At the third watch of the night, Vice Minister Gu, who had been thrown out of the door, begged a few more times. Suddenly, Lord Zhu opened the door, and before Gu Zhao could even speak, a coat and a heavy cloak came flying out at his head.
Gu Zhao pulled the garments off his face, and from inside came the sound of the door bolt being shot shut again.
The scene was almost exactly the same as when she had chased him out the back door of the Zhang family estate in Qingyi Lane—even the click of the door bolt sounded identical.
They were supposed to be getting married, and yet they were still sneaking around like clandestine lovers. It was utterly absurd.
Gu Zhao tried to speak again, but Zhu Qingyu’s warning voice came from within:
“Who told you to pull tricks like that? If you dare do such a thing again, I won’t marry you.”
He hadn’t even gotten the bride home yet, and with her temperament, if she said she wouldn’t marry him, she just might follow through.
Gu Zhao dared not provoke her further, so he could only say:
“Then what time will you get up tomorrow? I’ll bring breakfast to you. Nanny Qin specially brought a cook from Shu—you’re sure to like it.”
If he didn’t get her consent, she’d keep him hanging around forever.
Besides, the cooks currently hired at the Hui Medical Clinic were all locals from Jiangning, and their food was too bland. Having a Shu cook wouldn’t hurt.
At the thought of good food, Zhu Qingyu softened her tone and even started placing an order:
“I’ll get up at the hour of Chen. For breakfast, I want sweet fermented rice with eggs. Alright, you go back to sleep now too.”
Gu Zhao left, tasked and pacified. The next day, sure enough, he was knocking on the door right at the hour of Chen:
“Qingyu, Qingyu.”
Oh, saying the hour of Chen was the hour of Chen—truly, no alarm clock could be more punctual than Vice Minister Gu.
Zhu Qingyu had been utterly exhausted yesterday, as if her energy had been drained dry. The moment she had sent Gu Zhao off, she fell into bed and slept.
She dreamed nothing all night, and the moment she opened her eyes, Gu Zhao was knocking on the door.
Such seamless continuity almost made Zhu Qingyu feel like he had never left at all.
Zhu Qingyu draped a robe over herself and opened the door. Gu Zhao rushed in and hugged her, resting his head on her shoulder, whining pitifully:
“You chased me away yesterday, and I couldn’t sleep all night. I can’t fall asleep without you.”
Behind Gu Zhao stood Nanny Qin.
Nanny Qin was carrying the breakfast basket, and behind her followed two maidservants, holding washing supplies.
The Governor-General of Liangjiang, Vice Minister Gu, appeared to be acting spoiled—it was utterly nauseating. The two maidservants hung their heads, faces full of shock.
Only Nanny Qin remained unchanged. She carried the basket in, slipped quietly into the inner room, and began setting out the breakfast on the outer table.
Seeing the two maidservants still frozen outside, Nanny Qin even gave them a meaningful look, signaling for them to come in.
The maidservants entered with the supplies, and Zhu Qingyu cupped Gu Zhao’s face in her hands, studying his expression—he really hadn’t slept well. She coaxed:
“Then next rest day, you can come stay over.”
That put it a full ten days away. Were they only to sleep together once every ten days?
Gu Zhao felt the world collapse:
“No way! I want to come back every day!”
Zhu Qingyu released his face and went to take a towel from one of the maidservants, replying:
“No. I see patients every day, I’m very busy. At most, you get every fifth and tenth day, or nothing at all.”
Nanny Qin listened from nearby, and the more she heard, the more off it sounded. This was like a concubine of the main household wheedling the master into spending the night at her quarters.
Vice Minister Gu’s skills at navigating domestic arrangements were really not up to par.
Nanny Qin thought all this while her face betrayed nothing. She set out the chopsticks and bowls for the two officials and asked Zhu Qingyu:
“Lord Zhu, what would you like for lunch and dinner today?”
What to eat for breakfast, what to eat for lunch, and what to eat for dinner—these are the three most important yet most difficult questions in the world.
Faced with such a dilemma, Zhu Qingyu found herself momentarily at a loss for words.
Nanny Qin led the two officials to the table and had them sit down, then offered Zhu Qingyu a suggestion:
“If Lord Zhu can’t think of anything suitable at the moment, perhaps we could do this: the cook has just arrived and doesn’t know Nanjing well yet, so let him spend the next few days checking what seasonal produce is available at the market. On one hand, it’ll give you something fresh to try; on the other, it gives the cook some time to figure out which dishes might suit both of your tastes. What do you think?”
Nanny Qin was truly a professional—Zhu Qingyu nodded enthusiastically.
Gu Zhao glanced over at Nanny Qin, and she immediately understood his intention. With a composed expression, she continued casually:
“I did notice that Lord Zhu seems terribly busy with the medical clinic’s duties, and mealtimes are irregular. If we were to send meals over from the Governor’s residence at set times, they might arrive too early or too late and cause inconvenience. Is there an unused kitchen at the Hui Medical Clinic that could be given to the cook?”
The Huì Medical Clinic was housed in what had previously been the Zhou family estate. Aside from the front courtyard serving as the clinic, the rear courtyard was, per regulations, used by the clinic’s physicians and their families as living quarters. It was spacious, with plenty of empty rooms.
Zhu Qingyu, while eating her fermented rice egg soup, replied:
“There is. Go find Dr. Tian and have her arrange a place for the cook.”
Seeing victory within reach, Nanny Qin kept her face utterly calm:
“Vice Minister Gu should also keep a set of clothes at the clinic, shouldn’t he? If his clothes get stained during breakfast, it wouldn’t do to have to return to the Governor’s residence to change. After all, it’s official attire—if he’s seen on the road in such a state, and censors get wind of it, that could be a problem. Why don’t I also ask Dr. Tian to set up a spot?”
Wherever this Sichuan cook had come from, Nanny Qin had found him—Zhu Qingyu hadn’t had such authentic fermented rice egg soup in a long time. The food was assaulting her taste buds, and she paid little attention to Nanny Qin’s long, drawn-out chatter, simply replying:
“Fine.”
Nanny Qin gave Vice Minister Gu a subtle look, then made her exit with quiet triumph and went downstairs to find Mother Tian, saying to her:
“Lord Zhu has instructed that the new cook be given a kitchen. Also, arrange a place for Vice Minister Gu to store his clothes.”
Mother Tian, who had now been promoted to Dr. Tian, was a quick and efficient woman. She found a spot in no time. When she heard about needing a place for Vice Minister Gu, she consulted Nanny Qin:
“Nanny, for where Vice Minister Gu’s clothes should go—did Lady Zhu mention which spot would be suitable?”
Nanny Qin said:
“Lord Zhu didn’t specify. But I noticed the spare room next door is unoccupied, and it seems quite fitting. After all, if he needed a change of clothes, he shouldn’t have to run all the way across the compound to get them, right?”
Dr. Tian thought Nanny Qin’s reasoning made perfect sense, and so the adjacent room was immediately claimed by Gu Zhao.
What Nanny Qin had described as “a set of clothes” turned, by that afternoon during the clinic’s closing hours, into a grand procession of eight horse-drawn carriages unloading all of Vice Minister Gu’s luggage at the Hui Medical Clinic.
Zhu Qingyu was in the front courtyard writing when she heard the commotion. She was utterly stunned. She followed the servants hauling luggage along their route, all the way to the back—up to the second floor of the main residence.
That couldn’t be right, could it? They weren’t moving things into her bedroom, were they?
Zhu Qingyu went upstairs and found Gu Zhao emerging from the adjacent room, having brazenly moved himself in.
What was going on?
Zhu Qingyu demanded:
“Why are you living here?!”
Seeing her, Gu Zhao gave a warm, harmless, delightful smile:
"You told me I could stay here, didn't you? I've already moved all my stuff in, so you can't go back on your word now."
