Read Novel Full CHAPTER 37 PART1
CHAPTER 37 PART1
What?!
Xiao Yanfei could hardly believe her ears.
She blinked once. Then again. Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted in utter shock, her whole expression a picture of stunned confusion.
“Will you be my princess consort?”
The words echoed again in her ears, as if someone had hit replay.
H-He was proposing to her?!
But why on earth would Gu Feichi be proposing to her?
They had only met… one, two, three—at most five or six times, right? Surely he hadn’t fallen in love at first sight, become more smitten on the second, and decided to marry her on the third?
Gu Feichi was still watching her intently, not missing the surprise written across her face.
But it was just surprise. She didn’t avert her gaze, nor did she look offended or uncomfortable.
That—was a good sign, wasn’t it?
Gu Feichi’s mood brightened in an instant. He casually plucked a bright red begonia blossom from a nearby branch and tucked it behind her left ear.
A warm breeze stirred, causing the petals to tremble gently against her inky-black hair. She was more radiant than the flower itself—vivid, beautiful, breathtaking.
He was the first to break the silence between them. “My aunt was the late Empress Gu Mingjing. Back when the current emperor was still the second prince, he swore to marry her, vowing ‘whether in life or death, I am yours.’”
“Later, with the support of the Duke of Wei’s household, he rose above the other princes and claimed the throne.”
“But just a year after he ascended,” Gu Feichi said, voice calm as flowing water, “my aunt passed away.”
His tone didn’t waver—it was like recounting something that had nothing to do with him.
Xiao Yanfei, drawn in by the sudden shift in topic, widened her eyes slightly.
From all the novels she’d read in her past life, she could guess where this was going…
Seeing that she was following, Gu Feichi continued without hesitation. “The Duke of Wei’s household is like a pot of oil on a roaring fire.”
“The emperor fears the Gu family—resents us, even. He wants nothing more than to strip us of our titles and confiscate our estates. But he doesn’t dare.”
A wry smile tugged at his lips. With a soft snap, he broke off another begonia blossom and twirled it slowly between his long fingers. The flower was in full bloom, its crimson petals vibrant and striking.
“Since the first Duke of Wei, Gu Ran, our family has served the imperial court generation after generation. Nearly half the military is still made up of veterans loyal to the Gu family. The emperor can’t afford that risk.”
“And besides,” Gu Feichi added quietly, “in the past two years, His Majesty’s health has been steadily declining. His energy is failing. He no longer has the strength—or the heart—for politics…”
Xiao Yanfei couldn’t help but think back to the emperor’s sudden attack at Danbi Pavilion. She blurted out, “The emperor has been poisoned by alchemical elixirs.”
Historically, emperors who consumed such elixirs rarely lived long.
Especially now—boils had already spread from the emperor’s back to the nape of his neck, a clear sign the poison had deeply infiltrated his system.
The toxins were attacking his brain, causing the persistent headaches. Yet he continued to take those elixirs without restraint, which would only worsen his condition. Even the ibuprofen she gave could only mask the pain—it wasn’t a cure. In the end, the alchemy would only accelerate his death.
Gu Feichi hadn’t looked away from her for a second. His lips curved faintly as he nodded. “The emperor has been consuming elixirs for years… and now, more than ever, he wouldn’t dare make a move against the Duke of Wei’s household.”
He couldn’t afford to gamble the empire—and he couldn’t bear the risk of letting it crumble in his hands.
Xiao Yanfei nodded thoughtfully. “He has the will but not the strength.”
Exactly—he lacked the strength.
In court, the military had once been dominated by the Gu and Xie families. Now that the Xies had been wiped out, the emperor’s preferred Liu family couldn’t be propped up no matter how hard he tried. If the Gu family were to fall as well, Great Jing would find itself besieged from all sides.
It would be like discarding his sharpest weapon and standing defenseless before the barbarians.
Even if the emperor lost his mind, the court officials wouldn’t sit back and let it happen.
After laying out the state of the Gu family, Gu Feichi paused, then slowly leaned closer to her delicate face, his expression solemn.
“The Gu family is indeed walking a knife’s edge. The emperor uses us like a blade, watching for any misstep… One day, it could be ‘the cunning rabbit is killed, the hunting dog cooked.’ We may end up like the Xie family—falsely accused and brutally slaughtered. But—”
His voice was calm, almost gentle, but carried the weight and steadiness of a mountain and deep sea: “I will do everything in my power to protect you. I won’t let you fall into danger.”
For the rest of my life, there will be only you.
“Will you accept me?”
Gu Feichi gazed at her intently. In the soft morning light, his fair complexion glowed like glazed porcelain, as if radiating a quiet brilliance.
Xiao Yanfei: “…”
In that moment, she understood—his confession wasn’t a plea, but an act of wholehearted honesty.
A gesture of trust, laid bare.
He was telling her—plainly and honestly—that if she accepted him, she might be stepping into danger.
And yet, at the same time, he promised he would never let harm come to her.
His words were clearly contradictory.
But to Xiao Yanfei, it felt as if someone had dropped a stone into the still waters of her heart, sending ripples through her calm.
Logic told her she should say no.
She shouldn’t get involved in the murky affairs of the Duke of Wei’s household.
Yet in the face of Gu Feichi’s sincerity, in the face of those eyes burning so brightly with conviction, she couldn’t bring herself to say the word “no.”
The refusal rose to her lips—only to twist, inexplicably, into something else.
“The marquis’ manor isn’t exactly a picnic either.”
Concubine Cui was constantly scheming. The Dowager Marchioness treated her like a bargaining chip. As for the Marquis of Wu’an—he never once saw her as a daughter who mattered.
In this era, the most frustrating truth for a woman was that her fate was never truly her own—it always lay in someone else’s hands.
Even if she wanted to run away with nothing but a bundle on her back, she had no travel pass, no household registration. There was nowhere she could go.
With that in mind… the Duke of Wei’s household didn’t seem all that terrible after all.
And more than that—
Xiao Yanfei looked straight at Gu Feichi’s face, now less than two feet from her.
His striking features were almost painfully handsome.
She had never seen a man who pleased the eye as much as he did.
Those jet-black eyes, like stars scattered across the night sky, gazed into her as if peering straight into her soul.
His expression held nothing but sincerity—genuine and earnest.
She couldn’t look away.
She believed him.
Believed that if he made a promise, he would give everything he had to keep it.
She believed he would fulfill his word—no matter the circumstances, whether in calm or chaos.
Just like he had, when he risked everything and single-handedly rescued Xie Wuduan from the clutches of the Imperial Guards.
As long as he believed something was right, he would charge forward without hesitation—even if it meant being shattered to pieces.
Anyone he chose to protect was truly fortunate. And if that person were her…
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Xiao Yanfei’s heart skipped again, thudding wildly in her chest.
She smiled—eyes curved like crescents, lips rosy as blooming petals.
That light, spontaneous smile eased some of the tension in Gu Feichi’s heart. His fox-like eyes sparkled even more brightly, a subtle warmth flowing into his gaze.
“Why?” Xiao Yanfei couldn’t help but ask. “Why me?”
A man like Gu Feichi, well-traveled and experienced, must have met countless women—beautiful ones, noble ones, lively ones, brilliant ones, women skilled in charm and grace…
So why her?
“Because…” A strange glimmer passed through Gu Feichi’s eyes.
Because you’re the most fitting.
Because you’re not afraid of me.
Because you know my secret.
Because…
Gu Feichi fixed his burning gaze on the delicate girl in front of him, her pale cheek turned slightly to the side.
He could have given her a thousand reasons—but in the end, none of them mattered as much as the one that did.
“Because I want to.”
Just four simple words, yet his eyes shone with dazzling light.
It came from the heart. He was simply following what his heart desired.
There were no flowery words, no vows under the heavens.
And yet, those four plain words made Xiao Yanfei’s cheeks flush and her heart flutter all the same.
She could see the sincerity in his eyes—the light that shone within them, just for her.
And yet…
A thread of hesitation still lingered in her heart.
The waters of the Duke of Wei’s household ran far too deep. It wasn’t just the things Gu Feichi had told her—there was also what he and Xie Wuduan were plotting in secret, and the part of himself he never showed the world behind that ever-present half-mask… Each of these felt like an insurmountable chasm lying in her path.
If she were to marry into that house—could she, in all honesty, say she had the strength to cross each of those chasms? Could she stand shoulder to shoulder with him in everything that lay ahead?
She believed him when he said he would protect her. But life wasn’t as simple as promises.
When the water rises to your neck, it might not drown you, but it becomes hard to breathe. And when someone is trapped in that state long enough, they’re bound to grow restless.
Was she truly prepared for that?
Xiao Yanfei rested her chin on one hand, lost in deep thought. Her expression was unusually serious—so serious that Gu Feichi couldn’t help but chuckle, reminded of how she looked that day in the Sutra Library, thinking so rationally through everything.
In other words, she wasn’t unmoved.
She just hadn’t been moved enough.
What he had done so far wasn’t yet enough to make her cast aside all doubts and give him her heart completely.
So she hesitated. She weighed. She thought. She measured every risk.
A soft morning breeze rustled the branches of the camphor tree above, scattering sunlight and shadow in dancing patterns across the courtyard. The light filtering through carried a gentle warmth.
Gu Feichi smiled. His eyes curved with it, that smile both refined and breathtaking.
A quiet joy welled up inside him, spreading warmth through his chest—so much so that it even felt a little sweet.
He suddenly stood, walking over to her. Leaning down toward where she sat on the stone bench, his shadow fell completely over her—as if, in that moment, she was enveloped in his embrace.
Their faces were now only inches apart.
Their noses were almost touching.
Gu Feichi could clearly see the flush rising on the tips of her ears, the blush blooming from there to her cheeks, then trailing down her slender neck and disappearing beneath the high, frost-white collar of her dress…
He could even hear the faint quickening of her breath.
“Yanyan,” Gu Feichi murmured her name, his usually cool voice now low and husky, almost a whisper. His warm breath grazed her temple and earlobe.
Xiao Yanfei’s ear gave a small, involuntary twitch.
He wasn’t the first to call her “Yanyan,” but somehow, when he said it, the name took on a tender, indescribable charm.
His elegantly curved lips quirked into a soft smile as he coaxed gently, “If one day you regret this, you can change your mind—anytime.”
But he wouldn’t let her regret it.
In fact, he would never give her the chance to.
***