Chapter 31: Decision—He Cannot Let Her Marry Another

Gu Yuanjing was very fond of the wintersweet Su Zhenyue had brought.

“This fragrance is wonderful—so crisp and rich.” He praised it endlessly, personally finding a porcelain vase to arrange the branches in. He placed it in a conspicuous spot, then sighed with some regret. “It’s a pity the wintersweet’s blooming season is short. They will inevitably wither one day. Then, no matter how fragrant they were, we won’t be able to smell them anymore.”

As he spoke, he let out a soft sigh, for the flowers, and also for people.

Su Zhenyue smiled. “What’s so difficult about that? Every year, I pick some wintersweet petals, dry them, and use them to make scented sachets. If Fourth Brother likes them, I can just make a couple for you.”

Gu Yuanjing was willing to help her with such a huge favor. Never mind scented sachets; she would have been perfectly willing and without complaint to plant a Wintersweet Tree for him in his courtyard right then and there.

The thought of planting a tree made her think of Shen Ji. Back then, in order to get close to him, she had claimed she wanted to repay a debt of gratitude and had also pruned the branches of the Hibiscus mutabilis in Qingfeng Courtyard.

But that was already two months ago.

Two months ago, she had been full of confidence, believing that with her beauty and her methods, she could certainly win Shen Ji’s heart and entice him into a secret engagement during the national mourning period.

He had indeed agreed, but alas, it had all come to nothing in the end.

“A Yue, come and look at the wintersweet I’ve painted,” Gu Yuanjing said with great enthusiasm. “How does it compare to the Red Plum Blossom Painting from this morning?”

Su Zhenyue moved closer and studied it for a moment before commenting, “It’s very lifelike. But it’s just as Fourth Brother said, it doesn’t look as good in a painting as the red plum blossoms.”

Gu Yuanjing smiled. “As long as it’s lifelike. The red plum blossoms are, after all, more vibrant.”

Su Zhenyue nodded in agreement.

“You don’t need to worry too much about that matter. I’ve thought it over carefully, and there shouldn’t be any problems,” Gu Yuanjing said slowly, putting down his brush. “If there’s truly no other way and you must get engaged and marry me, then I will settle the matter on the very day the national mourning period ends.”

“Mm.”

“When the time comes, don’t be afraid. I’ll be here. Even if the elders say harsh things, don’t take it to heart.”

Gu Yuanjing had considered it seriously. A Yue had previously been on the verge of a marriage discussion with his eldest cousin. Since he and his eldest cousin were paternal cousins, the elders might say that A Yue was of poor character for getting entangled with two brothers.

“Rest assured, Fourth Brother, I know what to expect.” Su Zhenyue thought to herself that she had heard far worse things before.

As long as she could avoid the marriage to Yuan Ye, everything else was a minor issue she could endure.

“According to what you said, you must marry far away to be safe. But my home is too close; it doesn’t count as marrying far away. In case there are any more accidents, we can go live in the countryside or somewhere a little further south. After I pass away, you can find someone you like and remarry…”

“Fourth Brother!” Su Zhenyue frowned, not wanting to hear him mention the words “pass away.”

His health was already poor; he should be more mindful of such taboos.

Gu Yuanjing, however, paid it no mind and continued, “Of course, I could also help you find someone while I’m still alive. We can find a suitable person in advance. After we find him, I’ll divorce you, and you can remarry quietly. You won’t have to worry about being betrothed by imperial decree again.”

He had even considered this. Su Zhenyue was both grateful and heartbroken.

Such a benevolent person, yet cursed with a short life.

Actually, it didn’t have to be this way. Princess Chengping would die a violent death in less than four years. Otherwise, why would Chang Le Princess Wen Shan fake her own death due to a broken heart?

She just needed to carefully endure these next few years.

Su Zhenyue shook her head and said softly, “Fourth Brother, why think about such things? I’ve never thought about remarrying. What Fourth Brother should be thinking about is how to recuperate and live to be a hundred.”

Perhaps if he went to a warmer place and avoided that bout of cold, he could really live a few more years?

Gu Yuanjing just smiled, exceptionally philosophical. “Longevity is determined by fate. I never ask for too much.”

To be able to truly help someone before his life ended was to not have lived in vain.

He rallied his spirits and went over their story with Su Zhenyue in detail. “When the time comes, you don’t say a word. Let me do the talking. I’ll say that I’ve been in love with you since we were young and will marry no one else. If they don’t let me get engaged to you, I’ll refuse to live.”

“This…” Su Zhenyue immediately objected. “No, no, you can’t say that. What if they still don’t agree? Wouldn’t you be in an impossible situation then?”

“Don’t worry, I have that much confidence,” Gu Yuanjing said with great certainty.

Su Zhenyue was still not entirely convinced.

“Then what should we say? We can’t possibly say that you’re already carrying my child, can we?” The moment the words left his mouth, Gu Yuanjing felt they were too improper. His cheeks flushed red, and he couldn’t help but start coughing.

Su Zhenyue froze, then she too felt a wave of embarrassed awkwardness.

But Gu Yuanjing was coughing violently now, and she couldn’t worry about herself. She hurried to his side and gently patted his back.

Gu Yuanjing popped a cough lozenge into his mouth and felt much better, his complexion gradually returning to normal.

But the moment their eyes met, they couldn’t help but recall his shocking words, and both their faces flushed with embarrassment again.

Gu Yuanjing explained, a little sheepishly, “I didn’t mean to offend you. I just genuinely thought this method might work.”

His health was poor, and he didn’t have many years left. His parents had always wanted him to leave behind an heir, but he refused to marry. If someone were truly carrying his child now, even during the national mourning period, his parents would find a way to cover it up. There was no way they would forbid it.

“I know. Fourth Brother is trying to help me, I know.”

“Good, as long as you’re not angry. Of course, this is the worst-case scenario. It’s also possible that they’ll agree the moment I open my mouth. Or perhaps, we’ll think of a better solution before the national mourning period is even over?” The more Gu Yuanjing thought about it, the more he felt this was the case. “Two heads are better than one.”

“Fourth Brother is right,” Su Zhenyue nodded.

Indeed, this was the worst it could get, which was still better than in that long dream. What was there to worry about?

Su Zhenyue’s heart had been wound tight for the past few days. Now that she had thought things through, she finally relaxed a little and began to have the leisurely mood to seriously admire this small art studio.

A glance revealed several bamboo flutes on a rack on the wall. She let out a soft “Yi?” and asked curiously, “Is Fourth Brother learning the flute?”

“Yes, the doctor said my lung qi is weak, and playing the flute might help strengthen it a little.”

“I didn’t even know you were learning the flute.” Su Zhenyue felt a little abashed. She really had been a bit too much, rarely interacting with Fourth Young Master Gu and only coming to him for help when she was in dire straits.

Gu Yuanjing chuckled lightly. “I’ve only been learning for a few months. It’s normal that you don’t know.”

Su Zhenyue thought that made sense. She then asked, “Can I hear you play?”

“I don’t play well,” Gu Yuanjing said, but he turned his head and saw A Yue looking at him with expectant eyes. He had never been good at refusing others, so after a slight hesitation, he nodded. “Don’t laugh at me.”

Gu Yuanjing took down a bamboo flute, wiped it carefully, then placed it to his lips and began to play earnestly.

The sound of a normal flute is clear and rousing, but unfortunately, Gu Yuanjing was born frail with insufficient lung qi, so the notes he produced were a bit more gentle and winding. However, he compensated for this deficiency with his technique.

Though not exceptionally melodious, it had its own unique character.

Su Zhenyue listened attentively from the side, a look of approval in her eyes, occasionally nodding her head gently to the rhythm.

This was the scene Shen Ji saw from the courtyard of Zhongmo Study, through the window.

He hadn’t intended to spy; he had simply entered directly without having a servant announce him. Who would have thought he’d find these two—one playing the flute, the other listening, occasionally exchanging glances, looking exceptionally harmonious. They didn’t even notice he had reached the window.

No matter how he looked at it, it was an eyesore.

Yes, an eyesore.

It was clearly a harmonious picture, but for some reason, seeing it only made his eyes sting.

When the piece ended, beads of sweat had formed on Gu Yuanjing’s forehead.

He lowered the flute, intending to take out a handkerchief to wipe his brow. However, when he felt his sleeve, he found it empty. Just as he was about to raise his sleeve to wipe the sweat, he looked up and saw an embroidered handkerchief being offered to him.

“Use mine,” Su Zhenyue said generously. “I brought one, it’s clean.”

“Thank you.” Gu Yuanjing didn’t overthink it and reached out to take it.

But once it was in his hand, he quickly realized something was amiss. This embroidered handkerchief was different from the ones he usually used. It was clean and soft, without the slightest scent of medicine, and instead carried a faint, sweet fragrance.

It was different from the scent of wintersweet; it was a very gentle fragrance, mixed with a hint of sweetness.

Gu Yuanjing’s face suddenly turned red. He stuffed the handkerchief back into her hand and stammered, “It’s alright, the sweat is already gone.”

It would be a waste to use such a fine embroidered handkerchief on him.

His complexion was pale, making the blush on his cheeks particularly obvious at that moment.

Shen Ji watched from outside the window, his gaze suddenly sinking.

He had long known that Fourth Young Master Gu had a simple personality. And he had personally experienced Miss Su’s talent for coaxing people.

It had only been the first day, and Fourth Young Master Gu was already blushing and flustered.

He feared it wouldn’t be long before Fourth Young Master Gu would agree to anything she proposed.

For some reason, the thought made Shen Ji’s heart inexplicably start to panic.

“Should we open the window—” Just then, Gu Yuanjing turned his head, feeling a little uncomfortable, and saw Shen Ji standing outside the window. “Cousin?”

Su Zhenyue was startled. She followed his gaze and met a pair of deep, ink-black eyes.

Their gazes locked.

Su Zhenyue’s heart skipped a beat, her lashes trembling. “Cousin…”

She hadn’t expected to run into Shen Ji here. She was the one in the wrong regarding the previous incident, and she hadn’t managed to obtain his forgiveness. Therefore, her first reaction at this moment was guilt, followed by a wave of intense awkwardness.

Today, she had been so busy pursuing this path with Gu Yuanjing that she had temporarily paused her efforts to apologize.

It made her seem as if she wasn’t sincere enough.

Shen Ji glanced at her, then shifted his gaze away with extreme naturalness.

Upon being discovered by the two of them, there wasn’t a trace of panic on his face. Instead, he raised his hand and knocked lightly on the window three times, “Tap, tap, tap,” ever so politely. “Pardon the intrusion. May I come in?”

“Of course, Cousin, please come in.” Gu Yuanjing smiled. “You’re not interrupting. A Yue and I weren’t doing anything important anyway.”

As Shen Ji came in through the door, he secretly shot Su Zhenyue a meaningful look.

—It was best not to publicize what they had just discussed.

Receiving his glance, Su Zhenyue nodded, signaling for him to rest assured. She knew what to do and naturally wouldn’t say more. Besides, telling Shen Ji about this would only add to the awkwardness.

This subtle exchange of glances between the two did not escape Shen Ji’s eyes. His face remained expressionless, but his heart suddenly tightened.

He really disliked this feeling of being excluded. It was as if the two of them were a world of their own, and he was the superfluous one.

In front of Gu Yuanjing, Su Zhenyue couldn’t just keep apologizing to Shen Ji. But staying here also made her very uncomfortable, so she just said, “Fourth Brother, Cousin, you two chat. I’ll be heading back now.”

—Shen Ji didn’t want to see her, nor did he want to talk to her. In that case, she would wait a while until his anger had subsided a bit, then she would slowly apologize to him. Anyway, she had a new way out now, so there was no need to be so anxious.

As for Fourth Young Master Gu’s side, Su Zhenyue wasn’t worried that Shen Ji would be a tattletale.

Gu Yuanjing had always been good-tempered and was very easygoing at the moment. He thought for a moment and said in a warm voice, “Alright, A Yue, you head back first. We’ll talk in detail tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Su Zhenyue nodded and took her leave.

Shen Ji watched expressionlessly as the two bid farewell, his hands hidden in his sleeves already clenched into fists without him realizing.

Good, very good.

Her apology to him lasted only two days, yet she was getting along so happily with Gu Si.

Now, the moment he appeared, she was in a hurry to leave.

So, seeing that her plan had failed, she couldn’t even be bothered to keep up the act anymore.

“Is Cousin not busy today?” Gu Yuanjing, unaware of his thoughts, enthusiastically poured him a cup of tea and asked with a smile.

“It’s fine,” Shen Ji replied casually, his gaze unconsciously drawn to the wintersweet on the table.

The pale yellow wintersweet blossoms bloomed on the branches, looking almost identical to the ones in his study.

Shen Ji feigned a casual sigh. “This wintersweet is quite nice.”

“Isn’t it? You think so too, Cousin?” Fourth Young Master Gu’s eyes lit up as if he had met a kindred spirit. “I like it very much too. A Yue specially brought it for me.”

Shen Ji’s heart seized again, his expression imperceptibly stiffening.

An uncannily familiar conversation, one that had taken place not long ago in the study of Qingfeng Courtyard. But now, not much time had passed, yet the two people speaking had completely reversed their roles.

“You and her seem very close,” Shen Ji said in a strange tone, though his face remained impassive.

Gu Yuanjing looked a little embarrassed. He neither admitted nor denied it, instead very deliberately changing the subject. “Cousin, look, this is a new painting I acquired. What do you think?”

Shen Ji’s mind wasn’t on the painting. He glanced at it, offered a few perfunctory comments, then asked as if making small talk, “What were you and Miss Su talking about just now? Why couldn’t you finish today and need to talk in detail tomorrow?”

Gu Yuanjing didn’t want to lie to his cousin, but he also knew now was not the time to be frank. So he smiled faintly and said vaguely, “We were discussing something. But it has to be kept a secret for now. In another month, Cousin will know.”

Shen Ji froze, the beating of his heart seeming to stop for a moment.

One month?!

He hadn’t misheard, it was one month.

What day was it in one month? The end of the national mourning period.

If Shen Ji had only been suspicious before, he was now almost certain: she had come to find Gu Si because she was switching targets.

She wanted to find someone else to get engaged to.

It had only been a few days…

She had actually given up on apologizing and seeking reconciliation with him, and had turned to someone else instead?

Shen Ji already knew that Su Zhenyue was just using him and didn’t have much genuine affection for him. But he hadn’t expected her patience with him to last only two or three days.

Was she really that desperate? She was giving up on him without trying a little harder?

And Gu Si, he was a marquis estate’s young master, for goodness sake. In less than a day, with just a few branches of red plum and wintersweet, he was going to agree? And they had even arranged to discuss the details tomorrow?

No, he hadn’t known Gu Si was so casual.

Shen Ji was truly so angry he could laugh. “Fourth Young Master Gu, do you know…”

“Know what?” Gu Yuanjing was puzzled.

A chill went through Shen Ji’s heart. He picked up his teacup, swallowing the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and forced out, “It’s nothing.”

He didn’t like to speak ill of others behind their backs. Besides, Fourth Young Master Gu was part of the Jing An Marquis Estate; he would only know more about her situation than he did. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know she was using him with ulterior motives.

Shen Ji sat there in a daze, his mind a complete blank, feeling a myriad of unpleasant emotions. He felt panic and vexation seep out from his heart, instantly spreading through his limbs, almost drowning him entirely.

He clearly realized: things were developing in a direction beyond his control.

He was clearly staring at the steaming tea, but what appeared before his eyes was the scene of her getting engaged and even marrying Gu Si.

A voice deep in his heart grew clearer and clearer: “No! This can’t happen!”

He was certainly furious about her deception, but that didn’t mean he would just let her marry someone else.

Even if that marriage was for the sake of convenience, the person she was going to marry should be him.

At this thought, Shen Ji’s expression was no longer its usual lazy and casual self; it was clear he had made some kind of decision.

“Cousin?” Gu Yuanjing saw his strange expression and wondered, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Ji snapped back to reality, stood up abruptly, and threw out a sentence, “I have something to attend to, we’ll talk another day.”

In a flash, he had vanished.