The banquet at the Princess's Mansion was finally over. The princesses and the princesses dispersed while still enjoying themselves. The gate opened and all kinds of carriages and horses left one after another.
Yang Fan felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Back then, when he was serving in front of the Emperor, he had flirted with Wan 'er through a bead curtain. The thrill of being right under the Empress's eyes should be similar to Li Guo' er's actions today. But at that time, he had enjoyed it. Now, he could not accept it at all, and even hated it.
Perhaps it was because he was no longer a teenager and was not used to this kind of thrilling game, or perhaps it was because there was already a thorn in his heart. Li Guo'er's subsequent series of frivolous and bold actions, regardless of the occasion, made him feel more and more disgusted. It was purely because Li Guo'er's exceptional beauty had given him no longer tempted him.
Yang Fan did not notice that when he left the Princess's Mansion on horseback, Princess Taiping's sudden disappearance of smile and her somewhat gloomy, somewhat evasive, somewhat angry, and somewhat melancholic gaze.
The rumor of Yang Fan and Princess Anle kissing and hugging on the street was widespread. Princess Taiping knew about it. Even if her subordinates did not say anything, the princesses and noble ladies whom she interacted with on a daily basis did not lack people who wanted to embarrass her. Since she knew about it, even if she did not believe it, how could she not pay attention to Guo 'er and Yang Fan in the pavilion together?
Until now, there were perhaps only two places that she did not know about. One was the palace within the Nine-Layered Imperial Palace. Unless the Zhang brothers felt that it was necessary to give Yang Fan a taste of his own medicine, they would not speak about it. Others would also not speak about it. One was the Emperor's granddaughter, the other was the Emperor's confidant, who would be willing to be the bad guy? The other place was the Yang family. No one would be so bored as to run over to the Yang family's wife to talk about these things and become a clown there.
Taiping had never doubted Yang Fan's charm. She believed that if Yang Fan had the heart to pursue her, very few women would be able to resist him. But she did not believe that Yang Fan would do such a thing. But everything that happened in the pavilion today completely shattered her fantasy. She could only pretend that she did not see it at that time. No one noticed that her body had stiffened in the wind. When the wind blew on her face, it was no longer a cool feeling, but a burning sensation.
She had never expected Yang Fan to keep his chastity for her, but that was Guo 'er, her own niece! Perhaps, her mother was first Taizong's concubine, then her father's concubine. Now that she had taken on a gigolo, she had long become indifferent to the views in her heart towards these ethics and morals. However, that woman could be anyone, she hoped that it would not be Guo 'er.
"Yang Fan doesn't know what's important? Does he not know that Guo 'er is an unmarried princess? Didn't he know that she was about to become the daughter-in-law of Liang Wangwu Sansi? Don't you know she's my niece? " This kind of thing, she couldn't say it, couldn't question it, and even if she saw it with her own eyes, she could only pretend not to know. But she couldn't hide it from her heart, she didn't know whether she should be angry or disappointed.
Li Guo 'er sat in the carriage. She was slightly tipsy as she held her chin. She was thinking about what Yang Fan had said to her in a stern voice, "If you continue to play with fire, you'll be harming yourself and others! Don't think that everyone is blind, you can fool everyone with your little tricks! Paper can't hide fire, if you don't restrain yourself, you'll be seen through sooner or later. I heard that King Liang has decided to take you as his daughter-in-law. If such a scandal were to spread, can you bear the consequences? "
Li Guo 'er might like this kind of thrill and thrill, but when it came to her own interests, she had no choice but to consider it seriously. She wasn't afraid of Wu Chongxun's reaction. That young master had been completely captured by her, he was worshipping her. She was confident that she could make Wu Chongxun run around in circles with just a little trick.
But … Wu Chongxun didn't have to worry, what about the Wu family? She suddenly recalled the first time she met Wu Sansi at the Dragon's Gate. That person's gaze was as sharp as a blade, his bearing especially domineering and disdainful. He was someone her father still didn't dare meet. What if he was dissatisfied with her?
Li Guo 'er thought about how Yang Fan had once had a one-night stand with her, how he hadn't been captivated by her beauty and obediently allowed her to do whatever she wanted to him. Li Guo' er was extremely unwilling to accept this, but when she considered the greater benefits she would gain in the future, she had no choice but to give up on continuing to pester Yang Fan.
"Perhaps I should restrain myself a little. Even if my father becomes the crown prince, I still won't have much weight before he becomes the emperor. I can't lose the bigger picture because of a small gain. Yang Fan … forget it. Perhaps teasing that idiot Wu Chongxun might be a rather interesting thing! "
Li Guo 'er's face, which was like a flower's stamen, slowly revealed a seductive expression.
…
Yang Fan wandered back to his house, feeling a little dispirited for a moment. He hadn't fallen in love with Li Guo 'er, so Li Guo' er couldn't affect his mood. The only thing that the episode in the pavilion had brought him was the displeasure of being discovered by Taiping. He wasn't in high spirits at the moment, and the reason was Taiping.
In fact, since the last time he came back from Hebei, Taiping had been busy making arrangements for the political situation in the court for many days and had no time to talk to him. He gradually realized that Taiping had begun to enjoy scheming and scheming. The most important thing in her heart was gradually shifting to power.
It was the same this time. The purpose of holding a thank-you banquet for him was actually to announce the Li family's comeback to the court. He, the protagonist of the banquet, was actually just a prop, and he didn't know all this beforehand. If he hadn't sensed it himself, would Taiping have told him?
Those people of the Li family were always a little distant from him. He knew that his previous behavior of going to Wu Sansi's banquet must have caused the Li family to hold a grudge against him. But Princess Taiping didn't do anything to help repair the situation during the whole banquet. How could she not see it with her shrewdness?
Whether it was intentional or unintentional, or just an instinctive reaction, Taiping seemed to be happy to see the Li family alienate him. Perhaps she hoped that he, who controlled the thousand horsemen, would only keep close contact with her.
Also, she seemed to have known about the difficulties he encountered in the process of forming the thousand horsemen, but she didn't try to intervene. This was very different from her previous approach. As for what he had asked of her, from an objective point of view, perhaps it was indeed more appropriate for the Zhang brothers to take the lead. But what made Yang Fan uncomfortable was whether Taiping had made the analysis from an objective and rational point of view, or had it been mixed with consideration for her side's interests?
Yang Fan couldn't help but smile. "Xiao Man, Ah Nu, and Wan 'er are different from Taiping after all. This strong-willed princess of Tang will never put the focus of her life on a man." She was just his lover, but even if she became his legitimate wife, this would still not change!
The house was impressively in sight. Yang Fan put aside his thoughts and hurried to the front of the mansion in a few steps. He jumped off the horse and threw the horsewhip to Ren Wei, as if throwing away the troubles in his heart, and stepped into the gate.
Around the screen wall, through the front hall, and just past the central hall, he saw the dog chasing the cat, Si Rong chasing the dog, and Nian Zu chasing Si Rong, shouting and running around in the yard. Xiaoman was standing under the grape trellis, chatting with Taomei and the third sister, but her eyes were always on the pair of children.
Yang Fan couldn't help but show a relieved smile on his face. "I'm a little childish. Who will put the focus of their life on one person forever? Even if they don't start to pay attention to her 'career' like Taiping, they will slowly shift their focus to their children like Xiaoman.
When their children grow up, as parents, they will focus on their grandchildren. When their grandchildren grow up and form their own small families, the old couple will focus on their partners again, snuggling with each other and walking into the sunset.
"Daddy, daddy, Xiaobai bullied Xiaohua!" As soon as Si Rong saw Yang Fan come in, she immediately complained loudly, and even pouted.
Before Yang Fan had time to answer, Nian Zu caught up and complained, "Daddy, daddy, sister bullied Xiaobai!"
Yang Fan laughed heartily and picked them up with each hand. He kissed them on their cheeks and said with a smile, "You two mischievous brats, if daddy didn't guess wrong, it must be Ancestor Nianzu who urged your Little White to flirt with big sister's little flower. Big sister got angry and bullied Little White, right?"
Xiaobai was the dog raised by Nian Zu, and Xiaohua was the cat raised by Si Rong. This was not the first time something like this had happened, so Yang Fan naturally guessed correctly. Si Rong replied in a high-pitched tone, as if she was saying, "The Great Lord of the Clear Sky is indeed a bright and clear mirror hanging high above! She was playing with Xiaohua, and I was playing with her! "
Nian Zu had a bad temper, so he didn't deny it. He just straightened his neck and said angrily, "Anyway, sister hit Xiaobai!"
"Okay, okay, you two can't be naughty anymore. If you bully sister again, I'll let Third Sister take you to the backyard to play and separate from your sister. Si Rong, you're the sister, so you have to give in to your younger brother. Look at your younger brother's dirty face, he probably just cried, right? "
Although the twin siblings always quarreled with each other, there was never a moment of peace, but they really couldn't bear to separate and play separately. After hearing what Yang Fan said, the two of them didn't say a word.
Yang Fan put them down and slapped their butts. She smiled and said, "Alright, let's go play together. Little brother, you have to take care of Little White. Don't bully Little Blossom. Big sister, you have to act like a big sister. Be reasonable with little brother and don't make a fuss.
The siblings looked at each other and snorted angrily. The sister picked up her cat, and the brother took his dog, and ran to the side of the flower bed. Xiao Man walked over slowly, and said with a smile, "These two little devils, I can't say anything. Only Langjun can control them!"
Yang Fan shook his head and said with a smile, "Don't look at them just because they're young, they're smart. You know they made a mistake, but you can't bear to beat them. Do you think they're afraid of you?"
Xiao Man wrinkled her nose and said in a sweet voice, "Strict father and loving mother. If I worked for you, why would I need you as a father?"
The husband and wife chatted for a while, then Xiao Man lowered her voice and said, "There's a guest waiting for you in the study."
Yang Fan was startled and blurted out, "Who are you?"
Xiao Man said, "Shandong Qinghe!"
Yang Fan immediately reacted and said with joy, "There's a reply? I'll go see! "
Yang Fan rushed to the study. Xiao Man seemed to have something to say, but seeing him leave in a hurry, she swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth. She shook her head and said with a smile, "This person is still so impatient! Forget it, I won't tell you. Wait for her to tell you herself! "
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