Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1176 Bai Yujing in the Sky

The three friends of Xie Guangwei all came from extraordinary backgrounds. The oldest one was Ma Yuan, the cousin of Ma Shiying. Ma Shiying was originally the Right Censor-in-Chief and Governor of Xuanfu. Later, he lost his official position because he was reported for being involved in a corruption case. In the Chongzhen period, he was reinstated and went to Fengyang to serve as the Tongzhi. In addition, he was given the additional title of Right Censor-in-Chief of the Nanjing Censorate in Nanjing.

Ma Shiying had ups and downs in officialdom in his early years and his luck was not very good. However, because of the outbreak of the Jiangnan case a few years ago, Ma Shiying seized the opportunity and decisively joined Zhang Xijun, the governor of Jiangnan, thus establishing a relationship with the emperor.

Later, when the emperor set out to deal with the Jiangnan case, Ma Shiying, as Qian Qianyi's deputy, worked hard to win over a group of nobles in Jiangnan and officials loyal to the emperor, thus undermining the power of the Donglin Party in Nanjing in one fell swoop. Taking this opportunity, Ma Shiying finally ushered in his "spring". After the Jiangnan case, Ma Shiying was promoted from the co-magistrate of Fengyang to the left deputy censor-in-chief of the Nanjing Censorate, and soon after he was promoted to the left vice-minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel.

The other one is a descendant of the Wei family of the Earl of Xuancheng. He is the great-nephew of Wei Shichun and his name is Wei Ding'an. During the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the ancestors of the Wei family followed Zhu Yuanzhang in the uprising and fought in the south and the north and made meritorious contributions. Later, when Zhu Di was in power, he made meritorious contributions and was awarded the title of Assistant Commander and Commander of Shandong. After the Battle of Tumu, the Wei family took the initiative to come to Shandong to defend the king and defeated Yesen. Because of his merits, he was promoted to the deputy governor and served as a general in Xuanfu. After Yingzong returned to the court and restored the throne after the Battle of Duomen, the Wei family was awarded the title of the Earl of Xuancheng, which was hereditary.

The lineage of the Duke of Xuancheng has grown into many branches. Wei Anding and Wei Shichun are from the same clan, but they are five generations apart. The Wei family is a large family in Songjiang. Not only is it a family of honor and nobility, it also owns fertile land and businesses. Its strength should not be underestimated.

The last person is called Nie Chi. The Nie family is a prominent family in Suzhou Prefecture. Although they have no honors, there have been several minor officials in the family. In addition, the Nie family has many businesses. The head of the family, Nie Boping, is good at management and is very smart, so he is well-known in Suzhou Prefecture.

When the imperial court opened up the sea in Shandong a few years ago, Nie Boping knew about this and decisively went north to make plans. He joined hands with northern merchants and invested huge sums of money to start maritime trade. In recent years, he has cooperated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and made huge profits in maritime trade. He can be said to be rich. However, although the Nie family is rich, they lack connections in the officialdom. Therefore, Nie Boping selected children from the family to take the imperial examination and become an official. Nie Chi was one of them, and he was sent to Nanjing Imperial College to study. If some of these children have a promising future, the Nie family will make up for this shortcoming.

Although these three people were born in good families, they also had the habits of romantic scholars. Even if they were a little dandy, their character was not bad after communicating with each other. This made Zhu Minlan gradually feel relieved. He was not worried about other things. He was worried that others would use Xie Guangwei's identity to make trouble. After all, Xie Guangwei was his brother-in-law. The Yongping Marquis family was not an ordinary family. If they were used and seduced by someone with ulterior motives, it would be no small matter. If Xie Guangwei got into trouble, he, as a brother-in-law, would not only be embarrassed, but also difficult to explain to the Crown Princess.

Several people were chatting enthusiastically, and gradually talked about everything from love and romance to the courtesans of Qinhuai in recent years. At this time, Ma Yuan couldn't help but sigh. In the past, the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai were famous all over the world, but now things have changed. After these years, although there are still new courtesans in Qinhuai every year, there is no longer the sensation of these people.

"That's right, that's right. You were born before I was born, and I was born when you were old. You hate that I was born late, and I hate that you were born early!" Nie Chi shook his head and said. When this poem came out, everyone laughed. Ma Yuan couldn't help but asked Nie Chi with a smile: "I didn't expect Brother Nie to be so elegant. I wonder who the 'you' you are talking about is?"

"Need I say more? Judging from Brother Nie's personality, it must be the talented Chen Yuanyuan." Wei Anding said with a smile.

"No, no!" Nie Chi shook his head and said, "Although Chen Yuanyuan is a beauty with extraordinary talent, in my opinion, she is just that good. Moreover, there has been no news about Chen Yuanyuan since she went north a few years ago. It is said that she has been taken into the bedroom of a nobleman, but I don't know the details."

Everyone nodded slightly. Among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, Chen Yuanyuan was the last to leave Jinling. Not long after she went north a few years ago, there was no news about her. Only some rumors were left, and no one knew whether they were true or false.

"Since it's not Chen Yuanyuan, could it be Gu Hengbo who is good at painting orchids? Or is it Liu Rushi who is also known as Lord Hedong?" Ma Yuan asked jokingly.

The two people he mentioned are the most famous among the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. In fact, Ma Xianglan is more famous. Although Ma Xianglan is one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, she is actually much older than the other seven. Moreover, Ma Xianglan had already died when the other seven became famous. She is called the Eight Beauties together with the other seven only because the title of Eighth Beauties is more appropriate than the Seventh Beauties.

"I dare not." Nie Chi smiled and waved his hand. Although Gu Liu and the other were born in Qinhuai, their identities and statuses were different now. Gu Hengbo had married Gong Dingzi as a concubine. Gong Dingzi was currently working in the capital and was a high-ranking official of the third rank.

As for Liu Rushi, there is no need to say more. Although she also married as a concubine, she married a famous figure. The person she married was none other than Qian Qianyi, the former Minister of Rites and current cabinet minister.

"Who is that person?" Everyone couldn't help asking. Nie Chi sighed and chanted: "There is a white jade palace in the sky, with twelve towers and five cities. The immortal touched my head, and I was given eternal life..."

When this poem came out, everyone suddenly realized that the person Nie Chi was thinking about in his heart was actually Bian Yujing!
Bian Yujing is one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, but her personality is more distinct than the others. The rumors about the relationship between Bian Yujing and the Jiangnan talent Wu Meicun are very touching. In addition, Bian Yujing's temperament was pure and untainted despite being in the mud, which is even more admirable. It is not surprising that Nie Chi is concerned about her.

"I heard that Bian Yujing has married a businessman?" Wei Anding asked after thinking for a while.

Nie Chi nodded slightly and sighed: "I have met Bian Yujing. The businessman she married has a long-standing relationship with our Nie family. A few years ago, I went to visit with my elders and met her. After that meeting, I felt..." Nie Chi smiled bitterly and shook his head. He didn't continue speaking, but his expression was full of nostalgia and a bit of excitement. It seemed that that meeting left a very deep impression on him.

With a sigh, Nie Chi talked about Bian Yujing's recent situation, telling everyone that Bian Yujing had not lived a good life in recent years. Although the merchant she married treated Bian Yujing well and her family was rich and well-fed, Bian Yujing was not happy after marriage, even though she gave birth to a son for him.

Moreover, after giving birth to a son, Bian Yujing refused to sleep with the other party again. Instead, she replaced herself with her maid. She moved out of her original residence and lived alone in the suburbs. She planted flowers on weekdays, wrote poems and painted in her spare time, and lived the life of a farmer.

As he talked about Bian Yujing's married life, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering why Bian Yujing had to live such a life when she had such a good life. At this time, Nie Chi sighed again and told the inside story, telling everyone that the reason why Bian Yujing was like this was because she had always had Wu Meicun in her heart. It was not her original intention to marry a businessman. She had always thought that she and Wu Meicun would be together forever one day and fulfill her wish. It was rare for such a woman to be so loyal to love, which made people sigh.

When talking about this, Ma Yuan and Wei Anding could not help but criticize Wu Meicun. They both felt that although Wu Meicun was known as a talented man, he lived up to this reputation and was not a real man at all.

Obviously, they love each other, and it should be a natural thing, but Bian Yujing took the initiative to confess her feelings to Wu Meicun and asked him if he was willing to marry her. It is hard to repay the favor of a beautiful woman. If it were someone else, they would have agreed. Moreover, although Bian Yujing was in the dust, her family background was not bad. She was originally a good girl from an official family. Because her parents died early, she had no choice but to live in the dust. Even in the dust, she still kept herself clean. She was proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and was good at small regular script and literature and history. Even women from the upper class could not compare to her. How rare is it for such a talented and beautiful woman to take the initiative to express her love?
But Wu Meicun was so hypocritical that he neither agreed nor disagreed to such a situation, which made Bian Yujing completely disappointed. In the end, Bian Yujing left Qinhuai and married a businessman probably because of this reason. When they thought of this, they couldn't help but gnashed their teeth and scolded Wu Meicun.

On the side, Zhu Minlan listened to these anecdotes with great interest, and seemed to be enjoying them very much. However, Xie Guangwei, who was accompanying him, was not at all comfortable, looking around, as if there was a nail under his butt, and looked restless.

Zhu Minlan extended his left hand and patted Xie Guangwei lightly on the back. Xie Guangwei's body shook slightly and he subconsciously looked towards Zhu Minlan. Seeing that Zhu Minlan gave him a warning look, Xie Guangwei realized that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was reminding him. He smiled bitterly and nodded, trying to stay calm, but his mind was still in turmoil and he couldn't calm down.

Without paying any attention to him, Zhu Minlan smiled and asked Nie Chi, "Since Brother Nie has always been obsessed with Bian Yujing, why don't you take the initiative to pursue her? You just said that your family and the family that Bian Yujing married into are old friends. With this relationship, don't you have some chances?"

Nie Chi was stunned, smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Brother Wang, you are joking. I have actually thought about this, but it is impossible. Not to mention that Bian Yujing is much older than me. Even if I am willing, I can't get past the elders in my family. Moreover, the family she married is a family friend of mine. If I do this, I am afraid that the elders in my family will break my legs. In addition, although Bian Yujing moved out to live alone, she is still someone else's wife after all, and the two have not divorced. The more important point is Wu Meicun. Although Wu Meicun let Bian Yujing down, Bian Yujing has never let him go in his heart. Even if I am the King of Xiang, the goddess is not interested. It's difficult! It's difficult!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone shook their heads and sighed. It was really hard to explain things like feelings, especially for a remarkable woman like Bian Yujing. If the other party was just an ordinary woman, it would be fine, but Bian Yujing was different from ordinary people. Nie Chi had no chance at all, let alone getting her.

Zhu Minlan thought about it carefully and understood this logic. He nodded slightly to show his understanding. At the same time, he became somewhat interested in Bian Yujing and asked where Bian Yujing lived now. If there was a chance, he would like to meet this extraordinary woman.

(End of this chapter)