The Foolish General's Mute Spouse - Chapter 27

27: Great! He Woke Up and Doesn’t Remember Me

Elder Shu snorted coldly, “What do you know? If it weren’t for his mother’s reluctance, this fake mute would have become a real one!”

Qi Ren was puzzled, not understanding why she said this.

Elder Shu clearly didn’t want to elaborate further. She tapped the table, coughed twice, and with a stern face, said:

“I have already entered the palace and met with Concubine Jue. That dog… I mean, His Majesty, is still taking the elixirs I carefully prepared. Logically, you only need to keep pretending to be a fool until the plan succeeds. But everyone in the mansion knows that my treatment of His Majesty has been remarkably effective…”

At this point, Qi Ren roughly understood what she meant.

Sure enough, the next moment, Elder Shu said, “The weather is hot. I’ll switch your medicine to something that clears heat and reduces internal fire. You don’t have to act completely insane all the time. You can be a bit more lucid for an hour or two.”

This way, His Highness won’t have to worry!

She only mentioned being lucid for a few hours but didn’t specify when, how, or in what state. She left it entirely up to him to figure it out.

Qi Ren crunched the candy in his mouth, glanced at Fu Yu’an, who had just lit the lamp in the bedroom, and his eyes darted around as an idea formed in his mind.

Suddenly, a dull thud came from the outer room. Fu Yu’an was startled and turned to look. It was Qi Ren, who had slumped over the table, unconscious.

He hurried over and checked his breathing.

Thankfully, he was still alive.

“Qi Ren, Qi Ren! Wake up! Go sleep on the bed!” Fu Yu’an thought he had simply fallen asleep again. Seeing the brown residue at the bottom of the medicine bowl, he couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.

Why does this medicine seem to make him more drowsy the more he drinks it!

Xiao Zhu and Qiao Ying were both staying elsewhere, and there was no one around to help at the moment. Fu Yu’an, anxious and helpless, could only struggle to lift him up, planning to toss him onto the bed first.

But before he could stand up straight, Qi Ren opened his eyes, pushed him away, and took two steps back, assuming a defensive stance. He glanced around sharply and shouted sternly:

“Who are you! Where is this?”

Fu Yu’an replied gently, “This is Prince Qing’s mountain villa. I am… Don’t you remember me?”

Qi Ren shook his head.

Great, Fu Yu’an thought.

Seeing the way Fu Yu’an’s brows and eyes relaxed, Qi Ren found it incredibly irritating. He pressed further, “Speak up! Who are you? Why are you in my room? Don’t tell me…”

“No, no, no!” Fu Yu’an quickly waved his hands. “I know you don’t like me. We were only married by decree. You don’t have to worry. I’ll leave in a few days and won’t bother you at all!”

“Married?” Qi Ren frowned, looking him up and down. He snorted coldly, dropped his defensive stance, and sat down on the stool. “I don’t care what tricks you’re playing. Until I verify your identity, you’re not going anywhere!”

Fu Yu’an’s expression immediately fell. He lowered his head and reluctantly agreed, “Alright…”

Does he really want to leave me that badly? Qi Ren was furious. Haven’t I treated him well enough? Hasn’t my mother treated him well enough? Why is he so eager to run away?

One stood while the other sat, and the two of them fell into an awkward silence.

After a while, Qi Ren ordered him, “Go out and call Li Ke over.”

“Oh, okay.” Fu Yu’an hurried out the door and clattered down the stairs to find Li Ke.

Once he was gone, Qi Ren slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth in frustration.

Li Ke spent half an hour talking with Qi Ren upstairs. During that time, Fu Yu’an stayed downstairs, watching the river flow slowly, bored out of his mind.

“Your Highness,” Li Ke came down from upstairs and bowed to him. “You can go up now. The night is deep, and the general said he doesn’t want this matter to be made public for the time being. He hopes you can help us keep it confidential.”

Fu Yu’an nodded. “Of course.”

He returned to the bedroom, where Qi Ren stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out the window.

“Qi… General,” Fu Yu’an called softly. “Maybe I should go rest downstairs instead!”

Qi Ren turned around, his expression dark and unreadable. The aura around him was completely different from the fool he had been before, carrying an oppressive force that made one instinctively want to submit.

Fu Yu’an swallowed hard, praying that Qi Ren would let him go.

Qi Ren let out a cold laugh, walked past him, and headed out the door. “You stay here. I’ll go downstairs!”

Fu Yu’an initially wanted to say that it might not be appropriate, as the room downstairs hadn’t been tidied up yet. But under Qi Ren’s sharp glare, he immediately lost the courage to speak.

He’s really terrifying, Fu Yu’an thought.

That night, Fu Yu’an had a dream. In the dream, he had successfully escaped the capital and opened a small shop with Xiao Zhu in a quiet town. Life was carefree and joyful.

But one evening, when he returned home, he suddenly found someone lying on his bed. When he lit the lamp, he saw that it was none other than General Qi Ren.

With a pitiful expression, Qi Ren asked him, “Did you abandon me? An’an, please don’t leave me, okay?”

It was the foolish version of Qi Ren.

Fu Yu’an was instantly jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.

Outside the window, a few birds were chirping noisily on the branches. Fu Yu’an rubbed his temples, got up, and began his morning routine.

He wondered how Qi Ren had slept downstairs.

Now that Qi Ren had regained his senses, he would probably go discuss matters with Prince Qing. He likely wouldn’t be here.

Fu Yu’an laughed at himself mockingly. Since when had he become so concerned about Qi Ren? It was nothing but wishful thinking.

Xiao Zhu knocked on the door. “Your Highness! Are you awake? I’ve brought your breakfast!”

Fu Yu’an snapped out of his thoughts and quickly responded, opening the door for Xiao Zhu.

To his surprise, behind Xiao Zhu stood a tall figure—it was Qi Ren.

Fu Yu’an froze for a moment, then stammered, “General Qi… why are you here?”

Xiao Zhu looked back at Qi Ren, then at Fu Yu’an, puzzled by the sudden formality between them.

Qi Ren pushed past both of them and entered the room, dragging out his words in a loud voice, “I—am—so—hungry—!”

Fu Yu’an: “…”

Is he… acting foolish again?

How could this be? Didn’t he return to normal just last night?

Xiao Zhu was also puzzled: “Your Highness, did you have a fight with the General? Why did you send him alone to sleep downstairs? There’s not even a mattress there, just a bed plank, it’s very uncomfortable!”

“Exactly! It’s so uncomfortable! An’an threw me down while I was asleep, hmph!” Qi Ren chimed in, his tone full of grievance.

A bad premonition rose in Fu Yu’an’s heart, so he pressed further: “You woke up downstairs? Do you remember what happened before that?”

Qi Ren said: “I just remember falling asleep, and then I was woken up in the middle of the night by the discomfort of the bed plank.”

Fu Yu’an: “…”

So the illness isn’t gone at all, and his lucidity is just intermittent.

He sighed helplessly, signaled Xiao Zhu to serve the meal, pulled Qi Ren to sit down properly, and apologized to him: “It’s my fault, I slept too deeply last night, I didn’t even notice you sleepwalking!”

Qi Ren: “…”

Bullshit!

“Alright, alright, next time I’ll make sure to keep a close eye on you, okay?” Fu Yu’an lightly brushed the matter aside, not mentioning a word of it again.

After breakfast, Xia Xiu came again, saying he wanted to take him to pick fruits on the mountain.

Naturally, Qi Ren wanted to go too, but Fu Yu’an looked at the two of them and still refused him.

Xia Xiu was disappointed, but upon hearing that there was a situation with Qi Ren’s condition, he immediately didn’t dare to make a fuss and reluctantly went back.