Chapter 15

Gu Xiaodeng lived in An Ruoyi’s courtyard for a while and discovered that his parents actually had three courtyards: one they shared, and one for each to live in separately. The one he was staying in now was An Ruoyi’s personal residence. An Ruoyi was busy every day and didn’t have much time to look after him. The people Gu Xiaodeng interacted with most were the servants and maids.

Doctors came to see Gu Xiaodeng at a fixed time every day, but none of their medical skills matched his adoptive father’s. They couldn’t see the peculiarity of his body and had no idea that most medicines in the world were useless on him. Gu Xiaodeng didn’t dare reveal his identity as a Medicine Person either. He drank his medicine as usual, ate his meals as usual, and endured the suffering as usual.

The day after he left the confinement room, a Body Tempering Instructor arrived. Besides stretching his bones, they also pierced his ears—two holes in each lobe. Gu Xiaodeng’s earlobes were uncomfortable, and medicine was ineffective. Coupled with the gauze blindfold over his eyes, his sleep came in fits and starts. A single dream would shatter into several segments; he slept during the day and woke late at night.

With An Ruoyi unable to attend to him, Gu Xiaodeng acted on his own. When he felt unwell, he would fumble his way into the courtyard to wander around. No matter the time, servants and maids would follow him, but they didn’t talk to him much. When he asked questions, they only replied with polite, formulaic courtesies.

That day, Gu Xiaodeng was sleeping in his room. He had no idea how long he’d slept when, in a daze, he sensed An Ruoyi come in to look at him, then move to the outer room to speak softly with someone.

The voice talking with An Ruoyi belonged to a young man: “His lips are shaped like yours, his nose bridge resembles Brother-in-law’s. What about his eyes?”

“His features don’t resemble anyone,” An Ruoyi said. “His bearing is crude. He’s covered in dust, after all.”

“Take it slowly,” the young man chuckled. “Oh right, Second Sister Su asked me to ask a favor. When the private school is ready next year, have Mingya come too. It’d be best if he stayed directly at the Gu family estate, just going home a few days a month.”

“Chancellor Su won’t agree to it. That Gongzi is the lifeblood of the couple. All of Changluo knows this.”

“Isn’t that exactly why Second Sister Su asked me to ask you?” The young man sighed softly. “My parents-in-law dote on Mingya excessively. Second Sister Su used to spoil him just as much alongside them. But this year, seeing Jinyu, who’s the same age, become the Crown Princess’s study companion… The comparison made Second Sister Su unable to sit still. They’re afraid that if this indulgence continues, Mingya will be coddled into uselessness.”

An Ruoyi gave a light, mocking laugh. “Only now they can’t sit still?”

“Pinghan will certainly pass the Autumn Examination with flying colors next month. Second Sister Su will be even more anxious then. They’ll definitely reason with our parents-in-law in detail. If possible, Eldest Sister, could you ask Brother-in-law to drop a few hints to Chancellor Su in the Grand Secretariat? Brother-in-law’s words are always precise and can move hearts. This matter might just succeed then.”

“With Su Mingya’s constitution, if something went wrong at the Gu family’s, Chancellor Su would come charging over, inkstone in hand, ready to kill.”

The young man laughed again. “It won’t come to that. I’m here, after all. Mingya’s body isn’t as sickly as the rumors outside make it seem—it’s just the Su family’s habit of coddling. Bring along two good doctors and there shouldn’t be any major problems. He might even get healthier here. Being so treasured at the Su household has truly made him delicate.”

“Zhenwen, why don’t you come back more often too then,” An Ruoyi’s tone relaxed. “On your days off, come to East Forest Garden and be a teacher for half a day. With a Great Confucian Scholar like you around, the Su family and other noble houses will all be at ease. After class, you can come have dinner with me.”

“Alright, I’ll go back and discuss it with Second Sister Su…”

Gu Xiaodeng had initially been in a fog, but the name “Mingya” jolted him significantly awake. He gradually came to, realizing that the person talking with An Ruoyi in the outer room was the Tanhua young uncle who had married the Second Young Lady of the Su family.

Even awake, he didn’t dare rush out. He waited until they both left before he crawled up and got off the bed. His ears itched and ached, but he didn’t dare touch them carelessly, so he had to put his legs to work again and wander outside. Having roamed around many times lately, day and night blurring together, he’d gained an understanding of the courtyard’s layout.

There were flowering trees in the courtyard, the source of the floral scent on An Ruoyi’s cuffs. But it wasn’t that she liked them; rather, the flowers repelled mosquitoes and insects. With his sharp nose, Gu Xiaodeng, having no other amusement, would go and wreak havoc on those flowering trees.

This time was no different. Following the scent to find his way, he groped into the cluster of flowering trees. Feeling gloomy, he hugged a tree and climbed halfway up it. It wasn’t long before a maid warned him: “Cousin Young Master, please come down. If you keep climbing, this tree will have to be dug up.”

“Oh, don’t cut it down. I’m coming down.” Gu Xiaodeng slid down and patted the tree trunk, talking to the flowering tree since the maids wouldn’t converse with him. “You’re in great danger, almost lost your home. I won’t bother you anymore. You’d better put in extra effort and bloom a few more clusters of flowers.”

As he patted the trunk and walked among them, an autumn breeze swept through, sending flowers rustling down. Gu Xiaodeng instinctively shook his head to dislodge the flower petals from his hair—just like a little puppy. Once he stopped shaking, his earlobes started to ache, and he crouched down on the ground, sucking in a sharp breath.

The maids not far away suddenly raised their voices: “Greetings, Young Master Su.”

Gu Xiaodeng froze and blurted out urgently, “Is that Su Mingya?”

The maids’ voices rose again as they apologized to the person outside the flowering trees, saying the Cousin Young Master had been impertinent.

That person’s gentle, pleasant voice then rang out: “It’s nothing. Since when did the Gu family have a Cousin Young Master?”

Gu Xiaodeng’s heart immediately swelled. It really was Su Mingya! That beautiful young master he’d only met once!

The sickly beauty’s impact on him was far greater than he’d imagined. That name had already been turning in his heart, and seeing him again after half a month—wasn’t this a reunion after long separation? In a surge of excitement, Gu Xiaodeng reached behind his head and, without a second word, untied the gauze covering his eyes.

By the time the maids noticed his actions and tried to stop him, it was already too late. They saw him crouch, cover his eyes, and let out an “Ow!”, his head ducked low. He looked even more like a tiny ball.

Su Mingya, beyond the flowering trees, looked over, not understanding the situation either.

After a moment, he saw that impertinent Cousin Young Master suddenly stand up. Adorned with fallen blossoms, both ears wrapped in greenish medicinal cloth, he was swollen in a laughable and comical way. A breeze swept by, and the gauze in his hand and the hem of his robe fluttered together. Amid the swirling falling flowers, no matter how comical he looked, he still seemed poised to float away like an immortal.

Su Mingya’s Asthma Affliction kept him from approaching the grove of trees. The person ran out on his own, as jubilant as a sparrow, feathers seemingly spreading out with a rustle.

“Hello, Young Master Su!” Gu Xiaodeng greeted him, his eyes still somewhat uncomfortable, but his entire face flushed red, blending evenly with the redness around his eyes. After enduring the darkness for so long, the first thing he saw was the sickly beauty his heart yearned for. He was utterly elated.

After a rushed self-introduction, Gu Xiaodeng was completely disoriented. He plucked a flower from his shoulder and clumsily offered it. “Young Master Su, it’s our first meeting, so I’m giving you this little flower. Do you like it?”

He was very close, his warm breath almost surging forward. Su Mingya was momentarily taken aback. The Gu family maids quickly caught up and pulled him back, offering more apologies, and Su Mingya could only say “it’s fine” again.

Whether it was truly fine, only Su Mingya himself knew. The flower Gu Xiaodeng had offered him had fallen to the ground, and he naturally wouldn’t pick it up. Yet even after returning to the Su family, he still found himself thinking about that fallen flower.

At night, his second brother-in-law, An Zhenwen, delicately asked if he would be willing to come study at the Gu Family Private School next year. Su Mingya paused. That fallen flower echoed untimely in his mind, reverberating into a single word: “Okay.”

Privately removing the gauze had displeased An Ruoyi somewhat. She made a special trip over at night. Gu Xiaodeng apologized cautiously. An Ruoyi reached out to brush the still-reddened corner of his eye, then her hand moved to his earlobe. When two fingers pinched it, Gu Xiaodeng grimaced in pain and was scolded again.

“When will you learn to behave with decorum?”

Gu Xiaodeng immediately sat ramrod straight, stiffening his little face: “Now!”

An Ruoyi was taken aback. She found it both infuriating and somewhat endearing. It was a long moment before she spoke again: “Xiaodeng, stay away from Su Mingya. Do you understand?”

Gu Xiaodeng didn’t dare disobey and gave a small nod. “Mother, is it because he’s sickly?”

An Ruoyi just nodded. It wasn’t convenient to say more about how the Su family already had An Zhenwen, so there was no need to waste resources on further courting them.

Gu Xiaodeng leaned closer to ask: “Then Mother, who can I be close to in the future?”

An Ruoyi’s demeanor instantly changed. She slowly withdrew her hand and said, “When you’ve learned to be sensible, I will tell you.”

The next day, Gu Xiaodeng was sent back to East Forest Garden. Just as he reached the courtyard, he stopped dead, rooted to the spot. Looking at the little house where Zhang Dengqing used to live, he couldn’t move his legs. By the time he came back to his senses, his face was already covered in tears. Only in this moment did he truly feel the loneliness and desolation.

Zhu Mi couldn’t return for the time being. An Ruoyi sent two young men to fill Zhu Mi’s spot. Their names were a pair—the older called Feng’en, the younger Feng Huan. Both were good-looking, but their auras were somewhat strange. Gu Xiaodeng couldn’t put his finger on it yet, so he just kept staring at them, dazed.

Zhu Mi had been stone-faced, but these two were expressive and full of smiles. When Gu Xiaodeng finished memorizing his books, Feng’en tidied up his brush and ink for him, saying with a smile, “Cousin Young Master, if you have any complaints about us, you absolutely must speak up so we can correct ourselves.”

Gu Xiaodeng focused his gaze on him for a moment, his heart somewhat perplexed. For the first time, he raised his hand and dismissed everyone else, leaving only the two of them. Then he spoke softly: “Back when I used to be a wandering peddler with my family, we’d meet many people traveling around. Some had very distinct expressions and postures. Seeing them enough, I’d remember them. Next time I encountered someone with a similar aura, I’d know they were kindred spirits. So… Feng’en, I feel like I sense a familiar feeling from you two. I wanted to ask, but also wondered if maybe I’m just too foolish and mistaken…”

Feng’en and Feng Huan both laughed. “You’re not foolish at all. Whatever you want to say, just speak freely. We’ll tell you everything we know.”

Gu Xiaodeng hesitated for a while, rubbed the back of his neck, and asked in a low voice, “Did you two live in the Pleasure Quarter before?”

In his five years on the merchant path, he had followed his adoptive father and seen people from many walks of life. He inevitably encountered some from the Pleasure Quarters and Brothels. When they spoke kindly to outsiders, they carried a branded sort of allure that was hard to ignore. Gu Xiaodeng suspected he’d just become stupider; otherwise, why would he perceive a similar allure from two Gu family managers?

After a moment of silence, Feng Huan lowered his head. Feng’en stepped forward, knelt on one knee before Gu Xiaodeng, and replied in a gentle voice: “Yes. You are not stupid at all.”

Gu Xiaodeng stared blankly for a moment, then hastily tried to pull him up. Feng’en shook his head, smiled softly, and continued: “I’m sorry, Cousin Young Master. I had originally planned to tell you our identities a bit later. I didn’t expect you to be so smart, so perceptive. Feng Huan and I were once the descendants of criminals, condemned and thrown into the Pleasure Quarter to ‘live.’ Later, the Princess Consort found us and bought our freedom.”

Listening to his soft, gentle explanation, Gu Xiaodeng’s heart pounded faster and faster. Unable to help himself, he crouched down to be level with him.

The details Feng’en gave reminded him of what Gu Jinyu had told him before—about the An family being framed by the Ge family and suffering misfortune as a whole clan. He asked, “Were you from the An family before, too?”

Feng’en paused, then smiled and nodded: “Yes.”

Immediately after, he raised a finger and asked for his secrecy: “Although the An family is innocent, they indeed haven’t been exonerated yet. The Princess Consort mercifully took us in. Please, Cousin Young Master, don’t reveal our identities to the outside world.”

Gu Xiaodeng hurriedly nodded, his eye sockets aching. He couldn’t utter another word.

In the afternoon, Feng’en took him to the horse track for riding practice. When they arrived, they discovered that Ge Dongchen had come to visit the Gu family again.

Ge Dongchen had sharp eyes. Seeing Gu Xiaodeng approach from a distance, he turned his horse around and headed over to greet him.

Unexpectedly, the little fool who was so easy to coax and fool last time turned around and walked away the moment he saw him.

Ge Dongchen raised an eyebrow, steered his horse to cut him off, and leaned down from the saddle, speaking to him cheerfully with a grin. “Cousin Xiaodeng, it’s been a while.”

“Greetings, Young Master Ge.” Gu Xiaodeng cupped his hands in salute, then turned to leave again. “You’re busy. I’m going riding now.”

Ge Dongchen: “??”