Although the situation was a bit awkward, even a cataclysmic event couldn't stop Zhu Qingyu's determination to hand in her assignment now. Let alone a situation where Lord Gu was about to take a bath.
Zhu Qingyu pretended not to see anything. While crazily complaining in her heart, she calmly said on the surface,
"I'm here to recite the memorials. I've memorized all fourteen of them in seven days."
Gu Zhao's voice behind her was also calm, even mixed with the sound of him slowly taking off his clothes. Gu Zhao replied,
"There is a desk and writing materials in the next room. You can write them down first. I'll come over later to check."
There was a splashing sound as if Lord Gu was in such a hurry that he had already started bathing.
After hearing that, Zhu Qingyu was about to run away when Gu Zhao said again,
"Please help me close the door."
Zhu Qingyu complained crazily in her heart again,
"Since you know the door should be closed, why didn't you close it when you were taking off your clothes just now!"
Forget it, forget it. Handing in the assignment is the most important thing. Don't be distracted by other things. Since he has said please, it's just a small favor to help him close the door.
Zhu Qingyu turned her back to him and pulled the door. Since she couldn't see, she could only close it by feeling.
She used too much force and got her finger caught in the door crack. It hurt so much that stars danced before her eyes. She grabbed her hand, grimaced in pain, and squatted on the ground all of a sudden.
Just as Zhu Qingyu was inhaling in pain, there was a splashing sound in the room, and someone had already got out of the water.
Gu Zhao casually wrapped a robe around him, bare - footed, and rushed over in a hurry, reaching out to hug her,
"What's wrong? Where did you hit?"
As he reached out to hug her, half of the water on his body splashed onto Zhu Qingyu.
In the cold winter, the water on her body immediately turned cold. There was water all over Zhu Qingyu's neck. She quickly pushed him away and stood up by herself.
Looking at him like this, Lord Gu was half - naked and his clothes were half - wet. It really had a kind of charm that was rarely seen on normal days.
He didn't even seem to be afraid of the cold on such a cold day.
Zhu Qingyu covered her finger and said,
"It's okay. Since you're out, close the door by yourself. I'll go and write down the memorials."
Hurry up, hurry up! Otherwise, she would really forget them later!
Gu Zhao had a lot of things to do today and said again,
"Your clothes are wet. There are your clothes in the wardrobe in the next room. Do you want to change one?"
There was no way she would change. Oh, if she went to the next room and changed her clothes, it would surely make Zhang Shen angry to death.
Zhu Qingyu even suspected that this Lord Gu was very bad. He must be up to some tricks again. Maybe he had deliberately splashed water on her just now.
How bad he was! She had just put on these clothes today, which were meant to be worn when visiting Lord Zhuang's house. Now they were wet by him, and she would have to change into another set later.
She casually wiped the water on her body with a handkerchief, waved her hand, and turned around to run,
"No, no. I'm going to write down the memorials. Don't interrupt me again. If you do, I'll forget everything!"
Zhu Qingyu ran to the next room, went to the desk, fetched the ink, ground it, spread the paper, and picked up the pen to start writing.
Gu Zhao still wore a robe messily on his body and followed her in like a shadow, pacing back and forth in front of her.
Zhu Qingyu looked at him with a questioning look on her face,
"Aren't you cold? Or have you finished bathing?"
Gu Zhao spread his hands,
"My clothes are also wet. The wardrobe is here."
Fine, fine. Let him do as he pleases. She really couldn't talk to him anymore!
Having a conversation with Lord Gu was a bit of a distraction. Now, when trying to recall the first passage, her mind seemed to go blank.
Zhu Qingyu picked up her pen and began to copy from memory while recalling the content. Lord Gu, on the other hand, seemed to be particularly concerned about his appearance today. He spent a long time rummaging through the clothes chest, unable to decide which outfit to wear. Wearing that wet and freezing - cold robe, he paced back and forth in front of her for a long time.
It was so long that by the time she finally managed to write out the first passage with great difficulty, he finally took his clothes and sauntered back.
Zhu Qingyu didn't pay much attention to him. She continued to write passage after passage. Without Lord Gu's interference, she found herself writing with great ease, and her writing became more and more fluent.
After finishing a passage, she would check it, and then let it dry by placing it aside.
When she had written about ten passages, Lord Gu walked in, wiping his hair with a handkerchief and wearing his home clothes.
Zhu Qingyu gave him a glance. Well, at least he was properly dressed this time.
Lord Gu strolled over leisurely and casually picked up one of the passages to read.
"How's the writing going?"
As he got closer, Zhu Qingyu could smell a strong fragrance on his clothes.
There used to be a faint scent, probably the fragrance of wood. But today's was much stronger, seemingly the scent of plum blossoms.
It did smell nice, fresh and lofty, giving an air of sophistication.
However, after taking a few more whiffs, Zhu Qingyu's nose started to itch. She asked him,
"Did you change the incense on your clothes?"
Lord Gu's expression remained calm. His eyes never left the passages Zhu Qingyu was copying. He replied in an ordinary tone,
"Maybe. It's all taken care of by the maids. Do you like it?"
It wasn't about liking. It was that she might be allergic to this incense, for goodness' sake!
Zhu Qingyu put down her pen and started sneezing non - stop. "Achoo! Achoo!" Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at him tearfully and said,
"Could you, achoo, achoo, go to the next room first, achoo. Wait until I finish writing. I might, achoo, not be used to this incense."
Gu Zhao put down the document she had written. With an expression of disbelief on his face, he finally couldn't stand her loud sneezing and turned to leave.
When Gu Zhao came back, he had changed into another set of clothes.
Because of his earlier interference, Zhu Qingyu had a hard time writing the remaining passages. She was frowning and looking worried.
Seeing her frowning, Gu Zhao didn't even dare to get too close. He asked,
"Still not used to it? This is the incense I usually use, and you've never had a problem with it before."
Zhu Qingyu was in the middle of writing an important part and was getting frustrated.
"Please, stop disturbing me!"
Finally, there was peace in her line of sight, by her ears, and in her senses.
When Zhu Qingyu finally finished writing all the passages, she looked around. Well, that ostentatious Lord Gu was nowhere to be seen.
Zhu Qingyu went out to look for him and saw Gu Zhao sitting on the grand master's chair in the main hall. Leaning against the incense burner beside him, his hair was scattered on the burner. He was propping his forehead with his hand, frowning and lost in thought with his eyes closed.
Oh, he looked like a sad and fragile man, just like a lilac flower.
She had just shouted at him, and Zhu Qingyu felt a bit guilty. After all, for a high - ranking court official like him, his day off was a precious time, and the one who would ultimately benefit from supervising her copying the memorials was herself.
Zhu Qingyu spoke in a gentle tone,
"I've finished writing. Would you like to take a look at them?"
Gu Zhao opened his eyes. Although he had just been shouted at by her, when he opened his eyes and saw her expression, he didn't look angry at all. Even the frowning and worry from just now had disappeared. Instead, he showed her a gentle smile as warm and bright as the spring breeze and the bright moon.
"Okay, let me take a look."
