Chapter 179: I Intend to Marry You, and This Life Shall Be Ours

Gu Huaizhi and the Regent went to the study.

The Regent stood by the window, his gaze falling on the courtyard. Su Wan, instead of following his orders to go to the storeroom to pick out decorations, was squatting under the loquat tree, pulling at the loquat leaves, and staring aimlessly in the direction of the study.

The Regent felt even more displeased. Was she worried that he would bully Gu Huaizhi?

Though, in truth, he did come to find fault.

“Father-in-law, what do you wish to discuss with me?”

Gu Huaizhi was very perceptive of the situation. The Regent had strong opinions about him marrying Su Wan.

The Regent cared deeply for Su Wan.

Calling him “father-in-law” was better than “godfather.”

The Regent gave him a cold glance, “Now that you have a wife, you don’t even recognize your father?”

If he had called him “godfather,” the Regent would certainly have said, “Ha, I’m not worthy to be your father-in-law?“

“Since Tingyuan acknowledges you as his father, once a father, always a father. Now that I’ve married your beloved daughter, I will follow Wanwan’s lead and call you Father.” Gu Huaizhi smoothly replied, “Father, did you summon me to the study to discuss Wanwan going to Xiliang?”

“Yes.” The Regent temporarily let Gu Huaizhi off the hook and began discussing business. “She is deeply attached to you; you should persuade her to stay for your sake.”

Gu Huaizhi frowned. Though he didn’t want Su Wan to go to Xiliang and be separated from him as husband and wife, he respected her choice.

The Regent’s health was not in good condition, and even if Su Wan stayed, she wouldn’t feel at ease.

“Father, forgive me, but I cannot do that.” Gu Huaizhi used Su Wan’s own words against him: “Wanwan previously gave you an ultimatum—if I persuade her to stay, and you go to Xiliang alone, she will no longer acknowledge you as her father.”

“The situation in Xiliang is uncertain. With you by her side, no one will be able to bully her. She is even more capable than you imagine.”

“Wanwan lived in the Su household for over ten years, never experiencing the love of her parents. The care shown by the Marquis of Dingyuan and his wife toward her had ulterior motives, and it left her deeply wounded.

Now that she has found her biological father and you have reunited as father and daughter, if she were to remain in Great Zhou while you head to Xiliang in ill health, she would be tormented by worry and unable to find peace, neither in her sleep nor her meals.”

“How can you bear this in your heart?”

The last sentence landed like a heavy hammer, striking the Regent hard in the chest.

The Regent remained silent for a long time.

Gu Huaizhi suggested, “Why don’t you stay in Great Zhou, and I will go to Xiliang with Wanwan?”

“No need.” The Regent, having stood for a long time, was beginning to feel exhausted. He sat down in the armchair, weakly raising a fist to his lips as he coughed a few times. The illness in his features seemed even more pronounced. “Did Jingyun enter Jiang Wenhe’s tutelage?”

“The master has accepted him as his final disciple,” Gu Huaizhi said softly. “When the time is right, I will ask the master to teach him the art of rulership.”

“There’s no rush for that,” the Regent had other plans. “Gu Huaizhi’s identity will accompany me and Zhao’er to Xiliang. You, using the identity of Tingyuan, will remain in the Regent’s Mansion and deal with the Marquis of Dingyuan’s household.

The Crown Prince had once cooperated with the Marquis of Dingyuan in the past. By taking down the Marquis’ household, you can also obtain evidence of the Crown Prince’s crimes.

When we return from Xiliang, we will elevate Jingyun to the throne. He is still young, and by then, we can ask the Imperial Tutor to teach him the art of rulership.”

Gu Huaizhi agreed to everything.

The Regent glanced toward the courtyard, where Su Wan was idly scribbling on the ground with loquat leaves. A sudden pang of sadness hit him, and the sight of Gu Huaizhi only made him feel more irritated.

“That’s enough. You can go now.” The Regent reminded him, “Wanwan thinks she’s staying at the Regent’s Mansion under the pretext of me being treated. It’s not appropriate for you to stay here with her.”

Gu Huaizhi chuckled, fully understanding the Regent’s subtle hint that he didn’t want him interfering with the father-daughter bonding time.

“Tingyuan understands.”

He thought to himself: Gu Huaizhi cannot stay, but as Tingyuan, who could say anything?

“Tingyuan takes his leave.”

Gu Huaizhi was ready to take Su Wan back to pack her belongings.

As he walked out of the study, Gu Huaizhi saw Su Wan squatting under the loquat tree, a thin twig dangling from her mouth.

“Are your legs numb from squatting?” Gu Huaizhi extended his hand toward Su Wan.

Su Wan placed her hand in his palm, and with his pull, she stood up. She stomped her feet lightly and couldn’t help but laugh, “Not numb. What did Father talk to you about?”

“He asked me to guard the rear well.” Gu Huaizhi avoided the full details. Intertwining his fingers with hers, his gentle gaze fell on her fair, glowing face. His phoenix eyes sparkled under the sunlight, and he seemed to be in quite a good mood.

In a soft voice, he asked, “Do you want to go back and pack your things? No need to prepare clothes; a seamstress will come tonight.”

“I need to go. I have to get my medical books.” Su Wan calmed down, her emotions receding. She suddenly realized something and gazed at his soft-profiled face, filled with an indescribable tenderness. Yet, she suddenly found it difficult to say, “Huaizhi, I’m going to Xiliang with Father. Just the journey there and back will take half a year, not counting the time we’ll spend in Xiliang. I won’t be able to celebrate New Year’s Eve or the Lunar New Year with you.”

This was Su Wan’s first New Year since she had come to this time, and also her first New Year with the Gu family.

But she couldn’t stop worrying about her Father, fearing that he would be deeply hurt by her mother again.

She gave a bitter smile. In Xiliang, in a certain sense, it could be considered a “family reunion.”

“You don’t need to dwell on it. We will have many more New Years in the future.” Gu Huaizhi’s gentle voice reassured Su Wan as his fingers lightly brushed away the stray hair from her forehead. “When you return, you’ll be the wife of the top scholar.”

“What if you don’t pass as the top scholar?” Su Wan felt a wave of sadness as she mentioned it. “I just hope I can return in time to see you riding through the streets in victory.”

She recalled that it was spring at the time, with apricot blossoms lining Chang’an Street, and she recited with ease, “Apricot blossoms fill the air, which family’s youth walks by with such grace?”

Gu Huaizhi’s gaze darkened slightly, his heart stirred. In a husky voice, he asked, “What is the next line?”

Su Wan’s face lit up with a radiant smile as she gestured in the air, “I intend to marry you, and this life shall be ours. Even if abandoned without mercy, I shall never be ashamed.”

The moment she finished speaking, she realized what she had said. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes, followed by a subtle hint of shyness.

She wanted to explain, her lips slightly parting, but the fresh scent of cedar from him enveloped her, and before she could react, his soft lips pressed gently against hers, lightly capturing them.

Su Wan’s eyes widened. His kiss was gentle and tender, like a soft breeze and light rain, stirring her heart and making it flutter.

His hand firmly wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his embrace.

“One lifetime isn’t enough,” Gu Huaizhi grasped one of her hands and pressed it against his chest, his breath unsteady as he whispered in her ear, “How could I ever bear to let you go?”

Su Wan looked up, her dark eyes misted with a layer of moisture, shining brilliantly.

“We haven’t even gone through the wedding ceremony yet.”

Su Wan wore an expression of playful grievance.

Gu Huaizhi chuckled softly, lifting her chin as he placed a kiss on her cheek. “We’ll do that when you return.”

Her heart fluttered at his words.

Was he implying that when she returned from Xiliang, they would hold a proper wedding banquet?

—

Jiu Yu brought Jiu Ge from the Taoist Temple to the Regent’s Mansion.

Jiu Ge stayed in the front hall.

Jiu Yu, led by Luo Cheng, made his way to the study.

Luo Cheng remained outside as Jiu Yu pushed open the door to the study, only to see the Regent throwing a blood-stained handkerchief into the fireplace.