Extra 17: Fox Yifu Messing Around

What does Marshal Gu do when he's at home?

Gu Yun was never the type to “stay at home” unless he was so injured he couldn’t get out of bed.

Accustomed to sleeping with his weapon at hand, always ready for battle. Even after returning to the capital, the general could not sit still. His sleep time was inconsistent, but he would always be up before dawn. He would stretch his limbs by sparring with the iron puppets guarding the manor. If there was official business, he would don his armor and head out, if there was fuck all, he would gather his friends and go out to have fun… most of the time, this pack of scoundrels would include Shen Ji Ping.

Later, old Shen became harder to invite out, being tied down by family responsibilities. During the holidays, he would either run off to the Chen family in Taiyuan or stay at home, playing the role of a dutiful husband. On the rare occasions where he did grace them with his presence, half the time he would arrive late and leave early, and the other half he would bring along his troublesome child. This caused their group of old soldiers to be nervous. Afraid of setting a bad example for the kid, they had to carefully consider their every word and action, to the point where they could barely have a conversation.

As time passed, after Gu Yun recovered from his injuries, he too, became tied down by family responsibilities.

When Xiao Chang Geng was young, he didn’t like going out much, and as he grew older, it became even more inconvenient for him to wander around. In the days before Chang Geng, Gu Yun would roam about like a wild animal off its leash, unable to fathom the idea of staying at home. 

But after Chang Geng came into his life, no matter how fragrant the wine or how fast the horse galloped in the wind, the absence of that one person always left everything feeling dull and joyless.

And so, in his leisure, Gu Yun would still set out early, but he would keep track of the time, estimating when His Majesty would finish his official duties and return home. He would then grab a package of snacks or a freshly picked flower and slip away from the fun early. 

If he didn’t go out, of course, he would have no choice but to torment the Marquis’s manor.

One day, the marshal rounded up the servants to repair the walls and fix the courtyard—mostly due to the damage caused by his own “exercises” with the iron puppets. Chang Geng, when practicing swordsmanship, simply practiced swordsmanship, and when practicing archery, he'd aim at the target, having none of Gu Yun’s “clever” ideas.

The next day, he said, “The weather’s nice,” and personally climbed onto the roof to sun dry His Majesty’s books—why not use the many empty courtyards instead of the roof? Who knows, perhaps the sunlight was better up there. Halfway through, spotting a stray cat that had wandered into the manor, he immediately tossed the books aside and went off to chase the cat.

His Majesty, who hurried back from court and couldn’t find him, looked up and saw Gu Yun – whose steel plates had not yet been fully removed – leaping across the rooftops. He was nearly frightened to death and wouldn’t speak to Gu Yun for three days after. 

Of course, the marshal, now that he had reached a certain age, had gained a bit of maturity and didn’t tear the house apart every single day anymore.

Occasionally, he would engage in more refined pursuits, such as decorating His Majesty's fan with his calligraphy and painting.

Everyone knew His Majesty had a landscape-painted fan that had never left his hands for many years. Since ancient times, calligraphy and painting have always gone hand in hand, and the Marquis of Order's paintings were considered to be passable. At least, the bootlickers praised them as “elegant yet romantic.”

The reverse side of the fan was inscribed with a poem. Gu Yun’s calligraphy was far more renowned than his paintings, but whenever His Majesty unfolded the fan, he always kept the side with the painting facing outward. Everyone assumed it was because he was right-handed and accustomed to turning the fan in this direction…

But that wasn’t the reason.

The words on the other side of the “elegant yet romantic” painting weren’t exactly suitable for public display. If they were revealed, they might be considered a tad scandalous, thus, they could only be hidden in plain sight, along with the breeze, tucked away in His Majesty’s embrace.

What a pity, what a pity.