Ch 128 (Extra 10): Reborn to Raise My Husband

Lin Qingyu & Gu Yanxu (Part 1)

Lin Qingyu called for his attendant and had him go to the study to fetch the medicinal ointment from the cabinet.

Though the residence was large, he and Gu Yanxu did not live in separate courtyards. Even so, despite sharing the same compound, they did not often sleep in the same room.

There was a sleeping chamber attached to the study. When Lin Qingyu finished official duties late, he would simply stay there for the night.

Since he slept and rose there, for convenience, he had already placed part of his clothing and washing items in that side as well.

Lin Qingyu felt more at ease there, and gradually treated it as his main living space. Gu Yanxu’s main room had instead come to feel more like a guest room.

Ordinarily, he would come over in the evening to share dinner. After eating, if he still had duties, he would return to the study; if not, he would stay here for the night.

“What kind of ointment is this? It smells like fresh grass… almost like when the grass first turns green in spring.”

Gu Yanxu watched as Lin Qingyu took some ointment and gently applied it to his scalded finger. As soon as it was spread, the scent of grass rose up.

The finger hurt a little under Lin Qingyu’s touch, but seeing the refined and handsome man lowering his head to carefully tend to him, Gu Yanxu forgot all about the injury, forgot all about the pain.

Instead, it felt as though he had tasted a bit of honey in his heart.

“It was made by an elder in my family. I found it quite effective, so I always carry some with me.”

Lin Qingyu lifted his eyes and saw Gu Yanxu slightly twitching his nose as he smelled the ointment, showing no disdain for something made by a rustic healer, looking almost like a small rabbit.

He said, “If it works well for you, I’ll leave some here in your room.”

Gu Yanxu nodded. “Alright.”

Lin Qingyu looked at him for a moment longer. Seeing a faint redness still lingering beneath his eyes, he asked, “Does it hurt?”

Gu Yanxu paused, then said, “It doesn’t hurt anymore after applying the medicine.”

Lin Qingyu found it difficult to imagine the person before him crying over a scalded finger.

Perhaps he had grown accustomed to Gu Yanxu’s composed, dignified, and elegant bearing. To suddenly see him with messy hair, crying because he had burned his finger while failing to make soup, felt utterly different from the finely dressed figure who usually sat poised in grandeur.

Lin Qingyu thought, perhaps he had never truly understood him.

After they had some pastries and tea in the room, the physician came to examine Gu Yanxu’s injury. Seeing that it was nothing serious, Lin Qingyu still had official duties to attend to and returned to the study.

As soon as Lin Qingyu left, Gu Yanxu flopped happily onto the couch, his eyes shining as he said to Ye fulang, “He said he knows how to make soup, and he’s going to teach me!”

Ye fulang smiled. “The lord may seem a bit cold on the surface, but in his heart, he truly dotes on ge’er.”

Gu Yanxu felt delighted, but also a little worried. “He won’t go back on his word, will he? What if he gets busy with official matters and forgets?”

“Since the lord has said it, he surely won’t.”

Gu Yanxu felt reassured. That evening, Lin Qingyu was occupied with official business and did not come to dine with him, but he still ate quite a bit.

After the meal, he went to the storeroom to look for some long-kept valuables to have sent to Xiao Yuanbao.

He felt that Xiao Yuanbao’s advice had truly been useful and good. No wonder he and Lord Qi were so loving as a couple.

After sorting for quite a while, a few dull rumbles of thunder sounded outside, and soon rain began to fall.

Night had fully settled. Gu Yanxu glanced toward the direction of the study, wondering whether Lin Qingyu would come over to sleep tonight.

Of course, he hoped he would come. But since they had not even shared dinner tonight, according to his usual habits, he likely would not.

Even knowing this, he still had the servants leave a lantern lit in the corridor. Inside the room, he lit candles and read, staying up into the night, waiting until the lights in the study were extinguished before he would sleep.

Ye fulang understood his thoughts and said, “Junzhu might as well send word and ask the lord to return to the main room to rest. It’s raining after all. You could say the study is cold at night, while it’s warmer here. That would be easy enough to say.”

Gu Yanxu had already taken off his shoes and socks, dressed lightly, lying on the soft couch flipping through a storybook. “That would be too embarrassing. I won’t.”

Seeing him grow stubborn again, Ye fulang said, “You were doing so well this afternoon. You managed to speak up then. Why is it that after just a few hours, you refuse again?”

“It can’t always be me who speaks first. Wouldn’t that let him have complete hold over me? And you’re not allowed to call him either. If he wants to come, he’ll come on his own.”

Ye fulang had no way with him and could only agree.

When Lin Qingyu finished his work, the rain was already pouring heavily, lightning flashing and thunder roaring outside.

He stood for a while at the entrance of the study. An attendant came forward and asked, “My lord, will you be resting in the study tonight, or returning to the main room?”

Lin Qingyu looked out at the night rain. “It’s already quite late.”

“If I go over now, I may disturb the Junzhu’s rest.”

Earlier, when he had come to the study, Gu Yanxu had been at home, yet he had not gone to accompany him for dinner. He had originally planned to return to the main room after finishing his work tonight, but had not expected it to run this late.

The attendant then said, “The lights in the main room are still on. The Junzhu has not yet retired.”

Lin Qingyu paused slightly. After a moment, he took a lantern from the attendant and headed toward the main room.

Hearing that Lin Qingyu was coming over to sleep, Gu Yanxu, who had already been drowsy from waiting, jolted awake. “At this hour, he’s actually coming!?”

He immediately jumped off the couch.

With Ye fulang’s help, he hurriedly put on his shoes and socks, then stuffed the scattered storybooks into a box.

When Lin Qingyu entered, what he saw was Gu Yanxu dressed in light purple inner robes with a soft outer robe draped over him, leaning by the flower table and quietly reading.

“What are you reading so intently that you’re still awake?”

Hearing this, Gu Yanxu felt a flicker of guilt and answered, “Poetry.”

Lin Qingyu glanced at the title on the page and paused. “Since when does Zhuangzi write poetry?”

Only then did Gu Yanxu realize that the book in his hands was actually Zhuangzi. His cheeks immediately flushed red.

In his rush just now, he had simply grabbed the book Ye fulang had handed him. His mind had been entirely on Lin Qingyu coming over, and he had not taken in a single word on the page, let alone noticed what book he was holding.

Gu Yanxu wished he could find a hole in the ground and disappear into it.

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Lin Qingyu could not bear to laugh. He removed his outer robe and said, “Read it tomorrow. It’s getting late.”

Gu Yanxu responded and hurriedly closed the book, pulling open a drawer to tuck it inside.

Feigning composure, he said, “Why did you come over? I thought after finishing your duties, you’d rest in the study.”

“You didn’t want me to come?”

Gu Yanxu froze for a moment, surprised that Lin Qingyu would say such a thing.

“No—no, that’s not it. It’s just that the rain and wind are strong outside. I thought it might be cold coming over.”

A trace of softness appeared in Lin Qingyu’s gaze. The two of them removed their outer garments and got onto the bed.

The attendants lowered the layered curtains, trimmed the candle wicks, and withdrew.

Lying side by side, the room grew quiet, making the sound of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning outside all the clearer.

This was not the first time they had slept together, so they were somewhat accustomed now. Translated on Hololo novels. It was no longer like before, when they lay awake all night out of discomfort. Even so, they had not yet consummated their marriage.

Sleeping together truly meant just that—sleeping properly side by side, without even their sleeves or fingers brushing.

Gu Yanxu did not know why, but tonight he wanted to be a little closer to the person beside him.

Perhaps it was because Lin Qingyu had personally applied medicine to him that afternoon, or perhaps because he had come over tonight.

But he still could not bring himself to take the initiative—to hold his hand, or to slip into his embrace.

Even now, with the lamps extinguished and hidden behind layers of curtains where neither could clearly see the other, it was the same.

He felt that doing so would be improper, and feared Lin Qingyu might look down on him.

“Are you afraid of thunder?”

Hearing that the person beside him had yet to fall asleep, his breathing slightly uneven, Lin Qingyu asked.

Gu Yanxu listened to the rumbling thunder outside. Since he had asked, he simply admitted, “A little.”

Lin Qingyu’s brows shifted slightly. “Don’t be afraid.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yanxu felt a firm arm wrap around his waist, pulling him into an embrace.

A faint, cool fragrance filled his nose—that unique scent belonging to Lin Qingyu.

Pressed close, he could hear the steady thump of a heartbeat.

Lin Qingyu knew his own heartbeat was faster than usual.

He had never held Gu Yanxu before, nor had he ever imagined what it would feel like to hold a ge’er in his arms. Now that he did, it felt… good.

The person in his arms was warm and soft, his waist especially slender.

Suddenly, he felt a hint of regret for not having done this sooner.

But before, he had not truly understood Gu Yanxu, and so such thoughts had never arisen.

Their breaths intertwined. Lin Qingyu was a man, and with a beautiful, rightful spouse in his arms, it was only natural that certain thoughts would stir.

He asked, “Do you want to consummate the marriage tonight?”

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