Gu Fu noticed that the Empress was reluctant to speak. Considering that the Empress was Li Yu's aunt, it was understandable that she didn't want Li Yu to lose face in front of his forr superior. So, Gu Fu didn't press the matter further.
As they shifted the conversation away from Li Yu and were about to continue discussing the academy, Nanny Jing arrived to relay a ssage, saying that His Majesty had summoned both the Empress and Gu Fu.
The Empress asked Nanny Jing, "Did His Majesty ntion what it was about?"
Nanny Jing replied, "No, but I asked Xiao Xi, who delivered the decree. Xiao Xi said that the National Master had brought soone into the palace to et with His Majesty, and shortly after, His Majesty ordered him to summon Your Majesty."
Fu Yan?
Gu Fu was puzzled but followed the Empress to the Hanliang Palace.
The Hanliang Palace was built beside the Lingyao Pond. Behind the palace was a large waterwheel that transported water from the pond to the palace's roof. This water would flow down channels along the roof, creating a curtain of rain outside the palace, cooling it down during the sumr.
Gu Fu entered the palace with the Empress and saw two young n in white robes standing beneath the imperial throne.
One of them, naturally, was Fu Yan. His white hair was neatly tied behind his waist with a silk ribbon, and his features were as delicate as a painting. He had an ethereal deanor, exuding an aura of aloofness and coldness that was apparent even as he stood there silently.
The other young man was unfamiliar to Gu Fu. His appearance was ordinary, but he exuded an aura of harmlessness and joy, making it difficult for others to feel wary of him.
When Fu Yan saw Gu Fu entering with the Empress, the icy expression on his face gradually softened. After exchanging glances with Gu Fu, they both slightly lifted the corners of their lips in a smile.
Si Ya knew that Fu Yan was very fond of his fiancée, but witnessing this change in Fu Yan firsthand, Si Ya couldn't help but stroke his chin in amazent. Could this still be the cold and ruthless junior disciple he once knew? Could it be that soone had taken over his body?
Before Si Ya could verify his suspicions, the Emperor spoke directly, revealing the idea Fu Yan had proposed to the Empress and Gu Fu.
Lately, there have been many strange rumors circulating in the capital. These were all spread by people under Fu Yan's instructions as a preliminary test to see if his thod would work. The results were promising: whether commoners or nobility, people were very interested in such rumors. Whether they believed them or not, they would gather to discuss them, and the stories would beco increasingly exaggerated.
So, Fu Yan thought, why not use the talk of ghosts and spirits to help the Empress and Gu Fu? This way, they wouldn't have to cover their plans with completely contradictory reasons, nor would they have to expose their ambitions, making themselves targets for opposition.
However, this was not a small matter. To deceive the entire capital, it wasn't enough for the Empress and Gu Fu to agree; they needed the Emperor's approval as well. After all, throughout history, events involving ghosts and spirits were often related to changes in imperial power.
For example, in the previous dynasty, the founding emperor's rebellion was supported by many because, after a heavy snowfall, divine prophecies appeared on the ground when the snow lted. This allowed the founding emperor of the previous dynasty to smoothly overthrow the corrupt ruler of the earlier dynasty.
The founding emperor of the current dynasty also used similar tricks, not just once. The more mystical, the better, eventually transforming himself from a "rebel" into soone seen as divinely ordained.
This was an idea that neither the Empress nor Gu Fu had considered before. While intrigued, they both looked towards the throne, waiting for the Emperor's final decision.
Unlike the anxious Gu Fu, the Empress was confident that this matter would likely proceed, or else the Emperor wouldn't have called them over.
Sure enough, the Emperor did not oppose it.
But it wasn't because he shared the Empress's dedication to the won's academy. Rather, he saw a potential benefit in the plan—people were already talking about strange events, but to make them believe, there had to be actual "strange occurrences" as well.
These strange occurrences could be a divine prophecy appearing on the ground after a heavy snowfall, a white fox speaking human words on a full moon night, or an official returning to the capital with sothing sinister hidden within him, unable to resist the dragon's aura after entering the city, locking himself in his room late at night, and dying mysteriously...
The capital was hit by a long-awaited storm with strong winds and heavy rain.
Because the storm made it difficult to travel to the palace, the Empress temporarily suspended the classes for Princess Ruiyang and excused her companions from braving the harsh weather.
However, Gu Fu still planned to visit the Qitian Tower in the evening as usual. Fu Yan wasn't too keen on her going, fearing that the intense wind and rain might lead to an accident.
"Don't worry, this kind of weather is nothing," Gu Fu reassured him. She had gone to Fu Yan's room to change out of her rain-soaked clothes. After going upstairs, she began to dry her hair and glanced at Yi Ye, asking, "I left my wet clothes on the floor, aren’t you going to clean them up?"
Yi Ye looked troubled but finally ran downstairs to tidy up, calling out as he did, "I'll be right back."
As soon as Yi Ye went downstairs, Gu Fu threw aside the towel she was using to dry her hair and pulled Fu Yan by the collar, kissing him passionately.
Fu Yan, cherishing the brief mont without Yi Ye around, returned the kiss with intense affection.
"Ya ya ya ya ya!!" Suddenly, an exaggerated noise erupted from the stairway, nearly causing them to bite each other’s lips.
Gu Fu let go of Fu Yan and turned towards the staircase, where she saw Fu Yan’s senior disciple brother, Si Ya, standing there. He was covering his eyes with his hands, pretending to be shy and embarrassed.
Gu Fu was speechless.
If you’re really embarrassed, why don’t you just leave?!
But Gu Fu held back from shouting out what was on her mind. After all, this was Fu Yan's senior disciple brother, and according to Fu Yan, they were on good terms.
Fu Yan, however, had no such reservations. He shouted one word towards the staircase: "Scram!"
Gu Fu began to doubt whether they were really on good terms.
Si Ya lowered his hands and said righteously, "No way, I have to keep an eye on you two. You aren't married yet, so we can't break the rules."
Fu Yan’s expression clearly said, "I don't believe your nonsense."
A swindler who conned and cheated his way through the world still dared to talk about rules?
Si Ya didn't care about Fu Yan's attitude and seed quite pleased with himself.
Soon after, Yi Ye returned. Gu Fu had no choice but to pick up the towel she had thrown aside and obediently dry her hair.
Yi Ye served hot tea to the three of them. Although Si Ya was unreliable and talkative, he was competent when it ca to getting things done. After so light banter, he got down to business, discussing with Gu Fu and Fu Yan how to spread and create rumors.
However, Gu Fu didn’t expect that before the various eerie and strange rumors could spread, the incident of Mu Qingyao being stopped by local thugs would be leaked first.
The afternoon Gu Fu heard the news, Wen Qize, the heir apparent of Prince An, ca to her house in the pouring rain. He asked Gu Fu to apologize to Mu Qingyao on his behalf and assured her that he had never ntioned the incident to anyone. He even vouched for the integrity of the Prince of Yi’s people, leaving the culprits to be either the local thugs or the constables who had dealt with them.
"I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give Miss Mu an explanation!" Wen Qize promised before mounting his horse and leaving. He was so upset that he didn't even bother with an umbrella or a hat, showing just how angry he was.
Gu Fu stood at the side gate of the Gu residence, watching Wen Qize's figure disappear into the rain. She couldn't help but think: This guy is too honest. Didn’t he consider that the leak might have co from our side?
Of course, Gu Fu and Mu Qingyao wouldn’t have let anything slip, which left only the coachman and the guards who were present that day...
Gu Fu went to find Second Madam Li and was surprised to learn that the coachman had disappeared since the previous day. Realizing sothing was wrong, she not only asked Lu Zhu to seek help from the people at the Secret Cabinet but also requested Miss Qi, who had visited today, to ask Guo Jian’s people to keep an eye out for the coachman through the Gatekeeping Departnt.
Miss Qi had co today because Gu Fu had sent for her, mainly to inquire about Guo Jian’s reaction after learning of Li Yu’s true identity.
While Fu Yan could have provided information about the Imperial Guard, Gu Fu noticed that since the encounter with Li Yu in the side hall of the Hanyuan Palace, Fu Yan had harbored a strong hostility towards him.
Although Gu Fu couldn’t quite figure out the source of this hostility, she followed her instinct to avoid unnecessary conflict and decided not to ask Fu Yan about Li Yu. Instead, she turned to Guo Jian, who was currently in a fierce rivalry with the Imperial Guard.
Guo Jian was eager to boast about his current success to Gu Fu, so much so that he wrote down what he wanted to say on a thick stack of papers and sent them with his wife to give to Gu Fu.
When Gu Fu saw Miss Qi pull out the thick stack of papers, she initially thought sothing had happened to Li Yu. But after reading through them, she realized that they were filled with Guo Jian’s accounts of how he had led his Chiyao army in quietly building strength, eventually seizing the opportunity to stand out in front of the Emperor and even snatching a few tasks from the Imperial Guard, hinting at a growing competition between the two forces.
Gu Fu was surprised that Guo Jian had achieved so much in just two months.
However, after reading the papers several tis, she found that they didn’t ntion much about Li Yu, other than so sarcastic remarks.
Having confird that the papers contained no further information, Gu Fu turned to Miss Qi for more details.
Li Yu, born into an extraordinary family and still unmarried, was one of the most discussed potential suitors among noble ladies. Miss Qi, who frequently mingled among the won of the inner court, had naturally heard so things about him and told Gu Fu, "Everyone says he's been acting very strange lately."
"Strange?"
Miss Qi tried to recall and managed to piece together a rough idea. Gu Fu then learned that Li Yu had suddenly taken sick leave recently and had even gotten into a street brawl during his ti off. However, the matter was hushed up. Miss Qi had heard about it from the wife of the Capital Prefect. Later, Li Yu botched a few tasks, leading to a scolding from the Emperor and even punishnt from the head of the Li family.
Gu Fu was speechless.
No wonder the Empress didn’t want to talk about it—things were really bad.
From the single word "strange" that others used, only Li Yu knew what he had truly experienced.
That day, he recalled that his cousin Li Jin had once spent a hefty sum to obtain a portrait of the Gu family’s second daughter. Without a second thought, Li Yu left his friends behind and went downstairs to find Li Jin.
However, Li Jin, thinking that Li Yu was suddenly asking about it because Gu Fu was now the National Advisor’s fiancée, lied and said that their father—Li Yu’s second uncle—had discovered the portrait and thrown it into the fire to be burned.
Although Li Yu felt regret, he also inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t until he was at the Ministry of Personnel to pick up soone that he accidentally learned the na of the Gu family’s eldest son—Gu Chen.
For so reason, this made him think of Gu Fu.
Compelled by an inexplicable force, he sought out Wu Huaijin, the forr Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard who had been dismissed. Wu Huaijin had once exchanged betrothal letters with the Gu family’s second daughter, so he naturally knew her given na. Thus, Li Yu finally discovered that the second daughter of the Gu family was nad Gu Fu.
No one knew how he made his way back ho that day. By the ti he realized it, he had already barged into Li Jin’s courtyard, ignoring the maidservants’ attempts to stop him, and thoroughly searched the place until he found the hidden portrait.
Staring at the woman in the painting, as graceful as a startled swan, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning, his mind going completely blank.
After a long while, sothing surfaced in his mory—his recollections from his ti in the Northern Territory. The Gu Fu in his mories bore no resemblance to the elegant and beautiful woman in the painting. She wore n's clothes and spent her days among n. Although she looked sowhat frail, her bravery on the battlefield had never led anyone to suspect that she was a woman.
Li Yu vividly rembered the first ti she left an impression on him. It was in Youfeng City on the border, which was besieged by the Zuojia tribe. The reinforcents were delayed, and the city had run out of supplies. The townspeople, desperate, had organized themselves to bring their children to the Northern Army to be used as food, because the Zuojia tribe was notorious for slaughtering entire cities once they breached the walls. If the city fell, everyone would perish.
He suppressed his disgust and wanted to send the children back, but Gu Fu stopped him. At the ti, he thought Gu Fu intended to eat the children, and they almost got into a fight. However, Gu Fu told him that once the children were brought here, they had to be hidden; if they were sent back directly, next ti, it would be bowls of cooked at soup that the townspeople sent back.
The city had already consud everything edible, so where would they find at to make soup, unless...
Li Yu looked at the innocent children and felt nauseous.
Gu Fu threatened him, "Try vomiting, and see what happens."
It wasn’t surprising that Gu Fu was so harsh. Li Yu’s identity was exposed not long after he joined the Northern Army, and because he was the Empress’s nephew, he was treated with special care everywhere he went. On the other hand, soldiers like Gu Fu survived by drinking water and gnawing on grass, occasionally catching a few birds flying over Youfeng City to feast on. If Li Yu dared to throw up in front of her, she really would beat him up.
In the end, though, he did throw up because, after hiding the children, Gu Fu suddenly said to him, "Old Hamrhead was the one who told
all that. He’s been with the Northern Army for eight years. Do you want to guess how he knew that sending the children back would result in bowls of at soup?"
When Li Yu thought about it, he couldn’t hold it in and vomited.
This gave Gu Fu the perfect excuse to kick him to the ground.
Later, Li Yu learned that while he still had sothing to eat, the lower-ranking soldiers had already run out of rations. The day before Gu Fu beat him up, Old Hamrhead and a few other veterans had sneaked out of the city to find food. Unfortunately, they were spotted by the Zuojia tribe's patrol and had their heads cut off and displayed on tall poles as a provocation.
So Gu Fu had done it on purpose—said those things just to have an excuse to beat him up.
From that ti onward, he began to notice Gu Fu.
Gu Fu was different from him. She was always surrounded by people who would throw their arms around her shoulders, laugh, curse, and joke with her. They had a good relationship. Of course, so had conflicts with Gu Fu, but after a fight, they inexplicably ended up becoming close companions.
When Gu Fu was in a good mood, she was very friendly and would even draw portraits of people’s families back ho—parents, wives, and children. If misfortune struck, she’d endure it with everyone else. But when she was in a bad mood, she could be incredibly difficult. Those who gritted their teeth at her were usually her comrades who had shared life-and-death experiences.
Gu Fu had many odd habits, like refusing to go into the water during the sumr and placing heavy bets while drinking. She seed carefree, but whenever soone she knew died, she would beco very quiet. She didn’t cry, yet she appeared deeply sorrowful.
Gu Fu fought with a ferocity that suggested she had no regard for her own life, but her martial arts skills were so formidable that it was often her enemies who ended up losing their lives.
Li Yu watched as Gu Fu, once an unremarkable low-ranking soldier, gradually rose through the ranks to beco a scout, surpassing him step by step with an unrivaled determination, eventually leaving him behind.
Strangely, when he saw that soone who had once been beneath him had beco his superior, he didn't feel a trace of jealousy or resentnt. Instead, he even felt a sense of pride, as if it were only natural.
If he could, he wished he could live like Gu Fu.
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