Chapter 115: No Ambiguity
Actually, Gu Changxiao was a very good roommate. When no one else was around, he didn’t act superior due to his status as the Real Li King and mistreat Jinsui.
The small thatched hut only had one bed. At night, Jinsui voluntarily offered to sleep on the floor. However, Gu Changxiao, without a word, used two stools to lie down, giving the bed to Jinsui.
The main inconvenience was that sharing a room with him made it difficult to enter the space. Although time was not affected after entering and exiting the space, at most Gu Changxiao would notice that her soul had been elsewhere for a second or two.
But he could never guess what Jinsui had been doing. She couldn’t explain why, in the blink of an eye, she had changed into clean clothes and her wound had been re-bandaged.
She couldn’t even go to the toilet in the space every single time.
Speaking of which, it was truly embarrassing! She was accustomed to using the space for restrooms and bathing. For the first two nights, sharing a room with Gu Changxiao, she hadn’t even considered this issue.
It was Gu Changxiao who suggested, “Your wound cannot get wet. Endure it for these few days and do not bathe.”
Gu Changxiao had already heard from the soldiers that the first order the Li King issued upon arriving at the border city was that everyone must bathe daily, wash their hair every three days, and absolutely not be dirty and smelly to the point of growing insects.
He understood that Daoist Ji was accustomed to cleanliness from the Taoist Temple and naturally couldn’t stand others being dirty and smelly.
Bathing could still be managed. But on the first night, Gu Changxiao noticed she hadn’t gotten up to use the toilet. During the day, he paid special attention. Because they were busy with various post-war issues, the two of them were almost constantly on the move.
Yet, Gu Changxiao still noticed that Daoist Ji drank a lot of tea but hadn’t gone to the toilet.
The next night, he placed a chamber pot under the bed.
Seeing that Jinsui still didn’t use it, he subtly reminded her, “I know your body… has many inconveniences. If you need to get up at night, just say so, and I’ll go out. Don’t force yourself.”
At that moment, Jinsui’s alarm bells rang loudly. Only one sentence echoed in her mind: ‘He knows about my physical condition!’
What condition? Did he discover I’m disguised as a man?
She stammered, “You, you know what inconvenience my body has?”
Gu Changxiao originally intended to brush it off. After all, they were both men, and matters of that nature were a matter of dignity and a sensitive point for men.
But he wanted to confide in Daoist Ji and hoped they could become close friends, so it was better to clarify everything at once.
He sat up on the stool and, in the dim candlelight, looked at Jinsui on the bed. “Daoist Gu told me everything. I didn’t expect Daoist Ji, you’ve had it so tough.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t look down on you because of this. Sima Qian also suffered castration and was still able to achieve eternal fame. Daoist Ji possesses the talent to govern the world…”
Jinsui suddenly sat up and raised her hand, saying, “Wait a moment, let’s put the compliments on hold. First, tell me, what did my Grandpa tell you?”
Talent to govern the world? I feel embarrassed just hearing it! In this era, do bosses say anything to keep their employees, even if it’s against their conscience?
When he learned that rumors of the Li King snatching a beautiful concubine from the Zheng Family and being entangled with a noble lady from the Yan Clan had spread throughout Yandi, Gu Changxiao was angered by her tarnishing the Li King’s reputation. Grandpa Ling then told him.
Ji Sui had lost her vital parts since childhood and was an eunuch.
Jinsui couldn’t see her own expression. If she looked in a mirror, it would surely be spectacular!
As expected of my Grandpa!
Our grandfather and grandson’s thought processes are quite similar! I just said I couldn’t perform sexually, and you immediately declared I’m an eunuch!
Not being able to perform sexually is at most an illness; being an eunuch means the tools are gone.
Grandpa, you really don’t care about your grandson’s reputation!
Grandpa Ling probably thought the same way I did: if Ji Sui did something shameful and ruined her reputation, what does that have to do with me, Ling JinSui!
Seeing Jinsui’s expression was off, Gu Changxiao asked doubtfully, “Could it be that what Daoist Ji said was false?”
Jinsui quickly replied, “Not false, not false! I was indeed… castrated when I was young.
I wanted to enter the palace back then but didn’t. If I had, perhaps I’d be a little eunuch by your side now!”
Gu Changxiao saw that he didn’t show the slightest bit of inferiority due to his physical defect, and then he lightly chuckled:
“So Daoist Ji, you don’t need to worry about me mocking you. It is indeed inconvenient for you to go to the toilet, but you also need to take care of your body.”
Jinsui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What am I now? Has disguised as a man been upgraded to disguised as an eunuch?
Gu Changxiao, you, a dignified Imperial Prince, are too bored! You even pay attention to whether I have or haven’t gone to the toilet!
She suddenly realized again. Gu Changxiao was so lenient with her, not minding at all that she had ruined his reputation.
He had come to the border city and still let her continue to be the Li King.
He must have thought that since I’m an eunuch, no matter how much trouble I cause, I won’t be a threat to him, which is why he’s been so indulgent.
Look at the people in power. They fear those they are wary of, whether it’s military generals or civil officials who are regional overlords. Have you ever heard of anyone fearing an eunuch?
On second thought, if I weren’t a ‘eunuch,’ and Gu Changxiao trusted a fake Li King who had just achieved great merit and held high prestige among the troops so much.
Then he would truly have a problem with his brain! He would have died in the palace coup in Chang’an long ago and wouldn’t have lived to reach the border city.
Jinsui quickly came to terms with it. Anyway, I won’t be the Li King for much longer. I’ll do my best in this final stretch, secure more rights for the border soldiers, and then Ji Sui can happily retire.
To fool Gu Changxiao, Jinsui had to enter the space less often. The chamber pot was naturally out of the question; she would use the public toilet.
In her past life, watching novels, when male and female protagonists shared a room, it was so ambiguous and romantic!
Things like a bare shoulder peeking out, unconsciously rolling into each other face-to-face in their sleep, the female lead’s sleep-talking being overheard by the male lead…
In her case, Gu Changxiao genuinely saw her as a disabled person, and she genuinely guarded against him seeing through her disguise.
There was no ambiguity whatsoever.
Jinsui comforted herself, it just means Gu Changxiao isn’t the male lead!
What romance can there be between a cattle and horses laborer and a startup boss living together?
Because since that night when Gu Changxiao saved Jinsui from the Tartar’s blade, the two had been inseparable, sharing meals and lodging.
Hei Hu had cautiously asked Jinsui if he could still be the Prince’s Personal Guard after his injuries healed.
Jinsui quickly took advantage of her still being the Li King to promote Hei Hu to an Eighth Rank Captain and patted his shoulder, saying,
“From now on, you will be responsible for training new recruits and leading the team well.”
Hei Hu glanced at Gu Changxiao. He didn’t react at the time, but Jinsui later heard that Hei Hu had sought out Gu Changxiao for a ‘spar.’
He claimed it was because he feared his abilities wouldn’t be enough to protect the Prince. The outcome was, needless to say, Gu Changxiao won in everything from archery and horseback riding to weapons, and finally, unarmed combat.
The two sparred in the Military Camp, attracting many soldiers to watch. Gu Changxiao’s martial prowess earned the admiration of a large number of soldiers.
Han Xing and Cheng Yu and others had no doubts about Gu Changxiao’s identity, and they didn’t find it strange that he and the Prince were inseparable.
However, Yan Shiyi Lang, who frequently visited the border, sensed something was amiss. He first asked Hei Hu, “You don’t have the Big Black Guy following you anymore?”
Jinsui smiled and said, “Hei Hu got promoted. If you miss him so much, why don’t you give him a gift!”
Yan Shiyi raised an eyebrow at Gu Changxiao. “What’s this soldier’s name? Why are you two eating and living together? Hei Hu never used to be like this.”
After speaking, he gestured for Jinsui to lean in and whisper. Jinsui, not suspecting anything, leaned in, only to hear this person say in a very vulgar tone:
“This person is quite handsome! Could it be that the Prince has changed his preference from women to men? Heh heh.”
Before Jinsui could even kick him, Gu Changxiao’s long arm shot out, grabbed Yan Shiyi by the collar, and threw him far away.
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