The emperor’s health took a turn for the better—after recuperating for a few days, he could already sit upright—mostly thanks to Chu Zhengde. The emperor intended to reward the physician handsomely, only for Chu Zhengde to admit to the emperor that he hadn’t written this new prescription; seventh-rank imperial physician Lin Qingyu had.
The emperor remembered that name. “Was he the male wife who wrote the prescription used to treat the epidemic?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Chu Zhengde replied.
Considering that it had been so challenging to find someone who could treat the emperor’s illness, the emperor couldn’t have cared less whether Lin Qingyu had once been married to a man. “Pass on our imperial edict: Lin Qingyu is promoted to deputy fifth-rank court physician.”
The fifth-rank head imperial physician was the highest-ranking official in the Department of Imperial Physicians, followed by the deputy fifth-rank court physician and the other court physicians. His promotion meant that Lin Qingyu was now on equal footing with Chu Zhengde, and of the same rank as the deputy censor-in-chief, the second-in-command of the Imperial Censorate.
When Lin Qingyu went to the emperor’s bedchambers to express his gratitude, the emperor was accompanied by a male bedservant, no more than seventeen years old, with a feminine, slender figure. The bedservant sat on a footstool, leaning his head on the emperor’s lap like a docile, cherished pet.
Seeing Lin Qingyu, the emperor asked uncertainly, “Have I…met you before?” There was no way he wouldn’t have remembered such a beautiful face if he’d ever seen it.
“I was lucky enough to gaze upon Your Majesty’s royal visage once, six months ago,” Lin Qingyu answered.
The emperor gazed at him for a long time. “Attend to us alongside Chu Zhengde from now on,” he commanded.
✦ ✦ ✦
As a court physician serving the emperor in close quarters with Chu Zhengde, Lin Qingyu carried out duties that included routinely taking the emperor’s pulse, performing acupuncture, and writing prescriptions. The young physician was now practically in the emperor’s inner ministerial circle. However, whenever he thought of the way the emperor had looked at him, Lin Qingyu thought that he’d rather Chu Zhengde had taken credit for treating the emperor’s sickness. But unfortunately, although he and Lin Qingyu didn’t see eye to eye politically, Chu Zhengde was extremely principled. He thought it beneath him to steal his younger colleague’s thunder.
After the day’s shift, Lin Qingyu walked out of the Department of Imperial Physicians only to see Gu Fuzhou leaning against a palace wall, his arms crossed. He appeared to be pondering something or other with a frown on his face.
“General,” Lin Qingyu greeted him.
Gu Fuzhou smiled at him, standing up straight. “Imperial Physician Lin.”
“Why are you here?”
“Her Majesty invited me to the palace to admire the flowers,” Gu Fuzhou explained. “Since I was nearby, I came to walk you home.”
Why would the empress have invited Gu Fuzhou to admire flowers out of nowhere? The last time she’d invited someone to do that, she’d been picking a concubine for Xiao Cheng.
They motioned for the eunuch leading them to leave, then made their way to a deserted area. There, Gu Fuzhou began hesitantly, “Qingyu…”
“Say it.”
Gu Fuzhou took a deep breath. “Would you want to take me as your bride?” he asked in a low voice.
Lin Qingyu stopped in his tracks. “What?”
Gu Fuzhou pressed his palms together and brought them to his forehead. “Do a good deed and take me as your bride, please.”
Lin Qingyu gave him a thoughtful look but then refused without hesitation. “No.”
Gu Fuzhou had guessed that Lin Qingyu would say that, but he choked nonetheless. “Why not?” he asked, persistent.
“Why should I take you as my bride?” Lin Qingyu asked, confused.
Gu Fuzhou attempted to convince him that it was a good idea. “I took you as my bride once. Don’t you want to do that to me and regain your dignity as a man?”
“Not really.”
Gu Fuzhou looked agonized. “But if you don’t marry me, I’ll be granted a marriage again!”
Lin Qingyu brow furrowed. “Granted a marriage…again?”
The general explained that the emperor wanted to marry the seventh princess off to him. The flower-viewing party the empress had thrown today was meant to allow him to meet the princess.
Lin Qingyu’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Isn’t that rather nice? You don’t like men—which means you like women. The seventh princess is beautiful, gentle, and kind, not to mention royal. She’s more than a good match for you.”
“I don’t think so,” Gu Fuzhou said seriously. “I’m actually eighteen years old, and in my hometown, men can only get married once they’re twenty-two.”
“In that case, why did you suggest marrying me just now?”
Gu Fuzhou laughed. “Marrying and having children early with you wouldn’t be that big a deal—I’d do it in a heartbeat, even if I had to be punished for breaking the law.”
Hearing that, Lin Qingyu appeared discomfited. Gu Fuzhou took advantage of his momentary hesitance to redouble his efforts to convince his companion. “Think about it, Imperial Physician Lin. Won’t you feel proud when you get to take a war god as your bride?”
“I’m not taking you as my bride,” Lin Qingyu said coolly. “Great General Gu is dead, and no one knows where his soul rests. Not only did you—his body’s occupant—fail to live up to his glorious reputation as Great Yu’s war god, you’d also besmirch that reputation by making him the wife of a man.”
“I have no other choice.” At this point, Gu Fuzhou was so unhappy that he resorted to sophistry. “The emperor is having me marry because you saved his life, so you should take responsibility for my situation.”
Lin Qingyu sneered. “You’re shameless to say that. If I hadn’t saved the emperor, and I’d let Xiao Cheng ascend to the throne effortlessly, things would only have gotten worse for you.”
“Fine. You can go back to your duties—no need to mind me.” Gu Fuzhou sighed. “I won’t give you any more trouble. It’s all right. I’ll think of a way to deal with this myself. I’m totally fine.”
Lin Qingyu’s temple throbbed. “Can you not contort Great General Gu’s face with such a pathetic expression? When a man weds another man, he has to wear makeup, a veil, and a golden headdress. That’d be fine if you were still Lu Wancheng, but you’re Gu Fuzhou now. You want to stain your lips red and wear a huadian on your brow in General Gu’s body—?” His mouth twitched as he pictured the scene. “I’m afraid lifting the veil would give me nightmares.”
Gu Fuzhou was stunned. Rather than offering reasonable justifications such as “I don’t like men,” “A marriage between two men is against the mandate of the heavens,” or “A wife is a virtuous woman, and you’re too lazy,” Lin Qingyu had refused his proposal because…he thought Gu Fuzhou would look hideous wearing bridal robes and a huadian.
Gu Fuzhou turned Lin Qingyu’s words over in his mind again and again. “If you don’t want to take me as your bride,” he asked tentatively, “are you willing to be…my bride?”
“Perhaps there’s another way,” Lin Qingyu said pensively.
The moment Gu Fuzhou met Lin Qingyu’s gaze and picked up on the hint of excitement in his eyes, he knew that this great beauty was once again up to no good.
“Come to my quarters tonight,” Lin Qingyu said.