The mighty north-west wind swept across the dark mountain ranges and blew against Gu Yun.
Cold.
Dry.
The unusual itch gradually faded, and his ears returned to normal.
Feeling somewhat chilly, he silently draped his cloak back over his shoulders, tied the fastening securely, and turned around.
Chao Yan was already speaking with an Eastern Palace official nearby, most likely giving instructions and reminders.
Gu Yun left first.
Passing through the southern gate of the capital and entering the Outer City, he found that most of the snow had already been cleared from the streets, exposing the dark brown ground beneath.
Crowds bustled about in every direction.
People pursuing their livelihoods moved through the rising steam drifting from breakfast stalls.
Gu Yun took some silver from his purse and chose a clean-looking stall.
He bought several sweet pancakes. Two for himself. Three for Zhou Er and Zhou Wei.
In his memory, sweet pancakes had always been delicious. Now, after taking a bite…
They were overly sweet and greasy. The dough was not fluffy enough either.
Gu Yun frowned.
After a moment, however, his expression relaxed. The food in the Eastern Palace was simply too good. It had made his tastes more discerning.
Just like when he was at home. If he went hungry long enough, this would become a delicacy fit for heaven itself.
Still, he had no desire to experience that again.
Holding the greaseproof paper bundle, he lowered his head and continued munching away. Both cheeks puffed out.
He chewed a few times and swallowed carelessly, completely ignoring all the dining habits his mother had tirelessly drilled into him. After all, she could hardly supervise him here.
The thought had only just occurred to him when someone suddenly grabbed his arm. Before he could react, his vision blurred. His entire body was lifted into the air. The next moment he landed in a cool embrace carrying traces of mist.
His backside knocked against something narrow with a slight softness to it.
He had been hauled onto a horse. A tall, powerful black horse.
Gu Yun immediately looked up.
The person who had abducted him onto the horse wore a plain wooden full-face mask. Carefully, he examined the man. Only a pair of eyes were visible.
Dark. Pitch-black. Like bottomless voids.
Looking lower, he saw a prominent Adam’s apple. The right hand gripping the reins and the right hand holding his waist both bore calluses.
His gaze shifted slightly.
On the left side of the first knuckle of the man’s right middle finger was a smooth, raised callus. As far as Gu Yun knew, prolonged use of a writing brush produced exactly such a mark.
“You villain! How dare you!”
Zhou Wei dropped his sweet pancake, drew his blade, and prepared to charge forward. With one hand, Zhou Er caught him. With the other, he caught the discarded pancake.
Remaining perfectly calm, he said, “Take a proper look at who it is.”
Zhou Wei steadied himself and looked again.
This time he noticed the black jade ornament hanging from the rider’s waist, carved with a raised eagle eye motif. He immediately recognised the man.
Instantly reassured, he relaxed his shoulders, sheathed his blade, retrieved the pancake from Zhou Er, and continued eating breakfast.
From the corner of his eye, Gu Yun saw the entire scene. His suspicions were finally confirmed. Expressionless, he said, “My lord, was that enjoyable?”
The man finally spoke. The familiar voice belonged to Chao Yan.
“I’m heading to the Ministry of Justice. I’ll give you a lift.”
“So that was the ultimate reason for hauling me onto your horse without warning?”
Gu Yun noticed several familiar Eastern Palace guards galloping up from behind.
Chao Yan ignored the question. Lowering his gaze, he said, “I haven’t eaten breakfast either.”
“Doesn’t the Ministry of Justice provide breakfast?”
“It isn’t very good.”
“Then…”
Gu Yun suddenly looked ahead. “Watch the road! There are people in front of us!”
Sitting sideways on the horse, he watched the black horse thunder forward. Two pedestrians were moving slowly ahead. At this speed, the horse would knock them flying.
Chao Yan merely gave a quiet acknowledgement. “I’ll give you mine!”
Chao Yan looked ahead and tugged the reins. The black horse slowed. The pedestrians moved out of the way. The horse passed safely.
Gu Yun let out a breath of relief and shot him an annoyed glare. The man had clearly done it on purpose.
Chao Yan squeezed the horse’s flanks and accelerated once more.
Before long, they reached a quiet alley outside the Imperial City. This was as far as Chao Yan intended to take him.
Reining in the horse, he dismounted and extended both hands towards Gu Yun, who remained seated on horseback. There was still laughter in his voice.
“As repayment, I’ll carry you down.”
Gu Yun looked at the utterly expressionless wooden mask. “…”
Instead, he held out the sweet pancake. “It needs you more than I do.”
Chao Yan burst out laughing. The amusement in his eyes deepened until it seemed ready to spill over.
Ignoring him, Gu Yun braced himself against the saddle and jumped down on his own.
After landing, he stamped his feet a few times. His legs had gone slightly numb from sitting there too long. Feeling somewhat recovered, he turned towards Chao Yan.
He was about to explain that one of the pancakes had already been bitten into and that he would wrap it separately in the paper so Chao Yan could eat it at his leisure.
Before he could speak, however, Chao Yan calmly removed his mask and lowered his head. Then he took a bite from the pancake Gu Yun had already eaten.
Gu Yun: “?”
I’ve already eaten that one.
Gu Yun wanted to say something, then stopped himself. He closed his eyes briefly. Forget it. If the other man did not mind, what was there for him to say?
The group from the Eastern Palace arrived shortly afterwards. Having finished the sugar cake, Chao Yan led his entourage into the Imperial City and headed for the Ministry of Justice.
Meanwhile, under the escort of Eastern Palace attendants, Gu Yun changed into an attendant’s robes and returned to the Eastern Palace. As for Zhou Er and Zhou Wei, the two of them returned to their own quarters.
Back in his residence, Gu Yun spent some time reading, idly considering what to have for lunch. With little else to occupy him, these were the sorts of things he could only think about.
He had already visited the workshop. It was operating as normal.
As for the girl named Zhang Zhaodi, Zhou Er had delivered her to Craftsman Wang several days earlier. Craftsman Wang respected Gu Yun greatly. Since Gu Yun had asked him to take Zhang Zhaodi under his wing, he did so without question.
When Gu Yun went to see them, he happened to arrive as Craftsman Wang was having Zhang Zhaodi prepare the gunpowder used in fireworks to assess how much she had learned. The two of them seemed to get on quite harmoniously.
The other craftsmen, however, had some objections to Zhang Zhaodi. The reason was simple: she was a girl.
Gu Yun did not interfere. She would face many more situations like this in the future. The only solution was to prove herself. No matter how much others spoke on her behalf, it would be of little use, just as it had been for him in the past.
It was also worth mentioning that, after witnessing the destructive power of the Thunderclap Bomb, Chao Yan reduced the production of fire lances and diverted more funding into the manufacture of Thunderclap Bombs.
After thinking for a while, several dishes he fancied eating sprang to mind. He ran over to the small kitchen, greeted the cook, and casually pocketed a plate of milk rolls before heading back.
When mealtime arrived, all the dishes he had ordered were brought out, yet the kitchen continued sending dish after dish to the table.
Holding his chopsticks, Gu Yun froze in bewilderment.
Turning his head, he quietly asked Zhang Zhangshe whether the person responsible for purchasing ingredients for the Eastern Palace today was a newcomer who had miscalculated the quantities.
Zhang Zhangshe was equally puzzled.
“I’ll go and ask,” she said.
She had barely stepped outside when she saw someone approaching. It was Zhao He, looking remarkably relaxed.
“Weren’t you accompanying His Highness to the Ministry of Justice?” Zhang Zhangshe asked.
Raising an eyebrow, Zhao He lifted a delicate orchid finger and said, “Guess.”
Zhang Zhangshe’s gaze passed over him. “His Highness is back?”
Zhao He grinned. “As expected of you.”
He continued, “His Majesty wishes to see Consort Gu this afternoon to ask a few questions. His Highness heard about it from Eunuch Huang and specifically came back so he could accompany Consort Gu. As for me, I get the whole afternoon off.”
As he spoke, he covered his mouth and laughed softly, positively blooming with delight.
While they were chatting, Chao Yan arrived. Having changed into ordinary robes in the main hall of Chunhe Palace, he made his way over.
The two immediately fell silent and joined the others in paying their respects.
Hearing the commotion outside, Gu Yun leaned forward to look. With a single glance, he saw the Crown Prince dressed in a crimson brocade robe.
It was the first time he had ever seen him wear such a colour. The brilliant, eye-catching shade made him look spirited and radiant.
Rather handsome, actually. The thought surfaced unbidden in Gu Yun’s mind.
“What are you daydreaming about?” The man had already walked over.
Seeing no response, he reached out and ruffled Gu Yun’s hair.
Gu Yun’s hair had almost reached his waist. Zhang Zhangshe and the others had enthusiastically arranged it into a youthful hairstyle with twin buns on either side, tied with ribbons as delicate as cicada wings and adorned with two tiny golden butterflies.
After Chao Yan’s rough treatment, the hairstyle was now somewhat dishevelled, several loose strands sticking up from the crown of his head.
Snapping out of his daze, Gu Yun pushed away the offending hand with considerable speechlessness.
Facing the mirror, he barely managed to tidy his hair. “Why has Your Highness come back?”
If Zhang Zhangshe and the others saw what had happened to his hair, they would undoubtedly drag him back to the dressing table and spend ages fixing it again. He really could not be bothered.
Chao Yan explained the reason.
After listening, Gu Yun asked, “Do you think His Majesty summoning me is a good thing?”
Chao Yan smiled. “You needn’t worry.”
“A good thing?” Gu Yun pressed.
Chao Yan reminded him, “Didn’t I tell you before that I informed Commander Liu the plan came from you? If he knows, then His Majesty certainly knows as well. If His Majesty wishes to see you this afternoon, it must be because he has heard the Wutong River ice-breaking succeeded. When you meet him, simply deal with him as I instructed before. This plan benefits Great Xuan. How could you not ask His Majesty for a reward?”
After lunch, the two of them went to see the Emperor.
The Emperor was strolling through the gardens after his meal when he heard Gu Yun had arrived and ordered that he be admitted.
Eunuch Huang added, “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has come as well.”
The Emperor snorted. “What, do you think I am going to eat Gu Shi?”
As they spoke, Gu Yun and his precious eldest son arrived before him. He had originally intended to ignore Chao Yan for a while. Then he caught sight of what the man was wearing and suddenly burst out laughing.
Why does he look like a peacock?
Far too dazzling.
