My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

Chapter 171 That’s death without life!

Eunuch Cheng and all the palace guards present were stunned, and the servants behind Chang An were also very surprised. After being surprised, Eunuch Cheng returned to his amiable smile and said:

"Oh, Marquis Dingkang, please don't embarrass us. Please accept the order."

Chang An stood up at this time, took the imperial edict, turned around and ordered: "Huaiqin Zhener, you guys look after Gu Niang, I'm going to the palace."

"Ah! Marquis Dingkang!"

Eunuch Cheng wanted to hold Chang An back, but Chang An ran away at full speed. He had no choice but to follow him, and saw Chang An come to the stable, take out the white horse, put on the saddle, and gallop out from the side door.

Only then did Eunuch Cheng realize that this "future prince consort" was serious - he really disobeyed the order! He had lived for so long and had seen people disobeying orders for punishment, but he had never seen anyone disobeying orders for rewards.

He shuddered, and hurried back to the front yard, saying, "Hurry up and get in the car, Marquis Dingkang has gone to the palace!"

Then there was the sound of footsteps. After the imperial guards and Eunuch Cheng had left, Huaiqin and Zhener helped Gu Li up. At this time, they saw that Gu Li's face was covered with tears and his eyes were blurred. The moment he stood up, his eyes went black and he fell down.

Huaiqin and Zhen'er took one side each and finally supported Gu Li.

"Sanniang! Sanniang, what's wrong with you?" Huaiqin shouted, "Go find a doctor!"

Zhen'er said, "Help Sanniang back to the house first."

Gu Li slowly stood up and said, "No need to look for a doctor... just take me back first."

Huaiqin and Zhen'er looked at Gu Li with great concern and helped her back to the house. As soon as Gu Li sat down at the low table, she burst into tears.

"Sanniang!"

"What's wrong with you, Sanniang?"

Gu Li raised her tearful eyes and said, "Chang Lang disobeyed the order..."

Huaiqin and Zhen'er looked at each other, nodded, and said, "Yes, Sanniang."

"Chang Lang will die!" Gu Li said again, tears welling up, and the two maids Huaiqin and Zhen'er were stunned. Zhen'er hurried forward, supported Gu Li and comforted him.

Gu Li continued crying and said, "The imperial edict is the order of the current emperor. Whether it is a reward or a punishment, disobeying the order is a capital crime!"

At this time, a servant ran in and said, "Madam, Dr. Chang from next door is here."

Huaiqin glanced at Gu Li, who was crying in Zhen'er's arms, and said, "Please come in quickly."

"No need to invite me!" Chang Wenmeng walked in at this time, his face solemn, and then sat down at the low table and asked, "What happened? Why did Yonghe take the imperial edict and ride away directly?"

"Replying to Alang, the young master...he disobeyed the order!" Huaiqin replied.

Chang Wenmeng could no longer sit still, and almost jumped up, asking, "What did you say? Say it again!"

"The young master disobeyed the emperor's order," Huaiqin explained. "Just now, the emperor's envoy came to announce the decree, saying that the young master had made great contributions in preventing smallpox, and was conferred the title of Marquis, and..."

But Huaiqin should stop talking halfway through. Chang Wenmeng frowned and asked, "And what!"

"Moreover, His Majesty wants to marry Princess Yongmu to you, and also wants to revoke the marriage between Sanniang and you."

Huaiqin answered in a low voice, but Chang Wenmeng heard every word. He was in an extremely solemn mood at this moment. Just when he didn't know what to say, another servant came in and said:

"Sanniang, Wang Lecheng and Director Gao are here."

Then, they saw Gao Shi, Wang Wei and Cui Yu come in, carrying gifts as usual. They were planning to congratulate, but when they saw the solemn atmosphere in the room, they immediately felt something was wrong.

Cui Yu walked up directly, took Gu Li and asked, "Madam Gu? Madam Gu?"

Wang Wei and Gao Shi also walked up to Chang Wenmeng, bowed and asked: "Dr. Chang, I wonder if Brother Yonghe..."

"The emperor ordered him to marry Princess Yongmu instead, but now he has gone to the palace to disobey the order." Chang Wenmeng's simple and clear words hit Wang Wei and Gao Shi like a thunderbolt on the heads.

Wang Wei knew Chang An very well. If someone wanted him to remarry, he would directly refuse even if it was an imperial decree. He and Gao Shi looked at each other and found that the other's eyes were solemn.

Gao Shi then asked, "Could it be that Brother Chang has entered the palace to resist the marriage?"

Wang Wei also asked, "How long has Brother Yonghe been gone?"

Huaiqin replied: "I just left not long ago."

Afterwards, Wang Wei and Gao Shi said to Chang Wenmeng, "Dr. Chang, we will go after Brother Yonghe first."

Cui Yu asked at this time: "Husband, what are you going to do?"

"We haven't changed out of our court robes yet. If we ride on horseback to catch up with Brother Yonghe, we may be able to catch up with him. Then, we can petition together to cancel the engagement." After Wang Wei finished speaking, he left with Gao Shi.

Cui Yu wanted to say something, but Wang Wei and Gao Shi ran out, and before she could call them, they disappeared. She had no choice but to pat Gu Li and comfort her:

"It's okay, it's okay. Lord Chang is a talented person, and the emperor will not make things difficult for him. Moreover, Lord Chang has two great achievements, and at most he will be stripped of his title of lord, which is not a big deal."

Gu Li coughed twice and said, "But... but he disobeyed the imperial order and went to the palace to confront the current emperor. I'm afraid Chang Lang's trip is..."

Before she had finished speaking, Gu Li started crying again, clutching her chest, as if she was having trouble breathing. Seeing this, Huaiqin and Zhen'er hurried forward to rub her back to help her breathe more easily.

"Li'er!"

At this time, Gu Ke's voice came from outside the house, sounding a little cheerful. But when he walked into the house, he found Gu Li crying in Cui Yu's arms, and his father-in-law sitting beside him with a solemn look.

Gu Su saw her daughter crying, and quickly pulled the two brothers Gu Baizhi and Gu Huashuo forward to comfort her. Gu Ke walked up to Chang Wenmeng and asked, "Dr. Chang, what's wrong with Li'er?"

"The emperor has granted the marriage," Chang Wenmeng said, "and Yonghe is now riding into the palace to protest the marriage."

Gu Ke was stunned for a moment and asked, "Anti...anti-marriage?"

Chang Wenmeng nodded, and Gu Ke froze in place. He immediately understood why Gu Li was crying so hard. He also stepped forward and comforted her, "Li'er, it's okay. My good son-in-law will definitely come back safely. Don't cry and hurt yourself."

"He can't come back. Chang Lang is disobeying the imperial order..." Gu Li cried, "He is disobeying the imperial order and resisting the marriage. I'm afraid Chang Lang will die if he goes there... He will die if he doesn't!"

Suddenly, Gu Li, who had not recovered from his lung disease, cried so hard that he suddenly felt a pain in his heart, and his blood flowed backwards. He spat out a mouthful of blood on his clothes. Then he closed his eyes and fell directly into Cui Yu's arms. This scene frightened everyone present and they gathered around him. Chang Wenmeng even shouted:

"Go find a doctor!"

In Xingqing Palace, Li Longji was happily sitting on the dragon chair reviewing memorials when he suddenly heard an eunuch say, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince wants to see you."

"Announce, announce, announce!" Li Longji was very happy. He threw down his pen and memorials and waited for Li Ying to come in.

Li Ying came in and greeted him. Li Longji asked, "What's the matter today?"

"Father, I would like to ask you not to let my sister marry Ji Kangbo." Li Ying said.

Li Longji frowned and asked, "Why? Is it that Ke'er doesn't like it? But I also heard before that Ke'er likes Ding Kanghou's poems very much, why don't you marry him?"

"Jia Kangbo..."

"He is now Marquis Dingkang, so you should change your words," Li Longji corrected.

"Marquis Dingkang and Gu Sanniang have always been in love. Everyone in Chang'an knows about his reputation of loving and doting on his wife. When he went to marry her in the past, Marquis Dingkang presented her with five poems urging her to get ready, a long carriage with betrothal gifts, and a sedan chair carried by eight people. It became a good story. He even rejected a proposal of marriage from a minister in public. Now this time..." Li Ying said.

"But I am the emperor, not some minister. Why did he refuse?" Li Longji said disapprovingly, "Ke'er is the eldest princess, the apple of my eye. She has been well-read since childhood and is well-educated. Isn't she better than Gu Sanniang, who comes from a merchant family?"

Li Ying continued, "But Marquis Dingkang only loves Gu Sanniang. If we abolish their love, Gu Sanniang..."

"I know what you are going to say, so I also made Gu Sanniang the Lady of the County and gave her a house and a reward. Isn't that considered compensation? Besides, the two of them have no children yet, so it won't matter if they divorce."

"Looking across the entire Tang Dynasty, there are many people who divorce and remarry. Do you think I should issue another decree to grant Madam Gu a marriage?"

Li Ying became even more anxious and said, "Father, this is absolutely not allowed. Marquis Dingkang certainly doesn't want to marry my sister. If you force the marriage, who knows what Marquis Dingkang will do."

Li Longji frowned even deeper and said, "What can he do? Escape from marriage? The whole world belongs to the king, where can he run to?"

"No, Marquis Dingkang has a family with him, so why would he run away? I'm just afraid of him..."

At this time, an eunuch came in and said, "Your Majesty, Marquis Dingkang, Wang Lecheng and Minister Gao are here to see you."

"Look, isn't Marquis Dingkang here? He doesn't want to escape the marriage at all." Li Longji was delighted when he heard that his "future son-in-law" was coming to find him.

"Xuan! Call Ke'er as well."

Then, led by the eunuch, Chang An and two other men walked in, with Chang An holding the imperial edict in his hand.

"Marquis Dingkang, alas...where is Eunuch Cheng?" At this time Li Longji found something wrong, because he only saw Chang An holding the imperial edict, and Wang Wei and Gao Shi, but did not see Eunuch Cheng.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Cheng is still on his way to the palace." Chang An replied.

"Then why did you come here today?" Li Longji asked, somewhat puzzled.

At this time, Chang An, Wang Wei, and Gao Shi knelt down. Chang An held the imperial edict above his head and said:

"I, a sinner, beg Your Majesty to revoke your order."