The glass lamp extinguished before You Yuji could return, leaving her in the darkness. She walked through the shadows, her gaze fixed on the distant courtyard lights.
She hadn’t expected to feel so calm.
Earlier today, she personally went through the process of secretly sending Si Que away and visited the courtyard she had prepared for him, instructing Zhuo Wu to set up a qin table for him. Despite it being just half a day, she still remembered the mix of joy and anxiety she felt in that courtyard during the day.
The night was inevitable.
The air was lively in the Tanxiang Yingyue Pavilion, filled with the playful laughter of maids. Zhenxu was leading the maids in pasting window decorations and hanging colorful knots.
“Madam, you’re back so early?” Zhenxu hurriedly came forward to greet her.
You Yuji handed her the extinguished glass lamp and then removed the fox fur from her shoulders, passing it over as well. A gentle, soft smile lingered in her eyes as she looked around the busy room.
“The day after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Since there’s nothing pressing tonight, I called them over to put up the window decorations,” Zhenxu explained with a smile.
You Yuji nodded and said, “Go ahead.”
She walked slowly inside, heading to the inner room. It was only after she sat on the beauty couch that she noticed Baisui curled up asleep there.
You Yuji quietly gazed at it.
The cheerful chatter of the maids occasionally drifted in from outside. New Year was the only time of the year they could relax a bit, and You Yuji didn’t want to restrict them.
But it did feel a bit noisy.
Thinking that they might come in to paste window decorations soon, You Yuji got up and headed to the small dressing room inside.
Baisui, still sleepy, opened its eyes to glance at her, yawned widely, and went back to sleep.
Inside the small room, it was much quieter. You Yuji sat at the dressing table under the small window, silently gazing at her reflection in the bronze mirror.
She had been out and about all day, and her body was tired. She tilted her head slightly, removing the hairpins and combs from her cloud-like hair one by one, placing them on the dressing table. As her hair fell, she picked up a wooden comb and slowly began to comb it.
She stared at her reflection in the bronze mirror, though she wasn’t truly looking at herself.
Unconsciously, her movements slowed.
After a long while, You Yuji came back to her senses. She put down the wooden comb, picked up a key to open a small drawer in the dressing table, and took out two small porcelain bottles of duck-egg blue, placing them on the table.
She had put in a lot of effort to obtain these two fake death pills. Not only had she suffered herself, but the twenty thousand taels of gold were no small amount. It was the end of the year, and the You family had a tradition of giving year-end bonuses to their staff, which was already a significant expense. Moreover, as a business family, their liquid funds were limited. To raise the amount within a month, she had halted two businesses and sold several properties. Some shops were even mortgaged and would have to be redeemed in the spring when the funds were available…
You Yuji picked up one of the small porcelain bottles and gently shook it, listening to the faint sound of the fake death pill inside hitting the bottle.
Today, she had finally prepared everything and could tell him that she was going to take him away from here. He didn’t need to worry about anything because she would protect him.
She thought, his eyes would surely light up with joy.
You Yuji slowly closed her eyes.
It turned out that all her efforts were meaningless.
Completely meaningless.
The person she was desperately trying to save didn’t need her rescue at all.
The door was pushed open, and the laughter of the maids outside drifted in again. Si Que stepped in and closed the door behind him, silencing the laughter once more.
Si Que walked closer, standing behind You Yuji and looking at her closed eyes through the bronze mirror. His gaze shifted down to the fake death pills on the dressing table.
At some point, You Yuji had opened her eyes, looking at the bronze mirror. From her perspective, she couldn’t see his face, only the snow-white clothes he was wearing. The white fox fur on his shoulders was still on.
Si Que chuckled softly and spoke, “I thought you would be furious.”
You Yuji’s brow furrowed slightly but then quickly relaxed back into a calm expression.
He bent down, the hem of his white fox fur brushing against You Yuji’s shoulder. He picked up one of the bottles of fake death pills from the dressing table and straightened up. The smooth porcelain bottle was held in his hand as his gaze fixed on it.
“This fake death pill, was it prepared for me?” he asked.
There was a long silence. Just when Si Que thought You Yuji wouldn’t respond, she nodded.
Si Que squinted, his gaze shifting from the pill in his hand to her face in the bronze mirror.
The reflection in the bronze mirror was not clear enough, so Si Que put the fake death pill back and suddenly grabbed the back of her chair, forcefully turning her around. He looked down, examining her expression.
You Yuji hadn’t expected to feel so calm, and neither had Si Que. He stared at her emotionless face for a long time, a strange unease growing in his heart.
He would rather she be angry, rather she be so furious that she would yell at him, hit him.
But she didn’t.
After all, someone like him wasn’t worth her anger or tears.
A surge of irritable emotions suddenly rose in his heart, making him want to leave immediately. He feared that if he stayed any longer, his growing agitation might lead him to do something uncontrollable. He turned abruptly and strode towards the door, but just as he reached it, his steps halted. His raised fingers hesitated before touching the wooden door, and then he let his hand drop. Turning back, driven by a deep sense of reluctance and attachment, he strode back to You Yuji, bent down, grabbed her chin, and kissed her forcefully.
You Yuji was momentarily dazed.
She didn’t move, neither pushing him away nor responding in the slightest. She even calmly compared the person before her with the one she had spent every day with over the past couple of months.
Pain spread across her lips.
The person she had spent the past two months with always looked at her with a smile, gentle and obedient, always attentive to her every emotion, even in his most passionate moments, never causing her pain.
His kisses were always tender and measured, never this aggressive and hurtful.
So, it turned out that even when the red curtains fell and passion overtook them, he had been acting.
Si Que looked into You Yuji’s eyes, which were so close to his. He saw no emotion in them. His hand, which had been tightly gripping her waist, slowly fell, releasing her.
Si Que involuntarily stepped back, staring at You Yuji’s face.
Her soft, delicate lips were moist, now marked with the red swelling he had left.
Si Que pressed his lips tightly together, silent for a long time before he finally couldn’t help but speak first, “You Yuji, are you a wooden dummy? Don’t you have anything to say?”
He stared intently at her face, not wanting to miss any subtle change in her expression. He watched as her tender, rosy lips parted slightly, his heartstrings tightening in anticipation, waiting for a response, only to see her slowly press her lips together again.
You Yuji said nothing.
She just felt the room was stuffy, so she stood up and pushed open the window behind the bronze mirror halfway, letting the cool winter night air flow in.
Only then did she feel she could breathe more easily.
The chilly night wind blew in, and Si Que suddenly felt a wave of cold, causing him to turn his head and cough lightly.
Outside, Zhenxu knocked on the door, smiling, “Madam, do you want us to paste the window decorations in the dressing room?”
Separated by a door, the people outside were bustling and joyful, preparing for the New Year, while inside, the two of them were engulfed in the chill of winter.
“Come in,” You Yuji said softly, her voice low but otherwise normal. As she spoke, she placed the two bottles of fake death pills back in the drawer and locked it securely.
Her gaze fell on the gently swinging lock, thinking that Si Que no longer needed these, but they might be useful elsewhere in the future.
Zhenxu walked in with bright red paper cuttings, ready to paste them on the windows. You Yuji stepped aside, slowly walking out. As she passed Si Que, she didn’t spare him a glance.
Si Que stood silently, watching Zhenxu paste the festive paper cuttings on the window. The design depicted two intertwined deer, lively and vivid.
Si Que turned and left, hearing You Yuji speaking with Baohe.
“Take the rest of these to the East Wing for Liufeng. Si Que will be moving back there soon,” You Yuji said.
Baohe glanced past You Yuji towards Si Que, a look of confusion in her eyes—had they quarreled again? She dared not ask and simply responded affirmatively.
Si Que gazed at You Yuji’s slender back, knowing she was driving him away. Not only was she driving him away, but she was also addressing him by his full name.
Si Que turned and walked out.
He hadn’t yet warmed up after coming in from the cold outside, and now, standing under the eaves, the winter wind bit at him once more.
He returned to the East Wing.
The East Wing had been empty, and Liufeng didn’t expect him to move back suddenly. There was no fire burning in the room, making it as cold inside as it was outside. Liufeng quickly got busy, lighting the lamps, starting a fire in the brazier, and hurrying to heat water for tea.
Si Que opened the window and sat behind the qin table by the window, casually plucking at the strings while looking at the soft glow emanating from You Yuji’s room.
The notes formed no melody, the tune no tune.
Seeing that he had opened the window, Liufeng soon had a maid bring in two braziers. Before long, the room began to warm up.
Having been outside for most of the day and catching a chill in the evening, Si Que, always of frail health, felt fatigued. His slender fingers pressed against the strings, the hum of the qin drowning out the chaotic notes.
Restless.
Particularly restless.
In the warmth of the room, Si Que propped his forehead with his hand and closed his eyes for a brief rest. What started as a moment to ease his fatigue turned into sleep.
In his dream, the fox spirit turned to smile at him. Her bright, coquettish eyes sparkled with a dazzling light, making everything else pale in comparison, entrancing him with their allure.
Lush grass, a clear sky. After a gentle rain, the world was clean and fresh. She ran towards him, softly shaking his hand.
“Que Lang, won’t you give me a kiss?”
Si Que’s heart raced. His supporting hand slipped slightly, his head dropping as he awoke from the dream.
Si Que felt dazed, then a fierce annoyance welled up within him.
Damn that fox spirit for her sorcery, tormenting him with pain and heartache while awake, and now entering his dreams to mock him.
Fox spirit!
Footsteps made Si Que lift his head.
Baohe approached, carrying Baisui from the main house, standing under the window. She was startled by the expression on Si Que’s face.
Si Que, too lazy to feign indifference, glanced at Baisui in her arms with a dark look and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Oh…” Baohe snapped back to reality. “Madam said that there will be many guests visiting during the New Year, and she’s worried that Baisui might disturb them. She asked me to bring it here.”
Baohe lifted Baisui and passed it through the window.
Si Que pressed his lips tightly together, staring at Baisui, but he didn’t take it.
—She didn’t even want their cat anymore.
Feeling uncomfortable suspended in midair, Baisui swiftly twisted out of Baohe’s hands and jumped onto Si Que’s qin, causing a series of chaotic sounds as it landed on the strings.
Irritated by the noise, Si Que grabbed Baisui by the neck, lifted it up, and casually tossed it aside.
Baisui, unprepared for being thrown, landed hard on the ground. It sat there, mewing plaintively at Si Que.
After several cries went unanswered, Baisui stopped and curled up at Si Que’s feet, clinging to the hem of his robe to sleep.
As night deepened, Anxiang Courtyard filled with people.
Fang Qingyi had been feeling unwell since she returned to the manor, experiencing abdominal pain and then spotting blood, prompting an urgent call for the doctor.
Fang Qingyi wept bitterly, her tears like pear blossoms in the rain. “I know that the birth of a concubine’s child before the main wife’s brings disgrace to her. But this is a life! It’s also my cousin’s flesh and blood! Madam… Madam must have been momentarily confused at Wan’an Temple today. I hope my uncle and aunt can understand and not blame her.”
