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“After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage” Chapter 44

"Can you not tie me up?"

“Did you buy this? How much did it cost?” Gu Fu asked without thinking.

It wasn’t Gu Fu’s fault for spoiling the moment. The truth was that this area was the closest to the Imperial City, and the land prices were frighteningly expensive. When anyone considered buying property here, the first thought would be about money.

During the years Gu Fu served in the military, she received many rewards. Apart from her daily expenses, she had saved a considerable amount of her salary. Before she faked her death, she left a letter entrusting a reliable person to take her savings to the hometowns of her fallen comrades and give it to their families as compensation.

After her staged death, the Emperor posthumously conferred a title on her. Though he couldn’t openly reward her with riches or a mansion, he privately sent her many valuable items. Gu Fu gave some of these to her grandmother, telling her to use them as she pleased, though it seemed her grandmother hadn’t touched them, saying she was saving them as part of Gu Fu’s dowry. Gu Fu sold the rest for cash, which she kept on hand for convenience.

The silver note she gave to Guo Jian earlier came from this money.

Gu Fu wasn’t someone who lacked money, but buying a house on Xingle Street was beyond her means.

Fu Yan hadn’t expected Gu Fu to ask such a question and was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

He had indeed spent money to buy this mansion, but he hadn’t paid much attention to the cost. He only focused on selecting the best location—one that wasn’t as noisy as Xuan Yang Street and wasn’t more than two streets away from the Imperial City. Even if the mansion couldn’t officially carry the title of a Marquis’s residence, it still had to match the status.

The scenery within the mansion had to be exquisite. If it wasn’t, it didn’t matter; he could have it torn down and rebuilt, as long as it was ready in time for Gu Fu’s birthday.

He personally drew up several of the renovation plans, selected the materials, and had them purchased from various places and urgently shipped to the capital. Every few days, he would come by to check, making sure nothing went wrong. Because Gu Fu had to attend court during the day, deal with matters at Wanxiu Zhai afterward, and occasionally discuss arrangements for the women’s academy with the Empress, he made sure to put away the plans before she arrived each night, keeping her in the dark about the whole thing.

As for how much silver he had spent during this time… Fu Yan had indeed looked at the account books, but since the records were all in order, he didn’t pay much attention to the exact amount.

Seeing Fu Yan’s confused expression, Gu Fu understood—her celestial companion was probably extremely wealthy.

Wealthy enough that, to him, the importance of this gift wasn’t about its cost, but whether it was given with the right sentiment.

So, Gu Fu didn’t dwell on the money issue any longer and asked Fu Yan to take her inside for a look.

Having visited many times, Fu Yan was thoroughly familiar with the layout. He held Gu Fu’s hand and took her on a tour, from the entrance to the main hall and corridors, from the garden and pavilion to the tea room and martial arts arena.

Gu Fu noticed that the mansion not only had elegant scenery but also a stark and rugged martial stage and target range, giving it the appearance of a military household.

The mansion was also staffed with many servants. Likely because Fu Yan had originally planned to visit in the evening, the servants were still busy with cleaning and tidying up. When they saw Fu Yan, they addressed him as “sir,” and when they saw Gu Fu, they addressed her as “Marquis.”

Fu Yan told Gu Fu that these people were transferred from the Secret Cabinet, which would save her a lot of trouble by having them in the mansion.

After looking around, Gu Fu was very pleased but still asked Fu Yan, “What made you think of giving me a mansion?”

The two of them happened to walk to a small river. The water was channeled from a nearby waterway into the mansion, with a riverbed specially carved out. There was even a small bridge over it, leading directly to the main courtyard.

The afternoon sunlight shone on the river, reflecting shimmering waves of light that fell on Fu Yan’s white robe, making it look as if a warm golden embroidery had been added to his clothes.

He tightened his grip on Gu Fu’s hand and said, “I want to make up for everything you’ve lost, but the more I think about it, the only thing I seem capable of giving you is this Marquis Zhongshun’s mansion.”

A mansion that bears the title in essence but not in name.

Thinking this way, Fu Yan began to feel that his gift was not as remarkable as he had hoped. After months of painstaking preparation, he suddenly wanted to take it back, saying, “Forget it, this gift doesn’t count. The mansion is still yours, but it won’t be your birthday present. I’ll think of something else to give you.”

Gu Fu, unaware that ever since their sparring match, Fu Yan had harbored a sense of regret for her, tried to console him, “Don’t say that, such a grand gift can’t just be dismissed.”

After speaking, Gu Fu suddenly realized, “Wait, if we were just going to look at the mansion, we could’ve come during the day. Why did you say you wanted to give me the gift at night?”

There’s a curfew at night, and getting from Qitian Tower to Xingle Street would require having the night watch escort us, which is quite inconvenient.

Only then did Fu Yan remember what he had said to Gu Fu in the morning. Without changing his expression, he calmly replied, “I have to enter the palace during the day, and you have your own affairs.”

This reason made sense.

Gu Fu gazed at the scenery across the river, her voice drifting, “When you said it was at night, I thought…”

She paused, then looked at Fu Yan with suspicion, “You didn’t do that on purpose, did you?”

Fu Yan wore an innocent expression. “Do what on purpose?”

Gu Fu finally understood—Fu Yan had deliberately said those things to mislead her. So, she pulled him across the bridge. “I remember the main courtyard is up ahead?”

“Yes.” Fu Yan replied, then asked, “What are we going to do in the main courtyard? Didn’t we already look at it before?”

Gu Fu, not wanting to be teased for nothing, gritted her teeth and whispered, “I didn’t look closely. I forgot to try out the bed.”

After speaking, she turned to Fu Yan and added, “If you think this mansion doesn’t count as a gift, that’s fine. But I get to decide on the new gift, how about that?”

Fu Yan’s ears turned slightly red, but his face remained as composed as ever. “What do you want?”

“I want you to…” Gu Fu glanced down at the shawl draped over her arm. Though the material was light and thin, it was long enough that if twisted together, it would be quite strong—

“…be good and obedient.”

The pillows and bedding in the main courtyard’s bedroom had just been washed and sun-dried, leaving them clean and with a pleasant scent.

Fu Yan thought that since it was a gift Gu Fu had asked for herself, there was no harm in complying. But he truly didn’t expect that Gu Fu would tear her shawl into two pieces—one to blindfold him, and the other to tie his hands.

The mat beneath them was cool, and the room had ice basins placed around, but the rising heat caused both of them to break out in a light sweat.

Gu Fu got what she wanted, slowly and deliberately unbuttoning Fu Yan’s luxurious clothes, revealing the smooth, jade-like skin hidden beneath the layers of fabric.

Mastery in any martial art requires rigorous practice, and even after mastering it, one must continue to train regularly to avoid becoming rusty. Fu Yan’s proficiency in light-footed martial arts didn’t come easily; even though he didn’t enjoy exerting himself, he would still find time to practice to avoid the Emperor’s nagging. As a result, Fu Yan’s body wasn’t as frail as that of a scholar with no physical strength, but neither was it overly muscular—it was a refined kind of… firmness.

“You really can’t tell just by looking,” Gu Fu whispered in Fu Yan’s ear as her hand slid down from his collarbone. Her touch was firm, greedy in a way that made one blush.

With his hands bound, Fu Yan’s clothing slipped from his shoulders, gathering at his elbows, half-concealing and half-revealing his body, making him even more enticing than if he had been completely undressed.

Never one to enjoy being at someone else’s mercy, Fu Yan felt something was wrong. He twisted his wrists, trying to free himself from the bindings, but Gu Fu had tied him too tightly. Unable to break free, he tried a different tactic.

“It hurts,” he said, his voice trembling slightly due to his uneven breathing, sounding truly pitiful.

Gu Fu paused, “Is it too tight?”

Fu Yan nodded, “Yes.”

Gu Fu propped herself up, kneeling on either side of Fu Yan’s waist, and began to untie the shawl from his wrists.

Fu Yan said, “Gu Fu… A’Fu.”

Gu Fu liked this new nickname and responded with an upward lilting “Hmm?”

Fu Yan asked her, “Can you not tie me up?”

Gu Fu hesitated.

Fu Yan continued, “I want to hold you.”

All of Gu Fu’s hesitation crumbled instantly. She threw the shawl that had bound his hands to the floor and kissed the palm of his hand. “Don’t take off the cloth over your eyes.”

“Okay.” Fu Yan flexed his wrists, sat up with his hands on the bed, and as he wished, wrapped his arms around Gu Fu’s waist. Following the sound of her breathing, he lowered his head and captured her lips with his own.

Their intertwined lips and tongues explored each other’s territory, eager and intense, like a traveler in the desert who, after losing his water source, finally finds a lake—no matter how much he drinks, it’s never enough, as if he could drown in this clear and cool water.

Gu Fu had to admit that tying Fu Yan up had its appeal, but she liked it even more when Fu Yan held her, expressing his desire with his body.

Before long, Gu Fu’s outer robe and short jacket also ended up on the floor, leaving her upper body clad only in a bandeau.

As Fu Yan’s palm brushed over Gu Fu’s shoulder, he felt a small raised scar on what should have been smooth skin. His movement paused for a moment.

Gu Fu didn’t notice Fu Yan’s reaction at first, but by the time she realized, he had already pinned her down on the bed.

In terms of physical strength, Fu Yan was no match for Gu Fu, and she could easily flip him over if she wanted to. But as she panted lightly and looked up at him, she noticed something off about his expression. His brows were furrowed, and he seemed… unhappy?

Before Gu Fu could figure out why, Fu Yan leaned down and brushed her cheek with his lips, whispering, “If you don’t want me to look, I won’t look.”

After saying that, Fu Yan’s lips and hands slowly traveled down Gu Fu’s neck. Though his eyes were covered, preventing him from seeing Gu Fu’s current appearance, he removed the last piece of clothing from her body. Relying solely on touch, he found the uneven scars on her skin and kissed each one.

Gu Fu… Gu Fu was undone. She quickly removed the cloth from Fu Yan’s eyes, cupped his face with her hands, and coaxed him, “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad.” Fu Yan remembered that Gu Fu had two scars on her elbow as well. He glanced down, and sure enough, there they were. He took her hand, kissed the intersecting scars, and added, “They’re mine.”

He belonged to Gu Fu, and by the same token, Gu Fu belonged to him. Everything about Gu Fu, including those scars, was his—even if Gu Fu didn’t want him to see them, they were still his.

Now that he could see, Fu Yan stubbornly kissed every scar on Gu Fu’s body, meticulously covering each one with his lips. Gu Fu didn’t stop him; instead, she was so aroused that she completely surrendered.

Sweat formed damp spots on the mat beneath them. Just as they were on the verge of reaching the peak, an untimely knock came at the door.

They ignored it, but the knocking persisted. Gu Fu, unwilling to let anyone hear what they were doing, slammed her fist on the bed and growled hoarsely, “Speak!!”

From outside: “Reporting to the Marquis, someone from the palace has arrived. They said that Princess Yulou of the Kingdom of Lei has died, and the weapon used was the scaled-pattern long knife you once wielded. The Emperor has summoned you and the Imperial Preceptor back to the palace.”


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After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage

After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage

卸甲后我待字闺中 Xiè Jiǎ Hòu Wǒ Dài Zì Guī Zhōng
Score 9.2
Status: Completed Type: Author: Released: 2020 Native Language: Chinese

In the ninth year of Yongqing, General Gu Fu died in Qi Huai. The current emperor posthumously honored him as Marquis Zhongshun.

In the twelfth month of the same year, the second Miss Gu, who had accompanied her grandmother to the mountains to perform Buddhist rites for five years, returned home. The first thing she faced upon arrival was punishment—kneeling in the ancestral hall. In the ancestral hall, the elder of the Gu family scolded her, telling her not to act recklessly in the future and to obediently wait for the elders to arrange a marriage for her. However, she responded with a single sentence that made him storm off in anger. An unaware aunt and younger sister came to visit, seemingly out of concern, but they were actually mocking her. She calmly countered their remarks. Finally, her elder brother arrived. The scholarly eldest son of the Gu family paced back and forth in front of her, eventually blurting out, "The military camp is full of men! Do you know that if word of your disgraceful behavior spreads, it will bring shame to the family's daughters?" Gu Fu finally shed her carefree demeanor and replied seriously, "Defending the country is not a disgrace." Upon hearing that the Gu family wanted to marry off the second Miss Gu, the current emperor immediately sought out the empress, earnestly saying, "I regard the second Miss Gu as my own daughter. I can't let her marry just anyone. If empress has time, perhaps you could help me by looking for suitable candidates for her in the capital." The empress: "..." Understood, Matchmaking 101 it is.
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