“After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage” Chapter 72

Gu Fu had stayed in the northern border for three years this time.

During those three years, not only did she reclaim the three northwestern cities that had been initially occupied, but she also followed the emperor’s orders to integrate the northwestern army into the northern forces, making the Northern Army the largest and most expansive military force in all of Dayong.

Its growing influence caused even those court officials who knew Gu Fu was a woman and were certain she would not rebel to become wary of her. They frequently submitted memorials, urging the emperor to divide the power of the Northern Army and recall Gu Fu to prevent the Northern Army from posing a threat to the central government.

If the one leading the army were not Gu Fu, and if the current emperor were not a benevolent ruler, the hard-won peace in the north would have been shattered.

Yet, the emperor was willing to trust Gu Fu and grant her autonomy, and Gu Fu had the courage to endure suspicion and slander, steadfastly carrying out her mission.

In the first two years, the calls to divide the northern forces were personally suppressed by the emperor. With the emperor’s support, Gu Fu was able to smoothly reorganize the Northern Army, selecting suitable generals and commanders and preparing for the eventual division of the region.

In the third year, the emperor finally issued an edict, dividing the Northern Army into three and bestowing new names upon the restructured forces—Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang.

As the last commander of the unified Northern Army, Gu Fu was temporarily appointed as the Grand Marshal, tasked with overseeing the reorganization of the three armies. Once everything was settled, she would step down and return to the capital, which finally put the court officials at ease.

During this time, Fu Yan frequently traveled between the capital and the northern border, spending roughly half the year in the north. As a result, nearly everyone in the Northern Army knew that the god-like National Teacher had an intimate and unspeakable relationship with their former commander and current Grand Marshal, Gu Fu.

In the spring of Gu Fu’s twenty-fourth year, she officially stepped down and prepared to return to the capital.

Fu Yan had returned a month earlier, saying that the emperor was leaving the capital for a spring hunt and had summoned him back to oversee court affairs, so Gu Fu didn’t leave with him.

Before her departure, the commander of the Yuheng Army—formerly Gu Fu’s Left-Wing Commander—arranged a farewell banquet in her honor.

After two cups of strong liquor, the Left-Wing Commander gathered the courage to complain to Gu Fu, saying that she was doing well as the Grand Marshal and questioning why she would return to the capital.

Before he could finish, the commander of the Yaoguang Army—formerly Gu Fu’s deputy commander—slapped him hard on the back, signaling him to stop talking. The emperor’s orders were not something they could comment on.

The banquet was filled with people who were Gu Fu’s trusted subordinates, as well as Lin Yi, who was returning to the capital with her. Gu Fu didn’t bother with pretense and smiled, saying, “I’m returning to the capital to get married.”

The lively atmosphere froze for a moment.

“What about the Imperial Preceptor?” the Left-Wing Commander asked, his face showing a hint of sympathy for Fu Yan.

It wasn’t their place to interfere with who the General chose to marry, but over the years, seeing the Imperial Preceptor travel from afar, dust-covered, just to spend some time with the General, it was hard for them not to be moved.

Even though the Imperial Preceptor had a bit of a bad temper and clung too much to the General, the Left-Wing Commander and the others had long considered him the General’s spouse in their hearts. Now that the General was getting married, the person carried in the eight-lift bridal sedan would certainly not be a man like the Imperial Preceptor. For the Imperial Preceptor to be abandoned by his beloved and then have to watch them marry someone else right in front of him felt tragically cruel.

This misunderstanding cast a melancholic shadow over what was supposed to be a festive farewell banquet.

Gu Fu rested her head on her hand, letting them pity Fu Yan while laughing to herself.

Three years ago, Fu Yan had told her that he wanted the whole world to know she was the second daughter of the Gu family from the capital. He had anxiously assured her that the news wouldn’t spread to the northern border too quickly and wouldn’t affect her control over the Northern Army.

Three years later, all of Dayong knew the commander of the Northern Army was a woman, yet within the army itself, they were still fervently “debunking” the rumor. Even when Gu Fu admitted it herself, they all shook their heads in disbelief, thinking she was just trying to trick them into a joke for her amusement.

This situation was largely thanks to the Left-Wing Commander. Gu Fu had no idea what was going through his mind, but he was utterly convinced she was a man, and even spread rumors that it was her relationship with Fu Yan that had led people to mistake her for a woman.

Now they thought her return to the capital to marry meant she was abandoning Wangxi (Fu Yan) to marry another woman, which was just too amusing.

Gu Fu pondered whether she should wear women’s clothing to give them a scare. However, riding in a dress was inconvenient, and the emperor had instructed her to reach the hunting grounds before the end of the spring hunt, so she had to drop the idea.

Before leaving, though, Gu Fu seriously repeated once again to the group:

“I really am a woman, and the one I’m marrying isn’t some other woman—it’s Wangxi.”

Her serious tone finally caused a flicker of doubt in Lin Yi, the Left-Wing Commander, and the others.

Afterward, Gu Fu, Lin Yi, and a small escort of soldiers rode swiftly and arrived at the hunting grounds just before the spring hunt concluded.

Some of Gu Fu’s soldiers were acquainted with Guo Jian and Li Yu, so Gu Fu handed her soldiers over to the Imperial Guards and the Chiyao Army. Then, she took Lin Yi to meet the emperor.

Perhaps because three years wasn’t too long a time, the emperor still looked much as Gu Fu remembered him. Time hadn’t left many marks on his face, and he was still the same gentle ruler who reminded Gu Fu of her father.

He praised Gu Fu, asked a few questions about the current state of the border, and then discussed how her wedding with Fu Yan should be handled. Finally, he mentioned that the empress missed her and suggested she tidy up and go see the empress.

From beginning to end, Lin Yi followed behind Gu Fu, having little presence.

Lin Yi had achieved quite a few military accomplishments in the Northern Border as well, but compared to Gu Fu, they were insignificant, so he wasn’t surprised that the emperor’s attention was focused entirely on her.

However, when the emperor started discussing Gu Fu’s wedding, Lin Yi was a bit confused—

So the person marrying Gu Fu really was the Imperial Preceptor?

But it felt strange—why were they saying they were going to the Gu family to fetch the bride, and why would they live in the Zhongshun Marquis’s estate after the wedding? Who was marrying whom here?

And how could an external official like Gu Fu go see the empress? Could Gu Fu be a member of the Li family, like Li Yu?

Before Lin Yi could figure out the situation, Gu Fu had already taken her leave, leaving him alone to face the emperor.

Not long after, Lin Yi’s father, General Lin Hanhai, who was stationed in the south, arrived. The father and son hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and the reunion was a touching scene, causing Lin Yi to momentarily forget his confusion.

The emperor viewed Lin Yi as a promising talent and spoke with the father and son for a while.

When Lin Yi left the emperor’s tent, just as he was about to ask his father about Gu Fu, he suddenly noticed Gu Fu in the distance, surrounded by several ladies and young girls… Gu Fu?

Lin Yi froze in place as if struck by lightning, his dazed expression completely undermining his normally steadfast and rugged demeanor, making him look like a complete fool.

It wasn’t his fault—Gu Fu looked utterly different from her time in the Northern Border. Not only was she wearing the most fashionable dress in the capital, but her hair was also styled in a traditional female manner, adorned with a few simple hairpins, and she was wearing makeup in the perfect balance of bold and subtle.

As he got closer, Lin Yi could vaguely hear someone calling her “Second Sister Gu.”

—What on earth was going on?!

Just then, Gu Fu noticed Lin Yi and gave him a wicked smile.

The mischievous smile, which had once seemed bold and mischievous in her male attire, now looked… remarkably alluring on her feminine face.

Lin Yi’s knees went weak, and he fell flat on his face, right in front of his father.

Lin Hanhai: “…”

Gu Fu, with Mu Qingyao at her side, addressed the girls surrounding her, saying, “I have to go see the Empress now. I’ll come find you all later.”

The recently married Tang Wu said to a young lady beside her, “Just watch, if the heir’s wife doesn’t remind her, after she returns from the Empress, she’ll definitely forget all about us. By then, we’ll have to go looking for her instead.”

Everyone burst into laughter, letting Gu Fu go on her way.

After the group of women had dispersed, Lin Yi, who had just stood up, asked his father, “That… that lady just now was…”

He couldn’t believe it was Gu Fu, so he asked Lin Hanhai, hoping for a reasonable answer—like maybe that was Gu Fu’s younger sister or something.

Lin Hanhai frowned. “You served under her for three years, and now you can’t recognize her just because she’s wearing different clothes?”

It really was Gu Fu.

Lin Yi covered his face with trembling hands. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

You could’ve at least sent me a letter!!

Lin Hanhai cast a faint glance at his foolish son. “Is there anyone in the world today, except for those who used to be part of the Northern Border Army, who doesn’t know that the Marquis of Zhongshun is a woman?”

Lin Yi: “…”

As Lin Yi’s understanding of the world was being shattered, Gu Fu was walking with Mu Qingyao toward the Empress’s tent.

When Mu Qingyao had married, Gu Fu was not in the capital, but because of Gu Fu’s great military achievements, everyone knew that the family of the Prince An’s heir’s wife was the Gu family, and that the famous commander of the Northern Border Army—Marquis of Zhongshun, Gu Fu—was her elder sister.

So no one dared to look down on her lightly.

Their relationship was the same as it had always been: in front of Mu Qingyao, Gu Fu could say whatever she wanted, trusting her without reservation, never worrying that her words would be too shocking or that they might startle Mu Qingyao. Similarly, in front of Gu Fu, Mu Qingyao wasn’t the perfect, gracious woman praised by everyone. She didn’t bother putting on a kind smile, and her tone when speaking was flat, as if nothing could easily stir her emotions.

Even though Mu Qingyao was married, the household affairs were still managed by the Princess Consort of Prince An, and Mu Qingyao only lent a hand here and there. Bored with idleness, she had taken up a position as a teacher at an academy.

Casually, she shared with Gu Fu some of her daily experiences at the academy:

“At first, I was only responsible for teaching the students how to paint, but then the teachers who taught classics and policy essays always came to me to swap classes, telling the students that I wasn’t feeling well and had to give them my lessons. With nothing else to do, I took on the mathematics class. But since there’s a test every month, I wanted the students to perform well, so I ended up swapping with the incense-making teacher, telling the students that their incense teacher was ill, and I’d be teaching in her place…”

Gu Fu couldn’t stop laughing, though it was unclear whether it was because she found the story amusing or because she was pleased with the academy’s ongoing reforms over the past three years. When the academy was first established, there were no monthly exams.

She wasn’t sure whether these reforms were good or bad, but she enjoyed the sense of urgency, as if a sword were hanging over her neck.

Inside the Empress’s tent, Princess Ruiyang was also present.

Gu Fu greeted the Empress with a formal bow, and as soon as she rose, Princess Ruiyang approached her and bowed in return. Gu Fu quickly stepped aside, trying to avoid the gesture, but the Empress stopped her, saying, “Accept it, there’s nothing inappropriate about it.”

Gu Fu had no choice but to accept the bow and then returned it out of courtesy after Princess Ruiyang finished.

By the time Gu Fu arrived at the hunting grounds, it was already the last day, so there wasn’t much opportunity for her to showcase her skills.

However, due to the Emperor’s orders, Gu Fu was tasked with escorting the imperial carriage back to the capital.

Thus, on the day the imperial procession returned to the capital, the grand gates of Xihe Gate swung open. Gu Fu, clad in armor, rode at the front of the grand procession. She led the orderly ranks as they marched into the city gate and onto the imperial road known as Xihe Avenue.

Xihe Avenue was forty-five zhang wide, broad enough for over twenty carriages to drive side by side. Along both sides of the avenue stood rows of Imperial Guards. Beyond the guards were the drainage ditches for the avenue, and on the other side of those ditches stood the military officers of the Wu Hou regiment. Beyond the Wu Hou stood the common folk, gathered to pay their respects.

The imperial procession was resplendent and awe-inspiring, causing some citizens to sneak a glance despite themselves.

After the procession had crossed the imperial road and the imperial carriage had entered the palace, the guards and officers dispersed. Rumors soon spread throughout the city about who had led the army:

Today, the one escorting the imperial carriage into the city wasn’t the commander of the Imperial Guards, nor the commander of the Chiyao Army.

It was Marquis Zhongshun, their kingdom’s first female general, and female marquis.

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