Only throwing a brush washer could not extinguish the Emperor Changwu's anger. Pointing at the trembling man kneeling on the ground, he asked furiously, "You know you need to make your younger son presentable before marrying him to a noble lady from a prominent family, so why did you give your eldest son a merchant's daughter as his principal wife? Are you just casually dismissing him because he's not your own flesh and blood?"
Gu Rong had never been in such a grand scene before. Facing the Son of Heaven's wrath, he shook like a sieve. He was even more astonished upon hearing the Emperor's words. How did His Majesty know that Yanchen was not his biological son? This matter, he had kept even from his wife, Lady Fang.
Seeing his stunned expression, Emperor Changwu grew even angrier. The inkstone on the table became its next victim, flying out and hitting Gu Rong's shoulder. The pain made him gasp, and ink splattered all over his body and face.
Ignoring the pain, and not even daring to wipe his face, Gu Rong stammered, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. It's truly that the girl was chosen by Yanchen himself. He was in Yangzhou at the time and suddenly wrote back saying he had fallen for a girl and wanted to marry her, asking for my approval. That child had only ever made this one request of me since he was young, so how could I not grant it?"
"He's so young, what could he possibly understand? For his entire life, you, his father, don't even worry about him, so who can he rely on?"
Gu Rong nodded repeatedly, "Your Majesty's reprimand is just."
"You know you were wrong?"
"I do."
Emperor Changwu snorted, mentally despising him countless times. With such courage, he was a marquis, practically wasting the court's grain. However, he still had something to entrust him with, so it wouldn't do to scare him too much. He softened his tone slightly and said, "If you know you're wrong, you must correct it. Li Furui."
Li Furui handed Gu Rong a stack of portraits.
Emperor Changwu spoke at the opportune moment, "These are all renowned young ladies from the capital. Take them back and let Yanchen choose. If he fancies any, I will act as matchmaker for him."
It took Gu Rong a long while to digest the meaning behind Emperor Changwu's words. He bravely flipped through the portraits. Good heavens, not to mention their appearances, the names and family backgrounds listed were enough to make him speechless.
Eldest daughter of the Grand Secretary, second daughter of the Duke of Cao, sister of the Minister of Revenue, daughter of the Right Prime Minister...
Any one of them would be qualified to be a principal consort to a prince.
Normally, if His Majesty were to act as matchmaker for his son, it would be an immense honor. But the problem was, Gu Yanchen was already married. His Majesty's matchmaking would hardly be for a concubine, would it? That wouldn't be matchmaking, it would be a gift.
Moreover, even the Emperor could not easily bestow these noble ladies as concubines to his subordinates; it would be intentionally creating enemies. He pondered for a long time and asked tremblingly, "Does Your Majesty mean for my son to divorce his wife and remarry?"
What son? That was a dragon prince!!!
Emperor Changwu suppressed his displeasure. "If she is sensible, then granting her the status of a noble concubine might be permissible."
Gu Rong quickly agreed. Emperor Changwu found this man who was so hard on his son quite vexing. Seeing his objective achieved, he waved him away. However, Li Furui followed him out and offered a few reminders.
The spring chill was biting. As Gu Rong stepped out of the imperial study, a gust of cold wind jolted him awake.
Gu Yanchen had become very estranged from him over the years, and he doted on that Madam Lu dearly. How could he possibly make him divorce his wife and remarry? What was more critical was that Eunuch Li had just told him not to let his son know this was His Majesty's will.
Without the towering mountain of His Majesty, he knew that his rebellious son would never bow down.
Covered in ink, Gu Rong thought all the way without figuring out how to broach the subject with his eldest son. As he alighted from his carriage, the young servant at the gate exclaimed in surprise, "Master, what happened to you?"
Only then did Gu Rong realize that the ink stains were still on him. He dejectedly ordered the kitchen to prepare water for him to bathe. Although he had no mood to cultivate affection with the two beauties in the study, he still enjoyed a comfortable bath under their service.
Then, a servant from the study reported that the eldest young master had come to find him.
"Did he say what it was about?"
"Seeing you were not here, he returned to Shanglan Courtyard."
"Go and call him over."
The servant responded and left. A short while later, Gu Yanchen, having just finished his meal, was brought in. The study was not a place for discussions, so Gu Rong chose a relatively quiet side hall and asked with concern, "Yanchen, has your work been going smoothly recently?"
"It's alright."
"Why be modest in front of your father? If it were just 'alright,' how could it have attracted His Majesty's attention?"
Gu Yanchen assumed he was going to beg for favors for his two younger brothers and quickly declined, "Father, the imperial examinations are in a month. We should wait until the results are out before discussing official positions. Perhaps they can enter officialdom through their own abilities."
So, in his eldest son's eyes, he was that kind of person.
Gu Rong felt a bit awkward and stopped his inquiry. "Didn't you come to find me first? I was just casually asking about your recent situation, I really wasn't asking for favors for your brothers."
Gu Yanchen was much more direct than his father. He said with an "oh" and then continued, "Then I'll talk about my own matter. Father, your son wants to move out."