Chapter 54
“THE POISON IN YOUR BODY has almost been neutralized, General,” Lin Qingyu said when he took Gu Fuzhou’s pulse. “You shouldn’t suffer any lingering side effects.”
Gu Fuzhou hadn’t expected anything less. “Your father monitors my condition consistently back in Yongliang,” he said nonchalantly. “Of course I’ll be fine.”
Something twinged in Lin Qingyu’s heart. There was a question he’d always wanted to ask Gu Fuzhou, but… He cast a glance toward the door.
“It’s late now, so I’ll take my leave,” he said instead, taking care to remind Gu Fuzhou, “Remember to lift your weights, General.”
Scrutinized by the Tianji Guard’s two pairs of eyes, Gu Fuzhou could only let Lin Qingyu go, although he couldn’t bear it. “Fine,” he said listlessly. “I’ll do that once I’ve slept in for one more hour.”
As Lin Qingyu rose from his seat, he heard sounds coming from outside; another member of the Tianji Guard had arrived. Gu Fuzhou sat up in bed. “It isn’t time for them to change shifts yet,” he remarked, his voice tinged with excitement.
If the guard wasn’t here to start his shift, then…
The newcomer said something to the other two guards, and all three entered the room to prostrate themselves in front of Gu Fuzhou. “His Highness has increased the number of imperial guards patrolling the capital,” one said. “From today on, they will be responsible for safeguarding the general’s residence, and we’ll return to the Tianji Guard.”
Lin Qingyu heaved a long sigh of relief, feeling as if the sky above had cleared.
Meanwhile, a grin slowly bloomed on Gu Fuzhou’s face. “You’ve worked hard these past couple of days,” he told the guards. “Be on your way, then; I won’t see you off.”
The Tianji Guards left. Before Lin Qingyu could get a word in, an arm pulled him into an embrace, forcing him to sit back down on the side of the bed.
When Gu Fuzhou had arrived here, the bed was nothing but a hard slab of wood. Unwilling to withstand such misery, he’d immediately had Yuan Yin swap in a massive bed with fluffy quilts and silk sheets that were cool to the touch during the hot summer.
Lin Qingyu felt only the softness of those sheets, though, not their coolness. Gu Fuzhou burned as warm as a brazier, and his embrace heated Lin Qingyu’s body.
“Qingyu, I’m back,” the general said in his deep voice. “Sorry I’m late—it’s all because of my incompetence.”
Lin Qingyu shut his eyes and lightly patted Gu Fuzhou’s back. “I know you’ve been working hard on it.”
“But what’s the point of all that if I couldn’t come back on time regardless?” Gu Fuzhou, still hung up on that, couldn’t help but swear aloud: “Fuck. As I’d expect of a main character, Xiao Cheng is way too smart for his own damn good—but whatever, let’s not talk about him now. Let me hug you.”
His arms tightened around Lin Qingyu again, almost cutting off the young physician’s breath. Lin Qingyu was about to tell Gu Fuzhou to let go when he heard Gu Fuzhou marvel, “It’s beating so fast…”