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“After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage” Chapter 46

"That’s a line we cannot cross, no matter how well the Emperor treats me."

Mu Qingyao and her companions continued their regular palace lessons, so Gu Fu was alone until late afternoon.

Fortunately, Gu Fu wasn’t the kind of person who needed company. Each day, she would rise early to practice swordsmanship and martial arts, work up a sweat, then bathe and change her clothes. After that, she would take the notes and assignments Mu Qingyao had brought back the previous day and spend the morning studying by herself in the Old Madam’s quarters, where she could also keep her company.

After having lunch with the Old Madam, Gu Fu would return to Feique Pavilion, not wanting to disturb the Old Madam’s afternoon nap. In the afternoon, she’d roam the estate, playing with the cats and dogs, and even took the timid and shy Gu Xiaowu climbing over walls and up trees. One time, when Mu Qingyao brought the girls from the poetry society to visit, they found Gu Fu sitting on the roof, holding Gu Xiaowu and watching the sunset. The girls were so startled that they hurriedly called for a ladder to help Gu Fu down.

But when the ladder arrived, they all became curious about the view from the roof, so they climbed up as well. In the end, they were too afraid to come down by the ladder and had to be carried down one by one by Gu Fu.

These peaceful days continued for eight days. On the eighth day at noon, Lu Zhu came to report that the Chiyao soldiers stationed outside the residence were preparing to withdraw and specifically asked her to inform Gu Fu.

That day, Gu Fu happened to be staying indoors, not taking Gu Xiaowu around as usual. Instead, she was holding Gu Xiaowu, teaching her calligraphy.
Upon hearing the news, Gu Fu asked, “Have they found the murderer?”

Lu Zhu replied, “They’ve found her. She’s a palace maiden selected this year, now under arrest. It’s said that after being captured, she tried to commit suicide by poisoning herself, but she was saved.”

Lu Zhu didn’t know any further details, so Gu Fu decided she would ask Fu Yan about it that night at Qitian Tower.

In the evening, Mu Qingyao and the girls from the poetry society came by. When they learned that Gu Fu would be able to join them for lessons in the palace starting the next day, they decided to celebrate and had someone fetch a pot of wine. Ordinary sweet wine was no different from sugar water to Gu Fu, but the other girls became slightly tipsy. Worried that something might happen, Gu Fu changed into men’s clothing and rode a horse to escort them home safely.

By the time she returned, the curfew drums were just beginning to sound.

The household servants informed her that the master had summoned the entire family to the main hall for dinner and that they were all waiting for her. Without changing her clothes, Gu Fu hurried over.
At the dinner table, the Old Madam and Li Shi, who had been anxious for quite some time, were in particularly high spirits. Gu Qizheng and his brother Gu Qirong also drank a few extra cups.

The only one who seemed downcast was Gu Xiaowu, who was saddened by the fact that Gu Fu wouldn’t be home to play with her starting tomorrow. Mu Qingyao kept trying to cheer her up, offering her tasty food.

Gu Zhu buried her head in her meal, her presence so faint that it was almost as if she wasn’t there.

Gu Chen and Gu Shishi were absent.

Last month, Gu Chen had taken his wife to Qingzhou.

Since Gu Fu’s birthday banquet, Gu Shishi had been confined to her quarters by Gu Qizheng. The young ladies who were once close to Gu Shishi had long since severed ties with her, so no one outside the family realized that she was under house arrest.

A few days ago, Gu Fu had heard Gu Qizheng say that once the matter of Princess Yulou was resolved, he would send Gu Shishi and Aunt Yang, who had secretly encouraged Gu Shishi’s correspondence with the Zhao family’s son, back to their hometown in Yanzhou.

The accompanying nanny would confine Concubine Yang to the estate in their hometown, while Gu Shishi would be under the supervision of her aunt. Once Gu Fu was married, her second aunt would find a suitable husband for Gu Shishi in Yanzhou and ensure that she wouldn’t return to the capital, preventing any further incidents from arising due to her resentment.

Gu Fu listened without saying anything. She couldn’t pretend to plead on Gu Shishi’s behalf, nor would she push Gu Qizheng to go to extremes.

After dinner, Gu Fu didn’t return to Feique Pavilion but headed straight to Qitian Tower.

During these days, she had obediently stayed at home and hadn’t even visited Qitian Tower. The complexity of Princess Yulou’s case had made Fu Yan worried that if Gu Fu was discovered out during curfew, it would be difficult to explain.

At the time, Gu Fu was unhappy about this. She remembered that she was Fu Yan’s sleeping aid at night and didn’t want Fu Yan to be unable to sleep.

But Fu Yan had said, “Before I met you, I always had trouble sleeping. It’s just a matter of enduring it for a few days, it’s not a big deal. But if something happens to you again, I really won’t be okay.”

Gu Fu had no choice but to listen.

Now that they finally could meet again, Gu Fu eagerly rushed to Qitian Tower and pounced on the waiting Fu Yan, showering him with kisses on the floor.

Afterward, she rubbed against his lips and asked, “Did you miss me?”

Fu Yan allowed Gu Fu to do as she pleased, softly responding with a light “Mm,” subtly expressing his longing for her.

Gu Fu bit his lip again before letting him go. She pulled him up from the ground and asked, “Have you been eating properly these days?”

Fu Yan hesitated guiltily for a moment before finally replying, “I had dinner today.”

Gu Fu raised an eyebrow. “And yesterday?”

Fu Yan: “…I had breakfast.”

He hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner.

For the past few days, it had mostly been like this. Because he was preoccupied with the case of Princess Yulou, he would eat if he had an appetite; if not, forcing himself to eat would just make him vomit. If he managed to eat two meals a day, it was considered good.

Gu Fu was heartbroken, but she couldn’t blame Fu Yan. After all, appetite wasn’t something he could control.

“And sleep? Can you sleep without me around?” Gu Fu asked.

Fu Yan was silent for a moment before answering. It wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep—in fact, he could, though it wasn’t as restful as when Gu Fu was there. He would wake up several times during the night, but he still maintained a stable routine.

Fu Yan was afraid that if Gu Fu knew his insomnia had been cured, she might not come as often when she was busy. So, driven by some strange impulse, he lied, “I couldn’t sleep.”

He held Gu Fu and pretended to look as though he hadn’t slept for days, appearing very exhausted.

Gu Fu had no idea Fu Yan was lying. Frowning, she suggested, “Then let’s not rush things. How about I lie down with you for a while?”

Fu Yan, of course, wouldn’t refuse.

The two of them went downstairs and entered Fu Yan’s bedroom.

Fu Yan’s room was simply furnished—everything necessary was there, but there wasn’t a single extra item, giving the place a somewhat cold and sparse feel.

To sleep, they needed to undress. Although they had already seen each other naked before at the Marquis’ residence, undressing piece by piece now still made Fu Yan feel slightly uncomfortable.

He changed into his nightclothes and sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Gu Fu carefully hung up the clothes she had taken off. Then, wearing just a thin inner garment, she walked over to him and gently pushed him toward the inside of the bed. “You sleep on the inside, so I won’t wake you up when I leave.”

Fu Yan: “…”

Just sleep, and nothing else?

It was only at this moment that Fu Yan realized he had unwittingly made things difficult for himself, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet. He started talking to Gu Fu about the case of Princess Yulou, telling her, “The real culprit behind Princess Yulou’s murder is a court lady who entered the palace this year.”

Gu Fu, recalling the situation, asked, “Did you find out her motive?”

Fu Yan wrapped his arm around Gu Fu’s waist, pulling her closer to him. “She was someone Prince Ying brought back from the southwest last year.”

Gu Fu was in disbelief. “What?”

Fu Yan continued, “Originally, Prince Ying probably intended to use her to cause chaos in the harem. However, things didn’t go as planned, and before his piece could enter the palace, the Emperor placed him under house arrest.”

“So, did Prince Ying order her to kill Princess Yulou?” Gu Fu asked, puzzled. “Why? What does he gain from killing Princess Yulou…?”

Looking into Fu Yan’s eyes, Gu Fu suddenly paused, hesitating as she guessed, “Was his actual target me?”

Fu Yan kissed Gu Fu on the forehead. “It was me. He wanted to use you to drive a wedge between me and the Emperor. The Lei Kingdom envoy had already been bribed by him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so adamant about accusing you. If the Emperor had chosen to sacrifice you for the sake of peace between the two nations, I would have grown resentful and distanced myself from the Emperor. If the Emperor had chosen to protect you, more troubles would follow, and the Emperor would gradually become dissatisfied with me—that was his plan. But what he didn’t know is that you are not just my fiancĂŠe.”

“But if the Emperor hadn’t summoned me to the palace that day, wouldn’t his plan have fallen apart?” Gu Fu said. “Even if Princess Yulou had been goaded into challenging a military officer to a duel, the Emperor might not have thought to summon me.”

Fu Yan explained, “Because the original plan wasn’t to target you.”

Gu Fu: “Huh?”

Fu Yan explained, “The Secret Cabinet and the Dali Temple worked together to investigate all the military officers in the city who might have been summoned to the palace that day. They discovered that one of these officers had connections with Prince Ying and had conspired to kill Princess Yulou during the envoy’s audience with the Emperor, using the pretext of a martial arts duel. The plan was to claim it was an accident and then have the Lei Kingdom envoy pressure the Emperor to hand over the officer, who would later be returned in pieces as a provocation. This would make the court’s military officers feel disillusioned with the Emperor, and Prince Ying would take advantage of this discontent to win them over.

“The officer who conspired with Prince Ying was worried that Prince Ying might betray him, so he kept the letters they exchanged as leverage to avoid being truly killed by the Lei Kingdom envoy.

“When the Emperor summoned you to the palace instead, Prince Ying had to change his plan at the last minute.”

Gu Fu noticed an inconsistency. “Didn’t you have people guarding the water channels around Prince Ying’s residence? How did he manage to contact people outside?”

At this, Fu Yan buried his face into the crook of Gu Fu’s neck, displeased. “I overlooked something. I didn’t expect that he learned from Tang Qi that he could use the water channels to communicate and that he would hide the letters inside fish.”

Gu Fu reassured him, “But you still found out in the end.”

“It wasn’t me who discovered it,” Fu Yan admitted. “It was Meng Changqing. He saw the fish in the water channels looking particularly plump and caught one out of greed, and that’s how we found out.”

Gu Fu knew who Meng Changqing was—the son of a county princess, a very handsome, cat-like youth.

“Now, the Lei Kingdom envoy is under strict surveillance. The Emperor has also sent a message to the Kingdom of Lei. If they’re willing to investigate the truth, that would be ideal. If they refuse to believe us and insist that Princess Yulou’s death is connected to you, and if they’re unwilling to negotiate further, then we have no choice but to go to war.”

Fu Yan added, “The fact that news from Prince Ying’s residence could reach the palace means he still has people on the inside. The Empress has been meticulously screening palace personnel these past few days.”

Gu Fu asked, “Why doesn’t the Secret Cabinet have people stationed in the palace? If they did, they would have noticed early on that one of the court ladies knew martial arts.”

Fu Yan shook his head and nuzzled against Gu Fu’s neck. “No matter how far-reaching the Secret Cabinet’s influence is, we cannot overstep our bounds by infiltrating the palace. That’s a line we cannot cross, no matter how well the Emperor treats me.”

“That makes sense,” Gu Fu agreed, pausing for a moment before asking, “Aren’t you hot, holding me so tightly?”

Fu Yan hesitated, confused by how composed Gu Fu was acting. Usually, Gu Fu loved teasing him with playful banter, but tonight, she seemed uncharacteristically serious.

He made a vague sound and began to fumble with the ties on Gu Fu’s clothes. “Actually…”

Before he could continue, Gu Fu grabbed his hand, her expression stern. “Don’t mess around. You need to sleep.”

It had been several nights without proper rest—she was genuinely concerned he might harm himself by staying up any longer.

Fu Yan reluctantly responded, “…Alright.”

He gave in, understanding that her concern for his well-being outweighed anything else.


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After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage

After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage

卸甲后我待字闺中 Xiè Jiǎ Hòu Wǒ Dài Zì Guī Zhōng
Score 9.2
Status: Completed Type: Author: Released: 2020 Native Language: Chinese

In the ninth year of Yongqing, General Gu Fu died in Qi Huai. The current emperor posthumously honored him as Marquis Zhongshun.

In the twelfth month of the same year, the second Miss Gu, who had accompanied her grandmother to the mountains to perform Buddhist rites for five years, returned home. The first thing she faced upon arrival was punishment—kneeling in the ancestral hall. In the ancestral hall, the elder of the Gu family scolded her, telling her not to act recklessly in the future and to obediently wait for the elders to arrange a marriage for her. However, she responded with a single sentence that made him storm off in anger. An unaware aunt and younger sister came to visit, seemingly out of concern, but they were actually mocking her. She calmly countered their remarks. Finally, her elder brother arrived. The scholarly eldest son of the Gu family paced back and forth in front of her, eventually blurting out, "The military camp is full of men! Do you know that if word of your disgraceful behavior spreads, it will bring shame to the family's daughters?" Gu Fu finally shed her carefree demeanor and replied seriously, "Defending the country is not a disgrace." Upon hearing that the Gu family wanted to marry off the second Miss Gu, the current emperor immediately sought out the empress, earnestly saying, "I regard the second Miss Gu as my own daughter. I can't let her marry just anyone. If empress has time, perhaps you could help me by looking for suitable candidates for her in the capital." The empress: "..." Understood, Matchmaking 101 it is.
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