Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Jiang Heng was burning up with fever. Throughout the journey back, she clung tightly to Gu Yu, repeatedly calling him "A-Xiong" (Brother), afraid he might disappear again.

Upon returning to the Gu residence, a physician was summoned to diagnose her condition and prescribe medicine. Gu Yu started to get up to make room for the physician.

Apparently sensing he meant to leave, Jiang Heng suddenly gripped his hand tightly. She pleaded with dazed eyes, "Brother, don’t go."

Gu Yu looked at her and sat back down, letting her keep holding his hand. He gestured for Doctor Han to examine her as she was.

After checking her pulse, Doctor Han wrote a prescription and advised, "She needs to drink plenty of fluids. Otherwise, if the fever persists for too long, it could be dangerous."

Gu Yu gave a slight nod and told one maid to have the medicine prepared and another to bring a bowl of water. He said gently, "Madam, drink some water."

Jiang Heng shook her head and burrowed halfway into the crook of Gu Yu’s arm, still clutching his hand. She idly traced the calluses on his palm, her voice weak and pleading from illness: "Brother, I don’t want her to feed me."

Gu Yu said nothing, his expression cold and rigid like a frozen lake in winter. Yet, he took the tea from the maid, supported her against his chest, and fed her the water himself.

This time, Jiang Heng obediently drank it all.

Then she grabbed his arm again. "Brother, don’t go anywhere. Stay with me, alright?"

Gu Yu said nothing, his face frosty.

"Brother," Jiang Heng gently pinched the calluses on his palm, wanting an answer.

"Alright," Gu Yu replied tersely.

Jiang Heng sensed the emotion in that single word. "Brother, are you angry?"

Gu Yu frowned. Before he could answer, Jiang Heng started trying to soothe him.

"Brother, don’t be angry. If I’ve done wrong, I’ll change. Please don’t be mad at me."

She was ill, weak, and submissive.

Gu Yu’s brow furrowed even tighter. His lips pressed into a thin line, suppressing unspoken anger.

After a long moment, he finally gripped her hand tightly, deliberately softening his stern tone as he said gently, "I’m not angry."

"That’s good. Brother, you’re so kind." She believed him so easily, responding to him without missing a beat even in her illness.

To be precise, she was responding to Yan Hui.

Gu Yu tilted his head slightly, taking a deep breath to suppress the fury in his heart.

"My lord, the medicine is ready," a maid soon brought the prepared medicine.

This time, without waiting for Jiang Heng to plead, Gu Yu took the medicine bowl and fed her himself, just as he had with the water.

After just one sip, Jiang Heng frowned and turned her head away from the bowl. "Brother, it’s so bitter. I want to eat pomegranates."

Pomegranates typically ripen around mid-autumn, and it was still early autumn. None were yet available in the markets. Nevertheless, Gu Yu said, "Go buy some pomegranates. Search throughout the city and beyond until you find some."

A servant immediately obeyed and left.

But they couldn’t wait for the pomegranates to arrive before she took the medicine. Gu Yu turned to his younger sister. "Bring all the candied fruits you normally eat."

Gu Qingyue had come to visit as soon as Jiang Heng returned. She watched as Jiang Heng clung to her brother without letting go, and though her brother remained cold, he was almost entirely accommodating.

She had never seen her brother and sister-in-law like this—both surprised and fascinated. Hearing her brother’s request, she cheerfully agreed and soon brought over a multi-compartment tray.

The tray had seven compartments, each containing a different type of candied fruit.

"Take a sip of medicine, then have a candied fruit. Will that work?" Gu Yu continued to suppress the emotion in his voice, speaking to her in the gentlest tone he could manage.

"Alright," Jiang Heng nestled in his arms and nodded obediently.

Then Gu Qingyue saw her usually stern brother carefully lift the medicine bowl with one hand to feed her sister-in-law a small sip, while with the other hand, he picked up a candied fruit and brought it to her lips.

One sip of medicine, one candied fruit—each time a different variety.

After she finished the medicine, her brother asked, "Which candied fruit did you like the most?"

"The third one."

Gu Qingyue had been watching her brother feed her sister-in-law but hadn’t paid attention to which was the third. To her surprise, Gu Yu quickly picked out a candied lychee and fed it to Jiang Heng, asking, "This one?"

Jiang Heng nodded contentedly as she ate. "Yes, this one. Brother, you’re so good."

Gu Yu said to his sister, "Bring more of these."

Gu Qingyue nodded repeatedly in agreement. After watching her brother and sister-in-law for a while, she couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked, "Brother, when sister-in-law calls you 'Brother,' is she referring to you?"

She had never heard Jiang Heng address her brother this way before. Usually, it was either the respectful and formal "husband" or the plain "Lord of the State." She had never heard such an intimate term as "Brother."

Gu Yu’s expression grew even colder. He shot a stern glance at Gu Qingyue and said gravely, "If not me, who else?"

He sounded quite angry. Gu Qingyue didn’t know what she had done to provoke him and simply smiled awkwardly before falling silent.

After taking the medicine, Jiang Heng soon grew drowsy but refused to let Gu Yu leave. She held his hand and used it as a pillow before falling asleep.

Gu Yu didn’t move, maintaining his position by the bedside, though his expression remained cold.

"A Heng, how did you get sick?"

The Jiang family had also learned of Jiang Heng’s illness. Jiang Xing and Jiang Wan personally came to visit. Before even entering the room, Jiang Xing called out hurriedly.

Startled, Jiang Heng trembled and frowned slightly. Gu Yu instinctively pressed his hand to her shoulder and patted it gently. She soon relaxed her brow and continued sleeping.

Gu Yu frowned at Jiang Xing and said coldly in a hushed tone, "Keep your voice down."

Jiang Xing looked embarrassed and smiled awkwardly, immediately lowering his voice. "How did A Heng get sick?"

Jiang Heng had just fallen asleep, and Gu Yu didn’t want anyone disturbing her. He signaled for a servant to lead Jiang Xing to the guest hall.

Jiang Xing said, "Let Ling Lu take care of her for a while. I need to talk to you."

Gu Yu glanced up at him, then back at his arm, which was being used as a pillow. "Do you think I can leave?"

Jiang Xing truly hadn’t thought Gu Yu was trapped and unable to move.

Jiang Wan tactfully said, "Let A Heng rest well. We’ll wait in the guest hall and come see her when she wakes up."

Finally, only the couple remained in the room.

Gu Yu gazed at Jiang Heng’s delicate, pale face resting obediently in his palm and found himself thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad if she stayed ill like this for a while. He wouldn’t mind her clinging to him or find her troublesome.

Even if she kept calling him "Brother"—who said her "Brother" had to be Yan Hui?

"Could you stay?" His fingertips moved slightly, gently brushing against the lady's cheek.

"Call me whatever you like in the future—husband, Elder Brother, anything," he gazed at her, softly stroking her cheek, negotiating in a rare, gentle tone, "but please, don’t leave again, all right?"

Jiang Heng was sleeping deeply and did not respond at all.

...

Jiang Heng slept for over two hours. When she woke, her high fever had mostly subsided, and her mind was clearer. Lifting her eyes and seeing Gu Yu, she paused in surprise for a moment, then her eyes suddenly dimmed like dying embers.

The contentment she felt in her dazed state earlier had now turned into sharp disappointment.

She released Gu Yu's hand, scooted further toward the inner side of the bed, creating distance between them.

After a moment of silence, she turned over to face the inner side of the bed.

As excited and restless as she had been on this bed the night before she left, now she was just as disappointed and filled with self-blame.

Who could she blame? Gu Yu?

She was not an unreasonable person. Even before dismounting for shelter from the rain at Stone Nunnery, she had sensed that she was falling ill—feeling chilled and dizzy. Surely it was Gu Yu who found her, brought her back, and treated her illness. She couldn’t blame Gu Yu.

She could only blame herself—why did she have to fall ill? Why couldn’t she have been strong enough to catch up with Elder Brother?

Gu Yu glanced at the lady’s back, withdrew his numb arm that had been her pillow, stood up, and without a word, stepped out the door.

"Master, the pomegranates have been bought." A maid happened to be approaching the door with a plate of pomegranates.

Gu Yu glanced at the pomegranates, acknowledged with a faint "Hmm," and motioned for the maid to take them in to Jiang Heng.

"Just leave them there."

Jiang Heng’s voice was listless, not at all like before when, though weak from illness, she had spoken playfully and vivaciously.

Gu Yu’s brow tightened, a suffocating frustration welling up in his chest.

He glanced at the man-sized water vat beside him, and suddenly kicked it over; it crashed loudly, tumbling to the ground.

...

Not long after Gu Yu left, Jiang Wan arrived. Seeing the maids in the courtyard cleaning up the fragments of the water vat, she hesitated briefly but asked nothing, going straight in to see Jiang Heng.

"Sister, did you give that key to Duke Wei?" Jiang Heng asked.

Jiang Wan shook her head gently. "A Heng, let’s not talk about that for now. How did you fall ill?"

Jiang Heng replied indifferently, "I got caught in the rain—it’s just a cold."

Jiang Wan guessed that Jiang Heng had intended to leave with Yan Hui and also knew that Yan Hui, because he had gone to rescue the arsonists, had failed to meet her sister.

"A Heng, why didn’t that Mr. Yan come for you?" Jiang Wan asked, though she already knew the answer.

Jiang Heng, however, shook her head. "We agreed to travel apart."

"You’re lying," Jiang Wan said. "If you had truly agreed to travel apart from the start, would you have left without even your luggage? Without travel papers? You know that without travel papers, you can’t go anywhere."

Jiang Heng fell silent for a moment before defending, "I simply didn’t plan well enough..."

"A Heng!" Jiang Wan’s voice grew stern. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to travel south alone? In these times, even men travel in groups for fear of bandits. How could Mr. Yan allow you to go alone? You made it back safely and are here defending him, but what if you had encountered bandits? Then what?"

Jiang Heng lowered her head and said nothing.

"Then let me tell you—he could have gone to meet you, but his companions set fire to the granary. To rescue them, he joined them in seizing a boat and fleeing."

Jiang Heng turned to look at her, her face full of disbelief. "How do you know that?"

"Though he wore a mask, those familiar with him could still recognize him. At the time, Elder Brother was there, and so was Duke Wei."

Jiang Wan continued, "A Heng, he is now loyal to Prince Zhennan. There’s nothing wrong with each man serving his own master, but you should understand now—for Prince Zhennan’s plans and for his comrades, he abandoned you."

Jiang Heng shook her head instinctively. "Elder Brother would never do that. Don’t speak of him like that."

"Then what kind of person is he? Uniquely righteous, completely loyal?" Jiang Wan’s words were no longer as gentle or forgiving as before. "He is indeed uniquely righteous and completely loyal, so he had to choose between you and Prince Zhennan. For him, there was no way to satisfy both."

"When he stepped in to save those companions, he should have known that, first, he might give away his identity, and second, how could the situation be resolved so easily? If his identity were exposed, he would become a traitor to the Qi Dynasty. Meeting you would implicate you. The situation was complicated, so he would need more time to deal with it—naturally, he couldn’t look after you."

"A Heng, do you think he simply didn’t consider these things carefully? Or did he deliberately choose his comrades?"

Jiang Heng’s heart was still set on Yan Hui.

But to say she hadn’t felt even a trace of resentment while waiting there all night alone would be self-deception.

She kept convincing herself that Elder Brother wouldn’t break his promise without reason—there must have been circumstances beyond his control. But no matter how much she tried to reassure herself, the anxiety of waiting through the night, the fear of traveling alone in the dark, and the helplessness of braving the rain were all too real.

She kept recalling all the kindness Elder Brother had shown her in the past to dispel the grievances and resentment in her heart.

She kept telling herself that Elder Brother deserved her faith—he had done so much for her. What did it matter if she had to wait a little longer or travel a little harder?

But, as her sister said, this time Elder Brother had indeed chosen his comrades without hesitation.

She also knew there was nothing wrong with that choice, but she couldn’t help feeling resentful.

"A Heng," Jiang Wan took a handkerchief and gently wiped away her tears, "if this time he had truly been able to take you away safely, I think perhaps in Lingnan, he might have been able to protect you."

"You probably never considered what you would face once you reached Lingnan. Naturally, you thought that as long as you had Mr. Yan, it would be enough. But you forgot—there, you would only have Mr. Yan, while he would not only have you. He would also have Prince Zhennan, to whom he owes his life, and comrades who have faced life and death with him. Prince Zhennan doesn’t like me, and I doubt he would think much of you either. Those comrades view Duke Wei as an enemy—I fear they would direct their hatred toward you. You only thought about how persuading Mr. Yan to stay would put him in a difficult position, but did you ever consider that once you were there, he would be torn between protecting you and dealing with their hostility toward you?"

Jiang Heng had indeed never considered any of this. She had always believed that as long as she could be with Elder Brother, things would be just as they were before.

"A Heng, don’t accuse me of being fickle or two-faced. Before, when Mr. Yan was here, the happiness he brought you was right in front of you, real. I thought it would be good if you could be happy, even if only for a while. But now, he couldn’t take you away, and he can’t be by your side. He can no longer make you happy, so naturally, I no longer think he is the better choice."

"Sister, please stop. I want to sleep for a while." Though her fever had subsided, Jiang Heng’s head still ached, and talking about these troubling matters made her chest feel constricted as well.

Jiang Wan nodded slightly, took out the key Jiang Heng had given her earlier, and said, "I’ll leave the key here. Think carefully about your choice."

Jiang Heng closed her eyes and nodded lazily.

...

After finishing his discussion with Jiang Xing, Gu Yu went to the Ninghe Courtyard. When he arrived, the lady was drinking her medicine.

She held the medicine bowl herself, and though she frowned, unlike when she was feverish and delirious, she did not complain about the bitterness or demand to be fed mouthfuls of medicine followed by sweet preserves.

The sweet preserves were set aside, as were the peeled pomegranates. She didn’t even glance at them, drinking the medicine in one gulp before tossing a few pomegranate seeds into her mouth.

Gu Yu approached and handed her the candied lychees she had claimed were the tastiest while she was delirious.

Jiang Heng did not take them, refusing, "I think the pomegranate is sweeter."

Gu Yu shot her a glance, put the thing back, and sat silently at the desk.

By now, Jiang Heng no longer intended to continue this charade of getting along. Anyway, Gu Yu couldn’t possibly be unaware of what she was about to do this time.

She handed him the key and said, "There’s a locked chest in the bedchamber. Could you open it for me? Inside, there’s something I left for you."

Gu Yu remained silent, feigning ignorance. He took the key and went into the bedchamber. After a while, he returned empty-handed.

He tossed the key back to her and said indifferently, "What chest? I didn't find any."

"Couldn’t find it?" Jiang Heng exclaimed in surprise and sent Chun Jin to check, but she too said there wasn't one.

"What was inside?" Gu Yu asked, pretending not to know.

"Some silver ingots…"

Before Jiang Heng could finish, Gu Yu seized on this point and suggested, with plausible concern: "Perhaps it was stolen by a thief."

He then proceeded to blame Rui Zhu and Chun Jin: "Where have you two been these past few days? How could you not keep better watch over things?"

"It’s not their fault. I sent them on an errand for me."

Jiang Heng defended the two maids. Though she found the theft theory absurd, she didn’t want Gu Yu to make a big fuss investigating. She dismissed all the servants, planning to come clean with Gu Yu.

"We…"

Before she could utter the words "dissolving our marriage," Gu Yu spoke first: "Silang’s marriage seems to be settled, likely within the next few days. Just focus on getting better. When the time comes, we may need your help as his sister-in-law."

Jiang Heng was quiet for a beat, then continued, "We…"

"You haven’t been feeding the horses these past few days, so you probably don’t know the foal is sick…" Gu Yu interrupted her again.

"Duke Wei, let’s proceed with the mutual separation." She no longer cared what he said. Even if her words overlapped with his, she plowed ahead and said it anyway.

The room instantly fell into pinned silence, as if empty.

After a long while, Jiang Heng spoke calmly, "Thank you for bringing me back and treating my illness. But I don’t want to hide it from you—I originally intended to leave with my brother."

Gu Yu’s gaze suddenly plunged into a dark abyss, the veins in his clenched fists stood out.

Why would he have asked? When had he ever questioned what she was doing? When had he ever pressed for details?

Why was she so unflinchingly honest? Why did she have to tell him this?

Gu Yu remained completely silent. He sat for a while, then shot to his feet and left.

Shortly after, the sound of an overturned and shattered water jar came from the courtyard.

From the main room of Ninghe Yard to Gu Yu’s study, every water jar along the way met the same fate. For a time, the entire estate was filled with the sound of crashing and splintering.

...

The next day, Jiang Heng’s cold had improved significantly. Though not fully recovered, the headache and foggy feeling had lifted. After taking her medicine, she sat at the desk and began rewriting the separation agreement.

She had only written half when Gu Yu arrived.

Seeing what she was writing, his gaze darkened, but he didn't lose his temper. He sat on the nearby couch, remained silent for a while, and when he spoke, his tone was much calmer than the fury with which he had kicked over the water jars the night before.

"I can help Lady Fan." He said out of nowhere.

Jiang Heng took a moment to recall that he was referring to having Yang Zhihong killed.

Regardless of whether Gu Yu would actually help, Jiang Heng could not agree to such a plan. After all, Yang Zhihong was A Rong’s husband. They had shared a life together and had two daughters. A Rong might act on impulse wanting him dead one moment, but change her mind the next when she cooled down.

"No need," Jiang Heng said. She would find another way to help A Rong.

"Lady Fan’s matter, your brother’s matter, the Jiang family’s matters—all your affairs, I can help you with them." He looked at her, every word icy and weighted, yet carrying the weight of a solemn promise.

Jiang Heng still shook her head. "Duke Wei, you need not help me further. Even if I held off on divorcing because I needed your help, what would be the point? That would only be exploitation. Do you wish to be used in such a way?"

Gu Yu replied indifferently, "In this life, isn't everyone used by someone?"

Jiang Heng hadn’t expected him to be so accepting.

"You may not care, Duke Wei, but I have no wish to act this way." She refreshed her brush with ink and continued writing the separation agreement.

"I will not agree to separation."

Without beating around the bush, he stated this abruptly.

Jiang Heng looked up, thought it over briefly, and thought he was still concerned about Silang and A Yue’s marriages. She said gently, "Silang is an excellent man—optimistic, cheerful, and mild-tempered…"

"You think I am not as good as Silang?" The man interrupted, his face darkening again.

That wasn’t what Jiang Heng meant. She shook her head. "What I meant is, a young man like Silang will surely be liked by good families. How could our separation cause him to lose a good marriage? As for A Yue, you know better than I that Prince Qin’s decision to marry her concerns only you, not whether we separate. A Yue is young and inexperienced, gullible enough to believe gossip. When you said temporarily not to separate, wasn’t it because of these concerns? If you cannot persuade them, I will speak to Silang and A Yue…"

"Not because of that," Gu Yu flatly denied.

"Then…" Jiang Heng had asked him before. At that time, he clearly stated there was only this reason, no other concerns. Why was it now not because of these reasons?

"Then what other concerns do you have?" Considering the man had, after all, rescued her when she was ill, Jiang Heng still hoped to end things cleanly without causing disgrace to both families.

"No concerns," the man said coldly.

His unreasonable refusal to cooperate was giving Jiang Heng a headache. "Then what exactly do you want?"

"I will not agree to separation." He sat there, cool and detached, repeating only this phrase.

"Why? There must be a reason for everything…" Jiang Heng tried to reason with him.

"Then why are you so determined to separate?" He retorted, his eyes dark and intense.

Jiang Heng was taken aback, her gaze empty and detached. "Do you truly not know my reason?"

"What is so worthy about him that you can’t forget him? If he truly wanted to take you away, he should have understood what was important—what should and shouldn’t be done—instead of leaving you alone to travel at night, waiting for him in the wilderness!"

Jiang Heng clenched her brush, frowning at Gu Yu. "What right do you have to speak of my brother like that?"

Gu Yu sneered, "You still defend him? If he truly cared for you, feared you would suffer, he wouldn’t have disregarded your reputation and engaged in such shameless behavior with you at the official post!"

"Smack!"

Jiang Heng threw her brush. It struck the man squarely on the face, leaving an ink stain like a wound on his handsome, pale features. Fortunately, he was wearing black robes, so the ink stains didn't show on his clothes.

In Gu Yu’s deep eyes, shock outweighed anger. She'd actually hit him? And so accurately! He hadn’t even managed to dodge…

"Don’t you dare smear my brother with your vile lies! There was no shameless behavior—he would never!"

Jiang Heng rose from her seat, clutching a handful of writing brushes in her hand, as if she would hurl them all at him if he said one more word.

"He didn't do it?" Gu Yu gazed at her and murmured to himself.

"He didn't do it! Do not slander A-Xiong!" She glared at him, her tone resolute and unwavering.

Gu Yu knew Jiang Heng would not lie to him. She had even taken the initiative to honestly tell him about matters he never asked about, like her plan to run away with Yan Hui. If there truly had been anything improper between her and Yan Hui, she would not be defending him so vehemently.

Gu Yu's lips twitched slightly, betraying no emotion. He wiped the ink stain from his face, remained silent for a long moment, and then said calmly, "In any case, I will not agree to a divorce."

"You say no divorce, so it's no divorce? Why are you so domineering?" Jiang Heng, still furious, glared at him accusingly.

Gu Yu paused briefly before replying calmly, "You say divorce, so it's divorce—aren't you being domineering too?"