New Year's Eve

"If you need money in the future, just ask the steward for it. The Marquis's mansion hasn't fallen to the point where you have to pawn your jewelry."

"I was in too much of a rush last time, and my brother is often away from home. I thought the grain purchase should be done as soon as possible, so I took it upon myself to make the decision."

"What I mean is, you don't need to notify me when you withdraw the money later."

Gu Jin always felt that although Gu Yu also cared about him and the Gu family, there was always a layer of distance and restraint between them, as if the relationship could be severed once the debt was repaid.

He knew that he and his father owed her something; no ten-year-old girl would like to be abandoned in Shengjing by her relatives, with only her elderly grandmother to take care of her.

Gu Yu's slightly lowered eyelashes trembled. She patted Tang Nan's head and asked how well she was learning her skills. Tang Nan immediately started chattering like a sparrow.

Looking at her smiling face, she sometimes wondered if Tang Nan would resent her if she knew that it was her mother who had made the deal with her.

"What's the imperial court saying about the refugees?"

During the meal, Gu Yu casually brought up this topic. She had bought grain, commissioned someone to write an article, and asked someone to spread the message; she had done everything she could.

Sometimes she would think, since she had already been reborn into another body, why not just become a man directly?

In this way, she could stand in the mire of the imperial court and fight fiercely with her enemies, instead of hiding in her boudoir with its jade railings, sneaking around like a mouse to gather information.

But thinking about it carefully, it seems ridiculous, because how could a man of noble birth hang himself over such a trivial matter as love?

Only a silly girl like Gu Yu gave her a chance.

There are advantages to being a young lady in the inner chambers. She thought that by staying in the shadows, her enemies wouldn't be able to find her, and she would have more time to plot revenge.

"There's still no news. It's almost the end of the year, so let's not talk about these things and just enjoy the New Year."

"How is Father doing?" Gu Yu's eyes were filled with longing. She hadn't uttered that name in a long time, and her voice was bittersweet.

"The war hasn't started yet, but I've heard that the cabinet has been discussing military pay in recent days. It should be disbursed soon, and then the war will begin."

Several people were keeping vigil in the hall. In the center of the hall, the silver charcoal fire burned brightly in the large bronze incense burner. Gu Yu, wearing only a thin cotton coat, was telling Tang Nan stories from books.

Chunyue and Qiuju were originally arranging chores in the backyard, but now they both came to the main hall with something on their minds. Gu Yu looked up from her book and immediately knew that news had arrived.

“Brother, I have some things to do in the backyard. I’ll go take a look and come back in a while.” Gu Yu handed the book she was reading halfway through to Gu Jin. “If Anan wants to hear this story, you can continue reading it to him.”

“Okay.” Gu Jin took the book that described how generals of the previous dynasty fought bravely on the battlefield and served their country heroically, and continued reading.

He often spent the New Year in the border regions. Unlike Shengjing, there were not many customs for the New Year there. There was no staying up all night, no fireworks, and no family reunions.

Simply drinking and eating heartily together is already a grand event in the world.

Although Tang Nan admired Gu Jin, she was also afraid of his stern and murderous aura. However, today Gu Jin had shed his heavy burden, and his gentle demeanor made him seem unlike a general.

This was the first time she had seen General Gu like this.

Just as night fell, fireworks suddenly lit up the sky, followed by more and more fireworks that illuminated the dark night.

Chunyue spoke first, “Miss, I followed your instructions and asked the kitchen to make some meat soup to give to the beggars in the backyard, but... I actually saw a familiar face among those beggars.”

Gu Yu frowned, seemingly unable to recall any acquaintance who had fallen so low as to become a beggar.

“It’s Su Bicheng. He’s in a daze, covered in injuries, he must have been beaten up…” Chunyue pointed to her head, “He seems to have suffered a serious head injury.”

Gu Yu had already reached the back door. The servant opened the door for her. The area outside the door had been cleaned a few days ago, and the clean, shiny bluestone bricks were pleasing to the eye.

The man, dressed in tattered clothes, hid among the beggars, holding a bowl in his hand with half a bowl of meat soup in it. The other beggars, seeing that he was foolish, even tried to snatch his bowl.

"No, no... get away, get away..." He dodged the hands of the people around him, "...This is my porridge."

His face was still clean, so Chunyue recognized him at a glance.

Su Bicheng's current predicament is entirely his own choice; he has no one to blame but himself for being too greedy.

They're like people who want more than what they have, always eyeing what's in their bowl. They already have immense wealth, but they're still not satisfied and want even more, without ever considering whether they deserve it.

"At the beginning of the year, he was still a decent person, but now he's really turned into this inhuman creature. It's truly heartbreaking," Chunyue sighed.

Gu Yu sneered. If you knew that your young lady hanged herself because of this man's broken promise, would you still feel sorry for this bastard?

Gu Yu glanced at him, then had the back door closed without lingering. "Qiuju, have you received anything over there?"

Because Qiuju is composed, she always takes her along when she goes out to meet people, so if someone wants to pass a message to her, they will probably only pass it to Qiuju.

Qiuju nodded. "Miss, I received a letter, but I don't recognize who delivered it. That person is quite skilled."

Gu Yu received the letter and the good news she had been waiting for: the people from the Eastern Depot had indeed found evidence in Zhu Huxi's house and had also arrested several suspicious thieves.

Fireworks lit up the sky, their light reflecting off her eyes like a blazing fire. She held up the letter to hide the smile on her lips.

Heaven rewards those who persevere.

From the 21st day of the apricot month in the 21st year of the Shengyuan era to the 29th day of the twelfth month in the 23rd year of the Shengyuan era, three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Her first enemy is finally going to die.

If we could pull out the radish and bring down Shen Xiuwen as well, that would be even better. But I'm afraid Shen Xiuwen is a cautious man, and this matter won't implicate him.

But now that his dog is dying, he's next.

She found a charcoal brazier and burned the letter, hoping that Yu Zhu's spirit in heaven could also know this good news.

Guanfu.

"Master, Madam requests your presence at the front hall for a banquet." Steward Xu forced himself to knock on the study door.

Inside the door, the lights flickered, and figures paced back and forth.

Get lost—

A fine celadon teacup slammed against the doorframe and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

"All they do is eat. Let them host their own banquet; I'm not going."

Guan Yiyun was already annoyed, and now that those ignorant women were still happily preparing for the New Year, he became even more irritated.

Not long after the poetry gathering ended, he received a poem protesting his innocence, which was surprisingly about the imperial examination cheating case from three years ago.

He couldn't sleep or eat properly because of the poem, and he even sent people to investigate all the candidates who came to the capital for the imperial examinations to see if they had any connection with the Tang family.

In addition, there were distant relatives of the Tang family who were not in Shengjing and were several generations removed from the capital. Guan Yiyun sent people to them, but to no avail.

The Tang family's only surviving daughter has been dead for almost two months.

This poem couldn't possibly have come from the underworld, could it?

Guan Yiyun had just sent a Taoist priest to exorcise the evil spirits when he encountered Zhu Huxi's affair. Zhu Huxi died at the Eastern Depot, but the things he had were not obtained.

There was still no news from the person he sent to his house, so he guessed something had happened. Thinking of this, he pushed open the door to his study and sent someone to fetch Xu Huaixiu.

"Prepare some gifts. Kuli had a set of writing implements left over from the previous dynasty, so we should add those. Also, add some antiques and paintings, as well as the jewelry and hairpins for the lady's family."

"I'm going to Minister Shen's residence tomorrow."

"I'll take care of it right away."

Xu Huaixiu breathed a sigh of relief when she learned that Guan Yiyun was looking for a powerful backer. As long as Lord Shen didn't fall, the Guan family might not fall so easily.

"Wait a little longer..."

Guan Yiyun had figured out his way out and relaxed. "Where is the newly arrived thirteenth concubine? Tell her not to stay up tonight. I'll go to her room to rest later."

"Master, Madam says the eldest young master is insisting that you go with him to set off fireworks, I'm afraid..."

Guan Yiyun waved his hand, "I won't go today. Tell Yu'er that I'll accompany him tomorrow."

He had no particular hobbies in his life except for beautiful women. The higher his official rank, the more beautiful women he collected in his mansion.

Now, the backyard is filled with beauties of all shapes and sizes. The newly arrived thirteenth concubine, surnamed Ye and named Wan'er, was presented to him by his subordinates.

She had beautiful, delicate features and a slender figure, which he liked very much. There was also a hint of stubbornness in her eyes, which often reminded him of someone.

The man originally regarded him as his backer, wanting him to redeem her from prostitution and to overturn the case against the Tang family. However, he only wanted her body, so he only made promises to her in bed.

Unfortunately, that person was too clever; she secretly memorized the ledger he always carried and then fell silent. He had no choice but to kill her.

After that, he dared not go to Yunxian Pavilion again.

He no longer remembered the man's name, only his eyes.

However, his hands are stained with the blood of many.

If gods and ghosts truly exist, shouldn't he have been punished long ago? Yet he's still alive and well.

Guan Yiyun entered Ye Wan'er's courtyard and, looking at her, somehow recalled the events of three years ago in his sleep.

The winter of the twentieth year of the Shengyuan era was truly cold.

He was over forty years old at that time, and his parents had passed away. He could only borrow money from the uncles and elders in the village, but his repeated failures in the exams made the villagers lose faith in him.

The imperial examination in the twenty-first year of the Shengyuan era was his last chance.

Before the imperial examination, he had used up all his travel money and collapsed on the street, hungry and cold. Just when he thought he was about to die, he met a benefactor—Tang Simiao.

Tang Simiao held a position in the Ministry of Personnel, but it was only a seventh-rank official, though still a respectable position in the capital.

When he went to the street to buy things for the New Year, he encountered Guan Yiyun, who had fainted and frozen in the wind and snow. He took pity on her and saved her.

Tang Simiao invited him to stay overnight. Although her family was poor, she treated Guan Yiyun as an honored guest and was willing to let him stay until the spring examination began.

Grateful for Tang Simiao's kindness, Guan Yiyun would teach the young master and young lady of the Tang family poetry and prose in his spare time.

The young master of the Tang family is still very young, only seven years old. He is clever and quick-witted, and is a good student.

The young lady of the Tang family was sixteen years old, pretty and delicate, but she disliked poetry and books and only wanted to find a way to go out disguised as a man.

The maid of Miss Tang, named Yuzhu, was very fond of poetry and literature. She would take Miss Tang's place and listen to Young Master Tang's lectures.

Yu Zhu had a graceful figure and an even more radiant appearance. Guan Yiyun was unsure when he had developed lewd thoughts towards her.

However, because he was staying at the Tang family's house, he dared not reveal anything.

He had participated in many scientific expeditions and knew there were shady dealings involved, so he went to see Tang Simiao on the eve of one of them.

Tang Simiao told him that the chief examiner this time was the Crown Prince's tutor, Gongsun Li, and the deputy examiner was Shen Xiuwen, who was renowned among the Qingliu faction. She reassured him that there would be no more injustices.

Tang Simiao also instructed him to take the visiting card to Shen Xiuwen and present it.

When he went to the Shen residence, Shen Xiuwen was not there. He only met Shen Changqing, who had just returned to the residence, so he could only hand over the collected and organized manuscripts to him.

Disappointed and dejected, he went to a restaurant to drink. As soon as he sat down at the nearby Xianyunju, he saw a man acting suspiciously and whispering in front of the scholar dressed in brocade robes. Soon after, the other scholars who were also candidates left Xianyunju.

He immediately followed secretly, never expecting that this act would completely change his fate.

The fireworks that lit up the city of Shengjing throughout the night gradually faded away at the end of the day, with only the scattered red firecracker fragments in the cracks of the bluestone slabs still exuding the lingering warmth of the New Year.

Guan Yiyun sat up abruptly from the brocade tent, his inner garment already soaked with cold sweat.

It turned out that the person's name was Yuzhu. He remembered that before she died, she fought desperately, biting his right thumb and refusing to let go, swallowing the jade ring he was wearing.

He originally wanted to dissect the body and retrieve the contents, but out of gratitude for Yuzhu's care during those days, he ultimately refrained from doing so.

Guan Yiyun glanced sideways at the sleeping beauty beside him. The woman's hair was disheveled on the pillow, and her nails, painted with narcissus, were still hooked with the tassels of the crimson curtains.

"What a strange dream." He quickly called the servants outside to come in and help him dress and wash.

Upon hearing the sound, Xu Huaixiu bowed and entered, bringing out a neatly ironed scarlet robe.

"Master, I've prepared everything you mentioned yesterday. When would you like to go?" Xu Huaixiu's voice was extremely low, but her eyes glanced at the faintly brightening sky outside the window. "The Shen residence..."

Guan Yiyun rinsed her mouth with the maid's hand, and while brushing her teeth with salt, she suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation. She waved her hand to interrupt, "I'm leaving at Chenchu, and my heart is pounding all the time."

After having a bowl of shredded chicken and white fungus soup, the sedan chair had already been carried through the three ceremonial gates.

The Shen Mansion is a five-bay, three-courtyard complex, with all buildings featuring hipped roofs covered in blue glazed tiles.

Guan Yiyun's sedan chair landed in front of the eight-character screen wall, where a gatekeeper came to greet him and lead the way.

The swastika-patterned railings of the covered walkway are all carved from nanmu wood, and a row of gilded, openwork bronze lamps hangs beneath the walkway. The main hall is adorned with a black plaque inscribed with gold thread that reads "Qing Shen Tang," a work personally written by Zhuang Liangsheng, the former Grand Secretary of the previous dynasty.

In the center stands a screen with a thousand horses on a rosewood base. The twelve panels are painted with galloping horses using lapis lazuli powder, and the saddles are all covered with gold leaf.

On the table with upturned ends in front of the screen, there is a Yuhuchun vase with an underglaze red dragon and wave pattern on the left and a Western mirror on the right. In the center, the pendulum of a Western white brass enamel clock ticks, which corresponds to the auspicious prophecy of "lifelong peace".