A quarter to four in the morning was Gu Zhao's usual time to wake up.
This routine had remained unshakeable since he was eight years old and entered the palace as a study companion to the Emperor. It had never changed.
Although during his time in Yangzhou City, Vice Minister Gu neither needed to accompany the Emperor nor attend the early morning court sessions—and being away on official business, he should have enjoyed some leisure—his habits of many years were too deeply ingrained to break. He still woke up at this exact time every day.
Therefore, as his personal attendant, one naturally had to follow his lead. Even though Vice Minister Gu didn't require much waiting upon for his daily activities, his long-time attendant would still arrive at the door at this hour as usual, waiting for his master to wake up, wash, eat, or give any orders.
But as soon as he reached this end of the corridor, he found the senior maid blocking the way like a door god, winking at him frantically.
Gu Zhao had no women in either his front courtyard or inner quarters, so the attendant lacked the necessary sensitivity. Failing to receive the message in the senior maid's eyes, he looked at her in confusion and continued walking inward, asking,
"Momo, is there something wrong with your eyes?"
The senior maid was a professional. Although she was highly dissatisfied with her teammate's lack of tact, her face remained perfectly calm as she stated,
"Doctor Zhu is inside."
Of course the attendant knew Doctor Zhu was inside. Doctor Zhu had been staying in there ever since they boarded the ship. He wasn't planning to go all the way inside anyway; he was just going to stand by the door to serve. Why tell him this out of the blue?
Just as he was about to ask, something in his brain suddenly clicked. The attendant looked as if he had seen a ghost. Mostly, it was because he lacked experience and didn't know how to handle the situation. He couldn't decide whether to leave or stay, hesitating as he asked,
"Then should I...?"
The senior maid made the decision for him.
"Come back at lunchtime."
The attendant nodded and ran off as fast as his legs could carry him.
Having sent him away, the senior maid walked back. When she reached the cabin door, she saw the little maid she had assigned to guard the entrance blushing furiously and fidgeting restlessly.
The senior maid waved her off.
"You can go back."
This one was also inexperienced. Just moments ago, she had come running to her in a panic, saying that something might have happened to their master and urging her to come quickly.
The senior maid had thought something was wrong with Zhu Qingyu, frightening her so much that she ran upstairs while still putting on her clothes.
But when she reached the door and heard the woman's stifled, broken sounds and the man's breathless whispers from inside, the senior maid was left utterly speechless. She sighed and looked at the little maid.
"Just guard the door and don't let anyone else near. What's the fuss about?"
The little maid tugged at the senior maid's sleeve.
"But, but, Doctor Zhu hasn't finished her monthly courses yet. How can they... what should we do?"
Ah, an innocent little maid who hadn't experienced the ways of the world. She had already been reduced to a servant, yet she still retained this natural kindness.
What did her monthly courses matter? The senior maid thought to herself. Within the inner chambers and behind the bed curtains, there were plenty of tricks to be played. It just meant she would suffer a bit, which was indeed a pity.
However, although Doctor Zhu was more precious than them, it was all the same in front of Vice Minister Gu—they were all there to serve. If Vice Minister Gu wanted her, could Doctor Zhu really refuse?
The senior maid looked at the little maid with a tight, unsmiling expression.
"So what? If Vice Minister Gu is pleased, do you or I have any right to speak? Would you dare go tell Vice Minister Gu no?"
Of course the little maid wouldn't dare. It was exactly because she didn't dare that she had run to find the senior maid. Now that the senior maid told her to leave it alone, she dared even less to interfere.
After the maid left, the senior maid fetched a stool from the tea room and continued her watch, as still as an old monk in meditation. It wasn't until the sky began to lighten and the noises inside finally ceased that she stood up and went to the tea room to prepare water.
Sure enough, a little while later, she heard Vice Minister Gu calling for water.
The tea room kept hot water ready around the clock, and the senior maid had been paying close attention to the movements inside. So the moment Gu Zhao called, she brought the water in. Not only did she spare her master from waiting, but the water temperature was also just right.
After placing the washbasin in the outer room, the senior maid took a towel, preparing to go into the inner room to help clean Zhu Qingyu. She was very experienced in situations like this. With Vice Minister Gu acting so recklessly, who knew where he might have made a mess. If she wasn't cleaned up quickly, Doctor Zhu would likely feel uncomfortable.
But Gu Zhao reached out his hand.
"I will do it. You may leave."
Although this was actually the job of the servants, since Vice Minister Gu said he would do it, the senior maid didn't ask a single question. She set the items down, bowed, and quietly left the room.
Gu Zhao personally carried the water into the inner room. Upon entering, however, he saw Zhu Qingyu standing with her back to him in front of the clothing trunk, getting dressed.
Her dark, cloud-like hair cascaded down. Her back, which was originally as smooth and flawless as white jade, was now covered in fingerprints, kiss marks, and even bite marks, looking like large and small red plum blossoms scattered across a field of snow.
Gu Zhao's eyes grew hot at the sight. He had been so immersed in that overly beautiful experience just now that he had completely lost his sense of propriety and control over his strength. He hadn't been able to hold back.
Zhu Qingyu was trying to tie the ribbons at the back of her undergarment, but she seemed to be struggling.
Gu Zhao walked over and reached out to help her.
"Let me do it. Do your hands hurt?"
Zhu Qingyu turned sideways toward the clothing trunk, avoiding his touch. She finished putting on her undergarment by herself, took out an inner robe, and replied,
"I can do it myself."
Her expression was incredibly calm. She showed neither shyness over the absolute intimacy they had just shared, nor fear of his recent loss of control. None of these emotions were present.
Even her attitude toward him remained the same as always—it hadn't grown closer, nor had it become more distant.
It was as if nothing had just happened at all, or as if what had happened was merely a trivial, insignificant matter.
It was as if the relationship between them hadn't changed in the slightest.
Looking at his empty palm, Gu Zhao felt a wave of confusion. What exactly was she thinking?
He had thought that since she had been the one to initiate things just now, it at least meant she held a sliver of affection for him in her heart. He assumed she was simply constrained by her relationship with her husband, bound by human relations and moral codes, and therefore couldn't open her heart to him completely.
It was precisely because he had sensed that sliver of possible affection, swept up in an overwhelming sense of joyful surprise, that he had lost control like that.
He had wanted nothing more than to crush her to pieces and swallow her whole, to merge with her completely so she could never escape his side again. Yet, constrained by her current physical condition, he hadn't been able to go all the way. Thus, all that unvented joy, impulse, and frustration had rained down upon her haphazardly and completely.
She did have feelings for him, right? It wasn't entirely just his one-sided longing; otherwise, how could she have been willing to voluntarily do such a thing for him?
Right?
Was it?
Now, faced with her overly calm demeanor, Gu Zhao was uncertain once again.
Zhu Qingyu finished dressing, walked around Gu Zhao, and washed her hands in the basin before finally saying,
"Shouming, I am a bit tired. I want to sleep a little longer."
Gu Zhao watched as she climbed onto the bed without a second glance, pulled up the covers, lay flat on her back, and closed her eyes.
He followed her over. Looking at her sleeping so breezily with her eyes closed, he grew even more bewildered.
What on earth was she thinking?
Zhu Qingyu lay there with her eyes closed for a while. She was both exhausted and in pain. Her whole body ached, her hands ached, and the places where Gu Zhao had just bitten her ached even more.
This man really must have been born in the Year of the Dog; she had truly been bitten by a dog.
It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.
She thought to herself that the human body has seventy-eight organs, each serving a different function. Whether it was this one or that one, they were essentially just parts of the human anatomy. As a doctor, she had physically examined many patients. She just needed to treat this as another examination, something to enrich her clinical experience. It was no big deal. It did not matter.
Comforting herself with these thoughts, Zhu Qingyu felt utterly exhausted. Both her mind and body were completely drained, and she desperately needed a deep sleep to recover.
The road ahead was long, with a great distance left for her to travel. She needed to rest and regain her energy to face it.
However, someone was standing by the bed, staring fixedly at her. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel his intense gaze, making it completely impossible to fall asleep.
Zhu Qingyu opened her eyes again and looked at Gu Zhao, who was watching her with a deep, profound gaze. She asked,
"Shouming, do you... want more?"
