The grand entrance of the Gu residence was eerily quiet. A little girl in a goose-yellow ruqun dress, her hair tied in flower-bud buns, sat outside the main gate, propping her head in her hands.
Her eyes remained fixed on the mouth of the alleyway.
"Mingzhu, why have you come out to the gate again?"
The fear in Gu Mingliu's eyes slowly dissipated upon seeing Gu Mingzhu. She took her younger sister's hand. "Come, let's go back inside with your big sister."
"Big sister, when will Father and Eldest Brother return?"
Gu Mingzhu didn't move, merely looking up at Gu Mingliu.
"Mingzhu, didn't I teach you? We must be sensible here in the capital, guarding the Gu residence well for Father and Eldest Brother." A wave of sour sadness washed over Gu Mingzhu. "How about big sister makes you some of your favorite pastries?"
Gu Mingzhu, who had always been extremely obedient to Gu Mingliu, shook her head this time. "Big sister, your hair-pinning ceremony is coming soon."
Gu Mingliu's eyes instantly reddened.
A woman's coming-of-age ceremony was one of the most important events in her life, yet her birth mother had passed early, her father and brother were away at war, leaving only a young sister by her side.
"Having Mingzhu with me is enough."
Gu Mingzhu hung her head, her large eyes brimming with tears.
On the day of Gu Mingliu's ceremony, Emperor Yuanyou, mindful that Gu Zheng and Gu Mingning could not return to the capital, specially had the Empress Dowager issue an edict praising Gu Mingliu, a clear and public show of support.
Yet Gu Mingzhu felt the Gu residence that day was unpleasantly quiet, and all the food tasted bland.
Because she saw her big sister crying secretly in her room.
From that day on, the well-behaved and adorable Gu Mingzhu began making a mistake every three days, thoroughly shattering the quiet of the Gu residence. Whenever she heard anyone gossiping about Gu Mingliu or the Gu family, Gu Mingzhu would roll up her sleeves and start a fight.
At first, when she couldn't win, Gu Mingzhu silently practiced martial arts.
Fight after fight gradually distanced Gu Mingzhu's reputation from "well-behaved and adorable." Gu Mingliu, who had to clean up her messes every few days, strangely became much more cheerful herself, no longer lost in anxious thoughts all day.
By the time Gu Zheng returned triumphant to the court, he was shocked to discover his daughter had become the capital's notorious little ruffian.
"Gu Mingzhu, starting tomorrow, you will attend the girls' academy!"
"Why should I?"
Gu Mingzhu stood with her hands on her hips, baring her teeth defiantly at Gu Zheng, only to be forced into holding a horse stance for two hours, leaving her legs sore and aching.
After finishing her stance practice, just as Gu Mingzhu was about to go argue with her father, she overheard voices from inside the room.
"Father, don't worry, I'll make sure Mingzhu goes to the academy. Studying some books might help temper her temperament." It was Gu Mingliu's voice.
"I actually think Mingzhu's current temperament is quite good. A daughter of the Gu family should be just like that!" Gu Zheng chuckled. "Sending her to the academy to learn some knowledge will ensure she won't be bullied by those aristocratic girls with their pedantic words in the future."
Can't beat my daughter in a fight, so they start picking on her weaknesses?
Not on my watch!
Outside the room, Gu Mingzhu pursed her lips. The next day, she packed her bags and went to the girls' academy.
It wasn't that she deliberately wanted to fulfill that person's wish, she just didn't want her big sister to worry!
......
At the academy, Gu Mingzhu was predictably placed in the lowest class.
Due to her excessive combat prowess, no one dared to provoke Gu Mingzhu casually. Yet, seeing people like Song Xiyan acting one way in public and another in private, along with the fawning expressions of the academy's headmistress and tutors, she found it impossible to focus on her books.
This place was nothing like how her father had described it.
Her grades remained firmly at the bottom of the class, and even the tutors could only shake their heads in dismay, but Gu Mingzhu didn't care.
A truly learned person should be like Official Shen, who first corrects his own attire before teaching others. Learning from these tutors, she was afraid she might be led astray!
And so, time slowly passed.
Gu Mingzhu fell further and further behind in her studies, and she grew accustomed to people calling her an idiot, a troublemaking fool.
"Gu Mingzhu, I don't want to sit next to you."
"Suit yourself."
Gu Mingzhu turned her head to the other side and continued dozing off.
"Who would want to sit with a dunce like you!"
Gu Mingzhu suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the speaker. "Keep your voice down. A few days ago, I heard you following Princess Fuyun, calling Prince Qin a dunce. Be careful, or I'll tell him."
Prince Qin was indeed a dunce, but he was also petty and vindictive, so no one dared to provoke him openly.
The speaker's face immediately paled. Seeing this, Gu Mingzhu snorted with laughter and went back to sleep.
Even the tutor who came to teach the class saw her and preferred not to cross her.
After school, Gu Mingzhu was always the first to rush out of the academy, then head to South Street to buy several packages of snacks before leisurely returning to the Gu residence.
Her days were chaotic yet peculiarly mundane. Gu Mingzhu had only two wishes: for her father and brother to return victorious soon, and for her big sister to be safe and happy.
Until Gu Zheng returned once more and, realizing Gu Mingzhu's grades were at the very bottom, let out a long sigh.
"I'm only worried it will affect Mingzhu's reputation and, in the future, her marriage prospects."
Gu Mingzhu fell silent. This time, she couldn't help.
Because the sight of the tutors made her nauseous.
Gu Mingzhu looked up at the blue sky. It seemed like it really had been many years since she last heard anyone praise her for being clever.
Until...
"Mingzhu, your natural intelligence is apparent at a glance."
"There are still ten days until the cross-class examination. There's still a chance."
Gu Mingzhu's little heart, wrapped in withered vines, quietly cracked, letting in a sliver of light.
She gained a third wish.
She wanted to be with the Princess forever.
Everyone who knew Gu Mingzhu, including her father Gu Zheng, felt as if she had been bewitched. She buried herself in the study every day, burning the midnight oil. She pored over every book Song Shihuan sent with meticulous care.
Not a single annotation was missed.
Yet, she failed to test into the top class during that cross-class examination.
But Gu Mingzhu remained highly motivated, because the Princess believed she could do it.
Later, she successfully tested into the top class, becoming the academy's top scholar after the Princess. Those who had once mocked her no longer dared to act up in front of her. As if reborn, she practiced martial arts with relentless fervor.
"Gu Mingzhu, are you aiming to become accomplished in both literary and martial arts?"
Gu Zheng asked, his voice rising eight notes as he polished his longsword. This daughter of his was so outstanding it almost felt like she wasn't his.
"Father, only by becoming stronger can I protect the Princess."
As she spoke, Gu Mingzhu, holding a red-tasseled spear, swiftly advanced towards Gu Zheng. "Father, spar with me for a few rounds!"
Fifteen minutes later, father and daughter finally stopped.
"Mingzhu, sometimes when I look at you, I'm astonished. The Princess is that important to you?"
Gu Mingzhu, who was wiping her sweat, paused at these words, revealing a bright, white smile.
“Father, the Princess says I'm her best bosom friend. She's willing to go shopping and buy pastries with me, never looks down on my reputation, and never thinks I'm foolish.”
"If one day the Princess faces danger,"
"I will absolutely stand in front of her."
