Chapter 33

The residence of the Marquis of Pingxi.

Huo Pingyuan watched as several minor officials set up ladders and took down the large red plaque of the Pingxi Marquis's residence.

He could only stand under the eaves, clenching his fists, feeling powerless despite his strength.

Half a month ago, his elder brother Huo Tao died in battle. According to the national law, the imperial court would have taken care of the family of the fallen.

However, this battle was a failure, resulting in the loss of an entire army. This was all due to the commander Huo Tao's misjudgment of the battlefield, which led to the great defeat.

The Emperor originally intended to severely punish the Huo family, but ultimately, considering the Huo family's ancestors' loyalty to the country, the Emperor and the Ministry of War decided not to punish them.

But Huo Tao was already the third-generation heir to the marquisate. He died in battle, and the plaque of the marquis's mansion was still taken down.

With Huo Tao's downfall, the powerful forces under the Pingxi Marquis's mansion instantly scattered like monkeys after the tree fell.

The removal of the Huo family's title proves the Emperor's dissatisfaction with them. People in the capital are adept at changing their tune depending on the wind, and this time, only a handful of people came to see Huo Tao off at his funeral.

Dressed in mourning clothes, Huo Pingyuan personally sent off his only relative. The mourning hall was empty and silent. His elder brother could no longer pat him on the shoulder and say to him, "Pingyuan, you've grown taller again."

Huo Pingyuan kowtowed before his brother's grave, shedding his last tear.

He was no longer the carefree young man in the capital, dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse; he was the last man of the Huo family and had to shoulder this heavy responsibility.

These past few days, Huo Pingyuan has experienced far too much, and he only allowed himself to shed one last tear in front of his brother.

Those who used to greet Huo Pingyuan with smiles now all glared at him coldly, afraid of getting tainted by his bad luck. The playboys who used to hang out with him in the capital also scattered and disappeared without a trace.

Recently, the Marquis of Zhongqin's family sent a letter of annulment, stating that the two families were not a good match and that the marriage was no longer appropriate; the marriage was hereby nullified.

Huo Pingyuan had never intended to continue the engagement with the Marquis of Zhongqin's family, but the Marquis of Zhongqin's family sent a letter of annulment first, which made him unhappy.

Huo Pingyuan had lived for seventeen years, and it was only after this misfortune that he truly understood the fickleness of human relationships. He took it upon himself to distribute the little money he had left in his household to his long-time servants, and let them go their separate ways to find a way to survive.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. The Huo family has been in power for many years, and no matter what, there is still some connection between them and the government.

Huo Pingyuan decided to go to the northern frontier. His ancestors had followed Emperor Taizu on horseback to conquer the world, and he decided to follow in their footsteps.

If, after many years, I can achieve great things and restore the glory of the Marquis of Pingxi's mansion, that would be wonderful. If not, then I will die on the battlefield, my body wrapped in a horse's hide, so as not to tarnish the prestige of the Marquis of Pingxi's mansion.

For some reason, Huo Pingyuan has been having the same dream these days. He keeps dreaming of a petite girl who says in the dream, "I am willing to marry him and go to the northern frontier with him."

The dream was intermittent, and when Huo Pingyuan finally reached the end, he discovered that the little girl's face was actually Gu Leyao's.

Huo Pingyuan suspected he had gone mad. After waking up from his dream, he could only wash his face wearily. Gu Leyao was already married and had long since married the Prince of Dingbei, living a happy and fulfilling life.

Moreover... and she had rejected him many times before.

Huo Pingyuan suspected that the recent series of blows had caused him to become somewhat mentally unstable, which was why he dreamed of Gu Leyao.

He told himself he couldn't dwell on the past, quickly bought the gear for his trip to northern Xinjiang, and quietly left Beijing on a snowy day.

On the day I left, it was snowing heavily, and I couldn't see the way home.

Huo Pingyuan took one last look at the place where he had grown up. The majestic and towering capital city stood like a mountain, just as it had always been.

But the Marquis of Pingxi's mansion had already fallen, and his home was gone too. Huo Pingyuan turned back with his whip, and for many years afterward, he looked back from thousands of miles away, but his old friends were gone forever.

*

Gu Leyao was unaware of Huo Pingyuan's situation; she was currently packing things for the young prince.

Ever since returning from the banquet that day, the young prince had been sullen, and Gu Leyao had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, one day, the young prince suddenly told Gu Leyao that he wanted to go home.

The little prince wanted to go home, and Gu Leyao was naturally very reluctant to part with him. At first, she thought that a five-year-old boy was annoying, but the little prince was well taught by the Empress, was very polite, clever and cute, and gradually, Gu Leyao grew to like him.

However, Gu Leyao couldn't prevent him from returning to the palace. The young crown prince had been away from home for two or three months, and the Empress and the Emperor probably missed him very much.

Gu Leyao suppressed the bitterness in her heart and took on the task of having Chun Tao and the housekeeper help pack things. She packed the little prince with wooden horses and rabbits, recipes for some fresh food, freshly made golden cage milk pastries, fresh water chestnut and lotus flower cakes, large strawberries freshly made in Chun Tao's yard, and some fresh green vegetables and fruits.

On the day of departure, both Gu Leyao and the young prince had tears in their eyes.

After the carriage had been traveling for a while, the young prince suddenly lifted the curtain from inside the carriage, stuck his head out, and cried out loudly, "Auntie, I will definitely miss you."

Gu Leyao also tossed her handkerchief, chasing after him while calling out, "I'll miss you too! Chong'er, come visit often when you have time!"

As soon as the young crown prince left, Gu Leyao burst into tears. Li Heng, both amused and exasperated, held Gu Leyao's hand and said, "It's not like we'll never see each other again. In another half month, my brother and sister-in-law will invite us to the palace for New Year's Eve dinner. Then you'll be able to see Chong'er again."

Gu Leyao nodded, "I know, I know..."

*

After the young prince left, Gu Leyao's life seemed to suddenly become quiet.

Originally, when Li Chong was around, it was always lively and bustling. Gu Leyao was sometimes quite annoyed because she felt the children were particularly noisy. But when the little prince left, she found the room eerily quiet.

Gu Leyao was depressed for many days because the young prince had left.

On this day, Chun Tao received a lot of interesting news from the green willows and ran over to share it with Gu Leyao.

“Young lady, do you know? A lot has happened in the capital recently. Didn’t Marquis Huo Tao die in battle? His family was stripped of their title, and Huo Pingyuan, the second young master of the Huo family, was jilted. He’s quite something; he actually went to the northern frontier to make a living.”

This was not unexpected for Gu Leyao. She had long known that Huo Pingyuan would be jilted. The fact that Gu Baozhu and Gao Wenchang were pulling and tugging at each other that day proved that Gu Baozhu had already given up on Huo Pingyuan.

In her previous life, the original owner was not afraid of the harsh cold of the northern frontier and took the initiative to marry Huo Piaoyuan. She went to the northern frontier with him, and the two supported each other and suffered a lot.

This time, Huo Pingyuan is going to the northern frontier alone, and the road ahead is probably even more dangerous.

But all of this had nothing to do with Gu Leyao.

Seeing that her young mistress wasn't in high spirits, Chuntao racked her brains for a moment and quickly brought up another matter.

“Young lady, there’s something really exciting going on in the capital lately.”

Chuntao is imitating Lvliu's way of speaking, always saying only half of what she means, in order to arouse the curiosity of her listeners.

Sure enough, Gu Leyao raised her head slightly, "What's going on? It's causing quite a stir."

She remembered that nothing major seemed to have happened during this period in the original owner's memory.

Chun Tao said mysteriously, "It's a really, really big thing. The second young master of the Longyi Marquis's mansion, Gao Wenchang, is having sex with a man and a woman..."

Chuntao let out a lewd laugh.

Gu Leyao's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really? What exactly happened?"

Chuntao fiddled with her fingers. "This was told to us by Lüliu, but Lüliu said the source was very reliable because her best friend is a maid in the Longyi Marquis's mansion."

Gu Leyao stuffed two large strawberries into Chun Tao's hand, then popped one into her own mouth, urging, "Hurry up and tell me!"

Chun Tao swallowed hard as she looked at the strawberries. Every time she ate strawberries, she had to mentally prepare herself. This fruit was sour and sweet, why couldn't it be all sweet?

"I heard that the second young master of the Marquis of Longyi's mansion held a talent show in the suburbs and invited many noble ladies and gentlemen. Xu Peiyi, do you remember her? She's the noble lady you slapped at the Chrysanthemum Banquet last time."

Gu Leyao nodded. Of course she remembered Xu Peiyi. That girl was so beautiful that she was almost sharp, a bit like the villainous female supporting character in an old novel. She was beautiful but had a bad temper.

Chuntao ate a strawberry in one bite, chewing it in her mouth. "That's her! Isn't she the second young master of the Gao family's fiancée? I heard she brought people to knock on the gate of young master Gao's courtyard. They heard a lot of noise inside, and when they opened the door, they found two men and a woman inside, with young master Gao in the middle, being attacked from both sides, feeling like he was dying of pleasure. He was completely naked. Green Willow said it was very exciting, but I don't quite understand what she means."

Gu Leyao was about to eat a strawberry, but upon hearing this, the strawberry in her hand unknowingly fell onto the table, splashing out its deep red juice.

Last time, she only sent someone to deliver a message to Xu Peiyi, hoping that Xu Peiyi would not be made a fool of like a monkey like in her memory and disappear without a trace. But Gu Leyao did not expect that Xu Peiyi would be so decisive and act so wildly.

Chun Tao was still trying to recall the story that Lv Liu had told her. "I heard that the woman was the second young lady of the Gu family. She has now been hastily sent to the Longyi Marquis's mansion as a concubine in a sedan chair. The man seems to be Gao Wenchang's cousin. Lv Liu's good friend also said that the second young master of the Gao family is no longer able to have sex. I heard that he took too much medicine and was too tired, so he can no longer stand up."

Gu Leyao could no longer describe her feelings with the word "shock".

Xu Peiyi was so ruthless to the original owner in her previous life, suppressing her in every way. Now that she has discovered Gu Baozhu's betrayal, she will be even more ruthless.

Gu Leyao was glad that she had stayed away from these abnormal people. She shook her head, trying to get those abnormal thoughts out of her head.

She subconsciously covered Chun Tao's mouth before she could continue speaking, "Chong'er was saying he wanted to eat the super-sized strawberries you cultivated, wasn't he? I also need to go to the kitchen to take a look. We can't go into the palace empty-handed on New Year's Eve, so we need to bring some vegetables."

Chun Tao was only fourteen years old after the New Year, still at the age of Makka Pakka, and had no idea what Green Willow was talking about.

But Gu Leyao understood it completely. After listening, she was deeply shocked and her mind was buzzing. She shook her head and decided to go to the kitchen to release her energy.