Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

Chapter 173: Chapter 98: The Bromance of Two Men

Gu Changsheng looked at the two maids with flushed, excited faces and was at a loss for words.

“We’ve seen the two young masters.” The maids bowed and then excitedly ran to their mistress to report back.

One moment they were well-behaved, proper maids, the next they became chirping sparrows.

“My lady, you didn’t go out, that scene…”

“My lady, the whole village was stirred up, adults and children, old and young, spreading the news…”

“Yes, my lady, they nearly worshipped the County Prince like an immortal!”

“No way, someone really set up a Longevity Plaque for the County Prince, and worshipped earnestly…”

…

In the midst of the maids’ chatter, Gu Changsheng covered his ears and took a step back.

“Does it have to be so exaggerated? Evildoer, if they knew I let you lose the battle and dampened their spirits, would they get angry and come to tear down this small temple of mine?” Gu Changsheng cautiously moved next to Zhou Mu and asked timidly.

“What do you think?” Zhou Mu glanced at her and returned a knowing look.

Well, the possibility was indeed very high!

Gu Changsheng touched his nose and looked at the still excited maids sharing with each other, whispering, “Evildoer, this is known only to Heaven, Earth, and just us few right now, let’s keep it that way.”

Stirring up public outrage is no joking matter; with one misstep, I’d be sacrificial fodder!

“Hmm.” Zhou Mu replied indifferently with a single word.

“By the way, you must come back victorious and in style at the end, otherwise, I will really become a sinner through the ages!”

If it were because of her that Zhou Mu ended up defeated, turning Liuzhou Region’s good years of reduced imperial grain taxes into nothing, wouldn’t the people of Liuzhou detest her?

“Okay.” Zhou Mu responded with one word, brief and powerful.

Gu Changsheng silently gave him a thumbs up, worthy of the Great General King, such aura!

Indeed, strength decides everything!

Seeing the two maids whispering in a corner, Eunuch Yuan Bao kindly stepped forward to remind them, “Look, don’t get too excited, it’s nothing uncommon, and it’s already three quarters past noon. If you don’t prepare lunch soon, your lady will go hungry.”

“Oh, I completely forgot about that!” Dong Lei slapped his forehead, remembering his duties, and hurriedly ran to Gu Changsheng to bow and ask, “My lady, what would you like for lunch today?”

Only then did Gu Changsheng remember the business of eating, as she rested her chin and glanced at everyone.

No chance! Yue Xilou is not leaving as she is watching and waiting; her son just became an apprentice, and we can’t offend the master right after starting to learn!

This one cannot be driven away!

“Yuan Bao, look, it’s almost mealtime, and you still have so much to do, I won’t keep you for lunch,” Gu Changsheng said, while continuously making eye signals to Yuan Bao.

Yuan Bao, let’s be smart and take your master with you!

But Eunuch Yuan Bao was clueless; after staring at Gu Changsheng for a long while, he didn’t understand, “Lady Changsheng, what’s wrong with your eyes? Did you get sand in them?”

Gu Changsheng twitched her mouth and glared at Yuan Bao, “Nothing, just a cramp in my eye!”

Damn it, with such level of comprehension, how can you serve our leaders? Yuan Bao is not secretary material at all, yet he occupies such a position!

Everyone collectively chose to ignore Gu Changsheng’s reason.

Xiao Cui quietly moved closer to her lady and whispered, “My lady, you could have come up with a better excuse, who would believe that one?”

A cramp?

Gu Changsheng rolled her eyes at Xiao Cui, she was too lazy to even make up a better excuse!

“Yuan Bao, there’s so much for you to Tend to in the city, you’d better go back soon. We have a food shortage here and can’t afford to keep idlers!”

Be aware, evildoer, understand and pick up on cues, the idler, that’s you, no doubt about it!

“My lady, wherever the lord is, that’s where Yuan Bao must be!” replied Yuan Bao, righteous and proud in his role as an Attendant.

Equal wit! Gu Changsheng quickly seized the opportunity, “Since that’s the case, please persuade your master to move along. Our humble household offers only simple meals that your master might not be accustomed to!”

“Lady Changsheng is joking. The food at her home is quite elaborate, almost rivaling that of the County Prince’s Mansion,” Eunuch Yuan Bao shook his head. If Xiao Leizi’s culinary skills even made him envious, how could they be inferior to the County Prince’s Mansion?

Following Eunuch Yuan Bao’s gaze, Gu Changsheng saw their head chef, Xiao Leizi. He rolled his eyes at the food-loving Eunuch Yuan Bao and glanced at Zhou Mu, who was sitting motionless with his eyes closed, meditating.

Well, if the person didn’t react, what more could she do?

“Lady?” Dong Lei blinked his innocent big eyes at Gu Changsheng, wondering if she meant to send people away as per her wishes, but they didn’t leave. So, what and how much should he prepare for the noon meal?

Gu Changsheng waved his hand and, feeling gloomy, led Dong Lei and Xiao Cui to the kitchen, muttering under his breath as he walked, “Damn it, haven’t I already carved it on wood for the altar? It’d be better to drink the wind and feast on the incense. Why do they insist on freeloading off my home?”

The volume was just right, reaching the ears of the few people left behind.

“Zhou Mu, it seems like she doesn’t really like you…” Yue Xilou leaned against the railing, comfortably looking at a small copper mirror, his tone barely hiding his schadenfreude.

Zhou Mu gave him a look and didn’t deny it.

On their journey south, which day did that woman not chase him out a few times? He had long since gotten used to it, seeing it as nothing unusual.

Besides, today she had done it quite subtly.

“Ah… such a woman is truly unique. Not exactly a gentle lady, but still a good match for a gentleman; even someone like you, she heartlessly sends away. Is this unintentional, or deliberate? Zhou Mu, do you now feel a resentment for being born into the Imperial Family?” Yue Xilou knew well how to kick someone when they were down.

“Intentional or not, since she has entered my heart, she is destined to be my wife in this life.” Zhou Mu lightly tapped the armrest with one hand, his gaze fixed on the kitchen door, his demeanor cold and resolute.

“Zhou Mu, even if she doesn’t belong in the Imperial Family, even if you abandon the world for her, you’d still want her?” Yue Xilou put away his mirror and looked at the imposing Zhou Mu with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

He couldn’t believe that someone would give up the vast lands for a woman!

“Yue Xilou, having been unrestrained your whole life, drifting through brothels, besides those two, have you ever obsessed over anything or anyone?” Zhou Mu lowered his head, his aura subdued, as he murmured softly.

“Obsession? I haven’t reached that stage yet, but maybe I will in the future.” Yue Xilou shook his head; he hadn’t developed an obsession for Gu Changsheng yet, but he believed that he was indeed moved by such a vividly dazzling woman.

“I was born in the Eastern Palace. As a child, I thought my mission was to incorporate the territories I rode across into the Great Zhou’s map, to unite the Four Kingdoms and be famed throughout the ages, but gradually, I realized how lonely it is at the top, and only a heartless man can stand at that highest position and control everything like turning the palm for rain or flipping the hand for clouds.”

“Yue Xilou, look at this prosperous age, allowing you to gallop through the Itinerant World, allowing you to indulge in pleasures and amass a fortune. Do you know how many soldiers I’ve seen wrapped in horsehide, unable to see the sky one last time? Half of the Zhou Dynasty’s territory was fought for with my bloodshed; the peace of the Zhou Dynasty was earned with ten years of not leaving my horse!”

“Hmm…” Yue Xilou’s expression changed unpredictably as he faced Zhou Mu.

He never thought that one day, he would sit down and talk so candidly with Zhou Mu, whom he considered an enemy.

“As you said, though this body is mine, I hate that I was born into the Imperial Family! Yue Xilou, the day I was willing to delegate power, I had already let go of that position, so it doesn’t matter if I give it up for her.”

“Zhou Mu, if you ever use that blueprint, the Thousand Catties Crossbow, a divine weapon like that coming into existence, if anyone knows it came from her, will inevitably cause turmoil in the Four Kingdoms, and she will also fall into an irrevocable abyss!” Hearing this, Yue Xilou couldn’t help but chime in.

Zhou Mu gave a resigned smile, “You know and I know, with her meticulous mind, how could she not know? She only desires a clear conscience and an equal standing, which I would naturally grant her.”

“Zhou Mu, I really don’t stand a chance, do I?” Yue Xilou suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness and defeat.

“What do you think?” Zhou Mu looked back at him, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth.

“Even though I myself don’t see a bright future, to give up without trying is not my style. Zhou Mu, putting aside other grievances for a moment, just because of your status, the girl might not choose you. I’m not any less attractive than you, and I’m quite wealthy and powerful too; I don’t necessarily have to lose to you!” Yue Xilou declared with a smile, a serious war declaration on his face.

“She won’t choose you.” Zhou Mu bluntly countered.

“Just because you’ve become obsessed with her she’s supposed to choose you? Is that the logic of the Zhou family?” Yue Xilou protested, finding it too overbearing.

“Yes, now that the obsession is there, whether it be thousands of miles of rivers and mountains or supreme power, none are worth more than being with her, watching the sun rise in the morning and set in the evening.”

“Madman!” Yue Xilou spat at him, “Don’t think that’ll make me back down. Until the end, nobody can predict the outcome. What if a few more handsome men turn up and catch her eye? She doesn’t seem like one to settle down!”

With a slight upturn of his lips, Zhou Mu showed a rare warmth, “Yue Xilou, you don’t understand her. For a woman like her, if you win her heart, you have her for a lifetime; if not, then to her, thousands are merely passing clouds.”

“You speak as if you know her so well.” Yue Xilou snorted disdainfully.

“Indeed, sometimes I don’t understand her either.” Such a woman, how many could truly see through her?

“Our arguments are futile, don’t forget about Li Mansion’s Li Mufeng, he’s my disciple’s biological father, with the bond of a day’s marriage extending a hundred days of grace. He’s the real trouble.” Yue Xilou smiled again, though he was reluctant to bring him up, using Gu Changsheng’s ex-husband to strike at the deeply affectionate Zhou Mu was something he was quite willing to do.

Sure enough, Zhou Mu’s expression changed, and a cold aura began to gather around him.

Gu Changsheng was an Abandoned Wife, a fact that he couldn’t change. Moreover, her marriage into the Li Mansion had involved him as well.

“Li Mufeng…”