Chapter 7: You F—ing Bastard!

When Gu Heyan saw Mu Zhiming moving away from him, his eyes dimmed. As Gu Heyan suppressed the disappointment in his heart, he looked at Mu Zhiming and asked: “Are you hurt somewhere?”

Mu Zhiming propped himself up. With a stunned expression, and a trembling voice, Mu Zhiming said: “Why….why is it you?”

‘How can it be Gu Heyan?! How can he be the person who saved me?!’

‘What about my past life?! Was he also the one who saved me back then?’

Mu Zhiming’s question made Gu Heyan speechless. ‘Surely he would have preferred to be saved by Fu Yi, right?’

“This jade pendant, is it yours?” Mu Zhiming suddenly pounced forwards. With his trembling hand, he pointed at the Phoenix Nirvana red agate jade pendant Gu Heyan was wearing around his waist.

“Yes.” Gu Heyan untied the jade pendant tied around his waist and handed it to Mu Zhiming. “Do you like it? You can take it.”

Mu Zhiming was stunned. He immediately waved his hand back and forth: “No, no, no! That’s not what I meant.”

Gu Heyan lowered his eyes, clutched the jade pendant that couldn’t be gifted, and laughed at himself in a deprecating way.

‘How can I be so stupid? Mu Zhiming would definitely not want an object that belongs to me.’

“Um, thank you for saving me.” Mu Zhiming took several deep breaths. Although he hadn’t recovered yet from the complex and intertwined comedy of errors1, he still made sure to thank Gu Heyan.

Gu Heyan glanced at him, put the jade pendant away, stood up and picked Mu Zhiming up: “Let’s go back, you’ll catch a cold like this. I’ll take you to your tent.”

“You don’t have to do this, I can walk by myself-….Achoo!” When the chilly mountain breeze hit Mu Zhiming’s soaked body, he shivered in Gu Heyan’s arms.

Without saying a word, Gu Heyan held Mu Zhiming. Gu Heyan’s posture was steady, and his steps were light as he walked up the mountain stream without exerting too much effort. Gu Heyan’s reddish brown horse and the royal horse that had dropped Mu Zhiming not long ago, were both there. The royal horse was quiet now, nuzzling the neck of Gu Huyan’s reddish brown horse, looking unbelievably docile.

“Why weren’t you like this when you dropped me?! I can’t even recognize you, you’re like a bird depending on people2!” With the intention of gripping its mane, Mu Zhiming indignantly accused the royal horse.

Gu Heyan helped Mu Zhiming sit on the back of the reddish brown horse. Then, he untied the rope on the side of the reddish brown horse and tied with it the royal horse’s halter. As Gu Heyan held the other end of the reins with one hand, he turned around and neatly mounted his horse. After wrapping Mu Zhiming in a protective hug, Gu Heyan whistled and led the royal horse towards the camp.

On both sides of the mountain path, the trees, whose dried leaves had not yet begun to fall, were already dyed in the color of spring, appearing and disappearing before their eyes as they went. Mu Zhiming calmed down, as he began to recall all kinds of experiences he had in his previous life, with the intention of cutting and sorting these inextricable threads.

In his past life, Mu Zhiming fell into a coma after falling into the water. When he woke up again, he was lying inside a tent in the Spring Hunt camp, clutching a red agate jade pendant in his hand. After Mu Boren and the Noble Consort confirmed that he was alright, they got up, leaving the tent to let Mu Zhiming rest. Then, when Fu Yi came to visit him, seeing that Mu Zhiming was awake and unharmed, Fu Yi sighed with relief. With a gaze as gentle as spring water, Fu Yi stroked Mu Zhiming’s forehead and said: “Luckily you’re safe. When I saw you fall into the pond, it scared me to death.”

At the time, Mu Zhiming’s heart had trembled as he asked: “You saved me?”

Fu Yi looked at his bright eyes and became silent for a moment. Then he smiled and replied: “Yes.”

“Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life. In the future, I will definitely remember to repay this kindness until my final days. By the way, I’ll return this to you.” Mu Zhiming then handed over the red agate jade pendant to Fu Yi.

At that moment, Fu Yi’s eyes flashed in surprise. As he reached out to take the jade pendant, he smiled and said: “I thought it had fallen into the depths of the pond, but it turned out you had it. This is an object my Imperial Father gave me. If others were to know that I had lost it, I’m afraid those people would try to spread rumors and cause trouble. Can you please not tell others about this?”

Mu Zhiming was already grateful to Fu Yi for saving his life, so how could he not agree to such a trivial matter? Of course, Mu Zhiming nodded immediately, letting Fu Yi rest assured.

Now, when Mu Zhiming remembered this, he couldn’t help but clutch his forehead with his hand and gnash his teeth.

‘Fu Yi! You’re a motherfucker! Bastard!’

“Headache?” A cold voice was heard from behind Mu Zhiming, startling him.

Straightening up, unwilling to show any weakness, he said, “No, I don’t have a headache.”

Mu Zhiming didn’t understand why he reacted the way he did. When he thought about it, it was probably because of the appearance of an iron-blooded General, like Gu Heyan, which had a strong impact on people. Mu Zhiming felt that he couldn’t show any weakness to Gu Heyan, as though he will be called a loser in the next second.

“We’re almost there.” As soon as Gu Heyan spoke, the reddish brown horse leaped out of the forest, and the large camp of the Spring Hunt appeared in front of them.

—

The fact that Mu Zhiming fell into a pond startled everyone.

In fact, he had a weak immune system since childhood, and would often get sick. Mu Zhiming actually thought that he would be alright this time, after all, he didn’t faint when he fell into the water. However, as soon as he changed out of his wet clothes, he immediately got a headache, fever, and chills.

Noble Consort Niangniang doted on him so much that she even decided to take care of him herself. She called for an Imperial Physician to attend to him, as well as ordering the servants to fetch warm fur coats for Mu Zhiming. After a lot of trouble, Mu Zhiming’s fever finally broke. However, he still had to stay in the warm, soft bed for four days, missing the Spring Hunt.

On the fifth day, the Spring Hunt Sacrificial Ceremony took place. This was an important day for the Emperor’s Officials to hunt animals, pour wine, and offer sacrifices to the Heavens, asking for protection for many years against all kinds of calamities.

Early in the morning, the Noble Consort and Mu Boren went to the Imperial tent to pay their respects to the Emperor, leaving Mu Zhiming alone.

”
”
Mu Zhiming knew that it was inappropriate for him to lie down on this day. Since he just so happened to be in good health, Mu Zhiming struggled to get up.

All of a sudden, the tent’s curtain was lifted, and a young Fu Ji’an entered with the cold breeze. Mu Zhiming was hit with the cold again, making him shiver.

“Fu Ji’an! I’m starting to believe that you’re an unlucky star that fell from Heaven3!” Mu Zhiming had just left the warm, soft fur bed, and he hadn’t put on his outer clothes yet. So, when the cold breeze blew in, Mu Zhiming had to climb back into bed, hugging the quilt and curling into a shivering ball.

“Mu-gege! Are you still not feeling well?” Fu Ji’an asked worriedly.

‘Of course I won’t get better if you keep letting in that damn cold breeze!’

Mu Zhiming thought for a moment, and then said: “You want me to get better, right?”

“Mm-hmm!” Fu Ji’an nodded innocently. “Of course!”

“How sincere is your heart?” Mu Zhiming asked.

Fu Ji’an replied: “As clear as the bright moonlight that can easily be seen even through a hazy sky.”

“If you memorize the ‘Book of Rites’, I’ll get better.” Mu Zhiming smiled wryly.

Fu Ji’an thought about it for a while, and then said with all seriousness: “Mu-gege, you should probably remain sick.”

Mu Zhiming: “….”

After seeing that Mu Zhiming was about to pounce on him and give him a severe blow, Fu Ji’an hurried to shout: “I have to go pay my respects to Mother Consort4! Goodbye! Mu-gege, if you’re not feeling well you must rest a bit more. It’s still early, there is plenty of time before the auspicious time for the Sacrificial Ceremony arrives!” After saying that, Fu Ji’an escaped from the tent.

Mu Zhiming was so angry that he grinded his teeth. However, when Mu Zhiming recalled what just happened, he laughed in the end.

After all, this was the future Sage King, who was often praised by the Emperor himself, as well as regarded as a thorn in the eyes of the Crown Prince and Fu Yi. This Sage King was known for his relaxed temperament.

A young child can grow up to a young adult, but the sea with its tumbling waves will still turn into farmland5.

“Not yet… It’s too early….” Mu Zhiming murmured. When he touched his forehead, he felt a slight fever rising again, so he hurriedly closed his eyes and rested some more.

—

On the other hand, Fu Ji’an, who had just walked out of the tent, bumped into someone.

That person bowed and saluted Fu Ji’an with a flat tone: “Greetings, Seventh Prince.”

Fu Ji’an was glad to recognize that person. He was Gu Heyan, the son of Gu Miao, the Great General who protected the country as bestowed by the Emperor. From what Fu Ji’an had heard, Gu Heyan was a promising, talented young man, who was also very good at horsemanship and archery. Even the Emperor praised Gu Heyan a lot.

‘Now that I see him with my own eyes, he indeed looks quite heroic.’

“There’s no need to be so polite.” Fu Ji’an hurried to say.

At that, Gu Heyan straightened up and didn’t say anything else. Gu Heyan just stood there.

“Uh….” Fu Ji’an didn’t know what to say next, feeling a bit at a loss. Embarrassed, Fu Ji’an walked in hurried steps towards the Imperial tent. After taking a few steps, he stealthy turned his head, only to see that Gu Heyan was still standing in the same spot. Gu Heyan’s posture was as straight as a bamboo plant, but it was unknown whether he was waiting for someone, or if he was keeping watch.

Fu Ji’an scratched his head in confusion and took two more steps forward. Then, all of a sudden, an idea formed in Fu Ji’an’s brain. Turning around, he ran back to Gu Heyan’s side and asked: “Do you want to enter the tent, and visit the Duke of Yan’s son?”

Gu Heyan’s eyes lit up as he nodded his head.

Fu Ji’an smiled to himself as he thought: ‘I knew it!’

Mu Zhiming had been recuperating in a tent that belonged to the Noble Consort’s relatives. Since the Noble Consort wasn’t present at the moment, the Imperial Bodyguards guarding the tent’s entrance didn’t have anyone to ask for instructions regarding non-relatives visiting. It was because of this that Gu Heyan couldn’t enter at will.

“It’s alright, reporting your visit to me is the same as reporting it to my Mother Consort. Don’t worry and just go in.” Fu Ji’an said enthusiastically. Then he instructed the guards at the tent’s entrance: “Let him in, there’s no need to stop him.”

“Many thanks to the Seventh Prince.” Gu Heyan clasped his fist and saluted. After seeing Fu Ji’an leave, Gu Heyan lifted the curtain and entered the tent.