Rebirth and Rewriting Fate

Yun Chu stood up and ran out without even taking her cloak.

She opened the door, and there stood Gu Ruoxiao, wearing a mink coat.

He wore a deep red brocade robe, a color that was neither overly flamboyant nor overly plain, yet subtly blended into the New Year's atmosphere. The robe was of fine texture, with a subtle sheen, and was embroidered with intricate and delicate patterns, symbolizing good fortune and wealth. Over the robe was a black mink cloak, its soft, smooth fur warm and comfortable to the touch. The edges of the cloak were embroidered with delicate cloud patterns in gold thread, complementing the robe's design perfectly. Two rosy blushes rose on his face, whether from drinking or from the cold, it was hard to tell.

"Didn't we say we had to stay up all night in the palace tonight?" Yun Chu asked.

"After the ceremony and drinking the blessing wine, I came out." Gu Ruoxiao smiled at her. "Won't you let me in?"

"Oh, come in quickly, come in quickly," Yun Chu responded.

"Miss." Nan Rao handed over a food box. Yun Chu took it and said, "You took Chi Wu to the kitchen to eat, didn't you leave some food for him?" Nan Rao quickly agreed.

“Let’s go to the study,” Yun Chu said to Gu Ruoxiao.

Gu Ruoxiao nodded.

On the way, he suddenly spoke up, "Thank you for your help with those kids."

At first, Yun Chu was surprised, then smiled knowingly, "It's too cold outside, how about..."

Gu Ruoxiao stopped in front of the study. "Come in, all of you. You'll catch a cold. The Prince's mansion doesn't have the spare money to treat you." With that, she stepped into the study.

With a whoosh, Yun Chu looked towards the dining room, where a large crowd had already gathered.

Gu Ruoxiao sat at the table, and Yun Chu opened the food box and took out the dishes one by one. "You should drink this porridge first. You just drank some wine, so drink this porridge to warm your stomach." She placed a bowl of porridge in front of him.

Gu Ruoxiao tasted it; it was warm, and it immediately warmed her stomach, probably because it had been kept simmering over a low flame.

"This, this is delicious too, you should try it," Yun Chu hurriedly introduced.

Gu Ruoxiao smiled and picked up some food.

In the dining room on the other side, everyone was passing the buck over something.

"Brother Chengfeng, you're the one who comes up with all the tricks!" Fengxing said.

"I'm not going. I just switched shifts with Chiwu today. If I go to see Master now, I'll definitely get scolded." Chengfeng hurriedly dodged.

"We need to find someone who won't curse us," Zhu Liu said.

“The one who will be least likely to get scolded is Chiwu,” Suibo said thoughtfully, and everyone’s eyes were drawn to Chiwu.

"Don't look at me, I'm not going!" Chiwu coldly refused.

Chengfeng kicked Fengxing, "Go, you're the youngest."

“Yes, yes, Fengxing, you’re the youngest, and I love you the most.” Someone in the crowd chimed in.

“I’m not going. Even though I’m the youngest, I always get the harshest punishment,” Fengxing retorted.

For a moment, they were at a loss for what to do. Someone started to summarize, "It seems we need to find someone who won't get scolded or punished."

Feng Xing looked around, his eyes darting around, and then hooked his arm around Ping An's neck. "Brother, it's up to you this time."

"Me?" Ping An pointed to himself with a puzzled look.

“That’s right. First of all, you’re the youngest of us all, so I can’t bear to scold you; second, you’re not a Black Knight or a secret guard, so I won’t punish you; third, you’re Yun Chu’s person, so I wouldn’t dare to scold you or hit you. You’re the most suitable person.” Feng Xing became more and more convinced of his decision as he spoke. “I’m so smart.”

Everyone agreed that it made sense, and Chengfeng covered his mouth and chuckled. Mo Han glanced at him but remained silent. Zhu Ling and Xu Li were stunned. Nan Rao looked up, then lowered her head and continued peeling peanuts with a smile. Chi Wu, on the other hand, expressionlessly poured more than half a basket of peanuts from Nan Rao's basket into front of him and began peeling them himself.

"But..." The innocent Ping An still wanted to struggle a little more.

"No buts, you don't want to learn martial arts anymore? You don't want to succeed? It's settled then." Feng Xing patted Ping An's shoulder heavily. "Brother, it's all up to you!"

And so, poor little Ping An was pushed out the door.

"Is something the matter?" Gu Ruoxiao had already noticed out of the corner of her eye that Ping An had been lingering outside the study for a while but hadn't come in, so she couldn't help but ask.

Yun Chu turned her head and saw Ping An standing outside the door. "Come in quickly, isn't it cold outside?"

Ping An steeled himself and shuffled into the study.

"What's wrong?" Yun Chu asked.

"The guards want to stay and have peanut soup and hot buns made by Sister Nanrao tomorrow morning." Ping An finished speaking in an extremely fast tone, clutching the hem of his clothes and lowering his head.

It took Yun Chu a while to realize what he had said.

"Then let Nanrao make a lot more for them tomorrow morning?" Yun Chu said.

“That’s different. Eating it hot the first time is different from eating it while it’s still warm.” Ping An raised his head and said seriously.

Yun Chu glanced at Gu Ruoxiao, who was fanning himself and smiling as if it were none of her business. "This person is fanning himself in the dead of winter, isn't he afraid of freezing to death?" Yun Chu rolled her eyes.

"You mean they want to stay here tonight so they can eat as soon as they wake up tomorrow morning?" Yun Chu asked again, gathering her thoughts.

“Yes.” Ping An nodded emphatically.

Yun Chu looked at Gu Ruoxiao, asking for his opinion.

“This is your yard, you’re in charge,” the other person said with a smile.

Yun Chu thought for a moment, then turned to Ping An, “They can stay, but they have to help Nan Rao with the work. There are too many people; Nan Rao can’t do it all by herself.”

"Alright!" Ping An ran off as soon as he heard that, and soon cheers echoed in the dining room.

Yun Chu thought for a moment and said, "If we're going to stay, we need to plan where we'll sleep."

“It’s okay, they can give you a stool to sleep on,” Gu Ruoxiao said.

"No, it's New Year's Eve, we can't just make do like this." Yun Chu counted on her fingers, "Ping An and Xu Li's room can fit two more people, Mo Han and Nan Rao can squeeze into one room, so four people can live there. There's a couch in this study that can fit three people. Perfect."

"Did you forget to count one person?" Gu Ruoxiao asked.

"No." Yun Chu did the calculation again. The six guards plus Chengfeng, Chiwu, and Fengxing made up the exact number.

"Then where will I stay?" Gu Ruoxiao asked.

"You're going to stay?" Yun Chu's eyes widened.

"You've left all my guards behind, where can I go?"

Their eyes met, and it felt as if something melted away.

Yun Chu quickly avoided eye contact, "You can sleep in my room, I'll squeeze in with Nan Rao."

Boom! It was midnight, and someone lit fireworks outside, instantly filling the sky with dazzling starlight.

Everyone in the dining room ran out.

"Miss, come out and watch the fireworks!" someone shouted from outside.

Gu Ruoxiao and Yun Chu came out of the study together and stood in the courtyard watching the fireworks that filled the city. The fireworks crackled and popped as someone outside lit firecrackers.

"I want to release it too! I want to release it too!" Ping An and Feng Xing shouted, urging Cheng Feng and the other guards.

"It's snowing!" someone shouted.

The snow fell thick and fast; this year's first snow came exceptionally late, falling on New Year's Eve.

Nanrao and Chiwu hurriedly draped warm cloaks over their masters.

After the heavy snowfall, Gu Ruoxiao and Yun Chu both turned white-haired.

Yun Chu looked up and saw fireworks and the first snow. Could this be considered growing old together?