Chapter 67
NOW THAT LIN QINGYU had remarried, Huantong and Hualu had followed him to the general’s manor.
Both servants held conflicted feelings about Gu Fuzhou, but Huantong wasn’t too affected by them. After all, he was Lin Qingyu’s servant, so whatever Lin Qingyu wanted to do, Huantong approved of wholeheartedly. He felt a bit sorry for Young Marquess Lu, but the great general was a true hero. Just yesterday, Huantong had seen Gu Fuzhou somehow enrage his young master, and to placate him, the great general had gone to his training ground and broken a boulder over his chest. Could Young Marquess Lu have done that? Never mind a boulder—just placing a brick on the young marquess’s chest would have killed him within the hour.
Just as water flowed from a higher to a lower elevation, humans strove to move from a lower to a higher social status. Huantong’s young master would only have married someone even better than Young Marquess Lu. That was natural.
Hualu’s loyalties were just as clear. She had been the servant closest to Lu Wancheng; when he was alive, he’d treated her like a younger sister. She was willing to follow Lin Qingyu partly because she respected and cared for him, but mostly for Young Marquess Lu. She knew that Lin Qingyu had been the person the young marquess cared and worried most about, so she wanted to stay by Lin Qingyu and care for him in the young marquess’s stead.
Yet Lin Qingyu seemed to have completely forgotten the young marquess. He’d only just married Great General Gu, yet the pair were already glued at the hip. Lin Qingyu had even brought that bunk bed into his new wedding bedroom—and the young marquess himself had designed it! Hualu couldn’t even imagine how sad the young marquess would be if he found out about that in the afterlife. It was true that she admired the great general, but if she’d had to choose between them, she would definitely have stood with the young marquess.
Hualu was quite young and innocent, so she wore all her emotions on her sleeve. When she looked at Gu Fuzhou, her gaze was always sour and petulant. Meanwhile, Gu Fuzhou had guessed her train of thought, and he was once again ready to commit mischief.
The end of the year was imminent, and the days grew colder and colder. It hadn’t yet snowed, but the winter wind sliced across their faces like blades. Gu Fuzhou must have gone crazy one day, because he didn’t want to stay in one of their warm rooms, instead dragging Lin Qingyu into the courtyard for dinner.
Gu Fuzhou ordered servants to carry a stove outside. Charcoal burned within the stove, and on top was a flat rock Gu Fuzhou had washed clean. Once the rock was hot, he brushed a layer of oil on it, then placed the meat slices the chef had prepared onto the stone to roast. Hot oil dripped from the meat, sizzling mouthwateringly.
Lin Qingyu was fascinated. This was his first time seeing such a method of cooking. Gu Fuzhou had started by grilling sliced mutton, and he placed the slices into Lin Qingyu’s bowl. “Taste them, Qingyu.”
Lin Qingyu bit carefully into the meat. “I can only say it’s decent,” he said reservedly. “The mutton taste is still heavy.”
“Isn’t that the appeal of mutton, though?” Gu Fuzhou now picked up a piece of pork belly with the perfect ratio of fat and lean meat. “Try this next. Open your mouth.”
Lin Qingyu hesitated but opened his mouth, letting Gu Fuzhou feed him. In his peripheral vision, Gu Fuzhou could see Hualu looking resentful again. He raised his voice. “Qingyu, did you eat roast meat with your late husband?”
Lin Qingyu was speechless. What in the world is he planning to do now?
Gu Fuzhou rubbed his chin. “I’ve heard that Young Marquess Lu was so weak that he needed a wheelchair to go anywhere and couldn’t stomach greasy foods like this. How could you have had any fun with him?”
“You’re right, General,” Lin Qingyu said coldly. “It’s a good thing Young Marquess Lu died early.”
Hualu’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as she stared disbelievingly at Lin Qingyu. H-how could Young Master say that?!
“So do you like Young Marquess Lu or me better?” Gu Fuzhou pressed.
Lin Qingyu rolled his eyes. “Are you done yet?”
Even his eyeroll was beautiful. Gu Fuzhou smiled. “You can tell the truth. I won’t envy someone who died.”
Lin Qingyu saw that Hualu was on the verge of tears. “In that case, I preferred Young Marquess Lu.”
“Young Master…” Hualu said, touched.
Gu Fuzhou acted shocked and disappointed, although he didn’t stop feeding Lin Qingyu. “How can that be? Has anything I’ve done displeased you, my wife?”
Lin Qingyu’s lips curved. “Young Marquess Lu was younger and prettier than you. I like young, pretty people. Is that wrong?”
The words rendered Gu Fuzhou speechless.
Lin Qingyu saw that the beef Gu Fuzhou had given him was still partly red. “This one’s still raw.”
“Medium-rare beef’s the best,” Gu Fuzhou told him.
Disgusted, Lin Qingyu threw the “medium-rare” beef into Gu Fuzhou’s bowl. “You might as well put it out into the sun for a while. Completely rare beef would be even tastier.”
Lin Qingyu’s stated preference for “young, pretty people” caused Gu Fuzhou to toss and turn all night. Lin Qingyu slept on the bottom bunk, and the occasional creaks above him kept him from falling asleep.
“You weren’t able to fall asleep as soon as your head touched the pillow?” he asked. “What’s with you tonight?”
Gu Fuzhou flipped down from the top bunk to sit beside Lin Qingyu and asked dejectedly, “Qingyu, did you really like Lu Wancheng’s body better?”
So that was it.
Lu Wancheng and Gu Fuzhou were both among the most handsome of men, but in different ways. Lu Wancheng was noble, whereas Gu Fuzhou was dashing. Lin Qingyu enjoyed looking at them both, but if he had to choose, he preferred the young man’s current form. The most important thing was that he had a healthy body; nothing else mattered as much.
Lin Qingyu could tell that Gu Fuzhou genuinely cared about this, so he stopped teasing him and answered seriously: “In terms of their outer appearances, Lu Wancheng and Gu Fuzhou both have strengths. And in terms of their core, they’re both you. As long as that’s the case, there’s no difference to me.”