Chapter 8: Brothers by Blood
"What's gotten into this man now?"
Yan Xuerui winced, her brow furrowed in pain. She struggled several times but couldn't break free. She looked at Gu Yan, but he ignored her, speaking only to Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan said, "Ming Lan is my nephew and the future heir of the Marquisate. It is only right. Elder Brother, there's no need for you to overthink it."
Gu Yan's tone was indifferent: "After all, there's still a distance between us. A Yuan, you should focus on your own descendants. Ming Lan is my responsibility to worry about."
Intentionally or not, he emphasized the word "my" slightly, making even Yan Xuerui sense something subtly unusual.
Gu Yuan didn't even furrow his brow, meeting Gu Yan's gaze directly: "You and I share the same bloodline. Why draw such distinctions? I only wish for the prosperity of the Marquisate, as it was in the past and as it will be in the future."
Gu Yan's expression remained unchanged, though the coldness in his eyes eased a little. He raised his wine cup and said, "With brothers united in heart, what great undertaking need we fear?"
Gu Yuan said nothing, draining the wine in his cup in one gulp. Throughout, he didn't once glance in Yan Xuerui's direction. It was widely rumored that the Second Master of the Gu household had no interest in women—despite his age, he had never married. He kept only two concubines gifted by a superior in his youth. Initially, they were mere bedmates without formal status, but after each bore him a son, they were elevated to noble concubines for the sake of the children's legitimacy.
Madam Yan was a woman of stunning beauty, captivating enough that even the younger members of the household couldn't help stealing glances. Gu Yuan's behavior only confirmed his tone-deafness to romance, and no one found it particularly surprising. The Old Madam chastised Gu Yuan for failing in his duty as an uncle, questioning how he could leave Ming Lan alone in the palace. Gu Yuan remained silent in the face of her reproach. The younger generation lightened the mood with banter, asking Second Uncle about the customs of the northwest, and the banquet was lively and harmonious.
Only Yan Xuerui found herself unable to eat. For one, Ming Lan was absent, crushing her hopes of seeing him. For another, the exchange between the two brothers had been truly bizarre. She turned it over in her mind but felt she hadn't quite grasped the underlying meaning.
Moreover, her wrist ached from Gu Yan's tight grip—it would surely bruise.
Her small, delicate embroidered shoe pressed down on the man's pristine white boot. Yan Xuerui looked at Gu Yan, her voice still soft as a spring breeze.
"Marquis, drink in moderation. Too much will give you a headache."
...
The welcoming banquet lasted until late into the night. Yan Xuerui didn't know what madness had seized Gu Yan again, but in front of the Old Madam and the younger generation, she didn't want to cause a scene. Beneath the table, their limbs tangled and untangled repeatedly. Gu Yan, however, remained composed, conversing with Gu Yuan while still managing to put food on Yan Xuerui's plate throughout the meal.
By the time the lamps grew dim and the tables were littered with dishes, Gu Yan, for once, didn't leave with Yan Xuerui. He called for a cloak and, with his slender fingers, fastened it around her neck, saying gently:
"I will be sleeping in the study tonight so as not to disturb you. Rest early."
Yan Xuerui nodded. Such relaxed days were rare. She had been dealing with Gu Yan throughout the banquet, and her fine brows were tinged with weariness.
"Very well. You should get some rest too, Marquis."
With that, Yan Xuerui glanced at Gu Yuan behind Gu Yan and said softly, "Second Master, please do as you please."
Rumors said the Second Master of the Gu household had no interest in women. Back then, she had tried to seduce him multiple times to escape, but his heart was indeed as hard as iron—he had cruelly captured and brought her back. Perhaps he inwardly despised her, this "sister-in-law." Since then, he had been cold and distant toward her, avoiding her whenever they met, which made every encounter painfully awkward for Yan Xuerui.
But so many years had passed. Officially, she was the mistress of the Marquisate, Gu Yuan's elder sister-in-law. Privately, Gu Yuan had once saved Ming Lan's life. When they met, she couldn't simply avoid exchanging pleasantries.
Sure enough, Gu Yuan's expression tightened. He gave a curt grunt in her direction before striding out of the banquet hall.
Yan Xuerui: "..."
Never mind. There was no need to dwell on such trivial matters.
She rubbed her temples and returned to the main courtyard, surrounded by high walls, escorted by her maids.
***
Gu Yuan left the banquet hall but didn't go far. He stood silently in the slightly chilly night breeze of early spring, the black armor on his body glinting coldly under the moonlight.
"We didn't have our fill of drinks earlier, A Yuan. Let us share another cup in the study."
A calm male voice sounded behind him. Gu Yuan seemed to have expected it. The two brothers walked one after the other to the study in the front courtyard. Gu Yan lit a candle. The night was deep, and the faint candlelight cast sinister shadows in the room.
Gu Yuan held a purple copper wine pot and filled the cups before them.
A long silence ensued.
"Elder Brother, I—"
"The Eastern Palace has changed."
They spoke simultaneously. Gu Yuan was taken aback, his expression suddenly turning grave.
"What do you mean?"
Gu Yan seemed not to notice his reaction and asked, "A Yuan, do you know why His Majesty summoned you back to the capital?"
Gu Yuan nodded. "To counterbalance the Qi clan."
He paused, then uttered words that were outright treasonous: "And also—for the struggle over the succession."
The main reason Gu Yuan was recalled to the capital was that the Emperor had lost a piece of his calligraphy—the *Realm Painting*, which His Majesty had personally painted on New Year's Eve to celebrate the year, had gone missing!
The palace was heavily guarded; not even a fly could escape. Yet the *Realm Painting*, which had hung before the Emperor's dragon desk, had vanished without a trace. The Emperor was furious, and the Qi clan bore the brunt of his wrath.
The Qi clan was the maternal clan of the Prince of Virtue. Originally, they were merely a minor captain in the Palace Guard. Their daughter gained the Emperor's favor and gave birth to the imperial eldest son, who was granted the title of Prince of Virtue and granted residence in the Prince of Virtue's manor.
The Qi clan soared to prominence, becoming royal in-laws. The current Grand Marshal Qi, who commanded tens of thousands of Imperial Guards in the capital, was the Prince of Virtue's uncle.
Later, a secret incident occurred in the palace: Empress Xu was deposed, and the Xu family sent another daughter into the palace—the current younger Empress Xu on the phoenix throne. The younger Empress Xu was slow to bear children; it was another eight years before she gave birth to the Crown Prince. This meant the current Crown Prince was a full eight years younger than the Prince of Virtue, the eldest son.
This made things interesting. The Prince of Virtue's title was personally chosen by the Emperor—the imperial eldest son was unequivocally "virtuous and capable." The Prince of Virtue had virtue and seniority; the Crown Prince had legitimacy. The Xu family was an aristocratic house with merits dating back to the founding emperor. Great families were deeply interconnected—they rose and fell together. The aristocracy valued protocol and law above all and naturally supported the Crown Prince.
The Qi clan, in turn, allied with newly prominent court officials of humble origins but outstanding abilities, condemning the noble families for forming cliques, pursuing selfish interests, harming the state and its people, and treating the common folk as worthless. The noble families scorned them as "pedantic scholars" and "self-righteous." Gradually, this evolved into a struggle between the aristocracy and the Reformists.
It was also a struggle for the throne.
...
The Emperor's *Realm Painting* had vanished without a trace. No one believed it was merely about a painting—whether such a painting even existed was uncertain, and it was equally possible the Emperor had burned it himself. In any case, it sent a message: the Emperor was displeased with the Qi clan.
At this critical juncture, the Emperor summoned Gu Yuan to the capital to receive honors. Although the rebellion of the Prince of Wu had been thoroughly suppressed, the northwest border of our dynasty neighbored Western Rong, and minor conflicts were frequent every year. It was customary for Gu Yuan to return to the capital to receive rewards.
But this year, the Emperor ordered him to bring three thousand *Black Armor Army* troops back to the capital. They rushed back in half a month on fast horses and were stationed outside the city gates. The Emperor rebuked Grand Marshal Qi for his incompetence: in command of tens of thousands of Imperial Guards in the capital, he couldn't even protect a painting—what qualification did he have to defend the capital!
Although Gu Yuan had brought only three thousand men, Gu Yan had once used thirty thousand *Black Armor Army* troops to crush the Prince of Wu's hundred thousand. These were elite soldiers who had been on the battlefield and seen blood—nothing like the parade-ground soldiers in the capital.
Rumors gradually spread in the court: the Emperor was using the so-called "*Realm Painting*" to suppress the Qi clan's arrogance and intended to pass the throne to the Crown Prince.
After all, the Emperor was already over sixty. He was old.
The Reformists, cornered, were counterattacking. The Crown Prince's faction was celebrating. This was the current state of the court.
The veins stood out on Gu Yan's well-defined hands. He tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingertips and said, "I believe, on the contrary."
His expression was grim. "If you want to destroy someone, you must first make them arrogant. Since the news of your return to the capital spread, the arrogance of the noble families in the capital has gradually risen. The Board of Justice has handled several cases—selling official posts, oppressing men and abducting women, embezzling public funds... The Crown Prince has protected every one of them."
At critical moments, the Crown Prince needed the support of the noble families.
"I have always taught him to be measured and steady. Now, before he has even fully grasped court affairs, he has already grown arrogant and careless."
Gu Yan's voice was cold, and upon closer listening, there was a hint of clenched teeth. He had always been one to conceal his emotions, but Gu Yuan knew—he was furious beyond words.
In his youth, Gu Yan served as the Crown Prince Senior Tutor. Over a decade had passed, during which he had guided the Crown Prince from a young child with unbound hair to an elegant young man. Gu Yuan knew how much effort his brother had poured into this.
Never did he expect that, in the end, it would produce someone like this…
“A fool!” Gu Yan said coldly, not according him the respect due to the Crown Prince. Gu Yuan, who was not skilled with words, remained silent for a long while before offering a comforting remark: “Brother, please calm your anger.”
The two brothers often exchanged letters, so Gu Yuan had some understanding of the situation in the capital. Although he also felt that the Crown Prince was weak-willed and unfit to be a wise ruler, the Gu family was already lashed to the Crown Prince’s ship. Changing course was no easy task.
After a moment of contemplation, Gu Yuan cautiously asked: “How has the Emperor’s health been recently? Does Consort Shu have any messages for the Marquis’s household?”
His question was subtle, but Gu Yan immediately understood his implication. He shot him a sidelong glance and warned: “A Yuan, do not act impulsively.”
Gu Yan was the type to plan three steps ahead, strategizing with precision. Gu Yuan, having led troops in battle for so long, his approach had grown more heavy-handed. With Consort Shu and Empress Xu in the palace, and Gu Yuan having brought three thousand Black Armor Army troops with him, it would be only too convenient if the elderly emperor were to catch a chill and pass away, allowing the Crown Prince to rightfully ascend the throne.
Hearing his elder brother’s warning, Gu Yuan nodded, his enthusiasm dampened. He had only asked in passing. Gu Yan was the head of the family—selecting the young Crown Prince had been his decision back then, and whatever the future held, Gu Yuan would follow his brother’s arrangements.
They had lost their father in childhood. Though Gu Yan was only a year older, he had protected his brothers from the jaws of their uncles’ greed and malice. To Gu Yuan, Gu Yan was both an elder brother and a father figure. He could never betray him.