Gu Xiaodeng’s arrival triggered a silent tsunami between the Prince Zhenbei and his wife.
The Gu family operated on a strict “today’s work done today” efficiency. Yesterday, when Gu Jinyu had found an opening to report the matter of “distant relatives of the Gu family,” the Princess Consort, An Ruoyi, had taken note.
The Gu family had pitifully few branch families, and she knew the An family like the back of her hand. Two orphaned youths suddenly appearing out of nowhere seemed like a scam no matter how you looked at it. But they claimed to have a jade ring as proof of identity, which immediately caught An Ruoyi’s attention.
She had indeed lost a jade ring. It was the engagement token Gu Yan had given her many years ago, polished by his own hands. Light in weight but heavy with sentiment, it was one of a kind. She had always kept it carefully hidden in a small storeroom, yet somehow it was lost, and by now it had been missing for over a decade.
After finishing her social obligations with several noble families on Qixi night, An Ruoyi returned to the mansion and went straight to the guest quarters where the “distant relatives” were staying. Gu Yan, sharing a tacit understanding with her, set aside all other matters and accompanied her.
Inside the room, the two youths slept soundly and sweetly, but the couple spent a sleepless night.
They directly opened Zhang Dengqing’s small bundle, unlocked the mechanism box, and took out the letters and jade ring to examine without asking permission.
The yellowed stack of letters revealed everything about the scheme to swap the true and false heirs. To preempt any disbelief, the letters described detailed, intimate matters of An Ruoyi giving birth twelve years prior, including some Gu family secrets. The letters also mentioned that the female assassin lurking in the Gu family had buried her sword in a certain remote location; if they doubted, they could dig it up, and the sword would surely be rusted.
That very night, Gu Yan dispatched mansion guards to the remote place mentioned in the letter, and they indeed unearthed a short sword covered in patches of rust.
As for the jade ring token, it was unquestionably the lost item.
Gu Yan and An Ruoyi spent the entire night in a silence so oppressive it was suffocating.
Despite this, the couple had the remarkable restraint not to wake Gu Xiaodeng, nor alert any of the other Gu children. All matters were tightly controlled within a manageable scope.
Now, daylight had arrived. This child, who symbolized the utter loss of face for the Gu family, stood before them wrapped in a blanket, his smiling eyes curved like crescent moons, completely oblivious to the violent shock his existence had delivered to the two people in power.
Gu Xiaodeng stood there with a silly grin, letting Gu Yan and An Ruoyi scrutinize him. He truly didn’t know how to begin, so he obediently stayed put and waited for their reaction.
What unfolded next exceeded his imagination. Dizzy and disoriented, he was drawn into An Ruoyi’s embrace. She peeled away the blanket, pulling his thinly clothed body close. The elegant scent of powder and rouge lingered at his nose. The subdued, gentle sobs of his biological mother echoed in his ears, one after another, a sound of utter heartbreak.
Gu Xiaodeng had never experienced what it was like to have a mother. Perhaps before the age of seven he had, but he had forgotten.
When An Ruoyi choked with emotion and called him “child,” he became completely disoriented. A sorrowful cry, like tearing silk, burst from his chest. He instinctively called out, “Mother.” His entire body felt scalded, trembling uncontrollably in a daze.
Immersed in this overwhelming emotional tide and his birth mother’s embrace, Gu Xiaodeng didn’t notice at all that Gu Yan beside him had also risen. He walked past them and took Zhang Dengqing out of the room.
When only mother and son remained in the room, An Ruoyi released him. With tears clouding her eyes, she asked about his past life experiences. Gu Xiaodeng’s tears wouldn’t stop either. Except for holding back the fact that he was a Medicine Person, he poured everything out like beans spilling from a sack.
Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, separated by a single wall, Gu Yan was simultaneously interrogating Zhang Dengqing.
This two-pronged questioning lasted the entire day. The doubting and verification continued for seven days. Only after seven days was his bloodline confirmed through multiple means.
Gu Xiaodeng, naturally, knew nothing of the intense activity behind the scenes. He was merely lost in the gentle illusion An Ruoyi presented as a loving mother, stars swimming before his eyes.
An Ruoyi led him to familiarize himself with the place. Zhenbei Prince Mansion was vast. To the east was an enormous garden called East Forest Garden, encompassing many venues. To the west was West Prosperity Garden, where the Gu family resided. To the south were the quarters for mansion guards and servants, called South Dwelling Place. To the north lay the deep, expansive front courtyard with its grand main gate.
On the very day An Ruoyi met him, she brought him into the Gu family’s East Forest Garden to live. Gu Xiaodeng walked in, dazed, looked around, and was so shocked he could’ve let out frog croaks in his sleep. He had never seen a residence so magnificent. Outside the gate, he just thought Zhenbei Prince Mansion was exquisitely precious. Only after entering did he marvel with disbelief at its rugged vastness.
East Forest Garden was so large it contained martial training grounds. Courtyards dotted the landscape like trees in a forest. The gardens were like three great urns, the ponds scattered like loose pearls.
An Ruoyi led him past the long, water-side pavilions into a small courtyard. She arranged many servants to attend to him. Even when he waved his hands and said he wasn’t used to it, servants were still assigned to every aspect of his daily life—clothing, food, shelter, and movement.
Gu Xiaodeng could only smile and adapt as quickly as possible. He had an open and cheerful disposition. While stunned by the shocking grandeur, his words and actions weren’t overly constrained. At the same time, he was acutely sensitive to the emotions of those around him and quickly empathized with Zhang Dengqing’s unease.
On the first night they were arranged to live in the new courtyard, Gu Xiaodeng could still share a bed with Zhang Dengqing. He held his blanket and pressed his head against his, whispering secrets softly. “Brother, is your heart feeling all upside-down and jumbled? No way, right? My bold and powerful big brother, you’re not scared, are you?”
Zhang Dengqing just smiled, his worry undimmed. He pulled himself together to stroke his head. “Me, it’s just that a stone has fallen from my heart. It’s nothing. If you’re safe, I’m safe. Right now I’m so at ease I’m getting sleepy.”
Gu Xiaodeng narrowed his smiling eyes as his head was petted. “Brother, if you feel constrained or unhappy, you have to tell me, okay? You coax me, and I’ll take it seriously.”
Zhang Dengqing’s heart softened. After hesitating a moment, he gave in. He shook out the blanket and moved closer, using a breathy whisper. “Xiaodeng, your biological father, that Prince Zhenbei… I’m a little afraid of him. As for your mother, I feel like I can’t see through her tears or her smiles, can’t tell true joy from true sorrow…”
Gu Xiaodeng clung to him and replied, “Mother is very beautiful and gentle. But that Royal Father, what about him? I haven’t really seen him yet.”
“He… he probed me for information. He is very, very good at probing… asking me about things related to you.”
“Asking about my matters isn’t really probing, is it? Mother also asked about my past life. Except for the Medicine Person matter, which I’m still hesitating about, I told her everything I had to tell.”
“It’s right to hesitate. You absolutely must not tell!” Zhang Dengqing hugged him, silent for a moment, then said softly, “No matter what, I just hope you’ll be safe and sound. I will definitely protect you. This is what my father and I… owe you.”
The last three words were spoken so lightly that Gu Xiaodeng didn’t hear them clearly. When he wanted to talk more, Zhang Dengqing just held him and coaxed him to sleep.
Gu Xiaodeng thought he would continue clinging to him for night chats the next evening. However, when he woke up the next day, the first thing An Ruoyi said upon seeing him was, stroking his face with a smile: “Xiaodeng, you’re a little grown-up. You don’t need anyone to coax you to sleep, right?”
Gu Xiaodeng was a bit bewildered and smiled. “Mother, I don’t need that. I fall asleep very fast. I close my eyes and whoosh, I’m asleep!”
But that very night, he lay on the large bed staring blankly into space. Zhang Dengqing was invited by servants to the room next door and no longer shared a bed with him.
From then on, Zhang Dengqing never slept in the same bed with him again.
~
On the eighth day of entering the Gu family, which was the fifteenth of July, the Ghost Festival, Gu Xiaodeng was woken by a servant that day. He woke alone, holding his blanket, his eyes still hazy with sleep. Gu Yan and An Ruoyi were almost exactly as they had been seven days ago, sitting with noble, cold elegance at the table in his room, waiting for him.
Gu Xiaodeng jolted awake with a start. Day hadn’t even broken yet. Servants supported him, swiftly dressed him and wiped his face, half escorting, half pushing him before the Prince and Princess Consort.
Gu Xiaodeng felt somewhat awkward. “Mother?”
Gu Yan spoke first. “Kneel.”
His ears perked up. “Huh?”
An Ruoyi reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, patiently explaining: “Xiaodeng, be obedient. Kneel. You are indeed of the Gu family bloodline. As you are, you must follow the rules. A child without scholarly honor or rank, in private upon seeing their father who is a Prince and their mother who holds an Imperial Mandate Title, must kneel and bow their head, saying: ‘Royal Father, may you be well; Mother Consort, may you be healthy.'”
Gu Xiaodeng’s face went blank for several moments. By the time he reacted, he was already being pressed to the ground. His knees hit the floor with a numb thud, his forehead touched the cold ground, and a large hand pressed down on the back of his neck, icy cold to the bone.
Gu Yan asked him in a deep voice, “What should you say?”
