Huang Xining's tapping fingers stopped as he looked up at Lin Yi. “So you're saying that Gu Fang not only sensed that the protagonist had been replaced, but may have also guessed that you, and even the rest of us, are different from what he normally knows. And yet, he still chooses not to pry?” He shook his head slightly. “That's too abnormal. Lin Yi, aren't you worried at all?”
Lin Yi smiled, a smile that held a stubborn sort of calm. “Not worried. Maybe it's a bit of imprinting? I married him as soon as I arrived in this world. Through all these days together, he's given me an indescribable sense of security. Not just to me, but to everyone around him, even the servants—his kindness is in the details. I believe he's a truly noble and upright person. Even if one day he finds out where we came from, I believe he won't hurt us.”
Huang Xining's brow furrowed tighter, clearly not fully agreeing with trust based on feeling, but he finally took a breath. “I don't understand why you're so certain, but you're the one who lives with him day in and day out, so I won't question your judgment. However, since you promised the Earth Consciousness to improve the survival rate of humans here, A Jing and I will naturally do our best to help. From now on, the three of us—along with that possessed protagonist—will definitely need to meet and discuss things often. Since the protagonist can't severely OOC, his main mission is probably still to unify the land. The knowledge and ideas we have from beyond this era will surely benefit his mission.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over this temporary meeting room, his tone heavier. “If that's the case, the four of us anomalies will be locking ourselves in here and talking in secret all the time, and the stir won't be small. Can Gu Fang really stay indifferent and not take it to heart?”
Lin Yi grew serious at his question, her earlier lightness fading into thought. After a moment, she nodded. “You're right. We can't rely entirely on tacit understanding and guesswork, leaving the problem hanging is bad for everyone.” She stood up, her tone decisive. “How about I go ask him now? See how much he can accept and how we should arrange things properly. That way, you two can also have some time alone to talk and reunite properly.”
Huang Xining's expression softened, and he nodded. “That would be best. Open and honest is always better than mutual speculation.” He added, “If possible, also ask Gu Fang if we can meet that protagonist. Some things might need to be communicated face to face.”
He Jing also nodded repeatedly, her face showing a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
“Alright, you two wait here. I'll be back soon.” Lin Yi didn't delay any longer, turned, and left the main hall, walking along the corridor toward the study where Gu Fang usually stayed.
As she approached the study, the certainty she had shown in front of her fellow transmigrators was quietly infiltrated by a hint of apprehension. Huang Xining's doubts weren't entirely unfounded; Gu Fang's 'goodness' and 'perceptiveness' were sometimes so good that they seemed unreal. She took a soft breath, stopped in front of the study door, and raised her hand to knock.
But Gu Fang's clear and gentle voice came from inside first: “Is it Xiaoyi? Come in.”
He was always so perceptive. Lin Yi pushed open the door and saw Gu Fang sitting behind the desk, holding a scroll. The dusk light filtered through the lattice window, casting a warm glow on his silhouette.
Lin Yi couldn't bear to break the beauty of this picture, and she also had a selfish desire to enjoy her husband's serene and graceful profile a bit longer, so she leaned against the doorframe without speaking. Finally, Gu Fang let out a soft sigh, a hint of laughter in it. “Xiaoyi, how long do you plan to stand there watching?”
“Husband is so handsome, I want to look at you more,” Lin Yi said with a smile, walking over and naturally sitting down next to Gu Fang, her tone light.
Gu Fang put down the scroll, his gaze soft. “We see each other every day. I don't have to attend court and I can't go anywhere else. If you want to look, you can look anytime. Why are you acting like this?”
“But husband is so handsome, I never get tired of looking. Naturally, I cherish it and want to look more, and more,” Lin Yi said with righteous justification, her eyes full of laughter.
Gu Fang couldn't help but chuckle softly, shaking his head, then got to the point. “Weren't you just entertaining Brother Huang and Miss He? Why are you here so soon? Have you encountered something difficult?”
Lin Yi's playful expression sobered a bit, and she nodded. “There are two things I wanted to ask for your opinion. I know you said I don't have to tell you, but you've already guessed that I, my master, and maybe even Prince Ning's side are connected, right? I just told Xining and A Jing about it. They got very excited and asked me to see if you could help deliver a message to Prince Ning, to see if he would be willing to meet us.” She paused, watching Gu Fang's expression, then continued, “Also, my fellow disciples and I will probably need to meet often to discuss matters. Would you… mind?”
Gu Fang listened, his expression unchanged, as if he had anticipated it. He said gently, “Delivering a message is easy. I'll have A Fu go to Prince Ning's mansion right away. Anjin is easygoing and will likely not refuse such a request. The court meets every other day now, so when he has his day off, I can arrange a meeting.” He paused briefly, his gaze calmly falling on Lin Yi's face. “As for your meetings with your fellow disciples, I naturally won't interfere. Whenever Xiaoyi wants to see someone, you can decide for yourself.”
“It's not that I'm afraid you'll interfere,” Lin Yi quickly explained, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her sleeve. “I'm just worried that you might feel neglected or unhappy?” Her voice dropped, carrying a hint of hesitation.
Gu Fang laughed softly this time, a low, pleasant sound. “Is Xiaoyi hoping that I'll be jealous, or hoping that I won't be?”
Caught off guard by his counterquestion, Lin Yi felt a bit embarrassed and turned her face away slightly, mumbling, “A bit of both, I guess. Last time too, you let me talk to Prince Ning alone without a second thought. How can you be so at ease?”
Gu Fang finally couldn't hold back. His shoulders shook lightly as he raised a hand to cover his mouth, turning his face away, but low chuckles still escaped through his fingers.
Lin Yi was both embarrassed and indignant, her cheeks flushing. “Hey! What do you mean by that, husband?”
Gu Fang turned back, his eyes still sparkling with laughter. “Don't be angry. I was just thinking, in such a short time, what could you two possibly do?”
Lin Yi: “…” Thinking about it carefully, it seemed true. That meeting with Ying Baichuan hadn't even lasted ten minutes.
She quickly tried to salvage the situation. “We can't do much now, but what if, as we spend more time together in the future…” As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt something was off.
Gu Fang stopped laughing, his gaze gentle as he looked at her. He reached out and gently stroked her back in a comforting gesture. His voice was low and calm, as if telling an ordinary story. “I know a colleague. The wife he married came from a much higher status than his. His current position in officialdom largely relies on his in-laws' support. Because of this initial inequality, his wife was the absolute authority at home. She forbade him from taking concubines, from visiting brothels, from having any unclear entanglements with outsiders. In short, she kept a very tight leash on him.”
Lin Yi was indeed drawn in by the story, forgetting her previous embarrassment, and asked curiously, “What happened later?”
Gu Fang's voice remained calm. “Later, perhaps after being suppressed for so long, that colleague still couldn't keep his promise and strayed. When the truth came out, his wife was naturally furious. But she didn't want a divorce—that would lose face and benefits—and she couldn't swallow her anger. In the end, she dealt with the woman outside, but as for the colleague himself, she only repeatedly warned, threatened, and intimidated him. The colleague was scared out of his wits and dared not cross the line again on the surface. But from then on, his wife could never feel at ease again. She spent all day suspecting and doubting, always felt that her husband had just become more secretive and cunning. So the two of them lived in daily suspicion and constant scheming, turning the household into a mess. The servants also lived in fear, always on edge.”
Lin Yi listened, her brow unconsciously furrowing. “That sounds really unpleasant. It was clearly her husband who made the mistake, and she couldn't control him, so why did she put all the blame on that woman? Isn't that just blaming the seducer and not thinking that her own husband was at fault?”
Gu Fang looked at her with slight surprise, then paused before saying, “That woman knew my colleague had a wife, yet she still insisted on approaching him. Is she completely without fault?”
Lin Yi was choked by his question and muttered, “You have a point there. But I still feel that your colleague didn't really get punished. It was the fault of two people, but only one suffered the consequences. That's too unfair.”
“It's just a matter of status.” Gu Fang's tone was flat, stating a cold fact. “My colleague was a court official, while that woman was from the entertainment quarter.”
Lin Yi blurted out, “Even the emperor must obey the law, just like commoners!”
Gu Fang's eyes flickered with surprise, then he smiled. “Xiaoyi, that is truly a wise saying.”
Lin Yi felt a bit embarrassed and rubbed her nose. “That wasn't me; it was something my master used to say.”
“It doesn't matter who said it,” Gu Fang said leisurely. “Because those words state an ironclad truth. But from ancient times to the present, very few have truly practiced it.” He suddenly changed the subject, with a hint of teasing. “But we weren't originally discussing this, were we? If I had known Xiaoyi was so easily led astray by my stories, I would have prepared a few more next time.”
Lin Yi finally realized that he had distracted her from her original purpose. She puffed out her cheeks and glared at him. “Are you saying I'm easy to fool?”
“Wouldn't dare.” Gu Fang readily reached out to straighten the slightly rumpled front of her garment, his movements gentle. “I just think Xiaoyi's pure-hearted and indignant look is very adorable.”
Lin Yi's cheeks grew warm again, and she tugged at his sleeve in mild reproach. “Husband, after all that, what's your real stance?”
Gu Fang's expression turned somewhat serious. “I told you this story to let you know that I can't understand that couple's actions. One broke his promise and was weak-willed; the other forgave without any bottom line but then fell into endless suspicion and self-torture. That is no way to get along, let alone a long-term solution.”
Lin Yi tilted her head, following his line of thought. “So what you're saying is, if you choose to trust and give a promise, you shouldn't second-guess?”
“Exactly.” Gu Fang's lips curved upward, a smile that radiated a clear and confident openness, as if momentarily lifting the gloom that often lurked beneath the surface, revealing a glimpse of the spirited young man who once rode across battlefields. “I believe my judgment of people isn't bad. Xiaoyi is not someone who wavers in her heart or easily breaks her promises. Besides, I'm not bad either. Since we are husband and wife, we should be of one mind. If we have to constantly speculate about even this basic foundation, it would be a waste of our acquaintance and connection.”
Author's Note: Here's a reminder for babies about to transmigrate. In ancient times, due to the lack of effective contraceptive measures, many women were very willing to let their husbands take concubines. (Of course, it might also be because they were in arranged marriages and didn't love their husbands that much.) The status of concubines in ancient times was not as high as shown in TV dramas. Their relationship with the wife was more like superior-subordinate. The wife could beat and scold the concubine at will, and the concubine could be freely given away by the husband to outsiders. Therefore, if any baby is unlucky enough to transmigrate to ancient times, they must keep their eyes wide open and not be easily deceived by others.