“Have you ever thought—”
“Do you truly like Li Qingyuan from your dream, the one who obeys your every wish, or do you just like Li Qingyuan?”
The cold winter wind carried Gu Tiao’s voice straight into Gu Wuyou’s ears, each word clear and distinct. Just a moment ago, she had been smiling as she reminisced about the past, but upon hearing these words, she suddenly froze.
The delicate little face still held remnants of her smile, yet her bright apricot eyes seemed to have suddenly fallen into confusion.
They stood in a sheltered spot, where the wind could not reach them, yet the sound of the plum trees outside the corridor rustling in the wind could still be heard. Amidst this noise, Gu Wuyou stared blankly at Gu Tiao before her.
Did she like Li Qingyuan, the person?
Or did she like the Li Qingyuan who obeyed her every wish?
Before today, Gu Wuyou had never considered this question. In her eyes, Li Qingyuan was the Great General, and the Great General was Li Qingyuan—there was no distinction between the two… She should have been able to answer without hesitation, yet Gu Tiao’s gaze made her swallow the words that had been on the tip of her tongue.
She began to think.
The current Great General was indeed different from before.
No.
He was very different.
At the very least, the “young, gentle, steady, and dignified Great General” she had imagined never existed at all. He might not be as terrible as her third brother and the others described, but he was indeed vastly different from what she had thought.
If she had not experienced that past life with the Great General—
Then, faced with the current Li Qingyuan, she certainly would not have spared him a second glance. She disliked such undisciplined and unrestrained noble sons.
And yet, she had once shared such beautiful years with the Great General. How could she possibly separate the young Great General from the man he would become?
Her elegant, arched brows furrowed slightly. Gu Wuyou pressed her lips together, suddenly at a loss for words.
Gu Tiao had been watching her expression the entire time. Seeing her brows knit and her lips pressed together, she softly added, “You’ve seen it yourself. The Li Qingyuan of today and the Great General in your dream are completely different people. I don’t know if he will ever become the man in your dream.”
“But, Manman—”
“At least for now, Li Qingyuan is still far from that.”
“Can you really bear such a disparity? In your dream, he was the person closest to you, and you shared countless beautiful memories. But in reality, he doesn’t even know who you are. He might even find your affection and pursuit absurd and laughable…”
“Have you ever thought about what you would do if he always remained as he is now?”
Gu Tiao’s voice was melodious, yet to Gu Wuyou, it was like thorns piercing into her heart—not painful, but deeply penetrating… The small face wrapped in her hood suddenly turned a shade paler, and her tightly pressed red lips seemed to lose their color as well.
Outside, the wind seemed to grow even stronger.
From beyond the wall, the sounds from Buzhi Hall could still be heard, and even from the distant Pingshuo Hall, it seemed that many noble ladies had already returned. Gu Wuyou kept her head lowered, staring at the tips of her shoes, without saying a word.
Gu Tiao knew that these words were too harsh and difficult to accept, but she had no choice but to remind her little cousin.
Even if she believed in the dreams Gu Wuyou spoke of, the people and events in dreams would not necessarily unfold according to her wishes. If reality differed from her dream, could she truly endure such a change?
“Manman, there’s no rush. You can take your time to think about it.”
“When you’ve made up your mind, then—”
Gu Tiao’s voice remained gentle, but before she could finish speaking, Gu Wuyou, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly lifted her gaze. Her face was still somewhat pale, but the confusion and daze that had lingered before had completely disappeared.
“Second Sister.”
Gu Wuyou called out to her, “I like him.”
A playful gust of wind sneaked in from somewhere, tousling her hair. The long strands floated in the air, brushing against her face, but her voice was firmer than ever. “No matter what he becomes, I still like him.”
Perhaps because she had figured things out, she began to smile again. The corners of her mouth curved high, and her bright apricot eyes bent into crescent moons.
“You know what I used to be like. To put it nicely, I was proud and arrogant. To put it bluntly, I was unreasonable and liked to stir up trouble for no reason.”
Now, speaking of these things again, Gu Wuyou was completely at ease. She smiled and continued, “I know I was terrible. If it weren’t for my family background, I probably would’ve been torn apart long ago, not even leaving behind my bones.”
“But do you know?”
“Li Qingyuan never despised me. When I married him, I was no longer young, I had been married before but never had children, and my body had even been diagnosed as unable to conceive again. And him? He was the awe-inspiring Great General. With his status, who couldn’t he marry?”
“But he chose to marry someone like me.”
“I still remember when he came to my family to propose. I told him, ‘General Li, I have a bad temper, a bad reputation, and I cannot bear children. If you marry me, I will not tolerate any other women in the household.'”
“Do you know what he said to me?”
“What?” Gu Tiao, drawn in by Gu Wuyou’s gaze, couldn’t help but ask.
“He said—” Gu Wuyou turned her head, looking at the sky outside the corridor. The vast blue sky, the drifting white clouds—it was just like the day Li Qingyuan came to propose. She closed her eyes, as if she could still see that moment.
—”The Li family has others to carry on the lineage.”
—”I am marrying you, simply because you are you.”
—”Rest assured, since I have given you my word, I will honor it.”
It was because of these words that she married Li Qingyuan. And in the years that followed, he truly never broke a single promise. He cherished her, indulged her, and held her dear to his heart.
Of course.
He was not someone who spoiled her without reason. He would reason with her, explaining things with patience and care.
No one had ever spoken to her like that before. Her father and grandmother adored her, unwilling to utter a harsh word. As for others, they either feared her background and power or simply didn’t wish to talk to her. Even Zhao Chengyou, the husband she once believed she would grow old with, had never spoken to her about how to be a better person.
Only Li Qingyuan.
It was because of him that she became better and better.
Gu Wuyou took a deep breath, expelling the stifling air in her chest. Then, she opened her eyes again, turned her head, and looked straight at Gu Tiao as she continued, “Second Sister, I understand your concern. The Li Qingyuan now is very different from the one I knew.”
“But what does that matter?”
“I like him because he is Li Qingyuan. I don’t know if he will ever become the man in my dream, but I want to stay by his side and protect him. I want to witness the years I never got to experience with him.”
Gu Wuyou’s voice was gentle yet firm, just like the aura she exuded at this moment. “In that dream, he spread his wings and sheltered me for a lifetime. Now, it’s my turn to stay by his side.”
She paused briefly, then lifted her head with an even brighter smile. “I know this path will be difficult, but I want to try.”
Gu Tiao remained silent for a long time after hearing these words.
No one knew how much time had passed before she finally sighed, reached out, gently stroked Gu Wuyou’s head, and said softly, “Since that is what your heart desires, then follow your path and keep moving forward.”
She worried about this uncertain path ahead, yet at the same time, she couldn’t help but admire the determination and persistence Gu Wuyou displayed at this moment.
To live a lifetime and be able to persist for what one truly desires—how beautiful a thing that was. If, back then, she had also held onto what she truly wished for, would the outcome have been different? A faint trace of confusion flickered across Gu Tiao’s face.
“Second Sister?”
Seeing her dazed expression, Gu Wuyou softly called out to her. Only when Gu Tiao came back to her senses did she ask, “Second Sister, do you know why he became like this?” She hadn’t forgotten what Gu Tiao had said when she sent her over earlier—
She had said, “He wasn’t like this before.”
Then what exactly had caused the Great General to become the person he was now?
At this point, there was no reason for Gu Tiao to keep it a secret any longer. As they walked forward, she explained to Gu Wuyou, “When Qilang was young, he was extremely intelligent, truly gifted in both literature and martial arts. Back then, when your cousin, the Crown Prince, was looking for a study companion, he was the first choice.”
“But when he was ten, the former Madam of the Duke of Wei’s household suddenly passed away. After that… he was never quite the same.”
As for the deeper reasons, outsiders like them could never truly know. All she could do was sigh softly and say, “Qilang is actually very intelligent. If he were to focus his efforts in the right direction, he would certainly only get better and better.”
But he was someone who was too absolute in his ways—he never listened to anyone.
Gu Wuyou felt a heaviness settle in her heart as she listened. In her past life, she had also known that Li Qingyuan lost his mother at a young age, but at that time, the Great General had already grown into a man who needed no one’s pity. He was like a towering mountain, standing strong and bearing the weight of everything.
But now, seeing it from a different perspective, her thoughts were no longer the same.
The Great General who lost his mother had only been ten years old. At an age where he still understood so little about the world, he had lost the person closest to him. And the situation in the Duke of Wei’s household was not the same as hers.
All these years…
The Great General must have suffered immensely.
Had he, like her, curled up alone in the darkness, secretly hugging himself to keep warm, crying without anyone to see?
Just the thought of this made Gu Wuyou’s heart feel as though needles were piercing it—aching and unbearable. Even her eyes reddened slightly.
However, at that moment, Gu Tiao didn’t notice her emotions. Instead, as if something had suddenly come to mind, she asked in a low voice, “Manman, in your dream… what happened to me in the end?”
Gu Wuyou was pulled out of her thoughts by these words. Facing Gu Tiao’s expectant gaze, she already knew the answer, yet she found herself hesitating, unsure of how to speak.
In her past life, she and Gu Tiao had not been particularly close, so when she learned of Gu Tiao’s death, she had only felt a fleeting sense of regret.
But after this conversation…
She couldn’t bear to let such a wise and perceptive Second Sister meet that same fate.
Because of that reluctance, she found herself unable to say the words.
Gu Tiao, however, could already tell from her struggle. Understanding dawned on her face as she said calmly, “So… I died, didn’t I?”
“Second Sister—” Gu Wuyou didn’t answer her question but instead softly comforted her, “There are countless renowned physicians in the world. Your illness can definitely be cured.”
Gu Tiao smiled, her expression unchanged, still as composed and serene as ever. “I’ve known since I was a child that I wouldn’t live long, which is why I’ve cherished every day of my life so much. Dying isn’t necessarily a bad thing—I’ve had everything I ever wanted.”
Everything except…
Her smile faltered slightly, and before she could stop herself, she asked, “Do you know Shen Shao?”
“Shen Shao?”
Gu Wuyou was stunned, not understanding why her Second Sister had suddenly mentioned him. Shen Shao was Li Qingyuan’s uncle and, in name, her cousin-in-law. She stared blankly at Gu Tiao for a long moment before finally replying, “He was eventually appointed as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and married Princess Changping.”
After speaking, she noticed Gu Tiao’s expression pause slightly and asked in a low voice, “Second Sister, do you know him?”
Appointed as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review… married Princess Changping…
Under her sleeves, Gu Tiao’s fingers lightly clenched. Suddenly, the winter wind felt even colder, as if the chill had seeped into her very bones, trapping her in an icy abyss. It was a long time before she let out a faint, dazed smile. “We had some ties when we were young.”
Before Gu Wuyou could ask further, the very person who had brought up the topic changed it again. “Come on, I’ll take you to eat.”
Gu Wuyou felt that something was off about Gu Tiao at this moment, though she couldn’t quite say what. She studied her face, but seeing that she had returned to her usual composed self, she suppressed her thoughts and nodded. “Alright.”