Married Thrice to Salted Fish

Chapter 69

Gu Fuzhou really had thought about it. It was unbelievable.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about such things in his nineteen years of life. Any boy of sound mind and body would have had at least some of those kind of thoughts going through puberty. He was no exception. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, his father solemnly lectured him on physiology and asked him to maintain strict self-discipline and to always show respect for others in this regard.

He remembered how he’d felt after jerking himself off the first time. — That’s all? His hand was so sore, it was about to fall off. That’s all?

Of course, it felt good, undeniably. But the cost-performance ration wasn’t really that high. Although he was lazy, he was quite particular about personal cleanliness. Even if he were just doing it himself, he had to take a shower before and after. The entire process took more than an hour. Wasn’t this time better spent sleeping?

Later, when he was sixteen or seventeen, he found that his classmates, especially the boys, seemed to be very interested in this aspect. His brothers often shared with him some decidedly very un-PG rated things. His brothers would always be flushed with excitement, but he simply felt sorry for the male lead.

After “working” for so long without stopping, after sweating so much, wouldn’t his waist be absolutely sore? It’s so tiring. He already felt tired just watching it.

When he told his brothers how he felt, his brothers were shocked and dubbed him frigid. He disagreed; he wasn’t frigid, he was just too lazy to move. If his future wife was willing to put in the extra effort, he would gladly do it.

In short, because he was too lazy, he lived a life free of worldly desires. Even if he had someone he liked, he didn’t deliberately let his thoughts stray to such things. If you like someone, do you automatically have to have an urge towards him? Do you have to want to sleep with him? Isn’t it okay to just be happy together?

It wasn’t until Lin Qingyu suddenly asked him that that he realized that he did want to sleep with him. Even if he’d be tired half to death he… would probably think it was worth it.

Using the word “sleep” was polite. What he wanted to say something more vulgar. He wanted to dirty Lin Qingyu, leave all kinds of marks on Lin Qingyu’s body, let him be contaminated with his own scent. He even wanted to say some unsavory “dirty talk” into his ear. If it wasn’t for Lin Qingyu’s use of the word “dirty”, he wouldn’t have realized that he actually had such a fetish.

After understanding his own intentions, Gu Fuzhou suddenly found himself so greasy and wretched— Oh, why did he have such a side to him? If he starts to lust after Lin Qingyu’s body, then what was the difference between him and the likes of the emperor and Xiao Cheng?

Shocked into sitting from his deathbed, he realized, I'm actually the 'Cao Thief'?

No, no. Lin Qingyu was originally his wife. What was wrong with him lusting after his own wife? Those who lusted after his wife were the Cao Thieves.

But this cold beauty was meant for admiring, not for dallying with.

Oh, but how he wished to dally with him.

Gu Fuzhou, now with his newly discovered worldly desires, couldn’t help but wonder — Lin Qingyu was also a man. Could it be that he also had worldly desires?

Naturally, Lin Qingyu didn’t know what was going on in that strange head of his. He only felt that the other party’s eyes as he looked at him were deep and dark, no longer as pure as in the past, as though he were now somewhat more mature.

The two went back to bed. Gu Fuzhou had long since seen through all of the enemy’s situation and tactics. Eyes open, with his hands behind his head, he said, “Qingyu, you’re almost twenty years old.”

“En.”

“This is the time when you’re full of animal spirit. How come I’ve never seen you… Do you understand what I mean?” Gu Fuzhou felt that he had already said it very clearly. With Lin Qingyu’s intelligence, it was impossible he wouldn’t understand.

Lin Qingyu said, “I don’t understand.”

“Come on, you must understand.” Gu Fuzhou teased, “Or do you also have no interest at all in this matter?”

“I certainly do not have any interest. But why would you use ‘also’?”

All of Gu Fuzhou’s attention was on the first half of Lin Qingyu’s statement. “It can’t be… you’re not lazy. Why aren’t you interested at all?”

Lin Qingyu thought for a while and said, “Probably because I’ve seen a lot and touched a lot.”

He had lost count of how many men’s bodies he had seen, of women’s bodies as well. He wasn’t proficient in gynecology, but dabbled in it regardless. When he had been traveling with his mentor, he had delivered babies for pregnant women.

As far as he could remember, he never seemed to have had any special reaction to touching someone’s body. It seemed that only Gu Fuzhou’s body had made him feel that “ruined hand” feel, making him flustered when he touched that key part.

Gu Fuzhou choked and said, “Studying medicine is really scary.”

Gu Fuzhou slept late and getting up the next day was a disaster. Lin Qingyu dragged Gu Fuzhou up from the bed, asked Hua Lu to bring breakfast and watched as he begrudgingly ate his porridge.

“Qingyu, when do I get to rest?”

Officials of the Dayu, except for the New Year, could only rest on the fifteenth day of each month. Lin Qingyu helped him do the math and said, “In ten days.”

Gu Fuzhou’s handsome face twisted. “Ten days? Sa-save me…”

After Gu Fuzhou got dressed, Lin Qingyu was about to send him out of the mansion when he saw Yuan Yin running to report, “General, Madam, there is news from the palace. The Emperor has an unbearable headache and the crown prince’s wound is acting up. There will be no morning court today.”

Gu Fuzhou was stunned by the sudden surprise. Save for the night of their second marriage, Lin Qingyu had never seen him so excited. As soon as Yuan Yin finished speaking, he disappeared. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in bed, the quilt swelling once again.

Lin Qingyu chuckled lightly. He instructed the servants not to approach the bedroom so as to allow the general to sleep to his heart’s content.

Not long after the news of the suspension of morning court, there came another messenger from the palace. The emperor’s illness was getting worse by the day and the Imperial Hospital was helpless. The emperor finally couldn’t take it anymore and once again summoned Lin Qingyu to the palace.

Lin Qingyu examined the emperor’s pulse and adjusted the previous prescription. After drinking it for a few days, the emperor’s symptoms lessened in intensity. It stood to reason that Lin Qingyu should be rewarded, but his heart was still full of anger. When he thought of how this gentle and submissive beauty in front of him was already married, of how he, as the emperor, still had someone he couldn’t possess, it was inevitable that feelings of unwillingness and resentment would grow in his heart.

Were he but an ordinary courtier’s wife, forcibly seizing him would have been of no matter. But he was Gu Fuzhou’s wife. A few days later, Gu Fuzhou submitted to him a report. From the deployment of troops and horses to the delivery of food and fodder, he had analyzed the battle situation in the Northwest in a very thorough manner. After reading it, no matter how unwillingly, the emperor still sent the report to the Northwest.

The emperor refused to restore Lin Qingyu to his official position and Lin Qingyu did not take the initiative to mention it. He merely said that he was unsure about the efficacy of some ingredients and he had to go to the Imperial Medical Office to consult their books. The emperor reinstated Lin Qingyu’s right to access the Imperial Medical Office. In addition, Lin Qingyu went to the palace every three days to examine the emperor’s pulse. Except for having no official position or salary, it was no different from the past.

Lin Qingyu had never cared about the official position or salary. Marrying Gu Fuzhou was simply a solution out of a desperate situation. If he wanted a safe and secure life with Gu Fuzhou, they still had a lot to do.

Gu Fuzhou waited and waited and waited, finally it his once in a month rest day. Lin Qingyu happened to be scheduled for a visit to the palace that day. When Lin Qingyu got up, he made sure to keep his movements light. Then, thinking about it, it seemed there was no need. Gu Fuzhou wasn’t the type to be woken up with just a bit of noise, after all. Unexpectedly, as soon as his feet landed, he heard a low hoarse voice from the upper bunk. “Qingyu…”

Lin Qingyu was surprised. “Why did you wake up?”

Gu Fuzhou closed his eyes and said weakly, “You’re going to the palace today. I’ll see you off.”

Lin Qingyu was stunned and a warmth that shouldn’t have appeared in winter rose in his heart. He said though, “You’re on the verge of passing out. How could you possibly see me off?”

Gu Fuzhou sat up sleepily, rubbed his eyes and said automatically, “No matter how sleepy I am, I have to see my wife off to work…”

Lin Qingyu said with a smile. “There’s no need. You should go back to sleep.”

Gu Fuzhou forced himself to get out of bed. “No, you see me off every day. If I don’t see you off, I would be absolute scum.”

Gu Fuzhou was so dead set on doing it that Lin Qingyu decided to let him do it. He originally thought that Gu Fuzhou would do the same as he did, simply seeing him off the gate of the General’s Mansion. He didn’t expect that Gu Fuzhou would get in the carriage with him and see him off directly to the gate of the palace. Although Gu Fuzhou had been dozing off against his shoulder in the carriage, not a word exchanged between them, describing this early morning feeling as so touching as to move even heaven and earth would not be an exaggeration. It truly was precious.

Once in the palace, the eunuch led Lin Qingyu to Qinzheng Hall. When the emperor told him to enter, Master Xie, the leader of the Tianji Camp, was just on his way out. The two passed each other and Lin Qingyu caught a light fragrance.

Lin Qingyu very quickly found out where the fragrance came from. The emperor showed him something – a crystal clear snow lotus. Simply judging from the color of the petals, you could tell it was extraordinary.

The emperor said, “Have a look, this may be good for my headache.”

Lin Qingyu took of a whiff of the snow lotus’ fragrance and asked, “Dare to ask Your Majesty, is this from the Northern Regions?”

Hearing the “Northern Regions”, the emperor seemed uneasy. “They say it was collected from the extreme north of the Northern Regions.”

Lin Qingyu smiled lightly and said, “It is indeed a rare and priceless ingredient. This student shall formulate a new prescription for Your Majesty. Using this snow lotus from the north as an ingredient, it will definitely be able to produce twice the result with half the effort.”

After taking his leave, Lin Qingyu spent a long time in the library of the Imperial Medical Office before returning to the General’s Mansion at dusk. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw a luxurious carriage parked in front of the General’s Mansion. Such pomp would be overstepping the bounds of propriety for any common official. It was obvious as to who had come.

The carriage arrived but a moment earlier than Lin Qingyu. As soon as the owner of the carriage alighted, he met face-to-face with Lin Qingyu. “—It’s that beautiful imperial physician!”

Lin Qingyu said, “I am no longer an imperial physician, Your Highness.”

“Then I shall call you Doctor Lin.” The person who had come was Xiao Jie, the fourth prince. With him was his steward, ever inseparable from him — surnamed ‘Xi’ and with a single name ‘Rong’.

Lin Qingyu had no interest in pretty idiots. Only smart people held his interest. Compared with Xiao Jie, he paid much more attention to Xi Rong. “We are honored by His Highness’ presence but was the general expecting you?”

“No — Ah, what I mean is that he should be. Last time, the general promised to show me his Qingyun Jiuzhou Spear and his Ferghana horse. Today, I happened to be passing by the General’s Mansion and suddenly thought of this, so I just…”

Xiao Jie smiled awkwardly. Xi Rong bowed to Lin Qingyu, and said politely, “His Highness, on a whim, came uninvited and disturbed the general and his wife. If it is inconvenient for the General, next time, we shall send a letter in advance before bringing down His Highness.”

Lin Qingyu said, “Today is the General’s rest day. There is no inconvenience. Please come in, Your Highness.”

Once they entered the mansion, Xiao Jie looked around curiously and asked, “Why do I not see General Gu?”

Lin Qingyu guessed, “At this hour, he should be playing.”

Xiao Jie looked completely confused. He raised his head and asked Xi Rong, “Does the General also play?”

Xi Rong said, “General Gu’s ‘play’ may be different from Your Highness’s ‘play’.”

Xiao Jie grinned and said, “I understand. For example, my ‘play’ is to eat and drink and the General’s ‘play’ is to ride horses and shoot arrows?”

Xi Rong smiled and nodded, “Your Highness is wise.”

Lin Qingyu said, “Your Highness, may I ask that you wait in the hall for a while? I will go and invite the General. Huan Tong, kindly serve tea to His Highness.”

Xiao Jie took a sip of the tea from the General’s Mansion. His eyes lit up and he was filled with praise. “This is delicious. This might even taste better than the tea in the palace! A’Rong, why don’t you give it a try too?”

Xi Rong shook his head and said, “Your Highness, you mustn’t forget etiquette when you are outside.”

Xiao Jie was a little disappointed. “Alright.”

“Don’t you find it strange, Your Highness?” Xi Rong said, “In terms of etiquette, it would be better for the General’s wife to stay and entertain the guests. Then why did the Madam go to personally call the General? The Madam doesn’t seem like someone who doesn’t understand etiquette.”

Xiao Jie thought for a while, but couldn’t think of a reason. “Why?”

Xi Rong smiled slightly and said, “The Madam probably has something to tell the General in private.”

Lin Qingyu found Gu Fuzhou in the bedroom. Gu Fuzhou had a strip of black cloth tied over his eyes. In front of him was a porcelain bottle that Lin Qingyu used to hold medicine. A red rope was tied to the mouth of the bottle and the other end of the red rope was tied to the beam of the house.

Hearing Lin Qingyu’s footsteps, Gu Fuzhou pulled the black cloth up, revealing smiling eyes. “Qingyu, Qingyu, I’ll show you something good.”

Saying so, Gu Fuzhou put the black cloth back on. He pushed the porcelain vase hard, and the vase began to sway back and forth. Gu Fuzhou too swayed left and right, perfectly avoiding being hit by the vase every time.

The corners of Gu Fuzhou’s lips rose up. “How? I practiced for a whole hour.”

Lin Qingyu stepped forward and grabbed the swinging porcelain vase. He said, “Xiao Jie and his eunuch are here.”

Gu Fuzhou raised his eyebrows. “Right now?”

“They’re already in the mansion.”

Gu Fuzhou smelled the familiar light scent and the corners of his lips rose even higher. He stretched out his hand, pretending to grab the porcelain bottle, instead he hugged Lin Qingyu’s waist, having achieved what he wished.

Lin Qingyu allowed him to hold him. He stretched out his hand and tore off the black cloth. “Also, Xiao Cheng really did send the Tianji Camp to the Northern Regions. The Emperor must be quite dissatisfied about this.”

Looking at the beauty with a light medicinal fragrance in his arms, Gu Fuzhou, though with a heart like a frisky money and a mind like a cantering horse, was still able to set aside some portion of his brain to think, “Does Doctor Lin mean… today? Isn’t it a bit too early?”

Lin Qingyu pushed Gu Fuzhou away and said, “There is no need to say too much. We can just sound him out for now.”

The two returned to the front hall to meet their guests together. In front of Xiao Jie and Xi Rong, Gu Fuzhou was deep and reserved, sedate and taciturn. Even Xi Rong could not have imagined that not long ago, General Gu had been in his room practicing how not to be hit on the head by a swaying porcelain bottle.

After exchanging greetings, Gu Fuzhou ordered someone to present the Qingyun Jiuzhou Spear. This spear was so heavy that most people couldn’t hold it. It took at least two grown men to lift it.

Xiao Jie circled around the Qingyun Jiuzhou Spear a few times, making a few “wow” sounds. He turned his head and said excitedly at Xi Rong. “A’Rong, can you feel the murderous spirits from the Northwest?”

Xi Rong said: “The spear is nourished by blood. The General’s spear possess a spiritual quality.”

Xiao Jie tried to pick up the Qingyun Jiuzhou Spear but no matter how hard he tried, he only managed to barely lift it a fraction using both hands. He couldn’t help but sight. “This spear is heavy enough to smash a person to death, but General Gu is able to wield it one-handed to cut down countless enemies. You are truly worthy of being the greatest warrior of the Dayu.”

In the face of the prince’s praise, Gu Fuzhou still cherished words like gold, “Your Highness bestows undeserved praise.”

Having seen enough of the spear, Gu Fuzhou took them to the stable. A fine steed was drinking water with its head down. Feeling the presence of strangers, the horse raised its neck vigilantly and flicked its tail restlessly.

This horse was as black as ink, with slender limbs and a thick mane, completely different from the ordinary horses seen outside. Only that due to a long period of inactivity, it was now a lot fatter than when it first arrived in the capital.

Xiao Jie was amazed and asked, “What’s its name?”

Lin Qingyu gave Gu Fuzhou a playful look and said, “Xiao Bai.”

Xiao Jie looked confused. “But, it’s black.”

Gu Fuzhou said solemnly, “Indeed. Your Highness, would you like to try riding it?”

Xiao Jie was both startled and delighted, “Ca-can I?”

Xi Rong disapproved. “A prized horse is spirited and very loyal to its master. And Your Highness isn’t good at riding. I hope Your Highness will reconsider.”

Gu Fuzhou said, “With me here, nothing will happen.”

Xiao Jie stroked Xiao Bai’s inky back and his heart was tempted. “There shouldn’t be any problem if I just ride it for a walk around, right — A’Rong?”

Xi Rong sighed helplessly, cupped his hands in salute and said, “Then, might I trouble the General to stay by his side to look after him?”

Gu Fuzhou took Xiao Jie to ride the horse, while Lin Qingyu and Xi Rong stayed to one side and watched. It was not difficult to see that the relationship between Xiao Jie and Xi Rong was by no means an ordinary master-servant relationship. Xiao Jie obviously relied heavily on Xi Rong, consistent with what Gu Fuzhou had said. But Lin Qingyu couldn’t make out any of Xi Rong’s paranoid side. It could be assumed that he was also quite proficient at hiding his true colors.

Lin Qingyu said casually, “His Highness is quite innocent and unaffected. When the Crown Prince ascends the throne, being the idle prince of a fief would be quite good for him.”

Xi Rong’s eyes dimmed slightly but he also very quickly presented a smile even better than that of a woman’s. “What the Madam says is true.”

The author has something to say:

Salted Fish : It’s not that I can’t, I’m really just lazy, believe me =w=