Jealous

It was early winter, and the sky darkened earlier than usual. It was a deep, bluish-black, but shrouded in a layer of gray fog, obscuring the moon and stars.

Two lanterns stood in front of the carriage, swaying in the night breeze, their light flickering.

Gu Yu hadn't felt the chill while in prison, as her mind was preoccupied with something else. Now that she was out of prison, she had just begun to feel a slight chill when her cloak was turned up to block out the cold wind.

Gu Yu boarded the carriage and closed her eyes to process the information she had received from Wei Cong.

Xu Qiu held her hand, and her originally cold hand quickly became warm as they clasped hands.

Seeing the weariness etched on her face, he didn't disturb her. Once she had fallen asleep, he leaned the swaying Gu Yu against his shoulder.

When Qiuju came out of the mansion to greet him, she saw her son-in-law make a shushing gesture, and then carry the sleeping Gu Yu down from the carriage. The cloak covered her completely, so her face could not be seen.

Gu Yu was actually somewhat awake when she got off the carriage. When she saw Xu Qiu holding her, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Xu Qiu's neck, letting out a soft humming sound with a hint of sleepiness.

Xu Qiu knew that the person had woken up.

"Does my wife not want to get out of my arms now that she's awake?" he teased, pulling her up a little to prevent her from sliding down.

"Hmm, I'm a bit tired today. Wouldn't it be better if someone did the walking for me so I don't have to walk so much?"

Her tone carried the languidness of someone who had just woken up, yet she spoke with a rather self-righteous air.

"My wife is tired, and it is my duty to take care of her."

Gu Yu looked up at his chin, wondering how this person could have such a good temper, so good that it was as if he had no temper at all.

Once they reached the main hall, Xu Qiu put the person down, and they ate dinner together. Gu Yu then told him about Wei Cong's affairs in Tongzhou before going to bed.

"...So let's arrest Xu Yunliang first and try the land case. It should be easier if Li Shiqin is here."

Gu Yu dutifully covered herself with her brocade quilt, only her head peeking out.

Xu Qiu found her appearance somewhat amusing and covered her up completely with the corner of the blanket, making her look like a plump green caterpillar, which was incredibly cute.

“Alright, I will discuss it with Brother Li tomorrow. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is not subject to local control, so it will be more convenient for them than for me.”

Xu Qiu propped his head up and turned to look at her. Seeing that her voice was getting softer and softer, he figured she must be sleepy, so he got up and went to put out the candle.

Gu Yu was still muttering something in a daze when Xu Qiu comforted her, "Madam, please go to sleep early. I'll take care of things."

He kissed her forehead before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

When Gu Yu woke up the next morning, the spot beside her was empty.

News came from Liu Yun of Xu Qiu's faction that Xu Yunliang had been arrested and imprisoned.

"Where is Xu Qiu? Where is he?" Gu Yu chose a hairpin and had Qiu Ju put it on for her.

"The magistrate is interrogating someone in prison."

"The master said that if the lady wants to go, she should go after noon. If she goes earlier, the man will not tell the truth," Liu Yun replied.

"Okay, I'll go later." Gu Yu instructed Qiu Ju to prepare food and wine for three people, along with some wound medicine and bandages that she had brought herself.

It wasn't until the afternoon that Gu Yu took her things to the prison.

Xu Qiu came out first after hearing the news. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief and let the smell on his body dissipate before daring to approach.

"Madam actually knew I hadn't had lunch yet." He was dressed in his official robes today, with a black gauze hat on his head, revealing his full and smooth forehead.

“I was thinking about how to investigate the military farms in the garrison, but Xu Yunliang and Li Dacheng have opened a door for me.”

Gu Yu had already eaten lunch, so she just looked at him and said, "Where is Lord Li? Let him come out for lunch too."

Xu Qiu looked at the food box, which contained enough for more than one person, and said, "I'll send someone to call him."

He lowered his eyes and said dejectedly, "I thought Madam only thought of me, but I didn't expect others to be involved too..."

"Lord Xu, are you jealous again? I should have brought you a plate of dumplings. You wouldn't have needed vinegar then, but you ate them dry. Smell it, you reek of sourness now..."

Gu Yu smiled and lifted his chin, making his gaze level with hers.

"I am your wife now. It is only right of me to consider your social interactions with your colleagues. Husband, please don't be jealous."

"It's not just Li Shiqin, is it?" he argued softly. "He wasn't injured..."

He could smell the wound medicine; it was the same kind that Gu Yu had applied to his wounds before. How could he not remember?

"Lord Xu has a really keen sense of smell." Gu Yu smiled, revealing two shallow dimples.

"That's the lady's dog too..."

At this moment, Li Shiqin coughed twice, interrupting the sweet atmosphere between the young couple, and Gu Yu immediately withdrew her hand.

She took the food and wound medicine she had brought for Wei Cong and left.

Li Shiqin had a few drops of blood on him, but he wasn't as particular as Xu Qiu, and he just strode over like that.

"Brother Xu and his wife have a very deep affection for each other!"

He sighed in a mocking tone, his tone reminiscent of the clingy infatuation he and his wife had when they first got married. Back then, his wife would always blush, and the redder she blushed, the more he loved to tease her... ahem...

Xu Qiu was unwilling to talk about Gu Yu with others. His wife was so good; it wouldn't be good if someone had designs on her.

"What else did Xu Yunliang say after that?"

"It's still the same. They're not talking about the smuggled salt issue. Li Dacheng should have burned all the account books and other evidence, but the land issue is beyond doubt."

"So now we can only go into Tongguanwei and catch Li Dacheng red-handed. There's a secret salt depot in Tongguanwei, so we're not afraid of not having evidence. And we have to be quick, otherwise it will be bad if Li Dacheng moves the salt from the depot."

On the other side, Gu Yu first changed the dressing on Wei Cong's hands.

"This medicine is something I concocted myself. It's especially effective for injuries like this one that reach the bone. I once saved someone who had been subjected to finger-crushing torture, and her hand was almost healed after a month of rest."

Seeing that he didn't speak, Gu Yu could only continue speaking to herself, "Wei Cong, it shouldn't be a big problem for your hand to recover to its original state..."

She continued, "Don't you want to kill Li Dacheng with your own hands?"

"Xu Qiu and Li Shiqin, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are both in this prison. Think about it, isn't the scale now tipping in your favor?"

"Why are you still sitting here waiting to die? Let your enemies and those villains send you to hell."

Her Guanyin-like face gradually faded, and her gentle and benevolent appearance resembled a monstrous demon in the depths of one's heart, ferocious and full of evil thoughts.

Wei Cong's expression changed slightly; his numbness gradually faded, and he began to consider the feasibility of the matter.

His fingertips trembled slightly; the wound where he had applied the medicine still hurt, his lips were a little pale, and when he spoke, his throat felt like it had been rubbed by coarse sand, “…Miss Gu, thank you.”

"Xu Yunliang is already in prison, probably just a few cells away from you. He's probably been tortured, but I doubt he'll talk about the smuggled salt."

Wei Cong's eyelashes trembled slightly, and a glint of light appeared in his eyes. "Lock him up with me. I want to talk to him."

"Okay, eat something first. Take this bottle of wound medicine and change it every day."

Wei Cong finally obeyed this time, picked up his bowl and chopsticks and ate his food. He finished it quickly, and Gu Yu took the food box and went out.

When Li Shiqin saw Gu Yu return, he smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, come and sit here for a while. I won't disturb you any longer, I have other things to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

"Farewell, Brother Li." Xu Qiu nodded.

"What's wrong? There's been no news from Xu Yunliang?" Gu Yu asked.

"He looks slick and oily, but he's really stubborn," Xu Qiu said, puzzled.

Logically speaking, such cunning and deceitful people are rarely loyal.

“If he only has those land disputes, then when the time comes, those lands that should be returned will be returned, and those that should be donated will be donated. His elder brother, Xu Ziliu, will definitely be able to get him out,” Gu Yu said.

"The two have a good relationship. Xu Ziliu was even willing to give up his own reputation to protect him."

Xu Qiu sneered, not in a hurry, and slowly sipped his tea. "But I haven't pursued the matter of transporting grain to the Northern Barbarians with him yet. Does he really think he can get away with it?"

He originally intended to investigate the involvement of court officials in the arms dealing before taking action against these merchants, but he didn't expect that Wei Cong's affair would implicate Xu Yunliang.

"What do you plan to do about Li Dacheng?"

"Brother Li has gone to transfer the Embroidered Uniform Guard. When the time comes, sneak in, capture Li Dacheng, and then take over the military and civilians in the garrison."

Gu Yu disagreed, "You know perfectly well that the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Commander is my father's comrade-in-arms, so why don't you let me go and ask him to send troops?"

"Wouldn't it be better to have the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Commander handle the situation if something happens to the garrison? Besides, if he's not clean to begin with, more contact with him will expose his true colors."

Xu Qiu looked away. "If I were to ask you to handle this, I wouldn't dare take the risk. I'm afraid you'd be in danger."

“Since the Embroidered Uniform Guards came secretly, it’s not a bad thing for them to show themselves now. If we alert them, things will be difficult for you later, right? We should use their own tactics against them. Now that I’m here, let’s use them as they see fit,” Gu Yu suggested.

Xu Qiu simply asked, "Are you helping me or him?"

"What's the difference? Aren't your goals the same? Arrest Xu Yunliang, find out who the merchants and officials are involved with him, and then arrest Li Dacheng to investigate the encroachment on military farmland and the illegal salt trade," Gu Yu asked, puzzled.

“There’s no difference,” he said. “It’s just that I hope there’s a difference between the two of us to you. I have no right to stop you from getting involved in this kind of thing.”

“I have my own ways of achieving what I want to do, but Wei Cong is currently imprisoned and can only rely on you, so I feel that you care more about him than about me. You don’t seem to have worried about me this much.”

Gu Yu finally understood that Xu Qiu was jealous, and he was being quite frank about it, but she didn't know how to appease him.

Xu Qiu had previously said that his liking for her wouldn't cause problems in their alliance, but now it seems that was all bullshit; this guy is a complete jealous jerk.

Gu Yu stood up and hugged him from behind. "Husband, try not to be so jealous. Even without Wei Cong's involvement, I would still want to help you if I could. You and he are different..."

Gu Yu thought for a moment and continued, "You are more important than him."

"Hmm." Xu Qiu listened, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up. Even if he knew she was just trying to coax him, so what?

"Why does Madam love applying medicine to people so much?"

“His hand is injured. If I don’t apply medicine for him, he can’t apply it himself.”

“You can’t come every day, and I don’t want what happens in prison to taint your eyes, Madam.”

“I gave him the medicine, and he should be able to handle the rest himself.”

Seeing that he still wanted to say something, Gu Yu leaned down and touched his lips. "Alright, stop talking. Wei Cong and I have never had any romantic relationship. Even if we did, wouldn't you, Lord Xu, be the first person I'd consider..."

Xu Qiu felt that it was good to be a little jealous occasionally, as his wife would coax him with sweet words and even kiss him on her own initiative.

She released her grip on his arms and began packing up the food box. "You go ahead and get back to work."

Xu Qiu escorted the person to the carriage.

"Don't delay our business, hurry back. I'll write a letter to Zhang Yanming to gauge his opinion. If he's willing to send troops, there's no need for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to get involved."

"Alright, Madam, you can decide." Xu Qiu was pleased and even her tone of voice became cheerful.

When evening came, Xu Qiu returned to his residence early, had dinner, and after washing up, waited in his room for Gu Yu to return.

Gu Yu pushed open the door and saw him reading official documents, then closed the door.

The weather in the north is dry and cold, but there are already charcoal braziers in the house, and the heating is warm, so it's not cold at all.

Gu Yu went to the dressing table, took off the jewelry on her head, and combed her hair.

It's not that she doesn't understand men; it's precisely because she understands men that she thinks Xu Qiu is an extremely trustworthy person.

On our wedding night, I told her I wouldn't do anything, and aside from accidentally kissing her twice, I was indeed very obedient.

Sometimes, in her half-awake state, she would only feel him kiss her forehead, and then there would be no further action.

Even more virtuous than Liu Xiahui.

"What's wrong with Madam? Is she afraid to get into bed?" Xu Qiu put down the official documents. "If Madam wants to back out, that's fine. I didn't ask for anything else anyway."

Gu Yu got up and left the dressing table. It was just a promise of a kiss made at noon, and the only difference from the previous two times was that she took the initiative.

"Why is Lord Xu being so submissive?"

She smiled and reached out to undo his clothes. He was wearing a gray cotton-padded robe, which he had probably casually draped over his shoulders after bathing. The belt was loose and came undone easily.

In ordinary couples, the wife undresses the husband or helps him dress, but Gu Yu goes to bed early and gets up late, and never cares when Xu Qiu gets into bed.

Sometimes she didn't see him at night, nor in the morning, only the lingering warmth beside her told her that Xu Qiu had come back at night.

Xu Qiu's dark eyes were filled with lust; he was a normal man.

However, he wanted more than just Gu Yu's body; he also wanted her heart.

He wanted her to be willing, so he was able to restrain himself until Gu Yu and he reciprocated each other's feelings.

He had naturally considered that Gu Yu might fall for someone else, and he was afraid that he would become insanely jealous and do something terrible.

But just as Gu Yu understood him, he also understood Gu Yu. Before she avenged her great enemy, she would not fall for anyone, and naturally she would not look at him.

It's good to treat everyone equally like this.

"Then... Madam, please be kind to me."

He could see her face, bathed in the warm glow of the candlelight, her long, black eyelashes fluttering like wings, and her slender, white fingers when he looked down.

But if I were to fall in love, it could only be him.