"Sister, I will leave the capital with the eldest prince tomorrow morning. Don't worry, I will be careful." Gu Yuan raised his hand and rubbed the soft top of Gu Yanfei's head. Between his eyebrows was a gentle smile that outsiders could not see on his face on weekdays.
The room was in a mess, with several bundles spread out on the Luohan bed, and outer robes, middle clothes, shoes, socks, gold armor, etc. all packed up in a mess.
"I'll see you off tomorrow morning." Gu Yanfei leaned lazily against the window, playing with a pair of ten-inch long Emei spears in his hands.
Made of fine steel, the Emei Spear has sharp ends, shaped like a spear head, with a ring in the middle.
She put the ring on the middle fingers of both hands, and her fingers flexibly rotated the small Emei spear, which flashed with a cold light.
This was something Gu Yuan had just given her today. She was enjoying it and was playing with it with great interest, with the corners of her mouth slightly curled up.
Gu Yanfei turned the pair of Emei spears twice more and shook her hands lightly. The Emei spears were hidden in her wide sleeves and disappeared as if by magic.
"Do you like it?" Gu Yuan asked Gu Yanfei with a smile.
This pair of Emei spears was originally made by a craftsman for Fan Beiran to play with. He showed it off to Gu Yuan yesterday. Gu Yuan thought that the Emei spears were small and very suitable for women, so he spent money to buy them.
Gu Yanfei nodded and smiled: "I like it!"
"Jiao Niang will definitely like it too. I'll give it to her to play with next time."
She raised her right wrist slightly, and an Emei spear appeared in her hand again.
The silver light of the Emei Spear reflected on her face and eyes, making her black pupils especially bright and rippling.
A young girl does not need any makeup or jewelry, just a smile is like thousands of delicate flowers blooming.
Gu Yuan's narrow eyes slightly curved. He knew his sister would like it!
Wutong was packing Gu Yuan's luggage, but his expression was indescribable.
Other young masters gave their sisters cloth, jewelry, chess and music, etc., but their eldest young master was different! But the second young lady actually liked the gift given by the eldest young master. They are really siblings! They are worthy of being the blood of the Gu family!
Juanbi, who was serving tea and snacks to the brother and sister, was no longer surprised.
The girl had so many weapons that she could have set up an armory. There were short swords and muskets given by the eldest prince, whips given by the eldest princess of Fengyang, ox-horn bows, long swords, and red tasseled spears given by the eldest young master...
The girls from other families played with music, chess, calligraphy, painting and needlework, while the girls from our family played with talisman paper, compasses, tortoise shells, elixirs, silver needles, weapons and so on.
The eldest young master and the eldest prince both spoil the girl.
Juanbi smiled happily, feeling quite proud and happy.
"Oh, right." Gu Yanfei smiled and clapped his hands. "Jiao Niang just sent a pair of bear paws this morning, saying that her third brother had hunted two black bears in the mountains. I have asked the kitchen to make honey-steamed bear paws. I have never eaten bear paws before."
"Brother, wait until you have dinner before leaving."
"Yeah." Gu Yuan responded softly.
He liked listening to his sister talking about family matters, and the smile between his brows deepened. He was already thinking that when he came back, he would go into the mountains to hunt a bear for his sister.
Wait for him to come back...
A sharp light flashed across Gu Yuan's eyes, and he changed the subject: "Yan Fei, are you really going to the Imperial Mausoleum?"
Gu Yanfei nodded, her long eyelashes fluttering.
Gu Yuan frowned slightly, pursed his thin lips into a straight line, and looked worried.
When he doesn't smile, his face looks a little cold.
He seemed to be hesitant to speak, but in the end he did not open his mouth to stop her.
Gu Yanfei added in a brisk tone: "The Grand Princess Fengyang will also go, and I will follow her."
Outsiders may not know, but Gu Yanfei knows very well that Fengyang's health is getting worse day by day...
Wutong skillfully prepared the luggage, checked it again, and tied it up. "Master, everything is packed. Do you want to take a look?"
Gu Yuan dismissed Wutong casually and was about to give Gu Yanfei some instructions when she said, "Brother, there is still something missing from your bag."
Meeting his sister's playful and clever eyes, Gu Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly and asked cooperatively, "What's missing?"
Gu Yanfei reached into his sleeve, and this time, what he took out was not the Emei Spear, but a royal blue purse.
"Here." Gu Yanfei stuffed the purse into Gu Yuan's hand, "It contains some commonly used pills, ointments and so on. I have written the uses of these medicines on a piece of paper inside."
"These are all medicines I made myself. They are very effective!"
"Brother, you must keep it close to you."
Gu Yanfei instructed carefully, with a look of complacency on her fair little face and a sparkle in her eyes.
Gu Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at the purse in his palm. His heart felt as if it was gently tickled by a feather. He was filled with a warm emotion and a smile could not stop overflowing from his eyes.
He clasped his fingers together, held the purse in his palm, and his eyes revealed the pleasure of being favored.
As expected, his sister is still closest to him as the eldest brother. He has it, but the eldest prince doesn't! Gu Yuan rubbed the top of Gu Yanfei's head again and said meaningfully: "When I come back, I will bring you a big gift. You wait for me obediently in the capital."
"Yeah." Gu Yanfei responded with a smile.
Be as well-behaved as possible.
The brother and sister had dinner together, and then Gu Yuan left and hurried back to the palace before curfew.
Originally, Gu Yuan was very busy on duty at the Jinwu Guard, and today he was packing his luggage to return home to say goodbye to his sister. He will stay in the classroom in the palace tonight.
The capital city seemed unusually quiet and calm that night.
Early the next morning, the eldest prince's procession left the capital in a grand procession along with the Yue envoys.
As the matter concerned the marriage between the two countries, Chu Yi brought with him more than a dozen carriages of betrothal gifts and headed south to the State of Yue to propose marriage to Princess Ximing. The betrothal gifts were of course quite generous, including not only gold and silver jewelry, antique paintings and calligraphy, silk fabrics, furniture and utensils, but also hundreds of fine horses, which seemed very grand.
Gu Yanfei found a restaurant near the South Gate to see Chu Yi and Gu Yuan off. In addition to her, many common people heard the news that the eldest prince was leaving for Yue State today, and also ran to the city gate to see him off.
The area around the city gate was extremely lively and noisy, and after a long period of noise, the crowd dispersed.
During this period, the busiest people in the capital were probably the officials of the Ministry of Rites. After seeing off the eldest prince and his entourage, the Ministry of Rites immediately began preparing for the sacrificial ceremonies at the imperial mausoleum.
Time was really tight and the Ministry of Rites was very busy.
Because Gu Yanfei would also accompany Fengyang, the Ministry of Rites specially sent the ceremonial program to her for her to see.
On April 15th, Gu Yanfei arrived at the princess's mansion in Fengyang at dawn, and the gatekeeper let her in without asking for permission.
"Second Miss Gu, His Highness hasn't woken up yet. I'll take you to His Highness's room." Fengyang's confidante Ruosu came to greet Gu Yanfei in person and led her towards the main courtyard.
In the past half month, Gu Yanfei has been a frequent visitor to the princess's mansion. She is very familiar with the place and can come and go freely. There is no place she cannot go.
Everyone in the princess's mansion was very polite to Gu Yanfei, even respectful.
Ruosu is a martial artist, and compared to other women, she has a more dashing and heroic air. When she walks, her steps are light yet steady.
Ruosu frowned deeply, unable to hide her worry for Fengyang.
Gu Yanfei said nothing as he followed Ruosu through various doors and arrived at the inner room of the main courtyard.
The room was filled with a faint scent of soothing incense.
Walking around a five-panel rosewood screen, Gu Yanfei saw Fengyang lying quietly on the bunk bed.
Feng Yang, covered with a thin dark red quilt, closed his eyes tightly. In the dim bed curtains, his face looked pale. Even when Gu Yanfei approached, Feng Yang did not move and was still sleeping.
“Your Highness, Your Highness…”
Gu Yanfei called out softly twice, and the sleeping Fengyang's eyelids moved a few times before he slowly opened his eyes. His cloudy eyeballs were a little blurry, but soon his eyes became sharp again.
As she lay there, she looked even thinner than usual.
"Yan Fei." Feng Yang called out softly, his voice a little hoarse and weak from just waking up, his brows slightly furrowed.
Even without checking Feng Yang's pulse, Gu Yanfei could find that Feng Yang's vitality was rapidly draining away within a few days...
Fengyang's health was getting worse day by day. As time went by, a few days ago, when Gu Yanfei came to the princess's mansion to see her, she could sit and stand, talk and laugh, just like a normal person.
But now, she has...
Gu Yanfei's half-closed eyes were as deep as a well.
Ruosu in the back also looked at Fengyang and felt very heartbroken.
They all knew that Fengyang was ill, and the disease was severe, like a dam collapsing.
Fengyang has been very calm, saying that she has no regrets in life and has no fear of death; she neither seeks life nor death, and is not tired of the world nor afraid of death.
Ruosu pursed her lips tightly, trying to suppress the sadness and powerlessness in her heart. Seeing Fengyang trying to stand up with the help of his elbows, Ruosu quickly took a step forward and wanted to support him.
"Don't get up." Gu Yanfei quickly pushed Feng Yang back, "I'll give you acupuncture first."
So Fengyang stopped moving.
The head palace maid quickly prepared the candles for burning the needles, unfolded the needle bag, and came over to help Gu Yanfei.
As the candlelight lit up, the originally dim inner room became much brighter.
The silver needles and the silver earrings on Gu Yanfei's earlobes sparkled in the candlelight.
Gu Yanfei skillfully began to give Feng Yang acupuncture. His right hand swept across Feng Yang's face, and the first silver needle landed on the philtrum...
She took out the needle, burned the needle, and inserted the needle quickly and accurately. She seemed not to be looking at it much, but the needle was placed in exactly the right position.
The series of movements were as smooth as flowing water, without any pause.
Ruosu has seen it many times with her own eyes, but she is still amazed every time.
There were still seven needles, exactly the same number, to seal Fengyang's seven orifices.
Ruosu counted silently in her heart. When she counted to twenty-one, she saw that Fengyang's pale face gradually regained color, as if time had reversed and the flowers that were about to wither were regaining their vitality little by little.
After Gu Yanfei finished the needle treatment, Fengyang threw off the quilt and got up from the bed. Ruosu and the senior palace maid quickly helped her to dress, comb her hair, and put on makeup.
They were used to doing this on a daily basis, and their movements were extremely fast. In just one stick of incense, they had even combed Fengyang's hair into a bun, making her hairstyle dignified and simple.
Gu Yanfei did not avoid it either, but sat beside and watched, pointing to a jadeite phoenix hairpin in the box and said, "Let His Highness wear this hairpin I gave you today."
Some time ago, Gu Yanfei became fascinated with carving. He not only carved a jade hairpin, a small seal and a jade ring for Chu Yi, but also carved some small gadgets for Gu Yuan, Feng Yang and others.
What she gave to Fengyang was this jade phoenix hairpin. She did everything herself, from selecting the materials, drawing the drawings to carving. There was also a magic circle engraved on the hairpin.
The senior palace maid took out the jade hairpin from the box and put it on Fengyang. Gu Yanfei smiled and brought out the mercury mirror for Fengyang to look at.
"It looks good, right?" Gu Yanfei said proudly.
Fengyang looked at the familiar face in the mirror, raised his hand to adjust the jade hairpin, and stroked his cheek.
Her originally cold cheeks and fingertips now had some warmth again, and she looked no different from a normal person, completely different from the haggard look she had when she was sleeping just now.
"You have a good vision and good craftsmanship." Feng Yang looked up and smiled at Gu Yanfei.
Gu Yanfei was pleased and laughed with great joy. He also felt that he had excellent taste. "My taste is indeed good!"
Whether looking at things or people.
Thinking of someone who was not in the capital at the moment, her smile became brighter and more charming, and even her cheeks were tinged with a glow. In the candlelight, she looked like a beautiful jade.
At this time, Ruosu, who had just gone out, came back and said with a smile, "Your Highness, breakfast is here. Do you want to serve it?"
Feng Yang actually didn't have a good appetite, so he turned around and asked Gu Yanfei, "You came so early, have you had breakfast?"
Gu Yanfei chuckled: "Your Highness really understands me. I came here specifically to enjoy the breakfast prepared by Chef Zhang."
The chefs in charge of the princess's kitchen are the imperial chefs bestowed by the emperor on Fengyang. One is good at dishes and the other is good at dim sum. Gu Yanfei especially likes the dim sum made by imperial chef Zhang, so he often comes to the princess's kitchen to eat dim sum.
Now, Ruosu also knew Fengyang's answer, and quickly asked someone to serve the meal.
It is not yet the hour of Chen, but the sun is already rising outside. The morning air is exceptionally fresh, and the chirping of sparrows can be heard from time to time in the wind.
After breakfast, the two went out immediately. Gu Yanfei got on Fengyang's red-wheeled carriage, and the two of them first went to Chengtian Gate.
Because the emperor was going to the imperial mausoleum to worship his ancestors today, the carriages and horses of the officials accompanying him were waiting in the square in front of the palace gate.
Seeing Fengyang's red-wheeled carriage approaching, the imperial guards at the palace gate stepped forward to maintain order, and the officials' carriages and horses moved aside.
Outside the carriage, a eunuch called out in a drawn-out voice, "Her Royal Highness Princess Fengyang has arrived!"
Fengyang got off the red-wheeled carriage with the help of Ruosu.
Under the glow of the rising sun, the old woman, who is nearly 70 years old, stands as tall and straight as a pine or cypress. Although she is old, her eyes are wise and sharp. When people look at her, they can't help but ignore the wrinkles on her face, and only pay attention to those exceptionally bright and intimidating eyes, and her aura of majesty without anger.
When her eyes swept across the surroundings, there was a kind of royal majesty in her, as if she was looking down at her ministers from the clouds, majestic as ever.
"Greetings to Her Royal Highness Princess Fengyang."
All the ministers couldn't help but lower their heads in admiration, bowed and saluted, with different thoughts in their minds.
Ever since Fengyang wrote to the emperor last month to request that the eldest prince be made the crown prince, many people have linked the appointment of the crown prince to the fact that Fengyang had previously suffered a serious illness in the palace. They suspect that Fengyang is dying and wants to help the emperor appoint a crown prince while he is still alive.
But now seeing Fengyang's energetic appearance, everyone's doubts were put to rest.
(End of this chapter)