Surprisingly, Gu Fuzhou shut his mouth, obedient. Lin Qingyu held the silk ball13 as they walked together into the main hall, while Gu Fuzhou held the other end of the ribbon.
Gu Fuzhou had no parents or relatives. The person sitting in the seat of honor was healthy old Duke Wu. He accepted the newlyweds’ prostrations with a smile so wide it was clear he could barely contain himself, praising them continually.
After the prostrations, Lin Qingyu was sent to the bridal chamber, while Gu Fuzhou had to stay in the main hall to entertain the guests. As soon as the beauty left, the military officials relaxed their strict demeanors and crowded around Gu Fuzhou.
The reception lasted from dawn to dusk. Gu Fuzhou didn’t want to be there, but the generals were truly persistent. He’d never been inundated with alcohol before, but today, he was drinking with General Wu Zhan, whose tolerance for liquor seemed to have no limit. Gu Fuzhou wound up plastered. In the end, Duke Wu had to save him from the fray, saying that Gu Fuzhou shouldn’t get too drunk, or his first time wouldn’t be good. That made the other men laugh uproariously.
Gu Fuzhou doubted he would even be having a “first time.” Still, he could use his drunkenness as an excuse to cross a few lines by touching that long, silky hair or making the great beauty call him “laogong.”
Gu Fuzhou practically floated back to the bridal chamber. The closer he got, the floatier he felt. By the end of his journey, he even thought that he could be flying, as if he were dreaming. He had married Lin Qingyu again. He’d personally prostrated himself beside Lin Qingyu, and he would lift his veil and drink nuptial wine with him.
Such beautiful traditions. He loved this culture so much.
Gu Fuzhou took a deep breath. His hand rested on the door—which was decorated with the character for “joy”—for a long time. Then he gently pushed it open.
When Lin Qingyu heard the noise, he lifted his head from his book. “You’re back.”
Gu Fuzhou wore robes as red as Lin Qingyu’s. He looked handsome and sharp, his eyes as bright as stars. Whichever way he turned, he was obviously a mature man. Only those eyes revealed a hint of youthfulness that no one could sense otherwise.
The pair locked eyes. Gu Fuzhou opened his mouth but didn’t say anything before he backed out and closed the door again.
Lin Qingyu sat alone in the room, perplexed. Before he knew what was happening, the door opened again, and Gu Fuzhou confirmed that his eyes were working. “Where’s the red veil?” he cried. “Where the hell did that veil go?”
“The wedding veil?” Lin Qingyu looked at the table. “I put it there.”
Gu Fuzhou gaped, staring at Lin Qingyu. “That wasn’t a decent thing to do,” he complained. “Shouldn’t I take off your wedding veil?”
“It was constantly getting in my way.” While the bridegroom had been out partying and drinking, the bride could only sit in the bedroom and wait for most of the day. This wasn’t their first time getting married, and he and Gu Fuzhou were already so familiar with each other that Lin Qingyu hadn’t thought that they needed to follow every rule. After all, he could use the half day to read an entire book.
A dark cloud of resentment enveloped Gu Fuzhou. “Say that doing that was wrong. Quick, say it was wrong, and I won’t be mad.”
Lin Qingyu didn’t think he had done anything wrong, but when he saw Gu Fuzhou’s stricken face, he added, “I didn’t wash my face or undress, though.”
He felt slightly peeved. He’d worn wedding robes on his body, a huadian between his brows, and even a bit of rouge on his lips. He wasn’t used to wearing that makeup, but he hadn’t yet washed it off. Nevertheless, Gu Fuzhou was still chastising him.
Gu Fuzhou abruptly came to his senses and looked at Lin Qingyu dazedly. He gazed at the huadian between his brows, at his eyes rippling with emotion, at his crimson lips, at the corset cinching his waist. He looked at the beauty who could ruin an empire—in wedding robes that Gu Fuzhou had personally chosen—watching him quietly, a hint of a complaint in his eyes, as if he were saying, “Why did you only just get here?”
Behind Lin Qingyu, hazy candlelight danced, illuminating the character for “joy.” In his red robes, the imperial physician looked as soft and beautiful as a peach blossom, yet he shone brighter than any star in the sky.
“Ah.” Gu Fuzhou blinked. “I think you’ve cheered me up.”
Lin Qingyu raised his eyebrows. “So quickly?”
“I’m easy to placate.” Gu Fuzhou stumbled toward him. “Not like Physician Lin, who’s super hard to please, and makes me try for so long…”
The scent of alcohol assaulted Lin Qingyu’s nose as he caught Gu Fuzhou. “Just how much did you drink?”
Gu Fuzhou buried his head in Lin Qingyu’s neck. “I didn’t want to drink all that, but they kept pouring it down my throat…”
Gu Fuzhou was too heavy for Lin Qingyu to hold him up alone, and the two fell together onto the bridal bed. As soon as Gu Fuzhou toppled over, he refused to move again, as if glued to the bed.
“Who forced you to drink?” Lin Qingyu asked. “Next time, remember to pour booze down their throats in return.”
Gu Fuzhou started counting the perpetrators on his fingers.
“Keep counting,” Lin Qingyu said. “I’ll have someone brew hangover soup.”
When he turned, the drunk Gu Fuzhou suddenly reached out and grabbed his waist from behind, dragging him backward. Lin Qingyu fell onto the bed, landing in Gu Fuzhou’s arms.
“Qingyu.”
“Hm?”
“Laopo…”14
Why was Gu Fuzhou still calling him an old woman on their wedding night…second wedding night?
Lin Qingyu retaliated by calling Gu Fuzhou an old man: “Don’t call me that, laogong.”
Gu Fuzhou kept looking at Lin Qingyu as he laughed, eyes curved and bright as stars. When he’d finally laughed his fill, he gestured for Lin Qingyu to come closer.
When Lin Qingyu leaned over him, Gu Fuzhou put his hand by his lips as if telling him a secret. “I’m not straight anymore…”
“Where aren’t you straight?” Lin Qingyu asked in confusion.
Gu Fuzhou looked shocked, then lay back on the red bedsheets, covering his eyes with his arm. “It’s fine if you, the culprit, don’t want to take responsibility,” he said sadly. “But you’re supposed to be my dearest friend. Still, I can’t flip a straight man without his consent…I’m so annoyed I might die.”
Lin Qingyu didn’t understand. “What in the world does that mean?”
Gu Fuzhou closed his eyes. “It means I have a crush on you. I want us to date,” he said quietly.
Lin Qingyu furrowed his brow. “You want to crush me on a certain date…?”
Gu Fuzhou didn’t say anything.
“We haven’t drunk nuptial wine yet,” Lin Qingyu reminded him. “Are you sure you want to go to sleep?”
The only response was Gu Fuzhou’s steady breathing. It seemed he really had drifted off.