Under the blue sky, on the blue waters, the gentle sea breeze blows through them. Xingwei slowly raised the huge sails and sailed away from Shanghai Port.

Standing on the deck, looking at the shrinking city of Shanghai, Gu Yongyuan sighed softly. Last night, after the farewell ball hosted by the consuls of many countries, Lin Wanxue left Shanghai and left a letter. Coincidentally, Boss Lin arranged for a ship to transport the guns to Hong Kong Island, and then to Guangdong, Guizhou and other places.

In this world, by the standards of this world, he is indeed a somewhat useless playboy, neither literate nor martial. He didn't know if Lin Wanxue would feel resentful for sacrificing herself for him. However, divorce is not popular in this world, and with Lin Wanxue's character, he believes that she will eventually settle down with him.

Near the railing of the ship, one of his personal guards, Zibsongao, was lovingly polishing his pistol. Having witnessed the sharpness of Western firearms, Qi Bu Songao and others were very excited about the short rifles provided by Gu Yongyuan. They can't wait to go home and show off.

Gu Yongyuan smiled faintly. At least now he's changing the way people around him think about the world.

...

In the palace of King Yong, the lanterns are colorful. After the ship arrived in Zhigu (Tianjin), Gu Yongyuan had already sent someone to inform the government first. The eyes of the prince and his wife were full of expectation, counting the days, and today is here.

The winding path of Huiyuan is quiet, the strange stones are lined up one after another, the pavilions and trees loom among the trees, and the flowers and plants are luxuriant. Sitting in the pavilion drinking tea and chatting, there is a waterfall next to it, more than ten zhang high, making a melodious sound.

Mrs. Wang hugged Gu Yongyuan and cried so much that her voice was choked. This made Gu Yongyuan feel quite embarrassed. Although he felt that he had changed during this trip, he found that in the eyes of his parents, he was still a fragile flower that could not withstand the breeze.

"Didn't those Westerners trouble you? I heard that there was also a skirmish there, and you still went? Scared the hell out of me. The princess had red eyes and wiped her tears with an embroidered handkerchief. She has a dignified appearance and looks to be in her thirties.

"Don't worry, the queen mother, everything is fine with me, this trip is very smooth, and even the emperor has issued a decree to praise me." Gu Yongyuan hurriedly appeased the prince's wife.

The prince smiled and said, "Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, you have a family and a business, why are you crying?" Isn't that what you want? ”

Gu Yongyuan asked suspiciously, "Get married and start a family?" ”

The prince smiled and pinched Gu Yongyuan's shoulder. "Young man, if you want to be promising, your mother and I are waiting for you to give us a healthy grandchild."

Mrs. Wang wiped her tears and smiled with tears. "You don't know yet, do you? The emperor chose a girl from the Hui Zheng family for you, since you have taken a fancy to her, as soon as the prince inquired, the girl's nickname is Miaoqing, she will be fourteen years old this year, she is beautiful, has a good temperament, her sister is a noblewoman, her family background is innocent, her ancestor is a university scholar, and she is not wronged by marrying into our house. I believe that this marriage is quite smooth. ”

Although Gu Yongyuan had long known that he had no say in this kind of matter, as the time approached, he couldn't help but sigh. However, he still nodded and said, "Yes, father, mother, don't worry, I understand." Although he was the first to come up with the idea of marriage, it was an extraordinary privilege to grant someone the status of a favored concubine without going through the usual selection process.

"The wedding date is set for the fifth day of the next month, which is the best day in this half year." The prince smiled heartily.

Gu Yongyuan asked suspiciously, "Get married and start a family?" ”

The prince smiled and pinched Gu Yongyuan's shoulder. "Young man, if you want to be promising, your mother and I are waiting for you to give us a healthy grandchild."

Mrs. Wang wiped her tears and smiled with tears. "You don't know yet, do you? The emperor chose a girl from the Hui Zheng family for you, since you have taken a fancy to her, as soon as the prince inquired, the girl's nickname is Miaoqing, she will be fourteen years old this year, she is beautiful, has a good temperament, her sister is a noblewoman, her family background is innocent, her ancestor is a university scholar, and she is not wronged by marrying into our house. I believe that this marriage is quite smooth. ”

Although Gu Yongyuan had long known that he had no say in this kind of matter, as the time approached, he couldn't help but sigh. However, he still nodded and said, "Yes, father, mother, don't worry, I understand." Although he was the first to come up with the idea of marriage, it was an extraordinary privilege to grant someone the status of a favored concubine without going through the usual selection process.

"The wedding date is set for the third day of the next month, which is the best day in this half a year." The prince smiled heartily.

Gu Yongyuan scratched his head, he really felt that time was pressing. After all, although Miaoqing claims to be fourteen years old, it is a lunar year, that is, according to the Western period, she is actually only eleven years old. Eleven years old? In his previous world, it was around the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school.

Still, despite his bewildered scratching of his head, this is the reality. He couldn't have said she was too young. Since the wedding date has been set, there is no way to change it. He had no choice but to accept.

Back at Chu Feng Tower, Gu Yongyuan instructed Mo Ba and a few subordinates to remove all the Western novelties he bought in Shanghai and sort them out. The thought of marrying an eleven-year-old girl was amused and annoyed at him.

"Congratulations to the host, the wedding is about to take place!" Mo Ba actually mentioned this matter, and Gu Yongyuan kicked him lightly.

Lin Wanxue hadn't returned to the capital yet, and Mo Ba and the others didn't dare to ask, even if they were confused, they didn't dare to express it blatantly.

...

On the second floor of Jingshui Building in the West Fourth Archway, Ruici prepared a banquet for Gu Yongyuan to celebrate his return. The round table of the red sandalwood carved dragon is full of all kinds of hot and cold dishes.

There were just the two of them in the room. The first thing Gu Yongyuan did was to ask about the matter he had discussed with Rui Ci before leaving Beijing. Unexpectedly, Rui Ci seemed to have forgotten all about it. He held the wine glass and said with a puzzled expression: "Relatives of the Hengzhou militia? Who? ”

Helplessly, Gu Yongyuan shook his head and raised his wine glass. "Let's drink."

"Brother, you're getting married, I'm a little unsure." Ruici said.

Gu Yongyuan was stunned for a moment, staring at Rui Ci. "What do you mean?"

Rui Ci sighed. "You see, when a guy gets married, there's not much excitement. As the days go by, you have little bunnies running around on your lap and you have to focus all your attention on them. And we, we'll just get old and wrinkled, and not very agile. ”

Gu Yongyuan patted Ruici on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't keep thinking about these things, you are still so young, how can you not be agile?" ”

As everyone knows, when he patted Rui Ci on the shoulder, Rui Ci suddenly grinned, took a sharp breath, and instinctively withdrew his arm.

"What's wrong?" Gu Yongyuan asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing." Rui Ci smiled and quickly poured wine for Gu Yongyuan.

But his painful expression couldn't escape Gu Yongyuan's attention. Gu Yongyuan frowned. "Ruici, do you treat me as an outsider? Okay, then I'm leaving. ”

Gu Yongyuan stood up, Rui Ci hurriedly stopped him, smiled and apologized: "Brother, this is too rude, please take a seat." ”

Gu Yongyuan sat down again and said seriously: "Tell me, what's going on?" ”

Rui Ci laughed awkwardly a few times and said, "It's not a big deal, I fell out with them a few days ago, and the number of people is not as good as them, so I suffered." You don't have to worry about it, brother. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it myself."

Five? Gu Yongyuan's brows suddenly furrowed. He is a famous figure in the "Yellow Belt". He is the thirteenth prince Yixing, the younger brother of Prince Yi, and the nephew of the current Prince Yiyuan. Due to the early death of his father when he was a child, he inherited the title of Jie Beizi.

"The influence of the Lady is growing." Gu Yongyuan took a sip of wine and said. He felt a little annoyed. Everyone knows that he and Rui Ci are already close at hand, and hitting Rui Ci is equivalent to slapping the face of King Yong's mansion. Of course, Gu Yongyuan also understood that they were all just living, and no one thought that being the Yongwang Mansion was superior to anyone. Moreover, it is not uncommon for members of the royal family to get into disputes over trivial matters. He may not have been deliberately provocative.

"Brother, there is a person, I don't know if you want Miaoqing." Rui Ci tried to change the subject, and said with a gloomy face after being hit. "This man, you see, we used to work together, he was very smart and talkative, and it turned out that he was your relative."

Gu Yongyuan was taken aback. "Relatives? What kind of relatives? ”

Ruici laughed. "He was a distant relative of Madame, and his uncle and Madame's grandfather were cousins."

Gu Yongyuan was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Rui Ci was referring to the eleven-year-old maid who was about to become his wife. He felt helpless. He shook his head and said, "I don't need to see him." ”

In this world, there are too many people who use distant relatives to win favor. It's better to avoid some unnecessary entanglements.