He rarely called her with such urgency. You Yuji was startled and quickly withdrew her hand, turning back to look: “What’s wrong?”
“I feel awful… so awful…” Si Que lowered his eyes, pressing a hand to his chest.
You Yuji quickly walked over, anxiously asking, “Should I call Tingyun for you?”
Si Que suddenly grasped You Yuji’s wrist, slowly revealing a smile to her as he raised his eyes.
You Yuji was taken aback and feigned anger: “You scared me!”
Si Que lifted his arms to hug You Yuji’s waist and said sweetly, “Sister, let Liufeng handle it. I want to go back and rest. You promised to lie down with me at noon, but I haven’t held you yet. I want to hold you.”
Ignoring his antics, You Yuji gently scolded him, “How can you use your body to deceive me?”
“I just like you too much. I won’t deceive you again.” He hugged You Yuji’s waist, pressing his face against her lower abdomen and gently rocking her.
That urgent call had been too intense; he feared she might become suspicious, so he had to put on this act.
Just then, Liufeng entered, was startled by the scene, and quickly withdrew.
You Yuji helplessly pushed Si Que’s shoulder, softly saying, “Alright, let’s go back.”
She pushed Si Que out, casually instructing Liufeng outside to bring some cotton clothes to the main house for Si Que.
Not long after, Liufeng saw Tingyun and immediately ran over with wide eyes and an exaggerated expression, “Tingyun! I just saw His Highness acting spoiled with Madam!”
Tingyun glanced at her, warning, “If you want to live, keep quiet.”
Liufeng immediately obeyed, closing her mouth and staying silent.
Chen Anzhi had no intention of personally settling Si Han. He ordered the steward to take her to Haitang Residence while he went to Anxiang Courtyard.
Originally, he had racked his brains to find ways to please the princess, and now he had finally managed to take Si Han away from Sun Guangliang. Although nominally, Si Han had become his concubine, he didn’t want to touch her. On one hand, Si Han was Si Que’s sister, and initially, he only wanted to please Si Que, feeling ashamed to touch his beloved’s sister. On the other hand, Si Han had served other men before. He had a strong aversion to women and didn’t want to touch such an unclean woman.
Chen Anzhi quickly walked towards Anxiang Courtyard, crossing the corridors, and vaguely heard a few maids sweeping dry leaves and gossiping. He usually didn’t bother with such trivial matters or eavesdrop, but he vaguely heard them mentioning Si Que and couldn’t help but stop.
“Do you think the relationship between the princess and that Princess Que is real or fake?”
“It’s hard to say, maybe they’re just close friends. The princess gets along well with others; many of the prince’s concubines like her.”
“But none of the other concubines are as close to Princess Que as the princess is. The two of them practically live and eat together. Haven’t you heard? Princess Que now sleeps on the princess’s bed every night. No matter how close sisters are, they wouldn’t spend day and night together like this.”
“Tsk tsk, the prince has taken so many concubines, and the princess doesn’t care at all. In my opinion, it’s highly likely that the princess likes women!”
“Stop talking…”
The maids walked away.
Chen Anzhi stood there in a daze.
After a long time, he came back to his senses and then laughed.
“A bunch of gossiping maids with wild imaginations!” Chen Anzhi flicked his sleeve. “They can make up any nonsense! Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!”
You Yuji liking women? How could that be possible? If she liked women, she wouldn’t dress up so flamboyantly every day to attract men!
Fang Qingyi leaned lazily against the headboard, listening to the commotion in the courtyard. She asked, “Did the prince go next door?”
Lushu had no choice but to tell the truth: “Yes.”
Previously, whenever the prince came to Anxiang Courtyard, he would first spend some time with Fang Qingyi before going to see Hongzan. Now, he often went straight to Hongzan’s room without coming to Fang Qingyi.
Lushu was worried that Fang Qingyi would be upset.
But Fang Qingyi just asked indifferently, “Has the prince taken another concubine?”
“Yes. I heard he spent a lot of money to buy her from someone else. She’s also a princess from Si Kingdom.”
Fang Qingyi admired her newly dyed beautiful nails and sneered.
She now hoped the days would pass quickly. In a little more than half a month, she could claim to be pregnant, giving the child in her belly a status—before the child’s father died.
In the evening, You Yuji read a medical book for a while and bathed very late before resting. She knelt outside the bed, reaching up to unhook the bed curtains.
Si Que lay on the inside of the bed, watching her slender waist. As she raised her hand, her clothes clung to her graceful waistline.
The two bed curtains slowly fell, blocking the remaining light from outside, and the inside of the bed immediately darkened.
Si Que slowly blinked, adjusting to the dim light inside the bed. After You Yuji lay down on the outer side of the bed, he reached out to hook her waist, burying his face in her neck and softly called, “Sister.”
“Mm.” You Yuji responded softly, her hands busy arranging the quilt over both of them.
The quilt was soon neatly arranged, and the darkened bed became quiet.
In the silence, Si Que slowly spoke, “Sister, aren’t you going to sit with me tonight?”
Today wasn’t a day marked with a red circle.
You Yuji pressed her lips together, not immediately responding.
“I understand.” Si Que’s voice lowered, “Since it’s not a red circle day, Sister doesn’t even want to look at me.”
He withdrew the hand that was resting on You Yuji’s slender waist.
You Yuji couldn’t bear his dejected tone; her heart softened like a pool of spring water. She turned to face Si Que, speaking gently, “Too… too frequently isn’t good for your health.”
She reached for his hand under the quilt, hooking her pinky around his and giving it a gentle shake.
Ah, she was worried about him.
He suddenly heard a rustling sound as You Yuji sat up beside him. Her hand moved over, slipping into his sash, gently covering and then gripping him.
Si Que’s body instantly tensed. In the darkness, he gazed at You Yuji’s silhouette. In the dim light, her head was slightly tilted, her long hair cascading like a cloud. She used her soft hands to relieve his greed.
He grew increasingly fearful, afraid she would discover the darkness and malice hidden beneath his obedient and clean exterior.
The next day, when You Yuji woke up, her lower back was somewhat sore. She frowned as she sat up, seeing Si Que still asleep beside her. She adjusted her disheveled clothes, got out of bed, and went to wash up, repeatedly washing her hands.
During breakfast, a heavy feeling in her lower abdomen gave You Yuji a bad premonition.
Sure enough, her period had arrived.
After taking care of herself in the washroom, You Yuji didn’t come out immediately but instead sat down dejectedly on a stool.
She hadn’t conceived again.
The disappointment weighed heavily in her heart, making her feel both sour and bitter. Every woman who hopes for a child feels a pang of sorrow at this time, and for You Yuji, this disappointment was even more intense.
She sat alone in the washroom for a long time, barely managing to comfort herself.
—Perhaps it was for the best. She had been poisoned a few days ago; if she were pregnant, it might not be good for the child. If that were the case, not conceiving might be a blessing in disguise.
But the thought of Si Que needing to continue his medication, coupled with memories of her sickly mother, left her feeling depressed.
You Yuji hid her feelings well, and when she faced Si Que again, her expression was warm and smiling. She couldn’t let her emotions affect Si Que or make him unhappy.
“Will you accompany me to the flower hall today?” You Yuji asked with a smile.
“I want to go wherever Sister goes.”
You Yuji quickly glanced at the pillow and the lotus-shaped bolster beside it, then lightly glared at Si Que. Si Que just smiled at her, completely unfazed by her warning look.
They had delayed a bit that morning, so when You Yuji personally wheeled Si Que to the flower hall, the other concubines had already arrived. Not only were Chunxing, Cuiyu, and Lin Yingying there, but Hongzan and Si Han had also come.
“Sister, I haven’t seen you for days, I missed you so much!” Lin Yingying immediately beamed, her eyes curving sweetly as she smiled.
Hearing Lin Yingying’s sweet voice, You Yuji couldn’t help but smile, and she immediately invited them to sit down.
They hadn’t exchanged many words when Gu Momo arrived.
“Madam, Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration is coming soon. Word from above says that this year will be different from previous years. They want it to be livelier and have ordered each residence to present a performance. Specifically, if we can bring some local songs and dances to enhance cultural exchange, it would be excellent.”
You Yuji nodded and invited Gu Momo to sit, but she left after delivering the message. Clearly, the task had been handed to You Yuji because the Princess of Jinnan was unwell.
Lin Yingying smiled and said, “Sister, who can dance better than you? I heard the rewards are very generous!”
You Yuji, however, had no desire to dance.
In her homeland, dancing was an expression of emotion. But in Chen, singing and dancing were considered vulgar activities, performed to entertain others. This lack of freedom in dance stripped it of its purity.
You Yuji shook her head with a smile, “I haven’t danced in a long time, so I won’t bother. If you have good ideas, you can submit them.”
Just then, You Yuji remembered that the concubines in the residence were all skilled at playing musical instruments…
“Madam, I will take my leave,” said Hongzan.
You Yuji nodded.
Hongzan always made an appearance in the morning and then left.
Zhenxu rolled her eyes as she watched Hongzan’s swaying figure walk away.
“Sister, I’m tired. I’ll go lie down for a while,” Si Que said.
You Yuji agreed. Si Que didn’t go far, just to a small room next to the flower hall for resting. On the small table at the head of the narrow bed were a few medical books that You Yuji had been reading. Si Que sat on the edge of the bed, casually picking up a scroll to read.
He wasn’t really tired; he just found the concubines too noisy.
If it weren’t for You Yuji often praising Lin Yingying for her sweet words and the concubines’ ability to make You Yuji laugh, he would have poisoned them mute long ago.
Si Han stood up and said, “I’ll go talk to Sister.”
She never seemed to smile, always maintaining a stern expression.
You Yuji hesitated, guessing that Si Que was not actually tired but rather annoyed by the noise. She nodded and let Si Han go in.
Zhenxu watched as Si Han walked into the small room, silently counting on her fingers the number of concubines the prince had.
Chunxing, Lin Yingying, Cuiyu, Fang Qingyi, Hongzan, and the two princesses from Si Kingdom.
Zhenxu complained silently to herself—The prince used to be proper, having only one concubine for many years. But after marrying his main wife, he started taking concubines freely, as if having a legitimate wife gave him the right to take concubines openly.
Zhenxu looked towards You Yuji.
Although Zhenxu knew that You Yuji didn’t care how many concubines the prince took, she still felt indignant on You Yuji’s behalf as an observer.
Upon reflection, she realized that now Madam had someone she cared for. Even though it was a forbidden love, not accepted by society, Madam was pitiable. Madam having someone she loved, even if it was a woman, was a good thing. She should help Madam!
Si Que looked up, glanced at Si Han who had walked in, then returned his gaze to the medical book he was reading.
“Why didn’t you save me?” Si Han asked in a low, pained voice, her eyes red.
Si Que ignored her.
Si Han rushed in front of Si Que, questioning him in a low, anguished voice, “You clearly have the ability, so why didn’t you save me? Why did you watch me being humiliated!”
Si Que turned another page of the book.
With tears brimming in her eyes, Si Han wiped the wetness from the corners with the back of her hand, gritting her teeth, “No wonder everyone hates you. Just as Father said, you really are a beast!”
You Yuji, who had previously heard Si Que mention that Si Han bullied him, felt uneasy and followed to the small room. Just as she pushed the door open a crack, she vaguely heard Si Han’s words.
“I won’t let you have it easy!” Hatred flashed in Si Han’s eyes.
Si Que was about to raise his hand to strangle her when he heard the sound of the door being pushed.
He lifted his eyes, his gaze passing over Si Han, and gave You Yuji a strained, aggrieved smile.
Thank you for the updates🥺