You Yuji leaned against the head of the beauty couch, sipping warm brown sugar ginger tea.
When Si Que entered from outside, You Yuji had just finished an entire bowl of the tea. She placed the empty bowl to one side, slightly turned her body, and smiled as she looked over, saying, “I’ve been feeling unwell these past few days. Why don’t you move back to the East Wing for now?”
To be precise, it wasn’t just the past few days.
You Yuji had decided to strictly adhere to the days circled in red on the booklet. On days not circled, she wouldn’t allow him to stay here. Some things were too embarrassing to say outright. Excessive indulgence might not be good for his health, and it wasn’t beneficial for her preparations for pregnancy either.
You Yuji observed Si Que’s expression, expecting him to be displeased and needing some coaxing. But to her surprise, Si Que obediently nodded and smiled, saying, “Alright, I’ll listen to Sister.”
Si Que stood up and went to the side room to fetch his clothes.
You Yuji placed the warm belly wrap aside, got off the couch, and followed him to the door, saying, “No need to take anything. It’s not like you won’t be coming back. Besides, it’s so close. If you need anything, you can come over anytime.”
With his back to You Yuji, Si Que expressionlessly closed the double doors of the wardrobe. When he turned around, his face was already covered with a gentle smile: “Alright, I’ll listen to Sister.”
You Yuji looked deeply at the faint smile on Si Que’s face and said softly, “Don’t overthink things.”
The faint smile on Si Que’s lips instantly bloomed: “Sister.”
“Hmm?”
He called her with a smile. When she inquired, he looked at her and quietly shook his head. He just wanted to call her, with nothing particular to say.
He had been reticent since childhood, and during the years when his throat was sore, he didn’t speak at all. Sometimes Si Que even felt that he hadn’t spoken to others in his entire life as much as he had spoken to You Yuji during this period.
In the evening, after having dinner together in You Yuji’s room, Liufeng came in to report that the East Wing had been tidied up. Si Que didn’t stay long in You Yuji’s room and returned to the East Wing.
The moment he returned to the East Wing, Si Que’s face turned cold.
He sat silently behind the zither table, his gaze falling on the strings.
Liufeng came in with hot tea, carefully placed it on the table, checked the charcoal fire without looking around, and then quietly left. Once the door was closed, she pulled her skirt and ran to the neighboring room to find Tingyun.
“Tingyun! Tingyun! Did His Highness and the Madam have a quarrel?”
Tingyun was threading a very long silver needle through the belly of a sleeping spider. Without looking up, she casually replied, “Is that so?”
Liufeng knew Tingyun always played with strange things. Seeing the spiders in the jar from afar, she didn’t approach and just stood at the door.
“Yes! I just went in to deliver tea, and His Highness was sitting alone behind the zither table, looking heartbroken. Do you think the Madam kicked him out?”
Tingyun finally lifted her eyes to glance over and coldly retorted, “What do you think?”
Liufeng shrank her neck, realizing her guess might be wrong. But still…
Tingyun withdrew her gaze and continued fiddling with her spider. She always had trouble sleeping at night and was trying to develop a medicine to help herself sleep better. The sleep-aid incense wasn’t effective enough, and the poison from the sleep spider was too strong.
Liufeng knew that Tingyun would be too busy to pay attention to her, so she suddenly thought of Baohe. Her eyes lit up, and she ran out in a hurry. As soon as she reached the courtyard, she saw Baohe waving at her from a distance.
“Did they have a fight?”
“Did they have a fight?”
They spoke in unison and then hid in a corner, whispering for a long time.
Inside the room, Si Que, who had been sitting motionless for a long time, finally made a move. He leaned his upper body slightly backward, stretched his legs under the dress, and changed to a more relaxed posture.
“This shouldn’t be happening…”
Si Que frowned slightly, a hint of impatience in his tone.
It had been two months, and You Yuji still wasn’t pregnant.
This shouldn’t be happening.
Could it be that he was really incapable?
Where was he lacking?
If she couldn’t get pregnant soon, would You Yuji lose patience, think he was inadequate, and seek someone else?
Annoying.
Si Que was beginning to realize that being a lover was really unbearable. A lover’s status could never be compared to that of a husband.
There could only be one husband, but a lover didn’t have the right to demand exclusivity.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
He didn’t want to be You Yuji’s lover anymore.
At this moment, You Yuji was reclining on a beauty couch, flipping through a medical book.
After a nap, Baisui became playful, scratching the bed curtains, then the table legs, and occasionally chasing its own tail. When it got tired from playing, it jumped onto the beauty couch and snuggled under You Yuji’s arm, acting as a little heater to warm her belly.
The furry touch pulled You Yuji’s attention away from the book. She glanced towards the window and was surprised to see it was pitch black outside; it was already so late.
“It’s so late, we should rest…”
You Yuji suddenly stopped talking, remembering that Si Que had moved back to the east wing in the evening.
She turned her gaze towards the bed but didn’t see the clean pair of eyes that used to look at her. She smiled, picked up Baisui by the scruff, and held it in her arms, gently saying, “We’ll sleep together tonight.”
“Madam, have you gone to bed?” Zhenxu asked from outside.
Holding Baisui, You Yuji was ready to go to bed. She replied in a tired voice, “What is it?”
“The Heir is here.”
You Yuji frowned. She sat by the bed and said, “Tell him I’ve already retired for the night and send him away.”
“It’s not that…” Zhenxu paused, “The Heir went to the East Wing.”
You Yuji’s hand, which was gently stroking Baisui’s neck, froze.
She understood Chen Anzhi’s strange behavior of bringing Si Que back to the mansion after a long absence. She also knew that Chen Anzhi had been fond of Princess Que for a long time and would eventually visit Si Que’s room…
She had once hidden on the side of Si Que’s bed, listening in shock to Chen Anzhi’s humble pleas and flattery towards Si Que. Chen Anzhi even made no effort to conceal his attempts to win over Si Que on several occasions.
This time, Si Que should be able to send Chen Anzhi away with a few words, just like before, right?
Zhenxu spoke again from outside the door, “By the way, the Heir reeked of alcohol when he came over!”
You Yuji hurriedly put down Baisui and walked quickly outside. She opened the door and asked with a frown, “The Heir is drunk?”
“Anyway, he reeked of alcohol. He must have drunk quite a bit!”
You Yuji had learned what Chen Anzhi was like when drunk on her first day at Jinnan Prince’s mansion.
Ah Que was so weak. If Chen Anzhi forced himself on him while drunk, Ah Que wouldn’t be able to resist and would suffer humiliation. If Chen Anzhi found out about Si Que’s true male identity, it wouldn’t just be about suffering and humiliation; it would be a crime of deceiving the monarch, punishable by death! You Yuji raised her chin slightly, looking towards the East Wing, her worry evident.
Si Que had just prepared a medicine to help with pregnancy when Chen Anzhi stumbled in. His face was flushed with the redness of alcohol, and he held a few wildflowers in his hand, grinning foolishly at Si Que.
Obviously, if he weren’t drunk, he wouldn’t dare come to Si Que’s room at night.
“On my way back to the mansion, I saw these little wildflowers in the cracks of the bricks. Surrounded by dead grass and accumulated snow, they still managed to bloom despite the severe cold. They’re stronger than all the plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, magnolias… and whatever else in the courtyard!” He staggered towards Si Que, carefully placing the wildflowers on the table in front of him, as if presenting a treasure.
“They can bloom despite the cold, so the Princess’s health will surely get better slowly! Long, long life!”
He managed to recite the words he had rehearsed on the way, but in the end, because he was drunk, he stuttered on the last sentence.
He immediately pursed his lips in embarrassment.
Si Que glanced at the wildflowers on the table.
He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze moving from the wildflowers on the table to the uneasy man before him. This man was rightfully You Yuji’s husband.
Although You Yuji had never called him husband, just thinking about their relationship filled Si Que with a sense of irritation.
When he didn’t smile, his face always appeared cold. Now, his irritation was showing on his face.
Although Chen Anzhi was drunk, he was staring at Si Que’s face and noticed his displeasure. He immediately took a step back, nervously saying, “You, you don’t like…”
Si Que’s gaze passed over Chen Anzhi, looking towards You Yuji’s main room. The light in You Yuji’s bedroom was still on. The faint glow, carried by the winter chill, was vaguely imprinted on his window paper.
Chen Anzhi came here to find him, so You Yuji must know, right?
An interesting and amusing idea suddenly crept into Si Que’s mind. A faint smile slowly climbed up the corners of his lips.
Chen Anzhi stared blankly at Si Que’s smile, and even his drunkenness seemed to fade a bit—he finally saw Princess Que smile! Princess Que was smiling because he brought flowers late at night!
Chen Anzhi could hear his heart pounding violently in his chest.
Obviously, he had no idea that Si Que only smiled happily when he had some mischievous and malicious idea in mind.
When Si Que’s gaze fell on him, Chen Anzhi almost forgot how to breathe.
“Liufeng, make some tea,” Si Que ordered.
The princess didn’t chase him away! Chen Anzhi felt a surge of joy! His cheeks, already flushed from drinking, turned even redder. He awkwardly tugged at his collar and said with an uneasy smile, “The brazier in here is really warm, it’s so hot.”
He was like a crab on a hot stove.
Before long, Liufeng came in with the tea.
Si Que picked up the wildflowers Chen Anzhi had placed on the table, looked at them for a while, then placed them on the strings of a zither. He slowly spoke, “Sit.”
“Huh? Oh!” Chen Anzhi hurriedly sat down, his back tense. Even when facing the strictest teachers in school years ago, he had never been this nervous.
Liufeng glanced curiously at Si Que’s expression but continued to pour tea with a calm demeanor. She stood by quietly, awaiting orders, like a wooden person without senses. However, inside, she was perplexed, not understanding why the princess was keeping the heir to drink tea.
Princess Que invited him for tea, how could Chen Anzhi refuse? As soon as Liufeng poured the tea, he immediately picked up the cup, took a sip, and praised three times, “Good tea! Good tea! Good tea!”
He secretly watched Si Que’s expression but saw that he had his eyes lowered, showing no particular emotion, leaving Chen Anzhi guessing.
Not waiting for Liufeng to refill his cup, Chen Anzhi poured himself another and said with a smile, “Thank you, Princess, for the wonderful tea!”
“If you like it, drink more,” Si Que said in a lukewarm tone.
“Such good tea should indeed be enjoyed more!” Chen Anzhi’s eyes sparkled as he drank cup after cup until the entire pot was empty.
He tried to pour more tea but not a drop came out. He smiled awkwardly and said, “Look at me, I drank the whole pot by myself and didn’t leave any for the princess…”
He silently chastised himself for this ungentlemanly behavior, vowing that next time the princess invited him for tea, he would not be so lacking in manners.
Si Que did not reply. His gaze once again passed over Chen Anzhi, looking towards You Yuji’s bedroom, wondering why she hadn’t come to rescue him yet.
He craved the feeling of being protected and rescued by her. This feeling was unfamiliar and novel in his past life.
Chen Anzhi waited and waited, but Si Que did not engage with him. His eyes dimmed, all his joy fading into threads of melancholy. However, he comforted himself, thinking there would be plenty of opportunities in the future!
He stood up to take his leave, “It’s getting late, I should…”
“Stay,” Si Que interrupted him. He half-lowered his eyes, his long lashes hiding the playfulness in his dark eyes.
“What?” Chen Anzhi was completely stunned.
Even Liufeng beside him was shocked.
