After hearing her gossip, all the civil and military officials went crazy.

Chapter 120 Visiting the Grave
Fang Lingchu looked at Gu Wangyan and replied to the system: 【Gu Wangyan's family are all loyal and upright people, there's no problem in paying them a visit! Besides, I'll just treat it as a sightseeing trip.】

The system thought about it and agreed, and then the two of them chatted while enjoying the scenery.

Gu Wangyan looked at Fang Lingchu, his hands trembling slightly, and his face looking somewhat unnatural.

Fang Lingchu simply didn't notice Gu Wangyan's change.

Soon they arrived at a hilltop outside the city.

The area is shaded by lush trees, and the newly sprouted green grass is beautiful in patches.

There are still some newly formed flower buds on the tree, peeking out from the darkness, colorful and very beautiful.

The carriage slowly moved in and then stopped at the foot of a mountain.

Fang Lingchu sensed the carriage stop and asked, "Have we arrived?"

Gu Wangyan nodded, then opened the carriage curtain to let Fang Lingchu go out first.

What comes into view is a green meadow, with rows of green trees on the side.

Looking up, you see ancient and somewhat dilapidated ruins. The stone gate looks quite old, but thankfully it's been cleaned very well.

The world is filled with fallen leaves, one by one, yellow and green. The midday sun shines through the shadows cast by those green leaves, as if telling the story of this lonely home.

Fang Lingchu helped Shumei down, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"Is this your family cemetery?"

After all, in Fang Lingchu's mind, the clan temples seemed to be sacred, solemn, and inviolable.
But the person in front of me looks a bit like a fallen nobleman.

Gu Wangyan jumped down and came to Fang Lingchu's side, explaining, "This is the original ancestral home. My mother originally said she wanted to move to a better place, but unfortunately..."

Later, the Gu family suffered misfortune, and I didn't have time to come back. I was stuck at the border, and a year ago, I became unable to leave due to mobility issues. Now that I have time, I've come to visit them, and then we'll find a new place to live.

Fang Lingchu looked at the overgrown stone slabs and asked, "Has no one come to tidy them up?"

Gu Wangyan looked ahead with a dejected expression and said, "Yes! It's just that those weeds are hard to deal with. Maybe the people who came to tend to them didn't notice! It's okay, I'll have someone take care of it."

Gu Wangyan looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and the loneliness in his eyes fell right into Fang Lingchu's eyes.

Looking at this person, Fang Lingchu felt incredibly soft-hearted.

[Guagua, Gu Wangyan is so pitiful! Waaaaah!]

System: ? ? ? How did you suddenly become so pitiful?

When Gu Wangyan heard Fang Lingchu's heartache, the corners of his mouth curled up, but he immediately suppressed it, his eyes filled with sadness.

"If my parents were still alive, things wouldn't be like this at home! It's alright, I'll handle it. Please forgive my rudeness, Princess."

Then he wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and bowed to Fang Lingchu.

System: [Host, why do I get the feeling this guy is acting all sleazy? Is he trying to show weakness to you?]

Fang Lingchu retorted: "[Guagua, what are you saying! How could anyone use deceased relatives to gain sympathy? Don't talk nonsense. The Gu family is full of loyal martyrs. I should pay more attention to Gu Wangyan. People who start out with a happy family but later fall into ruin are prone to psychological problems. He's only just come of age!]"

Gu Wangyan seemed not to have heard Fang Lingchu's words, and slowly and heavily walked into the graves.

Then he introduced them to Fang Lingchu: "This is my mother, this is my father, this is my grandfather, this is my grandmother, uncles, aunts..." Fang Lingchu looked at each one and greeted them one by one.

Then Fang Lingchu stood there, while Gu Wangyan knelt before his parents' graves, burning incense and paper money.

"Mother, Father, your unfilial son has taken so long to come see you."

The Gu family is doing well, I'm doing well, and Her Majesty the Empress is doing well too, so you can all rest assured!
I hope that your spirits in heaven will protect the Dragon Kingdom, protect our Gu Family Army, and protect me and her so that we can be together.

Gu Wangyan spoke the last sentence very softly, so Fang Lingchu couldn't hear it.

However, the system overheard this and felt something was off about Gu Wangyan's words.

"Host, I have a feeling that Gu Wangyan is bringing you to meet his parents."

Upon hearing the system's words, Gu Wangyan paused in his act of burning paper money, but quickly resumed.

Only his stiff spine and slow burning of paper betrayed him.

Fang Lingchu retorted: "Guagua, why are you so upset with Gu Wangyan today? Didn't you used to like him?"

The system didn't know what was strange, but it still said: "I do like him, but that doesn't mean I don't find his behavior odd. I feel like you've been tricked."

Fang Lingchu said decisively, "Impossible. Gu Wangyan is a military general; how could he possibly have such ulterior motives? Don't doubt him so easily; it's impolite. Besides, we're still in front of his parents' graves. Don't talk nonsense."

After saying that, Fang Lingchu stepped forward to offer incense to everyone in the Gu family before returning home with Gu Wangyan.

Once outside, Gu Wangyan looked at the scenery and said, "Princess, would you like to take a walk together?"

Seeing that Gu Wangyan seemed to be in a bad mood, Fang Lingchu nodded and said, "Sure! The scenery here is quite nice. General Gu, could you tell me about your experiences at the border?"

Fang Lingchu felt that just walking around would be awkward, so she could only find a topic to talk about.

Little did she know that this chat would almost get her into trouble.

Gu Wangyan nodded, then stood side by side with Fang Lingchu, the two of them walking slowly ahead, followed by the coachman and servants pulling the carriage.

“I was fine until I was 12 years old. All the changes happened when I was 12. Gu Jiang, the elder whom my parents trusted the most, came to me and said that my parents were dead and that the Gu family was about to fall apart and become a mess. I was needed to take charge of the situation.”

Upon hearing the news, I had no time to grieve; I immediately set off for the border without saying goodbye to anyone.

As he said this, Gu Wangyan glanced at the girl beside him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and continued, "I went straight to the military camp. At that time, when all the uncles and elders saw that my family had died, not a single one of them looked up to me!"
If it weren't for Her Majesty the Empress's desire to restore me, I might have died there.

However, the scenery at the border is quite beautiful; you can go and see it if you have the chance in the future.

Fang Lingchu listened to Gu Wangyan's story and felt a deep pang of heartache.

[Guagua, he was so young back then, just starting junior high school, and he had to fight to the death on the battlefield while also protecting his family's business. He was so brave!]

The system couldn't help but roll its eyes and said, "[Host, haven't you already read Gu Wangyan's biography? Why are you still...]"

The system was speechless. What was going on?!

Fang Lingchu was playing with the grass in her hand with her head down, unaware of the cunning look in Gu Wangyan's eyes.

(End of this chapter)