Chapter 35: Aren’t We Husband and Wife?
Yu Xiaoxiao neither nodded nor shook her head at Wang momo. That lover of the cruel female emperor was no easy foe. He could kill his father and brothers as easily as he diced a dog. Even though he wasn’t a zombie, he harbored no affections for anyone! Yu Xiaoxiao felt the issue merited more considerations. Suppose Jing Mo turned out to be like Consort Zhao and didn’t die from her lightning strikes? What then?
Wang momo watched Yu Xiaoxiao enter the room before turning to Xiao Zhuang. “Go and make some more inquiries.”
“What else should I find out?” Xiao Zhuang asked.
Wang momo’s eyes settled on Xiao Zhuang’s face. “It doesn’t matter who’s the hostage as long as it’s not His Seventh Highness.”
Xiao Zhuang quickly turned tail and ran off.
—
Upon entering the room, Yu Xiaoxiao approached the bed where Gu Xinglang was lying prone with a pained expression. He did his best to smile at his wife. She wiped off the sweat on his forehead and asked, “It hurts?”
“It’s not bad,” Gu Xinglang murmured.
“They don’t have good painkillers here,” Yu Xiaoxiao sat on the bed and lifted the covers to examine Gu Xinglang’s legs, which had been secured to wooden boards. “Even if it hurts, you can only bear it.”
The pain from his ankles felt like someone was stabbing him repeatedly in the bones. Gu Xinglang was already soaked in sweat, but didn’t want to show his weakness in front of Yu Xiaoxiao. “I can take it,” he said in a low voice.
“I’ve reconnected the severed tendons,” Yu Xiaoxiao said as she wiped his sweat again. “If nothing amiss happens, you’ll be fine in six months.”
Sweat dripped into Gu Xinglang’s eyes, turning his vision blurry. He wanted to wipe his eyes, but found that he lacked the strength. Yu Xiaoxiao rose, took a washcloth soaked in warm water, and helped him clean his face. Once his vision cleared, Gu Xinglang saw his wife knitting her brows as she rested a hand on his forehead.
“What is it?” His words of thanks turned into a question on his lips.
“You still got a fever,” Yu Xiaoxiao sighed.
“I’m sick again?” Gu Xinglang muttered faintly.
Yu Xiaoxiao removed her hand from his forehead and said, “It’s normal for you to heat up at a time like this. It shows that your body’s doing its best to fight.”
Gu Xinglang opened and closed his mouth a few times. Finally, he admitted that he didn’t know how to continue the conversation.
“Don’t worry,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “There aren’t any effective antipyretics here, but I’ll lower your temperature naturally. You’ll get better very soon.”
Gu Xinglang was still left in the dark. Wang momo now entered with Xiao Wei in tow and looked at Gu Xinglang on the bed. She quickly tensed and asked, “Why is the royal son-in-law’s face so red? Is it fever?”
“It’s normal,” Yu Xiaoxiao replied as always, before telling Xiao Wei, “Go get a few bottles of white wine.”
Xiao Wei did as he was told and ran outside. Wang momo asked, “We’re not calling a doctor for the fever?”
“No need,” Gu Xinglang replied. “The rest of the family don’t have to know.” He had already heard of last night’s events from his two pageboys. If not for the fact that Yu Xiaoxiao looked unaffected today and didn’t even bring it up, he wouldn’t know how to face her.
“It’s a trifle,” Yu Xiaoxiao agreed. “He’ll be fine once the fever passes.”
In an era where even sneezes could be fatal, fevers were considered serious illnesses. Wang momo only felt flustered and weak on her feet. Meanwhile, Xiao Wei avoided the Gu Clan and found some fine wine directly from Yu Xiaoxiao’s dowry chests before running back to the bridal chambers.
Yu Xiaoxiao opened a bottle and took a sip, before declaring, “The concentration should be fine.”
Wang momo was about to fall apart. “Princess, can’t you say something this servant understands? What concentration? No, wait–why are you drinking wine now?”
How was Yu Xiaoxiao suppose to explain something as elementary as alcohol content? She simply removed Gu Xinglang’s bedcovers and began to undress the man without another word. It didn’t seem appropriate to tell Wang momo that she could down wine like water.
“Aiya, my goodness!” Wang momo had never turned around so quickly in her life. Gu Xinglang simply laid there unmoving, completely stunned.
Xiao Wei stared with wide eyes. “Princess, what are you doing?”
“Rubbing alcohol on him to lower his temperature,” Yu Xiaoxiao spoke as she undid his top robes. Wang momo glanced back long enough to see Gu Xinglang’s exposed chest before she was too scared to peek again.
She yelled at Yu Xiaoxiao, “Princess, let Xiao Wei do those things!” The couple hadn’t even had their wedding night yet, so how could her princess start stripping the royal son-in-law just like that?
Xiao Wei’s expression stiffened. “Princess, what should this servant do?”
Gu Xinglang’s trousers had been put back on by his two pageboys after he woke. Now as Yu Xiaoxiao’s hands moved to his waist again, he quickly caught her by the wrist. “Don’t.”
Yu Xiaoxiao felt a headache coming on. Why did he look like she was forcing herself on him again?
“Just, just have the servants do it,” Gu Xinglang’s face flushed even redder.
Xiao Wei stepped forward until he was standing right by the bed. He coughed dryly at the royal son-in-law’s bare torso and asked, “Princess, what would you like to do?”
“Rub the alcohol on his body,” Yu Xiaoxiao said.
Xiao Wei quickly got to work.
Most of Gu Xinglang’s torture wounds had already healed over, leaving plenty of scars behind. The section across his chest had even been burnt with hot irons whose marks were black against his skin. Yu Xiaoxiao knew that even after the scars fell, Gu Xinglang’s skin would never fully recover again.
“I’m fine,” Gu Xinglang was now bright scarlet from Yu Xiaoxiao’s gaze. He even felt a little lightheaded. In the end, Yu Xiaoxiao still ended up pulling his trousers down. Xiao Wei’s mouth twitched at the sight, but he decided to continue with his work.
Since Gu Xinglang couldn’t move his legs at present, it was impossible for him to put on his pants again. He could only settle for the next best thing and said, “Momo, you should leave.”
Too afraid to turn her head, Wang momo agreed and fled.
The body beneath Yu Xiaoxiao’s hands was tense. To ease him up, Yu Xiaoxiao praised Third Young Master Gu, “Your figure’s not bad.”
Now Gu Xinglang’s face was hot enough to boil water.
Yu Xiaoxiao could only pick up a washcloth and wipe his legs down. She was out of ideas when faced with such a shy boy. As the wine settled on his skin, the alcohol evaporated along with the heat. This made Gu Xinglang feel more comfortable than before.
“There’s not enough wine. Bring more,” Yu Xiaoxiao said as she tossed the empty bottles on the ground.
Xiao Wei said an affirmative and withdrew. Only husband and wife were left in the room. Gu Xinglang had shut his eyes, his mouth pursed into a line.
“Aren’t we husband and wife?” asked Yu Xiaoxiao curiously while tilting her head.
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