The Doctor’s Three-Time Marriage - Chapter 289

Chapter 289: 289. Nian Jincheng’s Resentment

Translator: 549690339

Su Liang wasn’t used to sleeping with others, so she gave the bed to Ying Ying and slept on the couch.

Ying Ying accepted without hesitation, and although she was enthusiastic towards Su Liang, she wasn’t as pretentious and clingy as Yan Shiba.

Dawn was approaching.

Su Liang felt an itch on her face, opened her eyes, and saw Ying Ying’s magnified smiling face.

Ying Ying had a tall and voluptuous figure, and a charming and attractive appearance. When she smiled, she was truly a beauty with a myriad of enchanting expressions.

“Little girl, sister is leaving.” Ying Ying saw that Su Liang had woken up, pinched her face, and stood up.

Su Liang quickly got up, “So early? Aren’t you going to eat something before leaving?”

“Next time. When Xiaoye is feeling better, I’ll take him to meet you, the benefactor.” Ying Ying said, putting on her cloak. Then, with a serious look, she asked Su Liang, “What’s your relationship with Xiaogu…? Su Liang laughed, “We are good friends.”

Ying Ying’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise, “Just…friends?”

Su Liang shook her head, “No, we’re brothers, family, and master and disciple.”

Ying Ying looked puzzled, “What does he teach you?”

Su Liang shook her head again, ‘We learn from each other. He teaches me martial arts, and I teach him medical skills.”

“You two are really interesting,” Ying Ying smiled meaningfully. She was sure that Gu Ling’s feelings towards Su Liang were not ordinary, but it seemed that the two had not yet broken through that thin layer of paper. As an onlooker, she decided not to interfere, in order not to annoy Gu Ling.

“Oh, the medicine! Wait a moment!” Su Liang put on her clothes and went to knock on Gu Ling’s door next door.

After a while, the door cracked open and a hand reached out, handing Su Liang the medicine bottle.

Su Liang took it, “Great God, Ying Ying is leaving. Won’t you come out to see her off?”

“No.” Gu Ling said, quickly closing the door.

Ying Ying looked at the medicine Su Liang had made and nodded immediately, “Yes, that’s it! You’re not even that old, but you’re quite capable. I underestimated you before. Next time we meet, let’s have a good talk about medicine and poison.”

Su Liang gave Ying Ying a bundle containing the clothes she was sending her and some desserts.

“This is nice, give it to me!” Ying Ying pointed to the unremarkable wooden hairpin on Su Liang’s head.

But Su Liang refused, “No, this was a gift from someone else.”

Ying Ying guessed it was given by Gu Ling and didn’t insist further. She picked up the bundle, hugged Su Liang, and turned to leave, saying that they would definitely meet again.

“Take care, Ying Ying.” Su Liang stood under the eaves, watching Ying Ying disappear from view before turning her head to find that Gu Ling had also come out.

“You just met, and you’re already so reluctant to part?” Gu Ling asked.

Su Liang felt his tone was a bit odd, “Not bad. Ying Ying is much more adorable than that Yan Shiba.”

Gu Ling didn’t comment on this and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

‘Great God, I want wontons for breakfast.” Su Liang said, feeling really good to be able to order food.

Su Liang replied, “I don’t want to make them.”

Su Liang: …Fine, tine, it’s nice to have something to eat. She didn’t always let Gu Ling order food in the past either.

However, when Su Liang finished exercising and washing up and was eating her steaming hot breakfast, she stirred the sour soup noodles with her chopsticks, and several small, exquisite wontons floated up from below.

A smile instantly appeared in Su Liang’s eyes, “Great God, didn’t you say you didn’t want to make them? Did you also want to eat them after hearing me say

Gu Ling shook his head, “Just practicing.”

Su Liang was very happy with this arrangement, “Great God, feel free to practice any dish you wish to cook. I promise to give it a good try and provide honest feedback. ”

On this freezing New Year’s Eve day, it started snowing during breakfast. After eating a warm bowl of wonton noodles, Su Liang felt refreshed and hummed a tune while washing the dishes.

After giving Situ Han his acupuncture treatment in the palace again today, Su Liang was awarded a gold embossed invitation, inviting her and Gu Ling to the royal family banquet on New Year’s Eve.

Su Liang was extremely pleased and took the invitation back to Ning Mansion. Situ Han also bestowed many gifts, which were sent directly to Ning Mansion.

As Su Liang rode her horse through the snow, her pace was not fast. Halfway through the journey, she heard the sound of horses’ hooves and someone shouting “Divine Doctor Su^l‘ behind her. She turned around to see two imperial guards on horseback.

She learned that one of Situ Han’s concubines was having a difficult childbirth and was asked to return to the palace to save her. Su Liang turned back immediately.

Gu Ling was preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner at home, with quite a few ingredients needing to be pre-fried. It was agreed between him and Su Liang that they would eat little at the palace banquet and return home to observe the night together.

Su Liang was very busy that day. After giving Situ Han his acupuncture treatment, she helped his favored concubine give birth. Approaching noon, the child was born safely along with the mother. Su Liang thought she could leave, but Empress Dowager Min sent for her, saying she had a terrible headache and asked Su Liang to check it out…

As always, Su Liang was easygoing and agreed readily, then followed the person to Empress Dowager Min’s place. Su Liang didn’t prescribe any medicine and just gave her a few acupuncture needles; she felt her head was less foggy afterward.

So, when Su Liang left the palace once more, she received another bunch of rewards.

Back at Ning Mansion, Gu Ling brought over a plate of freshly fried dumplings and a bowl of fish soup – Su Liang’s missed lunch.

“Thank you for your hard work, Great God.” Su Liang smiled, her eyes curved, “Then, let me dig in.”

Gu Ling turned back to the kitchen to continue preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner ingredients. He thought he was on the right track, as Su Liang seemed to be already conquered by his cooking skills after only two days…

But in fact, Su Liang felt it was just a change in division of labor, which was good. If they ever decided to part ways, both of their lifeskills would be no problem.

When Su Liang went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and help Gu Ling make a fire after her late lunch, she brought up Ying Ying again, “Ying Ying is so beautiful and has such a great figure. How could you not like her?”

Gu Ling raised his knife, and a fish head was chopped in half. Considering his meticulous pursuit of perfection in cooking, his cut was a bit off this time and the two halves were noticeably different in size.

As Gu Ling looked down at the pale fish eyes, wondering how to answer Su Liang’s question, he couldn’t say that he wasn’t interested in women anymore. He heard Su Liang laugh, “But it’s true, since you have no interest in women and don’t understand romance, Ying Ying needs to find a man who can

appreciate her beauty.”

Gu Ling turned around with the knife, which startled Su Liang as she looked up, “Great God, what are you doing?”

Gu Ling’s expression was calm, “The fish head is bad, we need to get a new one.” Saying this, he picked up another fish from the water basin, raised the knife, and got a new fish head.

Su Liang couldn’t understand why he had discarded the previous one, “What’s wrong with it? Isn’t it fresh?”

“The two halves I cut were not the same size,” Gu Ling explained.

Su Liang scoffed, “You are obsessive-compulsive.”

Following Su Liang’s memory from her previous life and their learning from Master White’s wife in Su family village, the two of them made a basket of jujube flower buns. Gu Ling did most of the work, while Su Liang was responsible for putting the washed red dates on top.

Gu Ling lifted the lid of the pot, and a faint warm steam filled the kitchen. Once the steam had dispersed, Su Liang looked at the steamed buns, each with a perfectly symmetrical shape, none of them twisted during the expansion process. She gave Gu Ling a thumbs up, “Perfect!”

Ren Dong saw the finished product and praised Su Liang for making it look so beautiful.

Su Liang accepted the praise, as she couldn’t let anyone know that Gu Ling cooked in her apron every day. Such information would be a devastating blow to his cold image he maintained in front of others…

As it started to get dark, Ren Dong drove Gu Ling and Su Liang to the palace for the banquet.

This was a banquet attended only by members of the Liang royal family, most of whom Su Liang had already met.

Situ Han, who had been out of sight for two months because of his facial paralysis, appeared today in high spirits and full of pride. He had a handsome appearance, always treating Su Liang gently, but his presence was somewhat similar to Duanmu Yi’s. A clever emperor must have a deep mind and be a smooth operator.

Situ Han’s seating arrangement was interesting – Su Liang and Gu Ling sat right opposite the crown prince, with King Yue and Situ Xie seated at their side.

Though Su Liang and Gu Ling were honored guests, this arrangement made the atmosphere a bit subtle. During the banquet, Situ Han would occasionally talk and laugh with Su Liang, asking Gu Ling if the food suited his taste, but he completely ignored Situ Xie, not even lending him a glance.

Lady Min took the initiative to make peace, “During the time when His Majesty was ill, King Yue sent someone to invite Divine Doctor Su to treat His Majesty and helped handle political affairs. Today , there’s no outsider present, shouldn’t His Majesty toast King Yue?”

Upon hearing this, Situ Han laughed out loud, picked up his wine glass, and looked at Situ Xie.

Situ Xie smiled softly, raising his glass and standing up.

“To Uncle,” said Situ Han, draining his glass. Putting down the wine glass, his smile deepened. “My uncle is getting old, so it’s hard on him to work so diligently. I feel guilty in my heart. From now on, let my uncle put aside his concerns and enjoy his remaining years! This is my filial piety as a nephew, and my uncle must not refuse!”

Empress Dowager Lady Min’s face changed first, followed by Situ Xie’s children and grandchildren.

There was no fool present, and everyone knew what Situ Han meant. Letting Situ Xie enjoy his remaining years was equivalent to openly asking him to hand over the power in his hands.

Situ Xie’s expression didn’t change, and he just said, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern” without taking a clear stance.

The specifics of the power struggle wouldn’t be brought up in the open, but it was apparent that Situ Han had declared war on Situ Xie, and the outcome was uncertain.

Su Liang’s only interest in the power struggles within Liang Kingdom’s

imperial family was to watch the drama unfold. She and Gu Ling were outsiders, and their purpose for coming here had been achieved, just waiting for the right time to leave.

The banquet didn’t end too late. After leaving the palace, Su Liang and Gu Ling got into a carriage and rode some distance before Su Liang asked, “Will Situ Xie rebel? His illegitimate son becoming emperor is different from his legitimate children and grandchildren becoming emperor. Even if Situ Han knows he’s his biological father, he can still deny it. Even, given the current momentum, I wouldn’t be too surprised if Situ Han wants to eliminate Situ Xie’s entire family.”

It was not novel for fathers and sons in the royal family to fight each other, let alone this father and son who were born from an illicit affair between their uncle and sister-in-law.

“Let them do as they please.” Gu Ling was not interested in this.

Su Liang was thoughtful, “It might be destined to be a life-and-death stalemate. After all, Situ Han has his own children and grandchildren, and Situ Xie has the children and grandchildren he raised, and for the sake of their children and grandchildren’s safety and future, they cannot reconcile. After all, there’s only one imperial throne.”

Seeing that Gu Ling didn’t speak, Su Liang changed the topic to something that concerned them and lowered her voice, ‘Ying Ying came too quickly, took the Snow Lotus, and left. What should we do about our marriage?”

Originally, they planned for Ying Ying to appear on the day of their wedding and “kidnap the bride, ” then they would use her appearance to void the marriage. But now, this plan was no longer feasible.

“Let it be.” Gu Ling said.

Su Liang shrugged, “Fine. We can only do this. After all, we can’t offend either side.”

At this point, they had already accepted the imperial marriage and couldn’t just reject it without reason. Moreover, they couldn’t leave easily without obtaining the object Duanmu Yi asked them to get.

Although technically they’ve got it, the secret scroll would be obtained sooner or later. But whether or not to give it to Duanmu Yi and how to give it was something that could only be discussed when they see Old Man Mu again.

Now, Su Liang was waiting for someone from Duanmu Yi to come, whether it was to warn or scold her, she didn’t care. As long as someone came, she would have a reason to leave.

New Year’s Eve night.

This was the second New Year Su Liang had spent since traversing the timeline, and Gu Ling was still by her side.

Last year they had spent the New Year in Su Family Village, and Su Liang had prepared the New Year’s Eve dinner, which included a luxurious tea-flavored chicken made with Dahongpao tea leaves.

This year in Yao City, there was no Dahongpao, but Gu Ling used the precious tea leaves given to Su Liang as a reward from Situ Han to make tea-flavored chicken, which had its own unique flavor.

Su Liang tried every dish and kept nodding in praise.

Last was the chopped pepper fish head. The two fish heads were placed symmetrically on the plate, even the fish eyes looked like a mirror image.

“Great God, do you feel uncomfortable seeing something asymmetrical?” Su Liang asked Gu Ling.

Gu Ling shook his head, “No.”

“What did that ruined fish head do wrong?” Su Liang asked with a smile.

Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent, “I’m sick, obsessive-compulsive, can you cure me?”

Su Liang almost choked on the fruit wine she had just taken, coughed lightly, and said, “It’s just cooking, it’s not that serious, no need to cure it.” The window was open, and snow was swirling outside.

As Su Liang enjoyed her food, she reminisced about her experiences after crossing over. Gu Ling listened quietly, realizing that she remembered all those events when he was mostly by her side. This feeling was nice.

After finishing eating, Su Liang put down her chopsticks, walked to the window, and suddenly turned to propose to Gu Ling, “Great God, there’s still a long time before daylight. Shall we go for a walk later?”

Gu Ling nodded, “Alright.”

Soon after, Su Liang returned to her room to change clothes, donned a large cloak, and brought along a small hand warmer she had bought at the market a few days ago.

Upon stepping out, she saw Gu Ling already prepared and waiting for her under the corridor.

“Great God, you have a cold constitution.” Su Liang handed the hand warmer to him.

Gu Ling took a look and shook his head, “Not as cold as you.” “You don’t even smile,” Su Liang teased.

Gu Ling casually replied, “Brown Sugar Ginger Jujube Tea.”

Su Liang: …speechless…

Leaving the Prince Ning Mansion, the two strolled aimlessly in the falling snow, listening to the sound of their footsteps crushing the fresh powder. It felt as if they were the only ones left in the world, with no one else around.

Gu Ling wanted to know how children from Su Liang’s past life grew up.

From her earliest memories, Su Liang recounted her experiences from childhood to adulthood, what kind of school she attended, the teachers who had left a deep impression on her, the unforgettable classmates, and the silly things she had done.

“During high school, a boy confessed his love for me,” Su Liang said with a smile.

Gu Ling’s eyes flashed slightly, as Su Liang continued, “Guess how I rejected him back then?”

Gu Ling frowned slightly, “You said you needed to focus on studying?

“Great God, you actually guessed right!” Su Liang expressed her surprise.

Gu Ling: …Indeed, Su Liang was currently at the same age as when she was in high school in her past life, and her priority was still studying and improving her abilities. This was also one of the reasons why Gu Ling did not plan to confess his love right now; he respected and admired Su Liang’s mindset and determination.

“How about college?” Gu Ling asked.

Su Liang shook her head, “I was even busier in college. Medical students have a lot to learn and are always swamped.”

Gu Ling: …Good, if Su Liang falls in love with him, he would be the first and only man she had loved in both lifetimes.

New Year’s Day.

It was still the crack of dawn when Su Liang and Gu Ling returned to the Prince Ning Mansion.

There was a thick layer of snow on the ice lake, and the two built a cute little snowman together.

“This is what winter should be like,” Su Liang said cheerfully. “Great God, happy New Year.”

Gu Ling brushed the snow off Su Liang’s hat, “Xiaoliang, happy New Year.”

Their conversation was the same as last year. Gu Ling rarely called Su Liang by that name, but he did it for the sake of parallelism.

Back in the main courtyard, Su Liang brought up her friends, “At this moment, your brother Xiao Nian must be enjoying a carefree life with his beloved wife.”

Meanwhile, Nian Jincheng, who had to abandon his newlywed wife and couldn’t return home on New Year’s Day, was riding fast through the snowy landscape to Yao City. He sneezed suddenly, his face full of resentment, and silently complained: It’s all Gu Ling’s fault, that bastard. Had he married Su Liang earlier, none of this trouble would have happened….