After Shedding My Ar Chapter 28

Suitable candidates.

What counts as a suitable candidate?

Should he be soone the second daughter of the Gu family likes, or soone the emperor approves of?

The empress pondered this question as she returned to the palace with the emperor.

After returning, she ordered a compilation of all the eligible, unmarried n in the capital, complete with portraits, to be sent to her for selection.

The reason for such ticulous care was likely because the empress saw a bit of herself in Gu Fu.

So, what kind of man would be worthy of this Marquis Gu?

"Your Majesty," the empress was deep in thought when Nurse Jing brought a bowl of hot soup, worriedly saying, "The Imperial Guards have caused such a big issue, over at Commander Li's place..."

The fragrant aroma of the soup was sweet and enticing. The empress glanced at it and saw it was her favorite corn and tofu soup. A satisfied smile appeared on her face as she interrupted Nurse Jing, "Matters of the court are not for us to interfere with casually."

But Nurse Jing, having been brought into the palace by the empress from the Li family and having accompanied her from the Eastern Palace to Fengyi Palace, was visibly uneasy. The empress, taking the soup in hand, reassured her, "Rest assured, this matter primarily concerns the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards. At most, Yu’er will face criticism for poor supervision. If His Majesty were truly angry with him, he wouldn't specifically ask

to find a good match for the second daughter of the Gu family."

The emperor’s attitude made it clear that this incident would not implicate Li Yu.

Li Yu is still young, and experiencing a small setback to learn about people isn’t a bad thing.

"Your Majesty is right." Only then did Nurse Jing feel at ease, and as usual, helped the Empress manage the affairs of the six palaces.

However, seeing the Empress busy with palace affairs while also worrying about finding a suitable candidate, Nurse Jing couldn’t help but suggest, "Your Majesty, since the Emperor holds the second daughter of the Gu family in such high regard, why not match her with Commander Li?"

The Empress shook her head with a smile. "Anyone but Yu’er."

The Empress understood Li Yu too well. She knew why Li Yu had secretly gone to the northern border back then and how much he had changed and admired Gu Fu because of her influence.

But she also knew that Li Yu’s views on won were very "traditional." Like most n in the world, Li Yu didn’t place won on the sa level as himself. If he found out that Gu Fu was a woman, it would be one thing, but to have him marry Gu Fu might turn them into a resentful couple.

However, continuing to be so conflicted wasn't a solution either. The Empress decided to issue an order, "Invite the second daughter of the Gu family, saying that I greatly admire won who are skilled in martial arts and wish to et her."

She would also ask if she liked anyone or had any particular requirents or preferences for her future husband.

……

After the Shangsi Festival, the Gu family brought the exchanged birthdate characters and betrothal gifts to the Wu family, proposing to annul the engagent.

Gu Shishi specifically invited her friends to the house and told them the news, to prove that her claim was true and that her second sister was indeed unmarriageable.

However, this ti, fewer people agreed with Gu Shishi, and many felt uncomfortable.

They had heard about the incident at the Shangsi Festival and even felt grateful that Gu Fu knew martial arts and was not taken advantage of. Gu Shishi and Gu Fu were sisters, and while it was one thing not to sympathize, it was another to add insult to injury, which made people feel uneasy.

Of course, so still supported Gu Shishi, saying that Gu Fu offended the Imperial Guards, which ant she also offended the Empress. Everyone knew that the commander of the Imperial Guards was the Empress's nephew.

This statent hit the mark, but not long after, there was a sudden commotion outside. Gu Shishi sent a maid to find out what was happening. After a while, the maid returned, her face flushed with excitent, and said, "Miss! Soone from the palace has co, saying that the Empress specifically invited the second young lady to the palace to play."

The room fell into an awkward silence with everyone showing different expressions.

Gu Shishi scolded the maid for being so thoughtless and continued chatting with her friends, but the atmosphere never returned to its original harmony.

After a while, several girls claid they had matters to attend to at ho and left.

Gu Shishi forced herself to remain calm as she talked to the last girl left in the room.

The girl hesitated but couldn't help giving Gu Shishi a kind reminder: "If your second sister has really gained the favor of the Empress, you don't have to reconcile with her, but you should stop speaking ill of her. If soone hears and reports it to the Empress, the one who will suffer is you."

Gu Shishi's face turned red as if her most disgraceful side had been exposed, and she stubbornly refused to admit it: "I'm not speaking ill of her! Everything I said is true!"

Seeing that Gu Shishi wouldn't listen, the girl made an excuse to leave, just like the others.

In the end, only Gu Shishi and her maid remained in the room. Gu Shishi couldn't swallow her anger, so she smashed the teacups and vases, cursing, "Go, go, all of you! Go flatter and fawn over my second sister! Don't ever co to see

again!!"

After cursing, she covered her face and cried. For several days, she didn't leave the house and cut off contact with her friends, no longer inviting them over.

……

When Gu Fu had last entered the palace, she regretted that it wasn't during the day, as she couldn't see the distant pavilions and towers. Now that her wish had co true, she found no joy in it.

Upon her arrival at Fengyi Palace, the Empress, whom she was eting for the first ti, took her hand and asked if she had soone she loved.

The Empress, having been in a high position for a long ti, had an air of nobility and elegance that couldn't be hidden, even with her gentle and harmless face.

Being asked such a question by such a woman made Gu Fu feel terrified. After a mont of silence, she replied, "In response to Your Majesty, Gu Fu has no one in her heart.”

The Empress let out an "Oh" and then asked, "Do you have any expectations for your future husband?"

Gu Fu shook her head, "No, none."

The Empress detected Gu Fu's nervousness and, thinking that this person was the forr commander of the Northern Army but now was scared at the thought of being matched with soone, she found it both amusing and sowhat poignant.

— If she were a man, she wouldn't have to face these things.

The Empress patted Gu Fu's hand sympathetically and said directly, "His Majesty has always been troubled about how to arrange things for you. Upon learning that you are to marry, he insisted on finding you a good husband. It's alright if you don't have soone you like. I specifically had people bring so portraits, all of them are n of excellent character and appearance in the capital, who are still unmarried. Take a look."

As she finished speaking, palace maids walked in slowly, carrying scrolls, which they then unrolled and hung on the rack beside them.

Gu Fu looked at the array of portraits before her and felt a splitting headache.

After much consideration, she finally decided to speak her mind to the Empress, "Your Majesty, Gu Fu does not want to get married."

The Empress was stunned, "What?"

Gu Fu withdrew her hand from the Empress's grasp, knelt properly, and said each word clearly, "I do not want to get married."

— ‘Mother! Shu’er doesn't want to get married! Shuer can support herself! Shu’er can even support the whole family! Why must Shu’er get married?’

The Empress stared at Gu Fu in disbelief. Over the years in the palace, she had often matched her maids with others, and every ti she would hear them say they didn't want to leave the palace to get married, preferring to stay in Fengyi Palace to serve her.

It seed that if she didn't say sothing like this, the past bond between master and servant wouldn't be deep enough.

Every ti this happened, the Empress would hold those maids' hands, smiling and telling them not to say silly things, and then send them off to get married.

The Empress thought she had grown tired of hearing such words, but unexpectedly, hearing them from Gu Fu reminded her of so old mories.

How strange. She averted her eyes, lost in thought for a while, then finally ca to her senses and bent down to help Gu Fu up. "This is His Majesty's wish."

— ‘This is an imperial decree! The decree orders you to beco the Crown Princess, a great honor others can only dream of! What more could you be dissatisfied with?’

The echoes of the past lingered, the Empress closed her eyes, and upon reopening them, she seed to have made a decision. She said to Gu Fu, "How about this..."

About half an hour later, Gu Fu walked out of Fengyi Palace in a daze. As she stepped down the last stair, she glanced back, thinking—

People say the Empress's brother is a genius in business, but has anyone ever said that the Empress herself is no less capable?

Shortly after Gu Fu left the palace, the Empress went to see the Emperor.

The Emperor was reviewing morials, his furrowed brow relaxing upon seeing the Empress. He reached out to her, "You could have sent a ssage, why co personally?"

The Empress took the Emperor's hand and sat down beside him without hesitation, "I want to discuss sothing with Your Majesty; it's clearer when spoken in person."

The Emperor pressed the Empress's hand to his face, affectionately, "Go ahead."

The Empress said, "I asked Gu’er, and she doesn't have anyone she likes, nor does she have any special expectations for her future husband. So I thought, why not gather all the eligible bachelors in the capital and, under the guise of selecting the best, pick the finest one to marry Gu’er? What do you think?"

The Emperor replied, "This..."

Isn't this a bit too grand?

The Empress slightly changed her tone and referred to herself differently: "Your Majesty entrusted this matter to . I have to satisfy both Your Majesty and Gu’er's wishes, so it's better to handle it this way. We can conduct the selection in batches, and you and Gu’er can decide who gets eliminated. If you're worried about being deceived, we can involve the entire capital in the selection process. Nobody will know that it's for choosing a husband for Gu’er. You can have the Bureau of Military Affairs sell those paper ballots at a high price. People can write down who they think is suitable on the ballots, or if they find soone unworthy of being selected, they can write the reasons on the ballot and submit it to a designated place. We can organize the submissions daily. If there are scandals associated with anyone, the Secret Cabinet can investigate and use that as one of the criteria for elimination.

"In the anti, I can have my brother clear out a bookstore to sell newsletters that detail the results of each selection round, including the vote counts and reasons for elimination. What do you think?"

The Emperor was tempted. Others might not know, but he was well aware that the so-called business genius of the Li family was actually the Empress. Years ago, when the Li family was in decline, the Empress had the idea to go into business, using her brother's na to conduct transactions everywhere.

The forr Emperor granted her marriage to him because he, as the Crown Prince at the ti, was not favored. So he was given a Crown Princess of such low birth that it was almost a joke.

However, the Emperor treated the Empress very well, and over ti, their relationship developed. Only then did he realize that the Empress had countless ideas in her mind, any one of which could bring in a lot of money.

To this day, the Empress still uses her brother's na to co up with money-making ideas. The Emperor knew her capabilities well and realized that if they followed her plan, they could significantly contribute to the national treasury.

Worried about the military funds for the northern border, the Emperor couldn't resist the allure of money and felt there was no issue with the plan. Thus, he nodded and agreed to the Empress's proposal.

Translator's notes:

The Empress seems to want to hold a popularity contest with all the capital's eligible bachelors, with a voting system.

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