EHW Ch9

Gu Fangzhi was almost moved to tears.

The Gu Huaiyu standing before him looked so… normal.

How could this same man have been so terrifying in the game?

Still, Gu Fangzhi had to admit, he’d always kind of liked Gu Huaiyu.

His character twist had been both predictable and surprising; though not deeply written, it was memorable. His conflicted motives and ambiguous stance reflected the harsh realities of a chaotic world.

Gu Fangzhi nodded and used one of the stock phrases he’d memorized for greetings to show friendliness.

“Have you eaten yet?”

Gu Huaiyu smiled as he approached.

His features were quite different from Gu Fangzhi’s or Gu Yunchuan’s, his eyes were narrower, his chin sharper, his whole face carrying a faintly dangerous, demonic allure.

He looked like the kind of seductive male spirit one might encounter in mountain tales.

As he drew closer, Gu Fangzhi caught a strong whiff of alcohol mingled with the powdery scent of perfume.

Gu Huaiyu said lightly, “I haven’t eaten, but I’ve drunk plenty. Can you smell it?”

Caught off guard, Gu Fangzhi sneezed.

A mocking smile curled on Gu Huaiyu’s lips. He gave Gu Fangzhi a sidelong glance and turned away.

Gu Fangzhi quickly decided to reload the save.

This time, when Gu Huaiyu came closer, he held his breath in advance, successfully avoiding the assaulting fumes.

Gu Fangzhi said, “I can smell it, what a strong pheromone. Definitely a fierce Alpha type.”

Gu Huaiyu: “?”

Before he could respond, a round, chubby figure came toddling toward them, short legs working furiously.

The child called out, “Second Brother! Third Brother!”

Gu Huaiyu turned and caught him with a smile.

“Manman, what have you found this time?”

Even without being told, Gu Fangzhi knew this had to be the original body’s youngest brother.

Gu Huaiyu and Manman were both born to one of Lord Gu’s concubines, full brothers. For years they had lived together in a small house on the outskirts until, after their father’s death, Gu Yunchuan sent people to bring them back to the main estate.

The two boys had always depended on each other, which explained why, in the original story, Gu Huaiyu had gone completely berserk after Manman’s death.

…But this time, with him here, maybe things would turn out differently.

***

After a long day of work, Gu Fangzhi finally returned to his room, only to notice something off.

He pointed to the large chest by his bed. “What’s this?”

Ah-Qi replied, “It was delivered by order of His Majesty while you were at court, gold, Second Young Master.”

“Gold…?”

Gu Fangzhi carefully lifted the lid, and found himself staring at a whole chest of glittering gold ingots, more wealth than he’d ever seen in his life.

He clutched his pounding heart, feeling as if he’d just fallen madly in love.

He spent a long time admiring a small gold melon-shaped ingot, then flopped onto his bed, ready to indulge in a wild, passionate nap, only for Ah-Qi’s voice to sound outside the door.
“Second Young Master, someone requests an audience.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Sigh.

Sometimes he wished he were the emperor.

If he ruled the world, anyone who dared to work on a rest day, death penalty.

Anyone who refused to pay wages, death penalty.

Anyone who came knocking at someone’s home on a workday, also death penalty.

…

Entertaining himself with such fantasies, Gu Fangzhi reluctantly got up from the bed.

“Who is it? Let them in.”

He’d assumed it was someone trying to curry favor or offer gifts to the original owner, but when the visitor explained the reason for coming, Gu Fangzhi finally understood.

It was because of that chest of gold from Pei Xin.

Pei Xin had publicly called him “teacher” in court that morning. Even if no one had been sure of Pei Xin’s intentions then, the extravagant reward had made things unmistakably clear, Gu Fangzhi was now the emperor’s tutor.

The visitor’s purpose was simple: a group of ministers had tried to appoint scholars to teach Pei Xin the way of rulership, but the emperor had stubbornly refused them all, even threatening to behead anyone who brought up the matter again.

After much deliberation, the officials narrowed their options down to two:

1. Find Pei Xin a wife, a virtuous empress who could whisper good sense to him on the pillow.

2. The only person whose words Pei Xin ever listened to, the one he called “teacher”, Gu Fangzhi.

Since the late emperor’s mourning period wasn’t yet over, option one was impossible.

That left only Gu Fangzhi.

Gu Fangzhi pointed at himself. “Me? Supervise His Majesty’s studies?”

The white-bearded elder smiled kindly. He was the Right Chancellor, the same one Pei Xin had almost ordered executed on his first day of court.

Despite his rank, the man carried himself without arrogance.

“Master Gu is sharp-minded and eloquent, clearly favored by His Majesty. In this old man’s view, only you can accomplish this.”

Faced with such a major decision, Gu Fangzhi prudently saved the game.

Then, after barely a moment’s hesitation, he decided.

“Alright!” he said.

The Right Chancellor beamed. “Master Gu truly knows the greater good.”

“No need for flattery,” Gu Fangzhi replied, half joking, half serious. “Just give me a raise. I’m easy to please.”

The chancellor: “……”

After discussing Pei Xin’s current academic progress and future lessons, the chancellor finally took his leave.

Gu Fangzhi collapsed into bed immediately after and fell fast asleep.

***

The next morning at court, Gu Fangzhi was a little distracted.

The chancellor hadn’t told him how to supervise Pei Xin’s studies, and Gu Fangzhi wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to volunteer publicly, or wait for instructions.

He tried to signal the Right Chancellor with his eyes, but the old man was standing too far forward to notice him at all.

At that moment, the Vice Minister of Personnel was droning on endlessly about the reassignment of several officials. His words dragged on like a foot-binding cloth, stuffy, dull, and reeking of boredom.

Up on the dais, Pei Xin was nearly falling asleep, his patience wearing thin.

Just as he was about to cut the man off, he caught a glimpse of Gu Fangzhi’s fidgeting.

The man was sneaking glances around, peeking up from time to time as if plotting something.

Pei Xin immediately remembered how, just last night, he’d finally managed to fall asleep, only to be yanked back awake again by Gu Fangzhi’s time-reversing sorcery. His blood pressure spiked on the spot.

He deliberately raised his voice.
“Gu Fangzhi, what are you doing?”

In an instant, every head in the hall turned toward him.

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Oh, crap.

All those eyes, some surprised, some envious, others curious, fell squarely on him.

Not wanting to stand out any more than he already had, Gu Fangzhi quickly reloaded a save, vowing this time to sit still, keep quiet, and turn over a new leaf.

Unfortunately, that save had been made before court started, meaning he now had to endure another half-day of pointless bureaucracy.

‘Sigh. Whatever. Just zone out and let it pass.’

Meanwhile, up on the dais, Pei Xin: “……”

Why, why had he gone and provoked that sorcerous nuisance again?

Now he had to sit through the same tedious speech all over again.

His face darkened. This time he didn’t call Gu Fangzhi by name, he just glared daggers at him, as if trying to smack him across the face with sheer force of will.

***

When the morning session finally ended, Gu Fangzhi was about to head off to the Ministry of Rites with Song Jingzhou, same as yesterday, when the Right Chancellor beckoned to him.
“Master Gu, Master Gu.”

Gu Fangzhi stepped forward. “Right Chancellor.”

The chancellor smiled. “Master Gu, please wait for His Majesty in the Imperial Study. The emperor will join you shortly.”

Their exchange wasn’t quiet, and the surrounding officials all glanced over, their eyes full of admiration and envy.

Still, admiration was one thing, none of them actually wanted to spend time alone with Pei Xin.

Gu Fangzhi gave Song Jingzhou a quick nod and followed a young eunuch to the Imperial Study.

Inside was already a middle-aged man in long scholar’s robes, the teacher the Right Chancellor had arranged to instruct Pei Xin.

Gu Fangzhi chatted politely with him for a while. By the time the sun was high in the sky, Pei Xin finally arrived.

Both Gu Fangzhi and the teacher bowed deeply.

Pei Xin’s gaze fell directly on Gu Fangzhi. “Rise.”

He had spent his youth following his father through battlefields, learning only how to fight, kill efficiently, and extract confessions through whatever means necessary.

The Right Chancellor and the others had seized upon this weakness, insisting he needed tutors, to teach him statecraft, imperial decorum, and the art of governance.

A few days earlier, Pei Xin would’ve had such nagging old men dragged out and beheaded for peace and quiet.

But not anymore.

With Gu Fangzhi’s magic around, the phrase “an emperor’s word is law” had become a joke. Even ordering an execution was just that, two meaningless syllables.

Worse yet, what Pei Xin truly feared wasn’t the resurrected victims of those executions, but the thought of Gu Fangzhi triggering a rewind while he was eating or bathing.

He imagined himself suddenly starting to scrub his body during morning court… or sticking a writing brush into his mouth mid-meeting…

He shuddered. Best not to think about it.

When he entered the study, he saw two figures inside.

A closer look confirmed his worst suspicion, Gu Fangzhi was there too.

Pei Xin: “……”

Why had the Right Chancellor brought this walking catastrophe here?!

He sat behind the desk, face like stone. “Begin.”

The middle-aged scholar stood nervously at the front, while Gu Fangzhi took his place at his side.

The noon sunlight streamed warmly into the study, filling the air with springlike stillness.

A faint scent of osmanthus drifted toward Pei Xin, Gu Fangzhi’s fragrance, carried on the gentle breeze through the open window, mingling with the sunlight until it felt like he was surrounded by a golden autumn grove.

Lost in thought, Pei Xin suddenly felt his vision blur.

The scholar hadn’t even finished bowing yet, and Gu Fangzhi, instead of standing where he was, had gone over to the window.

“The wind is too noisy, it’s distracting. This humble servant will just close it.”

Pei Xin: “……”

The moment he saw Gu Fangzhi begin to use magic again, half of Pei Xin’s soul gave up.

He braced himself, mentally preparing to hear the same words, or repeat his own, over and over.

But everything proceeded normally this time.

Aside from that one rewind to close the window, Gu Fangzhi didn’t cast again.

Even when Pei Xin deliberately pretended to zone out to test him, Gu Fangzhi ignored it.

So, even he has limits, Pei Xin thought.

Glancing sideways at Gu Fangzhi’s composed profile, Pei Xin smirked faintly, feeling a small flicker of smugness.

Then came a sudden grrrrgle.

…What?

“Ah, ah!” Gu Fangzhi flushed crimson, clutching his stomach in embarrassment. Seeing both the scholar and Pei Xin staring at him, he quickly reloaded the scene.

He was starving. Noon had long passed, and his stomach refused to cooperate.

Unfortunately, reloading didn’t fix hunger.

“Grrrrgle ”

“Grr”

“Gr ”

Pei Xin: “……”

What is this, a musical performance?

The next time Gu Fangzhi started another rewind, Pei Xin seized the moment, standing up just as the chair legs scraped against the floor, perfectly covering the sound.

He cast Gu Fangzhi a sidelong glance and let out a short laugh.

So much for your calm, competent act, he thought. In the end, you still need me to cover for you.