Card Room (Rebirth)
chapter-156

Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou returned home together. After closing the door and remembering Ye Qi’s wonderful expression, Xiao Lou couldn’t help chuckling. “I didn’t expect Ye Qi to also be dressed as a woman or a woman who sells art, not her body… You asked Chief Shao to go to him alone. Is it okay?”

Yu Hanjiang replied seriously, “Shao Qingge might like to joke around but he is still reliable when it comes to major events. I let him tell Ye Qi about his situation so that Ye Qi can rest assured.”

The maid Pinger came over and asked if they wanted to have supper. Xiao Lou said, “No, Pinger, you go to rest.”

Pinger went into the room and helped them make the bed before turning around and leaving.

It was already dark. Yu Hanjiang looked at the bed and said, “Sleep, tomorrow we will go and see the Eighth Prince.”

There was only one bed in this bedroom. Xiao Lou remembered the wedding night in his dream and was really embarrassed to share the same bed with Group Leader Yu. However, Group Leader Yu looked calm as he frankly asked, “Are you still sleeping there tonight?”

Xiao Lou’s scalp was numb as he let out a ‘hmm’ sound.

They briefly washed up, took off their coats, white the white sleeping clothes and lay side by side in bed.

The quilt, sheet and pillows were all bought by Pinger in the afternoon along with their housekeeper. The two people covered themselves in the same quilt and once again lay in the posture of ‘a corpse.’ They didn’t dare move their hands and feet.

Xiao Lou slept on the inside and Yu Hanjiang slept on the outside. It wasn’t long until the two people fell asleep.

There was another fragment of the plot in the dream.

Four years ago, the champion Yu Hanjiang returned to Jiangzhou. He remembered Xiao Lou and found the valley outside Jiangzhou according to his memories in order to propose marriage to Xiao Lou. He saw a small medicine boy drying herbs and asked, “Does Xiao Lou live here?”

The medicine boy looked up with an indifferent expression. “He went to the mountains to take medicine.”

Yu Hanjiang turned to look at the mountains and saw Xiao Lou carrying medicine on his back.

He accompanied Xiao Lou to collect the medicine and on the way back, the two of them stopped at a stream to wash. Yu Hanjiang saw Xiao Lou’s wet hair and gulped before whispering, “Miss Xiao, I have been thinking of you forever. This time, I came to propose marriage to you, hoping that you will marry me.”

Xiao Lou almost fell into the lake. He immediately stabilized his body and smiled awkwardly. “Yu gongzi really knows how to joke around.”

Yu Hanjiang gently grabbed Xiao Lou’s hands and stared into his eyes. “I’m not joking. I really want to marry you and grow old with you.”

Xiao Lou shook off the hand and put away the smile as he spoke seriously. “Yu gongzi, when I saved you, I dressed up as a woman to disguise my identity. In fact, I am a man and we can’t get married.”

Yu Hanjiang choked and looked at Xiao Lou with disbelief. “What? Are you a man?”

Xiao Lou loosened his hair, took off his coat and slowly explained, “My father was a coroner. In the past, he assisted the Ministry of Criminal Affairs in solving numerous cases, including the serial killing in the capital that was a sensation 10 years ago. However, while he arrested the murderer, only one accomplice was caught and the primary person escaped for many years. This man is very good at using poison. My father was poisoned by him five years ago. In order to avoid revenge falling on the descendants of the Xiao family, my mother always asked me to dress as a woman and I followed my mother to live in seclusion in Jiangzhou. Saving you was just a matter of raising my hands. You don’t need to be too concerned about it.”

Looking at the other person’s serious expression, Yu Hanjiang couldn’t speak for a long time.

Xiao Lou smi8led. “If you don’t mind, can I be friends with Yu gongzi?”

Yu Hanjiang looked complicated as he turned away in a lost manner.

Xiao Lou originally thought this person would give up. As a result, within a few days, Yu Hanjiang came again. This time, he carried a large box full of engagement gifts and stared at Xiao Lou seriously. “It doesn’t matter if you are a man. The style of Daqi is open and many good men are homosexual. There are even male concubines in the emperor’s harem. I still can’t forget you and I want to marry you.”

Xiao Lou sprayed a mouthful of tea all over the ground.

Of course, he refused but Yu Hanjiang was very stubborn and came to find Xiao Lou every day.

On one occasion, Xiao Lou sprained his foot when collecting medicine. Yu Hanjiang carried Xiao Lou on his back in the rain and caught a cold. Another time, Xiao Lou tried a new prescription and was affected by the toxin for three days and three nights. Yu Hanjiang stayed by his bedside to take care of him the entire time.

Gradually, Xiao Lou was moved by the man’s persistence.

Xiao Lou’s mother was seriously ill at this time. Seeing Yu Hanjiang so infatuated, she took her son’s hand and told him, “This Yu gongzi has deep affection for you and is worthy of being entrusted with you. I can’t live long and those murderers will find you one day. It will be more difficult for you to cope with them if you are alone. Marry Yu gongzi as a woman and become his wife. I believe he will take care of you.”

Before his mother died, she held Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang’s hands tightly together. “I hope you don’t lose him…”

Yu Hanjiang knelt in front of the hospital bed and promised, “Mother, rest assured. I swear I will do everything in my power to protect his life.”

Xiao Lou’s mother smiled. “Okay, I can rest assured with your promise.” She stared at her son. “I don’t need you to show my filial piety. Just scatter my ashes into the river. The two of you choose a date for the marriage. I will be watching in the sky with your father and will be happy for you.”

Before leaving, all the secret notes belonging to Xiao Lou’s father while he was working were passed to Xiao Lou. In addition, the toxicology she studied herself was passed on to her apprentice, Liu Qiao, who was at the medicine house outside Jiangzhou.

Those seeking revenge only knew that Coroner Yu. They didn’t expect Xiao Lou to take on a woman’s identity and marry the new palace champion, Yu Hanjiang.

On the wedding night, the two people drank a glass of wine. Then Yu Hanjiang took off his red wedding clothes and the phoenix crown on his head.

Blue silk was scattered and the light of red candles swayed.

Xiao Lou stood in the candlelight with a flush on his cheeks, making Yu Hanjiang unable to look away.

Xiao Lou was embarrassed and wanted to hide but Yu Hanjiang’s eyes were deep as he gently hugged Xiao Lou and whispered, “So what if you’re a man? You are you. From today on, you are my wife.”

Xiao Lou wanted to talk but his lips were directly kissed by Yu Hanjiang.

……

There was the sound ‘boom boom boom’ outside. It was the watchman beating the gong to signify the third of the five night watch periods. (TL: 23:00 – 1:00)

Yu Hanjiang sat up in a cold sweat.

he turned his head to see that Xiao Lou was still asleep. In the moonlight, this person’s face looked like jade without flaws. The rosy lips exuded a fatal temptation that made the knot in his throat roll twice. Deep in his heart, a strong desire to kiss Xiao Lou rose.

Yu Hanjiang hurriedly got out of bed. He went outside the house to stand in the cold wind and calm his reaction.

This dream was actually incomplete and the memory of the wedding night was also blurred. The clearest thing was Xiao Lou hugging his shoulders and staring at him with eyes like water. Those eyes were so clear that they could almost see into his heart.

This dream connected the time they met to when they fell in love and married. The entire process became complete.

Since Xiao Lou’s father was a coroner, he solved a large number of unsolved cases and offended too many people. Xiao Lou followed his mother to take refuge in Jiangzhou and concealed her identity by pretending to be a woman. Then he was accidentally rescued by Yu Hanjiang and Yu Hanjiang fell in love with him at first sight. He didn’t care if Xiao Lou was a man or woman. Under the agreement of Xiao Lou’s mother, Xiao Lou dressed as a woman to marry Yu Hanjiang and became Madam Yu. No one came to make trouble for him.

The two people had been close for four years and had no children because Xiao Lou was essentially a man. The secret room didn’t allow Xiao Lou to change back to men’s clothes because once Xiao Lou did so, he would raise suspicion in his enemies and it might even lead to murder.

After clarifying the setting, Yu Hanjiang became more upset.

He hadn’t been in love before and he didn’t even have a friend who he could talk to. He always thought he wanted to be close to Xiao Lou as a friend but recent abnormal reactions left him very confused. He never thought that he and Xiao Lou could still do such intimate things. Under the premise that Xiao Lou was a man, he actually took possession of Xiao Lou on their wedding night…

The fuzzy fragments in the dream made Yu Hanjiang’s heart beat like a drum. No, he couldn’t think about it anymore!

He took a deep breath and went to the well, grabbing a bucket of water and directly splashing it on his face.

The autumn well water was bitter and cold. Yu Hanjiang was frozen and this allowed him to calm down completely. The moonlight from the sky was sparse, the yard was quiet to the extrema and there was only the occasional sound from cicadas.

The night in ancient times wasn’t as bright and lively as modern times. In this quiet and peaceful place, Yu Hanjiang’s heartbeat seemed particularly clear.

Thump, thump thump….

He did that type of thing to Xiao Lou. Even if it was a dream, it couldn’t be ignored. Yu Hanjiang clenched his fists and frowned. Did he like being on top of Xiao Lou?

Before he knew it, he moved his heart around the gentle Professor Xiao. He liked to hold Xiao Lou’s hand and couldn’t help caring about Xiao Lou. His eyes were always on Xiao Lou’s body.

In this secret room, he wasn’t disgusted at all by playing a husband and wife. Rather, he happily called Xiao Lou ‘madam.’ Imagine if he was asked to play a couple with Shao Qingge, Ye Qi, Long Sen, Old Mo or other teammates like Qu Wanyue and Liu Qiao. He would be very awkward and want to stay three metres away from the other person. Yet it was particularly smooth when he called Xiao Lou.

Once he dreamed of the candle-lit night in the marriage room, his heartbeat accelerated rather than feeling nausea. It didn’t make sense at all if this was just a friend. All of this could only be explained by ‘like.’

Yu Hanjiang’s heart suddenly opened. He finally figured out the reason for his recent changes.

Brother Jiu once said he was too indifferent. The expression of ‘don’t get close if you want to live’ meant he had the personality of someone who would be single until 60 years old. Yet when facing Xiao Lou, his hard heart seemed to be immersed in a warm current and the coldest place deep in his heart was bathed in warm sunlight.

Yu Hanjiang opened the Absolute Field card and ended the space of Brother Jiu.

The space this time was no longer the sea but the lotus pond under the moonlight. Lu Jiuchuan was sitting beside the lotus pond, drinking and admiring the moon. After seeing Yu Hanjiang, he smiled slightly and asked, “Suddenly entering the Absolute Field to find me, are you in trouble in a secret room? With your strength, you shouldn’t have difficulty in an A-grade Hearts room, right?”

Yu Hanjiang walked over to sit in front of him and whispered, “Brother Jiu, in the secret room, did you also experience role-playing? For example, a gender change between male and female?”

Lu Jiuchuan laughed. “Our team entered a palace script. I played the general, Old Gui played the emperor and we worked together to deal with the power of the crown prince and imperial consort to seize the throne. The A-grade secret room is a script that is randomly generated according to the identity of each person. This is why Tang Ci said he couldn’t provide you with an attack guide.”

Yu Hanjiang, “……”

It seemed that Brother Jiu originally cleared 8 of Hearts in a dangerous manner.

Lu Jiuchuan asked, “What about you? What role were you assigned to?”

Yu Hanjiang was silent for a moment before replying, “I am the prefectural magistrate of Jiangzhou. In addition, a wife was arranged for me.”

Lu Jiuchuan smiled playfully. “That’s good. You have been single for so many years and this time, you picked up a wife in a secret room.”

“The wife is Xiao Lou.”

Lu Jiuchuan sprayed out his wine. “What?”

Yu Hanjiang was a bit embarrassed and coughed lightly. Then he explained while touching his nose, “My wife is Xiao Lou, a man pretending to be a woman. I’ve discovered that I seem to… like him.”

Lu Jiuchuan looked at his brother like this person was an idiot. “You only just found out?”

Yu Hanjiang wondered, “What do you mean?”

Lu Jiuchuan smiled. “As early as when you took him into the Absolute Field, I found that something was wrong. You are like a hard stone frozen in the refrigerator for several years yet looking at Xiao Lou, your eyes were so gentle that I got goosebumps. Since when have you started looking at others with this expression? I have never seen you look at anyone in your family like that since childhood. Xiao Lou is the first one.”

Yu Hanjiang, “…”

It turned out that Brother Jiu was already aware. No wonder why he told Xiao Lou to call him Brother Jiu at that time.

Lu Jiuchuan lightly patted his brother’s shoulder. “In the secret room world, no one knows how long they can live. You are actually really lucky to meet someone you like here. Don’t think about it too much and cherish the moment.”

Yu Hanjiang listened to Brother Jiu’s words and the confusion in his heart was finally swept away.

Like was like. What was the point of being tangled up by it? It was just like in the plot when he found out that Xiao Lou was a man and still decided to marry Xiao Lou.

Xiao Lou was Xiao Lou. He liked this person, regardless of whether the other person was male or female. Xiao Lou in female clothing was a beauty and Xiao Lou in male clothing was also extraordinary. No matter how the clothes changed, the soul hadn’t changed.

Thinking up to here, Yu Hanjiang couldn’t help smiling. “I know what to do. I’ll go back to him.”

Lu Jiuchuan waved his hand. “Go, I’m heading back to the Hunter’s League in two days. It will be inconvenient to meet you for the time being so don’t come to the Absolute Field for a few days.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “I understand. Brother Jiu, take care.”