You Yuji rested her chin on her hand and turned another page of her book.
When Baohe came in with some fruit, You Yuji asked her to tell the wet nurses to bring the children over. She had them sleep beside her; the brother was asleep, and the sister was wide-eyed, staring at her. You Yuji kissed her forehead and played with her for a while until she fell asleep, then resumed reading.
The peaceful afternoon was abruptly interrupted by Chen Anzhi. Disguised as a restaurant worker, he mingled with the delivery people entering the You residence. Ever since being turned away by You Yuji, Chen Anzhi had been harboring a grudge. His anger festered until he heard that the You family had hired a midwife.
A midwife?
The only one in the You family who could bear children was You Yuji.
So, she had turned him away because she was about to have a baby? After the disbelief and anger, seeing for himself became an obsession for Chen Anzhi.
Today, with the You family entertaining guests, he found his chance to sneak in.
Having briefly been You Yuji’s husband, he was familiar with the layout of the You residence. Carefully avoiding the servants, he made his way to You Yuji’s courtyard.
The servants were busy cleaning up after the barbecue, and since the arrival of the children, You Yuji’s area was kept quiet to avoid waking her light-sleeping, often-crying daughter, so there weren’t many people around.
Seeing a maid guarding You Yuji’s door, Chen Anzhi was trying to think of a way to distract her when she hurriedly entered a side room, presumably to fetch something. Seizing the opportunity, Chen Anzhi quickly slipped inside and shut the door behind him.
The room was filled with a pleasant fragrance, a delicate sweetness mixed with the scent of incense, but it couldn’t mask the faint smell of milk from the children.
He took a deep breath and took another step forward, only to be startled by a soft yawn, followed by the rustle of a page turning.
Chen Anzhi’s heart pounded. What if he had misunderstood? His ex-wife had every reason to hate him, but if he made more effort, he could win her back. If she had run off with another man, that was a different matter.
The screen obscured his view, but he could vaguely see You Yuji’s graceful silhouette reclining on the beauty couch. Seeing her figure outlined on the screen, Chen Anzhi convinced himself that he had misunderstood. If You Yuji had indeed given birth, how could she still maintain such a figure?
A weak whimper from a baby interrupted his thoughts, and he froze.
“Why are you awake again, little one?” You Yuji set her book aside and picked up her daughter. She glanced at her still-sleeping son, gently tapping her daughter’s forehead with her fingertip, speaking softly, “Be quiet, don’t wake your brother. You’re the restless one.”
Two?
Chen Anzhi’s eyes widened in shock. If it were one child, it could still be a bastard born after their divorce. But two? That would mean she had conceived before marrying him.
The feeling of betrayal hit Chen Anzhi like a tidal wave, overwhelming him with a sense of humiliation. Angrily, he stormed around the screen, pointing a finger at You Yuji. “So it’s true! You really were unfaithful, and I caught you red-handed! So you had two children already? You deceived me completely! Tell me, who is the father? Is it Zhao Sheng, your guard Zhuo Wen, or your cousin? Are the fathers even the same?”
His outburst startled the baby girl, causing her to cry loudly, and even her usually quiet brother became restless.
You Yuji’s expression darkened immediately, and she raised her voice, “Someone come!”
Zhenxu and Baohe, who were sobering up next door, hurriedly threw on their outer garments and rushed in. Seeing Chen Anzhi, they each grabbed one of his arms, trying to drag him out.
Caught in a state of extreme humiliation, Chen Anzhi’s fury gave him immense strength, making it difficult for Zhenxu and Baohe to move him. He glared at You Yuji, his eyes red with anger. “I thought I owed you! I came to beg for your forgiveness! And this is what you are? Tell me, who is the adulterer?”
“I am.”
Si Que pushed open the door of the bathing room and walked out. He had heard Chen Anzhi storming in and had quickly dried himself and thrown on some clothes. His haste left his clothes somewhat disheveled, and he was barefoot, adjusting his robes as he walked.
At the sound of Si Que’s voice, Chen Anzhi stopped struggling. When he saw Si Que adjusting his clothes, he instinctively averted his gaze, muttering, “I searched everywhere for months, and you were here all along…”
Then he realized something was off. He turned his head back, stiffly, to look at Si Que again.
The person was the same, but why was he dressed in men’s clothing?
Wait…
Chen Anzhi’s realization hit him as he saw Si Que adjusting his robe, revealing a glimpse of his chest beneath the snowy white fabric.
Si Que ignored Chen Anzhi for now and walked straight to You Yuji, first soothing their daughter. The baby girl stopped crying when she saw him, then looked at her mother and made a few soft sounds before calming down. Si Que then turned to their son, who wasn’t crying but was restless, and patted him gently in the same spots he had soothed their daughter.
You Yuji, watching Si Que’s meticulous actions, felt her earlier anger dissipate slightly, finding some amusement in the scene.
Si Que then sat down beside You Yuji, casually crossing his legs and lifting his eyes to look at Chen Anzhi.
“Wh-who are you?” Chen Anzhi stammered.
“Ha.” Si Que chuckled, “What, you don’t recognize your own sweetheart?”
Chen Anzhi stared at Si Que in a daze.
Baohe and Zhenxu exchanged glances, seeing the schadenfreude in each other’s eyes. They let go of Chen Anzhi and stood aside, enjoying the sight of the once-arrogant Young Master An now utterly bewildered.
Si Que leaned forward slightly, resting an elbow on his knee. He narrowed his eyes, looking down at Chen Anzhi as he spoke slowly, “Back then, at the Jinnan Prince’s residence, I appreciate your hospitality, Young Master An.”
Chen Anzhi still didn’t understand, staring blankly at Si Que.
Si Que’s hair was loose and slightly damp. As he leaned forward, his loose robe opened slightly, revealing his collarbone and the chest beneath it.
At this point, what was there not to understand?
No, Chen Anzhi didn’t want to understand!
Chen Anzhi shook his head slowly, unwilling to believe what he was seeing. He forced a laugh, his face twitching unnaturally. This must be a joke.
Was he dreaming?
Yesterday, he had met friends for drinks and reminiscing. Maybe he hadn’t fully sobered up yet.
Back then, at the grand banquet of the Si Kingdom, he had caught a fleeting glimpse of Princess Que, and since then, he had seen every woman through the lens of her resemblance to the princess.
In a moment, a multitude of memories flashed through his mind like snapshots. He felt as though he had become two people—one with an extraordinarily clear mind, recounting the past few years, and the other standing there like a dumb, deaf, and blind fool.
“Impossible… impossible…” Chen Anzhi laughed, a strange laugh tinged with hysteria. The goddess he had held in his heart for so many years was a man? He had defied his parents, neglected his wife, and made countless mistakes for the sake of an unattainable lover. And now he was being told that his lover was a man?
When he had cursed himself for trusting Fang Qingyi, countless times calling himself blind, he now realized that cherishing Princess Que in his heart was the true blindness.
“Impossible…” he kept muttering, unable to accept the reality.
How could this be? He had come here to catch an adulterer, to see if You Yuji had borne children for another man, not to find out that his long-cherished lover was a man…
You Yuji noticed that Si Que’s hair was still damp. She frowned and reached over to the small table for a towel, gently wiping his wet hair. Though spring had arrived, the weather was still cool. She worried about Si Que catching a cold. Although the toxins in his body were slowly dissipating and he was not as frail as before, she still constantly worried about his health.
Chen Anzhi stared dumbly at the intimate gestures between the two on the beauty couch. After a long while, he lowered his gaze with difficulty to look at the two babies on the couch.
Clearly, the two infants were the same size, revealing that they were twins.
He had so many questions, but they were all questions with obvious answers, making him feel foolish for even considering them.
Si Que looked at Chen Anzhi’s bewildered expression with disdain. If Chen Anzhi wasn’t of use to him, he wouldn’t have tolerated him standing there like an idiot.
“Had enough?” Si Que asked coldly.
Chen Anzhi snapped out of his daze, his eyes locking onto Si Que’s face. He continued shaking his head, but now he was no longer muttering “impossible,” instead repeatedly asking “why.”
“Throw him out,” Si Que ordered, his eyes filled with annoyance.
Just as Chen Anzhi was being dragged out, he saw Si Que lean close to You Yuji, whispering intimately to her.
Too close!
It wasn’t until he was being hauled out some distance that Chen Anzhi screamed in his mind: Stay away from my wife!
Oh, they had long since divorced…
Their marriage had lasted only nineteen days.
Chen Anzhi was thrown out of the You family gates, landing on the ground, attracting the stares of passersby. He sat dazedly on the ground for a long time, the two fractured parts of himself slowly merging back into one.
He finally came to his senses, got up, and rushed to the You family gate, pounding on it desperately.
“Open the door! Open the door, you pair of adulterers! How dare you carry on right under my nose! Do you think I’m a fool? Open up! How dare you secretly conceive in my courtyard and now hide behind these doors?” Chen Anzhi pounded on the You family’s gate with a thunderous noise.
Passersby, seeing his madness, began to whisper among themselves.
“Who is that?”
“The Young Master An from the Jinnan Prince’s residence. The You family really has guts, throwing out a noble like him.”
“Tsk tsk, with the enemy nearly at the capital, who cares about nobles…”
Chen Anzhi’s anger surged to the top of his head. He could hear the murmuring voices nearby but couldn’t comprehend them fully. Ever since returning from the army, had he not already lost face enough? Now, an overwhelming sense of rage and humiliation was about to drown him as he furiously pounded the gate.
A clap of thunder tore through the sky, and the first spring rain began to fall. Passersby hurried home, not stopping to watch any longer.
Rain poured down, drenching Chen Anzhi. The sound of thunder gradually drowned out his pounding on the door.
Chen Anzhi continued to pound on the gate in a frenzy, unwilling to accept reality.
He remembered his friends’ teasing, saying his taste was peculiar. Even though Princess Que was exceptionally talented and beautiful, she lacked the graceful figure and soft voice of other women. Why not enjoy the many gentle and fragrant women of the world? Back then, Chen Anzhi had angrily rebuked his friends for belittling his beloved, claiming they didn’t understand true beauty.
Today, he realized how foolish he had been, deceived by a man.
This was a joke! He had fallen madly in love with a man, disrupting his household for this unattainable lover. He had a beautiful wife granted by a perfect marriage, but his taste had been distorted by this man, leading him to prejudice against his wife. He had ruined the marriage himself.
What was even more infuriating was that this man was in his courtyard! Right under his nose, sleeping with his wife! The wife he hadn’t yet won back, hadn’t yet tasted, had been defiled by this man, and now they even had children, two of them…
The ultimate humiliation.
Chen Anzhi’s pounding gradually slowed, and he slid down the gate, sobbing uncontrollably in the pouring rain. He cried for his ridiculous life, all ruined by a man.
The rain poured heavily, and people from the Jinnan Prince’s residence found Chen Anzhi and hurriedly took him back. As soon as he returned, he fell ill, bedridden and unwilling to get up.
While Chen Anzhi was crazily pounding on the gate in the rain, You Yuji had just calmed her crying daughter and had the wet nurse take both children away. She had dried Si Que’s wet hair, and now they were hiding inside the bed curtains, listening to the rain outside and playing a coin-tossing game.
Heads, You Yuji kissed Si Que.
Tails, Si Que kissed You Yuji.
The coin was tossed repeatedly, accompanied by the soft laughter inside the warm bed.
After a long while, Si Que held You Yuji and lay down, saying, “I have to go out the day after tomorrow.”
“Mm, when will you be back this time?” You Yuji thought for a moment. It had indeed been a long time since Si Que had gone out, always staying by her side.
Si Que tossed the coin again and said, “I’ll be back before dark.”
They both watched the coin fall between the cracks of the bed, disappearing from sight. They were silent for a moment before turning towards each other to kiss. The kiss, starting shallow and tinged with the mist of rain, gradually deepened.