Baizhi stared at the young woman who had sighed one hundred and eighty times in front of her, finally suggesting, "How about we go in later?"
Gu Yan was interrupted by Baizhi's words, "Go in now!"
Saying this, she stepped over the threshold of the Cloud Come Inn.
Then she pulled back, "Maybe I should go in later!"
"Why wait?" A voice, full of energy, came from behind her.
Gu Yan heard this and immediately ran over, feigning a smile, "Father, the good wine I brought for you spilled on the road. I didn't know how to explain it to you."
When it came to acting spoiled, Gu Yan claimed the second spot, and no one dared to claim the first.
"When have I ever blamed you for such trivial matters?" Gu Hongshan found it amusing.
He knew exactly what his daughter was up to.
It was just that she was afraid of being nagged by her mother, always wearing men's clothes. She had reached the age of marriage, yet she didn't act like a proper young lady.
"Hurry and go in! Mother has been waiting for you for a long time!" her brother, Gu Zheng, whispered in her ear.
It seemed Mother had already sent someone to keep an eye on her. In that case, she might as well go in quickly.
Gu Yan followed her brother's direction and stepped onto the steps.
Before Gu Yan could knock, the door opened.
Madam Fang opened the door and stepped aside, "Come in!"
Madam Fang's tone was a little gentle today. Gu Yan thought perhaps Mother was in a decent mood, so she wouldn't be nagged for too long!
Baizhi quietly retreated, but Madam Fang glanced at her, "You too!"
"Yes!" Baizhi could only comply and follow.
"Yan'er, why are you dressed like this again?" Lin Yishuang sized up Gu Yan and said lightly.
"Mother, I'm just following your example, traveling the martial world and upholding justice!" Gu Yan reached out to hug her mother.
"Mother, traveling this road, I can't eat well or sleep well, I'm so tired!"
Gu Yan pouted, looking as if she was about to cry.
Lin Yishuang truly didn't know what to do with this daughter, who was good at acting cute and being unreasonable.
"Yan'er, do you know you are a woman?" she said helplessly.
"Mother, didn't you say that I should marry someone I like in the future? That it's okay even if I don't get married?" Gu Yan said softly.
"I think your mother might have to take those words back!" Lin Yishuang said helplessly.
"His Majesty has issued an imperial edict, ordering your father to take our whole family back to the Capital City. In the past, it was enough for just your father and me to go. There were no restrictions on you and Zheng, but we sometimes let you come along so you could see the world. But things are different now. His Majesty has directly ordered that you come with us, so there may be a change!"
Gu Yan thought for a moment, "Could it be that His Majesty suspects Father?"
"He's always been suspicious. I suspect His Majesty wants to keep you or Zheng in the Capital City as hostages!" Lin Yishuang's brows were tightly knit.
Gu Yan nodded. She had always known about the Gu family's situation. Her father had always been cautious, but she didn't expect that His Majesty would still be suspicious.
"I suppose His Majesty will keep me in the Capital City!"
"Your father and I think so too! All the soldiers in the Southern Frontier know that you are the most favored. I'm afraid His Majesty will issue an edict to keep you! Moreover, the war in the Southern Frontier is urgent, and Zheng might be kept by His Majesty to guard the Southern Frontier! A ruler's order must not be disobeyed! Although your father dotes on you, he is somewhat blindly loyal!"
"Mother, I understand! Father couldn't bear to see the people of the Southern Frontier suffer!"
Gu Yan thought for a moment, then replied, "I'm willing to stay in the Capital City. For me, the Southern Frontier is my home, and I also can't bear to see the people of the Southern Frontier suffer!"
"Besides, isn't this something we'd already anticipated?"
Gu Yan smiled, "Mother, you don't need to worry about me. I will take care of myself!"
Seeing her so sensible, Lin Yishuang couldn't help but feel even more distressed.
"The Emperor might want you to enter the palace as a concubine. Serving such an old man, I'm afraid you won't want to…"
"Of course I don't want to! If I'm going to marry, it has to be a handsome man!" Gu Yan protested.
Lin Yishuang informed Gu Yan about the news she had gathered, "The Crown Prince is handsome, but his legs are disabled. Rumor has it that he is already… incapable."
"The Crown Prince's mother's family had little influence. When the late Emperor was alive, to prevent the empress's relatives from wielding too much power, he specifically chose a wife for the Crown Prince from a family of modest background, who is now the Empress."
"But after His Majesty ascended the throne, he took the current Noble Consort Li as a consort. This Noble Consort Li is the daughter of a hereditary Duke, and it is said that she and His Majesty grew up together. The late Emperor strongly opposed this, to avoid the relatives of the consort from becoming too powerful. This Noble Consort Li had to wait until His Majesty ascended the throne before she could enter the palace as a consort."
"Now, Noble Consort Li has a Second Prince under her, who is also of exceptional appearance and has a considerable voice in the court!"
"In this case, marrying any of the princes is likely to force us to take sides!" Gu Yan voiced her thoughts.
She continued, "The best way is not to marry a prince, but to marry a son of a noble family. This way, we can protect the Gu Family Army, and secondly, if I marry someone of higher status, it will be easier to act in the future!"
Gu Yan thought it through clearly. Since she would have to marry sooner or later, why not marry someone with good all-around conditions?
"Yan'er, aren't you blaming us?" Lin Yishuang couldn't bear to see her daughter go so far away.
"Mother, how many things in life are truly as one wishes? Besides, my looks and family background are both advantages. There are probably many young masters from noble families waiting to marry me!" Gu Yan pouted.
"I volunteered, volunteered to sacrifice my looks for the sake of the people in the Southern Frontier..." Gu Yan was very confident in her appearance.
"Mother, is the hot water ready? I'm so tired, I want to take a hot bath first!" Gu Yan changed the subject. She didn't want her mother to worry so much.
"I knew the first thing you'd want after coming back was a bath. The water has been ready for a while!" Lin Yishuang patted her daughter's head.
Madam Fang understood and instructed someone to bring in the hot water.
Gu Yan saw that there were herbs for relaxation scattered in the water and comfortably soaked in.
Madam Fang led Baizhi out, giving the mother and daughter some private time.
Although Baizhi was nominally a servant, the Gu family treated her very well and had prepared bathwater for her in the next room.
After a satisfying bath, Gu Yan got up, and her mother personally wrung out her hair and applied her makeup.
A beautiful, water-like beauty appeared in the mirror.
"My Yan'er is so beautiful!" Lin Yishuang couldn't help but exclaim.
"We haven't been in the Capital City for a long time, and our resources are limited, so this is all the information we could gather for you. I've already sent a flying letter and pigeon to Lin Xiu, asking him to come to the Capital City and lend you a hand."
"Mother, if things are truly as we suspect, I will protect myself in the Capital City. You don't need to worry about me!" Gu Yan held her mother's hand, comforting her.
This time she returned home, thankfully her mother didn't scold her for being neither male nor female; she was actually a little unaccustomed to it.
Baizhi also entered, dressed in women's clothes, looking pure and lovely.
"Baizhi, if I am kept in the Capital City, you will follow Mother back to the Southern Frontier, and let Mother marry you off to Lin Xiu in a grand manner!" Gu Yan said to Baizhi.
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