Gu Fu’s good mood lasted for a very long time.
Even though Fu Yan was not among the lecturers the next day, it still did not affect the slight curve of her smiling lips.
Miss Wei noticed her good mood and moved closer, holding her arm and asking what had made her so happy.
Gu Fu knew that Miss Wei liked women. After Mu Qingyao confessed to her, she had paid attention for a while and tried to avoid physical contact with Miss Wei to prevent misunderstandings.
But Miss Wei was just a young girl. It was perfectly normal for girls to hold hands and link arms. So over time, Gu Fu relaxed her guard and let Miss Wei continue her old habits of being touchy.
Last night, Fu Yan had said he thought Gu Fu liked women.
Although it was just a casual remark, Gu Fu felt that Fu Yan must care, so she gently removed Miss Wei’s hand and, taking advantage of the teacher not having arrived yet, led Miss Wei to a secluded place and seriously told her, “Miss Wei, I don’t dislike you, but I already have someone I like. I don’t want to make them unhappy.”
Miss Wei hadn’t heard that Gu Fu had settled on someone new, and combined with Gu Fu’s strange wording, Miss Wei thought Gu Fu had a mutual understanding with another girl, which dashed her hopes. She immediately teared up and said, “Am I not good enough?”
Gu Fu shook her head.
Miss Wei was persistent: “Then tell me who she is. I’ll talk to her. After all, someone you fancy must be great, and I don’t mind there being three of us…”
Miss Wei knew she would have to get married sooner or later, so she didn’t have a fixation on a lifelong exclusive relationship. She just wanted to have a relationship with Gu Fu, but naturally, Gu Fu rejected her.
At first, Miss Wei was unwilling to give up and insisted on finding out which girl had snatched Gu Fu away before her. Later, when she found out that Gu Fu’s love interest was a man, she tore her handkerchief in frustration and completely gave up. That afternoon, she swapped seats with another girl and deliberately distanced herself from Gu Fu.
The palace schedule was from early morning to late afternoon, with a one-hour break for lunch and a nap at noon.
Yesterday was the first day, so the schedule was quite ordinary. This morning, they only studied literature and arithmetic.
The afternoon was different. In the afternoon, they had to change from skirts to men’s robes and practice horseback riding and archery on the open ground below Qingshui Pavilion.
Gu Fu recommended the martial arts instructor who taught horseback riding and archery. He was the same academy instructor who had once taught her internal martial arts.
The instructor’s surname was Shang. He had been a soldier and lost an eye in battle before being introduced to the academy by Qi to become a martial arts instructor.
Instructor Shang primarily taught charioteering and archery, two of the six arts of a gentleman, and never taught anyone his family’s martial arts.
Gu Fu was his first accepted disciple. When he later found out that Gu Fu was a girl, he expelled her. Not satisfied with just that, he figured that since Gu Fu and Gu Zhu were siblings, they should be similar, so he took Gu Zhu as his disciple.
Gu Zhu had some talent, but with Gu Fu’s brilliance as a predecessor, Gu Zhu’s talent seemed merely “adequate” to Instructor Shang.
Later, he took on a few more disciples, and it wasn’t until he taught them that he realized how rare Gu Fu’s talent in martial arts was despite being a girl. He never taught anyone better than her.
After returning to the capital, Gu Fu always wanted to visit Instructor Shang. Since it was inappropriate for a woman to visit, she disguised herself as a man and dragged Gu Zhu along to pay a visit.
But for some reason, as soon as he heard that people from the Gu family were coming, Master Shang refused to see them. He was still angry, angry that Gu Fu had deceived him, and consequently, Gu Zhu was also turned away.
Now, seeing each other again after so many years, with Master Shang’s temples having grown white and wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes, and Gu Fu having grown much taller, they still recognized each other immediately.
The stern and austere Master Shang kept a straight face, pretending not to see Gu Fu. Because Gu Fu was proficient in horseback riding and archery, Master Shang did not go over to instruct her, acting as if she didn’t exist.
Later, when some girls complained of fatigue, Master Shang, though displeased, still gave them a break. Nearby, palace maids and older female attendants brought tea to quench their thirst.
Taking advantage of this break, Gu Fu picked up a cup of tea and walked over to Master Shang, smiling as she respectfully handed the tea with both hands: “Master, please have some tea.”
Master Shang did not accept it: “I can get tea myself, no need to trouble Miss Gu.”
As he spoke, he tried to walk around Gu Fu, but she quickly stepped forward to block his path again: “Master, you speak too harshly.”
Master Shang frowned and tried to sidestep her once more, but he still couldn’t get past. He finally noticed that, after being expelled from his tutelage, Gu Fu had not only not stagnated but had actually improved her martial arts skills. While he was both surprised and regretful, all his emotions ultimately turned into a scolding: “Move aside!!”
His voice was so loud that the resting girls all looked over.
Gu Fu’s hands, holding the tea, never wavered. She said, “I just want to thank you, Master.”
Master Shang blew his beard and glared at her, but he still lowered his voice and said, “You’re a girl; learning martial arts won’t be of any use to you. What’s there to thank?”
“It is useful,” Gu Fu said, “and very much so, which is why I must thank you.”
It was precisely because of her martial arts skills that Gu Fu had the means to join the army. Otherwise, how could a fourteen-year-old girl have the ability to travel alone from the capital to the northern frontier and survive five years of fighting on the battlefield there?
If Gu Fu’s wish was to let every woman in the world hold a sword to cut through the obstacles in her path, then Master Shang gave her the sword in her own hand, and she felt a deep gratitude in her heart.
Master Shang did not know about Gu Fu’s experiences over the past five years, but he did care about her. After Gu Fu left the capital, he asked Gu Zhu about her and learned that she was taken to Zuowang Mountain. He assumed that Gu Fu’s family had discovered she had snuck out to practice martial arts and punished her by sending her to a temple for reflection. This made him regret teaching Gu Fu even more.
Now, hearing Gu Fu thank him, Master Shang, though puzzled, couldn’t help but soften. After all, she was his first and most outstanding disciple.
So, in the end, he drank the tea that Gu Fu offered him.
Gu Fu returned to the shade of the trees where the girls were resting, holding the empty tea cup. Everyone asked her what had happened, and she once again used Gu Zhu as an excuse: “My third brother is Master Shang’s disciple. He made Master Shang angry recently, so I went to plead on his behalf.”
The girls believed her. After all, they had been far away and only heard Master Shang’s shout without catching the rest of the conversation.
After the break, they resumed practice. Master Shang finally stopped treating Gu Fu as if she were invisible and even asked her to help the girls adjust their archery postures.
Not far from Qingshui Pavilion was a palace, originally called Qingsi Hall. Later, it was renamed Taixu Hall when the former emperor arranged for the Immortal Master Penglai to stay there.
Taixu Hall’s location was not as high as Qingshui Pavilion, but it still provided a clear view of those practicing horseback riding and archery below.
Fu Yan, busy with official duties, indeed had no time to go to Qingshui Pavilion to teach Gu Fu, but knowing she had riding and archery lessons in the afternoon, he took the opportunity of an audience with the emperor to come to Taixu Hall.
He watched as Gu Fu assisted Master Shang, occasionally standing behind some girls to adjust their arm height, appearing as if she were embracing them.
Fu Yan curled his fingers and lightly tapped the crimson railing with his knuckles.
“Sir.” A guard from the Secret Cabinet appeared behind Fu Yan, kneeling on one knee, holding a stack of letters in his hands: “These were found in the study of Wu Fuda, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Liu Yushui, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. They confirm that these two have been assisting Prince Ying in framing Lin Tingshan and have maintained close private contact with Prince Ying to this day.”
Fu Yan: “Send them to the emperor.”
His tone was calm, his command decisive, showing none of the awkwardness and hesitation he exhibited when facing Gu Fu.
The guard left with the letters and soon returned, conveying the emperor’s decree that he wished to see Fu Yan, instructing him to wait at Taixu Hall and leave the palace later.
Fu Yan complied and watched Gu Fu and the others’ afternoon riding and archery class from Taixu Hall.
As the girls left in groups, Gu Fu seemed to sense something and glanced in the direction of Taixu Hall, spotting the Imperial Preceptor on the second-floor balcony.
Gu Fu, seeing no one was looking, waved vigorously at the Imperial Preceptor.
Fu Yan saw her, smiled broadly, and wished the day would pass faster so night would come sooner.
The emperor, ascending the stairs, happened to witness this scene and almost thought he had seen a ghost in broad daylight. After Fu Yan saluted him, the emperor anxiously asked if he was feeling unwell.
Fu Yan replied, “Your Majesty is overthinking. I am in good health.”
“Then you…” The emperor turned his head and looked outside, just in time to see Gu Fu’s departing figure. Realizing the situation, he smiled and asked, “Should I grant you two a marriage?”
Fu Yan did not say yes or no but immediately bowed in thanks and requested the emperor to remove him from the list of potential candidates for the selection process.
The imperial treasury needed the selection process to raise funds, so even if Gu Fu and Fu Yan were to get married, the selection process would continue. However, the emperor was reluctant to let Fu Yan withdraw because Fu Yan was the top choice in the ballots, and his sudden withdrawal would result in a significant loss of money.
The emperor pondered for a moment and said, “Since the purpose of the selection is no longer to choose a husband for Miss Gu, could we perhaps include already married men in the selection?”
The emperor admitted that this was not his idea but a suggestion from the empress during one of their casual conversations.
In the following days, the capital buzzed with excitement.
First, the selection criteria were changed to include new candidates, many of whom were already well-known but previously excluded due to their marital status. This caused a sensation in the entire capital.
The selection committee also announced that the previous votes would remain valid, leading to a rapid increase in votes for the newcomers. This prevented them from being eliminated due to a lack of votes, which would be too embarrassing.
Then, someone suggested on the voting slips that since General Lin’s younger son, despite being a local, was not currently in the capital, should other qualified men who were also not in the capital be allowed to participate in the selection process?
The empress thought this was a good idea and took it further by promoting paper ballot voting and the selection pamphlet beyond the capital. Since the bookstores in the capital couldn’t handle such high demand and transporting large quantities of pamphlets over long distances was inconvenient, they decided to send only the engraved printing blocks so that local bookstores could mass-produce them.
The excitement over the selection process had barely settled when news broke that the emperor had granted a marriage, betrothing the almost twenty-year-old second Miss Gu to the Imperial Preceptor. This caused another uproar.
When the Gu family received the imperial decree, Old Madam Gu thought she was dreaming, and Gu Qizheng was in a daze. When Gu Fu returned from the palace, he shakily approached her with the decree in hand and asked, “What’s going on?”
His voice trembled, sounding like a father who had discovered that his son had wronged a girl from a family he couldn’t afford to offend—utterly terrified.
Gu Fu’s smile nearly reached her ears: “Didn’t you always want me to get married? Now, your wish has come true. Congratulations, Lord Gu.”
Translator’s notes:
The two primary arts of a gentleman, referred to here as “driving” and “shooting,” come from the traditional Chinese concept of the “Six Arts” (六艺) that were considered essential for a well-rounded education of a gentleman (君子) in ancient China. The Six Arts are
- 乐 (Yuè) – Music: This includes musical skills and appreciation of music, which were believed to cultivate the mind and spirit.
- 射 (Shè) – Archery: This skill was important for both hunting and warfare, and it also symbolized precision and focus.
- 御 (Yù) – Charioteering/Driving: This refers to the ability to drive a chariot skillfully, which was an essential skill for warfare and transportation.
- 书 (Shū) – Calligraphy: The art of writing beautifully, which was an important aspect of Chinese culture and literacy.
- 数 (Shù) – Mathematics: This includes arithmetic and other mathematical skills.
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