Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Peerless Beauty Gu Nan Xi

Su Yun Yan came home with her head stuffed full of gossip about her own mother, and she couldn’t sit still—like she was perched on needles.

“Should I go ask Mother…?”

She tore a chrysanthemum petal off with a sharp twist. “No. Mother would never admit it.”

She lifted her skirt and started toward Concubine Duan’s courtyard. In the past, Concubine Duan had been the one she was closest to.

But the next heartbeat, she swerved and marched straight for her brother Su Yun Ting’s place.

“Brother!”

She caught Su Yun Ting red-handed as he was preparing to sneak out.

Su Yun Ting climbed down from the wall with a grimace. “What is it now? Can’t balance the accounts? Don’t know how to inventory the storerooms?”

Su Yun Yan didn’t care. She strode in, hooked an arm around him, and hoisted him back inside. “None of that matters!”

Su Yun Ting was jostled so hard his stomach lurched. “Men and women must keep distance. Put me down!”

She dumped him into a chair with a heavy thud that made him hiss through his teeth. “I have a secret to tell you.”

With a flick of her hand, she sent the servants out, then leaned close and whispered, “Did you know Mother used to be childhood sweethearts with the late emperor?”

Su Yun Ting rubbed his aching backside and shot her a sideways look. “That? I know. Grandmother mentioned it before.”

Su Yun Yan’s eyes went huge. “Then you also know Mother has ‘returned to the fray’ and bewitched the marquises of the capital?”

Su Yun Ting’s interest sparked. He motioned for her to sit. “What happened? Tell me properly.”

Su Yun Yan launched into it in a rush. “The whole capital is talking about it. Duke Ji’s heir, Hanlin Scholar Li, Attendant Reader Tang, and others—they’re all infatuated with Mother. A few days ago at a teahouse, they actually fought over her.”

Su Yun Ting narrowed his eyes, thoughtful. “They’re all handsome, accomplished, civil and martial. They’re nearly thirty—too old, perhaps—but they still barely match Mother.”

Su Yun Yan stared at him like he’d grown horns. “Brother! What kind of wolfish talk is that?!”

Su Yun Ting shifted, dissatisfied with the hard chair, and dragged a cushion behind him. “Stop shrieking. Father hasn’t returned in over ten years. He has concubines serving him in the Borderlands. So if Mother has a few lovers, isn’t that normal?”

Su Yun Yan’s tongue went stiff. “L-lovers?!”

Bang!

The door flew open.

Su Xuan Ming stood there, his face slack with shock, as if he’d stumbled into a dream. “Mother has lovers? More than one?!”

“Brother, keep your voice down!” Su Yun Yan rushed to shut the door.

Su Xuan Ming looked like his world had split in two. His mother—every gesture proper, every step dignified—had lovers?

What kind of absurd world was this?

Su Yun Ting had never gotten along with Su Xuan Ming, and his voice turned icy. “Aren’t you supposed to be coddling your precious darling? Why are you in my courtyard?”

Su Xuan Ming still wore the blank stare of someone who didn’t know who he was or where he’d landed. “I… I wanted to see if Mother is angry. If you’re there, you can help share some of her wrath.”

Su Yun Ting curled his lip. “Get out.”

On any normal day, Su Xuan Ming would’ve made Su Yun Ting regret breathing.

But today, he turned and walked away like a puppet with its strings cut.

Back in his own courtyard, Jing Niang had already arranged herself into a sorrowful, wronged pose. She waited and waited, yet Su Xuan Ming didn’t come to coax her.

Uneasy, she turned her head—only to see him sitting at the round table, pale and hollow-eyed, muttering under his breath.

“Su-lang… what’s wrong?” Jing Niang slid close, voice gentle.

“Mother has lovers,” Su Xuan Ming said dully, as if he were reciting scripture. “More than one.”

Jing Niang’s head snapped back. She clapped a hand over her mouth.

The servants in the room lowered their heads so fast it looked like wind had pressed them down.

Jing Niang drew in a sharp breath. So the rumors were real?

Marchioness Gu Nan Xi had truly been the late emperor’s beloved, remembered for more than ten years?

And the moment the late emperor died, Gu Nan Xi had found lovers so quickly?

Jing Niang clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palms.

She had underestimated Gu Nan Xi.

A woman that capable—patient enough to endure over a decade.

If Jing Niang kept opposing her… would she really survive?

If Gu Nan Xi turned ruthless—if she would rather ruin Su Xuan Ming than deal with Jing Niang…

Jing Niang shuddered hard, cold running down her spine.

Secrets of great households were already irresistible. Add imperial power, add heat and color, and rumors spread like wildfire.

Even after Su Xuan Ming finally came back to himself and warned the servants again and again to keep their mouths shut, gossip still exploded across Capital City.

“Marquis Yong Chang’s Madam has several lovers! The lovers even fought!”

“What? Marquis Yong Chang’s Madam is tangled up with Hanlin Scholar Li and Duke Ji’s heir? They threw punches in public?”

“Real or fake? They say Marquis Yong Chang’s Madam even bewitched cabinet ministers and His Majesty—and they fought right in court!”

“Tsk. More than ten years ago, Marquis Yong Chang’s Madam already stunned Capital City. Who knew her charm wouldn’t fade at all?”

“His Majesty is only twenty—young and strong—and he has Capital City’s number one beauty, Noble Consort Tong. Yet he still bowed at Marquis Yong Chang’s Madam’s feet. Just how beautiful must she be?”

“Beautiful as an immortal!”

“The Peerless Beauty Gu Nan Xi.”

Those words swept through Capital City in a breath, then began to ripple outward.

The young madam of Duke Ji’s household couldn’t even sit still after hearing the newest version. She rushed back to her mother’s home, panting. “Mother! They say Gu Nan Xi even drew His Majesty into her net. She’s terrifying!”

Old Madam’s brows knitted. “Stop shouting. Where are your manners?”

The young madam sat down obediently, forcing a sweet smile. “I was just too shocked. I lost my composure.”

Old Madam let out a heavy sigh. “You laugh like a fool all day. What will you do in the future? Since you heard the rumor, why didn’t you think—how could something this enormous spread so loudly?”

The young madam froze.

Right. Even if His Majesty was mild-tempered, this kind of affair was never something to trumpet across the streets.

“M-Mother… what do you think?”

Old Madam lifted her tea and took a slow sip. Her eyes sharpened, calm and bright. “Anyone bold enough to stir this up is either someone with great power, or someone with a strong backer.”

“The Empress Dowager wouldn’t dare oppose His Majesty, so it’s not her.”

“It could be His Majesty—he wants to claim the beauty openly, so he spreads it on purpose and forces Marquis Yong Chang to offer a divorce.”

“It could be Noble Consort Tong, trying to crush Gu Nan Xi with public opinion.”

“But the most likely…” Old Madam’s voice dropped. “It’s Gu Nan Xi herself. She’s making it public to force His Majesty to choose.”

The young madam sucked in a breath.

A woman daring to push the throne like that—daring to force His Majesty?

Just imagining it made her skin prickle.