Chapter 1204: Then you tell me what to do (2/2)

Qin Min didn’t speak.

But Gu Beiyue went on, serious. “Eldest Miss Qin, I’m...I’m afraid I’ll be delaying the rest of your life.” If he knew Qin Min could have been cured, he never would have married her. Now that they were married, no one would dare to take her if they suddenly divorced. The status of Academy Head’s wife was too unique.

If he didn’t divorce her, was he supposed to force such an outstanding girl to be with her for the rest of his life? With her legs healed, her family, looks, and talent meant that plenty of handsome young men were hers for the taking in Medical City. Qin Min understood his drift, but she only felt a tinge of sorrow when she looked upon this quiet, gentle man.

She couldn’t help asking, “Academy Head Beiyue, why did you give up on your marriage? Is there someone you want to marry but can’t? That girl you admire?”

Gu Beiyue didn’t answer, but asked back, “Say, Eldest Miss Qin...what are you planning to do?”

“Since I married you, I’ll always be your wife! Unless you don’t want me! Our agreement is eternally binding,” Qin Min said hastily.

“You…”

Qin Min cut him off. “You’re not me, so how do you know I’ll be delaying my life by marrying you? Academy Head Beiyue, I do have someone I want to marry, but it’s not possible. Like you, I have no place for anyone else in my heart. It’s not bad spending our lives as partners like this. You can’t break your promise, or else I’ll…” Qin Min’s voice dropped before she warned him, “Or else I’ll tell the world about...the foster baby!”

“Someone you want to marry?” Gu Beiyue was more interested in her private affairs than her threat.

“If you tell me who you want to marry, I’ll tell you mine?” Qin Min giggled as her eyes gaze turned adorably sly.

Once again, Gu Beiyue changed the topic. He stood up and declared, “Eldest Miss Qin, if you ever regret it one day, you can leave at any time. I, Gu Beiyue, has delayed you, But I won’t let you down. You can tell me any requests you want.”

A flash of disappointment flickered past Qin Min’s eyes, so quickly she didn’t even notice herself. Smiling faintly, she replied, “Academy Head Beiyue’s words are as weighty as the nine tripod cauldrons. Qin Min shall remember.”

“It’s getting late, so rest up. There’s no one in the courtyard tonight and I’ll be in the study right next door. Call me if you need anything,” Gu Beiyue intoned.

Qin Min nodded.

As Gu Beiyue prepared to leave, he glanced back and asked, “Eldest Miss Qin, who gave you the poison?”

“It must be someone within the Qin Clan, though I can’t confirm whether it’s a Qin Clan member. Tomorrow I’ll ride wheelchair back. For now we should keep this secret and have my parents be the judge,” Qin Min had long planned this out.

Gu Beiyue admired Qin Min most for her good logic and sense of propriety. Although these were Qin Clan matters, as the Academy Head’s wife, such intel would now be used by those with motives to cause her family trouble. If the poisoner really was a Qin Clan member, then not only would her family lose face, they would also lose their standing in the eyes of the public. The Ren Clan would certainly be happy with that outcome.

If the poisoner wasn’t a member of the family but a spy, then there had to be a plot afoot, which meant they needed to be careful. Qin Min might be a victim, but this matter affected the Qin Clan most of all. In the end she had let them take care of it.

“That’s right,” Qin Min remembered, “Gu Qishao’s gift for you is over there.”

Gu Beiyue recalled this matter as well. He picked up the box and opened it up before his expression clearly froze. Qin Min looked at him oddly and teased, “I heard that Gu Qishao’s an eccentric. He must have gifted something extraordinary.”

Mm. It’s...it’s not bad,” Gu Beiyue finished before walking away.

“What did he gift?” Qin Min muttered to herself.

She wasn’t too curious, just asking casually. Her heart felt a little empty after seeing the shut door, but she didn’t know why. She suddenly remembered that she forgot to ask Gu Beiyue how he knew her favorite flowers were forsythia. She wanted to chase after him, but it was impossible now when she couldn’t walk yet.

--

Gu Beiyue reached the study before hiding the brocade box away with a helpless shake of his head. “Gu Qishao, that fellow!”

He had busied himself all day and drank quite a bit of wine, so now he was exhausted. He lied down on the bd and quickly saw Lil Thing, who had been missing for days, hanging upside down from the rafters. It waved its tail at him while baring its teeth. He couldn’t tell whether it was angry or excited.

The princess had stayed for a few days and tried to look for Lil Thing then, but it never showed its face. At last, it had crawled out of the woodwork tonight. Seeing Lil Thing still dangling in the air, Gu Beiyue withdrew his gaze and pillowed his head with one arm.

Lil Thing scampered down and landed on his chest, cheeping nonstop.

It was excited!

It had been stifled for days while spying on him in the dark. Only tonight did it know what kind of person he was marrying. It had been hiding in the rafters of the bridal chamber. It didn’t know what it should do--or even what it could do. But all it saw was the gentleman leaving the lady after changing her medicine.

It almost cried in that moment. So the gentleman was faking his marriage!

Although it hadn’t teared up then, its eyes were red-rimmed with tears now as it laid in his embrace…