Gu Fu was precise with her actions. After dunking Wu Huaijin several tis, she stopped pushing him into the water. After all, given Wu Huaijin's position, Gu Fu didn't dare to kill a mber of the imperial guard.
As for their marriage, Gu Fu grabbed Wu Huaijin by the collar and made things clear: the Gu family would annul the engagent, and after that, their families would have nothing to do with each other. Wu Huaijin could marry whoever he wanted, as many as he wanted. The beating he received was for going back on his word, intending to enjoy the benefits of having multiple wives, and for the Wu family's deliberate concealnt of Lian Niang's existence from the Gu family.
Before she could finish, Wu Huaijin used his other uninjured hand to grab Gu Fu's sleeve, attempting to pull her into the water. However, Gu Fu rely leaned forward slightly without falling in, as she had encountered similar situations countless tis in the northern military camp.
Back then, she always found excuses not to bathe by the river with the others in the camp, so soone would deliberately trick her into going to the river and then try to pull her in. Fortunately, she was only fourteen at the ti, and even if her clothes got wet, it didn't reveal much of her figure.
Later, she remained vigilant and never let anyone succeed again. To her dismay, the soldiers in the camp made a bet on who could pull her into the water again. This bet resurfaced every sumr, leading Gu Fu to develop her skills to avoid falling into the water.
Wu Huaijin's straightforward attempt to pull her in was the easiest to deal with. Gu Fu braced herself with one hand on the stone edge of the pond, stabilized her lower body, and with her other hand, she dislocated Wu Huaijin's wrist again.
After ensuring that both of Wu Huaijin's hands were incapacitated, Gu Fu stood up and delivered a powerful kick to his shoulder, sending him back into the water once more.
This ti, Wu Huaijin was kicked to the center of the pond by Gu Fu. He struggled for a long ti before resurfacing, looking like a drowned ghost. Unlike Xie Zichen, who was powerless, Wu Huaijin knew martial arts and wasn’t afraid of Gu Fu's threats. Not only was he confident that Gu Fu wouldn't dare to kill him now, but even if she dared in the future, it might not be him who died!
Wu Huaijin slowly shed his soft-hearted facade. He glared at Gu Fu with a violent rage boiling inside him, deciding that he would marry Gu Fu at all costs and repay her tenfold or a hundredfold for everything he suffered today. "You want us to have nothing to do with each other? In your dreams! Once we leave this garden, I'll make sure everyone knows you are already my woman. Let's see if your Gu family dares to annul the engagent then!"
After his harsh words, Wu Huaijin expected to see Gu Fu terrified and furious. Instead, she smiled, "You want to play dirty with ?"
"Overestimating yourself."
...
"A’ Mu, where did Second Miss Gu go?" Miss Wei, who had been sticking close to Gu Fu on the boat, found Mu Qingyao and asked about Gu Fu's whereabouts.
Mu Qingyao was also looking for Gu Fu. Although they had agreed that Gu Fu would find a way to et Wu Huaijin after arriving at Lingshui Garden, they had also agreed that Gu Fu would inform Mu Qingyao before taking action. Now that Gu Fu had disappeared without a word, Mu Qingyao was more anxious than anyone.
She wasn’t sure what had happened to Gu Fu and didn't know whether to cover for her or to find her quickly.
Her uncertainty left Mu Qingyao at a loss for how to answer Miss Wei's question, so Miss Wei simply went around asking others.
After several inquiries, soone said they saw Gu Fu heading to the south side of Lingshui Garden.
Miss Wei hurriedly ran off, and Mu Qingyao, unable to stop her, quickly followed.
They walked briskly, without explaining what was going on, arousing the curiosity of many onlookers. A few who enjoyed a good spectacle even joined Mu Qingyao in the search.
They headed to the south side of Lingshui Garden, where there were several smaller gardens. They searched one garden after another, asking anyone they encountered if they had seen Gu Fu. Everyone they asked said they hadn't seen her but, out of curiosity, stayed to help with the search.
By the ti they reached the vicinity of the small stone pond garden, their group had grown to thirteen people, five of whom were n. Among these n was Wen Xi, an acquaintance of Gu Fu. Worried sothing had happened to her, Wen Xi insisted on joining the search.
Mu Qingyao's palms were sweaty. Desperate to find Gu Fu before the others, she quickened her pace, circled a nearby Arhat pine, and was about to step into the small stone pond garden when she bumped into Gu Fu, who was coming out.
Instinctively, Mu Qingyao stepped back, but she missed the step and nearly fell. Gu Fu quickly grabbed her.
Before Mu Qingyao could warn Gu Fu that others were following, Miss Wei heard the commotion, ran over, and shouted, "Second Miss Gu! We finally found you!"
Gu Fu was stunned. "Found ? Why are you looking for ?”
Miss Wei pushed Mu Qingyao aside and grabbed Gu Fu's arm, which felt cold to the touch. "Huh? Second Miss Gu, why are your sleeves wet?"
Gu Fu, unfazed, replied, "I just saved soone who fell into the water."
The others, hearing her response as they arrived, were shocked. "Soone fell into the water? Again?"
The use of "again" was quite pointed. Everyone knew that Gu Fu had once saved Mu Qingyao from falling into the water at Earl Lin'an's residence. So superstitious mbers of the group began to suspect that Gu Fu had a bad affinity with water, leading her to encounter such incidents repeatedly.
At that mont, Miss Wei heard shuffling footsteps and coughing sounds from within the garden. She looked back while holding onto Gu Fu's arm and scread in fright.
Her scream startled everyone, but it was clear that Miss Wei was the most terrified. She clung to Gu Fu and shouted, "A ghost! A ghost!!"
Miss Wei's sudden embrace forced Gu Fu to step aside a few paces, nearly bumping into Lu Zhu.
As Gu Fu moved, everyone saw the "ghost" Miss Wei had ntioned and were startled. The "ghost" had a hunched figure, disheveled hair, and was soaking wet. Water dripped from him, leaving a long trail of footprints and wet marks on the ground. He did indeed look like a ghost.
But upon closer inspection, everyone realized that it was actually a person—a man dressed in the black robe of the Imperial Guards.
Despite several attempts, Gu Fu couldn't push Miss Wei away from her embrace and had to let her cling to her. She said calmly, "There's a small pond in the garden. He accidentally fell in, but he's fine now."
Hearing this, Wu Huaijin, who had walked over, had a twisted smile appear on his face from behind his disheveled hair. He was about to speak to tarnish Gu Fu's reputation when Lu Zhu suddenly shouted, "Miss! Even now, you’re still covering for him! It was clearly he..."
Gu Fu interrupted her, "Lu Zhu!"
Miss Wei let go of Gu Fu and anxiously asked, "What happened? Why won't you let her finish?"
Gu Fu lowered her gaze and remained silent.
Miss Wei turned to Lu Zhu, "Quick, tell ! What happened!! Did soone bully your lady!?"
Lu Zhu, with her neck stiff in anger, exclaid, "My mistress's martial arts are unparalleled; no one can bully her! It's those Imperial Guards—they are the ones who have gone too far!!”
"Lu Zhu!" Gu Fu interrupted her again, but this ti her tone was much gentler, clearly not really blaming Lu Zhu but wanting to quell the situation.
Wen Xi, already at odds with the Imperial Guards and having been helped by Gu Fu several tis before, couldn't just watch her suffer at their hands. He spoke up, "Second Miss Gu, what exactly happened? If it truly involves the Imperial Guards, you should speak out."
Gu Fu turned to look at Wen Xi, hesitated for a mont, and then, as if convinced, said, "I was thirsty earlier and asked the Imperial Guard where to find water. They kept directing
until I ended up here. Then this Mr. Wu appeared, and after that... he fell into the water, and I pulled him out."
Except for the last sentence, everything she said was true.
Everyone present, upon hearing her explanation, conjured up countless speculations based on her pauses.
However, seeing Gu Fu's neat appearance and lack of sha or anger, while Wu Huaijin looked utterly disheveled, they concluded that nothing inappropriate had happened. Given that the matter involved the Imperial Guards, it wasn't surprising that a lady might want to keep such an incident quiet.
But because it involved the Imperial Guards—the very force protecting the emperor—their deputy commander, Wu Huaijin, dared to conspire with his subordinates on royal grounds to lure a lady to such a remote place... Fortunately, Second Miss Gu knew martial arts and didn't fall victim. If she had, she would have suffered in silence. Wouldn't the Imperial Guards beco even more rampant, targeting other noble ladies and even the wives of officials?
The Imperial Guards are also responsible for guarding the palace. If they beco driven by lust and reach out toward the harem...
Wen Xi gritted his teeth, cursing the Imperial Guards for being utterly corrupt. No wonder his eldest brother, second brother, and his teacher all despised them so much.
It wasn't just Wen Xi; everyone else had reached their conclusions as well, leaving Wu Huaijin standing a short distance away, wanting to speak up to slander Gu Fu, but instead being drowned in the contemptuous gazes of the crowd.
Lu Zhu, still beside them, couldn't help but sob softly, though she said nothing more.
Gu Fu, while showing no emotion on the surface, was inwardly amazed: such great acting!
Wu Huaijin indeed had the opportunity to ruin Gu Fu's reputation by exploiting their private encounter, but he had forgotten that he had conspired with his subordinates to bring Gu Fu here. Even though they were betrothed, it couldn't change the fact that Wu Huaijin had abused his position for personal gain.
Wu Huaijin had brought the knife to stab Gu Fu, and if she didn't take it and stab back, she wouldn't have the face to say she had spent five years in the Northern Army.
Before long, news of what had happened with Gu Fu spread. Since it involved the Imperial Guards, it was a serious matter, and soone imdiately reported to the emperor, accusing the Imperial Guards of abusing their power and acting recklessly.
So defended the Imperial Guards, saying that the second daughter of the Gu family was the fiancée of the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards. Even though they were not yet married, it was only natural for them to have strong feelings for each other.
The emperor, upon hearing this, directly threw a cup of tea at the speaker's head.
“Strong feelings! If these strong feelings reach my harem, will you also call it natural human behavior?”
The emperor’s outburst terrified the ministers, who promptly knelt in silence.
“Wu Huaijin will be dismissed and investigated. Those involved will be handed over to the Court of Judicial Review, with the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate assisting, and the Secret Cabinet supervising.”
With a final decision, the emperor rose, leaving the frightened ministers behind, and went straight to find the empress.
It was through this incident that the emperor learned Gu Fu was engaged and to such a person. Needless to say, even if Gu Qizheng did not cancel the engagent, he would find a way to annul it and find a good match for Gu Fu!
anwhile, the empress also heard about the matter from a palace maid and was frowning when the eunuch outside announced loudly, “His Majesty has arrived.”
The empress stood up to greet him but was pulled by the hand before she could bow. “Empress, I need your help with sothing.”
Sensing sothing, the empress listened as the emperor explained the engagent situation with Gu Fu, emphasizing that it must not be considered valid. Finally, he stated his real intention:
“I see Gu Fu as my own daughter and cannot let her marry just anyone casually. If you have the ti, please help
find a suitable match for her in the capital.”
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