Chapter 165: End of Main Story

Chapter 165: End of Main Text

The news caught both of them completely off guard.

That evening, they sent word to He Feiguang's residence to cancel the evening meal, and also sent word to the Marquis's mansion and the Gu family.

When the four elders of the Gu family heard the servant's message, they all shot to their feet in shock. Gu Muan, however, was over the moon and cheered out loud.

None of them could sit still, so they hurried right over. Bai Jing and the Marquis from the Hou mansion were even quicker, since they lived closer.

So, a quarter of an hour later, Yin Hongxue looked around at the elders fussing over him with worried questions, shooting a pleading look at Gu Chaoning.

Catching Yin Hongxue's gaze, Gu Chaoning blinked and winked at him.

Yin Hongxue: "..."

As Yin Hongxue's eyes started to narrow dangerously, Gu Chaoning didn't dare keep messing around. He squeezed through the cluster of elders and plopped down next to Yin Hongxue.

"Okay, Grandfather, Grandaunt, Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Papa—we've already seen the doctor. Xue Geer's very healthy, and the baby's healthy too. But it's so hot these days—Grandfather, do you know who sells ice in the capital?"

As he talked, he pulled out a handkerchief to dab the sweat off Yin Hongxue's forehead. Good thing it was the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy—they say folks in the family way tend to run hot. In another two or three months, when Yin Hongxue's belly started to show, the weather would've cooled off too.

The elders were, sure enough, distracted by Gu Chaoning's words. The Marquis's mansion had its own big ice cellar, and they said they'd send ice over from the Hou mansion from now on.

With the elders no longer all hovering around Yin Hongxue, he could finally breathe easy.

Afterward, the elders talked it over with Yin Hongxue, and Chen Youyan decided to stay on the spot. Gu Muan then naturally tagged along and moved in too.

Once the house had settled down, Yin Hongxue finally got to meet with He Feiguang.

He Feiguang looked leaner and a lot more tanned than the last time they'd met. Seeing Yin Hongxue come in, he immediately stood up and carefully pulled out a chair for him, then poured tea and set it right by Yin Hongxue's hand.

Gu Chaoning's hand, which had just started to move, dropped back down—He Feiguang had swiped all his jobs. He could only hover protectively by Yin Hongxue, steadying him as he sat down.

Across from him, Meng Chengyi rushed over to He Feiguang's side, trying to tug him back into his seat.

He Feiguang shoved Meng Chengyi aside, his eyes blazing as he locked onto Yin Hongxue. "I heard you're expecting! When the little one's born, can the kid call me godfather?"

With that, He Feiguang pulled a gem-encrusted dagger from his robes and slapped it on the table. "This is my gift for my godkid!"

Meng Chengyi, seeing the dagger he'd begged for time and again without luck now sitting in front of Yin Hongxue, stared with eyes wide as saucers. Even though he was the biggest guy in the room, he looked like everyone was picking on him.

Gu Chaoning was dumbfounded. "We haven't even agreed to let the kid call you godfather, you know?"

He Feiguang ignored that completely, just stuffing the dagger into Yin Hongxue's hands.

He declared bossily, "You've accepted my gift for the little one, so that means you've accepted me as godfather."

Yin Hongxue couldn't help but smile as he took the dagger. Seeing that, He Feiguang's face split into a big, happy grin.

The waiter came to the private room to serve the food. Once everything was on the table, the four of them chatted casually while eating.

When they were just about full, Yin Hongxue remembered something and congratulated He Feiguang: "I still haven't congratulated you on your promotion."

He Feiguang's smile dimmed a bit—there was no joy or excitement about the promotion on his face.

He was now a fourth-rank general, while Xu Xiaoshui, who'd also been fourth-rank, was still stuck at fourth-rank.

"Know why I moved up so fast?" His smile turned bitter as he picked up a peanut and crunched down on it hard.

"Because those bigwigs in court wanted to use me to hold Xiaoshui back."

Yin Hongxue gave a faint smile, his face unreadable.

He Feiguang went on, "Pah! A bunch of cowardly, petty little men. Just wait—in a couple of days, there's bound to be a real show in court."

After dinner, He Feiguang and Gu Chaoning were both mindful of Yin Hongxue's condition, worried he'd tire out, so they just took a short stroll before heading home.

When they got back, the courtyard was lit with lamps, and mugwort was burning to keep the mosquitoes away. Chen Youyan sat under the lamplight sewing underclothes, waiting for them to get back. Gu Muan sat nearby, brush in hand, scribbling something on paper.

"Papa, we're home."

Seeing the two return, Chen Youyan and Gu Muan both stood up and welcomed them happily.

"Xue Age, we saved you some cold melon—it's hanging in the well!"

Gu Chaoning peeked at what Gu Muan was writing, saw it was a recipe, and said, "It's dark out. Write the recipe tomorrow."

This was just Gu Muan's way of killing time, so hearing that, he readily agreed and followed Tingfeng to grab the cold melon.

Chen Youyan was making the underclothes for Yin Hongxue. He held the fabric up against him, measuring. With the pregnancy, he was getting heavier, and his old underclothes didn't fit anymore. Plus, he sweated easily, so he'd need several new sets.

Before long, Gu Muan came running back carrying half a cold melon, with Tingfeng following behind holding a cutting board and knife.

Gu Chaoning was utterly speechless at this master-servant pair—they were truly birds of a feather, both getting excited at the mere mention of food.

After eating the cold melon, they chatted for a while longer before retiring to their rooms to rest.

As for the "show" He Feiguang had mentioned, Gu Chaoning and Yin Hongxue kept a close eye on things over the following days.

Before long—six days, to be exact—someone in court suddenly accused He Feiguang of actually being a gē'er (a man who can bear children).

He Feiguang initially denied it, but when that official produced evidence and demanded He Feiguang prove his masculinity by taking a wife, He Feiguang simply admitted outright that he was indeed a gē'er.

When the news spread, officials who hadn't attended court that day were all stunned.

Gu Chaoning couldn't help but laugh, already imagining the faces of those officials who had pressured Qi Jianwei to block Xu Xiaoshui's promotion and had elevated He Feiguang instead—all to suppress Xu Xiaoshui's influence.

But the real drama was yet to come.

After He Feiguang threw caution to the wind and admitted he was a gē'er, the already noisy Xuanzheng Hall erupted into chaos, buzzing like a vegetable market.

Some even shouted that He Feiguang had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, demanding he be thrown in prison and stripped of his rank.

Among the military officials, might made right. They'd already been furious that the civil officials were pressuring the emperor not to promote Xu Xiaoshui.

Now seeing the civil officials making such a racket, some military officers who were close to Xu Xiaoshui or He Feiguang simply started throwing punches.

That fight was something else. A few of the most vocal civil officials immediately collapsed to the ground, trying to extort the military side, crying and sniveling—men old enough to have grandchildren—begging the emperor for justice.

"What happened next?" Yin Hongxue listened to Gu Chaoning's account, his heart tightening with tension.

"Next, the emperor gave both sides a slap on the wrist and dismissed court."

But this matter was clearly far from over. It was mostly followed by officials and scholars; as for the common folk, it was wheat harvest season, and they were all busy.

Over the following days, there were memorials submitted, arguments during morning court—in short, several days of lively chaos.

But the emperor's stance remained unclear, until another five days had passed.

They had been arguing for five days now, and neither side could gain any ground. The military officials and civil officials couldn't stand the sight of each other, faces like thunder.

The military officers had loud voices, but the civil officials had sharper tongues. After the Emperor strictly forbade physical altercations, neither side came out ahead.

Today was more of the same. Before the Emperor even arrived, both sides had already started bickering under their breath.

But for some reason, it was already time for morning court and the Emperor still hadn't shown up.

Marquis Anding stood at the front of the military officials, ears pricked up as he listened to both sides argue, keeping mental notes since he had been instructed by Yin Hongxue to report back on what went down.

But as the Emperor remained absent for so long, both sides gradually lost the will to argue and kept glancing toward the area behind the dragon throne.

Marquis Anding let out a sigh of relief.

Finally, they stopped. They'd said so much he was already having trouble remembering it all.

"The Emperor arrives—"

At the eunuch's announcement, the Xuanzheng Hall, which had already gone a round of bickering, finally fell completely silent.

The civil officials had already squared up, ready to launch into their prepared spiels the moment Qi Jianwei sat down. The military officials stood with hands on their hips, sucking in deep breaths, ready to start hollering insults.

He Feiguang stood in the military row with a calm face, and He Feixu stood in the civil row with an equally blank expression.

"Your Majesty!" The lead official hollered, dead set on being louder than the military side, but the moment he got a good look at Qi Jianwei, his voice cracked and his face went pale with shock and fear.

"Your... Your Majesty?"

"Whoa." Even Marquis Anding sucked in a sharp breath, staring at the approaching Qi Jianwei with utter astonishment.

Qi Jianwei, however, looked thoroughly pleased with herself, a rare hint of cunning and smugness playing across her features.

Her face was bare of any makeup, and her dark blue-black hair was not entirely tied up with a hairpin but styled into a bun, with a dragon crown sitting right on top of her head.

The golden dragon had a South Sea pearl clutched in its jaws, its body coiled around Qi Jianwei's bun, looking every bit the imposing symbol of power.

The dragon robe Qi Jianwei wore had been restyled from the old design, clearly made for a woman.

Qi Jianwei—their Emperor—was a woman!?

Everyone was so stunned by the sight that they couldn't react. Qi Jianwei got the reaction she wanted, calmly seating herself on the dragon throne and turning to face the assembled officials.

One look was all it took. The officials who had been frozen in shock felt their hearts skip a beat, hit by the full weight of imperial authority. The next moment, everyone dropped to their knees in a great rustle of robes.

Qi Jianwei said in a cold voice: "Yin Shui has earned merit in battle. From today, he is promoted to Deputy Third Rank Military Guard General. He Feiguang has also earned merit in battle, and I have long known he is a male omega. There's no charge of deceiving the emperor. His position remains unchanged."

"When I ascended the throne, I should have held the grace examination, but with the late Emperor's recent passing, I was overwhelmed with grief and drowning in matters of state, so I postponed it... Zhou De."

The Minister of Rites, Zhou De, quickly answered: "Your servant is here."

"Convey my decree: hold the grace examination, for both civil and military exams, with men, male omegas, and women all permitted to sit for it."

"Your Majesty! You can't do this!"

The officials who had been kneeling on the ground all blurted out instinctively, and the previously quiet Xuanzheng Hall got loud again.

But before the remaining words could be spoken, Qi Jianwei's expression turned stern, and she raised her voice: "Presumptuous!"

That single shout snapped the hot-headed officials back to their senses.

Qi Jianwei put her foot down: "The Grand Secretariat, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Rites will handle this together. This is the first grace examination since I took the throne—there can be no mistakes."

Everyone said in unison: "Your servants accept the decree."

Only then did Qi Jianwei appear satisfied, her expression softening: "Alright, all of you may rise."

Those who had been hot-headed at the start helped the officials beside them to their feet, some having broken out in a cold sweat and subtly dabbing their foreheads with their sleeves.

Qi Jianwei immediately broke into a smile again as she spoke: "Aside from the grace examination, I am of age and wish to hold a consort selection. Any of you with sons of the right age should start getting ready."

Hearing this, the officials who had been nervous and dazed from the morning's shocks suddenly perked right up.

Qi Jianwei wasn't just of age—kids her age were already running around, jumping, and going out to buy things!

They had long wanted Qi Jianwei to hold a selection, but she had never budged. And since it was the first year of her reign with so many affairs, they hadn't kept pushing.

Now they finally understood why Qi Jianwei had never taken a wife for so long.

So she was a woman!

The opening of the grace examination to women and male omegas, combined with Qi Jianwei's agreement to hold a selection—one was a stick, the other a carrot. The former made it clear Qi Jianwei had made up her mind, so kicking up a fuss was pointless.

After all, their Emperor was a real power player, with actual military force in her hands!

So they might as well happily prepare for the selection, pick sons from their families to send into the harem, and strengthen their ties with the Emperor!

This bunch, masters of weighing pros and cons, quickly figured it out. They knelt and saluted, shouting in unison: "Long live the Emperor's wisdom!"

...

After court let out, Marquis Anding didn't stop for a second, heading straight to Yin Hongxue's place to tell him about what had happened at court that day.

Yin Hongxue was just as shocked. No wonder he'd always felt something was off about Qi Jianwei. And the fuss He Feiguang had been making the past few days now made sense after today.

Marquis Anding's eyes were shining. The excitement that had been building since court ended was flooding his brain, making his voice rise a lot.

"The Emperor is holding the grace examination, and women and male omegas can take it! Xue Geer! You can sit for the imperial exams too!"

Yin Hongxue froze, his mind going blank, standing there stunned.

Right, he could take the exams too!

By the time Qi Jianwei's decree and the news that she was a woman spread to every corner of the Great Qi, it was already early October.

In autumn, during the harvest season, Gu Chaoning really showed his stuff in the Ministry of Revenue, simplifying the calculations and bookkeeping, cutting the time for the busy, complicated tax collection by nearly half. The Emperor gave him another promotion, and now he attends court every day.

Meanwhile, word came from Dukou Town that Chen's little sister, Chun Ni, had found a blacksmith from the same town and set the wedding for April next spring.

During this time, Chen's maternal grandfather and uncles, hearing that Yin Hongxue was pregnant, sent a merchant caravan with some local goods from Dukou Town.

Among them were dried paddy fish and dried vegetables from the village. The braised fish dish made by Gu Muan with these ingredients was especially loved by Yin Hongxue, who could put away two bowls of rice with it every time.

The border city sent things too. A local white mushroom, simply stir-fried, was another dish Yin Hongxue really loved.

By the New Year, Yin Hongxue's belly was already showing clearly.

Xu Xiaoman came through twice more on his trading runs, having heard from Xu Xiaoshui that Yin Hongxue was pregnant.

The first time, he brought a bunch of newfangled stuff, including a dried herb that was great to sniff when dealing with morning sickness. Gu Muan turned it into incense, which was kept burning in all the spots Yin Hongxue hung out in.

The second time, another large batch of dried medicinal herbs arrived, along with a type of fish maw from the South Sea. Yin Hongxue stewed and ate them throughout the winter, and his complexion grew especially rosy.

Thanks to good care at home and careful attention to his diet, by early March, Yin Hongxue still moved with his usual brisk, flying pace.

The midwife and physician had already been invited to stay at the residence, and the doctor predicted the birth would come within the next few days. Gu Chaoning was so anxious that fever blisters broke out at the corners of his mouth, and he couldn't even bring himself to eat. Yin Hongxue, on the other hand, was quite at ease—at night, he even secretly picked at the nearly-healed scabs on Gu Chaoning's lips.

Gu Chaoning simply took time off work and stayed home, trailing Yin Hongxue wherever he went. Bai Jing and Wang Xiuxiu also moved in, and there was always someone by Yin Hongxue's side.

On the thirteenth of March, after getting up, Yin Hongxue first had a bowl of chicken noodle soup for breakfast. After eating, he took a stroll around the courtyard with Gu Chaoning and Gu Muan.

The winter jasmine he and Gu Chaoning had planted the year before was in full, brilliant bloom, its warm yellow petals a striking pop of color.

Yin Hongxue, in a good mood, picked up scissors to cut some flowers for a vase, but before he could even take a step, he felt a strange dampness between his legs.

He looked up, startled, at Gu Chaoning: "Gu Chaoning, I—I think I'm going into labor."

Both Gu Chaoning and Gu Muan jumped at his words. Gu Chaoning immediately rushed over, picked him up, and carried him to the birthing room that had been prepared, while Gu Muan hurried off to the elders' courtyard.

"Hurry, hurry—Xue Age's labor has started!"

The household had long been prepared, even running two drills, but when the real moment came, panic was still unavoidable.

Especially Gu Chaoning—after laying Yin Hongxue on the bed, his hands and feet went completely limp. Wang Xiuxiu and the others who had rushed over pushed him out.

Once the midwife and physician entered the room and checked Yin Hongxue's condition, they felt reassured.

"The young master is in good health, has watched his diet, and walks often—he won't have to endure much pain."

The midwife then turned to the attendant beside her: "Tell the kitchen to send over some light food that's easy on the stomach. The labor has just started, and it'll be a while before delivery—he needs to save his strength."

The attendant acknowledged the order and left. Outside, Gu Muan was pacing in a panic, not knowing what to do, so he simply headed to the small kitchen to make food for Yin Hongxue.

The Marquis, Gu Daniu, and Gu Wen came over when they got the news. Seeing Gu Chaoning looking utterly lost, they pushed him into going to boil water.

The labor started shortly after breakfast. During that time, Yin Hongxue ate two more meals. By the start of the you hour—the time Gu Chaoning usually got off work—after a sharp cry of pain from Yin Hongxue, a loud, clear baby's cry finally rang out.

The midwife's voice was excited and joyful: "Born, born! It's a handsome little boy!"

Gu Chaoning, who had been tense all day, suddenly went limp and dropped to his knees with a thud. Gu Wen's smile, which had just spread, snapped shut in shock, and he hurried over to help him up.

"What's wrong? Doctor, hurry—"

But Gu Chaoning regained his strength after a moment, scrambled to his feet, and hurried into the room.

"Hey, hey, Chaoning, you can't go in—you're not ritually clean..." Chen Youyan's words were cut off as Gu Chaoning swiftly stripped off his outer robe, tossed it outside the door, and kept going inside in just his underclothes.

The room was toasty with charcoal braziers. Gu Chaoning glanced briefly at the little boy cradled in Bai Jing's arms, then continued toward the inner chamber.

Yin Hongxue was still quite alert. Guan Qi was wiping the sweat from his brow with hot water and quietly withdrew when he saw Gu Chaoning. Gu Chaoning strode over in three quick steps, picked up a cloth from the basin, wrung it out, and leaned down to wipe the sweat from Yin Hongxue's neck.

His movements were so smooth and practiced that Yin Hongxue was momentarily stunned—until he met Gu Chaoning's slightly panicked eyes.

Yin Hongxue was taken aback for a moment, then took Gu Chaoning's hand and smiled.

"Did you see our child?"

Gu Chaoning nodded silently.

Yin Hongxue continued: "I think he looks all red and ugly, like Guozi did when he was little."

Gu Chaoning brought his other hand up as well, leaned his whole body down, closed his eyes slightly, and pressed his forehead gently against Yin Hongxue's hand.

"He's not ugly... our child isn't ugly."

Seeing him like this, Yin Hongxue stopped trying to tease him and asked, "Have you thought of a name for our child?"

Gu Chaoning shook his head. He had gone back and forth on names, thinking each one was good and then not good enough. Later, he was so preoccupied with worrying about Yin Hongxue that he couldn't even eat, and now, all he wanted was to just be with Yin Hongxue and not think about anything.

Yin Hongxue didn't press further. Once Gu Chaoning calmed down, he resumed wiping Yin Hongxue's sweat, and the two exchanged a few words now and then.

Yin Hongxue, having just given birth, was drained of energy and soon drifted off to sleep.

...

The imperial examination's metropolitan exam was set for the twenty-sixth of April. After a month of careful recovery, Yin Hongxue's body was already back to normal, but the child's name still hadn't been decided.

Initially, the Gu family wanted the Marquis's household to decide, but the Marquis said the little one was the couple's child, so they should decide. Thus, it remained undecided, and everyone just called the baby "little treasure" or "little one."

Gu Muan, He Feiguang, and others had more than once scolded Gu Chaoning and Yin Hongxue over this.

At the baby's full-month banquet, they were especially berated, which annoyed the couple so much that they spent half the night flipping through books for a name.

But before the baby's name came the imperial examination. Gu Chaoning and the Marquis both took leave, the entire Gu and Song families turned out, and even the Bai family sent people—a huge crowd seeing Yin Hongxue off to the metropolitan exam hall.

Gu Chaoning, holding the baby, waved at Yin Hongxue: "Mind the time, and don't forget to eat!"

Who gives advice like that! Yin Hongxue laughed at him, but then, thinking of not seeing father and son for several days, felt a deep reluctance.

On the fourth of May in the first year of Ruili, the metropolitan exam ended. On the ninth of May, the results were posted, and Yin Hongxue of the capital ranked first in the metropolitan exam.

On the sixteenth of June in the first year of Ruili, the breeze was warm and pleasant.

"Hurry, hurry, the top scholar is parading through the streets!"

"The metropolitan graduate is Marquis's son Yin Hongxue—I wonder if he'll also be the top scholar."

"Definitely. Young Master Yin is the one who invented the bamboo tube waterwheel—he's full of talent."

"Hey, stop shoving, stop shoving! Last time I watched the top scholar's parade, my feet were swollen for days from being stepped on. This time, whoever steps on me, I'm conning them!"

"Who's eating chives? That stinks—shut up already."

Gu Chaoning stood by the third-floor window holding the baby, listening to the commotion below, and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Before long, the sound of gongs and drums came from ahead. Gu Chaoning gripped the pink rose in his hand, his eyes fixed intently on the scene before him.

As usual, the ceremonial guard came first, followed by a tall horse, and on it, dressed in a red robe... Yin Hongxue.

"Wow, what a handsome top scholar."

"Young Master Yin—the top scholar is indeed Young Master Yin!"

"Young Master Yin? The one from the Marquis's household?"

...

As a male scholar who had achieved first place in the palace exam, Yin Hongxue made the young men and women of the capital even more excited. Flowers and embroidered pouches flew at him relentlessly.

But Yin Hongxue looked up, searching for something. There were too many people, and Gu Chaoning had deliberately not told him where he was.

As he passed the tavern where he had once watched Gu Chaoning being paraded through the streets, Yin Hongxue, as if struck by a sudden thought, turned his gaze toward the familiar window on the third floor.

The young lord in brocade robes held a baby in his arms, his eyes shimmering with tenderness as he looked at him, with none of the coldness Gu Chaoning had mentioned yesterday.

Yin Hongxue couldn't help but let out a laugh, and the beauty's smile got the crowd even more worked up.

Gu Chaoning aimed for Yin Hongxue's arms and tossed down the rose he had been holding until it was warm in his hands. Yin Hongxue reached out slightly and caught it right in his hand.

Just like Gu Chaoning had once caught that white magnolia.

"The End"