The question caught everyone off guard, including Chen Jiuer. She studied Gu Chusheng carefully for a moment but still couldn’t figure out what connection this man had with her family. Sensing her confusion, Gu Chusheng explained, "I once met your father-in-law’s father. He asked me to find you and inquire about your well-being. But now, only you, a lone woman, have come forward..."
Gu Chusheng pressed his lips together, while Chen Jiuer finally understood. Her eyes reddened as she lowered her head and said, "There... truly is no one else left in the family."
Gu Chusheng remained silent for a while before sighing. "I understand. You may go now. I’ll have someone arrange a place for you to rest."
With that, he turned to Chu Yu and said, "With so many people and matters to handle now—"
"It’s fine," Chu Yu waved his hand. "I’ll help out."
Indeed, the spring was short-handed, with more patients than healthy people. Chu Yu assisted Gu Chusheng in supporting Wei Qingping until late at night, when the two finally returned to the government office.
Wei Qingping collapsed into sleep immediately, while Gu Chusheng freshened up before going to see Chen Jiuer.
It was the middle of the night, and Gu Chusheng felt it improper to meet Chen Jiuer alone. Since Chu Yu was still awake, he brought him along. Listening to Chen Jiuer recount the events that had befallen her family, Gu Chusheng’s heart grew heavier with each word. When she finished, he sighed and said, "Since there’s no one left in your family, I won’t send word back to the old man."
Holding onto hope was better than the despair of an elder burying the young.
Chen Jiuer pressed her lips together. After comforting her with a few words, Gu Chusheng stood up and led Chu Yu out.
But they had barely taken a few steps when Chen Jiuer called out from behind, "Lord Gu!"
Gu Chusheng halted and turned to see Chen Jiuer gazing at him with tear-filled eyes. "Lord Gu, may this humble woman... speak with you privately for a moment?"
Gu Chusheng hesitated briefly before glancing at Chu Yu, who took the hint and stepped away, leaving the two alone in the room.
Chen Jiuer looked at Gu Chusheng and lifted the child in her arms. "Lord Gu, I have an unreasonable request."
Gu Chusheng frowned as Chen Jiuer raised the child toward him. "I know you are a man of great kindness, my lord. This child is the last bloodline of the Li family. In these turbulent times, I have no means to raise him—"
"You want me to adopt this child?" Gu Chusheng’s frown deepened.
Chen Jiuer hesitated before finally pleading, "I beg for your mercy!"
"Preposterous!" Gu Chusheng snapped. "You are his mother, still alive and well. How could you even think of giving him away?"
With that, he turned to leave. Chen Jiuer stood up, her voice trembling. "My lord, are you refusing because this child still has a mother?"
"You are his mother," Gu Chusheng said firmly, meeting her gaze. "He is your responsibility. But don’t worry." His voice softened as he looked at the trembling woman. "I will send you silver. Take him back, bring Old Man Li home, and live well."
"And if he had no mother?" Chen Jiuer persisted.
Gu Chusheng’s brows knitted tighter. "What exactly are you asking?"
"If one day... something were to happen to me," Chen Jiuer said calmly, her gaze steady on him, "would you, Lord Gu, take this child in?"Gu Chusheng looked at Chen Jiuer, thinking to himself that as a woman drifting through turbulent times, she was merely seeking a refuge for her child.
So he nodded and said, "Alright."
Chen Jiuer let out a sigh of relief. She bowed deeply, holding her child, and knelt on the ground, sincerely thanking Gu Chusheng.
Gu Chusheng turned and left. As he walked down the corridor, he saw Chu Yu waiting for him with a sword in her arms. The two walked out of the courtyard together, with Gu Chusheng stubbornly insisting on escorting Chu Yu back to her room.
"What did she say to you?"
Chu Yu was already accustomed to Gu Chusheng's chivalry and casually struck up a conversation. Gu Chusheng felt uneasy and slowly replied, "She asked if I could take them in..."
Before he could finish, Gu Chusheng suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "No!" He immediately rushed back toward Chen Jiuer's room. Chu Yu was stunned for a moment before chasing after him.
As soon as they re-entered the courtyard, they heard the baby's piercing cries. Gu Chusheng charged ahead and kicked open the door, only to see blood spreading across the floor and the woman lying in a pool of blood, a sharp blade embedded in her chest.
The child was beside her, seemingly sensing something, flailing and wailing in anguish.
Gu Chusheng rushed over, pulling medicine and bandages from his sleeve. Lately, he had become quite adept at emergency care. Chu Yu turned to fetch Wei Qingping while Gu Chusheng stayed in the room, sprinkling medicine on Chen Jiuer's wound and pressing down on the bleeding area, his face filled with panic.
Chen Jiuer struggled to smile. "My lord..." she began, "This child... has no name yet... Please... take good care of him..."
"You are his mother!" Gu Chusheng roared. "How could a mother like you exist?"
Tears slowly streamed from Chen Jiuer's eyes as she forced a weak smile. "My lord," she whispered, her voice as fragile as duckweed, "How could the noble understand the suffering of the lowly?"
"A life..." she gasped, blood gushing uncontrollably from between Gu Chusheng's fingers. His entire body trembled as he listened to her say, "In exchange for my child's... half a lifetime of peace... is worth it."
"My lord," her vision slowly darkened, "When... will this Great Chu... know peace?"
As she finished speaking, her body seemed to wither along with her question.
Gu Chusheng gritted his teeth, his hands still pressing on her wound, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. He trembled uncontrollably while the child beside him cried incessantly, as if aware of his mother's departure.
By the time Wei Qingping rushed into the room with Chu Yu, Chen Jiuer's heart had already stopped.
Gu Chusheng remained kneeling in place, still in the posture of trying to save her. Wei Qingping hurried to the body, quickly examined it, and her expression darkened.
After a moment, she shook her head and stood up.
Seeing Gu Chusheng still unmoving, she said, "Lord Gu, she's gone. Let her go."
Gu Chusheng remained motionless. Chu Yu stepped forward, cradling the child in her arms, and patted his shoulder. "Get up."
Only then did Gu Chusheng react to Chu Yu's words, as if snapping out of a daze. He stood up numbly.
His hands were still stained with blood as he stumbled away. Sensing something amiss, Chu Yu quickly followed.
Carrying the child, she followed Gu Chusheng to his room. First, she instructed someone to prepare a calming tonic for him, then entered his room with the child in her arms.Gu Chusheng hadn’t closed the door. He sat on the edge of his bed, arms wrapped around himself, his hands still stained with blood, staring blankly at the moonlight spilling inside.
“I should have known earlier.”
Chu Yu entered while soothing the child in her arms and heard Gu Chusheng’s voice: “I should have realized why she asked me those questions. I should have understood—she’s suffered so much. Her world is far harsher than I imagined.”
“For a woman alone, raising a child, surviving is too difficult.”
Chu Yu carried the child to Gu Chusheng’s side and sat down, listening as he continued: “She wouldn’t have lived. Even if I helped her, how many years could I really offer? If I wasn’t by her side, perhaps before long, I’d forget her entirely.”
“Chusheng,” Chu Yu sighed, “you can’t blame yourself for this.”
No one could have anticipated this woman’s decision.
“In her heart, she believed that without my help, neither she nor this child would survive. That’s why she was so desperate to force this child upon me.”
“But why was her life so hopeless?”
Gu Chusheng slowly turned his gaze to Chu Yu. “Why do the people of Great Chu feel their lives are as fragile as ants? Why do they believe they cannot survive without someone’s mercy?”
“Chusheng…”
Chu Yu was startled by the tears glistening in his eyes. Trembling, his voice hoarse, he said, “She asked me when Great Chu would finally know peace. I’ve asked that too—in my past life, in this life. I’ve asked it for two lifetimes…”
“But why is Great Chu not at peace?” Gu Chusheng stood, hunched over, staring at Chu Yu, his teeth chattering slightly. “Great Chu has the vastest lands, the bravest warriors, the hardest-working people—why is there no peace? Because of the hearts of men…”
He raised a hand and pressed it against his chest, his voice rising in fury: “Because of that traitor Zhao Yue’s wolf-hearted treachery! Because that fool Emperor Chunde cannot distinguish right from wrong! Because that self-serving dog Yao Yong cares only for himself! And because of me…”
He slowly closed his eyes, his voice strained. “Because I… am weak and incompetent.”
“Chusheng,” Chu Yu said softly, gently patting the baby’s back, “don’t carry the weight of a nation on your shoulders alone.”
“Lately, I watch people die every day.”
Gu Chusheng’s voice choked with emotion. “Every day, I see them perish before my eyes. I try to save everyone, but I can save no one. I cannot control life and death. I cannot stop natural disasters. And even against man-made suffering, I am powerless.”
Tears rolled down his face as he shut his eyes. “I eat the food of the people, wear the clothes of the people, serve as Grand Secretary of the Cabinet—yet I am powerless.”
“A Yu…” He slowly sank to his knees, his body curled forward, hands covering his face as tears fell onto his bloodstained hands. “I am powerless.”
In both his lifetimes—for himself, the love he sought remained out of reach; for his country, the peace he tried to protect never came.
He watched helplessly as everything he desired slipped away, vanished, crumbled, and collapsed. And yet, he was powerless.
All the emotions he had suppressed for so long surged forth in this moment, before this woman. He knelt before her, weeping uncontrollably.
Chu Yu listened quietly to his cries. She gazed at the moonlight, feeling as though his sobs were a river, washing over him, cleansing him bit by bit through this long night.She raised her hand and gently patted his shoulder. After a long while, when his sobs gradually subsided, she spoke softly, "Wipe your tears and go get some proper rest."
Her voice was calm and composed: "From now on, you'll be a father."
Hearing this, Gu Chusheng slowly lifted his head and looked at the child in Chu Yu's arms.
The baby was sleeping soundly. Chu Yu handed the child to Gu Chusheng, who took the infant and gazed down at it.
"You're not entirely powerless, you know," Chu Yu said as she watched Gu Chusheng settle. She smiled faintly. "Changing a nation's fate requires the efforts of many—each person contributing a little. Gu Chusheng, you've already done so much, haven't you?"
"Great Chu will find stability."
Gu Chusheng looked up and met Chu Yu's eyes as she spoke earnestly, "In this lifetime—me, Wei Yun, my brother, Song Shilan, Wei Qingping... and so many others."
Her voice was steady: "We'll strive together."
Gu Chusheng remained silent for a long moment before a slow smile spread across his face.
"Alright."
His voice was hoarse, still thick with tears. "Together."
In his past life, he had never stood by her side.
But in this lifetime, just being able to stand together—that was enough for him.
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