Spreading Gossip
She was nothing more than an ordinary woman in the prime minister’s manor, her beauty wilting like a flower. She was not loved by her husband, and she did not have a father or brother to care for her.
She and Yu Fu were previously as different as heaven and earth, and they were still as different as heaven and earth.
It was just that she was now the earth. She was just someone that nobody would remember.
“Princess, are you going to look for your husband?”
Dian’er quietly reminded her from behind, and Princess DanYang raised her head. She had ended up walking to Yin Shuo’s outer study.
She stared blankly at the lantern outside of the outer study, and she could imagine the sight of Yin Shuo sitting below a light and reading a report. From time to time, he would stand up and flip through the materials from the past and then pick up a brush to write some notes.
It was probably like that, right?
She did not know because Yin Shuo never allowed her to enter the outer study. Even if the outer study was available to the officials that frequently visited, she still did not have the right to enter.
In Yin Shuo’s eyes, it was possible that she was even lower than a common official.
Would she be going to look for Yin Shuo?
Her footsteps wavered, and for a while, she wanted to ask him to clarify the situation. This would also allow her to give up, but she also wanted to lie to herself…
It was too late tonight. Would it not be better to go tomorrow?
Dian’er saw that she was frozen in place and urged: “If princess wishes to see your husband, just go and look for him. If you don’t wish to see him, let’s quickly go back. What would we do if you caught a cold from standing in the wind?”
“Oh, then… let’s go back. We’ll come back tomorrow.”
In the end, she could not summon enough courage, and she turned to return to the Eastern Courtyard.
At the very moment that she left, she understood that the tomorrow that she spoke of would not come. After today passed, she would have even less courage to ask Yin Shuo.
Dian’er followed behind her and suddenly saw her stop in her tracks. As if possessed, she quickly turned around and ran toward the outer study.
“P… Princess?!”
In the outer study, Yin Shuo was waiting for more news to come from the palace.
One aspect of it was Ning ChengZhi’s injury, but the more important aspect was his attitude toward what happened that night and how he planned to deal with Yu Fu.
Not long later, the news arrived, “Your sir, word has come from the imperial physicians’ group. All of His Majesty’s injuries are superficial. They just look a little frightening, but they aren’t serious.”
This was roughly what Yin Shuo had expected. Yu Fu was not the type of person that would only speak without acting on it. If she really wanted to hurt Ning ChengZhi, she very likely could have secretly poisoned him and had him die without anyone knowing how.
This sort of loud and showy act was just meant to be seen by others.
He could not help but smile, “Yu Fu is exceedingly smart to be able to think of this sort of plan to reject His Majesty’s plan to appoint her empress, but it’s hard to say if His Majesty will act as she hopes.”
The servant said: “Based on what one of the eunuchs said, after His Majesty returned to the palace, he did not mention Princess ZhenJiang in the slightest. He did, however, have Imperial Consort Li summoned to be reprimanded. Right now, Imperial Consort Li is kneeling outside of His Majesty’s palace to repent. Apparently, she had His Majesty eat something that she should not have, or His Majesty would not have done…”
“Not have done what?”
The servant knew how he felt about Yu Fu and felt a little troubled, saying: “Would not have taken liberties with Princess ZhenJiang. That is what provoked the princess’ wrath.”
Yin Shuo initially thought that it had just been an excuse that Yu Fu had used and did not think that it had actually happened. In an instant, his expression became extremely ugly.
The servant lowered his head and did not dare speak when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from the courtyard. He hastily exited to take a look and found Princess DanYang walking over with her maidservant behind her.
“Is husband inside?”
The servant glanced inside first, and Yin Shuo’s expression was non-commital, thus he cupped his hands toward Princess ZhenJiang, “Princess, may I ask the reason for coming to look for the eldest young sir so late at night?”
Based on her previous temperament, Princess DanYang would surely say: “Can I not come without a reason?”
But the current her was much less trenchant. She had lost her domineering attitude, and she just smiled and said: “JiYao just returned, and she told me a bit about what happened to His Majesty tonight. I was thinking that husband would be interested in hearing about it, thus I came here to tell him.”
The servant glanced inside, and Yin Shuo faintly nodded. Only then did the servant stand aside to allow her in, “Princess, this way.”
Princess DanYang walked in on her own. Yin Shuo sat behind the desk and held a cup of tea. He did not even look at her.
She looked around and then sat down on a chair to the side. Yin Shuo spoke without beating around the bush, “JiYao went to look at the lanterns with Gu JiuGe and the others, right? What did she tell you when she got back?”
Princess DanYang paused for a moment.
Did he not want to see her so badly that he was not willing to even say a few words of greeting? Did he need to get straight to the point?
A feeling of sadness filled her heart, “Are you also like this when you speak to Yu Fu?”
Yin Shuo’s hands froze, and he slightly furrowed his brow, “What do you mean by this?”
Princess DanYang forced a smile, “It’s nothing. I was just feeling a bit anxious after hearing that Yu Fu gave my imperial brother a beating. JiYao was very worried. She wanted to come and ask you to plead for Yu Fu, and she said… said that you have liked Yu Fu for a long time.”
It turned out that Yin JiYao had said it.
Yin Shuo was unmoved, “What else did JiYao say, for example, what the people of Marquis Gu’s Manor thought about what happened tonight or what Yu Fu thought about what happened?”
Princess DanYang’s face was pale, “You still like Yu Fu, don’t you? You are my husband, and I am asking you if you like another girl, yet you insist on asking me about other things?”
Only now did Yin Shuo look at her. Could it be that this was the first time that she was finding out that he did not like her?
She had endured for such a long time, so why did she suddenly come and ask him this tonight?
He impatiently said: “Whom I like is none of your business in the same way that whom you like is none of my business. If this is all that you had to say, you can leave now.”
Princess DanYang was stunned, “You’re still bothered that I once liked Gu ShuBai? I…”
Yin Shuo ruthlessly cut her off, “I don’t care. Whom you like is your business. How is it related to me? Are you still unable to understand the situation? I don’t have any feelings for you. If you want to live your life peacefully in the prime minister’s manor, you can continue to be my official wife. If you don’t want that, I have some other plans in mind.”
It turned out that he did not care about the fact that she had previously liked Gu ShuBai. Rather, he had never felt anything for her.
If there had never been any feelings, where would there be any concern?
DanYang sneered, “Of all the people to like, you chose Yu Fu. She is just a girl raised in the wilderness with an unclear background, yet you all still like her! Gu ShuBai likes her, and even you like her. Father Emperor and imperial brother both like her! Why is it that all of the things that I like end up being taken away by her?”
Yin Shuo paused. Mixed in Princess DanYang’s rant was the fact that she liked him in the same way that she had liked Gu ShuBai.
He did not believe it.
“Heh, the things that truly belong to you won’t be taken away by others. The things that have been taken away…”
He stood up and leaned close to Princess DanYang, cruelly whispering into her ear: “Those things never belonged to you.”
Princess DanYang shuddered. It was as if she had been dunked in a tub of frigid water. It was as if every pore on her body had been closed off. Yin Shuo’s gaze pierced her like a cold blade, reducing her heart to a bloody pulp.
Her voice trembled, “What’s so great about Yu Fu. Why do you all like her?”
“Her good points, you wouldn’t understand even if you were told.”
Yin Shuo returned to his seat and sat back down. He no longer looked at her, “Servants, come and see the guest out.”
The servant entered from outside the door. He bowed and then invited Princess DanYang to leave.
With a stunned expression, tears welled up in her eyes. The servant stood to the side but did not dare touch her. Yin Shuo continued to avoid looking at her.
After a brief pause, the servant awkwardly said: “Princess, please don’t make things difficult for this servant.”
Princess DanYang slowly turned around and walked out of the study. Yin Shuo slightly raised his head and saw her corpse-like figure leave the room.
He faintly frowned. He then looked back down at his report, but it was hard to say what he was thinking.
…
The next day, Yu Fu woke up first thing in the morning and went out to feed Pan Jiu and Pang Wu herself.
“Pang Wu, you need to eat a little more and help Pang Jiu lose some weight. Pang Jiu, stop eating Pang Wu’s food!”
Pang Jiu snarled at her with dissatisfaction but reluctantly retreated a couple of steps. Pang Wu proudly stepped forward and happily ate the food that was in Pang Jiu’s bowl.
With a look of satisfaction, the small, white fox revealed a smile. Yu FU quickly comforted Pang Jiu, who had been instructed to “lose weight.”
She patted their heads and suddenly remembered how Gu ShuBai would often pat her head like this, and she could not help but laugh.
Aunty Li entered the courtyard and saw Yu Fu in the backyard chatting and laughing with her animals. Surprised, she said: “Young miss, why did you get up so early today?”
Yao Lan walked out of the inner room with a bronze basin, “Young miss said that she was worried that she might have to go out later, thus she already finished getting washed up.”
Aunty Li looked at the bronze basin. There was still some steam emanating from the surface of the warm water. It was clear that it had already been used.
Aunty Li became even more confused, “Why would young miss need to go out so early? The roosters haven’t even started crying!”
Yu Fu finished feeding Pang Jiu and Pang Wu and then walked over to Aunty Li and said: “I am worried that I won’t be able to return for a long time, so I got up a little earlier.”
The words “won’t be able to return” gave Aunty Li a fright, “Could it be that His Majesty intends to punish you because of the beating that you gave him last night?”
“Who can say?”
Yu Fu did not look worried in the slightest. On the contrary, she looked a little excited, “I just hope that His Majesty does punish me. Oh right, how many people went out early to spread the rumors?”
The latter half of the sentence was addressed to Yao Lan, and Yao Lan looked outside the courtyard. She happened to see Yan Zheng run in.
Aunty Li saw him run in without any consideration for propriety and furrowed her brow. She thought to herself that he was not observing the rules at all. This was a young lady’s courtyard. Was this a place that a man could casually stroll into?
Yu Fu smiled and stepped forward to receive him. Yan Zheng panted and said: “Young miss, don’t worry. Everything has been arranged! Our people went to the morning market spread the word, and everyone in the streets is now discussing it!”
Yu Fu laughed, “The morning market? Only you guys could think of something like that!”
When it came to the best place to spread rumors, aside from tea houses and restaurants, would the best place not be the morning market?
The housewives that loved gossipping the most would go and buy vegetables at the morning market. This gossip would spread rapidly until everyone in the capital knew.
Aunty Li was confused, “Young miss, what are you talking about?”
Yan Zheng was quick to speak, opening his mouth and saying, “It’s the matter of the young miss giving His Majesty a beating! Young general said that the head of the city guard, Mo HuangSha, has benefitted from the young miss’ kindness and would not allow his subordinates to speak poorly of young miss. As a result, we had some people dress up as city guards to spread the word. Very soon, everyone in the capital will know that young miss hit His Majesty!”
Aunty Li’s eyes rolled back, and she nearly passed out on the spot. Fortunately, Yao Lan was quick to act and supported her.
She pointed at Yan Zheng and sputtered for a while, “You… You guys, isn’t this just making young miss’ guilt seem worse? This is bad, this is bad. What should our young miss do…”
Yu Fu left Yao Lan in the Western Wing and carefully explained the situation to Aunty Li. She then headed toward the main hall.
Arriving at the main hall, she was shocked to find that side from Gu HuaiJiang, the other generals from the Gu family’s army were also present. Yan HuaShi and Lao Jin were all frowning.
Seeing Yu Fu, they hesitated.
Yu Fu greeted Gu HuaiJiang first then smiled and said to the others: “What have you all come here for?”
The group remained silent, and the atmosphere was very odd. Yu Fu tentatively said: “Could it be… related to me?”
With her saying this, Lao Jin was the first to run out of patience, “The matter of young miss giving His Majesty a beating has already started spreading around the capital. What would we do if a decree comes from the imperial palace proclaiming your guilt?”
Everyone’s expressions were rather ugly. Even Gu HuaiJiang’s expression was solemn. Yu Fu, however, burst out laughing.
This laughter left everyone confused.
Yu Fu said: “General Jin, if an imperial decree comes and detains me in the imperial family’s prison, what do you plan on doing?”
“I…”
Lao Jin opened his mouth but was stunned. After a long pause, he finally said: “I came with my soldiers. If anyone dares to take young miss, we will definitely be able to stop them!”
“What happens after you stop them?”
“After stopping them… I…”
Lao Jin looked at Gu HuaiJiang and then at Yan HuaShi. After stammering for a while, he did not come up with anything.
Yu Fu let out a sigh, “I appreciate your concerns, but there’s no need for this. So what if I hit His Majesty? It would be best if he did arrest me. Regardless of whether it’s stripping me of my title or imprisoning me, at the very least, he can no longer appoint me empress. Isn’t that right?”
The group finally understood after hearing this. It turned out that Yu Fu was thinking of doing this.
Yan HuaShi suddenly understood, “It’s no wonder young general had Yan Zheng take those people to the morning market. He said that they would spread rumors about what happened last night, so it turned out that this was the plan!”
Thinking about it like this, even if Ning ChengZhi did not want to punish Yu Fu, he would have no choice but to punish her to save face.
This was a good plan. It just seemed a little risky.
Lao Jin anxiously said: “What do we do if, in a fit of rage, His Majesty decides that he wants young miss’ life? Wouldn’t that make it not worth it?”
This was what everyone was most worried about.
Yu Fu looked up toward the top and winked at Gu HuaiJiang. The latter finally spoke up, “It won’t reach that point. Yu Fu is a princess who was conferred her title by the late emperor. More importantly, she has the Deity of Medicine as a pillar of support. Even if His Majesty won’t give face to my Marquis Gu’s Manor, he will show consideration to the Deity of Medicine. It’s just…”
“It’s just that we don’t know what sort of punishment it will be.”
Yu Fu quickly approached him and comforted him as if comforting a child: “There won’t be any real punishment. Not to mention my status, but even if I did give him a beating, I participated in protecting him. If he severely punished someone who was instrumental in protecting him, won’t it chill the hearts of the people?”
What she said was reasonable. Though Gu HuaiJiang was worried, the situation had already progressed past the point of no return.
“You’ve matured and have your own ideas. I should not hold you back, but you must remember that no matter what happens, your life is most important. Everything else is secondary. Do you understand?”
Yu Fu quickly said: “What sort of thing is head general saying? A father should teach his daughter. It shouldn’t be called restraint.”
Gu HuaiJiang was stunned. He had always claimed to the outside world that Yu Fu was his adopted daughter, but the truth was that Yu Fu had never called him father.
He had always thought that Yu Fu had some reservations and did not want to call him father. Hearing this today was particularly heart-warming, “You have never called me father. I thought…”
Yu Fu did not know whether to laugh or cry.
How should she explain this problem?
When she first arrived at Marquis Gu’s Manor, she had been forced to leave Immortals Valley, and she did not want to implicate Marquis Gu’s Manor in matters that she had not taken care of.
After the troubles were resolved, because she liked Gu ShuBai, she could not call him father.
She was hoping to address him in this way after the marriage, but, for now, she did not think that Gu HuaiJiang would misunderstand and think that she had some reservations.
In front of so many people, it was hard for her to say it, thus she said: “In my heart, you have always been my father. This was true in the past, it is true now, and it will continue to be true. It’s just that eldest brother and I are engaged, so how can I call you this now?”
Gu HuaiJiang was stunned but quickly came to an understanding. A suspicious blush appeared on his face.
“Right, right, a daughter must be reserved. It can’t be done, it can’t be done…”
He was Gu ShuBai’s father and Yu Fu’s future father-in-law. She could only call him father after the marriage happened.
Yu Fu saw that he understood and quickly said: “Head general, please restrain the generals. When His Majesty sends people to deliver the decree, you must not stop them. Once you do stop them, you would be guilty of the crime of opposing an imperial decree.”
She was not afraid of a decree coming. She was afraid that one would not come.
Gu HuaiJaing was consoled to the point of being in a daze and immediately nodded, “Don’t worry.” He then looked at the others, “Opposing imperial decrees is not the way of the Gu family’s army. Regardless of what decree comes later, you must not stop them!”
Everyone: “…”
When they had been talking about opposing the decree earlier, Gu HuaiJiang had not said a word. Why was it that he immediately changed his mind after being coaxed by Yu Fu?
Spreading Gossip
She was nothing more than an ordinary woman in the prime minister’s manor, her beauty wilting like a flower. She was not loved by her husband, and she did not have a father or brother to care for her.
She and Yu Fu were previously as different as heaven and earth, and they were still as different as heaven and earth.
It was just that she was now the earth. She was just someone that nobody would remember.
“Princess, are you going to look for your husband?”
Dian’er quietly reminded her from behind, and Princess DanYang raised her head. She had ended up walking to Yin Shuo’s outer study.
She stared blankly at the lantern outside of the outer study, and she could imagine the sight of Yin Shuo sitting below a light and reading a report. From time to time, he would stand up and flip through the materials from the past and then pick up a brush to write some notes.
It was probably like that, right?
She did not know because Yin Shuo never allowed her to enter the outer study. Even if the outer study was available to the officials that frequently visited, she still did not have the right to enter.
In Yin Shuo’s eyes, it was possible that she was even lower than a common official.
Would she be going to look for Yin Shuo?
Her footsteps wavered, and for a while, she wanted to ask him to clarify the situation. This would also allow her to give up, but she also wanted to lie to herself…
It was too late tonight. Would it not be better to go tomorrow?
Dian’er saw that she was frozen in place and urged: “If princess wishes to see your husband, just go and look for him. If you don’t wish to see him, let’s quickly go back. What would we do if you caught a cold from standing in the wind?”
“Oh, then… let’s go back. We’ll come back tomorrow.”
In the end, she could not summon enough courage, and she turned to return to the Eastern Courtyard.
At the very moment that she left, she understood that the tomorrow that she spoke of would not come. After today passed, she would have even less courage to ask Yin Shuo.
Dian’er followed behind her and suddenly saw her stop in her tracks. As if possessed, she quickly turned around and ran toward the outer study.
“P… Princess?!”
In the outer study, Yin Shuo was waiting for more news to come from the palace.
One aspect of it was Ning ChengZhi’s injury, but the more important aspect was his attitude toward what happened that night and how he planned to deal with Yu Fu.
Not long later, the news arrived, “Your sir, word has come from the imperial physicians’ group. All of His Majesty’s injuries are superficial. They just look a little frightening, but they aren’t serious.”
This was roughly what Yin Shuo had expected. Yu Fu was not the type of person that would only speak without acting on it. If she really wanted to hurt Ning ChengZhi, she very likely could have secretly poisoned him and had him die without anyone knowing how.
This sort of loud and showy act was just meant to be seen by others.
He could not help but smile, “Yu Fu is exceedingly smart to be able to think of this sort of plan to reject His Majesty’s plan to appoint her empress, but it’s hard to say if His Majesty will act as she hopes.”
The servant said: “Based on what one of the eunuchs said, after His Majesty returned to the palace, he did not mention Princess ZhenJiang in the slightest. He did, however, have Imperial Consort Li summoned to be reprimanded. Right now, Imperial Consort Li is kneeling outside of His Majesty’s palace to repent. Apparently, she had His Majesty eat something that she should not have, or His Majesty would not have done…”
“Not have done what?”
The servant knew how he felt about Yu Fu and felt a little troubled, saying: “Would not have taken liberties with Princess ZhenJiang. That is what provoked the princess’ wrath.”
Yin Shuo initially thought that it had just been an excuse that Yu Fu had used and did not think that it had actually happened. In an instant, his expression became extremely ugly.
The servant lowered his head and did not dare speak when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from the courtyard. He hastily exited to take a look and found Princess DanYang walking over with her maidservant behind her.
“Is husband inside?”
The servant glanced inside first, and Yin Shuo’s expression was non-commital, thus he cupped his hands toward Princess ZhenJiang, “Princess, may I ask the reason for coming to look for the eldest young sir so late at night?”
Based on her previous temperament, Princess DanYang would surely say: “Can I not come without a reason?”
But the current her was much less trenchant. She had lost her domineering attitude, and she just smiled and said: “JiYao just returned, and she told me a bit about what happened to His Majesty tonight. I was thinking that husband would be interested in hearing about it, thus I came here to tell him.”
The servant glanced inside, and Yin Shuo faintly nodded. Only then did the servant stand aside to allow her in, “Princess, this way.”
Princess DanYang walked in on her own. Yin Shuo sat behind the desk and held a cup of tea. He did not even look at her.
She looked around and then sat down on a chair to the side. Yin Shuo spoke without beating around the bush, “JiYao went to look at the lanterns with Gu JiuGe and the others, right? What did she tell you when she got back?”
Princess DanYang paused for a moment.
Did he not want to see her so badly that he was not willing to even say a few words of greeting? Did he need to get straight to the point?
A feeling of sadness filled her heart, “Are you also like this when you speak to Yu Fu?”
Yin Shuo’s hands froze, and he slightly furrowed his brow, “What do you mean by this?”
Princess DanYang forced a smile, “It’s nothing. I was just feeling a bit anxious after hearing that Yu Fu gave my imperial brother a beating. JiYao was very worried. She wanted to come and ask you to plead for Yu Fu, and she said… said that you have liked Yu Fu for a long time.”
It turned out that Yin JiYao had said it.
Yin Shuo was unmoved, “What else did JiYao say, for example, what the people of Marquis Gu’s Manor thought about what happened tonight or what Yu Fu thought about what happened?”
Princess DanYang’s face was pale, “You still like Yu Fu, don’t you? You are my husband, and I am asking you if you like another girl, yet you insist on asking me about other things?”
Only now did Yin Shuo look at her. Could it be that this was the first time that she was finding out that he did not like her?
She had endured for such a long time, so why did she suddenly come and ask him this tonight?
He impatiently said: “Whom I like is none of your business in the same way that whom you like is none of my business. If this is all that you had to say, you can leave now.”
Princess DanYang was stunned, “You’re still bothered that I once liked Gu ShuBai? I…”
Yin Shuo ruthlessly cut her off, “I don’t care. Whom you like is your business. How is it related to me? Are you still unable to understand the situation? I don’t have any feelings for you. If you want to live your life peacefully in the prime minister’s manor, you can continue to be my official wife. If you don’t want that, I have some other plans in mind.”
It turned out that he did not care about the fact that she had previously liked Gu ShuBai. Rather, he had never felt anything for her.
If there had never been any feelings, where would there be any concern?
DanYang sneered, “Of all the people to like, you chose Yu Fu. She is just a girl raised in the wilderness with an unclear background, yet you all still like her! Gu ShuBai likes her, and even you like her. Father Emperor and imperial brother both like her! Why is it that all of the things that I like end up being taken away by her?”
Yin Shuo paused. Mixed in Princess DanYang’s rant was the fact that she liked him in the same way that she had liked Gu ShuBai.
He did not believe it.
“Heh, the things that truly belong to you won’t be taken away by others. The things that have been taken away…”
He stood up and leaned close to Princess DanYang, cruelly whispering into her ear: “Those things never belonged to you.”
Princess DanYang shuddered. It was as if she had been dunked in a tub of frigid water. It was as if every pore on her body had been closed off. Yin Shuo’s gaze pierced her like a cold blade, reducing her heart to a bloody pulp.
Her voice trembled, “What’s so great about Yu Fu. Why do you all like her?”
“Her good points, you wouldn’t understand even if you were told.”
Yin Shuo returned to his seat and sat back down. He no longer looked at her, “Servants, come and see the guest out.”
The servant entered from outside the door. He bowed and then invited Princess DanYang to leave.
With a stunned expression, tears welled up in her eyes. The servant stood to the side but did not dare touch her. Yin Shuo continued to avoid looking at her.
After a brief pause, the servant awkwardly said: “Princess, please don’t make things difficult for this servant.”
Princess DanYang slowly turned around and walked out of the study. Yin Shuo slightly raised his head and saw her corpse-like figure leave the room.
He faintly frowned. He then looked back down at his report, but it was hard to say what he was thinking.
…
The next day, Yu Fu woke up first thing in the morning and went out to feed Pan Jiu and Pang Wu herself.
“Pang Wu, you need to eat a little more and help Pang Jiu lose some weight. Pang Jiu, stop eating Pang Wu’s food!”
Pang Jiu snarled at her with dissatisfaction but reluctantly retreated a couple of steps. Pang Wu proudly stepped forward and happily ate the food that was in Pang Jiu’s bowl.
With a look of satisfaction, the small, white fox revealed a smile. Yu FU quickly comforted Pang Jiu, who had been instructed to “lose weight.”
She patted their heads and suddenly remembered how Gu ShuBai would often pat her head like this, and she could not help but laugh.
Aunty Li entered the courtyard and saw Yu Fu in the backyard chatting and laughing with her animals. Surprised, she said: “Young miss, why did you get up so early today?”
Yao Lan walked out of the inner room with a bronze basin, “Young miss said that she was worried that she might have to go out later, thus she already finished getting washed up.”
Aunty Li looked at the bronze basin. There was still some steam emanating from the surface of the warm water. It was clear that it had already been used.
Aunty Li became even more confused, “Why would young miss need to go out so early? The roosters haven’t even started crying!”
Yu Fu finished feeding Pang Jiu and Pang Wu and then walked over to Aunty Li and said: “I am worried that I won’t be able to return for a long time, so I got up a little earlier.”
The words “won’t be able to return” gave Aunty Li a fright, “Could it be that His Majesty intends to punish you because of the beating that you gave him last night?”
“Who can say?”
Yu Fu did not look worried in the slightest. On the contrary, she looked a little excited, “I just hope that His Majesty does punish me. Oh right, how many people went out early to spread the rumors?”
The latter half of the sentence was addressed to Yao Lan, and Yao Lan looked outside the courtyard. She happened to see Yan Zheng run in.
Aunty Li saw him run in without any consideration for propriety and furrowed her brow. She thought to herself that he was not observing the rules at all. This was a young lady’s courtyard. Was this a place that a man could casually stroll into?
Yu Fu smiled and stepped forward to receive him. Yan Zheng panted and said: “Young miss, don’t worry. Everything has been arranged! Our people went to the morning market spread the word, and everyone in the streets is now discussing it!”
Yu Fu laughed, “The morning market? Only you guys could think of something like that!”
When it came to the best place to spread rumors, aside from tea houses and restaurants, would the best place not be the morning market?
The housewives that loved gossipping the most would go and buy vegetables at the morning market. This gossip would spread rapidly until everyone in the capital knew.
Aunty Li was confused, “Young miss, what are you talking about?”
Yan Zheng was quick to speak, opening his mouth and saying, “It’s the matter of the young miss giving His Majesty a beating! Young general said that the head of the city guard, Mo HuangSha, has benefitted from the young miss’ kindness and would not allow his subordinates to speak poorly of young miss. As a result, we had some people dress up as city guards to spread the word. Very soon, everyone in the capital will know that young miss hit His Majesty!”
Aunty Li’s eyes rolled back, and she nearly passed out on the spot. Fortunately, Yao Lan was quick to act and supported her.
She pointed at Yan Zheng and sputtered for a while, “You… You guys, isn’t this just making young miss’ guilt seem worse? This is bad, this is bad. What should our young miss do…”
Yu Fu left Yao Lan in the Western Wing and carefully explained the situation to Aunty Li. She then headed toward the main hall.
Arriving at the main hall, she was shocked to find that side from Gu HuaiJiang, the other generals from the Gu family’s army were also present. Yan HuaShi and Lao Jin were all frowning.
Seeing Yu Fu, they hesitated.
Yu Fu greeted Gu HuaiJiang first then smiled and said to the others: “What have you all come here for?”
The group remained silent, and the atmosphere was very odd. Yu Fu tentatively said: “Could it be… related to me?”
With her saying this, Lao Jin was the first to run out of patience, “The matter of young miss giving His Majesty a beating has already started spreading around the capital. What would we do if a decree comes from the imperial palace proclaiming your guilt?”
Everyone’s expressions were rather ugly. Even Gu HuaiJiang’s expression was solemn. Yu Fu, however, burst out laughing.
This laughter left everyone confused.
Yu Fu said: “General Jin, if an imperial decree comes and detains me in the imperial family’s prison, what do you plan on doing?”
“I…”
Lao Jin opened his mouth but was stunned. After a long pause, he finally said: “I came with my soldiers. If anyone dares to take young miss, we will definitely be able to stop them!”
“What happens after you stop them?”
“After stopping them… I…”
Lao Jin looked at Gu HuaiJiang and then at Yan HuaShi. After stammering for a while, he did not come up with anything.
Yu Fu let out a sigh, “I appreciate your concerns, but there’s no need for this. So what if I hit His Majesty? It would be best if he did arrest me. Regardless of whether it’s stripping me of my title or imprisoning me, at the very least, he can no longer appoint me empress. Isn’t that right?”
The group finally understood after hearing this. It turned out that Yu Fu was thinking of doing this.
Yan HuaShi suddenly understood, “It’s no wonder young general had Yan Zheng take those people to the morning market. He said that they would spread rumors about what happened last night, so it turned out that this was the plan!”
Thinking about it like this, even if Ning ChengZhi did not want to punish Yu Fu, he would have no choice but to punish her to save face.
This was a good plan. It just seemed a little risky.
Lao Jin anxiously said: “What do we do if, in a fit of rage, His Majesty decides that he wants young miss’ life? Wouldn’t that make it not worth it?”
This was what everyone was most worried about.
Yu Fu looked up toward the top and winked at Gu HuaiJiang. The latter finally spoke up, “It won’t reach that point. Yu Fu is a princess who was conferred her title by the late emperor. More importantly, she has the Deity of Medicine as a pillar of support. Even if His Majesty won’t give face to my Marquis Gu’s Manor, he will show consideration to the Deity of Medicine. It’s just…”
“It’s just that we don’t know what sort of punishment it will be.”
Yu Fu quickly approached him and comforted him as if comforting a child: “There won’t be any real punishment. Not to mention my status, but even if I did give him a beating, I participated in protecting him. If he severely punished someone who was instrumental in protecting him, won’t it chill the hearts of the people?”
What she said was reasonable. Though Gu HuaiJiang was worried, the situation had already progressed past the point of no return.
“You’ve matured and have your own ideas. I should not hold you back, but you must remember that no matter what happens, your life is most important. Everything else is secondary. Do you understand?”
Yu Fu quickly said: “What sort of thing is head general saying? A father should teach his daughter. It shouldn’t be called restraint.”
Gu HuaiJiang was stunned. He had always claimed to the outside world that Yu Fu was his adopted daughter, but the truth was that Yu Fu had never called him father.
He had always thought that Yu Fu had some reservations and did not want to call him father. Hearing this today was particularly heart-warming, “You have never called me father. I thought…”
Yu Fu did not know whether to laugh or cry.
How should she explain this problem?
When she first arrived at Marquis Gu’s Manor, she had been forced to leave Immortals Valley, and she did not want to implicate Marquis Gu’s Manor in matters that she had not taken care of.
After the troubles were resolved, because she liked Gu ShuBai, she could not call him father.
She was hoping to address him in this way after the marriage, but, for now, she did not think that Gu HuaiJiang would misunderstand and think that she had some reservations.
In front of so many people, it was hard for her to say it, thus she said: “In my heart, you have always been my father. This was true in the past, it is true now, and it will continue to be true. It’s just that eldest brother and I are engaged, so how can I call you this now?”
Gu HuaiJiang was stunned but quickly came to an understanding. A suspicious blush appeared on his face.
“Right, right, a daughter must be reserved. It can’t be done, it can’t be done…”
He was Gu ShuBai’s father and Yu Fu’s future father-in-law. She could only call him father after the marriage happened.
Yu Fu saw that he understood and quickly said: “Head general, please restrain the generals. When His Majesty sends people to deliver the decree, you must not stop them. Once you do stop them, you would be guilty of the crime of opposing an imperial decree.”
She was not afraid of a decree coming. She was afraid that one would not come.
Gu HuaiJaing was consoled to the point of being in a daze and immediately nodded, “Don’t worry.” He then looked at the others, “Opposing imperial decrees is not the way of the Gu family’s army. Regardless of what decree comes later, you must not stop them!”
Everyone: “…”
When they had been talking about opposing the decree earlier, Gu HuaiJiang had not said a word. Why was it that he immediately changed his mind after being coaxed by Yu Fu?
