Chapter Twenty-Two
Time flies, and it's already the Mid-Autumn Festival. Gu Leyao has made the mooncakes in advance, and the fruits and vegetables from the field have all been stored in the cellar. She has nothing to do today.
She simply took out the "Huangdi Neijing" (Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic) and prepared to review the content she needed to learn in the next stage.
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic is written entirely in classical Chinese, which Gu Leyao found very difficult to read. To motivate herself, she tied a red cloth strip around her head with the words "Persistence is victory!" written on it.
"The best doctors treat illness before it occurs, not after it has occurred. This means that...a skilled doctor teaches people to prevent disease in advance, rather than treating it after the patient has become ill...This saying...all diseases arise from qi (vital energy). Anger causes qi to rise, joy causes qi to relax, grief causes qi to dissipate, fear causes qi to descend, cold causes qi to contract, heat causes qi to dissipate, fright causes qi to become disordered, overwork causes qi to be depleted, and excessive thinking causes qi to stagnate...This saying means that emotions affect health. It seems that I should not get angry in the future; I should make my enemies angry!" [1]
Gu Leyao studied this medical bible intermittently, losing track of time.
Chun Tao sat to one side, carefully sorting the harvested grains of the year, selecting the best varieties to keep for planting next year.
When Gu Leyao encountered a difficult passage, her brow furrowed, and she unconsciously bit the wooden part of the pen tip.
The afternoon sun gradually receded, replaced by the soft, warm afterglow of dusk.
The shadow of the jujube tree in front of the house grew longer and longer, casting fine, dappled shadows. A gentle breeze swept through the front hall, and the weather was already a bit chilly.
'Knock knock knock'
There was a knock on Gu Leyao's courtyard gate, and Chun Tao and Gu Leyao both looked out.
Chun Tao was sitting by the door. She stood up from the ground, intending to open the door.
She jogged to the courtyard gate, opened it, and found Brother Li Qi standing outside.
When Li Qi saw it was her, he patted the tuft of hair on Chun Tao's head and said, "Chun Tao, go back and change into your outdoor clothes with Consort Fei. Someone will come to pick you up in a carriage soon."
"Will a carriage come to pick us up later? Where are we going?"
Chun Tao didn't understand what Li Qi meant and wanted to ask again, but Li Qi quickly walked away after saying the word.
Chun Tao couldn't catch up with him, so she could only sheepishly go back into the house.
Chuntao recounted the conversation to Gu Leyao and then asked, "Miss, what did Brother Li Qi mean by that?"
She whispered to Gu Leyao, like a little sparrow chirping.
Gu Leyao didn't understand what Li Qi was going to do, but Li Qi was a guard who had gone through thick and thin with Li Heng for many years, so he shouldn't do anything to harm them.
A thought suddenly popped into her mind: Could it be that Li Heng instructed Li Qi to do this?
It must be Li Heng. Li Qi is a person who follows the rules. Why would he ask them to change their clothes before going out?
But what did Li Heng want to do by calling them out?
Gu Leyao and Chun Tao changed into their outdoor clothes. Since they were going to be out and about, Gu Leyao didn't wear the formal attire for noblewomen that she would wear when entering the palace. Instead, she wore a set of casual clothes that were both convenient and beautiful.
She wore a pomegranate-red silk skirt embroidered with floral, bird, and fish patterns, a pale white shawl with gold brocade and tie-dye, and a pink hibiscus stone and camellia crown on her head. She had bright eyes and a charming smile.
Chun Tao also put on a new peach-colored outfit, looking cute and festive, like a big, pink and soft peach.
When the time came, Gu Leyao took Chun Tao out, and the coachman was already waiting in front of the Prince's Mansion.
Gu Leyao and Chun Tao got into the carriage, lifted the curtain and looked out. It was already dark, but there were smiling people everywhere. Various colorful lanterns were hung on the doors of the shops, and the whole place was brightly lit, illuminating most of the night.
The carriage had been traveling for an unknown amount of time when the population gradually thinned out.
Gu Leyao felt a little uneasy. Where had they gotten to? Why couldn't they see anyone anymore?
She went to call the coachman, "Where should we stop? Where is the prince waiting for us?"
The driver appeared to be a robust, composed man in his thirties.
Under the moonlight, Gu Leyao could see a scar on his face, stretching across half of his face from the corner of his left eye to his neck.
The coachman flashed a bright smile, revealing a pair of white teeth. "Your Highness, please hold on tight. The Prince is waiting for us up ahead. We'll be there in a quarter of an hour!"
Chun Tao looked at the driver's face and was a little scared. She quietly tugged at Gu Leyao's sleeve and asked, "Miss, he has a big injury on his face. Does it hurt?"
The coachman overheard Chun Tao muttering softly, "This wound is from a few years ago in the northern frontier. That Liang man was quite tall and rode a big horse. I fought him, and he left this wound on my face. I took his life." He then burst into laughter.
How could this person talk about war so casually? Chun Tao felt even more frightened and didn't dare to utter a sound.
The carriage traveled for a while longer before stopping in front of a tall, dark wall.
The coachman said to Gu Leyao, "Your Highness and that young lady can get out of the carriage now. We've arrived at our destination. The Prince is waiting for you upstairs."
Gu Leyao and Chun Tao thanked him, and both of them put on veils. They followed the coachman, passing through checkpoints, and finally stopped at a high platform.
Li Heng was waiting for them on the high platform. He waved to Gu Leyao from his wheelchair, "Leyao, you're here. You must be hungry after the journey, right? There's food here, have something to eat first. We'll be staying here for a long time tonight, don't go hungry."
Gu Leyao washed her hands first, took a piece of pastry for herself, and then gave two pieces to Chun Tao. The little girl was so frightened by the burly coachman with a somewhat fierce face that she didn't dare to utter a sound.
After Gu Leyao finished eating the pastry, she walked over to Li Heng and reached out to take his hand. "Where is this? Why did you call me here?"
In fact, Gu Leyao had some guesses in her mind. This place seemed to be a military stronghold because no one lived around here. When they came in, they had passed through many checkpoints.
Li Heng grasped Gu Leyao's hand and felt the warmth of her palm. "Leyao, this is the highest point in the capital."
Looking south, you can see the bustling life of Beijing; looking north, you can see the cold, windswept frontier. I used to always gaze at the northern frontier from here.
Gu Leyao was about to say something when Li Heng suddenly gripped her hand and said, "Leyao, close your eyes first, count to ten silently in your mind, and then open your eyes."
Li Heng's eyes shone like stars in the sky. Gu Leyao instinctively obeyed his words and closed her eyes, then silently counted to ten in her mind: nine... three, two, one...
Bang! Bang! Bang! Loud noises echoed in the sky, and countless fireworks burst into bloom. Gu Leyao could even hear the cheers of countless people in the capital.
Fireworks lit up the entire night sky. Gu Leyao watched the fireworks and shouted to Li Heng, "Did you have this prepared for me?"
Li Heng nodded. "The Shenji Battalion conducts a major training exercise every three months, and I changed the date of this exercise to today. I gave the soldiers on duty today an extra month's pay so they could stay home yesterday and celebrate the holiday with their families in advance."
Gu Leyao's eyes were filled with colorful sparks and light. She smiled and said loudly to Li Heng, "This is absolutely the best Mid-Autumn Festival I've ever seen. I have my own family now, and he set off a grand fireworks display that the whole city could see for me!"
Gu Leyao whispered in Li Heng's ear, "Thank you, I'm really, really, really happy today."
She said "happy" three times in a row, and Li Heng seemed to be infected by her smile, saying softly, "I'm happy today too."
He had fought on the battlefield since his youth, losing too many brothers and comrades, and had long since lost the ability to be happy. But seeing her genuine smile, he could actually feel joy.
Li Heng stroked Gu Leyao's waist-length hair, his heart overflowing with tenderness.
Thank you, Le Yao. I never imagined that your arrival would change my life so much.
A man like me should have died with my brothers in the northern frontier, but I was lucky enough to survive, only losing both my legs. I had thought about dying countless times, but because of your arrival, I want to try to live.
The fireworks outside were still going off. Gu Leyao looked at Li Heng's gentle and handsome face, which was as delicate as a pear blossom. Suddenly, she covered herself and Li Heng with her veil, lowered her head, and kissed him fiercely.
Li Heng was stunned by her sudden movement and remained motionless.
This was also Gu Leyao's first time kissing someone. Li Heng was so handsome that she thought she might as well kiss him as much as she wanted. After a long while, she finally straightened up, still feeling unsatisfied.
Li Heng was so exhausted by her that his face turned red and his breathing became erratic.
Chun Tao was sitting to the side, holding a plate and eating pastries, like a little squirrel, filling her mouth to the brim. Suddenly, she saw Gu Leyao forcibly kissing Li Heng. She almost choked to death, but Li Qi was quick-witted and slapped Chun Tao hard on the back twice.
Chun Tao coughed and coughed for a long time before finally saying, "Brother Li Qi, I didn't see wrong just now, did I? Our young lady forcibly kissed the prince. This...this is outrageous!"
The phrase "what kind of behavior is this?" was learned by Chun Tao from the butler.
The steward was a farmer's son who joined the army halfway through his life. After becoming the steward of the prince's mansion, he devoted himself to becoming a cultured person.
He recently learned the phrase "what kind of behavior is this?" and he keeps using it all the time.
The butler had never married in his life, and had no wife or children, so he simply raised Chun Tao as his granddaughter.
Chuntao has been hearing him use the phrase "what kind of behavior is this?" a lot lately, and after hearing it so often, she finds herself using it herself from time to time.
Li Qi's eyes twitched for a moment before he calmly said to Chun Tao, "You're making a fuss over nothing, aren't you? Actually, this kind of thing is very common in the capital."
Chun Tao took a big gulp of tea. She lowered her head, reflected for a while, and realized that she was from the countryside and lacked experience. So she nodded in agreement and said, "Brother Li Qi, you are much more knowledgeable. I'm not like that. I'm from the countryside. People in the capital have so many ways of doing things. I don't know any of them."
A melancholy expression appeared on Chun Tao's fair and delicate round face. She really wanted to become a true-blue Beijinger!
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