The young man had a handsome appearance, and his voice was clear and elegant, like a refreshing spring in the depths of the mountains—cool and crisp, with a hint of nonchalance.
He didn’t seem curious as to why Gu Wuyou, who was supposed to be at Pingshuo Hall, had come to Buzhi Hall. Nor did he care why she was looking for him. With a lazy demeanor, he casually walked in her direction. The wind lifted his hair, and the blade of grass at his lips trembled under the breeze.
Perhaps finding it too restless, he casually tossed it away, letting the unknown blade of grass fall into the bushes.
The servant, upon seeing him, involuntarily shivered and lowered his head even further, unable to hide his fear. In a timid voice, he called out, “Seventh Young Master.”
“Mm.”
Li Qingyuan nodded, giving a perfunctory response.
Then, he turned his gaze back to Gu Wuyou, openly and unabashedly staring at her. His expression carried the usual air of indifference—languid and flippant—giving off an impression of carefree recklessness.
However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that even when he smiled, his narrow phoenix eyes held a trace of coldness.
A faint sense of alienation lingered in them.
Gu Wuyou didn’t answer Li Qingyuan’s question. The moment she saw his face, she had already frozen in place, her mouth slightly open and unable to close. The usually bright apricot eyes now looked dazed, round like a confused little kitten, staring blankly at the person before her.
The General…
It was him. She hadn’t seen wrong.
Although there were some differences from the General she knew, it was undoubtedly her General!
Her heart felt as if a brilliant firework had suddenly exploded, bursting with a series of bang bang bang sounds, instantly bringing her back to life. Gu Wuyou’s brows curved into a smile, her eyes shining brightly, just like a cat that had stolen a treat.
Ever since the news of the General’s death arrived from the capital, she had been living, but it was no different from being dead. Even though she had woken up in Langya some time ago, her heart remained unsettled, as if something was weighing on her chest, leaving her tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep.
But now?
Gu Wuyou felt warmth surge through every part of her body—her limbs, her bones, even her internal organs. It was as if she was bathed in sunlight.
Extremely comfortable. Incredibly at ease.
She had traveled across the river of time and finally, once again, seen her General.
Right now, Gu Wuyou especially wanted to run over and embrace him, just like she used to, wrapping her arms around his waist, nestling into his arms, and acting spoiled. She wanted to tell him about her feelings, to tell him how much she had missed him. But just as she was about to take a step forward, reason suddenly returned to her mind.
The General didn’t recognize her now.
If she rushed over recklessly like this, he would probably think she was a lunatic.
At this thought, Gu Wuyou quietly withdrew her foot. She remained standing where she was, looking at Li Qingyuan. Because of the emotions bottled up inside her, she seemed a little pitiful, yet the joy of seeing her General still lingered at the corners of her brows and eyes.
This mixture of emotions was somewhat strange, but Gu Wuyou was beautiful. Even with such an odd blend of expressions, her face did not appear distorted.
Instead, her inexplicable grievance only made her look even more pitiable, stirring a natural sense of compassion in others.
But Li Qingyuan had always been cold-hearted. Despite his usual appearance as a carefree, unruly scoundrel, very few people could truly catch his interest. Now, he merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing, continuing to stare directly at Gu Wuyou.
In the distance, the sound of students reading aloud had yet to stop.
The two of them stood facing each other, neither speaking a word. The servant, even more so, would never dare to speak at this moment.
Gu Wuyou looked at Li Qingyuan, her gaze carrying an unconcealed sense of longing and an undisclosed joy. The young General was so different from the man he would become later. She still remembered the first time she had met the General.
It had been on a rainy day.
After returning to the capital, though people still treated her with outward respect as before, behind her back, they whispered all kinds of nasty words. The most unbearable moment had been when Zhao Chengyou brought Wang Zhao back to the capital. By then, they were already married.
That day, she had gone to the temple to pray for her mother.
For some reason, Wang Zhao had learned she was at Jintai Temple and deliberately went there to block her path, mocking her for guarding her position for so many years, only for it to end up in her hands.
On the surface, she had held strong, maintaining a cold expression as she retorted against Wang Zhao. But once she was alone, she had hidden in a corner and wept uncontrollably.
That was when the General had appeared.
Li Qingyuan, at twenty-five years old, was the celebrated War God of Great Zhou. His features were striking, his presence commanding. Wearing a blue robe and holding an umbrella, he had walked up to her.
At the time, she had been too consumed by sorrow to notice anyone approaching. It was only when a man’s voice rang above her head that she looked up in alarm. She had no idea what kind of expression she had on her face then—probably a mix of shock and embarrassment.
She had always prided herself on standing strong, thinking that by doing so, no one would dare bully her.
Yet, the one time she let her guard down and exposed such a vulnerable side of herself, it had been seen by an outsider. She had been mortified. She still remembered how, before leaving, she had puffed up her chest and threatened him with feigned bravado: “You’re not allowed to tell anyone!” Then she had wiped her tears and run off.
As Gu Wuyou recalled the past, a trace of melancholy surfaced in her eyes.
In the distance, the sound of recitation had stopped, soon followed by the chatter of young boys, presumably heading this way.
The servant, seeing the two still standing there silently, grew anxious. Unable to hold back anymore, he quietly reminded Gu Wuyou, “Esteemed Lady, Buzhi Hall has finished class. You should leave quickly.”
The dazed look in Gu Wuyou’s eyes gradually cleared. Of course, she knew she shouldn’t linger here any longer. If she were seen, there would undoubtedly be unpleasant rumors. But she had finally seen the General again, even if he was entirely different from the man she remembered.
She opened her mouth, her voice barely audible. “General…”
Before she could say anything more, a familiar voice sounded from behind her.
“Manman?”
Gu Wuyou turned her head and saw Gu Tiao approaching. “Second Sister.”
“What are you doing here?” Gu Tiao furrowed her delicate brows. Seeing Li Qingyuan nearby, she offered him a polite greeting before taking Gu Wuyou’s hand and speaking to her gently, “Did you get lost? Didn’t I tell you to come find me if you needed anything?”
“Come on, let’s go eat.”
Before Gu Wuyou could respond, Gu Tiao had already half-forcefully pulled her away.
As the two sisters stepped out through the moon gate, Fu Xian and his companions emerged from Buzhi Hall. Spotting Li Qingyuan standing there, Fu Xian called out, “Qilang, let’s go! Time to eat!”
Li Qingyuan nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly paused, as if something had come to mind. Turning to the servant, he said, “Give me the pearls.”
“Huh?”
The servant was momentarily stunned but quickly reacted, hastily handing over a few fine-quality pearls. “Here, here you go.”
Li Qingyuan looked at the pearls, saying nothing. He simply tossed his coin pouch to the servant before walking off with the pearls in hand.
The servant hesitated, wanting to call out to him, but Li Qingyuan, though appearing to walk at a leisurely pace, soon disappeared from sight.
Yet, knowing Li Qingyuan’s temperament, the servant dared not raise his voice to stop him.
“What were you talking about with that servant?” Fu Xian asked as they walked, having only seen Li Qingyuan hand over a pouch from a distance.
“Nothing.”
Li Qingyuan unconsciously rubbed the pearls between his fingers, his thoughts lingering on the little girl’s ever-changing expressions from earlier. He raised an eyebrow—who had that little girl mistaken him for?
Manman.
That nickname was much more pleasant than “little chili pepper.”
“Qilang, Old Yang just mentioned you. Since you’re back at the academy, why not attend a lecture? Otherwise, Old Yang will go complaining to Uncle Li again.” Qi Xu spoke to Li Qingyuan in a hushed voice.
At the mention of this, or perhaps upon hearing the words “Uncle Li,” the smile on Li Qingyuan’s face stalled slightly. A moment later, he simply said, “We’ll see.”
Qi Xu still wanted to say more, but Jing Yubai held onto his arm and gently shook his head.
—
Upon stepping out of the moon gate, Gu Tiao released Gu Wuyou’s hand. She said nothing, merely slowing her pace.
In her haste earlier, she had practically dragged Gu Wuyou out. With her delicate skin, faint red marks now lingered on her wrists. She stole a glance at Gu Tiao’s expression, pursed her lips, and finally spoke in a small voice, “Second Sister, I… wasn’t lost just now.”
Gu Tiao looked at her, as if letting out a sigh, before stopping in her tracks and saying, “Manman, can you tell Second Sister what’s going on?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Gu Wuyou lowered her head, absentmindedly nudging the ground with her toes, her voice barely above a whisper.
It was quiet. The noble ladies of Pingshuo Hall had not yet returned, and there were no serving maids in the corridor. Gu Tiao did not rush her, but Gu Wuyou could still sense the gentle yet deeply reassuring gaze resting on her head.
After a long hesitation, Gu Wuyou finally spoke.
“Second Sister, I had a dream.”
She didn’t know why, but she suddenly wanted to tell someone about her experiences.
Perhaps it was because this Second Sister, whom she hadn’t been particularly close to in the past, had a pair of eyes that made people instinctively trust her.
And so…
She suddenly had the urge to confide.
“In that dream, I married Zhao Chengyou. But I wasn’t happy at all. It was day after day of endless arguments and…”
Gu Wuyou thought of the child she had lost. Even after all this time, she still shuddered at the memory.
That child had shattered the last bit of blind devotion she had for Zhao Chengyou.
“Later, I divorced him and returned to the capital. That’s when I met Li Qingyuan.”
“The Li Qingyuan in my dream was completely different from the one you know. He was the War God of Great Zhou, the revered General, admired and loved by all. When I first married him, I was actually afraid of him.”
“But—”
The lingering fear on her face melted away into a soft, radiant smile. Gu Wuyou’s entire being seemed bathed in sunlight, exuding the kind of warmth that could only come from being cherished beyond measure.
“He was very kind to me. He never minded that I had been married before. He taught me to read and write, and he showed me how to live freely. I loved every single day I spent with him.”
Her smile was so real that even Gu Tiao was momentarily affected. For once, she was at a loss for words and hesitated before saying, “So, in Langya, you broke off your engagement with the Zhao family’s young master and returned to the capital just to find Li Qingyuan?”
Gu Wuyou nodded without a trace of hesitation. After nodding, she softly asked, “Second Sister, do you think it’s ridiculous?”
“It does seem a bit absurd,” Gu Tiao admitted.
Seeing Gu Wuyou lower her head in slight dejection, she suddenly smiled and added, “But fate has always been unpredictable. Wasn’t there once the tale of Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly?”
She reached out and gently stroked Gu Wuyou’s head, her voice turning softer.
“Second Sister believes you.”
Gu Wuyou abruptly lifted her head at those words.
Her eyes held undisguised shock, her mouth slightly agape, as if she hadn’t expected Gu Tiao to actually believe her.
“When you came back this time, I already felt that you were different from before.” Gu Tiao held her hand and led her toward a sheltered spot, keeping an eye on their surroundings while lowering her voice. “But, Manman—”
Once they reached a quiet, wind-sheltered corner, she suddenly stopped, holding Gu Wuyou’s hand tightly. Looking her in the eyes, she asked,
“Have you ever considered… do you truly like Li Qingyuan himself, or do you only like the Li Qingyuan in your dream—the one who indulged you in everything?”