A sudden torrential downpour drenched everything. You Yuji knelt on the wooden bed, raised her arm, and closed the window again. The howling wind and rain were instantly shut out. In just a short moment, the cool rainwater ran down her slender arms, soaking her sleeves and even a part of her waist.
You Yuji glanced at her wet sleeves and waist, frowning slightly. She leaned sideways on the wooden bed, rolled up her sleeves a bit, and used a handkerchief to gently wipe the rainwater off her forearms. The red soft gauze had absorbed the water, turning a dark red hue. Her exposed forearm, as white as soft jade, glistened.
A strand of her black hair was also wet, clinging softly to the side of her face.
Si Que looked at her briefly before averting his gaze.
“Your shoulder is soaked. You should change your clothes,” You Yuji said, looking at Si Que’s shoulder.
Si Que glanced back but made no other move.
You Yuji looked around and confirmed that there were no servants around. She had brought Zhenxu with her, but she was the only one who came upstairs. Zhenxu was sent to fetch pastries and silk to give to Si Que’s maid for safekeeping.
You Yuji thought to herself that she should assign more maids to handle such tasks in the future.
As if sensing You Yuji’s thoughts, Si Que suddenly spoke, “It’s nice to have some peace and quiet.”
You Yuji was startled and looked at him curiously. She was worried that the princess might catch a cold, so she had reminded him. Since they were not well acquainted, she didn’t say more. Changing the topic, she said, “The weather is getting colder. The household has started making winter clothes, so I brought some fabrics over.”
“Thank you.”
You Yuji pressed her lips together, unsure of what to say next. Perhaps because they were both from Si Kingdom and shared similar circumstances, she couldn’t help but pay extra attention to Si Que. But they weren’t close, having only met a few times back home.
Under normal circumstances, You Yuji would have left by now. But with the storm outside, she couldn’t leave.
Si Que acted as if You Yuji wasn’t there, picking up a handkerchief to wipe the strings of his qin. He loved his qin dearly and would carefully wipe it after playing, his focused manner carrying a hint of reverence.
You Yuji couldn’t help but look over, observing Si Que.
Being closer to him, You Yuji noticed the faint scent of medicine on him.
You Yuji knew that her features were inherently alluring, so she rarely wore heavy makeup, opting for a lighter look to avoid appearing too striking. The princess, on the other hand, seemed to wear no makeup at all. You Yuji discreetly moved closer to inspect. To her surprise, the princess indeed wore no makeup, her skin like pure jade. She hadn’t even used lip balm, and her hair was simply styled, half up and half down, black strands contrasting with her white clothes. You Yuji’s gaze fell on Si Que’s eyes; his long eyelashes were lowered.
Suddenly, Si Que looked up at her.
His eyes were long and narrow, with a natural hint of red at the corners, clear and serene.
Meeting his gaze, You Yuji was taken aback and quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed. She used her peripheral vision to see Si Que resuming his task of wiping the strings, and she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
She couldn’t understand the sudden tension and awkwardness she felt.
The rain continued, incessantly beating against the window. Listening to the chaotic sound of the rain, You Yuji’s thoughts drifted far away, thinking about the prince’s escape. Did the princess know about it? If he did, what did he think? You Yuji had heard that siblings born to the same parents often shared a deep bond, almost telepathic, sharing each other’s fortunes and misfortunes.
The Crown Prince and the Princess were twins.
You Yuji had heard that the national advisor back then was very powerful, able to foresee events and control the weather, deeply respected by the emperor and a frequent guest in the palace, highly revered by the people of Sì Country. The national advisor was always accurate in his predictions, except for once.
Before the Crown Prince and the Princess were born, the national advisor had predicted twins, but who would have thought it would be a boy and a girl? However, this wasn’t a big deal and not many paid attention to such a minor detail.
The cold seeped through the window cracks, quickly bringing You Yuji back to her senses.
If she felt cold, the Princess would surely feel even colder, right?
You Yuji looked towards the door but still didn’t see Zhenxu. She didn’t know if she hadn’t found a maid or was delayed by something. After hesitating for a moment, she got up and walked towards the brazier not far away. Inside were clean new coals that had just been delivered and not yet used. You Yuji took a fire starter from the side and lit the coals, slowly letting the warmth rise. The heat spread, gradually driving away the cold from her body.
To prevent the warmth from escaping, You Yuji got up and closed the door.
When she came back, she noticed a tea set on the round table by the door. She walked over and felt the teapot with her palm, finding the tea still hot. She thought that drinking some hot tea would warm her up even more. There were four teacups around the teapot, three of them upside down. You Yuji first poured tea into the upright cup, intending it for Si Que. Then she took one of the upside-down cups, poured half a cup of hot tea, feeling the warmth through the cup. Just as she took a sip, Si Que, who was wiping the strings of his zither by the window, suddenly looked up and urgently said, “Don’t drink that.”
It was too late.
You Yuji’s body went limp and she lost consciousness.
Through the softly burning coals, Si Que looked expressionlessly at the fallen woman. Knowing full well that You Yuji was unconscious and couldn’t hear him, he still spoke in a cold voice, “Didn’t your parents teach you not to consume things from others?”
Of course, there was no response.
Time flowed slowly, and You Yuji’s life force was gradually ebbing away.
Si Que quietly watched You Yuji, not moving a muscle.
A tiny crackle came from the brazier, and Si Que shifted his gaze to the steadily burning flames. He then took out a copper coin, unhurriedly.
Heads means life, tails means death.
He tossed the coin high, slowly curling one side of his lips into a sinister smile.
The coin landed, ringing out continuously.
When the coin finally settled, Si Que leisurely glanced at it.
He finally got up from the wooden couch and walked slowly towards You Yuji. He crouched down in front of her, his snow-white robe brushing the floor. He lifted You Yuji and placed her on the wooden couch.
The storm outside was still raging. A flash of lightning illuminated You Yuji’s bloodless face and her lips, which were turning black.
Si Que stood by the couch and reached to untie the belt at You Yuji’s waist. His long fingers hesitated on the thin belt around her slender waist before continuing.
The delicate belt wound around his fingers as he slowly pulled it free. Si Que sat down by the wooden couch, propped You Yuji up, and took off her outer robe.
Si Que was momentarily stunned.
A woman disguising herself as a man would bind her chest, but what was she binding?
Si Que frowned and began to untie layer upon layer of You Yuji’s chest binding. The red silk piled on his snow-white robes, with one end trailing to the ground.
As he completely undid her chest binding, Si Que vaguely understood why she had bound her chest.
Si Que remained silent for a moment before he grasped You Yuji’s shoulders, pulling her to rest against his chest. The soft sensation filled his embrace.
Lowering his gaze, Si Que continued to undo the ties at the back of You Yuji’s undergarments, saying, “I’m saving your life. Don’t you dare accuse me of trying to take advantage of you. Understand?”
You Yuji, of course, could not answer him.
Si Que inserted several thin black needles into the acupoints beneath You Yuji’s shoulder blades. As the needles penetrated deeper, the blackness on the needles gradually faded.
The flames in the charcoal brazier burned brighter and brighter.
Beside the qin, silver needles were scattered in a pile.
Si Que retied the fine straps at You Yuji’s waist, then bent down to pick up her chest binding. Recalling its original form, he carefully wrapped it around her layer by layer, tying a bow at her waist and tucking it lightly on the inside.
Just as Si Que finished dressing You Yuji, he heard footsteps. He laid You Yuji down and covered her with a thin blanket.
He sat beside You Yuji, smoothing the creases in his skirt before speaking, “Come in.”
The door opened, and Zhenxu and Liufeng stood at the entrance.
It turned out that after Zhenxu handed the items to Liufeng, she heard the sound of the qin and dared not go up to disturb them. Liufeng had gone to put away the silk materials, and Zhenxu accompanied her. On their way back, they encountered a violent rainstorm and were nearly drenched. Liufeng gave her clothes to Zhenxu to change into, causing a delay.
Zhenxu craned her neck to look inside and saw You Yuji lying on the wooden bed. She urgently asked, “What happened to the lady?”
Following Zhenxu’s gaze, Si Que looked at You Yuji beside him and said flatly, “She cried while listening to the qin and fell asleep from exhaustion.”
Remembering the grievances the lady had suffered since her marriage, Zhenxu couldn’t help but feel distressed. She walked over lightly, softly calling, “Lady? Lady? Wake up, lady…”
You Yuji slept quietly, showing no signs of waking.
“Let her sleep here. With this heavy rain, she can’t go back anyway.” Si Que spoke calmly, picking up the silver needles scattered beside the qin.
“Then… then sorry to trouble Your Highness. Is there any spare bedding?”
Si Que glanced at Liufeng, who immediately went to fetch it with Zhenxu. They quickly returned, and Zhenxu carefully covered You Yuji with a quilt, her brows furrowed with concern.
Liufeng took Zhenxu downstairs to settle her for the night.
Inside the room, a lamp suddenly went out. Si Que stood up and walked to the round table by the door, picking up the cup of tea You Yuji had poured for him. He drank it slowly.
After all this time, the tea had gone completely cold.
After Liufeng settled the bedding and returned, she stood outside the door and softly asked, “Your Highness? Should Madam move to another room?”
Though this was the outer room of Si Que’s bedchamber, usually, no one was allowed to come here at night.
Si Que did not respond immediately. He looked at the sleeping You Yuji on the wooden couch, drank the remaining cool tea from his cup, and finally said, “No need.”
Liufeng hesitated for a moment but didn’t dare to say more. She bowed slightly and retreated quietly.
Si Que walked to the wooden couch, bent down, and gently brushed away the lock of hair clinging to You Yuji’s cheek. He placed his palm on her forehead to check the temperature; indeed, she had started to develop a fever.
Si Que lifted the quilt covering You Yuji, lay down on the narrow wooden couch beside her, and placed his arm across her slender waist, resting on her lower abdomen. Warm energy slowly flowed from his palm into You Yuji’s body. Her body gradually warmed up, while the heat on her burning forehead slowly subsided.
The long night passed slowly; one by one, the lamps were extinguished, leaving only the gentle burning of the charcoal in the brazier.
The night grew deep, and the heavy rain outside the window had long since stopped. Insects quietly emerged from their nests, beginning their low chirping.
After a long while, Si Que withdrew his hand.
He wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his lips with his pale fingertips and slowly murmured, “Taking such care of you without even undressing, you owe me double in return.”
He slowly curled his lips into a smile and wished her a good sleep.
—
When You Yuji woke up, she felt pain all over her body. She propped herself up and sat up, squinting against the dazzling sunlight streaming through the window. The next moment, she realized she was not in her own room and immediately became fully awake.
She looked around in astonishment and then remembered this was the residence of the princess, allowing herself to relax a bit.
She tried to recall the events of last night. She had come to deliver something and had hoped to chat more with the princess to become more familiar since she would be staying here in the future. However, the princess was very reticent, and they hadn’t exchanged many words. She listened to the princess play the zither, and when she was about to leave, a heavy rainstorm had started, drenching both of them. She had lit the charcoal fire and poured tea…
Then…
You Yuji frowned. She couldn’t remember anything after that.
She got up, intending to find Zhenxu. She glanced at the door and then at the direction of the inner room. After hesitating for a moment, You Yuji walked to the door of the inner room to check if the princess was there.
The door to the inner room was closed, but through the carved pattern on the upper part, she saw the princess lying on the bed, sleeping, with the quilt mostly on the floor.
After a moment’s hesitation, You Yuji gently pushed open the door, lifted her skirt, and tiptoed quietly towards the bed. She carefully picked up the quilt that had fallen to the floor and covered the princess again.
The room was filled with the strong scent of medicine.
