It must be said that when someone who usually keeps a stern face finally smiles, the impact multiplies exponentially.
Gu Yanshu, who had always been deeply fond of Qin Lu's appearance, was nearly lost in this rare smile.
And that smile suddenly made Gu Yanshu look forward to the Lantern Festival with great anticipation.
When he turned his gaze back to the fireworks in the night sky, a smile lingered on his lips that he couldn't suppress.
On New Year's Eve, many households in the capital set off fireworks, and that night, the sky was continuously alight.
Often, one display would barely fade before the next began.
But before all the fireworks had ended, Gu Yanshu began to feel drowsy.
In his previous life, due to health reasons, he had maintained a very regular and healthy sleep schedule.
Since arriving in Tianqi, with limited candlelight after dark, his rest time had become even earlier.
By now, it was long past his usual bedtime.
After who-knows-how-many times forcing himself awake and struggling to keep his eyes open, Qin Lu finally couldn't bear it any longer:
"If you're tired, you should rest first, my Consort."
"No, it's New Year's Eve—we have to stay up to see the year out," Gu Yanshu refused without hesitation. "Besides, if I rest, what about you?"
"This Prince has gone two or three days without rest while on campaign. There's no need for you to force yourself."
A hint of concern showed on Qin Lu's face as he spoke, even moving to guide Gu Yanshu to bed.
But when it came to stubbornness, Gu Yanshu was no less determined than Qin Lu and firmly disagreed.
If he were alone, he would have probably fallen asleep long ago.
Even in his past life, he had rarely managed to stay awake until midnight on New Year's Eve.
But seeing that Qin Lu clearly intended to keep vigil, and having experienced ten lonely years of welcoming the New Year alone, how could Gu Yanshu let Qin Lu stay up by himself?
In the end, seeing that he couldn't persuade him, Qin Lu yielded to Gu Yanshu's wish.
But when he noticed Gu Yanshu once again struggling to stay alert—eyes barely open but still insisting—Qin Lu finally had enough:
"Since my Consort refuses to rest now, this Prince will find you something to do."
"Hmm?"
Gu Yanshu's mind was so foggy with sleep that his reaction was extremely slow. He gazed dazedly at Qin Lu for a long moment before processing the meaning:
"Do what?"
As soon as he spoke, he felt himself lifted into the air.
The sudden weightlessness made him instinctively wrap his arms around Qin Lu's neck. Before he could grasp what was happening, he felt himself sink into something warm and soft.
Subconsciously nuzzling the warm quilt under his cheek, his eyelids grew heavy. He was on the verge of falling asleep when, at the last moment, he suddenly jolted awake:
Had Qin Lu just carried him to bed?
Realizing this, he became much more alert and immediately tried to sit up.
But as soon as he moved, before he could straighten, he felt a pressure on his shoulder.
Following that force, he sank back into the warm bedding, and then saw Qin Lu leaning closer.
At that moment, Gu Yanshu seemed to understand what Qin Lu had meant!
But before he could protest, Qin Lu had already proceeded with his plans.
…
That New Year's Eve, Gu Yanshu didn't know whether he had successfully stayed awake until midnight.
But he did know that if given another chance, he would never again refuse Qin Lu's repeated suggestions to rest.
Because the next day—the first day of the New Year—when Gu Yanshu woke, the sun was already high in the sky.
It was the latest he had slept in since the morning after his wedding.
"His Highness said you rested late last night from staying up for the New Year and specifically instructed us not to disturb you," Baizhu explained when Gu Yanshu asked why he hadn't been woken.
Gu Yanshu's hand, holding his soup spoon, paused almost imperceptibly. The tips of his ears tinged slightly pink:
Staying up for the New Year…
How could Qin Lu say that with a straight face!
Was what he did last night really "staying up"?
Of course, he couldn't say any of this to Baizhu.
He took a few sips of soup to suppress the flutter in his chest, then asked about Qin Lu's whereabouts.
"His Highness went to the palace at 5-7 AM this morning."
"Why did he go to the palace again?" Gu Yanshu frowned slightly.
According to Tianqi's rules, the court was in recess from the 30th of the year to the 6th of the new year. Even the diligent Emperor would rest during these days.
Before leaving, Qin Lu seemed to have anticipated this question and had mentioned a few words to Xingren:
"I faintly heard His Highness say it seems to be about Shaocheng again."
"I understand."
Gu Yanshu continued sipping his soup, but his mind was already racing.
They had discussed the matter for most of the day yesterday, and now, despite it being the New Year, they were meeting again. With noon almost past and Qin Lu still not back, it seemed the situation in Shaocheng was more serious than he had thought.
Since Qin Lu hadn't returned yet, Gu Yanshu had no way of knowing the specific situation and could only set the matter aside for now.
With Qin Lu forced back to work early due to the Shaocheng incident, Gu Yanshu, left alone, wasn't in the mood for a vacation either.
After lunch, he simply had Xingren prepare a carriage and went out, intending to check on the newspaper office.
Although the newspaper was fully managed by Wen Qingxiao, he frequently consulted with Gu Yanshu during this period.
Thus, Gu Yanshu was thoroughly familiar with its operations.
The newspaper office was located on Yude Road—a location not particularly prime compared to Gu Yanshu's other ventures.
But since Wen Qingxiao had chosen this spot, there had to be a reason.
Though Yude Road wasn't bustling, it was adjacent to the two most famous academies in the capital, making it a frequent pass for scholars.
Because of this, most shops on Yude Road sold study supplies like ink, paper, and brushes.
For a daily newspaper targeting scholars as its main audience, this location was ideal.
Moreover, a three-courtyard shop happened to be for sale on Yude Road.
This property seemed tailor-made for the newspaper: the front shop space, though not large, was more than enough for selling books and the daily paper.
The spacious three-courtyard rear could fully accommodate printing, worker rest areas, and Wen Qingxiao's office needs.
This was why Wen Qingxiao had been instantly drawn to the place.
Gu Yanshu had visited once before. After an on-site inspection, he had to admit Wen Qingxiao's sharp eye—the courtyard was indeed perfectly suited for a newspaper office.
Even before reaching the office, Gu Yanshu could sense the stir the daily paper had caused in the capital.
This was partly because Yude Road was quite far from the Prince's residence, and along the way, Gu Yanshu enjoyed occasionally looking out the carriage window.
Not long after setting out, he noticed people on the street holding copies of their Capital Daily.
Yes, after several rounds of discussion, Gu Yanshu had finally settled on Capital Daily as the name.
After spotting the first person with the paper, Gu Yanshu began paying closer attention to pedestrians.
It was the first day of the New Year; many shops along the street were decorated with red lanterns, full of festive spirit and holiday atmosphere.
There were quite a few people out and about.
As the carriage moved forward, Gu Yanshu noticed that the closer they got to Yude Road, the more people were holding Capital Daily.
Most of them appeared to be scholars.
When they were just one street away from Yude Road, he could even faintly hear discussions about the Capital Daily.
However, inside the carriage, the conversations were unclear.
He could only catch keywords like "daily paper," "Young Master Qingxiao," "Grand Secretary," "imperial exams," and "current affairs."
Even without hearing everything clearly, based on the number of people he saw holding the paper along the way, Gu Yanshu could roughly infer that the newspaper's launch was going more smoothly than he had anticipated.
Just then, the carriage gradually came to a stop in front of a storefront, and Xingren announced that they had arrived at the newspaper office.
"Today's issue is sold out!"
"Sold out? But there were some just a moment ago!"
"That was the last copy!"
"Then where else can I buy it?"
"Nowhere else—only here!"
"Will there be more tomorrow?"
"Since it's called a daily paper, of course there will be more tomorrow, but the content will be different from today's."
"Ah? Then can I still get today's issue?"
"How about this: if you really want it, let me check if we can print some more. How does that sound?"
"Thank you for your trouble!"
…
Gu Yanshu overheard this conversation even before stepping out of the carriage.
As soon as he alighted, he heard an employee inside raise his voice: "Today's issue is sold out!"—clearly mistaking him for another customer.
Looking up, he saw the clerk surrounded by scholars inside and outside the shop who hadn't managed to buy a copy.
Seeing so many scholars without newspapers, Gu Yanshu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
The print run for the first issue had been decided by him and Wen Qingxiao based on the court's statistics of scholars recently in the capital.
If the court's data was accurate, today's supply should have been more than sufficient. There shouldn't have been so many people left empty-handed.
Had he and Wen Qingxiao overlooked something?