I became the God Brother of the Regent King after Transmigration!-Chapter 193 - 131: Not a Lady

Rong Heng woke up suddenly.

The first thing he did was look to his side.

It was empty, no one was there. The blanket was properly covering him, only the faint sweet scent beside him indicated that last night, Gu Lan did indeed sleep by his side.

The small warmth was gone, and he lay there dazedly, somewhat reminiscing.

Then he quickly snapped back to reality.

"Brother Hang, you’re awake."

Gu Lan walked in and placed the Longquan Treasure Sword on the rack. Regardless of the weather, as long as she was awake, she would practice a set of martial arts in the morning.

This, Rong Heng knew, but it was the first time he woke up later than her.

Young Master Gu, holding a towel, wiped the sweat-dampened strands of her hair and lazily sat on her rocking chair, somewhat guiltily explaining:

"I originally thought that the Old Madam and the others would directly catch us ’in the act’, but unexpectedly, Grandmother knew I was going to practice, so she said to discuss other matters after practice."

Gu Lan chose to selectively forget what she saw early in the morning that she shouldn’t have.

Whatever she said, Rong Heng didn’t hear it all. He looked at her rosy face and the fine sweat at her temples after practice, and his ears involuntarily turned red, his mind filled with the image of her in his dream last night.

It was the first time he shared a bed with a brother, yet ended up having such a dream.

It was the first time he had such a dream, and the subject was Gu Lan.

A man.

And it lasted till dawn.

Rong Heng fell into deep self-doubt.

Gu Lan, seeing Rong Heng in a daze, was very curious about what Rong Heng dreamt about, that had such an effect.

She didn’t dare to ask and changed out of her dirtied outer robes by herself, putting on a clean one.

Underneath, Gu Lan wore a snow-white long robe, slightly thin, and Rong Heng could see the shape of her backbones supporting the fabric, delicate and slender... Then he remembered the touch in the dream where his fingertips grazed across.

He silently lowered his head, feeling ashamed and self-reproachful.

Though Gu Lan liked men, many men liked men, how could he just because he knew his brother liked men, develop such bizarre thoughts about her?

Moreover, last night...

If Gu Lan knew, would she feel he was humiliating her?

Rong Heng couldn’t help but look up and ask, "Gu Lan, did I do anything weird in my sleep last night?"

Gu Lan slept even deeper than he did, how could she have known, besides, when she woke up, one of her legs almost pressed Rong Heng till he couldn’t breathe.

She immediately shook her head: "No, no, Brother Hang, you were very well-behaved in your sleep."

Seeing Rong Heng’s silent look, Gu Lan felt the need to help Brother Hang dispel his sense of shame, so she said: "Brother Hang, us men, in the morning, having this or that... It’s all normal."

Rong Heng: Stop talking.

At this moment, Zijin walked in with a basin of water, and upon seeing Rong Heng, was so shocked she almost dropped the basin: "Rong... Fifth Prince? How come, why are you in the Young Master’s room?"

And looking like he just woke up?

"It was..."

Just as Rong Heng was about to explain, Gu Lan wrapped an arm around his shoulders and said, "Last night, I had a long talk with Brother Hang, and we accidentally fell asleep together."

"Isn’t that right, Brother Hang?" She softly asked him again in his ear, her gentle breath falling on his ear.

Rong Heng’s pupils trembled, the scenes from the dream once again appearing before his eyes, Gu Lan was just like her dream self, carrying a faint floral scent, and her breath was warm.

His Adam’s apple moved up and down, and he nodded: "Yes."

"Well then... the Old Madam has called you over for a meal."

Zijin suspected something, but she didn’t have any evidence.

"Alright, in a moment," Gu Lan pulled Rong Heng’s arm, "I want to be with Brother Hang."

Zijin widened her eyes and couldn’t help saying, "Rong... Fifth Prince, you’re not really sneaking out of the palace, and appearing so openly?"

Gu Lan earnestly spoke nonsense: "No, how could he sneak out of the palace, he’s weak, it was me who forced him out."

After all, ever since Jiu "died", Rong Heng had no scruples beside him, even if caught sneaking out of the palace... it was Gu Lan who kidnapped him.

The Emperor hadn’t been paying attention to these young people lately.

The weak Rong Heng frowned slightly, suddenly realizing that Gu Lan needed him to play a part, but hadn’t explained it to him clearly.

Until they both appeared at the entrance of the Marquis Mansion’s dining hall, under everyone’s gaze, Gu Lan whispered, "Brother Hang, you don’t need to act, just react naturally."

Rong Heng: How should he react?

At the dining table, Mrs. Wang and Madam Zhou, Gu Changting, and the Old Madam were present.

The four of them saw Gu Lan and also saw Rong Heng beside her. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The four pairs of eyes turned their gaze, Rong Heng maintained his composure and even offered a gentle smile to the Old Madam, appearing dignified and handsome.

Since Gu Lan wanted to use him as a shield, telling the family she liked men, he could only strive to be someone whom Young Master Gu could like.

Madam Zhou: "Fifth Young Master Rong?"

Gu Changting, who had seen Rong Heng before, was surprised: "Rong Heng, why are you here?"

Gu Lan quickly spoke up: "Isn’t today the day to decide my lifelong matter? Rong Heng is my best brother, so I specially invited him here."

The Old Madam was also a bit surprised, her gaze turned to Rong Heng: "Fifth Young Master Rong? Could you be the Young Prince of the former Emperor?"

Rong Heng nodded: "Greetings to Old Madam Gu, Marchioness."

Zhou Wanqing gave him a slight smile. She had seen Rong Heng at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet before and noticed that although this child seemed cold, he was very attentive when dealing with her daughter, so she put away her prejudice and even gave him a mooncake.

The Old Madam scrutinized his features and eyes, a trace of nostalgia flashing in her eyes, and she couldn’t help but say: "It really is the Fifth Prince. The former Emperor was right, you have grown up, and indeed you most resemble him."

Rong Heng slightly lowered his head, not speaking.

Only Old Madam Gu dared say such things. If others said the Fifth Prince resembled the former Emperor, then what about the Emperor?

The Old Madam continued:

"I remember back then you were only three years old. The former Emperor intended to title you Prince Rong. Later, because you were too young, and titling a prince requires establishing a mansion and court, which would be inconvenient, along with opposition from ministers, it was set aside... However, at that time, the former Emperor held you and said he has five sons, and only the Fifth Prince most resembles him."

Gu Lan couldn’t help but think, the former Emperor actually wanted to title a three-year-old prince, does that mean one day he might just change the Crown Prince if he wanted?

A son who resembles his father.

This was perhaps the greatest compliment a father could give a son.

She realized she once again underestimated how favored Rong Heng had been in his childhood.

"I didn’t expect we could hear grandmother speak of such secretive things today," Gu Changting lamented, "Fifth Young Master Rong, since little Lan has said you are her best brother, please have a seat."

The Old Madam glanced at Gu Lan, teasingly remarked with emotion: "My dear grandson is much like Chengzhao, both love making sworn brothers. Chengzhao used to secretly become sworn brothers with others and wouldn’t tell me, but I knew all along."

Zhou Wanqing was surprised: "Mother, so you actually knew."

Gu Changting: "Grandmother, with whom did uncle become sworn brothers? Why didn’t I know?"

The Old Madam chuckled and did not answer.

Considering Rong Heng was present, she didn’t reveal that the person who became sworn brothers with Marquis Gu was Prince Rui. After all, on the surface, the Prince Mansion and Dingyuan Marquis Mansion shouldn’t appear close.

Moreover, her dear grandson was impressive. Her son became sworn brothers with Prince Rui, while her grandson managed to become sworn brothers with Prince Rui’s brother, making the status within the hierarchy in the future harder to fathom.

Rong Heng’s throat moved slightly, wanting to explain that he hadn’t formally sworn brotherhood with Gu Lan yet.

Forget it, even if they weren’t sworn brothers, it couldn’t erase the guilt of having different feelings toward a brother!

After breakfast, the Old Madam took out an invitation from the Lu Mansion and said:

"Lan, you should know your grandmother summoned you from the palace to ask your opinion. Now, the Lu Family intends to marry their second daughter to you. Grandmother has met Lu Feifei; her looks are acceptable. Although she doesn’t excel like my dear grandson, she is a rare beauty. Grandmother is quite satisfied with her."

The atmosphere turned silent, awaiting Gu Lan’s response, and Madam Zhou also felt a moment of tension for her.

Gu Lan broke the silence: "Grandmother, grandson’s heart already belongs to someone else, so I will not marry Lu Feifei."

The Old Madam was momentarily stunned, with an expression that seemed to say ’knew it.’

After all, having experienced her son’s and daughter-in-law’s marriage arrangement years ago, she had already come to terms with this reality. So, she wasn’t forcing Gu Lan to marry today but was exploring the situation.

"Whose girl is it?" the Old Madam asked in surprise. "Although the Second Miss Lu is not the best option, if you don’t mind, my dear grandson, you can take her as a concubine."

Gu Lan shook his head, glanced at Rong Heng for an instant, who had a black face, and purposely said: "The person I like is jealous."

The Old Madam sighed, then calmed down, with a gentle smile appearing on her face, she said kindly:

"You are still young, so let’s take time to discuss this. Grandmother does not seek a prominent family background for the girl, as long as she is suitable in looks and character for my grandson."

The Old Madam still did not give up matching her with Lu Feifei. After all, no matter who Gu Lan wanted to marry, accepting a concubine shouldn’t be too much to ask.

The Minister of Revenue’s legitimate daughter as a concubine for the Marquis Mansion, the Lu Family made a great compromise to climb up.

Gu Lan said softly: "Suitable, in terms of family—well, that’s probably enough too."

The Old Madam was taken aback, searching among the eligible young women in the Capital City who had contact with Gu Lan, feeling somewhat helpless: "Dear grandson, could it be you took a fancy to Baoyi? Our Marquis Mansion and Prince Rui Mansion in Your Majesty’s eyes..."

She glanced at Rong Heng, held back what she wanted to say, steadied herself, and gritted her teeth: "If indeed that’s the case, I’ll lay my pride down and ask His Majesty to grant you marriage. At most, we let Chengzhao hand over some military power, so His Majesty won’t worry."

Gu Lan remained silent.

The Old Madam was taken aback, and suddenly thought of Rong Miaoyan: "Could it be Princess Ning’an?"

Facing the Old Madam’s puzzled stare, Gu Lan declared, word by word:

"It’s not Baoyi, nor Miaoyan, Grandmother—the person I like doesn’t like me back."

The Old Madam was astonished: "Is there actually a girl who doesn’t like you?"

Gu Lan: "It’s not a girl."