“Prince Ying’s mansion is under siege, with no information going in or out. Even Princess Ying is living in constant fear. Why does she believe Prince Ying will definitely make a comeback?”
After reading the letter, Gu Fu had only this question.
As for why Tang Mumu was still alive, Gu Fu wasn’t too surprised after thinking it through, as she herself had once faked her death.
Moreover, Tang Wu had previously told them that although Tang Mumu was a concubine’s daughter, she was Earl Lin’an’s most beloved daughter. Earl Lin’an, on the surface, arranged for people to set a fire to burn Tang Mumu to death to give an explanation to the public, but secretly he had sent his daughter away, which was only natural.
Fu Yan said, “Prince Ying’s mansion has a water channel, with grates set at the inlet and outlet. While people can’t get through, small flower lanterns can.”
Gu Fu understood. As long as letters were placed in the flower lanterns, they could communicate with the outside. If the person contacting her was someone in the court, they could inform her that the Emperor had been inactive for a long time, and Prince Ying’s situation might be more bark than bite.
“She’s really capable,” Gu Fu said, putting away the letter and returning it. She then picked up the paper and pen on the table, preparing to finish today’s homework before heading back.
She wasn’t worried about Tang Mumu. Whether in terms of experience or cunning, Lin Yuezhi far surpassed Tang Mumu. And if necessary, they still had the Secret Cabinet to assist them; Tang Mumu would not become a threat.
While doing her homework, Gu Fu took the opportunity to complain to Fu Yan, saying that organizing the new list was more troublesome than fighting a battle, especially the new candidates reported from Qingzhou. Due to regional issues, verifying them always took considerable effort.
Gu Fu said, “Considering how far Qingzhou is, it shouldn’t have been included in the selection range for the Xuanlin candidates. However, Qingzhou is so wealthy that it wouldn’t make sense to leave it out.”
The Empress was wary of overreaching, so even though she expanded the selection outside the capital, she only chose a few nearby provinces. Qingzhou, despite being the furthest, was too prosperous to be excluded.
As they were talking, a young servant brought up two servings of fish soup.
The young servant was well-behaved and would not come up to the seventh floor unless Fu Yan called him, or if Fu Yan hadn’t eaten dinner. In such cases, he would bring some food for Gu Fu to have with Fu Yan.
Previously, Gu Fu had tolerated it, though she was angry at Fu Yan for not taking care of his health. She would only make Fu Yan eat with her after the servant brought the food.
Now, with their relationship changed, Gu Fu directly scolded, “You haven’t eaten again!”
Fu Yan turned to look at the young servant, who was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, not daring to speak.
Gu Fu grabbed Fu Yan’s chin and turned his face back, “You’re scaring him?”
Fu Yan lowered his eyes, not looking at Gu Fu, “I have no appetite and can’t eat.”
Seeing him like this, Gu Fu couldn’t bear to scold him too harshly. She let go of his chin and told the young servant to bring more food.
The young servant quickly got up and ran downstairs. Gu Fu tidied the table, and when the young attendant brought the food, she served some to Fu Yan. Only then did Fu Yan say, “I lose my appetite when I’m in a bad mood.”
Gu Fu frowned, feeling that something was wrong with Fu Yan’s condition.
Fu Yan continued, “But when I eat with you, I can eat.”
Gu Fu’s frown eased—no matter what, as long as it could be treated, it was fine. “Next time, if you haven’t eaten, tell me. I’ll eat with you.”
Fu Yan responded, “Mm.”
After eating, Gu Fu continued with her homework while Fu Yan read memorials. They sat facing each other at the same table, occasionally exchanging a few words.
When Gu Fu finished her homework, she was too tired to practice the konghou, so she rested her chin on her hand and watched Fu Yan intently.
Initially, Fu Yan’s reading pace slowed when Gu Fu stared at him like this, but over time, he got used to it. Apart from feeling happier, he was not affected in other ways.
At the beginning of the Hai hour (9-11 pm), which was Fu Yan’s usual bedtime, he wanted to find an excuse to stay with Gu Fu a bit longer. However, he worried that Gu Fu had to get up early for lessons at the palace and would be too tired if she went to bed late. So, he suppressed his reluctance.
Gu Fu escorted him to the stairway. As he stepped down the stairs, his light martial arts skills made each step soundless.
The Emperor had insisted that he learn light martial arts for escaping danger. The Emperor also gave him the courtesy name “Wangxi” (望昔, literally “Looking to the Past”), though it should have been “Wangxi” ( 忘昔, meaning “Forgetting the Past”). The intent was for Fu Yan to forget the past: being ordered to be buried alive by the former Emperor at birth, falling into the hands of the Immortal Master Penglai after leaving the palace, and becoming a tool for the Immortal Master’s deceit from a young age. It was to forget resolved grudges and all the bad experiences and to start anew.
Later, perhaps realizing that such expectations were unrealistic, the Emperor changed “forget the past” to “look to the past,” hoping that Fu Yan could let go of the past and face it calmly.
As Fu Yan walked down the last flight of stairs, he looked back at the seventh-floor stairway and saw his former self standing there—clad in white, as pristine as snow, and untouched by worldly dust…
“Are you reluctant to leave me?” Gu Fu’s voice rang out.
Upon closer inspection, Fu Yan realized it wasn’t his former self but Gu Fu wearing his clothes.
He raised his hand, signaling Gu Fu to come down.
Gu Fu hurried down the stairs, took his hand, and smiled, “Are you really reluctant to leave me?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Yan lowered his head and kissed her. Their entanglement was different from the urgent and uninhibited kiss upstairs; standing in the dimly lit stairway on the sixth floor, they exchanged a kiss filled with extreme tenderness.
“Gu Fu…” Fu Yan called out her name as he embraced her.
Gu Fu asked, “Do you prefer me to call you Fu Yan, or do you like A’ Yan better?”
Fu Yan responded, “Wangxi.”
Gu Fu smiled and agreed, “Alright, Wangxi.”
Fu Yan tightened his arms around Gu Fu’s waist, regretting not having the wedding date set sooner. He should not have let the Imperial Astronomical Bureau schedule it for early next year—it was too far away.
…
The next day, upon entering the palace, Gu Fu found herself the center of attention among the other ladies outside the poetry club.
Miss Wei even pulled her aside to a secluded spot and asked, “The person you mentioned last time as your sweetheart, is it the Imperial Preceptor?”
The resentment on Miss Wei’s face lessened considerably. After receiving a positive response from Gu Fu, she added, “If it’s him, I can accept it a bit more. Honestly, I like his appearance too. Although he is a man, if you two are willing, what I said earlier still stands. The three of us could…”
Miss Wei didn’t know before that Gu Fu’s beloved was Fu Yan. She had said some offensive things, but Gu Fu had brushed them off as youthful ignorance. Now that she knew and was still talking nonsense, the smile on Gu Fu’s face vanished completely, and her eyes turned dangerous.
Miss Wei had never seen Gu Fu look like this before and immediately shivered. “I-I-I was joking! Alright, alright, I was wrong. I won’t say such things again. Why are you so fierce? You’re scaring me to death.”
She waved her handkerchief and fled as if a wild beast were chasing her.
At lunch, Princess Ruiyang specially had her meal brought over and sat opposite Gu Fu, showing a willingness to get along with her.
In fact, the Empress had already instructed Princess Ruiyang before the first day of classes to interact more with Gu Fu. However, due to dissatisfaction with the rumors that the Empress favored Gu Fu even more than her own daughter, Princess Ruiyang had been ignoring Gu Fu.
After all, she was the Emperor and Empress’s first child. To prove their love for her, the Emperor had even given her the title of “Eldest Princess.” Since the previous dynasty, the title “Eldest Princess” had become extremely rare, holding a rank equivalent to the nobles. All royal daughters were titled princesses, including the Emperor’s sisters. Only the Emperor’s aunts and royal daughters with meritorious achievements could receive this honor.
Being the Emperor’s daughter, she received the title of Eldest Princess without doing anything significant, a favor that couldn’t be easily overshadowed. Now that she knew Gu Fu was to marry the Imperial Preceptor, she felt relieved.
When she was younger, the Emperor had jokingly told her to call the Imperial Preceptor “Little Uncle.” As she grew older, she asked the Emperor about it and learned that the Imperial Preceptor was indeed her Little Uncle, her father’s younger brother.
So, by this, Gu Fu would be her aunt, which made her less concerned about the titles. After all, they were both her elders, and she might gain another person to dote on her.
Seeing Princess Ruiyang’s approval, the other ladies, though envious, did not dare cause any trouble.
By mid-June, the new list was completed, adding five new vermilion portraits. Princess Ruiyang, dedicated to collecting all the portraits, started her buying spree again and unexpectedly took a liking to Liu Ruxuan, a talented scholar from Qingzhou, spending a fortune to put him in the top ten.
Half a month later, the voting ended. This time, only the votes needed to be counted, so Wanxiu Zhai didn’t have to put in much effort to finish the second round of the list, leaving only the review of the new portraits.
The court artists drew the portraits under the Empress’s guidance, and the artists became more adept at realistic painting. Therefore, the second round of portrait reviews didn’t take much time either.
The carving of the printing blocks and the printing itself were not their responsibility, so they soon completed their tasks and didn’t have to go to Wanxiu Zhai daily anymore.
Gu Fu’s birthday was on the ninth of July. Princess Ruiyang specifically went to the Empress to request permission to celebrate Gu Fu’s birthday. As a result, everyone received a day off. Including the regular break on the tenth, they had a two-day holiday.
Normally, a young girl like Gu Fu, who was not yet married, wouldn’t have a grand celebration for her twentieth birthday. However, since Gu Fu was engaged to the Imperial Preceptor and Princess Ruiyang used it as an excuse to ask for a holiday, they had to invite the princess and other companions to Gu Fu’s home for the celebration.
Second Madam Li helped organize Gu Fu’s birthday banquet. She initially planned to use the Ziyu Pavilion for Gu Fu’s guests. However, as more people requested invitations, and each one was someone they couldn’t afford to offend, she had to discuss with Gu Fu and turn her birthday banquet into a family feast for the Gu family.
On the morning of the ninth of July, the Gu household was bustling with activity. Gu Fu got up early, practiced a set of sword techniques in the courtyard, then washed up and changed into new clothes. She saw her maid Mingzhu bringing over the gifts from the family and placing them on the table.
Her uncle and aunt gave her a mother-of-pearl inlaid makeup box, while her grandmother presented her with a set of extremely expensive-looking jade head ornaments. Gu Qizheng, not skilled at choosing gifts, knew she liked martial arts but thought a young lady shouldn’t be too bold, so he gave her a dainty red lacquered bow designed for girls. It was very pretty but too light and lacked power.
Mu Qingyao gifted her a dagger, reportedly obtained by writing to her eldest brother in the northwest, who had a craftsman there make it. It looked unremarkable on the outside but could cut through iron like mud.
Gu Zhu’s gift was the pair of Miao swords he had promised her. The blades resembled seedlings with long handles and narrow edges. Made from meteoric iron that Gu Zhu acquired from the military’s manufacturing bureau, one sword was completely black, including the blade, while the other appeared more ordinary but glinted purple in the sunlight, making it look like it was poisoned.
After inspecting her gifts, Gu Fu asked Mingzhu to guard the courtyard, then secretly climbed over the wall and, in broad daylight, used her light martial arts skills to reach Qitian Tower, where she spotted Fu Yan, who was about to enter the palace.
It was said that foreign envoys had arrived, so Fu Yan had to dress formally. His usual loose hair was half bound with a hair crown, making his handsome face even more distinguished and ethereal.
His overlapping collar and long white robe with gold embroidery and appropriate golden ornaments made Gu Fu’s hands itch, thinking of personally helping him take it off when he returned from the palace.
Suppressing her impulse, Gu Fu asked Fu Yan, “Where’s my gift?”
Fu Yan approached her, lowered his head to her ear, and whispered, “I’ll give it to you tonight.”
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