Chapter 131: A Beauty’s Smile

Chapter 131: A Beauty's Smile

Although the capital was north of the city of Chuanyang Prefecture, curiously, the further north they traveled toward the capital, the lighter the snow became, and in the latter days there were even several warm, sunny days.

After traveling for over twenty days straight, Marquis Anding's party finally entered the capital.

The Marchioness Anding had passed away several years prior, and the couple had only one son, Song Liyin, who had disappeared fourteen years ago. Thus, after the Marquis had gone out, the marquis's household had no proper master in residence.

Though there was no proper master in residence, Marquis Anding first sent Yin Hongxue back to the marquisate.

The roads in the capital were even easier to travel, paved with bluestone bricks wide enough for four large carriages to travel side by side. The shops along the street were mostly three or four stories tall. At this hour, looking up, one could see guests leaning by the half-open windows, enjoying the view.

Of course, those up high could also see the carriages below.

A man in a purple brocade robe with a white fox-fur cloak over his shoulders gently pushed open a window.

The cold wind blew in through the crack in the window, rousing the drowsy people in the warm room a bit.

"Why open the window?"

"Look outside—isn't that Marquis Anding's carriage?"

The man next to him leaned over to look too, clicking his tongue and muttering, "This Marquis Anding has really gotten bold since his wife died. He finishes disaster relief and instead of going straight to the palace to report to the Emperor, he returns to the marquisate first."

The man in purple shot a glance at the speaker.

It was Zhong Yan; his father was the Left Vice Minister of Revenue. When Marquis Anding had passed through with gold, silver, grain, and supplies, he had stormed into the Ministry of Revenue and chewed out many officials.

Zhong Yan realized he had put his foot in his mouth and quickly glanced around after saying it. Seeing that only Xu Dan was looking at him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Dan was the most tight-lipped person; he wouldn't take such words to heart and go blabbing them around.

Sure enough, Xu Dan's narrow, sly eyes only gave him a brief, indifferent glance before landing back on the carriage procession speeding past outside.

"Didn't you all see Marquis Anding riding at the front? That carriage right behind him, the one Song Diyun is guarding—who's in it?"

Zhong Yan leaned in again. "Maybe it's luggage?"

Qu Wenguang, sitting across from Xu Dan, shook his head. "No, I saw the carriage window open, and someone was sitting inside."

This got everyone curious, but in that short time, Marquis Anding's carriages were already gone.

The deeper the procession went, the fewer people there were, and after turning down a street into the deeper parts, there was no one at all.

Song Diyun said softly to Yin Hongxue from by the window. "This whole street is the marquisate. You'll see the main gate up ahead."

Yin Hongxue craned his neck a little, looking left and right, and only saw two stone lions far ahead.

When they arrived at the marquisate's main gate, the gatekeeper saw the Marquis and hurried over to welcome him. Marquis Anding dismounted and hurried over to the carriage. Yin Hongxue was just emerging from inside, and the Marquis personally brought a stool over, set it down, and helped Yin Hongxue down.

If it were up to him, he'd have just carried his grandson down, but the two still weren't that familiar with each other, and Marquis Anding was afraid of scaring Yin Hongxue.

The gatekeeper looked at the Marquis, then at Yin Hongxue, completely confused.

Another gatekeeper, having spotted the carriage coming down the alley, had already gone inside to tell the steward, and now came running out with him.

The steward saw everyone gathered around one carriage and hurried over to look as well. There in the center stood a young boy in red robes—the fabric wasn't particularly fine, but his bearing was truly elegant, so much so that one hardly noticed his clothing.

The steward moved closer, then froze in place.

He cried out in shock, "Young Master Liyin!? Is it Young Master Liyin?"

Yin Hongxue looked up and saw the middle-aged man before him with tears glistening in his eyes. He looked to Marquis Anding, somewhat at a loss.

"This is Yin Hongxue, Liyin's child." Marquis Anding patted Yin Hongxue's shoulder reassuringly and began to guide him inside.

One sentence explained Yin Hongxue's identity, but it also made the steward understand the meaning behind those words.

Young Master Liyin was likely no longer among the living.

The steward hastily wiped away his tears, then raised a smiling face and hurried to follow.

He complained, "Oh dear, Marquis, why didn't you send word ahead? We could have prepared the marquisate. Fortunately, we keep Shaoguang Courtyard regularly cleaned, or else Young Master Hongxue would have returned with no place to stay..."

Marquis Anding shot him a speechless glance. After settling Yin Hongxue in, he instructed him to direct the steward directly if he needed anything, then hurriedly rode off to the palace to report on his duties.

Xiaohe Village.

After the court's disaster relief grain arrived, conditions in the town finally began to improve. However, the relief grain was mostly old, coarse grain—enough only to keep people fed, and it had to be earned through labor. As such, grain prices in town remained stubbornly high.

Still, having food to eat was already quite good, and the atmosphere in the town and village relaxed considerably.

Xiaohe Village's patrol team hadn't been disbanded yet. Gu Wen returned from his patrol and went straight to the main hall, pouring himself a full bowl of hot water. Only after drinking it did he feel comfortable.

Chen Youyan sat by the stove embroidering, Gu Muan held a glutinous rice cake in his hand eating it, and Gu Chaoning held a book. All three had grim expressions on their faces.

Gu Wen pretended not to notice and asked, "What's for lunch?"

Chen Youyan snapped back to attention, saw the snow on Gu Wen's shoulders, and stood up to brush it off. The room was warm, and some of the snowflakes had already melted into the fabric.

While brushing the snow off Gu Wen, Chen Youyan replied, "Mother said she wants something light. I was thinking we could kill another chicken to nourish her."

The day after Yin Hongxue left, Wang Xiuxiu had fallen ill. Though she'd taken medicine, the weather was truly cold, and she still hadn't fully recovered.

Gu Wen acknowledged with a sound, warmed himself in the room for a while longer, then got up and headed to the backyard.

Before long, the sound of chickens squawking could be heard.

Chen Youyan put down his embroidery and looked at Gu Chaoning, who hadn't turned a page of his book in a long time.

"Chaoning," Gu Chaoning and Gu Muan both looked at Chen Youyan as he spoke, "once the snow melts in spring, let's move to the prefectural city. You'll study, and your father and I will look into opening some kind of eatery or something."

He had thought it over these past twenty-some days and come to understand that if he wanted to see Xue Ge'er often, or even help him in some way in the future, there was only one way.

That was for their family to go to the capital as well.

Chaoning was an excellent student—he was the top scholar (Jieyuan) among the provincial graduates of Chuanyang Prefecture. So, "Chaoning, how confident are you in becoming the top scholar (Zhuangyuan) in the imperial examination?"

Gu Chaoning: "...I don't know."

"Ah," Chen Youyan sighed. "Well, surely you can at least rank high enough to stay in the capital, right?"

Gu Chaoning's gaze fell back to the book, and after a long silence, he said, "I'll do my best."

...

The snow disaster of the seventeenth year of Chongde finally ended with the arrival of spring in the eighteenth year of Chongde.

The snow that had accumulated for nearly four months melted all at once, and unexpectedly triggered flooding.

The floodwaters of Dukou Town’s great river destroyed a bridge, sweeping away five people who were crossing it. Two were rescued, one went missing, and the other two drowned.

Town head Zheng Yiyang was run off his feet every day, posting guards at every bridge and banning anyone from setting foot on them for days.

That year’s back-to-back snowstorms and floods led to poor harvests in the villages under Dukou Town—wheat especially suffered, though rice and fish enjoyed an exceptionally bountiful season.

Villagers who had sold grain that winter learned their lesson the hard way—not only did they earn no profit, but they ended up spending extra to buy more grain.

Meanwhile, there was still no word on Xu Xiaoshui and Xu Chunmiao, who had gone missing from Xiaohe Village that winter.

That April, Gu Wen’s family packed up and moved from Xiaohe Village to the prefectural city of Chuanyang. That same month, Gu Chaoning gained admission to the Donglin Academy, where Gu Rong was already studying.

Gu Daniu and Wang Xiuxiu stayed behind, waited out the June wheat harvest, sorted out the farmland, and then moved to the city with Cui Ling.

At the end of June, the Gu family restaurant opened on a street in the city—neither bustling nor remote.

In April of the nineteenth year of Chongde, the Gu family carpentry shop opened its doors.

By the end of that year, the Gu family purchased a small estate, and Gu Daniu and Wang Xiuxiu moved there to resume their former trade.

In the twentieth year of Chongde, the Gu family restaurant opened a branch in Sui County. That same year, Gu Muan’s old friend Duan Chi returned to the city and, partnering with the Gu family, took over part of his family’s business from his elder brother.

In the twenty-first year of Chongde, Gu Chaoning traveled to the capital with his academy friends to sit for the metropolitan examination—and passed with flying colors, earning the rank of *huiyuan*.

That same year, a group of *gongshi* gathered in the capital for the palace examination—and then—

In the Golden Throne Hall, incense smoke curled upward as over a hundred *gongshi* stood with heads bowed. Golden sunlight streamed through the doors, falling across their backs and gilding them all with halos of light in the already golden hall.

Everything before them seemed to signal that ten—or even twenty—years of burning the midnight oil were finally over, and the future shone brilliantly ahead.

The next moment, the Chief Ceremonial Officer stepped forward holding a yellow silk edict, planted himself at the entrance, and boomed: “By decree—second rank, first place, Chuanlu Xu Dan, step forward to receive your orders!”

Xu Dan closed his eyes for a moment, then smoothed his robes, stepped forward, kowtowed once, and raised his hands high: “Your servant accepts the decree!”

Xu Dan accepted the edict, stood at the center of the hall facing all the *gongshi*—now newly minted *jinshi*—and drew a deep breath.

Then, in a clear, ringing voice that cut through the hall: “By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees—”

“In the twenty-first year of Chongde’s palace examination, first rank, *jinshi*, first place, *zhuangyuan*: Gu Chaoning of Chuanyang Prefectural City!”

Gu Chaoning bowed low and kowtowed. “Your servant thanks you for your grace.”

He had won the top spot—*zhuangyuan*.

Drums and gongs thundered as the Ministry of Rites’ procession poured out of Chang’an Gate, and the entire length of Zhuque Avenue was packed wall-to-wall with onlookers.

The main road had to remain clear, so officers stood every five paces along both sides, holding back the crowds from spilling onto it.

The windows of taverns and teahouses lining the street flew wide open, with people peering out from every single one. Anyone below needed only to look up to see finely dressed young masters and ladies—a rare sight on any ordinary day—leaning out the windows.

Gu Muan stood outside a shop facing the street with his elders. Short for his age, at thirteen he could no longer ride on his father’s shoulders as he used to, so he stretched up on his tiptoes, craning his neck through the gaps between jostling, bobbing heads to catch a glimpse of what was coming.

Gu Wen couldn’t help but chuckle; fighting through the crowd, he lifted his son by the waist and set him down on the threshold of the shop behind them.

It was a tea stall. The shopkeeper had stepped outside with his long-spouted pot and couldn’t get back in, so he simply hugged the pot, abandoned business altogether, and craned his neck to watch the spectacle.

“They’re here!” someone shouted—and the whole street erupted.

Horse hooves clattered sharp and clear; drums and gongs shook the air. Three pairs of guards on tall horses led the way, followed by the ceremonial procession and banners—and then came the day’s most dazzling stars: the new top three scholars.

The *zhuangyuan* rode a chestnut steed at the front, while the *bangyan* and *tanhua* followed side by side on white horses. Their saddles were embroidered with golden clouds, and their horses’ heads were adorned with large red pom-poms—majestic and imposing.

All three wore crimson robes and black gauze hats with gold flowers.

For a heartbeat, all noise seemed to pause—then a wave of flowers flew toward the three of them.

Someone blurted out: “Now *that’s* a *zhuangyuan*!”

Gu Chaoning was naturally fair-skinned, and the crimson *zhuangyuan* robe only enhanced his appearance, making him look like polished jade—a graceful, refined young gentleman.

At just nineteen, his brows resembled distant mountain ridges; his eyes, a cold pool reflecting the moon; his nose, high and straight; his lips, pressed in a faint, composed line. His features held a subtle allure, yet his scholarly bearing tempered it, lending him an air of quiet composure and refinement.

He smiled faintly atop the chestnut horse—less like a man on parade, more like a celestial being merely passing through the mortal world.

“This *zhuangyuan* is far too handsome—he looks more like a *tanhua* than a *zhuangyuan*.”

“I hear he’s only nineteen. Man, these years really are churning out exceptional talent.”

“The *tanhua* isn’t bad-looking either—but next to the *zhuangyuan*, he seems almost too delicate.”

“Hey, don’t be so picky. If you ask me, it’s the *bangyan* who’s got it—look at that upright bearing. That’s a man who gets things done.”

Whispers rippled through the street like water, and Gu Muan, hearing everyone praise his brother, puffed up with pride.

Gu Chaoning sat tall on his horse, quietly scanning the crowd—for his family—and for a figure he hadn’t seen in four years.

Behind the carved window on the third floor ahead, Yin Hongxue—whose features had grown colder and sharper with age—leaned half against the sill, idly twirling a white magnolia between his fingers.

The window stood wide open, so people in shops across the street could see him plainly.

Some, the moment they glimpsed Yin Hongxue, felt their breath catch.

His dark hair was half-tied; his face pale, nearly translucent. His features were strikingly handsome and cold—like early winter snow on green bamboo: clean, pure, utterly untouched by the mortal world. The corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward, and his beautiful eyes were as clear as glass.

Guan Qi, standing beside Yin Hongxue, noticed the stares from across the street and stepped forward to close one of the window panels halfway.

Hearing the movement, Yin Hongxue snapped out of his reverie.

Just then, a commotion rose from below. Yin Hongxue looked down and saw the procession had reached the building. His grip on the windowsill tightened—and with his other hand, he aimed at Gu Chaoning’s chest and tossed the white magnolia downward.

Years of training with the marquis had given him real arm strength, and the magnolia shot through the air like a stone, straight toward Gu Chaoning’s chest.

Gu Chaoning seemed to sense it—reached out a hand—and caught the magnolia cleanly.

Seeing that, Yin Hongxue smiled, satisfied.

This was the first time the handsome *zhuangyuan* had caught a flower—and the crowd went wilder than ever, hurling twice as many flowers as before.

Gu Chaoning looked up—and their eyes met across the space between them.

In that instant, the noise of the street faded from Gu Chaoning’s ears. Voices, drums, flowers whizzing past—all blurred into background noise.

The world seemed to shrink to that single, silent moment as their eyes met—and the sound of his own heartbeat, growing faster and faster.

It was him—Yin Hongxue.

For a moment, Gu Chaoning felt as if he’d been transported back to a past life.

Yin Hongxue, in a long green robe, leaned against the windowsill—and when he saw him reach the building, casually tossed down a white magnolia.

The magnolia landed right in his hand, and Yin Hongxue couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

That smile could thaw a frozen winter.

The horse, which had felt sluggish, inexplicably sped up. Gu Chaoning tilted his head slightly, his gaze trailing the figure that fell further behind.

The noise that had dimmed suddenly surged back as the figure vanished, making Gu Chaoning instinctively tighten his grip on the white magnolia in his hand.

He bowed his head and breathed in the magnolia's scent.

Within the flower's fresh scent, he caught a faint, cool note that did not belong to the magnolia.

Somehow, he knew in his gut this cool scent was Yin Hongxue's.

His fingers, which had just relaxed, tightened once again.

Then, everyone watched as the top scholar's jade-like earlobes, as if kissed by the sun, slowly turned a warm, rosy red.