The sudden roar stunned everyone present. Wei Yun grabbed Gu Chusheng's head and slammed it to the ground. Chu Yu was the first to react, quickly moving to restrain the furious Wei Yun, urgently pleading, "Stop! Gongsun Mr., let go!"
As she spoke, Chu Yu pulled Wei Yun to his feet. But Wei Yun refused to relent, struggling violently to kick Gu Chusheng. In her panic, Chu Yu raised her hands to block him, and in their back-and-forth, Wei Yun suddenly felt as though she had collided into his embrace. Only then did he freeze, finally calming down.
At that moment, Zhao Yue entered with his entourage. Palace attendants hurried forward to help Gu Chusheng up. Blood trickled from his head as he pressed a handkerchief to his forehead, glaring at Wei Yun and gasping, "Gongsun Lan, what kind of scum are you—"
"What is going on here?"
The Eldest Princess stepped forward from behind, casting a cold glance at the three before curling her lips. "Well, isn't this lively."
Gu Chusheng, supported by the attendants, managed a shaky bow to Zhao Yue and The Eldest Princess. Wei Yun and Chu Yu bowed simultaneously beside them. Zhao Yue frowned as he surveyed the trio, his gaze lingering on Chu Yu's disheveled hair and flushed lips. He seemed momentarily stunned, then awkwardly opened his mouth as if to speak before finally waving a hand. "Enough. Take them away and have the imperial physician attend to them."
"Your Majesty," Wei Yun said coldly, "is that all?"
Hearing this, Zhao Yue laughed in exasperation. "Oh? What else would you have me do?"
"He—"
Before Wei Yun could finish, Chu Yu tugged at him, curtsying slightly. "Your Majesty's arrangement is most appropriate. This humble woman will escort Gongsun Mr. away now."
Wei Yun frowned, displeased, and struggled to speak again. But Chu Yu tightened her grip on his wrist and dragged him toward Gu Chusheng.
Gu Chusheng watched them approach with icy eyes, his gaze settling on Chu Yu's hand clutching Wei Yun's wrist.
"Lord Gu," Chu Yu said calmly, "I do not know what rumors you have heard, but there is one thing I must make clear to you."
"I am deeply grateful for your kindness. All this time, I have only interacted with you as a friend. In the four years since the Marquis was gone, you have shown me much care. I always believed this care stemmed from your friendship with the Marquis."
Given Zhao Yue's presence, she phrased it delicately, but everyone present understood her implication—not friendship, but alliance. Just as in their past lives, when Gu Chusheng and Wei Yun had supported each other: Wei Yun providing Gu Chusheng with backing, and Gu Chusheng offering Wei Yun political convenience.
Gu Chusheng's lips trembled, but no words came out. Chu Yu remained composed. "The words you once spoke to me, I refused once. If you still insist now, then I must say it again."
"When I love someone, I love them steadfastly. Once I let go, I will never look back."
Gu Chusheng stared at her, tears welling in his eyes.
"In this lifetime, I may come to love another, may marry another. If not Gongsun Mr., then someone else. Lord Gu," Chu Yu sighed softly, "there are many good women in this world. You need not cling to me."
"I don't believe you..." Gu Chusheng rasped. Chu Yu smiled faintly. "Gongsun Mr. and I are now of one heart...""I don't believe it!" Gu Chusheng suddenly raised his voice. "Who is he? Where did he get those things? How many times have you even met him?! What does he amount to!"
Chu Yu remained silent, simply watching him with a gentle yet slightly pitying gaze. Under her stare, Gu Chusheng gradually calmed down.
He stared blankly at the two standing before him, holding hands.
Both wore plain white robes, even the embroidered patterns at their hems identical. Wei Yun stood just a head taller than Chu Yu, their shoulders aligned as their sleeves intertwined, creating an inexplicable harmony between them.
Like a match made in heaven—something no outsider could tear apart or separate.
Seeing him composed, Chu Yu smiled slightly and bowed. "Lord Gu, I hope by our next meeting, you'll have moved on."
With that, she turned and walked away, hand in hand with Wei Yun.
Wei Yun's heart raced wildly. Even knowing Chu Yu was merely using him to reject Gu Chusheng, a strange happiness still lingered in his chest.
Cautiously, he enveloped her hand in his. Chu Yu stiffened momentarily, but with Gu Chusheng watching, she dared not pull away. Instead, she shot Wei Yun a fierce glare in warning.
Pressing his lips together, Wei Yun felt as if a kitten had scratched his heart. He chuckled softly, tightening his grip as they strolled leisurely forward. Glancing back at Gu Chusheng's icy yet unconcealed gloomy expression, Wei Yun couldn't help but smirk. Turning to Chu Yu, he declared loudly, "Come, let's go home, wifey!"
Gu Chusheng's face fell instantly. The Eldest Princess burst into laughter, while Zhao Yue sighed helplessly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Restrain yourself," he murmured.
Chu Yu observed Wei Yun's antics silently.
Once out of Gu Chusheng's sight, Wei Yun remained buoyant, still holding her hand as they walked. Then Chu Yu spoke, amusement lacing her voice: "Mr. Gongsun, still enjoying yourself?"
Wei Yun froze, suddenly recalling how unlike the strategist Gongsun Lan his earlier behavior had been. Quickly releasing her hand, he bowed. "My apologies for overstepping earlier, Madam. I hope you can forgive me."
Chu Yu said nothing, flexing her fingers absently as they continued walking. "It only occurred to me today that as a strategist, Mr. Gongsun should be under our protection. Yet it seems you're quite skilled."
"Just some crude skills—hardly noteworthy."
For some reason, Wei Yun felt uneasy. Following behind her, he frantically tried to decipher her intentions.
"I'm well aware of Gu Chusheng's martial ability. While not exceptional, he certainly wouldn't be overpowered by an amateur. More importantly, from our first meeting, Mr. Gongsun struck me as remarkably skilled. My curiosity led me to investigate your background. To my surprise, records indicate you only studied swordsmanship briefly in childhood for self-defense?"
Gongsun Lan's martial prowess was mediocre at best—slightly above average. Thus, while impersonating him, Wei Yun had rarely engaged in combat.When Chu Yu asked this question, Wei Yun couldn't help but feel a pang of panic, cold sweat breaking out on his back.
As they reached the carriage, Chu Yu glanced at Wei Yun and, knowing his current guilty conscience, said coldly, "Think carefully on the way back. Give me a satisfactory answer when we get home, or I won't let you off easily!"
With that, Chu Yu boarded the carriage directly. Watching her enter, Wei Yun slapped his forehead.
Miscalculation.
After Chu Yu entered the carriage, Wanyue handed her tea. Raising her hand, Chu Yu said to Wanyue, "Show me the latest letter from the Marquis."
Though puzzled, Wanyue retrieved the letter Wei Yun had sent the previous night from a nearby drawer and handed it to Chu Yu.
The letter repeatedly emphasized Chu Yu's reliance on Gongsun Lan while answering some of her questions. As Chu Yu flipped through the letter, she sniffed the scent on it and then looked up at Changyue. "Have you finished investigating the paper I asked about last time?"
"It's done," Changyue quickly replied. "This paper is from Seven Fragrance Pavilion. Our household uses it too."
"Oh? Why haven't I seen it?"
Chu Yu was puzzled. Changyue smiled. "Our household actually has three types of paper. The most common is for servants. The other two are Seven Fragrance Pavilion's 'Soaring Cloud' and 'Moon Invitation.' 'Moon Invitation' has a more feminine scent, so it's for the ladies of the house, while 'Soaring Cloud' is for the men."
Chu Yu pondered this and sniffed the paper again. "How many branches does Seven Fragrance Pavilion have?"
"Just one."
"One?" Chu Yu looked up at Changyue, who nodded. "They produce limited quantities, supplying only the nobility of Hua Jing."
Hearing this, Chu Yu felt reassured. She examined the paper and sneered but said nothing more.
After a while, they finally arrived home. Chu Yu lifted the carriage curtain and saw Wei Yun standing respectfully nearby. Passing by him, she said indifferently, "Follow me."
Wei Yun maintained a calm exterior, but his mind was in turmoil. Steeling himself, he followed Chu Yu, wondering what to say next.
Chu Yu's attitude made it clear she knew his identity and was waiting for him to confess. But he had no idea how to begin.
Originally, he had planned to wear a mask, pose as Gongsun Lan, and act recklessly for a while, then shift all the blame onto Gongsun Lan upon returning. But now that Chu Yu knew he was Wei Yun, how could he explain his earlier actions?
Without the mask, every memory filled him with embarrassment.
His thoughts were a tangled mess. Unable to face her or lift his head, he followed Chu Yu to her room. She sat on the reclining couch at the head of the room and gestured. "Sit."
Wei Yun immediately knelt on the floor, back straight, hands nervously resting on his knees, head bowed as if prostrating before her.
Chu Yu drew a whip from her sleeve and calmly observed him. "Remove the mask."
Without hesitation, Wei Yun took off the mask and set it aside, keeping his head down.
Chu Yu frowned at the burn scars and said disapprovingly, "There's another layer."Wei Yun hesitated for a moment. Chu Yu lowered her head with a sigh: "You've grown up, and I can't control you anymore. Four years away, serving as a marquis at the border for four years—you must have long forgotten everyone in the household. How could you still remember your sister-in-law..."
"I'll take it off." Wei Yun, afraid of Chu Yu's words, quickly raised his hand to stop her from continuing. "I'll take it off."
As he spoke, Wei Yun reached up to peel away the mask stuck to his face. His heart raced wildly, and Chu Yu watched quietly. For some reason, she found herself growing nervous along with his movements.
After four years, she was finally about to see this person again, and an inexplicable sense of trepidation, like returning home after a long absence, washed over her.
Yet she maintained a composed expression, watching as Wei Yun slowly peeled off the mask and set it aside, his head still bowed, not daring to look up.
Chu Yu stood and stopped before him, speaking calmly, "Why won't you look up?"
Wei Yun answered truthfully in a low voice, "Too ashamed."
Chu Yu couldn't help but laugh at his words. Ever since he had beaten Gu Chusheng, she had felt that his temperament was nothing like that of a strategist or scholar—it was far more reminiscent of that unruly young marquis from years past.
Pressing her lips together to suppress her amusement, she feigned sternness. "If you knew you'd be ashamed, why did you dare to tease me like this?"
Wei Yun remained silent, as if acknowledging his mistake.
Chu Yu studied him, finding him childlike. She sighed, her tone laced with helplessness. "You're nineteen now, soon to be crowned next year. How can you still act like a child? Do you find it amusing to play tricks on your sister-in-law?"
Wei Yun pressed his lips together. As he listened to her words, a sense of powerlessness surged within him.
Again.
In her eyes, he would probably always be a child.
But he wasn't anymore.
If four years ago he could still claim to be a youth unaware of his own feelings, now—after four years of traversing vast landscapes, witnessing countless comings and goings, and drifting through the turbulent world—he still held that person firmly in his heart. Surely, this version of him could be called a man.
He resented her tone, but when it came to speaking his mind, he was powerless. He didn't dare, couldn't say it. He could only keep his head lowered, letting his hair obscure his emotions.
Seeing that he wouldn't respond, Chu Yu crouched down to meet his eye level. "Fine. Even if you're ashamed, you should still look up and let me see how our Xiao Qi has grown."
Wei Yun remained motionless, head still bowed. Chu Yu used her whip to lift his chin.
A strikingly handsome face abruptly filled her vision.
He had grown much leaner, his features sharp and well-defined, the youthful softness entirely shed. The clean, decisive lines of his face now unmistakably marked him as a young man.
His beauty struck a perfect balance between masculine and feminine—a touch more would soften him too much, a shade less would harden him excessively. His eyes and brows carried an exquisite charm, his phoenix eyes gazing at her quietly, as if brimming with an ineffable, flirtatious tenderness that made her heart race. Yet this allure didn't make him appear delicate or effeminate. His entire face exuded a rare, resolute vigor uncommon in Hua Jing, like a tall, unyielding bamboo—graceful yet strong.
As Chu Yu took in his face, she was suddenly transported back to her past life. She had left Hua Jing then, and he had stood outside her carriage, speaking to her.Back then, he was actually even more handsome than now, exuding the aura of a mature man—cold and solitary. But that was mainly a change in temperament; his facial features were already quite similar to how they are now.
Chu Yu stared at him blankly. Perhaps she had been looking for too long, because Wei Yun grew somewhat embarrassed under her gaze and whispered, "Sister-in-law..."
Chu Yu snapped out of her daze and hastily retracted her whip. She stood up, took a step back, steadied herself for a moment, and then smiled.
"It's been four years. You've changed so much I almost didn’t recognize you."
She sighed, her expression gentle. "Xiao Qi, you must have suffered a lot out there alone, haven’t you?"
Wei Yun knelt on the ground. Through all the hardships of wind, frost, and snow, he had never felt the slightest bit of sorrow or grievance. Yet, hearing Chu Yu’s words, he suddenly felt like a child again—the loneliness of his solitary journey and the longing of four years apart mingled together, filling him with overwhelming sorrow.
His voice grew hoarse as he looked up at her.
He wanted to ask her to step closer, just enough so he could reach out, embrace her, and press his forehead against her waist, whispering, Yes, it was so hard.
But he couldn’t do that. He could only gaze at her quietly, slowly smiling instead.
"How could a man complain of hardship when he’s away?"
Chu Yu said nothing, her eyes fixed on him as he continued, "Except for the bitterness of longing—poured out like bitter juice—there is no other hardship."
"Was marching not hard?"
"No."
"Was battle not hard?"
"No."
A thousand hardships, ten thousand hardships—none compare to the suffering of longing.
Author’s Note:
Wei Yun: A thousand hardships, ten thousand hardships—none compare to the suffering of longing.
Mo Shubai: A thousand hardships, ten thousand hardships—none compare to the suffering of updating.
Boss: Shubai, come here—I think this PPT still needs some revisions...
Mo Shubai: Updating isn’t hard. Really, it’s not.
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