Chapter 47
Gu Chi x Li Zhi
Extra 3

This is outrageous.

Outside the wardrobe, Li Zhi closed her eyes, trying to clear the scene she had just witnessed from his mind.

Inside the wardrobe, Gu Chi continued to huddle with the flowers, not making any move to come out, waiting for Li Zhi to open the door for him.

In the darkness, he recalled Li Zhi’s conversation with the Li family maid and finally realized that Li Zhi was actually a very gentle person, at least to others. Even when distracted, she would ask how the family was doing and remind the maid to tell the old lady to wear more clothes in the chilly spring.

It wasn’t hard to see that she had made being kind to others a habit.

But when it came to him, the water that should have been gentle felt like it was boiling, exceptionally scalding.

The wardrobe had an old wooden smell, mixed with a faint fragrance, not from the flowers he held, but from the tea seed cakes used for washing clothes. Li Zhi might also have this scent on her.

Lost in thought, Gu Chi suddenly felt restless and wanted to come out.

Fortunately, the wardrobe door opened at that moment.

Li Zhi, who opened the door for him, turned away, saying, “Hurry up and leave, and don’t come back.”

Gu Chi stepped out of the wardrobe. He placed the flowers and the arm guard on the table. Then, he picked up the arm guard to put it on, but impatient with his slow pace, Li Zhi walked over to help him fasten it.

After fastening it, Li Zhi handed him a bottle of mosquito repellent and urged him to leave quickly.

Gu Chi jumped out of the window, glanced at the corner, and said, “The window paper is torn. Remember to fix it.”

“Got it, got it,” Li Zhi replied impatiently, feeling an inexplicable agitation. She realized that his interactions with Gu Chi were too strange. Whether it was Gu Chi coming from afar to bring her flowers, hiding Gu Chi in the wardrobe in a hurry, or helping Gu Chi fasten the arm guard and reminding her to fix the window paper, it was all too odd. If she weren’t wearing this monk’s robe and if they weren’t in a nunnery, their interactions would indeed resemble those of a widow and her lover meeting in secret.

After finally sending Gu Chi away, Li Zhi felt that her temper in driving him away was also strange. Or rather, her attitude towards Gu Chi was different from how she treated others. There was a certain prejudice and resentment that she couldn’t explain, so much so that she couldn’t help but wonder late at night: Could it be like in the dream, where she would kill him one day?

In the morning, she couldn’t help but laugh at her own thoughts. How could she possibly kill someone?

Moreover, thinking about that dream, even after so long, she still felt a pang of sadness from the dream where she wanted to scream and cry but couldn’t shed a single tear. If she had such emotions, the reason for killing someone wouldn’t be so trivial.

Li Zhi told Gu Chi not to come to Mingyue Nunnery again, but she knew Gu Chi would definitely come back. She tried to treat him like she treated others, to make their interactions more normal and less strange. But it didn’t work; she couldn’t do it.

For example, when Gu Chi saw her struggling with the window paper and insisted on helping, making it worse, if it were someone else, she would comfort them, saying it wasn’t a big deal and they could fix it next time. But with Gu Chi, she would complain to his face, “I told you I’d do it, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Gu Chi didn’t argue; he just lowered his head and made way for Li Zhi to redo it while he held the paste, occasionally helping to press the corners. It was done, but not very firmly. Unsure how Gu Chi learned the skill of pasting window paper, he sealed Li Zhi’s windows tightly before the rainy season.

For example, during the Dragon Boat Festival, the nunnery was busy with incense burning, brewing calamus tea, and making vegetarian rice dumplings. The abbess also gave a lecture, leaving no time to rest for the entire day. Exhausted, Li Zhi went to bed early, but Gu Chi knocked on her window, disturbing her sleep and making her want to scold him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This was because Gu Chi brought her lychees from the south. Before leaving, Gu Chi took out a brush and a bottle of realgar wine, dipping the brush in the wine and drawing on her forehead.

Moonlight spilled over them, and Li Zhi looked up in a daze. When Gu Chi finished, she lowered her gaze and murmured, “I’m not a child.”

Not only was she not a child, but she was also a nun who had been married. Why treat her like a child?

Gu Chi, with no experience dealing with women, simply remembered his sister-in-law drawing realgar on his sister Lin Qiwu’s forehead. Lin Qiwu liked it, so he thought Li Zhi might like it too.

Hearing Li Zhi say she wasn’t a child, Gu Chi responded with an “Hmm,” indicating that he knew such an obvious fact. He just wanted to make her as happy as Lin Qiwu, even if only a little bit.

Li Zhi couldn’t hear Gu Chi’s thoughts, only his “Hmm,” which made her feel both annoyed and amused, but not surprised.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, Gu Chi gradually stopped coming.

Li Zhi thought this was good. After some time, Gu Chi would stop coming altogether, and her life would return to normal.

—Yes, why hadn’t she thought of it before? Gu Chi couldn’t possibly entangle himself with her for a lifetime just to repay a debt of gratitude.

Understanding this, Li Zhi finally learned how to treat Gu Chi gently.

Facing Li Zhi’s change, Gu Chi felt no joy in his heart. Why wasn’t she giving him the cold shoulder anymore? Why wasn’t she losing her temper at him? Why wasn’t she treating him differently? Did he do something wrong?

Gu Chi felt uneasy. One day, he overheard his subordinates chatting, saying that they had argued with their wives earlier, and their wives had ignored them. Recently, being busy with work, their wives felt sorry for them, and they finally reconciled.

“Women are the easiest to soften,” the subordinate said.

Gu Chi thought about his mother and felt uncertain. When he had some free time, he went to Mingyue Nunnery again, bringing lotus leaves, lotus flowers, and lotus pods picked from the pond at the neighboring prince’s residence for Li Zhi. In a letter from the palace, his brother mentioned that the lotus flowers in their residence bloomed beautifully and suggested that Gu Chi could enjoy them on his behalf.

Gu Chi wasn’t interested in admiring the lotus flowers, but he remembered that Li Zhi was learning about herbs, and lotus flowers, leaves, and seeds, including the pods, were considered medicinal. He thought Li Zhi might like them.

Li Zhi liked them very much, thanked Gu Chi sincerely, and then said, “It’s hot outside. Have a cup of tea before you go.”

Gu Chi accepted the invitation and climbed in through the window.

Li Zhi poured him a cup of tea and then went to find a medical book on how to dry lotus leaves and flowers.

There was only a table between them, but Gu Chi felt as if Li Zhi was far away.

Gu Chi slowly finished his tea and got up to leave.

Li Zhi didn’t tell him not to come back as she had initially but watched him leave as if this might be their last meeting.

Gu Chi didn’t like this but didn’t know how to make Li Zhi understand that he would come back.

After Gu Chi left, Li Zhi returned to the table, picked up the medical book, and continued reading, only to realize that she had taken the wrong book from the beginning.

Li Zhi closed the book, puzzled as to why she felt uneasy even though things were progressing well. Maybe it was just too hot, she thought.

The stifling summer days seemed too long. When Gu Chi came back, Li Zhi had already stored the dried lotus flowers and leaves in the cabinet.

This time, Gu Chi brought her plums. Li Zhi accepted them and asked if he wanted to drink lotus seed heart tea made from the lotus pods he had previously brought. The dried lotus seed hearts could help reduce internal heat.

Reduce internal heat… Gu Chi nodded and sat down inside.

Li Zhi made the tea and then went to copy Buddhist scriptures, while Gu Chi sat alone, drinking the tea and preparing to leave.

The lotus seed heart tea didn’t reduce Gu Chi’s internal heat. Seeing Li Zhi’s gentle demeanor as she saw him off, his unease reached its peak. Remembering what his subordinates had said days ago, he finally said to Li Zhi, “My mother and sister-in-law have gone to the summer palace to escape the heat.”

Li Zhi was puzzled, “Why mention this?”

Gu Chi continued, “My sister and nephew have also gone, leaving me alone in the capital.”

“There are many things, very troublesome.”

For the first time, Gu Chi awkwardly asked Li Zhi, “Do you feel sorry for me?”

Li Zhi was momentarily speechless. So… Gu Chi came because his family wasn’t in the capital, and he had too many responsibilities?

Understanding this, Li Zhi felt a sense of despair at the joy that had arisen in her heart. With this realization, there was nothing left to misunderstand.

Li Zhi turned away, closing her eyes, not wanting Gu Chi to see her moist eyes.

After a long while, she took a deep breath and replied, “No.”

She heard Gu Chi step around to face her, and when she opened her eyes, he was right in front of her. His usually stern face showed a rare expression of panic, reflecting her red-rimmed eyes.

Li Zhi, feeling desperate, retorted, “I, a woman who became a nun to avoid being forced into marriage by my parents, should feel sorry for you, whose mother is a noble lady and whose brother is a high-ranking official?”

Her voice grew tearful with each word, each syllable striking Gu Chi’s heart: “What are you thinking?”

Tears streamed down Li Zhi’s face.

Gu Chi panicked, thinking that if anyone should feel sorry, it should be him feeling sorry for her.

“I was wrong.” At a loss, Gu Chi reached out to touch her cheek, trying to wipe away her tears. But Li Zhi couldn’t stop crying, tears falling like broken pearls. Gu Chi’s calloused fingers rubbed her face red, but he couldn’t wipe away all the tears. His large hands cupped her face, and the wiping motion slowly stopped. Li Zhi thought Gu Chi was annoyed by her prolonged crying and tried to push his hand away, but as soon as she touched his wrist, he kissed her on the face.

They had never been this close before. Li Zhi was startled, and her tears stopped. She let Gu Chi kiss away her tears, bit by bit.

After kissing away the tears on her chin, Gu Chi noticed her slightly parted lips and, without thinking, kissed them.

Li Zhi’s grip on his wrist tightened, but she didn’t push him away.

“Mmm… hmm…”

The noisy cicadas drowned out the suggestive sounds of water and Li Zhi’s soft moans.

Li Zhi felt Gu Chi go from just licking and sucking to prying open her teeth, chasing and entangling her tongue. Finally, unable to bear it, her legs went weak, and she hurriedly pushed Gu Chi away.

Just like when she first pulled him into the wardrobe, Gu Chi was stronger than Li Zhi, but as long as she used force, he would follow her lead.

Li Zhi pushed Gu Chi away, lowered her head, and panted. After a long while, she used her kissed lips to tell him, “You… you should go. Next time, don’t come back.”