A sudden downpour enveloped the entire capital.
The fierce wind carried raindrops the size of beans, continuously beating against the carriage. The Secret Guard driving the carriage wore a bamboo hat and a raincoat as he directed the carriage toward the palace gates.
Inside the carriage, Gu Fu and Fu Yan were fully dressed. One sat upright, exuding even more coldness than usual, while the other leaned against the window, allowing the wind that lifted the curtain to bring raindrops onto her face, hoping it would quell the anger in her heart.
Unfortunately, it had little effect.
After a while, Fu Yan raised his hand, motioning for Gu Fu to come over to his side and not to stay by the window, exposed to the wind and rain.
As Fu Yan lifted his hand, the overlapping sleeves slightly slid down, revealing a portion of his wrist marked with red indentations.
The rough marks stood in stark contrast to Fu Yan’s ethereal and otherworldly appearance at that moment, reminding Gu Fu of what she had just been forced to miss. This not only failed to quell the anger in her heart but instead made it surge even higher.
She grasped Fu Yan’s hand, moved closer to him, and gently touched the red marks on his wrist, asking in a muffled voice, “Does it still hurt?”
Fu Yan replied, “It doesn’t hurt, just irritated.”
It wasn’t just Gu Fu who had been interrupted in the middle of something.
The carriage stopped at the palace gates, and the two switched to a sedan chair to head towards Hanyuan Hall—this was by the emperor’s special order, to make sure it was known that when Princess Yulou died, Gu Fu wasn’t even in the palace.
As Gu Fu disembarked from the sedan chair, a young eunuch handed her a brand-new, intact veil made of fine gauze, deliberately cut so that its length only reached her neck. It was then that Gu Fu remembered there was still Li Yu in the palace, so she casually put the veil on.
When the two of them entered the hall to meet the emperor, the atmosphere inside was completely different from before. The envoy from Lei Kingdom, standing nearby, stared at Gu Fu with bloodshot eyes, his gaze so fierce it seemed he wanted to skin Gu Fu alive and drink her blood.
Gu Fu ignored this, following Fu Yan to greet the emperor.
After they were called to rise, the emperor asked them where they were when Princess Yulou died. Before Gu Fu could respond, Fu Yan answered first, “Your Majesty, today is Gu-er’s birthday. I prepared a residence for her on Xing Le Street as a birthday gift, and I just took her out of the palace to see it.”
The court officials were in an uproar, uncertain whether they were more surprised by the extravagance of the gift or by the fact that Fu Yan, usually so cold and distant, had taken Gu Fu, who had yet to marry, out of the palace without permission.
But one thing was certain: if Fu Yan was telling the truth, then Gu Fu had nothing to do with Princess Yulou’s death.
In fact, there didn’t seem to be much of a connection anyway. Gu Fu and Princess Yulou had never met before, had no prior grievances, and Gu Fu had won their previous competition. If there were any resentment, it should have been Princess Yulou resenting Gu Fu, not the other way around.
However, Princess Yulou had died in a side hall, and after her death, she had been nailed to the wall with a scale-patterned long sword. The Imperial Guards’ long swords are engraved with serial numbers, so it was confirmed that the murder weapon was the same sword Gu Fu had used during the competition with Princess Yulou in the hall earlier.
Normally, no one would be foolish enough to use a weapon tied to themselves to commit murder, fearing that they wouldn’t be suspected. Yet the envoy from Lei Kingdom, as if he had lost his mind, clung to Gu Fu, insisting that Princess Yulou, being competitive by nature, must have secretly gone to the side hall to challenge Gu Fu again, resulting in Gu Fu accidentally killing her. Therefore, he demanded that Gu Fu pay with her life.
Now, even after hearing that Gu Fu was not in the palace when Princess Yulou died, the envoy from Lei Kingdom stubbornly stuck to his beliefs. He even went so far as to suggest that the Gu Fu currently wearing the veil was an imposter hastily brought in from outside the palace to deceive them.
In his agitation, he lunged at Gu Fu, attempting to tear off her veil.
Before the Imperial Guards in the hall could act, Gu Fu directly subdued him, pinning him to the ground, and mocked, “I never removed my veil earlier. Taking it off now proves nothing. It would be better to call back those who fought me just now and have another match, so they can personally feel whether I am who I claim to be.”
Her tone was extremely arrogant.
This method was indeed effective, but it wasn’t necessary. Just seeing her easily pin the Lei Kingdom envoy to the ground convinced everyone, except the envoy himself, that she was indeed the same Gu Fu who had dominated the competition earlier. Moreover, the other envoys had no desire to let their warriors lose face a second time.
So, the question remained: who had killed Princess Yulou? And how did the scale-patterned long sword that Gu Fu had swapped out earlier end up in the side hall?
The emperor ordered a thorough investigation. Since the scale-patterned long sword was related to the Imperial Guards, the investigation was handed over to the Chiyao Army, with assistance from the Secret Cabinet, instead of involving the Imperial Guards.
Finding the true murderer of Princess Yulou was crucial—after all, a murder within the palace was deeply unsettling unless the culprit was caught.
However, finding the true culprit was one matter; explaining this to Lei Kingdom was another.
The envoy from Lei Kingdom was completely unreasonable, acting as though he would refuse to believe the truth even if the real culprit were found. He loudly proclaimed that if Gu Fu wasn’t punished, he would report this matter to his king upon returning.
Although Lei Kingdom wasn’t as vast and resource-rich as Dayong, it was a nation that valued military strength. If the two countries went to war, it would undoubtedly disrupt Dayong’s trade with the smaller countries along the eastern border.
When it comes to matters of state, the focus is often not on “truth,” but on interests and balance.
Sacrificing Gu Fu to maintain peaceful relations with Lei Kingdom and ensure that Dayong’s trade with the eastern countries wasn’t affected seemed like a straightforward choice.
But Gu Fu wasn’t just any ordinary official’s daughter, nor was she simply the Imperial Preceptor’s fiancée.
She was also the former commander of the Northern Frontier Army, who was officially “dead.”
For five years, she guarded the borders, fought countless battles of varying sizes, defended the nation’s territory, and secured peace for Dayong’s northern borders. Her efforts struck fear into the northern tribes and purged corruption from the northern government.
Had she continued, five years would have been just the beginning for her. But in the end, she abandoned everything because of an imperial decree.
Many rulers are accustomed to treating their decisions as divine will, and regardless of the outcome, those affected should not harbor resentment. But the phrase “thunder and rain are all the king’s grace” is meaningless to this emperor, who had suffered under the late emperor’s “thunder.” Therefore, the emperor knew he owed Gu Fu; Dayong owed Gu Fu. Even if Gu Fu couldn’t prove her innocence, the emperor would never sacrifice her life so easily.
To make his stance clear, the emperor demoted several ministers who had submitted memorials urging him to execute Gu Fu in exchange for peace between the two nations. This was to show the court how determined he was and to dissuade them from sacrificing Gu Fu.
However, until the matter was resolved, Gu Fu’s life was still affected—she was temporarily barred from entering the palace to teach and couldn’t go to Wanxiu Zhai either, leaving her no choice but to stay at home.
The Chiyao Army even placed guards in rotation outside the Gu residence.
Initially, the Gu family was alarmed by this, but they soon realized that the Chiyao Army was only concerned with Gu Fu and didn’t interfere with the rest of the family. They even deterred the Lei Kingdom envoy who had tried to cause trouble at their door, which reassured the family.
Gu Fu also tried not to leave the house to avoid causing more trouble.
Although she stayed home, others could still visit her.
With things quiet at Wanxiu Zhai during this time, the young women of the poetry society took turns visiting Gu Fu at her home to keep her company and prevent her from getting bored.
Mu Qingyao was perplexed by this: “I’m here, so how is she ‘alone’?”
This year’s late summer heat was particularly intense, and Tang Wu, fanning herself, retorted, “Are you the one who’ll tell her the gossip from the streets, or how others are discussing her?”
Mu Qingyao replied, “Street gossip is unreliable; there’s no point in talking about it. Others’ opinions are even less important, so what’s there to say?”
Tang Wu looked at the other women who had come along and said, “See?”
The group burst into laughter.
Gu Fu also laughed, which prompted Mu Qingyao to give her a playful swat.
Since Mu Qingyao was seated too far from Gu Fu to reach her, she used Tang Wu’s veil, which was lying nearby, to hit Gu Fu.
Tang Wu, unable to stop her, anxiously cried out, “Hey, hey, hey! Don’t ruin it!”
From the moment Tang Wu entered the room, Gu Fu noticed that, unlike the other girls, Tang Wu hadn’t handed her veil to a maid but had kept it on her lap, partially hidden by the table. Seizing the chance when Mu Qingyao used the veil to playfully hit her, Gu Fu took a closer look and finally understood why Tang Wu cherished this veil so much.
A row of pearls adorned the brim of the veil and the hem of the gauze, and various velvet flowers decorated the hat, making it exceptionally beautiful.
What surprised Gu Fu the most was that the gauze of this veil was very short, barely half a foot in length.
“Did you wear this veil out today?” Gu Fu asked.
Tang Wu replied, “You should call it ‘Shallow Dew.’”
Gu Fu was astonished, “It even has a name?”
One of the girls who had come with Tang Wu added, “We have you to thank for this. If you hadn’t shortened your veil and worn it in front of the emperor while defeating everyone, there wouldn’t be such a thing as ‘Shallow Dew’ today.”
It seemed Gu Fu’s actions had unintentionally started a trend.
If any other girl had shortened her veil, covering only her face and not her body, she would have been criticized. No one would have given it such an elegant name. But because Gu Fu wore it in front of the emperor and outperformed everyone in competition, it became a story. Now, if a girl wore such a short veil, it was seen as following a fashionable trend, and no one would accuse her of being shameless for wearing “Shallow Dew.”
Hearing this, Gu Fu smiled and said, “That’s nice.”
What Gu Fu didn’t know was that not only had “Shallow Dew” become a fashion trend in the capital, but carrying a sword had also become one of the trends among the young noblewomen. Whether or not they could use it didn’t matter; holding it in their hands, contrasting sharply with their flowing, delicate dresses, was enough to make a visual impact.
Today, Li Yu was on a break and had arranged to meet a few friends at a restaurant. Glancing down casually, he noticed a carriage parked in front of a cosmetics shop opposite him. A young woman, dressed in a skirt, wearing “Shallow Dew,” and holding a Miao sword in her hand, stepped down from the carriage with her maid and walked into the shop.
One of his friends, noticing his gaze, laughed and said, “Look at them. Of all things, they choose to imitate that second Miss Gu by wearing ‘Shallow Dew’ and carrying swords. It looks so awkward.”
Another friend, sipping his drink, commented, “I think it looks good. It gives them a spirited look.”
“If she were to draw that sword on you, I wonder if you’d still think it looks good.”
“Draw her sword? Come on, it’s just for show. Who knows if it’s even sharpened? If they did draw their swords, I bet these timid girls would scare themselves to tears first.”
“Don’t say that. What if you run into one who actually knows martial arts? Like that second Miss Gu.”
Everyone fell silent and looked at Li Yu, asking him—
“Hey, Qi Zhuan, did that second Miss Gu really beat all the guards escorting the foreign envoy to the capital in front of the emperor?”
“Is that even true? I just can’t believe it.”
“If it is true, just how strong must she be? How could the emperor bestow such a woman upon the Imperial Preceptor?”
“It’s probably false, right? If it were true, there’s no way the Imperial Preceptor would be so fond of her. He even gave her a house on Xingle Street as a birthday gift. Xingle Street! I was dumbfounded when I heard that. And she hasn’t even married him yet! If she does, just imagine how much he’ll spoil her.”
As Li Yu thought of the second Miss Gu, an indescribable irritation slowly rose within him. He told his friends, “It’s true.”
His friends clicked their tongues in amazement, while Li Yu, frowning deeply, found the usual conversation that he had previously found normal now gratingly noisy.
As he was mulling over this, he saw a familiar figure pass by downstairs—it was his cousin, Li Jin.
Li Yu hesitated for a moment and suddenly remembered that Li Jin had once paid for a painting, a depiction of the second Miss Gu rescuing someone at Earl Lin’an’s residence.
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