Gu Fuzhou: “What are you going to do?”
Gu Shen'an: “I’m going to become a study companion to one of the princes!”
Gu Fuzhou hurriedly rose and walked over to his fourth son. He patted the boy’s shoulder and asked hesitantly, “You? A study companion?”
Gu Shen'an lifted his eyes. “Yes.”
Gu Fuzhou was even more bewildered now. He examined his mature-looking son. “Are you joking? The princes are only three or four years old. Even the oldest is just four. You’re already nine! You want to be a study companion to a little prince? Are you planning to take their punishment for them every day?”
Nearby, Gu Yuan'an asked in disbelief, “Fourth Brother, you’re already so old. Why would you want to study with those little children? Have you lost your mind?”
Third Sister, Gu Xi'an, stared at Gu Shen'an suspiciously. “That’s right. Don’t you dislike taking care of little children more than anything? With your patience, you still want to become a study companion? Princes aren’t easy to serve.”
Eldest Brother, Gu Bo'an, asked, “Which prince do you want to be chosen by?”
Gu Shen'an: “Any of them will do.”
The corner of Gu Fuzhou’s mouth twitched. “You’re too old. None of the palace ladies will choose you.”
Gu Shen'an: “This time, anyone under ten may attend. I’m nine.”
Gu Bo'an: “Fourth Brother, even if Mother is going to the flower-viewing banquet at the palace, she should bring our six-year-old Fifth Brother. If one of the palace ladies truly wants to choose one of our children, she’ll choose Fifth Brother.”
Gu Shen'an swept a glance at his fifth brother, who was sneaking pastries into his mouth, and said calmly, “Then don’t let Fifth Brother go. Just say that he’s gravely ill and unable to enter the palace. I’ll go instead.”
Everyone: “…”
The corner of Gu Fuzhou’s mouth twitched. He only felt that his fourth son had changed far too much over the past two years. Where had his upright, righteous fourth son gone? How had he become like this?
A few days ago, when Gu Shen'an had narrowly escaped death and returned home, the entire family had hugged him and wept, asking anxiously after his well-being. Only this unfilial wretch had immediately asked whether he had seen Princess Fuxi, what Princess Fuxi had said to him, and whether there had been anyone else around. He had gone on and on about other people without once asking what he had endured or whether he had suffered any hardship!
His child, who had once cared about him so much, had stopped taking him seriously after only two years.
And now he wanted to go to the palace to become some prince’s study companion. Who knew what this wretched boy was thinking every day?
Gu Fuzhou really wanted to smash open his head and take a good look inside!
The Gu family members exchanged glances. Third Sister, Gu Xi'an, cautiously asked first, “Fourth Brother, you want to become a prince’s study companion badly enough to make Fifth Brother pretend to be ill?”
Gu Shen'an: “What’s wrong with that?”
The shortest and youngest of the Gu family’s sons, Fifth Young Master Gu Ming'an, spoke up. “I—I don’t want to pretend to be sick! I want to go into the palace to play too!”
Gu Shen'an frowned and lowered his head to look at his younger brother. “You’re too young. Once you enter the palace, you’ll have to live there with the prince and can only return home every five or six days. If the prince is punished by the Grand Tutor, you’ll have to take the punishment in his place. In short, once you enter the palace, you won’t be able to see Father or Mother, or your brothers and sisters!”
The pastry in Gu Ming'an’s hand fell to the ground with a smack. His eyes instantly reddened, and he covered both ears with his hands. “I—I’m sick! I’m not going into the palace! Father, I don’t want to go! Send Fourth Brother instead!”
The corners of Gu Shen'an’s mouth curved upward in satisfaction as he turned back to the rest of the Gu family.
Looking at his fourth son’s face, Gu Fuzhou felt a headache coming on. “Since you know that being a study companion in the palace isn’t an easy task, and many families are unwilling to send their children, there’s no need for our family to curry favor with any prince. I had planned to brush the matter aside and do my best to keep your fifth brother from being chosen, but you! You actually volunteered to go! Tell me, why are you so determined to become a study companion?”
Gu Shen'an’s eyes were calm and indifferent. He did not answer.
Gu Fuzhou took a deep breath and forced down his anger.
“Fine! Do as you please! If you want to go, then go! Have your mother take you! I’m washing my hands of this!”
Gu Shen'an raised his hand in salute, then left for the Duchess of State Pacification’s residence.
Gu Fuzhou watched his young son’s retreating back. He gritted his teeth to keep himself from running over and kicking him in the backside.
Gu Bo'an: “Father, please don’t be angry. Fourth Brother must have his own reasons.”
Gu Fuzhou: “He has reasons? What reasons could a nine-year-old child possibly have? When did he become like this? He’s secretive all day long, always wearing that sour expression and pretending to be mature! Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was my father!”
Gu Bo'an: “…”
Gu Yuan'an: “…”
Gu Ming'an: “…”
Seeing how furious their father was, Gu Xi'an spoke up to comfort him.
“Father, don’t worry. Even if Fourth Brother wants to stay in the palace as a study companion, there probably won’t be a single palace lady willing to keep him.”
At those words, Gu Fuzhou calmed down somewhat and nodded in agreement. “Exactly. With that sour face of his, who would like him? The princes will probably dodge him whenever they see him, and the palace ladies certainly won’t choose such a stubborn child to lead their princes astray.”
After saying this, Gu Fuzhou sat down in a chair, drank a large cup of tea, and asked his other well-behaved children, “When did Fourth Brother become like this? What happened while I was away all those years? Did you children bully him? He used to smile all the time. How did he become like this?”
Gu Bo'an: “It was probably the exile. Those bandits frightened Fourth Brother. He started acting strangely after that.”
Gu Xi'an: “Yes. Fourth Brother wasn’t like this before.”
Gu Yuan'an: “That’s right! He only changed after something happened to Father.”
Gu Ming'an: “Mm! Mm! Fourth Brother hasn’t played with me lately either.”
Gu Fuzhou’s expression grew more solemn, and he said nothing further to criticize his son. He sighed.
“Forget it. Let him be. I truly can’t understand what he’s trying to do. What’s so good about the palace?”
…
The palace’s flower-viewing banquet.
At the lakeside pavilion in the middle of the imperial lake, many well-dressed noble ladies had gathered with their children, chatting and laughing together.
The guest list had been submitted in advance, so the seating arrangements had also been decided beforehand.
Everyone attending today was a family member of an official of at least the fifth rank in the court.
Each lady had brought at least one child.
With so many children present, the banquet was somewhat noisy. Still, this was the imperial palace, and everyone was mindful of its majesty. Even the children were more restrained than they would have been elsewhere.
When the appointed time arrived, the ladies led their children to their seats.
Noble Consort Cui, Consort Liu, Lady Yin, and the others arrived first with the princes and princesses. The ladies all rose with their children and bowed in greeting.
The Noble Consort Cui, who was leading them, gave the command to dispense with formalities, and only then did the ladies sit down.
The women seated below could not help glancing at the Noble Consort Cui, who had been newly elevated by the Emperor that year. In less than two months, she had risen from Consort Cui to Noble Consort Cui. Everyone in the capital was saying that Noble Consort Cui was breathtakingly beautiful, like a celestial being.
The Noble Consort Cui before them was dressed in a simple sky-blue gown. She was graceful and serene, with a quiet elegance between her brows. Her cheeks were as delicate as peach blossoms, and when she smiled, her beauty was even more dazzling, yet somehow comforting.
They all thought to themselves that it was no wonder the Emperor favored her.
After admiring Noble Consort Cui, they could not help turning their eyes toward Grand Princess Fuxi, who stood beside Consort Cui.
Princess Fuxi was even more renowned than Noble Consort Cui. Everyone said that Princess Fuxi was the Lucky Star, a child prodigy who could memorize an entire book in half a day.
There were also rumors that Princess Fuxi had saved the entire family of the Duke of Zhen.
It was said that she had exposed the conspiracy of the Vice Minister of Revenue to embezzle the disaster-relief funds.
Even the county school’s acceptance of female students was credited to Princess Fuxi.
In short, whether true or not, these rumors had long since spread throughout the capital. No one was unfamiliar with Princess Fuxi.
After hearing so much about her, everyone wanted to see what this Princess Fuxi truly looked like and whether she was really as clever as people claimed.
When the noble ladies caught sight of Princess Fuxi, they could not help smiling. The little princess was earnestly eating the pastries on the table, crumbs clinging to the corners of her mouth.
Princess Fuxi had large, bright eyes that gleamed like pearls. She was a little plump, with rosy cheeks like a peach. Her adorable, guileless appearance made everyone feel instantly fond of her.
Duchess of State Pacification Lin Xian gazed at Noble Consort Cui and Princess Fuxi, her heart filled with gratitude.
If not for Noble Consort Cui and Princess Fuxi, her entire family would likely have died beneath the bandits’ blades.
If not for Princess Fuxi, her husband would probably have been shot dead by the enemy beneath the city gates.
She thought that if Princess Fuxi had been a prince, how wonderful that would have been. She would have sent her fourth and fifth sons over and had them both serve as Princess Fuxi’s study companions!
What a pity that Princess Fuxi was a princess, not a prince, and that she had no daughter of a suitable age to accompany her in her studies.
She had only this good-for-nothing son, who had insisted on coming to serve as a prince’s study companion!
Whenever Duchess of State Pacification thought of her fourth son, she felt a tightness in her chest. She shot a fierce glare at Gu Shen'an, who had become unusually well-behaved after arriving at the palace.
That glance revealed something unexpected. Her son was staring fixedly at something—or someone—and she had no idea how long he had been doing so. There was even a strange look in his eyes.
