Princess and the General

Yu Fu Disappeared!
Yue Hu stood to the side with an awkward look on his face, as she shrugged at Yu Fu.

“I advised Lord Marquis Gu not to get out of bed and come here, but he refused to listen. He insisted on coming to see what you were planning…”

The three stood in a line and faced Gu HuaiJiang as if they were children that had done something wrong. None of them dared to speak.

They knew that Gu HuaiJiang would refuse to agree if he knew what they were doing. He would even go so far as to stop them.

Gu HuaiJiang raised his cane forward, and Yue Hu stepped forward to support him, “Please take your time, take your time.”

She was taking the stance of trying to help them out.

Gu HuaiJiang knew that she looked like a beautiful woman but was actually a man, thus he did not concern himself with matters concerning the intimacy between men and women.

He glanced at the three and then turned his focus on Gu HanMo’s face, “It’s the middle of the night. What are you leading your brother and sister into doing?”

“I…”

Gu HuaiJiang was good at choosing people. He chose Gu HanMo, who was not good at lying, but the latter did not dare speak the truth and could only fall silent.

“What is it? Father asked you a question. Why do you not dare answer?”

Gu HanMo gritted his teeth and said: “Father, regardless of what son did, it was for the sake of protecting you, protecting Marquis Gu’s Manor, and protecting the Gu family’s army. Son…”

“Smack!”

Gu HuaiJiang threw his cane to the side and quickly slapped Gu HanMo across the face. A great deal of force was put into this slap and caused his head to be twisted to the side.

“Third brother!”

Yu Fu and Gu WenQing quickly went to support him, not daring to believe that such a loving and kind father would actually raise his hand and strike someone, and the one who was struck was none other than the filial Gu HanMo.

Gu WenQing immediately kneeled, “Father, don’t hit third brother! This idea was not third brother’s alone. It was also mine!”

Yu Fu also knelt, “Head general, I was the one who suggested seeking out the loyal generals in court for help. Third brother and fourth brother both listened to me, and that’s why they went. You know that they would never oppose any of my suggestions!”

She took all of the responsibility onto herself, and Yue Hu furrowed her brow. She wondered: would Gu HuaiJiang also hit Yu Fu?

Gu HuaiJiang just stood there and did not speak.

After a long pause, he raised his head and looked up at the moon. The half moon hung in the sky and illuminated his face, making him look much older.

He slowly closed his eyes and slowly said: “Even if I die, I, Gu HuaiJiang, will never do something like rebel against the ruler. You are sons of Marquis Gu’s Manor. Could it be that the word loyalty no longer exists in your hearts?”

Everyone fell silent.

What Gu HuaiJiang had said was not wrong. They were choosing to rise up and rebel for the sake of preserving Marquis Gu’s Manor. At its core, this was a sort of treason. In the future, historians would certainly say that Marquis Gu’s Manor was guilty of treason.

Gu HanMo fell to his knees with a thump, “Father, son was wrong. Son promises you that even if the executioner’s blade is resting on your neck, son absolutely won’t do anything that could tarnish Marquis Gu’s Manor’s reputation.”

Gu HuaiJiang slowly bent down and helped the three up. In the end, he left into the dark night without saying anything.

After he left, he glanced at Yue Hu with a vague expression, and the latter faintly nodded.

Seeing that the three had ugly expressions, Yue Hu laughed, “It’s already so late. You two should get back. I will escort Yu Fu back to the Western Wing. Go ahead!”

Once Gu HanMo and Gu WenQing left, Yue Hu let out a sigh, “Yu Fu, what do you plan on doing now?”

Yu Fu dejectedly lowered her head, “I still haven’t thought it through. Head General expressed his dissatisfaction with the late emperor a few days ago, directly calling His Majesty a foolish ruler. I thought that he would no longer be loyal to such a foolish ruler, but I underestimated…”

“You underestimated Marquis Gu’s loyalty toward country and ruler. Is that it? You are not originally from Eastern Ling, and you developed an unruly temperament from growing up in Immortals Valley. Naturally, you won’t have the same way of thinking as Marquis Gu. Think about it. He has been loyal to Eastern Ling’s court for his entire life. Even if young emperor Ning is a foolish ruler, he won’t act on account of the late emperor.”

Yu Fu became even more dejected upon hearing this, and Yue Hu consoled her: “Alright, alright, don’t feel down. I know that you are eager to try and save them. Marquis Gu also understands that you were doing it with good intentions, thus he did not reprimand you too much, only giving Gu HanMo a slap.”

The two returned to the Western Wing, and Yu Fu sat under a lantern. It seemed that she was still thinking about what sort of method she should use to regain Marquis Gu’s Manor’s prestige.

Turning her head, she saw Yue Hu watching her from the door with a pensive expression.

“Senior disciple sister, it’s late. Are you not going to rest?”

“I have something to ask you.”

Yu Fu nodded, seemingly still very awake. It seemed that no matter what she did, her mind would still be working to come up with an idea.

Yue Hu sat down next to her and turned her around, “This is a very serious matter. I must ask you. Do you want to leave Eastern Ling with me?”

She retrieved a token from her pocket, “This is the token that I requested from little emperor Ning. It was for the sake of preventing Marquis Gu’s Manor from completely collapsing. Who knew that that day would come so soon. While your personal freedom still hasn’t been restricted, do you want to leave with me?”

Yu Fu immediately came to her senses, “Senior disciple sister, I knew that it was you who told head general!”

“I’m innocent, innocent!”

Yue Hu immediately took three steps back, “I’m even more innocent than Dou E!* It was clearly the head general who has been begging me to take you away. How did it become me encouraging him? Could it be that you don’t know that of his many children, Marquis Gu favors you the most?”

Yu Fu looked away, “Senior disciple sister, you go ahead! While Marquis Gu’s Manor’s matters still haven’t implicated you, you should leave! I can’t leave. I need to advance and retreat with Marquis Gu’s Manor!”

Yue Hu helplessly said: “What sort of idiotic things are you saying? How could I, the acting leader of Immortals Valley, be implicated so easily? More importantly, based on my ability, nobody is able to stop me. You, however, are different…”

Yue Hu pointed at her nose and unsteadily said: “You could end up being captured by little emperor Ning to be the empress. Little emperor Ning, that worthless little clod, doesn’t even care about the officials in his court. In his lust, he might not even concern himself with Immortals Valley. That’s why I need to take you away. If you leave, Marquis Gu’s Manor might be safe!”

If you leave, Marquis Gu’s Manor might be safe.

Yu Fu numbly mulled over this idea. Of course, she understood that half of the reason for Marquis Gu’s Manor’s current disaster was a result of Ning ChengZhi and Yin Shuo’s fear of Marquis Gu’s Manor, but the other half was because of her.

Ning ChengZhi had very clearly told her that as long as she became empress, Gu HuaiJiang would become the father-in-law of the emperor. He would become an existence that nobody could question.

If she left, would Marquis Gu’s Manor’s situation improve?

She fiercely shook her head, “Senior disciple sister, don’t keep lying to me. With me here, His Majesty has a reason to spare Marquis Gu’s Manor. As soon as I leave, Yin Shuo will surely start his counter-offensive. When that happens, who will help Marquis Gu’s Manor? There are only seven days left until the ten day period given by His Majesty expires. If I leave now, Marquis Gu’s Manor will be done for!”

Yue Hu let out a long sigh.

“Yu Fu, think about it. Why am I only bringing this to you tonight?”

Yu Fu looked at her, “Why?”

Yue Hu recalled what Gu HuaiJiang had told her and thought to herself that there was no longer a need to keep Yu Fu in the dark. As a result, she told her the truth, “It’s because Marquis Gu clearly told me that there was absolutely no room for discussion when it came to raising troops to rebel. Even if he had to die, he would never allow the Gu family’s army to rebel. You and I both understand that raising troops and rebeling is the only way to survive for Marquis Gu’s Manor, but Lord Marquis Gu has cut that path off tonight.”

She walked behind Yu Fu, “That’s why you have to leave. It’s because Marquis Gu’s Manor is facing a mortal situation. Whether you are here or not just makes it a matter of time.”

The words “mortal situation” pummeled Yu Fu’s heart, and she found it hard to breathe.

She had experienced too much pain in the past few days, from Gu ShuBai’s uncertain situation to Gu JiuGe being imprisoned to Gu HuaiJiang also being on the verge of being imprisoned.

She did not even have the time to feel heartbroken or worry about Gu ShuBai. The current mess before her was already exhausting her.

This sort of inner torment was even more painful than the piercingly cold winds during a winter storm, and it made her feel even more powerless than when she rode to the border in the rain while soldiers died from being poisoned.

She thought for a bit and then weakly raised her head, “I understand. Senior disciple sister, let me think it over.”

Yue Hu noticed that her tone had become slightly more relaxed and hastily said: “Alright, but you can’t think about it for too long. The situation in the capital is changing quickly, and we can’t say for certain what might happen tomorrow. We must make our decision quickly.”

Yu Fu nodded and walked toward the bed in a daze, “Give me one night.”

Yue Hu let out a sigh and then left the Western Wing.

That night, there was no light in Yu Fu’s room. When Aunty Li got up in the middle of the night, she looked over from the distance and felt much more at ease upon seeing this.

What she did not know was that Yu Fu lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling embroidered with flowers. She did not close her eyes for the entire night.

The images of many peoples’ faces flashed through her mind, Gu ShuBai, Yin Shuo, Ning ChengZhi… The more she thought about it, the less sleepy she felt.

This continued until dawn. When the world was completely silent, she suddenly got up from her bed.

“The situation at hand isn’t a mortal one. I have a plan. I came up with a plan!”

She muttered to herself. When she got out of bed to put on her clothes, Yao Lan entered the room while rubbing her eyes. It seemed that she had already finished washing up and getting dressed.

Yu Fu could not help but feel shocked, while Yao Lan yawned and said: “When senior disciple sister left last night, she advised me to be vigilant this morning, so I didn’t even dare take off my clothes. Young miss woke up so early that the sun hasn’t even come up yet! Do you want me to go and get senior disciple sister?”

Yu Fu nodded and started putting her clothes on, “Go stealthily and don’t alert anyone. Since senior disciple sister told you to stay alert outside, she probably didn’t sleep much either. She should probably be awake.”

“Would I just be awake? I didn’t even sleep last night.”

A thud came the window, as a white flash entered the room. Yue Hu also yawned like Yao Lan, “I have been standing guard on your roof for an entire night and was worried that you wouldn’t want to leave. I initially planned to leave after you fell asleep, but you didn’t sleep for the entire night. As a result, I had no choice but to stay up all night.”

Yu Fu was moved. She knew that Yue Hu’s talk of mercilessly leaving was really out of concern for Yu Fu’s safety.

She said: “Senior disciple sister, we’re leaving Eastern Ling immediately and going to Northern Li!’

“Going to Northern Li?”

Yue Hu thought for a bit and finally understood the plan that she had mentioned, “Marquis Gu can’t rally his troops, so you want to go to Northern Li to ask for troops? Stop joking around. Even if Northern Li listened to you and gave you troops, where would the time for them to march come from?”

“Naturally, I have a plan. I will explain to senior disciple in detail along the way. The most pressing matter at hand is to quickly leave the capital. We cannot delay for even a moment. If my guess is correct, I fear that Ning ChengZhi and Yin Shuo will have already arranged for people to make it difficult for anyone to leave Marquis Gu’s Manor, especially me.”

Yu Fu looked around her room and suddenly saw a familiar item. A long-lost smile slowly appeared on her face, “I’ve got it! This is it!’

…

After the sun came up, Lian Bi and the others finished washing up but did not dare enter the room.

“Young miss didn’t get back until quite late last night. After she got back, she spoke with Immortal Practitioner of Medicine Yue Hu for a long time, so she’s probably very tired. Let’s wait until later to go in!”

“Lian Zhu is right. Let’s wait for a bit and go in when young miss calls for us. Hah, where’s Yao Lan?”

While the group was chatting in the corridor, they suddenly saw Gu Xiang and Gu Yi rush over, “Yu Fu still hasn’t gotten up? What are you standing out here for?”

Lian Bi bowed in salute, “Fifth young sir, sixth young sir, the young miss came back late last night, and we are worried that she is tired, thus we don’t dare go in and disturb her. Did you come looking for young miss to discuss something?”

Gu Xiang nodded pensively, “You’re right. We came too early. There isn’t really anything. We just wanted to ask what exactly happened last night. We heard that third brother was slapped by father.”

The two of them did not have time to participate last night, and they found it hard to ask Gu HanMo himself. They had no choice but to come to the Western Wing to ask Yu Fu.

Lian Bi said: “Yao Lan accompanied young miss out, so she would know about the situation. Oddly, we haven’t seen Yao Lan all morning.”

Gu Yi was shocked and said: “You haven’t seen Yao Lan? That girl loves sleeping in. Where could she have gone?”

The more Gu Xiang heard, the more he felt that something was off. Unable to concern himself with anything else, he headed straight for Yu Fu’s bedroom. Opening the door, he found the bed in the outer room completely empty.

The place where Yao Lan should have been sleeping was empty, and the blanket was cold. It was clear that she had left long ago.

Lian Zhu hastily entered the inner room and let out a horrified scream, “Oh no, the young miss’ bed is empty! Where has the young miss gone?”

Only now did everyone realize that things were bad, and Gu Xiang said: “Don’t panic. Go and search around the manor in places like eldest brother’s courtyard or the garden. Send someone to inform third brother and fourth brother. Have them also send people to look for Yu Fu and Yao Lan. Don’t alert the main hall!”

Gu HuaiJiang was in the middle of recovering from his illness. Right now, he could not endure another shock.

Lian Zhu, Lian Bi, and the others hastily saluted and retreated, splitting up to search for Yu Fu and Yao Lan. Gu HanMo and Gu WenQing were startled to hear the news, and everyone gathered in the Western Wing to wait for more information.

The manor’s servants searched all over. It would have been good if they had not searched, but when they did, they found that even Yue Hu had gone missing.

Qi Zhou said: “Third young sir, Immortal Practitioner of Medicine Yue Hu’s courtyard is also empty. Did she leave with the young miss?”

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

Gu Yi was the first to refute this explanation, “Little Yu Fu is not this sort of disloyal person. Even when father and third brother told her to leave, she refused to leave. How could she possibly have sneaked away on her own!?”

Qi Zhou awkwardly said: “Sixth young sir, don’t rush to get angry. This is not what I meant. It’s possible that the young miss had some other reason.” He suddenly thought of something and asked Lian Zhu and Lian Bi: “Have you checked the young miss’ room to see what is missing?”

He had been the steward for many years, and his words woke the dreamers from their dream.

Gu Xiang hastily said: “That’s right! Go into her room and see if her things are still there or not. Won’t that tell us if Yu Fu left or not?”

Lian Zhu, Lian Bi, and the others immediately went to the inner room to investigate, and they quickly returned, “The money and accessories in the room haven’t been touched. Only the young miss’ personal items and her treasured chest are missing!”

Everyone’s hearts instantly sank.

Yu Fu had taken her clothes and her treasured chest. That was enough evidence to show that she had prepared to leave and had not been kidnapped or just gone out for a walk.

Qi Zhou felt so remorseful that he wanted to slap himself. He really had a wicked mouth, as his words had come true!

Gu WenQing quickly said: “Yu Fu must have some difficulties. She absolutely would not abandon everyone! She must have something that she could not tell us, like that time when she rode to the border on her own to treat the soldiers!”

“Right, it must be like that!”

Yu Fu had been in Marquis Gu’s Manor for many years, and she could be considered as having grown up there. Her character was one that everyone understood. She absolutely was not someone who was afraid of dying.

Gu HanMo looked up at the sky where the sun was shining brightly. The bright light pierced through the clouds and was a bit dazzling, “It’s good that she left. I hope that Yu Fu truly left and does not return.”

Everyone understood the concern for Yu Fu in his words. Just as they wanted to say something, they suddenly saw Yin Ling run out of the inner room. While everyone had been talking, she and Yin Xue had been carefully looking through Yu Fu’s room.

“Young miss didn’t just take her clothes and treasured chest. She also took something else!”

*TN: A character in a play who was wrongfully executed for the murder of her father-in-law.