Xie Zichen never dreamed that Gu Fu would directly resort to violence against him.
Even as Gu Fu clutched his neck, he still felt a sense of unreality—as if he had somehow ended up in some bizarre record of strange events—being slammed into a tree by a girl. Was this really happening?
But Gu Fu’s face was so close, so real. The polished mica pieces on her face reflected light in the sunlight, and her upturned eyes made her gaze at him seem particularly contemptuous.
Xie Zichen struggled hard but couldn’t budge Gu Fu at all. His face flushed, unsure if it was from the discomfort of being strangled or the shame of being so easily subdued by a woman.
“What… what do you… want?” Xie Zichen spoke with difficulty; each word squeezed out from his throat, gripped by Gu Fu.
Gu Fu, however, spoke easily, detailing her demands and adding one more to the original: “Call off this engagement, and let any future marriage candidates know that your heart belongs to another.”
This way, even if she got rid of him, it would ensure that other girls wouldn’t be deceived and give their hearts to him in vain.
Of course, if the girl knew and still decided to marry him, that would be her choice and had nothing to do with Gu Fu.
After hearing Gu Fu’s purpose, Xie Zichen didn’t consider whether to agree or refuse. Instead, he thought he had found Gu Fu’s weakness and threatened her in return: “Let go… of me, or I’ll… push forward… the engagement date!”
Gu Fu raised her eyebrows, evidently surprised that he had the audacity to say such a thing. She tightened her grip.
Xie Zichen couldn’t breathe at all. He tried to pry Gu Fu’s hand off his neck, but despite his best efforts, he only managed to leave scratch marks on his neck and Gu Fu’s hand.
Xie Zichen’s eyes rolled back uncontrollably, his tongue lolling out, and just as he seemed on the brink of death, Gu Fu let go, tossing him to the ground.
Xie Zichen collapsed completely, his limbs trembling, unable to even crawl.
He gasped for breath, choking on his saliva from the effort, which led to a bout of heart-wrenching coughing.
Gu Fu watched coldly. When his coughing subsided somewhat, she squatted down beside him.
Just moments ago, Xie Zichen had tried to threaten Gu Fu, but now he shivered involuntarily, his body reacting faster than his mind, trying to move away from her.
Gu Fu sneered, pulling him back, and told him, “You want to marry me? Fine, I don’t mind being a widow. On the wedding night, a thief breaks in, and my husband, trying to protect me, takes a fatal blow. From then on, we are forever separated by life and death—doesn’t that sound much more touching than your story of unrequited love harming innocent girls?”
The warm breath, tinged with a faint fragrance, whispered in Xie Zichen’s ear like a devil’s murmur, making him tremble even more violently.
After the recent ordeal, Xie Zichen understood that Gu Fu’s words were not just a threat but a statement of fact—if he dared to marry her, that would definitely happen.
Even though he was unwilling, Xie Zichen didn’t want to gamble with his life, so he almost humiliatingly agreed to Gu Fu’s demands.
Gu Fu felt very good after dealing with Xie Zichen and venting her anger.
As she walked out of the garden, Nanny Lin, who had been waiting outside, matched her pace and said with a smile, “Congratulations, General.”
Gu Fu replied, “It’s too early for that.”
Xie Zichen was only the first suitor her family had chosen for her. After he refused the marriage, both her father, Gu Qizheng, and her grandmother, or Second Madam Li, would continue to find her another match. There was still a long way to go, and it was too early to celebrate.
Nanny Lin didn’t argue and only asked, “Mr. Xie has met his retribution, but what about the Seventh Lady of the Earl of Lin’an’s household?”
Tang Mumu was the seventh in her family.
Gu Fu couldn’t understand: “I don’t even know her, nor do I know what she looks like. Why should I go after her?”
Nanny Lin lowered her eyes and said, “After all, this matter started because of her…”
“We’ll see about that later.” Gu Fu, having disguised herself as a man for a long time, always felt a strange sense of tolerance and pity towards women.
This matter may have started because of Tang Mumu, but if Tang Mumu didn’t seek her out, Gu Fu wouldn’t go out of her way to trouble her—at least, that’s what Gu Fu thought.
However, Gu Fu didn’t expect that Tang Mumu would indeed come to her, and quite forcefully.
After leaving Xie Zichen, Gu Fu returned to the Twin Lotus Pavilion. As she stepped onto the main path, she heard a loud splash.
Looking ahead, she saw a curtain being pulled from the pavilion and falling into the pond, causing a splash. Two people were struggling desperately in the water, and the pavilion was filled with screams and cries for help.
In the cold winter, even if someone wasn’t drowned, they would likely fall seriously ill after being rescued from the freezing water.
Everyone was in a panic over this unexpected incident.
While some girls in the pavilion called for help, others reached over the railing, trying to grab the hands of those struggling in the water but failing to reach them. Some girls stood frozen in place, clearly scared out of their wits.
Over at the male pavilion, there was a brief commotion as someone prepared to jump in to save the drowning people when suddenly there was another gasp from the female pavilion.
Everyone looked over to see a flash of red dart across the lake. Someone grabbed one of the people in the water, held them in their arms, spun around, and, with a light step on the water, like a graceful bird, leaped back into the pavilion holding the rescued person.
The entire sequence of actions was smooth and fluid. Before anyone could react, Gu Fu had already landed in the pavilion with the soaking wet Mu Qingyao in her arms and shouted to the male pavilion, “Lower the curtain!”
The Twin Lotus Pavilion had bamboo curtains on all four sides, but the curtain between the two pavilions was not lowered to avoid completely separating the male and female seating areas.
After Gu Fu shouted, the girls and boys hurried to their respective pavilion sides to lower the curtains facing the other side. Lowering all the curtains took time, and the remaining person in the water couldn’t wait. Gu Fu simply took off her scarlet outer jacket and wrapped it around Mu Qingyao in her arms.
Gu Fu handed Mu Qingyao to Tang Wu, the host of the poetry gathering, and was about to continue rescuing the other person when a bedraggled Mu Qingyao grabbed her sleeve. Mu Qingyao’s lips moved, and Gu Fu guessed she had something to say, so she lowered her head to listen.
“It was she who pushed me, and I pulled her into the water with me…” Mu Qingyao said.
Gu Fu understood and patted Mu Qingyao’s hand. Mu Qingyao then released her grip.
Gu Fu stood up and once again leaped onto the surface of the lake to rescue the remaining person. This time, instead of holding the person as she did with Mu Qingyao, Gu Fu grabbed the person’s collar and lifted her like a rabbit.
When Gu Fu jumped back into the female pavilion with the person, she let go, causing the person to be flung onto the table with tea and snacks.
The girls exclaimed in shock again, but by now, the bamboo curtains in the pavilion were all lowered, so no one outside the female pavilion saw what had just happened.
Interestingly, despite Gu Fu’s deliberate revenge causing the fallen girl to be in a miserable state, only a few maidservants went to help her up. The other girls either gathered around Mu Qingyao or Gu Fu, with no one going to check on her.
Even Tang Wu merely instructed the maidservants to take her seventh sister back to change clothes.
Tang Wu’s sister? Seventh in the family?
Upon overhearing this, Gu Fu instantly understood that the other person who had fallen into the water was none other than Tang Mumu, the seventh-ranked concubine daughter of Earl Lin’an’s household.
Due to the incident, the poetry gathering was forced to end prematurely, and the Countess of Lin’an hurried over. While the Countess was very grateful for Gu Fu’s heroic rescue, she wasn’t willing to immediately accept that Mu Qingyao had been pushed into the water by Tang Mumu.
Firstly, her husband doted on this illegitimate daughter; if she acknowledged it now, he would likely berate her upon his return, embarrassing her as the lady of the house. Secondly, even though she didn’t like Tang Mumu, the girl was still a daughter of Earl Lin’an. If news of her malicious behavior spread, it would certainly affect the reputation of her own daughters.
Thus, the Countess did not acknowledge it publicly, intending to settle the matter privately with the Gu family later.
Gu Fu did not make things difficult for the Countess but did not linger at the Earl’s residence either. Once Mu Qingyao had changed into dry clothes, Gu Fu took her home.
……
Upon learning that Mu Qingyao had fallen into the water, the Gu household was thrown into a frenzy. Not only did Second Madam Li rush over, but even the old lady came to Mu Qingyao’s courtyard.
Gu Fu took the opportunity to step outside for some fresh air while they visited Mu Qingyao. It wasn’t her first time at Mu Qingyao’s courtyard, so she recognized all the maids. She watched as the familiar maids bustled around, carrying hot water and moving charcoal. One of them, seemingly worried that the fat pigeons kept there might disturb Mu Qingyao’s rest, took down the birdcage and walked out.
Gu Fu followed the maid outside the courtyard. The maid turned around, greeted Gu Fu, and asked if she had any instructions.
Gu Fu didn’t stand on ceremony, “You can take the pigeons back. Instead, help me deliver a letter to the palace.”
In the evening, Gu Qizheng returned to the mansion. Not wanting to go directly to Mu Qingyao, he summoned Gu Fu to ask questions. Gu Fu omitted her encounter with Xie Zichen, simply stating that she had left momentarily and returned just in time to see Mu Qingyao falling into the water. According to Mu Qingyao, it was Tang Mumu who pushed her.
In the study, only the father and daughter were present. Freshly brewed hot tea emitted white steam. Upon learning that the Countess of Lin’an did not acknowledge the incident, Gu Qizheng said, “I’ll go to the Earl’s residence later. You stay home and don’t cause any trouble.”
Gu Fu averted her eyes from Gu Qizheng’s gaze and said softly, “How could I be causing trouble?”
A sense of foreboding rose in Gu Qizheng’s heart. “What did you do?”
Gu Fu, hands clasped behind her back, raised her head confidently, “Nothing much, just had a secret agent from the Secret Cabinet in our mansion send a letter to the palace.”
Based on the Secret Cabinet’s efficiency, the letter should have already reached the emperor by now.
Gu Qizheng’s face turned from blue to white. The information that “Gu Fu sent a letter to the palace” and that “there are Secret Cabinet agents in the household” were equally terrifying.
However, Gu Fu’s assessment of the Secret Cabinet’s efficiency was slightly off. The agent not only delivered the letter to the emperor but also sent the fat pigeon to Qitian Tower.
At the top of Qitian Tower, the Imperial Preceptor sat at his desk holding the pigeon, listening to a subordinate report on the day’s events at the Earl of Lin’an’s residence. The plump white pigeon, calm and composed in Gu Fu’s hands, became rigid like a fake pigeon in the Imperial Preceptor’s hands, not daring to move.
The empress borrowed this pigeon from the Secret Cabinet to communicate with Marquis Zhongshun. Since then, it has not returned, prompting the Secret Cabinet to send someone to search for it.
What the Imperial Preceptor did not expect was that the person they had been searching for days would be found due to a stubborn pigeon unwilling to return home. Even more surprising was that this person, upon noticing the Secret Cabinet’s agent, not only remained unflustered but also directly used them as a messenger.
Marquis Zhongshun, Gu Fu, was truly an odd person.
The Imperial Preceptor spread a piece of paper on the table and then placed the pigeon on the paper.
The poor little pigeon squatted obediently like a statue.
The Imperial Preceptor, using the pigeon as a paperweight, slowly rolled up his sleeves and began to grind ink.
When the ink was sufficiently thick, the Imperial Preceptor took up the brush and wrote down the poem created by everyone at the poetry gathering, with Gu Fu as the protagonist—
“With fragrant sleeves and cloud-like hair, she enters the grand gate,
At the feast, cups like the rosy sky reflect her delicate makeup.
A sudden cold wind strikes the hanging curtains,
As if hearing a sigh from the fairy of Jade Terrace.”
The first half and the second half of this poem were not written by the same person, and it was said that the latter half troubled the people at the poetry gathering for quite some time.
The Imperial Preceptor did not put down the brush but instead wrote two more lines.
The Imperial Preceptor’s calligraphy was powerful and vigorous, penetrating the paper. After finishing, he stood up and called for servants to help him change clothes as he was going to enter the palace.
With the departure of the Imperial Preceptor, the pigeon finally regained its spirit and flapped its wings to fly away frantically.
Without the pigeon pressing it down, the paper was blown by the wind, twirling in the air before lightly landing on the ground, revealing the original poem with two additional lines below—
“With fragrant sleeves and cloud-like hair, she enters the grand gate,
At the feast, cups like the rosy sky reflect her delicate makeup.
Unbeknownst to the graceful lady’s love for strong wine,
Her cold garments and iron sword reflect the starlight.”
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