CH 137

Villainous Fake Eunuch (14)

On that day, Song Xu Yi stayed up until almost dawn. However, the convoy was in a hurry and a maid woke her up shortly after she had fallen asleep. After washing up and having breakfast, Song Xu Yi planned to sleep in the carriage, but she noticed someone kneeling outside Gu Ruyu’s room.

The person noticed Song Xu Yi and quickly lowered their head. Song Xu Yi recognized the person as one of Gu Ruyu’s subordinates who had brought a stack of books and snuck into her room the day before. Since he didn’t ask for her help, his mistake might not have been serious.

Knowing Gu Ruyu’s background, Song Xu Yi didn’t want to interfere too much with her way of managing her subordinates. She hesitated for a moment and decided to continue in the carriage.

Shortly after, the convoy departed. Song Xu Yi lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. The person who had been kneeling was now riding a horse at the front of the team. It seemed that his mistake wasn’t serious.

Although Song Xu Yi felt that something was amiss, she was too sleepy and soon dozed off.

When she woke up again, it was already noon. The servants had gone to a nearby town to buy local delicacies for Song Xu Yi’s meal.

Feeling energized after a good sleep, Song Xu Yi picked up the books she had purchased the day before. This time, she delved deeper into them and learned that the former prince Liu Qian of the previous dynasty was a compassionate and brave leader who cared for his people and excelled in warfare. However, he was born at the wrong time and encountered the ambitious Zheng Ye. If Liu Qian had been given more time and succeeded to the throne, the current state of the country might have been different.

During her search for information, Song Xu Yi was surprised to discover that the father of her current body had a close relationship with Liu Qian. According to unofficial historical records, Father Song and Liu Qian grew up together as if they were brothers. To support their bond, the records stated that “the two families had already agreed to marry their children, and the young daughter of the Liu family, Liu Ruyu, was promised to the second son of the Song family since she was a baby.”

Unfortunately, both families, who were well-loved by the people, met tragic ends at the hands of foreign invaders.

After finishing the book, Song Xu Yi was able to solve a puzzle, but she was also puzzled. While the downfall of the Liu family was likely related to Zheng Ye, the ones who massacred the entire Liu family were foreign invaders who invaded the borders. If Gu Ruyu was truly Liu Ruyu, she would despise foreign invaders to the core. Then why did the plot summary claim that Liu Ruyu colluded with foreign invaders and opened the country’s borders to them?

Song Xu Yi had a hunch that there were other hidden reasons behind this matter, but currently, she was just an unknown individual, far from the center of power, and had no way of knowing.

Now they were nearing the southern part of the country, and the night air began to warm. The caravan arrived at a place with no nearby village or shop and decided to camp in the mountains for the night.

Gu Ruyu was strict with her subordinates, and the team was usually quiet. However, on this day, the camping team was unexpectedly lively.

Thanks to the reminder of a maidservant, Song Xu Yi learned that this day was the festival of Benyue1.

Benyue is an ancient festival that celebrates reunion.

Although Song Xu Yi didn’t feel hungry, as the person with the highest nominal status in the team, she naturally couldn’t miss such an occasion. So, she followed the maidservant out of the carriage.

At this time, the atmosphere in the venue was lively. The guards went to the mountains to hunt for wild game and set up a bonfire to start grilling the food. The people cooking the food were extremely skilled, and the tempting aroma of food drifted through the mountains and forests. Everyone was enjoying themselves, and their faces were filled with rare happiness.

Infected by such an atmosphere, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but smile and take a chicken leg from the table to take a few bites. In a daze, she found that someone seemed to be looking at her. She subconsciously followed that gaze and saw Gu Ruyu sitting beside the bonfire, with her head down as if thinking about something.

There were too many people around, and Song Xu Yi couldn’t tell who had looked at her before. Her gaze returned to Gu Ruyu.

Gu Ruyu’s appearance was really outstanding, undoubtedly the most eye-catching presence among the crowd. However, even in such a lively environment, Gu Ruyu still looked cold and lonely. She seemed to be in the midst of the crowd, but also as if she was separate from it. Song Xu Yi even had a feeling that nothing in the world could move her.

Gu Ruyu was also eating. When Gu Ruyu dined, she often had a special aura that was calm and unhurried, and she was always in control. Song Xu Yi didn’t understand before, but now she realized that it might be the etiquette ingrained in the royal family of the former dynasty. However, perhaps due to her injured shoulder, Gu Ruyu seemed a little absent-minded at the moment, and the small knife in her hand that was used to cut the meat had not cut the meat for a long time.

Watching Gu Ruyu’s appearance, Song Xu Yi suddenly remembered her promise to take care of Gu Ruyu the day before and sensed something amiss.

Gu Ruyu had been bothering her recently, but for some reason, she didn’t ask her to come and see her that day. However, when she saw Gu Ruyu having trouble eating, Song Xu Yi couldn’t ignore her since Gu Ruyu was injured because of her.

With that in mind, Song Xu Yi went back to get the best piece of meat and cut it into small pieces for easy consumption. She also cut two sweet and sour wild fruits and used a tree branch to make a fork shape. After that, she carried the plate to Gu Ruyu’s side.

Gu Ruyu still looked absent-minded. Her subordinates didn’t dare to persuade her to eat more food because of her heavy temper. They just looked at her hesitantly, but when they saw Song Xu Yi coming over, they scattered like they had met a savior.

Gu Ruyu’s body stiffened.

“Ruyu,” Song Xu Yi didn’t notice Gu Ruyu’s unusual silence and felt pressure from the subordinates’ gaze. She unconsciously softened her voice, “I cut some roasted meat and fruit. Do you want some?”

Gu Ruyu just nodded softly, but didn’t raise her head to look at Song Xu Yi, nor did she take the porcelain plate that Song Xu Yi handed over.

Song Xu Yi only then noticed Gu Ruyu’s strange attitude.

What was wrong with her?

From Song Xu Yi’s perspective, she could only see Gu Ruyu’s beautiful profile. Gu Ruyu pursed her lips, her face pallid, and her eyebrows slightly furrowed. Behind her, a blazing campfire illuminated an old man who suddenly burst into tears after drinking and sang a sorrowful tune that gripped people’s hearts. The old man lifted his wine cup to his chest and poured it towards the northwest, crying out loud.

As the old man finished his pouring of the wine, the other people beside him pulled him aside and explained to the unaware individuals, “He drank too much, don’t mind him.”

Song Xu Yi looked at the old man, whose eyes were brimming with tears yet had a clear gaze, and then turned to Gu Ruyu, who had a pallid complexion and was unusually silent. She let out a gentle sigh.

Song Xu Yi felt she had guessed the reason why Gu Ruyu was unhappy – on this festive occasion of celebrating family reunions, Gu Ruyu must be missing her own family.

Although Song Xu Yi knew that Gu Ruyu had a bad temper and would become an antagonist that would cause chaos in the future, seeing Gu Ruyu’s current lonely and cramped appearance and thinking about her background, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but feel a little pity.

After careful reflection, Song Xu Yi realized that Gu Ruyu was the true princess.

If this series of events had not occurred, she would have grown up being cherished and spoiled like a pearl, and might have even married the second son of the Song family who had died in battle, becoming Song Xu Yi’s sister-in-law in this body.

The Song and Liu families used to be close, and as the only two orphaned girls from both families, Song Xu Yi and Gu Ruyu should have taken care of each other. However, considering the ties between their elders, Song Xu Yi realized that she could barely be considered half of Gu Ruyu’s relative in this body.

As Song Xu Yi looked at Gu Ruyu’s lonely and desolate appearance, she felt sorry for her. Despite Gu Ruyu’s bad temper and the chaos she might cause in the future, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but empathize with her given her background.

……

“Ruyu,” Song Xu Yi organized her thoughts and put on a bright smile as she handed a cup of water to Gu Ruyu. “I haven’t properly thanked you for saving my life last time. Today, I offer you tea as a token of my gratitude instead of alcohol.”

She then pointed up at the sky. “The stars are beautiful tonight! My nanny once told me that when people die, they become stars in the sky and watch over their loved ones. Look at those sparkling stars, they are greeting us from our deceased loved ones.”

Song Xu Yi wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Gu Ruyu’s face seemed to have grown even paler.

Finally, Gu Ruyu slowly lifted her head, her dull gaze sweeping across the smile on Song Xu Yi’s face, before quickly averting her eyes as if something was bothering her.

Reluctantly, Gu Ruyu reached out and took the cup from Song Xu Yi’s hand. She lowered her head and took a sip of the tea before placing the cup down. It was then that she noticed the porcelain plate that Song Xu Yi had placed in front of her.

The plate was neatly arranged with a small pile of grilled meat and two sliced wild fruits, and a strange-looking fork was placed next to them.

“Try it. It won’t taste good once it’s cold!” Seeing the anticipation in Song Xu Yi’s eyes, Gu Ruyu’s eyes darkened. Despite feeling compelled to do so, she still opened her mouth and took a bite.

However, a bitter taste filled her mouth, and Gu Ruyu couldn’t taste the flavor of the grilled meat. It was like chewing on wax. She forced herself to swallow it, and when she saw that Song Xu Yi was about to pick up another piece, Gu Ruyu almost instinctively grabbed her hand and said, “I’ll do it myself.”

Trying to remain calm, Gu Ruyu released her grip on Song Xu Yi’s skin and picked up the fork to eat the grilled meat, not tasting anything.

“Why would they wish me well?” she asked, breaking the silence.

Gu Ruyu gazed up at the twinkling stars in the sky, speaking softly to herself, “They won’t forgive me–“

She had caused so much death and destruction to the Liu family.

The poor people she had taken in from the streets had poisoned the well in the Liu residence, causing everyone except for herself, who had fallen ill and not consumed the poisoned rice, to die before the foreign army invaded…

Gu Ruyu had always known that she was crazy, and she was willing to pay any price for revenge.

Over the years, she had endured and persevered, exposed to the filthiest and dirtiest truths of the court. She watched as the foreign invaders continued to rampage and the ignorant people played out their absurd lives… In her heart, she brewed a mad and bold plan, wanting to take this filthy world and herself to purgatory.

However, Gu Ruyu had not anticipated the variable of Song Xu Yi.

She had spent the entire night without sleep, carefully reading and understanding the contents of the book her subordinates had sent her. She had sorted out her feelings, trying to make sense of it all–

Was it the ‘Xinyue’2 mentioned in the book?

Because of Xinyue, she couldn’t help but look at Song Xu Yi, wanting her gaze to be solely on herself, even risking her life to save her, even dreaming about her being the protagonist…

But… was she worthy of Xinyue?

“I, who bear the burden of so many lives from the Liu family, I, whose covered in filth and blood, and whose appearance is hideous, I, who intend to overthrow this filthy land and seek revenge with my own body…”

Gu Ruyu touched her chest and the hatred that once boiled in her bones was now like the dying embers of a fire, leaving only a sense of desolation. She slowly pursed her lips, experiencing this unfamiliar and heartbreaking feeling, and bitterly said, “I am not worthy of her!”

The author has something to say:

Today’s Gu: I’m not worthy.

Tomorrow’s Gu (laughs coldly and draws a sword): You stay away from Xu Yi!

Mid-Autumn Festival also known as the Moon Festival or the Mooncake Festival.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, which usually falls in September or October, Chinese people celebrate the harvest and the full moon. One of the most popular customs is to eat mooncakes, which are round pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings. The round shape of the mooncakes symbolizes completeness and unity.

People also typically gather with family and friends to admire the full moon, which is considered a symbol of harmony and unity. Other activities during the festival include lighting lanterns, performing dragon and lion dances, and reciting poetry.