Xuan Yang Street.
The once bustling Prince Ying’s mansion has now become a prison requiring thorough checks for anyone entering or leaving.
Outside the mansion, the Imperial Guards work twelve-hour shifts. Even a bird flying overhead would be shot down to prevent communication.
The high-ranking officials and nobility living on the same street consciously take detours, even if it means waking up an extra quarter of an hour early to avoid passing near the mansion.
While almost everyone avoids Prince Ying’s mansion to steer clear of trouble, a carriage marked with the Qitian Tower emblem slowly stops in front of its gates.
Li Yu happened to be patrolling and saw the carriage. He thought to himself that this could be trouble.
Everyone in the capital knew there was animosity between the Imperial Preceptor and Prince Ying. Now that Prince Ying was imprisoned, the Imperial Preceptor’s visit could only spell trouble. If either of them got hurt, the Imperial Guards would likely bear the blame.
Despite this, Li Yu had to step forward and greet the Imperial Preceptor, who was descending from the carriage.
As there was no need to hide his identity, Fu Yan did not wear his hooded cloak this time. Instead, he wore a long white robe with gold embroidery and delicate gold ornaments, which added a touch of noble elegance rather than appearing gaudy.
Li Yu intended to use the Emperor as an excuse to refuse Fu Yan entry to see Prince Ying, but Fu Yan had already been to the palace and was carrying an imperial edict.
Li Yu had no choice but to follow the Imperial Preceptor inside determined not to leave his side to prevent any incidents.
After being surrounded by the Imperial Guards for some time, the mansion visibly looked more desolate. Li Yu and Fu Yan followed the mansion’s steward inside. Li Yu was pondering the purpose of the Imperial Preceptor’s visit when he heard him ask, “I remember, Commander Li once served under General Gu?”
Li Yu snapped back to attention. “Yes.”
Fu Yan asked again, “What kind of person do you think General Gu is?”
Li Yu pondered for a moment before replying, “General Gu is highly meritorious and dedicated to the nation, a model for all of us.”
Fu Yan didn’t want to hear those superficial comments and pressed further, “In private, what kind of person is he?”
If a familiar person had asked Li Yu this, he would have complained bitterly and recounted all of Gu Fu’s misdeeds. However, facing Fu Yan, whom he didn’t know well, Li Yu didn’t want to speak deeply about Gu Fu to someone unfamiliar, nor did he want to badmouth her in front of a stranger. Thus, he had to rack his brains to praise Gu Fu and get through the question.
Unexpectedly, as he continued praising her, he started to speak sincerely and reverted to the old way he used to address her:
“…The General is kind-hearted. He would have the clerks write letters home for the soldiers and would promote her subordinates without regard to their background. However, he is also very strict. Those who violate military discipline and disturb the common people are often punished more severely than by his predecessor. Because of this, military discipline is very strict, and the reputation of the Northern Frontier Army in the border cities has greatly improved. Not only do the citizens no longer complain about the soldiers searching for spies, but some even come forward to provide information about suspicious people. She often says that the Northern Frontier Army is there to protect the people of the North, so they should not abuse their position to oppress them…”
As Fu Yan listened, he tried to picture Gu Fu during her military service in his mind.
After finishing his business and leaving Prince Ying’s mansion, he was still unsatisfied. He specifically summoned a secret agent placed beside Guo Jian to ask if he had ever heard any old stories about Gu Fu during her service in the North.
The agent dropped a bombshell on Fu Yan—
While in the North, Gu Fu had once redeemed a prostitute and bought her a house in the border city.
Fu Yan: “…”
…
The Xuanlin Pamphlet was selling like hotcakes, and the voting was getting increasingly intense. The girls in Mu Qingyao’s poetry club were all extremely excited, feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride as if they had done something significant.
To celebrate and reward them, Gu Fu arranged a banquet at a restaurant and invited them all.
The girls drank and made merry, their unprecedented sense of achievement causing them to lose their usual restraint and decorum, and they all laughed happily.
After three rounds of drinks, Gu Fu, seeing the atmosphere was just right, said, “The Empress wants to find some companions for Princess Ruiyang and plans to summon all of you.”
After Gu Fu finished speaking, the girls fell silent. Miss Wei, sitting next to Gu Fu, first regained her senses and asked, “Are we to become companions for Princess Ruiyang? What about Wanxiu Zhai?”
Gu Fu smiled and said, “If you want to stay at Wanxiu Zhai, you can naturally remain there. However, if you find it too tiring, you can choose to do only one of the tasks. The Empress means to find more girls to accompany the Princess in her studies and martial arts training—about twenty to thirty girls. There’s no rush; you can discuss it among yourselves.”
The girls began to chatter among themselves. Some wanted to enter the palace to become companions but were reluctant to leave their work at Wanxiu Zhai, fearing it would be too exhausting to balance both. Others wanted to stay at Wanxiu Zhai but recognized that being a companion to the Princess was a prestigious task, and their families would not allow them to refuse.
One girl, extremely troubled, took advantage of the alcohol to muster the courage and asked Gu Fu, “Why suddenly select companions for the Princess?”
They had never heard of such a thing before.
Gu Fu replied, “Perhaps they fear the Princess might be distracted by thoughts of lively poetry gatherings while studying alone with her tutors.”
Of course, this was just an excuse. In truth, the Empress and Gu Fu were having difficulty selecting teachers for the girls’ academy.
The palace nannies were all very skilled, especially in teaching etiquette, rules, incense ceremonies, and tea art. But it was challenging to ask them to teach the academic subjects of a regular academy.
Not to mention horseback riding and martial arts.
There was no other way, so the Empress had to find teachers from outside. However, she was concerned that the teachers they hired might be morally corrupt or look down on female students, teaching them only from texts like “Women’s Precepts” or “Women’s Commandments,” rendering the academy useless.
To filter out suitable candidates, the Empress decided to first send the prospective teachers to Princess Ruiyang for a trial period. Additionally, by having more companions, they could create a school-like atmosphere, making it easier to observe the teachers’ attitudes toward female students.
The girls from the poetry club, unaware of the underlying reasons, were dismayed to learn that they had to study academics and practice horseback riding and archery.
“Why do we, as girls, need to learn riding and archery?” wailed Miss Tang, who dreaded sweating and sunburn.
Gu Fu calmly sipped her tea and said, “To become generals.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter, thinking that Gu Fu was just joking to cheer up Miss Tang.
Miss Wei even patted her shoulder, teasing, “You’re always saying such ridiculous things.”
Mu Qingyao, however, didn’t laugh. She asked, “Then why do we need to study the Four Books and Five Classics? We’re not scholars or taking the imperial exams. Isn’t it enough to learn poetry, songs, calligraphy, and painting?”
Gu Fu replied, “Think positively. Who knows, maybe women will be able to take the imperial exams and become officials in the future.”
The girls laughed so hard they could hardly stand up straight. Gu Fu, seemingly affected by the laughter, allowed a faint smile to appear at the corners of her lips.
Only Mu Qingyao, knowing that Gu Fu wasn’t joking, put away her perfect lady’s smile and softly murmured amidst the laughter, “I hope so.”
…
That evening, as Gu Fu changed clothes to head to Qitian Tower, Nanny Lin suddenly called out to her, “General!”
Gu Fu knew what she wanted to ask and, seeing no one else in the room, said to her, “Although His Majesty has determined that Prince Ying hired people from the martial world to assassinate the Imperial Preceptor, since the Imperial Preceptor wasn’t harmed, he’s only placed Prince Ying under house arrest and likely doesn’t intend to investigate further.”
Nanny Lin clenched her hands into fists at her sides, her neatly trimmed nails digging into her palms.
She knelt with a thud, kowtowing three times to Gu Fu, each one solidly: “Please, General, help this servant one last time.”
Gu Fu asked, “You’ve decided?”
Nanny Lin, still kneeling, her voice filled with a hatred that seemed to bleed, said, “If I don’t avenge this, I will not rest in peace!”
Gu Fu no longer tried to dissuade her and simply said, “Wait for my message.” Then she vaulted out the window and over the wall, heading towards Qitian Tower.
Nanny Lin slowly calmed herself before rising from the ground. She closed the window, quietly tidied up the clothes Gu Fu had changed out of, and then left Gu Fu’s room to return to her own.
As the only nanny in Gu Fu’s courtyard, Nanny Lin had her own room. She sat in front of the mirror, and seeing her forehead bleeding from the heavy kowtowing, she wiped the blood away with a cloth.
But with the blood, she also wiped away the slightly darker makeup on her face.
Nanny Lin glanced towards the door, ensuring it was latched from the inside. Then, she used water to wet the cloth and remove all the makeup from her face.
Throughout Gu Mansion, even Second Madam Li, thought Nanny Lin was too young and beautiful, not knowing that this was due to her makeup. As she gradually wiped away the layers of disguise, her true, flawless, snow-white skin was revealed, delicate and smooth.
Nanny Lin also wiped off the heavy, aging lipstick, and as she rubbed vigorously, her natural lip color emerged, a fresh red without any need for enhancement.
Finally, she set down the damp cloth stained with makeup and looked in the mirror. The person in the reflection seemed to have taken some magical elixir, instantly appearing ten years younger, and her eyes seemed noticeably larger.
With skin as smooth as jade and a gaze that sparkled, even staring at her own reflection, she exuded a captivating allure as if she were an enchanting fox spirit.
Translator’s notes:
If the last few paragraphs didn’t make a lot of sense, here is the explanation. Nanny Lin uses makeup to make herself appear as an older woman who is somewhat pretty and youthful for her age.
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