Nanny Qin had been downstairs keeping an eye on the servants as they moved the luggage. The moment she saw Lord Zhu leave the consulting room, she quietly followed him upstairs.
Over here, Gu Zhao was turning black into white, insisting that Lord Zhu had arranged for him to stay next door. Before Lord Zhu could say anything, Nanny Qin picked up the thread of his words and changed the subject.
“Lord Zhu, will the cook come over from the governor’s residence every morning and return there at night, or should we arrange a nearby place for him to stay?”
This time, Zhu Qingyu had followed the Eldest Grand Princess to the northern frontier and had seen firsthand how hard the cooks worked. They rose earlier than anyone else and went to bed later, traveling back and forth through the day and night. It was simply too hard on them.
So Zhu Qingyu said, “Have him stay here.”
“Very well,” said Nanny Qin. “Then I’ll still ask Dr. Tian to arrange it. What about the lodgings for my attendants and maids? Should I ask Dr. Tian about those as well?”
Since they had already agreed to let the cook stay here, it would hardly be appropriate to make Nanny Qin and the others travel back and forth every day. That would be showing favoritism.
Once she gave an inch, she had to give a mile. Zhu Qingyu could no longer bring herself to refuse, and agreed as well.
After receiving her instructions, Nanny Qin bowed and took her leave to find Nanny Tian and arrange the lodgings.
Once Nanny Qin had gone, Zhu Qingyu turned to look at Gu Zhao. He was still gazing at her with wide, pleading eyes.
If Gu Zhao had been alone, Zhu Qingyu could have thrown him out whenever she pleased.
But now he had brought an entire entourage with him. Since everyone else was staying, it seemed wrong to drive out only him.
Forget it. Let him stay.
Zhu Qingyu warned him, “You may stay next door, but I have patients to see tomorrow, and you’ve just taken up your new post, so I’m sure you have plenty of work as well. We should all retire early tonight. If you cause trouble again and fail to show any restraint, I’ll send you packing.”
Show restraint?
Who did she think she was talking to?
Cause trouble?
With the woman who was to be his wife, how could that be called causing trouble?
Gu Zhao gave a couple of inward snorts, but his expression was obedient as could be.
“All right.”
And so Vice Minister Gu settled in.
After they finished dinner together that evening, Gu Zhao even took the initiative to bid her good night.
“You should go to sleep early. I’ll head next door. We’ll have breakfast together tomorrow morning.”
His behavior was so obedient that Zhu Qingyu was thoroughly satisfied.
With him no longer bothering her, she finally had a rare moment of peace. She leisurely bathed and changed, then picked up a book at random and carried it to bed, intending to read for a while before going to sleep.
But just as she had settled into a comfortable reading position, Gu Zhao knocked on the door from outside.
“Qingyu, they’ve only just lit the brazier in my room, and it’s freezing after my bath. Can I wait here for a while? I’ll go back once the room has warmed up.”
Gu Zhao had behaved far too well just now, and Zhu Qingyu had let her guard down again. She opened the door and said, “Next time, remember to have Nanny Qin and the others light the brazier earlier. Then it won’t be cold when you go in. You can sit here for a while, but you have to go back afterward, all right?”
Perhaps great minds really did think alike. Gu Zhao had brought a book too, and he squeezed his way inside.
He was covered in chill from outside, with even a few drops of water still clinging to his neck. The moment he entered, he darted beneath her quilt and let out a contented sigh. Then he looked at her with bright, sparkling eyes and smiled.
“All right, I’ll head back in a little while. It’s so warm in here.”
On a winter day, there was nowhere more comfortable in the world than beneath the covers. Zhu Qingyu slipped in as well, and the two of them sat propped against the headboard, sharing a quilt while each read her own book.
The book in Zhu Qingyu’s hands was a collection of popular tales. Some time ago, when she had passed by a bookstore, she hadn’t bothered to choose carefully and had simply asked the shopkeeper to bundle up all the latest titles for her. She had bought back a whole stack, but had never found the time to read them.
Today, she picked one at random. The story was not really to her taste—it was all about filial sons and virtuous descendants. After turning a few pages, she found it rather dull.
The two of them were sitting close together. Out of boredom, Zhu Qingyu casually glanced at Gu Zhao’s book. The page he was reading contained a vulgar yet thrilling scene—the sort of thing that would never be allowed into print in the modern world. Once she saw it, she couldn’t look away.
Gu Zhao seemed not to notice and turned the page.
His book even had illustrations!
Good heavens—so fragrant and sensual, so tangled and intimate. How could the drawings be this good?
So what he had shown her on the boat back then hadn’t even been the best of it.
Just how many treasures was Vice Minister Gu hiding? He actually had such an excellent book and had never shown it to her.
By comparison, the moralizing tale of filial sons and worthy descendants in Zhu Qingyu’s hands seemed even more unbearably dull.
Watching Gu Zhao’s expression, Zhu Qingyu discovered that even while reading such a vulgar book, he remained completely impassive. His expression was no different from the one he wore when looking over her homework.
Naturally, Gu Zhao could feel her staring. He turned toward her and, without the slightest intention of concealing his vulgar tastes, asked with an utterly calm expression,
“Like it? Want to read it together?”
Zhu Qingyu leaned closer.
“I suppose I can take a look.”
Gu Zhao drew her into his arms and settled her against him. He placed the book in her hands and said,
“I’ve already read this one. You can turn the pages. Start from the beginning.”
The fact that Vice Minister Gu had deliberately picked it out and was rereading it spoke volumes about its quality.
Zhu Qingyu began from the first page. The farther she read, the hotter she felt—her face burning, her body growing warm. She couldn’t tell whether it was because they were sitting so close together or because the brazier in the room was burning too fiercely.
Who knew where Gu Zhao had managed to find this book? It contained so many different techniques that it practically opened the door to an entirely new world for Zhu Qingyu.
Gu Zhao wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin beside her ear as he read along with her.
His warm breath brushed against her ear, making her feel even hotter.
Gu Zhao caught her earlobe between his teeth and slipped a hand beneath the quilt, coaxing her in a bewitching voice,
“I’m a little cold. Let me borrow some warmth from your hands. You’re so warm—and even warmer here.”
Zhu Qingyu could barely hold herself back. Her head fell backward onto his shoulder as she panted, and she could no longer keep the book steady in her hands. She felt as though she were floating.
Gu Zhao’s voice seemed to drift down from the clouds as he continued to tempt her.
“That’s how it’s written, but who knows whether it’s really true? Would you like to try it?”
Zhu Qingyu was too breathless to answer. Then, with a sudden sensation of weightlessness, she found herself lying against the pillows.
The man in question apparently had no need for her answer. He disappeared beneath the quilt.
In the adjoining room, Nanny Qin was directing the maids as they cleared away the things Vice Minister Gu had used for his bath. One of the maids asked:
“Nanny, shall we add more charcoal to the brazier tonight?”
Nanny Qin glanced at the coals in the brazier. They were already beginning to die down, clearly unable to last through the entire night. She replied:
“No need.”
Yet in the room separated by only a single wall, the brazier was burning brightly.
Zhu Qingyu bit down on her fist, doing everything she could to hold herself back—and yet unable to. She nearly cried out, feeling as though her soul were about to float away.
After a long while, someone gathered her into his arms and whispered in her ear:
“What the book said—is it true?”
Zhu Qingyu felt so limp she might melt. Staring blankly at the bed curtains overhead, she thought dazedly: So Vice Minister Gu’s fingers were not merely deft. The vulgar pleasures described in books were nowhere near as exquisite as what Vice Minister Gu had given her—not even a fraction of it.
