“Men’s thoughts are too hard to guess,” Gu Fu complained to Mu Qingyao while rummaging through her clothes.
Mu Qingyao, who had taken a book from Gu Fu’s shelf and was flipping through it, didn’t lift her head as she responded, “What’s wrong now?”
Gu Fu shook her head and said, “It’s just hard to guess.”
Although Gu Fu couldn’t understand why Fu Yan was upset, she didn’t share the details that might have angered him with anyone else.
Mu Qingyao was never one to delve deeply into matters. Since Gu Fu didn’t want to explain further, she didn’t press for details.
After finishing a chapter, Mu Qingyao looked up to ask Gu Fu if she could borrow the book, but she noticed that Gu Fu was spreading a cloth on the bed and placing the clothes she had just taken out onto it.
Mu Qingyao was stunned. “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere,” Gu Fu said. “Remember Li Yu?”
Mu Qingyao nodded. “Yes, I remember.”
“He knows I’m still alive, so I told him I’m preparing to leave the capital to prevent him from constantly trying to find me here. The date is set for tomorrow. I’ll let him escort me out of the city, then I’ll sneak back. This way, everything will be sorted out, and the Empress will also have an explanation.”
Of course, the letters still had to be sent, transitioning from one per month to one every six months, then one per year, and finally, fading away completely to settle the matter.
Gu Fu packed the luggage she would use to pretend to leave the city tomorrow, including the jade pendant Li Yu had given her, which she planned to return to himâkeeping it could cause trouble later.
Mu Qingyao put down the book she was reading and, seeing that Gu Fu had finished packing, suddenly asked, “You’re not really leaving, are you?”
Gu Fu turned to look at her, somewhat surprised. “Why do you ask that?”
“Because…” Mu Qingyao glanced out the window. It was now February, and the bare branches were sprouting new buds, which looked pleasing. However, Mu Qingyao only felt like sighing. Her normally flat tone sounded particularly ethereal as she continued, “Because you can go anywhere.”
Gu Fu, who had the ability to travel alone from the capital to the northern border and had stayed there for five years, could live well anywhere.
The Gu family seemed to provide Gu Fu with a place to stay, ensuring she was well-fed and well-clothed, living in a served courtyard, enjoying the greenery in spring, snow in winter, lotus in summer, and crabs in autumn. But these were all things Gu Fu could obtain through her own means. Moreover, in another place, Gu Fu could live freely, without worrying about being pressured by her elders to get married.
So if one day Gu Fu decided to leave and never return, Mu Qingyao wouldnât be surprised at all.
Gu Fu walked up to Mu Qingyao and flicked her forehead. “What are you thinking?”
She said, “To leave or enter the city, you need a ‘pass’. Five years ago, I was able to make my way to the northern border because I had a recommendation letter written and stamped by General Lin, and later, my father got me a fake identity, ensuring everything went smoothly. Tomorrow, I plan to ask the Imperial Preceptor for a pass tonight. After all, itâs about fooling the Empress’s nephew; I can’t keep troubling my father.
“But if I use a pass from the Imperial Preceptor to run off somewhere else, the Emperor can issue a decree to all provinces. By cross-checking the city’s entry and exit registers, wouldn’t they still find me?”
Mu Qingyao felt somewhat reassured after hearing this. She was accustomed to supporting Gu Fu in everything, but over the past five years, she had worried about Gu Fu, even while knowing her whereabouts and receiving her letters. If she didn’t even know where Gu Fu was, she couldn’t imagine how uneasy she would be.
However, Mu Qingyao didnât know that if Gu Fu truly wanted to leave, a pass wouldn’t stop her. She stayed because she had family she cared about and because she hadnât found a place she wanted to go or a reason to leave.
That evening, Gu Fu went to Qitian Tower to ask Fu Yan for a pass. The efficiency of the Secret Cabinet was exceptionally high. Before Gu Fu even finished practicing her new tune, a young apprentice brought a new pass to her.
Gu Fu said, “Not bad, quite fast.”
Fu Yan stood up. “You should head back.”
“Ah?” Gu Fu watched Fu Yan go downstairs, then turned to ask the young apprentice, “Is he still mad?”
The apprentice, bowing to see her off, didn’t dare tell Gu Fu that the new tune she practiced today was horrendously bad. Apart from Gu Fu herself, probably no normal person could endure it.
Since the apprentice didn’t speak up, Gu Fu remained unaware. Thus, the next day when she met with Li Yu, she was still preoccupied with Fu Yanâs anger and seemed quite distracted.
Li Yu had been so excited about today that he barely slept last night. As they rode out of the city together, he noticed Gu Fu’s obvious distraction and grew concerned. “Is something bothering you?”
“Ah?” Gu Fu responded.
“I see you seem distracted,” Li Yu said. “Is something wrong?”
“Uh…” Gu Fu thought for a moment. “I made someone angry and I’m trying to figure out why.”
Li Yu couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Gu Fu being troubled over angering someone. “So, you finally have a taste of your own medicine.”
Gu Fu was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Li Yu started counting on his fingers, listing the many mischievous things Gu Fu had done in the northern border over the years. “Wei Xiao and the others were always complaining about wanting to rebel against you. How is it only now that you’re starting to think about this?”
Gu Fu replied, “That person is different from you all, very precious.”
“Precious?” Li Yu asked, “Is it the girl you asked to meet me at the tavern?”
Naturally, it wasn’t, but Gu Fu didn’t feel like explaining, so she just nodded. “Yes, it’s her.”
Li Yu remembered that the person he met that day was wearing a veiled hat, looking like a girl from a wealthy family. He asked, “Which family’s girl is she? You seem to trust her a lot, telling her everything.”
“She…” Gu Fu’s mind raced, and perhaps it was running too fast, as she suddenly blurted out, “Their surname is Fu.”
“Fu?” Li Yu, having grown up in the capital, didn’t recall any prominent family with that surname. Either the family was too ordinary to catch his attention, or Gu Fu was being deceived. So he pressed, “What’s her full name?”
“Discussing a girl’s name so casually isn’t appropriate, is it?” Gu Fu deflected.
Li Yu retorted coldly, “When you told her about me owing you twice for pants without taking them off, why didn’t you think it was inappropriate?”
Gu Fu was at a loss for words but didn’t continue using the Grandmaster as an excuse. “Just don’t worry about her name.”
“Will she be leaving with you?” Li Yu asked, though he immediately felt foolish. No matter if she was from a wealthy family or not, if she truly left with Gu Fu, it would be considered eloping.
But Gu Fu thought it would be odd to show she cared so much and then say the person wouldn’t be coming with her.
So Gu Fu lied to Li Yu, “Of course she’s coming with me, but she left the city a few days before me, so we didn’t leave together.”
Li Yu fell silent, surprised that the girl named Fu was so willing to take risks. While amazed, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of envy, envious that Miss Fu could roam freely with Gu Fu.
Gu Fu hadn’t even considered the idea of eloping and kept muttering, “So what is he angry about?”
Seeing Gu Fu thinking about Miss Fu even while talking to him, Li Yu’s envy turned to impatience. He said, “Don’t think about it anymore. Women are always like this, always making trouble out of nothing.”
Li Yu thought he was speaking a universal truth, but Gu Fu gave him a glare: You men are the ones who make trouble out of nothing, harder to understand than a heavenly book.
The period from February to March was a good time for outings. Gu Fu and Li Yu encountered many families taking horse-drawn carriages out of the city. Gu Fu didn’t pay much attention at first, until Li Yu pointed at a distant carriage and said, “That looks like the carriage from the Marquis of Changning’s residence.”
Gu Fu stiffened, “Where?”
Li Yu didn’t say, just called to Gu Fu, “Let’s take a detour, I don’t want to see anyone from that family, bad luck.”
Especially the eldest son, Wen Jiang, and the younger son, Wen Xi, from the Marquis of Changning’s residence. Those two were always causing trouble, one bothering his second uncle Li Yuming, and the other running to complain to Grand Tutor Wei, causing his Imperial Guards to get reprimanded.
Gu Fu also didn’t want to run into anyone from the Marquis of Changning’s residence. If Wen Xi saw her, her act would be over.
The two agreed to change their route and urged their horses to take a detour.
At that moment, the carriage from the Marquis of Changning’s residence had its curtain lifted from the inside. Wen Xi, who had been forced to go on this outing despite not wanting to, stuck his head out to get some fresh air. Suddenly, he noticed a familiar figure in the distance and murmured, “Second Brother?”
“What’s the matter?” Wen He, the second young master of the Marquis of Changning’s residence, happened to be walking by the carriage and thought Wen Xi was calling him.
Wen Xi, looking annoyed, waved him off. “I wasn’t calling you.”
Wen He didn’t believe him. “I clearly heard it. Do you have another second brother?”
Wen Xi: “…”
He actually did, but Wen He mustn’t know about it.
So, Wen Xi pulled his head back in and forcefully dropped the curtain.
“Little brat,” Wen He muttered, then rode his horse towards the carriage carrying the women of the Marquis’s household. He had just bought two sprigs of apricot blossoms from a roadside vendor and intended to give them to his wife.
Gu Fu and Li Yu continued to a secluded area called Wangcheng Slope. Gu Fu stopped her horse and said, “This is far enough. No need to go further.”
Li Yu suggested, “Let’s go a bit further. Who knows when we’ll meet again…”
He turned his head away, sighed, then turned back to Gu Fu and asked, “Really not staying? The capital is so prosperous; don’t you like it even a little?”
Gu Fu smiled without saying anything.
Li Yu understood. He tugged the reins and turned his horse around. “Then you go ahead. Remember to write me a letter.”
Gu Fu didn’t agree, but instead shouted, “Li Yu!”
Li Yu turned around, and a jade pendant flew toward his face.
“Damn you, Gu Fu!!” Li Yu barely caught the pendant, saving his face from a hit, but couldn’t help cursing at her.
Whether it was truly fear of getting hit or pent-up frustration from being unable to keep Gu Fu, he took this opportunity to vent.
Gu Fu laughed loudly. “Alright, go back. I’ll remember to write you.”
With that, Gu Fu waved her reins, spurred her horse, and galloped away, gradually disappearing from Li Yu’s sight.
Li Yu stared in the direction Gu Fu had gone for a long time, then looked down at the jade pendant in his hand, engraved with the character “Li,” the one he had previously given to Gu Fu.
This jade pendant was useful mostly in the capital and not much outside. Li Yu didn’t expect Gu Fu to return even this little keepsake.
From now on, separated by mountains and rivers, he had to rely on Gu Fu to write to him; otherwise, he wouldn’t know her whereabouts.
If one day Gu Fu forgot to write…
Li Yu panicked at the thought, clenched the jade pendant tightly, and whipped his horse to chase after her.
But after galloping for more than ten miles, even his horse grew tired, and he still couldn’t see Gu Fu’s figure again.
…
Gu Fu rarely left the city and didn’t want to return so soon. She made a detour to Bian Mountain, visited her family’s estate, and cut several branches of blooming apricot flowers to give as gifts.
When Gu Fu returned home with the flowers, she was caught by a maid arranged by Gu Qizheng as soon as she entered through the small gate. The maid said, “Second Miss, the master is waiting for you in the study.”
Anticipating a scolding, Gu Fu was reluctant to go.
However, avoiding it wasn’t an option. She handed the flowers to the maid, instructing her to divide them and send them to Mu Qingyao, her sister-in-law, the second madam, and Gu Xiaowu.
The maid reminded her, “What about Aunt Yang and the Fourth Miss?”
Gu Fu remembered and patted her forehead. “Oh right, them too. Send one branch each to Fourth Sister and Aunt Yang, and keep the rest in my room.”
After giving these instructions, Gu Fu went to Gu Qizheng’s study.
Seeing her in men’s clothing, Gu Qizheng scolded her as expected, saying she shouldn’t be running around in men’s attire.
Gu Fu, used to this, initially endured the lecture obediently but couldn’t resist arguing back as it continued.
Soon, both were thirsty from talking. Gu Qizheng tried to pour some tea, but the teapot was empty, so he called for a maid to brew a new pot.
Gu Fu sipped the tea to quench her thirst.
Gu Qizheng warned her irritably, “Stay home the day after tomorrow. We have guests coming.”
The tea was too hot, so Gu Fu could only sip it slowly. “Who?”
Gu Qizheng replied, “The Wu family from Dongqiao.”
Gu Fu tried to recall but couldn’t remember any interactions between her family and the Wu family from Dongqiao. As she was wondering about this, she heard Gu Qizheng add: “They have a son named Wu Huaijin. He was previously engaged, but unfortunately, it coincided with the death of the Wu family’s patriarch. Due to the mourning period, they missed the wedding date, and the bride’s family withdrew from the engagement. Now that the mourning period is over, the Wu family is preparing to find a new match for Wu Huaijin. Although Wu Huaijin is much older than you, his appearance and conduct are both excellent…”
Gu Fu realized that this was another potential husband chosen by the elders for her.
Gu Fu didn’t want to speak and lowered her head to drink tea.
Unexpectedly, Gu Qizheng continued: “He himself is quite accomplished. He joined the Imperial Guard at seventeen and has been diligent in his duties for many years. Now he’s the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard and has a good relationship with his superior, Li Yu…”
Gu Fu suddenly spat out her tea, spraying it all over the floor.
Translatorâs notes:
In Chinese, the pronouns used by Gu Fu when talking to Li Yu can refer to a man or a woman. Thatâs why he doesnât suspect a thing and thinks sheâs talking about a woman.
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