EHW Ch72

Extra Story 3 (Part 2) · Marriage

“Your Majesty,” said one elderly minister, trembling as he bowed, “this old servant is far too aged to take proper care of Your Majesty. My body is full of injuries and ailments… it should be Lord Gu. Lord Gu- ”

Another quickly chimed in, “Indeed! Lord Gu is young, handsome, refined, and extraordinarily talented. His bond with Your Majesty runs deep, he is the most suitable choice.”

A third added anxiously, “This humble official thanks Your Majesty for the honor, but I have a wife and daughters, so I truly- ”

And thus, with a masterful application of the broken window effect, at the cost of spreading a scandal about “the young emperor’s love for old men”, Pei Xin successfully made the entire court accept the idea of his marrying Gu Fangzhi.

Even Gu Fangzhi had to admit: this tactic of Pei Xin’s was… impressive.

When the officials finally shuffled away, covering their faces with their sleeves, half terrified, half flustered, Gu Fangzhi couldn’t help laughing aloud.

He gave Pei Xin a thumbs-up.
“Hurting eight hundred enemies while injuring yourself a thousand, Your Majesty, truly heroic.”

Pei Xin didn’t want to think about it anymore. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, his expression slipping into weary emptiness.

Gu Fangzhi, stifling laughter, walked over and reached out to pat Pei Xin’s head.

Hm. The hair crown was sharp, painful to the touch.

So he switched tactics, pinching Pei Xin’s earlobe first, then smoothing down his back as though taming a restless animal, and finally pressing the back of his hand gently against Pei Xin’s cheek.

The ring Pei Xin had once worn now sat on Gu Fangzhi’s hand, leaving Pei Xin’s finger bare. 

Yet the habit remained, he kept unconsciously rubbing the base of that finger, as though the phantom ring were still there.

After a long silence, he opened his eyes and leaned his head back, looking up at Gu Fangzhi behind him.

Those sharp black eyes softened, curling with amusement.

Pei Xin smiled faintly. “We’re getting married, Teacher.”

The words had barely left his mouth before his vision darkened again.

【Congratulations, player, Bad Ending unlocked – “The Emperor Who Loved His Minister, The Student Who Loved His Teacher.”】

【Congratulations, player, Bad Ending unlocked – “Child, Your Main Task Right Now Is to Study Hard.”】

【Congratulations, player, Bad Ending unlocked –  …】

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Gu Fangzhi’s palm started rhythmically patting Pei Xin’s cheek.

Pei Xin: “……”

Sometimes, yes, he liked a little excitement with Gu Fangzhi.

But that didn’t mean he wanted his face smacked into swelling by this man’s “affection.”

When the system finally finished its little fit of madness, Pei Xin reacted quickly, catching Gu Fangzhi’s wrist.

“Tsk,” he said. “Didn’t we fix this last time? Calling you ‘Teacher’ was fine before, why’s it suddenly forbidden again?”

Gu Fangzhi, cheeks reddening, offered a suggestion:

“Probably because it’s followed by ‘marriage.’ Too taboo, maybe. How about… replace ‘Teacher’ with ‘Master’ and ‘marriage’ with something else? Next time, Your Majesty can say: ‘I shall mourn together with my Master.’”

Pei Xin: “……”

What kind of deranged idea was that?

“Excellent suggestion,” he deadpanned. “Don’t ever suggest anything again.”

He rolled his eyes.

Gu Fangzhi chuckled and squeezed Pei Xin’s hand.

“Then this minister should return for now.”

Pei Xin nodded.

Gu Fangzhi turned and started walking out, quietly exhaling once he crossed the threshold.

Pei Xin’s system time still had three hours left, and Gu Fangzhi was genuinely afraid he’d pull the same stunt as last night, reloading endlessly at that one unbearable moment.

It wasn’t disgust he felt; it was simply that both his body and mind couldn’t handle that kind of relentless stimulation again.

He could barely remember what had even happened the night before, only fragments of being lifted to the clouds again and again until tears spilled down his face, clinging to Pei Xin’s shoulder as he kissed it and whispered weak pleas for him to stop.

Truly, not his proudest moment.

He quickened his steps toward the door.

One step. Two. Three. Four. Five-

Then he stopped dead.

Behind him came the sound of fabric sliding, the faint clink of jade ornaments hitting the floor.

Pei Xin’s voice followed, brimming with a joy he couldn’t quite hide:
“I told you, Teacher, I came for you this time. Did you really think I’d forgotten?”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Pei Xin reached out, grabbed Gu Fangzhi’s belt, and pulled him back to sit facing him on his lap.

His own belt had already come loose, his robes half undone. Pei Xin took Gu Fangzhi’s hand and pressed it to his chest.

“I know Teacher never meant to run away before. I won’t blame you. If you want to leave now, you can.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Then why aren’t you letting go of my hand?

He couldn’t help a laugh, half exasperated, half amused, but he didn’t pull away either.

Truth be told, Pei Xin’s physique was quite something. And the feel of it… even better.

He knew the boy was deliberately teasing him. After a moment’s fluster, he regained his calm, slipping back into the poise of an older man.

Changing position, he sat sideways on Pei Xin’s lap, brushed a strand of hair from his face, and leaned down to kiss him.

His lips barely grazed Pei Xin’s before withdrawing, just when Pei Xin tried to deepen it.

Pei Xin’s breathing grew heavier. His arm tightened around Gu Fangzhi’s waist, pulling him closer.

Their foreheads touched, and Gu Fangzhi spoke in a whisper so faint that even between them, it was hard to catch.

“Not like yesterday. Spare me a little strength, and I’ll stay until nightfall.”

Pei Xin: “……”

Demon. Bargaining demon.

To think, back when he had been the one caught in Gu Fangzhi’s saves, frozen mid-motion like a shadow puppet, he hadn’t traded seduction for mercy.

He’d endured everything by sheer grit.

Pei Xin let out a low hum. “Fine.”

Gu Fangzhi’s smile brightened instantly, though it didn’t last long.

Pei Xin did keep his word: no infinite reloading this time.

But he’d learned a new trick, waiting until the system interface opened and Gu Fangzhi couldn’t move, then kissing and touching him.

Every moment of pleasure built up like pressure behind a dam, until it burst all at once, leaving Gu Fangzhi dazed and breathless, his mind even hazier than the night before.

He bit Pei Xin’s shoulder in retaliation.

Pei Xin only laughed, his eyes crinkling with delight.

“This mark can stay,” he said. “I won’t reload this one.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Pei Xin was truly the textbook definition of how not to use a system.

***

When the system time finally ended and it returned from Pei Xin’s body to Gu Fangzhi’s, he let out a long, exhausted sigh of relief.

He opened the save menu to check.

Slot 1 – (empty).

Slot 2 –  the moment he’d kissed Pei Xin yesterday.

Slot 3 – the moment when Pei Xin lifted his waist, guiding him slowly downward.

Slot 4 –  the instant Pei Xin closed the system panel and Gu Fangzhi’s body suddenly tensed and curled up.

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

What the hell, he’d only saved those kinds of moments?!

Still, by habit, Gu Fangzhi saved again, and somehow, it did make him feel a little better.

He turned to Pei Xin. “Had enough fun yet?”

Pei Xin’s reply came without hesitation. “Enough.”

Gu Fangzhi raised an eyebrow.

Honestly, such a convenient and fascinating system, Gu Fangzhi himself hadn’t even grown tired of it yet.

That Pei Xin could walk away after using it for just two days and twenty-some hours, without the slightest reluctance, actually made Gu Fangzhi respect him a little.

He couldn’t help but praise, “Good boy.”

That simple, offhand phrase, “good boy”, Pei Xin knew exactly what he meant by it.

He didn’t answer.

This system of Gu Fangzhi’s suited only those with a pure heart.

When Pei Xin held it in his own hands, his first thoughts had been how to make Gu Fangzhi experience the same torment he once did.

Then it shifted, to wanting Gu Fangzhi to feel pleasure.

And later still, he found himself craving the sight of Gu Fangzhi’s flushed, disoriented expression.

He didn’t even know where those darker, more dangerous desires, to pull Gu Fangzhi down with him, had come from.

That, perhaps, was his truest self: the one who was irritable, shadowed, calculating.

The late emperor had once told him, “Never let anyone control your emotions.”

And yet now, Pei Xin willingly dulled his claws, willingly placed the chain around his neck into Gu Fangzhi’s hands.

He composed his thoughts and smiled faintly, an expression so obedient it almost didn’t look like him.

“All thanks to Teacher’s good guidance.”

***

The matter of their marriage was left to those trembling old ministers to handle, who, over the next few days, carefully spread the word.

Even so, few people knew of it yet.

Minister He had already started flipping through almanacs and ordering the necessary preparations for the imperial wedding.

Gu Fangzhi himself was even assigned a small procurement task.

As for his own family…

The border was peaceful these days, and with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, his elder brother Gu Yunchuan had written saying he planned to return home.

Gu Fangzhi decided he would wait for Yunchuan’s arrival before telling him, and their younger brother Gu Huaiyu, about the marriage.

He hadn’t seen his eldest brother in a long time. Counting the days, he grew both excited and nervous, worried Yunchuan might not take the news well.

The anticipation made him restless at night, unable to sleep.

That night, Gu Huaiyu went out to dine with merchants, and little Manman, now a bit bigger, came to sleep with him instead.

The child was heavier than before, but still as adorable as ever, his large clear eyes full of light.

Gu Fangzhi told him a bedtime story, “Little Worker Yi Outsmarts Tiger Mountain,” and lulled him to sleep, then lay back staring at the ceiling.

He must have zoned out for quite a while, because at some point, Manman stirred awake and mumbled, “Fangfang-ge, what’s wrong?”

Gu Fangzhi lowered his gaze and pinched the boy’s chubby cheek.
“Manman, if your Fangfang-ge were to marry your emperor brother…”

Half-asleep, Manman gave a sleepy hum.

Gu Fangzhi chuckled, patting his back. “Go back to sleep.”

He hugged Manman close and soon drifted off himself.

***

The next morning, through his hazy drowsiness, he heard voices.

Manman’s bright voice: “Brother Yunchuan, you’re back!”

Gu Yunchuan’s deep, gentle tone: “Sleep, little one. I just came to take a look.”

Then Manman said, “Oh right, Brother Yunchuan, did you know?”

“Hm? Know what?”

“The emperor brother is getting married!”

Gu Yunchuan sounded surprised. “His Majesty’s getting married? To whom?”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

He tried to wake, but his body felt heavy, impossible to move.

As he wrestled with sleep, he heard Manman answer on his behalf, 

“With me.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……?”

Wait. What?!

The room fell silent. Clearly even Gu Yunchuan was dumbfounded.

After a long pause, Gu Yunchuan chuckled, then forced his tone into mock sternness.
“Little brother, one shouldn’t make jokes like that.”

“I’m not joking,” Manman insisted earnestly. “Fangfang-ge told me last night.”

Then, with a soft sigh, he added, “I just didn’t want Brother Fangfang to be sad, so I agreed. But actually, I like someone younger than me…”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

So, within the age range of one to four years old, then?

Pfft. Adorable.

…Wait.

Gu Fangzhi jolted awake.

He shot up from the bed, wild-eyed, and looked straight at Gu Yunchuan.

“Manman must’ve been half-asleep and misheard! Brother, it’s me who’s marrying His Majesty!!”

From the doorway came the sound of the door creaking open.

The three brothers turned to see Gu Huaiyu standing there.

He didn’t look surprised at all, just amused. Smirking, he called out, “So that makes you… Sister-in-law Brother.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

This whole family was a comedy troupe.