The skin under his palm was cold. Gu Chong rubbed it for a while. "You're a great general. Why wait outside?"
After all, he was the one who raised him. How could he not feel bad?
Besides, other than that day, Gu Huai had always been obedient. He was a typical younger brother. Gu Chong was always glad to have such a person by his side.
"I'm afraid that you don't want to see me," Gu Huai replied in a low voice.
"I won't." Gu Chong sighed. He just didn't know how to face it. He didn't get angry at Gu Huai because of this.
"It's cold outside. Let's go home first, brother." Gu Huai walked over with Gu Chong. There was a carriage parked not far away.
Gu Chong was touched by the words "go home". He followed Gu Huai into the carriage.
Along the way, Gu Huai automatically kept a distance from Gu Chong, not crossing the line at all.
The Imperial Academy of Medicine was not far from the Gu family. The carriage stopped and Gu Huai got off first. When Gu Chong got off, the snow above his head was blocked by a large umbrella.
His bony hands held the umbrella handle. These hands were used to hold swords, but now they were willing to hold the umbrella for him. His movements were so familiar.
Gu Chong suddenly realized that the child who needed his protection had grown up. He was standing in front of him, sheltering him from the wind and rain. The roles had changed. He went from being the protector to being protected.
"Brother, be careful."
As he thought about this, Gu Chong stumbled and was supported by someone.
The man's strong arm wrapped around his waist to help him stand firm. Gu Chong's ears turned red as the man's cold aura hit him.
He was already an adult, but he almost fell while walking …
Gu Chong was embarrassed. He wanted to say something, but Gu Huai had already let go of his hand.
Silence spread between the two.
Gu Chong pushed the door open and walked in. After a few steps, he turned around.
The tall man stood outside the door with an umbrella in his hand, watching Gu Chong leave.
He was like a dog abandoned by its owner.
"Why don't you come in?" Gu Chong had to admit that he couldn't harden his heart towards Gu Huai.
"Brother, are you still willing to let me in?" Gu Huai's eyes lit up.
Seeing Gu Huai's cautious and hopeful eyes, Gu Chong's heart softened. This was the child he had raised. Even if he had made a mistake, he could not bear to punish him. Moreover, he had not done anything wrong. He had just fallen in love with him.
"No matter what happens, this will always be your home," Gu Chong said calmly, suppressing his thoughts.
He and Gu Huai were not family, but they were family. For the past few days, he could not help but wonder why Gu Huai would fall in love with him. Putting aside the fact that they were both men, when he was with Gu Huai, he had always treated Gu Huai like a younger brother. Could it be that Gu Huai had misunderstood something and developed such feelings for him?
Gu Chong made a decision in his heart. He would find a time to make it clear to Gu Huai that he would always be Gu Huai's brother. Nothing else.
The two lived in peace for a period of time and tacitly did not bring up that topic again. Everything seemed to have returned to the past. The waves caused by the confession had calmed down. However, this was only what it looked like.
When they were together, it was impossible to act as if nothing had happened.
Gu Huai could feel that Gu Chong was consciously distancing himself from him.
It was not the kind of distance where he wanted to distance himself from him. Instead, it was the kind of distance where he wanted to pull him onto the right track and avoid intimacy.
Although Gu Huai was right in front of him, there seemed to be an invisible barrier between the two of them, preventing him from touching the real person.
After that day, Gu Huai also wondered if he should not have brought up this matter. However, he was unwilling. He did not want to see another intimate person appear by his brother's side one day.
Whenever he thought that his brother's gaze and gentleness would be on that person, he would go crazy with jealousy. He could not bear the possible consequences. Therefore, he had to let his brother know his feelings.
Without destruction, there would be no construction. Only by bringing up the matter could it develop in the direction he wanted.
As the end of the year approached, Gu Chong and Gu Huai went to buy the things they would need for the New Year. In the past, they had done it together. Gu Chong was in charge of choosing and Gu Huai was in charge of carrying things.
Seeing a ready-made clothing store, Gu Chong pulled Gu Huai into it.
This year, Gu Huai had grown a lot taller. Gu Chong had also made great contributions to the Empress and received many rewards. He had accumulated a lot of savings and wanted to make some new clothes for Gu Huai.
Gu Huai saw Gu Chong signal to the store staff to take his measurements. He asked, "Brother, are you going to make new clothes for me?"
"Yes. You're growing fast. After spring, many of your old clothes can't be worn anymore. Since you're free now, let's make a few more."
"Brother, don't just focus on me. Make some for yourself too."
In the end, both of them made a lot. After setting a date to collect the clothes, the two were happily sent out by the store owner who had received a large order.
"Customers, don't worry. My store has made clothes for many high officials and nobles. The quality and style are guaranteed."
After walking for a while, Gu Huai slowly came over. "Brother …"
"What's wrong?" Gu Chong was in a good mood.
"Brother, do you want to take a look at the mansion His Majesty gave me?"
That was the Lin family's mansion. After it was given to Gu Huai, the Emperor had ordered people to renovate it. Gu Chong had only been there at the beginning. Later, Gu Huai himself lived in the Gu family and would not go there.
After coaxing and pestering, Gu Chong agreed to take a look at Gu Huai.
"After it was renovated, I always wanted to take you here." Gu Huai led Gu Chong inside.
The general's mansion was solemn. Walking inside, Gu Chong suddenly felt like time was passing.
"This is the martial arts field. His Majesty asked me what style I wanted. I thought that there were very few traces left of the Lin family, so I hoped to restore it as much as possible. It's a pity that I was too young when the Lin family got into trouble. Many of my memories are blurry. This place is different from the Lin family of the past." Gu Huai's voice gradually became downcast.
"As long as you're here, the Lin family will still be here. His Majesty has overturned the case for the Lin family. The Lin family's honor will still be there." Gu Chong comforted him.
The two sat at the edge of the martial arts field and looked at the empty field. It was as if they were looking at the lively scene of the Lin family through time.
"Father would practice martial arts here every day. Occasionally, mother would bring me here to see him. She would tell me that in the future, I would become a great general like father. I would risk my life for the Great Huan Kingdom. Father always told me that a general's greatest glory was to die on the battlefield, but …"
But the Lin family had been loyal for generations. In the end, they were framed by treacherous officials. Although they died on the battlefield, they didn't die at the hands of the enemy. They lost their lives in the conspiracy of their own people.
"It's all in the past." Gu Chong patted Gu Huai's head. "The wicked have been punished. The good have been vindicated. Everyone has returned to their rightful place."
"In the past, I was really scared. When I was sent away, I fainted. When I woke up, my dignified father, my mother who loved me dearly, my big sister who would make me laugh … Everything, including the Lin family, was gone. For a long time, I thought I was dreaming. When I woke up, my father, mother, and the Lin family were still there. My mother would gently tell me, 'Don't be afraid. It's just a nightmare.' "
Gu Huai's tone was calm. But it was this calmness that made Gu Chong unable to bear it. Whoever raised a child would love him dearly. Gu Chong felt terrible that such a thing had happened to him at such a young age.
This was the first time Gu Huai had spoken of his childhood. Gu Chong's heart tightened. Calculating the time, when he found Gu Huai, it had been some time since the Lin family's destruction. He didn't dare to imagine how a child like Gu Huai had lived before he found him.
Gu Huai's hand was at his side. Gu Chong reached out to cover it, as if he wanted to warm this person up.
Gu Chong turned to look at him. The man's side profile was handsome and firm. The current Gu Huai, compared to when he was first picked up, had really changed a lot. Gu Chong sighed in his heart. This was a child he had raised single-handedly. From a thin and sickly child, he had grown into a handsome man.
His eyes were filled with pity and emotions that he didn't even realize.
Gu Huai felt it. His lips curled up slightly.
"Brother, do you remember? For a long time, I didn't dare to sleep alone. I wasn't timid, I was afraid. I was afraid that when I woke up, I would be alone again. At that time, I only had you. I was afraid that you would be gone when I woke up."
Of course Gu Chong remembered. At that time, he was also poor. He had prepared a small bed for Gu Huai. Who would have thought that when he woke up in the middle of the night, he would find a small figure curled up beside him. After asking, he found out that the child often came to him in the middle of the night and left before he woke up. No wonder he didn't notice.
"When I asked you, you only said you were afraid of the dark. I didn't know …"
"This has nothing to do with you." Gu Huai interrupted Gu Chong. "It's me who didn't tell you."
"How did you survive before you met me? Didn't you have servants to protect you? How did you end up in such a sorry state? "
Gu Chong remembered clearly that when he found Gu Huai, there was no adult by his side. On a rainy night, a child in tattered clothes had collapsed beside the house he rented at the time, suffering from a high fever. If he hadn't met him, he wouldn't have survived so easily.
"Something happened. A few people were disloyal and wanted to hand me over for a reward. I saw through them and escaped under the protection of a few loyal servants."
Gu Huai made light of the situation, but the actual situation was far more dangerous than he made it out to be. At that time, someone leaked the news and the people who were supposed to help them were replaced. There weren't many people protecting him to begin with. It was a close shave that allowed him to escape from those people.
Those who protected him were all dead. In the end, he was the only one left. He didn't want to accept his fate. He was protected by the Lin family. No matter how difficult it was, he wanted to live. Only by living could he have a chance to take revenge.
Those people poured basin after basin of dirty water on the Lin family. The souls of those who died in vain were wailing, but Gu Huai could do nothing. He could only protect himself, gather strength little by little, and wait for the best time to counterattack.
He fell into the abyss in that fire and was pulled back to the human world by a pair of tender hands on a rainy night. He didn't want to implicate Gu Chong because of him, so he had to be very careful. Fortunately, Gu Chong didn't get involved in danger because of him.
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