gao Xue stretched out a lazy waist, sighed and said: "I didn't discover it, the means are also divided into high and low! Look at that woman just now, those means were really not worth looking at. Ah, that guy is after all a number one figure, how can he be buried by a false woman's ambition? How about letting him regain his spirit and then we'll have a fair fight, only then can it be called a man's contest!"

  The words were spoken with great momentum, and it was impossible not to shout out in praise. Just as the two of them were chatting and laughing, a cheer came from ahead. Gao Xue raised her head to look, and it was Ah Lu's family's children and daughters, who had already run over to them, shouting and cheering. The sunlight shone on their smiling faces, radiant like spring flowers.

  ?##3

  After working for many years, I have indeed encountered several women who would stop at nothing. I recall that one year when we were still living in a dormitory, one of my roommates openly told us that her boyfriend was someone she had found an opportunity to drug and then forced him to take responsibility. She also said that now he wants to get rid of me? What a cheap thing to do! His family is so good. I will die clinging to him, even if it means going down together, I won't let go of him. Three days later, she announced that she was pregnant and got married with that boyfriend. (Of course, she wasn't actually pregnant. The pregnancy test result was bought with money.)

  At that time I was still young, when I heard the declaration of that roommate, I kept thinking in my heart, would she be happy? Could she be happy?

  However, that roommate said frankly that she is short, dark and fat, and her appearance is not good. She seems to have an ordinary family background, and maybe she will follow the normal path. It's probably impossible for her to find a husband like that anyway?

  Such examples are actually many, when working in Guangdong, it is almost always possible to hear encounters.

  To me, I am despicable.

  Many times, when I see those stories about mistresses, I think to myself. Is there really a difference between the kind of woman who uses deception and schemes to steal someone's marriage and become their wife, and those mistresses? Honestly, I'm still a bit confused about this point.

  As mentioned earlier, the Zheng Yu in this book is based on the second speculation of Lang Ling Wang's unrequited love, that is, after setting up that Lang Ling Wang had never touched her. When setting up the character of Zheng Yu, I fantasized about this role according to these women.

  She initially chose this husband with a component of childhood sweetheart, and also knew that he was loyal and did not have the thoughts of elders. Then, when she was willing to marry him, it was because he had been formally appointed as the King of Lanling (otherwise, with Zheng Yu's means, it would have been possible to force her family to agree to this marriage arrangement before he became king). In this book, Gao Zhanggong didn't get engaged until he was over 20 years old, which is several years later than normal. During those years, Zhang Gui never appeared, so what was Zheng Yu doing? She was just waiting for the right price.

  It can be said that from start to finish, Zheng Yu was going to marry Langling Wang, not Gao Changgong. If he had never been valued by the emperor, if he had always been a small person who was bullied by all the imperial relatives, then Zheng Yu's childhood vow to him would have been just a joke long ago. It can also be said that Zheng Yu's words to Gao Changgong when they were young were more of a restraint on Gao Changgong as a person. At first, she was unintentional, but later it was intentional, after she knew Gao Changgong's loyal nature, she used a joke to leave herself a backup plan.

  It can be said that in my setup, Zheng Yu chose Gao Chang Gong, more than 80% of which contains utilitarian elements. The remaining 20% may have the emotional connection left from his childhood protection, or perhaps some of the feelings left from so many years of being childhood friends.

  Then, from a psychological perspective, once a woman chooses a man, no matter what her original intention was, as long as she still wants to move forward, she will subconsciously tell herself that she likes him and cares about him. Just like Zheng Yu later with He Shikai, when facing his humiliation and trampling, she had hatred in her heart because she knew she was powerless to resist, let alone take revenge, so she forced herself to accept him and forget the hatred. Therefore, in the book, Zheng Yu's feelings for Gao Changgong seem deeper than what I mentioned above.

  After saying so much, I just want to say that in this book, I have three things I want to express. One is a question I asked myself a long time ago: can a marriage obtained through deception and trickery be happy? I think it cannot be happy. (As for creating the character of Zhang Gui, it was my own idea to let my imagined Langya Wang finally obtain a loving marriage, rather than the tragic hero in history, who in his short 32 years of life had never experienced the bitterness and sweetness of love, had never enjoyed the satisfaction and joy of a happy marriage, and had never obtained the happiness of having children and grandchildren. Of course, all this is based on the premise that the historical Langya Wang and his wife Zheng Shi had no children because he hardly ever touched her.)

  The second thing I want to express is, take a step back and the sky will be wide open.

  Thirdly, I want to express that none of us are perfect, we all have scars and flaws everywhere, so we don't have the qualification to ask our partner to be as perfect as a tailor-made glove from heaven that fits every button of ours perfectly.

  The book is now officially over, and perhaps it has many disappointing places. However, it's finally over, isn't it? With its conclusion, the love story about the Langling King I imagined and a certain beauty also came to an end. Now, what I need to do is completely forget about it and start my next journey. Friends, a beautiful story about another woman and man is about to begin, let's chase after it together!