Thirty-Six Stratagems for Divorcing a Wife (GL) - Chapter 29
The doctor came to see her and only diagnosed it as malnutrition, prescribing a few doses of traditional Chinese medicine. Nian Yanshi brewed the medicine carefully and brought it back. By that time, Lu Jianzhou was already sitting up, coughing.
Nian Yanshi quickly propped her back with a pillow and blew on a spoonful of the medicine before handing it to her.
Lu Jianzhou obediently held it in her mouth. Seeing her lips dry and her eyes on the verge of tears, Nian Yanshi became concerned, but Lu Jianzhou waved her off: “I’m fine. Much better now.”
“Why can’t you take care of yourself? If something really happened to you, I wouldn’t want to live alone either.” Nian Yanshi stroked her cheek, speaking with a resolute finality.
Lu Jianzhou, however, let out a bitter smile, then carefully asked, “Nian Yanshi… did you actually know all along that I’m Lu Jianzhou…”
Nian Yanshi could no longer hide the truth. It seemed they really needed to talk about it properly. “When I first married in, I only suspected it. I only truly confirmed it… that night you wrote the divorce document and shared a bed with me, I secretly made my final verification…”
“You…” Lu Jianzhou’s face flushed red, partly embarrassed and partly angry. “What did you do to me?”
“What else could I do…” Nian Yanshi looked up and whistled. “I just didn’t expect you to be so small… it took me a long time to confirm it was really…”
“You…” Lu Jianzhou wanted to scold her, thinking it was unfair to flirt like that, but seeing Nian Yanshi’s playful expression, she couldn’t stay angry. “Since you knew so early that I’m female, why didn’t you tell me… and why did you still… treat me that way, making me nervous every day, deliberately provoking me. Was that fun for you?”
Nian Yanshi’s expression clearly said it had been fun all along, yet she smiled and replied, “I was serious.”
“You and I are both women… how could it be serious…” Lu Jianzhou said, then threw off the blanket. “Since you already know, I guess you’ve had your fun. I won’t give up my brother. Do what you want!”
“What do I want with your brother?” Nian Yanshi laughed at her earnest expression. “Are you serious? Do whatever you like?”
“What are you going to do?” Lu Jianzhou watched her step closer, retreating step by step, until her back hit the wall. She hugged her knees, wary of Nian Yanshi’s smiling, approaching face.
“You…” Her hand, reaching out to stop her, was gently pressed down by Nian Yanshi’s soft fingers. The unspoken words of Lu Jianzhou were drowned in embarrassed, passionate whimpers. She felt completely powerless as the other slowly breached her defenses…
“If you talk again, I’ll bite your tongue!” Nian Yanshi teased, sticking out her tongue, suppressing all of Lu Jianzhou’s warnings.
Their inexperienced lips and tongues tangled together, growing wilder and more intoxicating. The whole world seemed to spin…
—She had known all along. She knew I was female, she knew I was Lu Jianzhou. The love she gave, fearlessly and wholeheartedly, was for me as a woman—not for Lu Jianyi.
Like a moth to the flame, regardless of all my hesitation, she never thought to give up…
If you are this fearless, why should I retreat?
Lu Jianzhou responded in kind, her hands, which had been clutching the sheets, now gripped Nian Yanshi’s shoulders and pushed back, taking the initiative, devouring every inch of sweetness that belonged to her…
In that moment, nothing else mattered—no ethics, no societal norms, no gender, no Lu Jianyi, no Jin Qingqin, no Liji…
All that mattered was to merge with the woman who loved her so deeply, heedless of everything…
*(CEO trope interlude: Nian Yanshi pinched Lu Jianzhou’s chin, a playful, mischievous smile on her lips: “You charming little demon~ saying no with your mouth, but your body is very honest…”)
“Child! I heard you were sick, so…” Madam Lu burst in and saw the scene.
Her face instantly turned pale with shock: “What are you two doing?!”
Caught mid-kiss, Lu Jianzhou was startled, pushing Nian Yanshi onto the pillow and hitting the bedframe herself. “Ouch, mother…”
“Cousin and cousin-in-law are really close…” Jin Qingqin commented sincerely. “But isn’t it too soon for him? Love makes one uncontrollable, I suppose…”
“I… I didn’t…” Lu Jianzhou’s denial was clumsy; she looked at her own hands, unsure how to explain.
Madam Lu, furious, shouted: “Come out here, now!”
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“Mother… Nian Yanshi and I are not what you think…” Lu Jianzhou hurried to explain, but Madam Lu refused to believe her.
After all, she had seen Lu Jianzhou about to push Nian Yanshi: “Do you even think about the consequences? If Nian Yanshi finds out you’re female, she’ll hate you!”
Weakly, Lu Jianzhou said, “She… already knows my true identity.”
Hearing that, Madam Lu was further shocked: “You told her? Just like your brother, you’re so helpless! Surrendered so quickly in front of beauty?”
“No… I don’t even know how she found out…” Lu Jianzhou denied firmly. “And even after she knew I’m female, she didn’t seem to mind…”
“Ridiculous! If she knew you were female from the start, why would she willingly marry a woman?” Madam Lu was genuinely angry. “That Nian Yanshi is no ordinary person. You can like whoever you want, but don’t like anyone from the royal family! Don’t forget how their struggles ruined our Lu family!”
“Nian Yanshi wouldn’t do that…” Lu Jianzhou knew Madam Lu meant the Lu Jianyi and Fenxu situation, where the family was innocently caught in the crossfire. She quickly defended Nian Yanshi.
“Ah, now you’ve learned to defend her? Before, I told you to go east, and you never dared to go anywhere else! Lu Jianzhou, tell me, if I and Nian Yanshi fell into the water, who would you save first?!” Madam Lu grabbed her ear as she scolded.
“Mother, gently… didn’t you teach me how to swim?”
“So you’d save that little fox then?”
“What fox! Mother, don’t be so childish…”
“I don’t care! Anyway, you better divorce that Nian Yanshi, or don’t call me mother!”
“Mother…”
“I said don’t call me mother!”
“Mother… okay, gently…”
……
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Under Madam Lu’s strict authority, Lu Jianzhou was locked in the study that night.
The lock loosened a bit, and Lu Jianzhou peeked, only to see Jin Qingqin delivering porridge: “Why are you here today? Where’s Chang Huan?”
“The lady asked me to come and guide you.” Jin Qingqin placed a bowl of longan and goji porridge on the table. Lu Jianzhou, however, had no appetite.
She only licked a bit, then complained: “Goji flavor is still so hard to swallow.”
“Aren’t you supposed to like goji?” Jin Qingqin was surprised. “You even said it was the one thing you and Jianzhou are least alike, so I had the kitchen make this for you.”
Startled, Lu Jianzhou picked up the bowl again and drank a few mouthfuls despite nausea. “Perhaps being in the military too long, I’ve forgotten.”
How could habits make a person forget their tastes? Jin Qingqin doubted it but found no flaw. She wanted to swap the porridge but noticed an open book on the table: Qiu Ran Ke.
“You usually like romance novels, why the sudden interest in martial arts?” Jin Qingqin picked up the book. Some handwriting on it was familiar, the ink still wet, freshly added.
Jin Qingqin recognized it as Lu Jianyi’s handwriting—he often showed off his calligraphy in front of others, and Lu Jianzhou and Jin Qingqin were his primary targets.
Lu Jianyi, the scholar, prided himself on neat, proper handwriting, unlike the casual, rebellious style now.
“I’m just browsing…” Lu Jianzhou didn’t notice anything wrong, replying casually, “Qingqin, could you ask my mother when I can be released? I need to go to the palace tomorrow to teach the second prince!”
Jin Qingqin pondered but didn’t answer directly. She set the book down and said, “You’ve come back and are looking more like Jianzhou. I can hardly tell you two apart.”
Lu Jianzhou was shocked. Not knowing what she’d noticed, she probed: “Impossible. Besides appearance, in what way am I like Jianzhou? You must be missing her too much to say that.”
“Really?” Jin Qingqin stirred the plain porridge, seemingly deep in thought.
“You still can’t let go of Jianzhou?” Lu Jianzhou asked, “It’s been so long, not to mention she’s dead, and even if both of you were women, being together defies ethics.”
“Ethics are just paradoxes created by so-called proper people. If two truly love each other, what do societal rules matter?” Jin Qingqin said shockingly, startling Lu Jianzhou.
At first, she had thought Jin Qingqin was just mischievous as a child, but now she seemed free-spirited, not bound by scholar-like prudishness.
“Just because you think that doesn’t mean Jianzhou did,” Lu Jianzhou cautioned. “You should give up. I am her… her brother. She would see you as a sister.”
“So Lu Jianzhou, does she like women or men?” Jin Qingqin asked directly.