It's a deal.
Someone recognized the newcomer and was so shocked that they were about to kneel down, but were stopped by a gentle look from the other person.
Xiao Chengyan didn't disturb anyone. He quietly walked to the newly built waterwheel in the backyard, rolled up his sleeves, and started adjusting it himself.
After answering a few questions, Gu Jinghong's gaze inadvertently swept across the backyard and settled on the figure in black.
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, quickly replaced by a gentler smile. She said "Excuse me" to the people in front of her, then walked through the crowd toward him.
"Why are you here?" Her voice held a lightness she herself didn't realize. "Weren't you supposed to be reviewing the canal transport regulations for Jiangbei today?"
Xiao Chengyan raised his head, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat that glistened in the spring sunlight.
He looked at her with gentle eyes: "The regulations have been approved. I thought I'd come and check on your business since it's opening today."
Gu Jinghong knew that Emperor Xiao Chengyan, who was in charge of the affairs of the Great Yong Dynasty, would not come to see her so easily as he claimed. He must have planned for a long time and considered the balance of power among all parties.
He casually reached out and gently wiped away a speck of wood that had somehow gotten stuck on the tip of her nose with his fingertip. He then pointed to the large machine beside him. “I’ve looked at the blueprints for this waterwheel and I think we could add a locking mechanism at the axle to make it more stable and less prone to shifting when it rotates. But I wonder… what Mr. Gu thinks of my amateurish opinion?”
His tone was somewhat teasing, but his eyes were bright and sparkling, like a boy waiting for praise.
Gu Jinghong was slightly taken aback. She looked down and carefully examined the spot he was pointing to. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "You're right! I didn't think things through before. I was only thinking about saving materials and neglected the wear and tear from long-term use."
She looked up at him, a smile spreading from the corners of her lips to the depths of her eyes, "It seems that Your Highness is not entirely ignorant of these mechanisms."
Xiao Chengyan chuckled, took the spinning machine part she was using for demonstration, and held it for her quite naturally. "A qualified apprentice is nothing. You've been busy all morning, are you tired? I've had some of your favorite tea and snacks prepared in the back room."
Sunlight filtered through the tiny water droplets stirred up by the waterwheel, refracting into a small rainbow that enveloped the two people standing side by side.
...
In the winter of the thirty-second year of the Chengqian reign, the emperor died.
Emperor Xiao Chengyan ascended the throne and established the reign title "Yan Hong".
During the period of national mourning, weddings and celebrations are prohibited for twenty-seven months. Xiao Chengyan and Gu Jinghong tacitly put aside their wedding plans, each focusing on the myriad political and professional matters at hand.
Gu Jinghong spent most of his time at the Gu Mansion outside the palace, devoting himself to Jinghongwu and promoting the ingenious mechanical arts to Dayong and even more distant places, benefiting all people.
Xiao Chengyan was busy stabilizing the court and reforming the bureaucracy, burying himself in mountains of memorials every day.
He adhered to etiquette and respected Gu Jinghong, never mentioning the marriage proposal again after it was rejected. He would often ride out of the palace in the cool of the night after reviewing memorials, heading to the place where she was, a place filled with the scent of wood and the warmth of everyday life, seeking a moment of peace.
However, as Jinghongwu's fame spread and its business expanded to various countries, Gu Jinghong inevitably came into contact with prominent figures from surrounding powers.
That evening, Xiao Chengyan finally escaped his heavy official duties and arrived at the Gu residence under the moonlight. Before he even entered, he heard a burst of hearty laughter coming from the courtyard, mixed with Gu Jinghong's rare, relaxed and cheerful response.
He paused slightly, walked around the screen wall, and saw Gu Jinghong standing side by side with the Western Regions prince in front of an unfolded design drawing under the courtyard lamp.
The prince's golden hair shone brightly under the lamplight. He was leaning over, pointing to a spot on the blueprint, almost touching Gu Jinghong's shoulder. His voice was full of pride: "...Mr. Gu, this plan is brilliant! If we use this method to forge the mechanism, the efficiency will surely increase by another 30%! Your talent truly amazes me!"
Gu Jinghong was clearly engrossed in discussing the technology and didn't seem to notice the overly intimate distance. A lingering smile played on his lips. "Your Highness flatters me. This method also requires the cooperation of your country's unique cold iron. If your country could increase the supply of cold iron by thirty percent, then Jinghong Dock would certainly double your country's strength. In that case..."
Before she could finish speaking, she felt the light beside her dim, and a figure in black had already stepped between her and the Crown Prince of the Western Regions, just enough to separate them from the close distance.
Xiao Chengyan's expression was calm, with even a faint smile playing on his lips, but his gaze was sharp as a knife as he lightly swept over the hand of the Western Regions Crown Prince that had almost touched Gu Jinghong's shoulder.
"It seems I've arrived at an inopportune time, disturbing your enjoyment." His voice was gentle, yet carried an air of authority. He naturally reached out and put his arm around Gu Jinghong's waist, pulling her closer to his side.
Xiao Chengyan looked at Gu Jinghong with tender eyes: "Jinghong, have you had dinner? When I was reviewing memorials, I remembered that you said you didn't have a good appetite the other day, so I specially asked the imperial kitchen to prepare some light soups for you."
—"This King," "I," "Imperial Kitchen"—the Crown Prince of the Western Regions heard these words very clearly, knowing that this Emperor of the Great Yong had come to assert his sovereignty.
He sensed the silent warning, and the warm smile on his face froze for a moment. Then, he casually cupped his hands and smiled, "So it is His Majesty who has arrived. I was impolite. Since His Majesty and Mr. Gu have business to attend to, I will take my leave now. We can discuss the blueprints another day."
After seeing the guests off, only the two of them remained in the courtyard. Gu Jinghong looked up at him, a half-smile on her face: "Your Majesty's temper today seems even hotter than the soup?"
Xiao Chengyan did not loosen his grip on her waist. He looked down at her, and the displeasure he had been suppressing finally surfaced in his eyes: "Where does my anger come from? You don't know?"
He snorted, "This is the third time this month that I have come under the moonlight, only to find you chatting happily with this 'enthusiastic and unrestrained' Crown Prince, or that 'wise and insightful' Prime Minister of Nanzhao, talking late into the night by candlelight."
Gu Jinghong chuckled: "Your Majesty, I selected all those faces; their features all resemble yours."
He pulled her closer to him with force, and the two were pressed tightly together. Gu Jinghong could feel his warm breath on her ear.
"It is precisely because of this similarity that my patience is so limited."
Gu Jinghong looked up at him: "...Then how about finding someone completely different?"
"You dare?!"
His voice, a mix of sourness and anger, accompanied by a breath that was forcibly suppressed by gentleness, revealed a rare childlike quality in his expression: "Ah Hong, my patience is also limited."
Gu Jinghong found it amusing, yet also subtly sweet, to see his rare display of jealousy, tinged with a touch of childishness.
She deliberately said, "All business dealings at Jinghongwu are legitimate. His Majesty personally promised me my freedom."
"I grant you freedom, but I don't permit them to use 'official business' as an excuse to cause trouble! If they dare to do this again, don't blame my iron cavalry... It just so happens that I'm quite interested in the mineral resources of the southwest region."
He practically gritted his teeth as he uttered those words, then tightened his arms around her, holding her firmly in his embrace, and lowered his head to capture her smiling lips.
The kiss was fueled by pent-up jealousy, unease, and intense possessiveness. It forcefully pried open her teeth, penetrated deep inside, and lingered on her lips.
Gu Jinghong was caught off guard by his sudden attack. She pressed her hand against his chest with a little force, but it gradually softened under his hot breath and irresistible strength.
The courtyard was dimly lit, casting their intertwined figures on the wall, making them difficult to distinguish from one another.
...
After that day, Xiao Chengyan no longer only visited at night.
He practically "stayed" at the Gu residence, handling some urgent government affairs directly in Gu Jinghong's study.
After reviewing memorials for a while, he would look up at her as she drew blueprints. If guests came to visit, he would sit calmly in the main seat and entertain them as the host. The invisible imperial pressure and the posture of declaring sovereignty made all the young talents, powerful ministers, and royal relatives feel pressured, and the frequency of their visits quietly decreased.
Gu Jinghong found this both infuriating and amusing.
That evening, after seeing off the somewhat flustered Prime Minister of Nanzhao, Gu Jinghong returned to her study and sighed helplessly as she looked at the Emperor, who was solemnly flipping through the mechanical diagrams on her desk.
"Does Your Majesty intend to turn my Gu residence into your temporary palace as well?"
Xiao Chengyan raised his head, put down the map, walked to her side, reached out and pulled her into his arms, gently resting his chin on the top of her head, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible grievance and self-righteousness: "My empress is here every day, so naturally I should be here too."
Gu Jinghong chuckled in his arms, poking his firm chest with her fingertip: "The national mourning period is not over yet, when did I become your empress? You were the one who promised me my freedom."
"I granted you freedom, but I didn't grant them permission to come and get in my way every day." He was unreasonable but also arrogant, and he tightened his grip on her arm.
Gu Jinghong wanted to argue, but she felt the strength of his embrace and the unease hidden beneath his feigned composure. She knew he was busy with state affairs and traveled every day, and she also knew that for an emperor to be so accommodating and jealous during his mourning period was already quite remarkable.
Her heart softened, and she lowered her tone: "Then what does Your Majesty wish to do?"
Xiao Chengyan lowered his head, his gaze fixed intently on her, filled with long-suppressed emotions.
“Ah Hong, once the mourning period for the emperor is over, I will marry you. I want you to stand by my side rightfully, so that the whole world will know that you are my empress, my only wife, Xiao Chengyan.”
She parted her red lips slightly, about to say something, but was stopped by Xiao Chengyan's finger.
Then he cupped her face in his hands, his fingertips caressing her cheeks: "I know you aspire to live beyond the palace walls. I promise you, after our marriage you will still be Mr. Gu of Jinghongwu, free to enter and leave the palace, and do whatever you want. I will never confine you to the small space of the inner palace."
“I have only one small request,” he said in a low voice, with a hint of cautious expectation, “come back to the palace after nightfall, okay? Let me know that no matter how far you fly during the day, you will always return home at night. I promise I will never interfere with anything you do during the day.”
Seeing the weariness and deep affection in his eyes, Gu Jinghong's heart softened completely—he always understood her so well, even when she didn't say anything.
She hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded gently under his anxious gaze.
"Alright. I will marry you after the mourning period ends. No matter how late it is afterward, I will definitely return to the palace."
A bright light instantly shone in Xiao Chengyan's eyes, as if the moon had been revealed after the clouds had parted. He chuckled softly, his joy overflowing, and couldn't help but plant a solemn kiss on her lips.
"It's a deal!"
The End
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