On the early morning of the winter solstice, the snow continued to fall without pause.
Because the Hui Medical Hall was closed for consultations that day, Su Mu didn't get up until around half past seven. After getting ready, she headed to the kitchen to fetch Lord Zhu's breakfast.
In truth, Zhu Qingyu had already returned their indentured contracts to Su Mu and the others last month, and had even asked Lord Zhuang to register them as medical households, with their household registration attached under the Hui Medical Temple.
So, theoretically speaking, Su Mu and the others were no longer Zhu Qingyu's servants, but had become government-registered medical households under the jurisdiction of the court.
Becoming a medical household had both advantages and disadvantages. The benefit was that from then on, Su Mu and the others received government salaries, could support themselves through their medical skills, and were also under the court's protection. Ordinary people wouldn't dare scheme against government officials, and even their own clan relatives could no longer exercise authority over them based on clan status.
Of course, there were downsides too. If a sudden epidemic outbreak occurred, medical households were duty-bound—Su Mu and the others would have to obey the court's orders and rush to the affected area without delay.
When Zhu Qingyu issued them their household registrations, she even joked with them:
"Well, now that the court pays your salaries, at least you won't have to come to me for your monthly silver anymore."
When Su Mu received her medical household registration, she threw her arms around Zhu Qingyu and burst into loud sobs.
Lin Lan was more reserved; tears welled up in her eyes, and she barely held them back.
Nanny Tian and the others, however, were in disbelief. Holding their registrations, they ran out into the bright sun, looking left and right. As they looked, they began to chuckle, their laughter rumbling like thunder, drawing many people out to see what was going on.
From a legal standpoint, Su Mu and Zhu Qingyu were now colleagues, no longer master and servant.
But the law was the law, and personal bonds were personal bonds.
To Su Mu, Doctor Zhu was not only her mistress, but also her master teacher, and even more so, her superior. Having a medical household registration did not change her status in Su Mu's heart. Su Mu and the others still took turns caring for Zhu Qingyu's daily needs.
Su Mu entered the kitchen and was about to ask the cook what was for breakfast when she saw a familiar figure blocking the doorway like a bear.
Xiong Kun, who had also come to the kitchen to fetch breakfast, saw Su Mu and greeted her:
"Doctor Su."
Su Mu looked as if she'd seen a ghost:
"Lord Xiong, what are you doing here?"
Then, thinking of something, Su Mu leaned in closer and asked in a low voice:
"So—so Vice Minister Gu is here too?"
Xiong Kun chuckled twice, pointed with his finger toward the second floor, and whispered:
"He's here, he's here. From now on, we'll all be one family, Doctor Su."
Su Mu didn't quite understand, her face full of question marks:
"Huh?"
Xiong Kun scratched his head:
"Oh, I suppose it's fine to say it—the Duchess should be arriving within the next couple of days, coming to propose a marriage."
What!
So soon!
The Duchess's visit to propose marriage wasn't Su Mu's business to meddle in—that was for Doctor Zhu to decide. But right now, there was something of utmost urgency.
The matter between Doctor Zhu and Vice Minister Gu was only known to those of them who had gone to the northern frontier. No one else knew yet!
If someone happened to stumble upon them and made a fuss, what trouble that would cause!
Su Mu didn't even bother grabbing the breakfast. She hurried toward the back courtyard's inverted-facing rooms, and halfway there, she nearly collided head-on with the laundress.
The laundress, carrying a bamboo basket of clean clothes, was heading toward the main house. Su Mu quickly stopped her:
"Mother Li, give that to me. I'll take it, I'll take it."
Having warded off any unwanted onlookers, Su Mu took the bamboo basket, entered the main house, went up to the second floor, gently pushed open the outer room's door, and silently set the basket down.
Before Su Mu could even take out the clothes, from the inner room came a sharp smack—the sound of someone being hit.
And with that sound came Doctor Zhu's voice, weary yet languid with affection:
"Stop it. Settle down. I'm so sleepy—let me sleep a bit longer."
Someone coaxed in reply:
"Madam, you go ahead and sleep. I'll be gentle—it won't bother you."
Good heavens!
What in the world was going on in there!
Thank goodness she hadn't let Mother Li come up!
Su Mu didn't dare listen any further. She bolted.
Inside the inner room, within the bed curtains, even the very air was thick with decadence.
Zhu Qingyu smacked Gu Zhao on the chin once more. Having barely slept all night, Doctor Zhu was at her limit—so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, and now she began to lose her temper:
"Get out of here! If you mess around again, you're not allowed through this door anymore!"
It seemed she was truly furious.
Afraid of genuinely angering her and ruining the bigger plans ahead, Gu Zhao finally reined in his boundless energy. He simply held her and said, in a pitiful tone:
"Alright, alright, don't be mad. Then you sleep."
The two of them then slept in a way that was utterly oblivious to the world. They missed not only breakfast, but lunch as well.
By mid-afternoon, Zhu Qingyu finally woke up. She was awake, but exhausted and famished. Half-dazed, she kicked Gu Zhao under the covers and said to him:
"I'm so hungry."
Gu Zhao, who was hell-bent on scoring points, immediately scrambled up:
"I'll go get food."
Zhu Qingyu watched him half-awake and half-asleep as he dressed, reminding him:
"The Hui Medical Hall isn't like the Ducal Mansion. There isn't food available all day. There are only two cooks, and by this hour they should be resting. Don't trouble them. There are restaurants on both sides of the street—go buy something from outside."
Gu Zhao, with a proper and eager attitude, dressed, went downstairs, and obediently followed Doctor Zhu's advice. He went out and bought food, brought the food container upstairs, and even came in to ask Zhu Qingyu:
"Eat in here, or out there? Can you dress yourself? Want me to help you?"
Though her whole body ached, she wasn't so incapacitated that she couldn't put on clothes. Zhu Qingyu refused Gu Zhao's excessive attentiveness, dressed herself, and pushed open the door to find Gu Zhao setting out the food container on the small table in the outer room.
The scene was somewhat reminiscent of the old days in the palace, when the two of them had stayed together in the small side room.
Back then, she had panicked over the feelings stirring in her heart, and for the sake of her own life, had kept Gu Zhao at arm's length.
But now—the person she shouldn't have provoked, she had provoked after all.
Not only had she provoked him, she wanted to keep him.
Gu Zhao set out the meal and called to her:
"I've prepared water for you, it's in the divider room. Go wash up quickly, then come eat."
By the time Zhu Qingyu had washed up and come out, she discovered that Gu Zhao had not only set out the meal, but had also lit a brazier. And the reason for lighting a brazier right at the start of winter was so that the window could be kept open, so the two of them could enjoy the snowy view outside while eating.
Having created the perfect dining atmosphere and eating together—this meal that was neither quite lunch nor dinner—Gu Zhao observed Zhu Qingyu's expression. Sensing she was in a good mood, he said carefully:
"In a few days, my mother will come to Jiangning to propose marriage. Qingyu, would you marry me?"
He had actually managed to win over the elders of his family. Zhu Qingyu had promised him before, and she wouldn't go back on her word now. She smiled:
"Alright."
But if he had won over his elders and earned the approval of the Gu family—by the rules of this world, shouldn't she also consult her own elders and earn the approval of the Zhu family?
After the meal, Zhu Qingyu said to Gu Zhao:
"I'm a bit thirsty."
Gu Zhao poured her a cup of tea, cleared away the food container, and said:
"I'll return the food container to the restaurant. If you're sleepy, you can sleep a little longer."
After Gu Zhao left, Zhu Qingyu didn't go back to sleep. Holding that cup of tea, she went to the front courtyard, and sure enough, in one of the clinic rooms, she found Zhu Dashan, who didn't take a rest even on the day of the Beginning of Winter, diligently memorizing medical texts.
Zhu Qingyu handed the cup of tea to Zhu Dashan and asked:
"Dashan, what do you think of Vice Minister Gu?"
